27356
From: Akira, [DNS_Address]
Subject: the ultimate substance of all things is consciousness
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Consciousness It is only by a change of consciousness, by actually changing your concept of yourself that you can “build more stately mansions” – the manifestations of higher and higher concepts. (By manifesting is meant experiencing the results of these concepts in your world.) It is of vital importance to understand clearly just what consciousness is. The reason lies in the fact that consciousness is the one and only reality, it is the first and only cause- substance of the phenomena of life. Nothing has existence for man save through the consciousness he has of it. Therefore, it is to consciousness you must turn, for it is the only foundation on which the phenomena of life can be explained. If we accept the idea of a first cause, it would follow that the evolution of that cause could never result in anything foreign to itself. That is, if the first cause-substance is light, all its evolutions, fruits and manifestations would remain light. The first cause-substance being consciousness, all its evolutions, fruits, and phenomena must remain consciousness. All that could be observed would be a higher or lower form or variation of the same thing. In other words, if your consciousness is the only reality, it must also be the only substance. Consequently, what appears to you as circumstances, conditions and even material objects are really only the products of your own consciousness. Nature, then, as a thing or a complex of things external to your mind, must be rejected. You and your environment cannot be regarded as existing separately. You and your world are one. Therefore, you must turn from the objective appearance of things to the subjective center of things, your consciousness, if you truly desire to know the cause of the phenomena of life, and how to use this knowledge to realize your fondest dreams. In the midst of the apparent contradictions, antagonisms, and contrasts of your life, there is only one principle at work, only your consciousness operating. Difference does not consist in variety of substance, but in variety of arrangement of the same cause-substance, your consciousness. The world moves with motiveless necessity. By this is meant that it has no motive of its own, but is under the necessity of manifesting your concept, the arrangement of your mind, and your mind is always arranged in the image of all you believe and consent to as true. The rich man, poor man, beggar man or thief are not different minds, but different arrangements of the same mind, in the same sense that a piece of steel, when magnetized, differs not in substance from its demagnetized state but in the arrangement and order of its molecules. A single electron revolving in a specified orbit constitutes the unit of magnetism. When a piece of steel or anything else is demagnetized, the revolving electrons have not stopped. Therefore, the magnetism has not gone out of existence. There is only a rearrangement of the particles, so that they produce no outside or perceptible effect. When particles are arranged at random, mixed up in all directions, the substance is said to be demagnetized; but when particles are marshalled in ranks so that a number of them face in one direction, the substance is a magnet. Magnetism is not generated; it is displayed. Health, wealth, beauty, and genius are not created; they are only manifested by the arrangement of your mind – that is, by your concept of yourself. The importance of this in your daily life should be immediately apparent. The basic nature of the primal cause is consciousness. Therefore, the ultimate substance of all things is consciousness. Neville Goddard The Power of Awareness |
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27380
From: ShakyD, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Are the Brain’s Electromagnetic Fields the Seat of Consciousness?
