Beautiful trees and clouds in the sky and birds and snails and flowers.


Beautiful children whose hearts are big while their eyes twinkle with mischief.

Beauty of family as we go through difficult times with great love.

Beauty in the hearts of all who come with their gift of presence.

Of late, I have felt guided to share the different layers of response that I am aware of, to different situations.

As awareness expands, the jumbled up feelings of confusion unravel to reveal the different energies that go to make us human. They are the manifold chakras in our being!

~~~~~~~~
From the Wildfires in Athens and California:

As I continue to send light, I become aware of so many levels of response that I see once again, how when we 'send' light, we also 'receive' it.

I feel sorrow for those who have lost their treasured possessions. A little child's toys, photographs, homes, memories in those homes now overturned by fear, and despair.

I feel the love that is flowing towards those who have lost possessions, as their family and friends and even strangers reach out to them

I feel the determination in the firefighters to keep persisting, risking their own life and health and safety to help in this cause.

I feel the connection between the fire, the brush that grew for 40 years, unchecked, the dust, trees, air, fire, people, animals, sky —all connected in this dance of life and death.

I feel the thoughts and emotions expressed and unexpressed

I feel the intuitions that are helping some to be saved and bringing about a clearing of what is taking place.

I feel the hum of creation beyond the crackle of fire, the vision of immense love beyond the faces of sorrow,  calm and  peace beyond the melee that shows that no one living or nonliving cell on earth is lost to the mother-gaze of the universe.

And seeing this, I feel humbled and expanded  by this blessing to all.
~~~~~


I am a rock
Made of layers of energy
Separate, yet well aligned
Floating like ribbons of light
With dark spaces in-between
Well-defined, yet ever-flowing
What brings them to light, causes the flow?
What keeps them aligned as it draws them apart?
Is it the crackle of wildfire, calls for healing, raging  cyclone?
Perhaps it is created by the the purposeful hurtling of heavenly bodies
Or the powerful hummm of the universe making sense of all discordant notes
Om


Perhaps it is the single point of nothingness whence all that is and is not emerges.


Img srce

This really resonates for me today; as we go into a time that I have never before observed so consciously: the pitra paksha as it's called in the Vedic tradition. A time of clearing the karmic energies of one's ancestors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elder's Meditation of the Day - September 4

"The Elders say that if you want something good, you have to suffer for it."

--Chuck Ross, LAKOTA

People sometimes have a misconception of sacrifice. This is a strong word for Indian people. On the other side of sacrifice is another whole world. During sacrifice, our beliefs are tested. We may all have good beliefs but if you test a good belief, then you get real beliefs. Real beliefs make new people; real beliefs make new self images. Real beliefs allow determination and desires and faith to come true. Good is always available to us but we often can't bring it within until we let go of the old ways. We let go of the old ways by suffering. Suffering is only letting go of things that don't work anymore. On the other side of suffering is a new world.

~~ Creator, help me to let go of old ways. Let my old thoughts and beliefs be abandoned. Every change is preceded by struggle. Help me go through the struggle today

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last week, I saw a person, and there was an immediate flash as if seeing a person who was without any light, no 'juice', no life. Living dead. It startled me, till a guide who tells me of the ways of the Mahaparnirvana sutra, reminded me that what I see was not a vision of this person 'in the future' but of his dead ancestors sticking to him.

I am reminded of first being aware that as we grow into light, many energies seek light through us. They've to pass through us; and if we can remain as 'hollow bones', or clear channels, they do so, without us getting in the way. But somehow I had not understood about the ancestor energy.

When I realized it, I also realized it's the full moon, and when looking for information about it to place in The Power of Light group, found out about the pitra paksha. Don't you just love the meanderings of revelations? This was a message for me to observe this time. I remember that when my father-in-law passed away --and this too, is in this time, tomorrow in fact; my kids immediately said - Now he's an angel. And I was a little startled because I had never understood the practice among some families in India of placing their dead ancestors photos at the altar. It made sense when I saw him a couple of days after he died, a being of joy and light and freedom; and have received much guidance about family matters in times of stress.