URL: http://nautil.us/blog/are-the-brains-electromagnetic-fields-the-seat-of-consciousness
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Some neuroscientists have long considered the brain’s oscillating electromagnetic fields to be interesting but merely “epiphenomenal” features of the brain—like a train whistle on a steam-powered locomotive. Christof Koch is a neuroscientist distinguished by his rock-solid scientific work and romantic yearning to understand consciousness. He recently closed an essay by wondering: “What is it about the brain, the most complex piece of active matter in the known universe, that turns its activity into the feeling of life itself?” No coincidence with that phrasing—The Feeling of Life Itself is his latest book. He argues that consciousness is produced by the brain but that it’s also more widespread in nature than we might suppose. His essay described new experimental work, from Stanford neuroscientist Kieran Fox and his colleagues, that explored the effects of electrically stimulating the brain, which revealed an ordering principle. That is, the more removed from sensory input or motor output structures a brain region is, the less likely it is that it contributes to our subjective experience. The “exacting data,” Koch wrote, “provides critical causal, not just observational, evidence to identify the neuronal correlates of consciousness.” Neuronal correlates of consciousness are the parts of the brain thought to be required for consciousness to occur. The idea that there are only neuronal correlates of consciousness, and that these correlates are the patterns of synaptic firing in specific parts of the brain, is what you might call the conventional view in neuroscience. If we peer deeply into the brain, in other words, what we’ll find is that electrochemical synapse firings—produced by neurons of various types—are responsible for, as Koch puts it, the feeling of life itself, consciousness. “It was a jaw-dropping moment, for us and for every scientist we told about this so far.” But what if there’s more to the story? What if the electromagnetic fields generated by, but which are not identical to, the neuroanatomy of the brain, are in fact the primary seat of consciousness? The brain’s fields are generated by various physiological processes in the brain, but primarily by trans-membrane currents moving through neurons. These fields are always oscillating and they come in various speeds, clustered around certain bands, from delta on the lower end at 1-2.5 cycles (oscillations) per second (Hertz) up to gamma at 40-120 cycles per second. Some neuroscientists have long considered the brain’s oscillating electromagnetic fields to be interesting but merely “epiphenomenal” features of the brain—like a train whistle on a steam-powered locomotive. Electromagnetic fields may just be noise that doesn’t affect the workings of the brain. Koch still seems to lean this way. “While at this early stage of the exploration of the brain it would be foolish to categorically rule out any physical process,” he told me, “as an electrophysiologist I’m less enthused about ascribing specific functions to specific frequency bands, let alone experience. The causal actors between neurons that act at the time scale relevant for consciousness (5-500 milliseconds) are action potentials that cause, in turn, synaptic release of packets of neurotransmitters.” He thinks the extent to which oscillations affect neuronal firing patterns remains an open question. “Consider the sounds the beating heart makes,” he said. “These can be picked up by a stethoscope and can be used to diagnose cardiac conditions. However, there is no evidence that the body exploits these sounds for any function.” I asked Wolfgang Klimesch, a professor at the University of Salzburg, what he thought about Koch’s view on electromagnetic fields. Klimesch developed the “binary hierarchy brain-body oscillation theory,” which says that consciousness is a function of various levels of resonance both within the brain and between the brain and various other organs, like the heart and stomach. “With respect to Christof’s view that they are too weak in order to play a role for higher brain functions, he is right if one looks at only one oscillation of the field,” he said. “The critical point is the interplay and sync between oscillations. Even if each oscillator is weak, sync between them can induce a strong and very selective force.” One of Koch’s collaborators, György Buszaki was fairly clear as far back as 2004 in terms of where he stood on this debate, highlighting various functions that the brain’s electromagnetic fields perform, including linking different areas of the brain together, facilitating synaptic changes, and creating and consolidating memory. So Buzsaki accepts that these fields have functional roles and are not like the sounds of a beating heart or a locomotive whistle. Pascal Fries, a well-known German neurophysiologist, also supports a functional role for the brain’s fields. In his work, he highlights the role of field synchronization across different parts of the brain in altering patterns of communication, and thus consciousness. He stresses that these dynamics exist over and above the “more rigid anatomical structure” of the brain. Perhaps the most compelling recent research in favor of the functional role of electromagnetic fields can be found in a 2019 paper from Dominique Durand’s team at Case Western Reserve University. They examined slow electromagnetic field oscillations (less than 1 Hertz) in hippocampus tissue from decapitated mice. The researchers found that slow oscillations could trigger synaptic activity in neurons that were not connected by synapses. If they’re not connected synaptically, they can’t communicate through synaptic firing. Durand’s team wrote, “Results support the hypothesis that endogenous electric fields, previously