So here I am. Yesterday we did ceremony, incorporating  Vedic stotrams, Buddhist chanting and some other messages that we had received.

Two messages came through - one in the morning.

Do your own work, speak your own words, take your own actions, pray for your own ancestors, make your own connections, stand on your own two feet. I thanked all those who have prayed for our ancestors before now. As I was copying prayers for ancestors from different religions in the One Light Many Windows group, I found some in Christianity that pray for ancestors that no one is praying for. I am aware of someone who has been praying for some of our ancestors as some family illnesses have come about through them. Yes, it all sounds weird, doesn't it?!!!

And then there was information about left and right feet and so on. It's been downloaded, but I haven't unraveled it all yet.

And the other message was- we are our ancestors. We have the DNA from a line of people whom we cannot name but who we have descended from. As we stay in mindfulness of them, we are healing ourselves, our own past-present- future in the now. If we are fortunate, this ends here. If not, we leave some of our work for our descendants.

So yesterday's full moon brought all these energies; and wherever I am on my path; there are times when the body just aches and there seems to be suffering--so the Elder's message above really resonated with me.

Life is just WON-DER-FULLL!
Those who know me well, will be shocked that I would write a blog with this title!!!

[Later, I'll post links below, related to some of the words above. It's such fun to read text without links!]

As Joyous says:

This is what I've discovered...

To which I found myself responding:

Perhaps the answer is present before the question- but takes birth after.

Like a seed that births the tree.

It is one of the ongoing threads of our life on earth, that helps to unfold awareness into us. It brings us into awareness of our daily interactions with those whom we call 'the other'

It helps to bring us into freedom, liberation, light.




Just playing.
[hahaha! laughter! That signals forgiveness!]

There is a remarkable discussion going on right now on forgiveness at the One Light Many Windows group: Open Windows, Sept. 2009. Forgiveness - How it worked for me

Ah yes- forgiveness allows us to open the windows to our soul.

And when I woke this morning, an affirmation was going through my head.
It started with [and perhaps others can help to fill that in..]

I release and absolve myself of all that I need to forgive within myself
I release and absolve myself of all that I need to forgive within myself, my family, friends and relatives
I release and absolve myself of all that I need to forgive within myself, my family, friends and relatives, all known and unknown, expressed and unexpressed, felt and unfelt  hurts, feelings, thoughts, actions, vibrations at deep cellular and atomic levels

There is release
And so it is.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Links added in on Sept. 13th

Forgiveness - Prayers, Affirmations, Spiritual Lyrics
Inner child/innocence -
Sep 11, 11:21 AM: Do you think that it is the inner child that seems to need forgiveness the most? Is forgiveness about the loss of innocence?

Sept 12 10:48 AM: What comes to me, is that there is a divinely innocent one within us all. It is the inner child, that is innocent of the shadings and conditioning of the material world. As it interacts with other aspects of itself, in this world where 'I' is separated into I and you and he and she - this separation itself is something that needs the energy of forgiveness.

I think the words in different traditions that touch on this are samskaras, ego, dukkha and so on. But I may be mistaken. I also feel sure that this has been discussed in the books referenced here. A few years ago, I stopped reading recently written books because I needed to hear the words in my mind, and I apologize if I am writing as mine the words that are actually not 'mine'.

That is what we forgive. We give up the false notion of separation.

That separation is pain. When I think of those who have injured 'me' and whom I've no doubt injured, I see that what we are seeking is connection - not in a harmonious way, because we;ve lost that innocent spontaneity.

Someone for whom I do not exist or matter, has no connection to me that needs forgiveness.

Sep 12 12:39 PM :as I used the word 'innocence', I realized that it is itself deeply conditioned and yet for me, it is the only one that conveys what I explained in the post- and Eli's words in Bhatta's post above, are how i see 'innocence' as well

“It is the inner child, that is innocent of the shadings and conditioning of the material world”

Hmmm… when you say “Innocence is somehow, from my point of view tied to ego, i.e. “knowing of good and bad” double phasing, separation of oneness and from oneness.”