thought to be too small to trigger neural activity, play a significant role in the self-propagation of slow periodic activity in the hippocampus.” Durand was as surprised by their results as others were. He said, “It was a jaw-dropping moment, for us and for every scientist we told about this so far.” Koch is, however, skeptical of these results, given their statistical validity and effect size. He told me: “Of course, at this point, no neuronal mechanisms can be definitely ruled out (including exotic macroscopic quantum effects), as long as they don’t violate the laws of physics.” Like most new scientific findings that challenge consensus views, other teams will have to replicate Durand’s results for others to find them convincing. It’s far too early to claim that the brain’s electromagnetic fields are the primary seat of consciousness with much confidence. But philosophers and neuroscientists who have proposed electromagnetic field theories of consciousness, of which my own General Resonance Theory is one variety, are building up evidence. The interested reader should check out Douglas Fields’ new book, Electric Brain: How the New Science of Brainwaves Reads Minds, Tells Us How We Learn, and Helps Us Change for the Better, as an introduction to this line of work. It delves into this debate in great detail. “Brainwaves are key to consciousness,” he writes. “But the results thus far are correlations and don’t prove cause and effect.” No doubt advances in our understanding of the brain’s anatomy, and its fields, will help philosophers and scientists get a better handle on how to ask the right questions for probing the nature of consciousness in all of its many forms. |
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27357
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: the ultimate substance of all things is consciousness
| of course that leads to the next question...what is consciousness? what is thought? |
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27363
From: Akira, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: the ultimate substance of all things is consciousness
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…what is consciousness? what is thought? I think of consciousness as imagination. Maybe everything else is a product of imagination, including thought and physical reality. A thought is a seed which can grow in infinite ways, depending on how imagination directs it, and can be influenced by other thoughts called beliefs. Imagination creates and directs thought into form or energy or whatever, i.e. there would be no time without imagination. But where did imagination/consciousness come from? |
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27371
From: Thoth, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Akira: Imagination & Consciousness
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Hello Akira: In your first sentence you wrote: "I think of consciousness as imagination." Imagination is derived from the word "image" which involves a thought "form." When a person imagines something they conjure up forms in the way of thoughts. Consciousness is formless and thus is devoid of images and consequently not imagination. This is why serious meditators on their way to enlightenment strive for a state of "no mind" which is the total absence of thought and form. All imagination involves thought and all thoughts have form. AbSOULute consciousness is the total absence of thought and form. Although imagination springs from consciousness, it is not consciousness. In your final sentence you asked: "But where did imagination/consciousness come from?" Consciousness cannot be defined or explained. IT exists beyond space and time. IT is formless, infinite and eternal. You will never be able to wrap your finite mind around the infinite and thus you never will be able to adequately understand consciousness. None of us will. We humans, and especially us Westerners of the Greco-Roman tradition, love to categorize and label everything. That's why in our culture there are so many signs everywhere. Road signs, advertising signs, clothes labels, etc. Our science relies heavily on this categorizing and labeling, and that's one reason why western science has so much trouble believing in spiritual or metaphysical subjects-things that cannot easily be repeated, categorized or labeled in a laboratory environment. I love science and "labeled" myself a scientist decades before I considered myself a metaphysician. I was "labeled" in the upper 90th percentile in science on school aptitude tests and began my university training as a pre-med major. However, science is Latin for "to know." This is a state of not knowing that moves toward a state of knowing. Thus, science never really knows because it's always striving to know. It is a never-ending quest to understand the unknowable. Once science really knows, it ceases to be science. True KNOWing comes when ONE begins to realize that ONE never can really know. This state of surrender really is a state of victory. ONE must surrender to win. One must not know in order to know. A Divine paradox. Love & Light. From here to eternity, Thoth 11:11 >;< >;< >;< |
27372
From: Akira, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Imagination & Consciousness
URL: The Biocentric Universe Theory: Life Creates Time, Space, and the Cosmos Itself
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"Consciousness cannot be defined or explained". Probably - I'm referring to in a conceptual way, that is, the limited way our brains consolidate ideas. I was thinking of imagination in a more abstract way, more as a field of potentiality, not as a product of the mind. In this way I see imagination and consciousness as the same. I think of the mind as part of an individual’s consciousness and I’m not talking about the individual, but the collective, all there is consciousness/imagination. I'm fascinated with Robert Lanza’s theory of Biocentrism. His new book is coming out soon & I look forward to reading it. It promises to expand on the theory he discusses in his first book, which I highly recommend. I won’t go into it here, but I love his ideas and intuitively feel there might be some deep truth to it. Biocentrism How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe Stem-cell guru Robert Lanza presents a radical new view of the universe and everything in it. |
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27378
From: Thoth, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Akira: Re: Lanza's "How Life and Consciousness are Keys to Universe"
URL: Mario Lanza:
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Hello again Akira: Regarding: "Biocentrism "How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe "Stem-cell guru Robert Lanza presents a radical new view of the universe and everything in it." That sounds interesting. I have not read Lanza's new book but I definitely agree with the title saying "How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe." And since Lanza is a "Stem-cell guru," it's always ONEderful to hear about a scientist who has figured out that there is more to life and consciousness in the material world than our current Earthly scientific dogmas and instruments can identify and measure. It sounds like Lanza is on the path to enlightenment. India-born Guru Deepak Chopra would seem to agree, along with a scientist from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, where my aunt Anne Martin worked during the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Soyuz programs. "In 2016 a second book, 'Beyond Biocentrism: Rethinking Time, Space, Consciousness, and the Illusion of Death' was published. Lanza has since announced a third book continuing his scientific research into Biocentrism titled The Grand Biocentric Design: How Life Creates Reality.  "Lanza's biocentric hypothesis met with a mixed reception. Deepak Chopra called 'Lanza's insights into the nature of consciousness original and exciting' and stated that 'his theory of biocentrism is consistent with the most ancient wisdom traditions of the world which says that consciousness conceives, governs, and becomes a physical world. It is the ground of our Being in which both subjective and objective reality come into existence.' David Thompson, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center said that Lanza's 'work is a wake-up call.'" - Wikipedia Akira, Lanza's second book "Beyond Biocentrism: Rethinking Time, Space, Consciousness, and the Illusion of Death" synchronizes with some of the things that I mentioned in my earlier post regarding how consciousness is formless, infinite, eternal and exists beyond space and time. Robert Lanza's name also reminds me of one of my favorite operetta songs, that I used to sing long ago, by the late Mario Lanza, from "The Student Prince." The piece was titled "Drink, Drink, Drink." Perhaps stem-cell guru Robert Lanza, who is studying consciousness, also is a "Student Prince" of sorts? "Drink, Drink, Drink" from The Student Prince starring Mario Lanza Love & Light. From here to eternity, Thoth 11:11 >;< >;< >;< |
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27365
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: the ultimate substance of all things is consciousness
| imagination is not consciousness...it is sleep...consciousness is truth...unfortunately almost everyone lives in imagination almost all the time... |
27366
From: Akira, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: the ultimate substance of all things is consciousness
| I couldn't disagree more. |
27368
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: the ultimate substance of all things is consciousness
URL: https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Fourth-Way-by-Ouspensky.pdf
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not all imagination is "bad"...i should not be so flippant...we often have to imagine higher states and outcomes... but, in the work, imagination usually refers to something like this: "The second point is imagination, particularly negative imagination, for it is as bad as negative emotions By imagination I do not mean day-dreaming; I mean rather imagining things that do not exist either in oneself or in other people. Everybody must try to find this kind of imagination in himself and the particular things to which it relates... For most people it is necessary to begin with negative emotions. For some others it is necessary to begin with imagination, for they invent things and so never come to real things. And for yet others it is necessary to struggle with formatory thinking, for if they don't they will always remain in the same place... even instinctive emotions can lead to imagination. For instance, one may be afraid of snakes and, living in a country where there is only a snake and half, one may pass one's life in fear of snakes This is imagination... If you are in a bad state, identified, immersed in imagination, then everything just a little unpleasant will produce a violent emotion. It is a question of observation... Q. If you are trying to remember yourself, and you get some kind of result, can you be sure that it is not imagination? A. Again the same answer applies. There will be moments about which you will have no doubt, and there will be moments about which you will know that they are imagination. You cannot be sure about every moment, but about some moments you will be sure... Q. I feel my chief obstacle is imagination, chiefly about myself. Is there any special work against this? A. Imagination may be very different. If there are special ways, it is only possible to arrive at them through a detailed study. If you ask me in general, I can only answer—self-remembering. If you mean day-dreams, they