Then my question is - what  would you call:”the inner child, that is not influenced by the shadings and conditioning of the material world” ? What is the word for - not influenced by the separation of oneness and ego?

Sep 13 around 8 am:  There is an aspect of forgiveness related to ancestors that I came across these past weeks. And the technique of that can help.
Today, I realized that this technique needs to be talked of too.
 Forgiveness - Ho'oponopono Mantra
 Re: Forgiveness  

Not meaning to be facetious, I'd say we can say almost as much about ego as we can about God –as we are on another thread in this group.

For now, I'd like to present my view of the ego not as an entity or even attached to you or to me; but to a dimension. Ego seems like a layer where 'we' live or visit or play. It has wisps of mist that enable the One to be refracted  into Many seemingly separate entities.

It may be that we come her to test ourSelf –how far can we go from the feeling of oneness without getting lost?
Or–we come here to play!

 

[cross-posted from The ego thread at the God Pod]

1) Did or do you like going back to school?

I don't think I liked it as a child; but my kids do. And when I went to my daughter's back to school evening --I wanted to go back and study Biology. They have such cool online animations of cells and the entire universe in our body!!!

2) What always reminds you of Fall ?

In my heart, I still call it Autumn! Crisp breeze if I can feel it. Not in Florida, though!


3) Does the Autumn bring about changing leaves in the area which you live?

Where I live now, there is no 'typical all-leaves turning amber' beauty of the northern latitudes. But I love the way each tree has its own seasons, and we have one that's shed all its leaves next to one in full bloom and another recovering from its blooming period!

4) What's your favorite Season?

Actually, come to think of it, it would be Fall; but here, it's winter.

5) What color or colors are becoming most prevalent this time of year?

Well, predominantly it's green. Next month, the silk floss tree will turn pink and the rare Parijata tree will bloom with fragrant orange-cream flowers.


[From the Gaia Team's blog]

My activities on Gaia are about connecting. And today's theme really was - connection! If I weren't so grounded, I'd've floated away with the energy this morning.

http://is.gd/3cvLE

So hop on the Gaia train and come and look at the places I posted today:

On my status today:
Let's do it together - beam light to Earth and all beings - Gaia - it comes back a thousand-fold [at least!] http://is.gd/3bGvO

Connected with my Gaia friends in Kolkatta, India:
posted a reply to the conversation "Eli of the sacred mountains"- I had an idea about  9:09 : the Gaia minute - [stay tuned!]
posted a comment on Bhatta's blog entry When it rains....

Next stop, an early party [that's the fun of online celebrations!] -posted a reply to the conversation "Merry Mary turns 50!!"


Passing by the group Reiki Tree, found an inspiring member, an artist and healer - posted a reply to the conversation "Want to accomplish a lot while doing nothing?" and realized that the thought about a mindful moment was shared here.
,,,and here - posted a reply to the conversation "Calling Forth Divine Feminine for Planetary and Personal Healing "
and here! ..posted a reply to the conversation "Global Prayer Project"
http://is.gd/3ctcc

Phew! Now the train is really chugging along. The next part was the one where the train picked up speed as I went through dizzying spirals around:

posted a reply to the conversation "What is God to me today?" in God Pod or Life, the Universe and Everything
posted a reply to the conversation "Where is your light flowing today?" ; reply to the conversation "What opened up your heart today?"; and reply to the conversation "How have you grounded- centered-cleared- expanded today?" - all in in The Power of Light


Things slowed down a bit as there were thunderstorms offline, family time and work, and I posted on the grapevines of a few friends. My thoughts turned to the project on which the members of Gaia are coming together with Eli and I announced it
- Initiating a global project in Gaia Community Vision


Found another delightful artist and posted a reply to the conversation "Dreams of Artists™ - Spotlight on Liza" in DREAMS of ARTISTS™

A good way to end the day , after tea with a friend who dropped in, dinner with family and so on
posted a reply to the conversation "Prayer" in One Light Many Windows

A child's game, a search for meaning, a swami's call, a perception of the moment, a director's vision, and a community comes together.