are only half of our imaginings, and the most innocent half. Certainly they mean loss of time, but we waste time in so many ways that a little more or less does not make much difference. It is much more dangerous if you imagine certain qualities in yourself in other people, in humanity or in nature, and then come to believe in these imaginary ideas and put your faith in them. We are surrounded by these imaginary qualities, and it is with these that we must struggle. Q. In trying to resist imagination, should one find the cause of it? ~ A. No, stop it at once. There are always causes. Replace it by something else—some intentional thinking. Q. Why is it of no value to observe and study imagination as a means to self knowledge? A. You will very soon see that it does not give anything. Imagination always turns in the same circle. It is an uncontrolled mind activity, and by imagination we create many false values, keep to them and use them in our thinking. This is why imagination is dangerous. We do not verify things. We imagine things either because we like them, or sometimes because we dislike them and are afraid of them. We live in an imaginary world. Q. By escaping from reality? A. Not consciously escaping, but it happens like that. It is partly due. to mental laziness: for instance, it is easier to imagine a thing than to study it. Q. Wouldn't knowing that be an easy way of stopping it? A. No, you can know it and it will still go on. A special effort is necessary to stop it. We are so mechanical that we can know and still do the same thing,... Q. I find it difficult to realize that imagination enters into all our emotions. A. Every emotion based on identification is imagination. Identification is a sign of imagination. When you find an emotion without identification, you will find an emotion without imagination. Q. Is thought the only way to test imagination? A. No, not thought but attention, because imagination is one of the manifestations that go without attention. The moment you turn your attention to it, imagination stops. Q. Do you mean that one cannot observe imagination without stopping it? A. You cannot observe it for long. If you just notice it and turn away, it can go on, but if you keep attention on it, it stops. Attention acts like a light, and imagination is like a chemical process that can only go on in the dark and stops with light, Q. Does it not mean that when you notice it thought comes up? A. Thought brings attention. Attention is a different faculty, because even thought can go on without attention. But thought can work with attention, while imagination cannot. Some faculties can work only with attention and some others can work without attention. Q. What is the difference between ordinary thought and imagination? A. Intentional or unintentional; controllable or uncontrollable. Q. Imagination is one of the strongest things in man, yet it is the most useless. Why? A. It is a bad habit, a form of sleep, a weakness. It is easy, it does not need any effort. All the rest needs effort. Q. Is it possible to hope that we can get rid of imagination ultimately? A. We cannot speak about ultimately, it is too far. The first step is to know how much time is given to imagination; the next step is to give it a little less. Q. I cannot say whether something is imagination or not and I do not know how to begin to recognize it. A. Nobody can help you to begin, you must begin yourself. You must catch yourself in some kind of imagination—I do not mean exactly daydreaming. You must have some standard of imagination: then, when in doubt, you can compare. Imagination can take three forms; passive imagination, imagination expressing itself in talk, and imagination expressing itself in activity. There are lines and lines of our activity, each quite different from another. Some start with effort and go on with effort. Others maybe imagination. One may think it is effort when in reality it is imagination expressing itself in activity which cannot stop and needs no effort. Talking is the same: some people must talk, others must do something, but both are manifestations of the same thing. Q. I notice that imagining seems to take place in memory, going from one association to another. Is this a correct observation? A. No. Memory by itself is not responsible for anything. Memory is impartial; it supplies material for whatever you want. You may want it for serious thinking, imagination, expression of negative emotions and so on... On the Fourth Way, not all at once, one has to sacrifice allunnecessary things; wrong theories, talk, imaginary suffering. Imaginary suffering is the chief obstacle. Q, Then suffering does not exist? A. Only a certain amount is real. But we increase it by imagination. Real suffering exists, but it is limited by many things, by time for instance. But nothing can stop or l imit imaginary suffering. Real suffering, if it has a cause, may be necessary; it may give knowledge. Imaginary suffering takes away knowledge. Death of a friend, or grief of some kind is real suffering, but if you identify with it, it can produce negative emotion. And, after all, suffering occupies a very small part of our life, while negative emotions occupy the whole of it. Q. Is pain a negative emotion? A. Simply suffering pain is not a negative emotion, but when imagination and identification enter, it becomes a negative emotion. Emotional pain, like physical pain, is not a negative emotion by itself, but when you begin to make all kinds of embroidery on it, it becomes negative... Q. I find that I still cannot give up the idea of our being useful to some sort of conscious work which is going against the general madness. A. But this is imagination, because, first of all, we must be useful to ourselves. How can we be useful to some bigger kind of work if we cannot be useful to our own work? We must first learn to be useful to our own