That is the call of Gaia. That is the magic of the Gaia minute. And it starts this Monday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A child's game
A few years ago, I was taking my daughter to school when she taught me a game.
"Mom, when it's 3:03, I"ll say - 'Mom, it's three. ' And you say -'Oh, three?'" And she chortled in glee.

I didn't get it. So she had to explain it again. How 3:03 when spoken, is three-oh-three. And we'd play the game at 1:01 , or 5:05 and so on. And burst into laughter. Even today, someone in our family just has to say "It's 6" "Oh, six?" another will say. And we'll burst into laughter.

a search for meaning
Naturally I found myself seeing these patterns wherever I looked. Familiar with the 11:11 gate and the 12:12, I wondered what the coding of these circular numbers represented.

Internet research brought up absolutely nothing.

So after a few months, I  asked K'sitew, my Medicine Reiki guide. "It is the gift of laughter your daughter has given you." Wow! Why hadn't I thought of that! It was a gift I needed then, and as with all gifts, they occur at multiple levels.

So, I felt I needed to look some more. A couple of years later, after Ryon joined Gaia and started the 11:11 Progress Group, I asked :"Ryon, I don't know what to make of the original post; but from what you've said about alertness to numbers.
Have you been alerted to this pattern that no one so far has told me they have been [I've asked in other groups of mine]
1:01; 2:02; 3:03 and so on?"

"I'm  asking specifically about 101, 202, & 303?

I see it on digital clocks so 1:01 etc

Like the universe doubling back on itself
Time warps
Overlaps
Or just a delightful pattern?"

And Ryon suggested:"1 and 0's: means to alter your thoughts

2 and 0's: A new phase is coming; remember “Divine timing.”

3 and 0's: Follow Divine guidance and co-create! "

It didn't answer the repeating number ; but was probably the seed for something I felt a few weeks later. That these circular numbers represent spirals. They're what we mean when we say - We come back to the beginning, but it's never the same. Nothing is constant except change. Each time we come back, it's at a higher level. Back to the beginning - and so on.



a swami's call

 Swami Shraddhasudhasharananda the amazing being who came down from the mountains, to us as Eli , had told me some time back to remind every one to "pray pray pray". Then recently, he asked Siona to think of a way to get at least 1000 people to pray for Mother Earth. He explained why and somehow, all of us began to come up with ideas. I wondered if it was time to speak more publicly of the pattern that started with the daughter's game.

And then a half-forgotten memory came up. In my childhood and youth I would keep adding all numbers I saw, and reducing them to a single digit. No one in my family was into numerology or astrology, so this seemed like a way to pass the time on a bus, for instance.I remember the absolute wonder when I discovered one day that the number '9' is like a 'no number'. And that is its greatest power. It brings no change to what it is added to. 9+5=14 and 1+4 reduces to 5. Yet, by being there, it gives a certain power to the 5, an invisible power. It is self-effacing and powerful in that. I still remember the afternoon when I discovered this on an old bus taking me from Delhi University back home. I knew that  I would always remember that moment.

a perception of the moment

I felt it's time. As I wrote to Siona who had said she would meditate on what Eli had asked of her;  the energy of 09and it resonated with her. When I introduced it in the discussion at Gaia Networking as 9:09 : the Gaia minute, it resonated with Deb.

a director's vision...

And Siona, Director of Gaia Community, gave it wings. Participate in the Gaia Minute
As we sign  on for the weekly meditations, trusting in the organic growth of a seed that was planted here, a new sense of anticipation is in the air.

Nicole is spreading the word around Gaia.

a community comes together

Where does something begin? Where does it end? In the unending spirals represented by 1:01 2:02 3:03 4:04 5:05 6:06 7:07 8:08 9:09 that I see every day, there are still hidden wonders waiting to come to light.

And Gaia laughs gently

~~~~~~~~~~

Source of image-  unknown, but deeply appreciated. If you are the artist, please contact me so I can place your name on the image.

================

Adding in Links to related posts:
From Gaia Community Vision group:

Meenakshi said about 1 hour ago:[Sept 15 7:06 am]

Our dearest Eli, Swamiji, has asked me to convey that Kolkatta is in the grip of severe power cuts. His message:

“”Please let everyone know (and you could quote my mail if that is the right way to do it) that I am deeply moved and I feel whatever is evolving is THE RIGHT EVOLUTION, and is guided by DIVINE WILL..

We have a long way to go, but it is an auspicious beginning already . Just observe how Divine will works. The number 9 was predestined to appear though it looks like WE decided on 9. The number 9 is the most humanitarian of all numbers. Humanitarian, warm, responsive, compassionate, self sacrificing, universalist philosophy, community orientation etc are it's typical characteristics.

9:09 - please tell, everybody that 9 minutes of prayer time is indicated by the divine choice.

My response is YES to your and Siona's post."

 

[Added in on Sept 17]

101202303404505606707808909101202303404505606707808909

012023034045056067078089091

01202303404505606707808909101202303404505606707808909

01202303404505606707808909101202303404505606707808909

01202303404505606707808909101202303404505606707808909

Why are your jeans blue?
Because when light with its infinite vibrations passes through them, the material absorbs some, and lets some through. That, to our human eyes, seems blue.
It seems different to an insect, to one who has 'color blindness', to a dog or a bird.

What am I? What I absorb, retain, know- or what I allow to pass through?
What I see? Or you? Or him? Or she? Or they?

Am I what I have, or what I let go freely?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The tao that can be told 
is not the eternal Tao. 
The name that can be named 
is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real. 
Naming is the origin 
of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery. 
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations 
arise from the same source. 
This source is called darkness.

First: 9:09 EST in Virtual Space

Today, the 9:09 was my grounding and clearing experience. I was looking for the moment that Eli and I became friends. The moment of sending a friend's invite is such a sacred one, if one but realizes it. And we did. It was a knowing that the invitation was one between those who had always been 'friends'. I'm sure we'll all sent those out.

And tears welled up in my eyes as the moment approached. I had been connecting at 'higher layers' while I drove,  and realizing that 9:09 is a clarion call –it's not about the time; but about the call to connect.

A post about meditating was writing itself but I wasn't ready to write it down yet.
So, when the time approached, the grounding needed to take place. The tears flowed freely, as I realized that I had to face the pain of losing a friend who has been at the edges of the finger; it spread to the pain that each of us feels, that was told to me by a friend yesterday who has recovered from physical cancer, but not from its fear; and spread out into the pain of Gaia.

The scene shifted to the sacred heart in the mountains, whence Eli came to us and where he returns. And I found the heart of Mother Earth there –radiating outward and inward to the cave within. I feel that the mountains came 'down' to us, that they resonated with the ones in our heart. From Mother EArth to the mother within us.
[From The Power of Light group]

Eli said  9:56 AM:

Meenakshi, you sensed Devi Sureshawari. Suradevi is the heavenly abode of DIVINE Mother.
Holding you tight in my arms for a HUG(e) HUG …

 

I feel blessed beyond measure.

~~~~~~~~~
Second, 9:09 MST in the Airwaves -on the first Gaia Minute call with Siona

Gaia Minute Meditation - 9/21/09 [audio recording]

I was in the phone-in call that Siona hosted at 9:09 MST- walking in the garden, seeing a native tree that the birds had planted around the jasmine, and that is shading out the non-native jasmine bushes. Its bright red flowers attracted a host of the proverbial birds, bees, butterflies and a dragonfly. The cat came and sat at my feet, placing a little white paw on my toe, and high overhead, in the blue skies dotted with white clouds, a hawk circled.

Speaking to other members of Gaia - Siona, Deb, Alluvja, Tracy, OM, Dawn…was a delight. There is the feeling of something that has started. A nucleus of all of us here on the call and around the call it did not matter; a fern unfurling, fibonacci sequence and now another one. The spiral-pattern numbers of which 9:09 is one.


We missed all who did not speak, in the call today, but sensed the strong presence of all.
[From the Gaia Networking group]


Bhatta said   10:55 PM:

We meditated during the phone-in call here in India alongwith you all. We also later meditated our 9:09.
I have downloaded the recording, it is wonderful to SEE everyone through our ears. The expressions of love, joy, feeling of ONENESS ….

WE ARE ONE

I can only say this :
“Above us only sky, all the people living for today, there's no countries….”
Thank you Siona for making a dream come true.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Third: 9:09 IST in etheric space with Eli, Bhatta, and others in India, Anna in South Africa, and others

A blue hummingbird came to light. As its colors deepened, it flew towards each of us, touching, flitting about. I felt an intense tingling of a chakra I hadn't known of --at the hairline, where head meets forehead.

The presence of each was palpable.


As I came to the front, there were a couple of peacocks on the left of the garden, and a couple of brown ibises on the right. Am I on earth or in heaven?  So I'm seeing the messages today from the  bees, butterflies, black vulture overhead, wheeling about, dragonflies, Whiskers placing his paw on my foot...will follow that in the Love of Animals group.


Later,  this came through for the One Light Many Windows group:
Basic Meditation Techniques - Expanding into Mother Earth

[About The Gaia Minute]

The connection to Gaia that I experience at the edge of waking.
I am waking up nowadays within a meditation.
We are standing in a circle, in the melting embrace of the Mother, looking at each other with a gaze of compassion, beaming healing light into her.
I am grateful for this immense blessing.

A moment in time is all it takes to bring a watcher, a spider and a dragonfly all in a web of connection.

The spider had spun her web between the house and a tree. It looked like concentric circles rather than the usual hexagonal shape, and I was photographing it. Suddenly, I saw a dragonfly swoop in, and get caught in the web. 

Its struggles alerted the spider who began to make its way towards the dragonfly. For me, the watcher, time stood still in a paralyzing moment of racing thoughts.
Shall I save the dragonfly? What if I hurt her while plucking her from the web? 
Am I meant to take sides? Who am I to interfere in this struggle for survival of two creatures?
What kind of person am I who even thinks this way rather than helping the victim?

And then the decision was taken from me. It never was mine to make. The dragonfly struggled free, the shutter finger clicked, and spider came back to center.


There are so many webs woven here.
The web of un-forgiveness that we are caught in, as we see struggle and pain daily and are unable to 'stop' it
The web of ignorance in not understanding the place of spider, dragonfly and watcher in the web of life
The web of pain that causes us to label victims, perpetrators, enablers, in situations which are perhaps to be dealt with in other ways.
The web of defensiveness in which we project our own feelings and understanding into what is happening
The web of wonder as the one who is watching, allows what is to be.

Hmm...in all this, I didn't really get the photos I was looking for. Of that perfectly circular web.
But I watched a spider, without hesitation, go for the kill, and without hesitation, come back from it, to its center.
And a dragonfly without ceasing, struggle, and when free, fly off.

And that is a lesson to be learned, from Grandmother Spider, brother Dragonfly and the amazing web of Gaia.
I asked a friend - What did you see about dragonflies today? I 'knew' she would have. At first, she said - Nothing really. And then - "Oh! I was looking at my old magazines, and came across one that was on dragonflies."

From Ted Andrews' Animal Speak:
"Dragonfly can help you to see through your illusions and thus allow your own light to shine forth....To some Native Americans, they represent the souls of the dead."
"Often the webs [of spider] will take a spiral shape, the traditional form of creativity and development. The spider found within the web reminds us that we are the center of our own world. The ancient mystery schools had one precept inscribed above their portals:'Know Thyself and Thou Shall Know the Universe'."

Time to meditate on the meaning of all this...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today, nion had a close encounter recorded in Dragonfly diaries
And Alluvja told us about HeartBeat's encounter How blessed and her own
dreamtime dragonfly