work, and then if there is a larger work, we may be useful to it. Besides, what does being useful mean? ... Q. According to some esoteric teachings the mind of a man is like a pool When it is calm he can see things clearly and listen to 'the voice of the silence' A. There are many dangers in that It is so easy to mix the real 'voice of the silence' with an imaginary voice, so easy to mix truth with imagination It may be the way for some people, but it is not the way for us We want to know more precisely how to evolve, so for us all such definitions are dangerous, for there is no instrument by which we can separate the imagination in them from reality That is what you must remember in this system—that you learn how to separate the imaginary from the real from the very beginning, when you learn to distinguish in yourself imagination from reality Then later, on higher levels of consciousness, you will be able to separate it in the objective world Many of these mystical ways only increase confusion Instead of bringing man nearer to truth, they lead him further from it." (ouspensky - the 4th way) |
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27373
From: Akira, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: the ultimate substance of all things is consciousness
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Sure, the human mind can do anything it wants with imagination. That’s the point of imagination, lol. As I said in another post, I was thinking of it as a field of potentiality from which all else springs- thoughts, beliefs, universes, trees, etc. Gurdjieff certainly appreciated imagination. Whether he meant it literally or metaphorically, this definitely took a bit of imagination: Everything living on the Earth, people, animals, plants, is food for the moon…. All movements, actions, and manifestations of people, animals, and plants depend upon the moon and are controlled by the moon…. The mechanical part of our life depends upon the moon, is subject to the moon. If we develop in ourselves consciousness and will, and subject our mechanical life and all our mechanical manifestations to them, we shall escape from the power of the moon. —G. I. Gurdjieff https://gurdjiefflegacy.wordpress.com/article/gurdjieff-the-moon-organic- life-rwersjeofjp9-11/ And for anyone to believe the concept, literally or metaphorically requires imagination, imo. You believe in Jesus, right? Doesn’t that belief require imagination? I think it re quires a shitload of imagination, and I'm not sure if that's a positive or negative use of imagination. |
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27367
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: the ultimate substance of all things is consciousness
| imagination at work...lol |
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27358
From: Thoth, [DNS_Address]
Subject: "Consciousness" cannot be put in a box or labeled
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"What is consciousness?" cannot be fully understood or adequately explained by a finite human mind or spirit entity because "consciousness" involves the infinite and eternal that cannot be fully fathomed by the finite and temporary. Even Master Eckhart Tolle, author of "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth," who Wikipedia ranks as the most popular spiritual teacher currently on planet Earth, has said that "consciousness" cannot be defined or explained. "Consciousness" exists beyond space and time. Bottom line: The indefinable cannot be defined. The abSOULute cannot be put in a box and labeled. Love & Light. From here to eternity, Thoth 11:11 >;< >;< >;< |
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27360
From: Chuckles, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: "Consciousness" cannot be put in a box or labeled
| . |
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27364
From: Akira, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: "Consciousness" cannot be put in a box or labeled
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The first time I heard this was like experiencing something long lost and familiar. I never get tired of it. |
27376
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: "Consciousness" cannot be put in a box or labeled
| thanks akira...very nice... |
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27379
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: "Consciousness" cannot be put in a box or labeled
| 40 bucks used...90 bucks new...wow! wanna burn me a copy? |
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27375
From: Chuckles, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: "Consciousness" cannot be put in a box or labeled
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Thanks Akira, listened to the video last night in bed and will listen to it often. |
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27370
From: Thoth, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Akira: I also enjoyed your "Call of the Valley" sitar - Thanks
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Hello Akira: Thanks for posting the link to "Call of the Valley" on YouTube. I really enjoyed this sitar music and recorded an MP3 from the YouTube video that I will burn to CD for playing in my car or elsewhere. I also agree with you that this music is "like experiencing something long lost and familiar." Hindu sitar and flute music in general seems to elicit that type of primordial response in me. Love & Light. From here to eternity, Thoth 11:11 >;< >;< >;< |
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27361
From: Thoth, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Thanks Chuckles! I love sitar music
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Hi Chuckles: What a ONEderful surprise and treat! Thanks so much! I love sitar music, especially how the drone strings lie beneath the other notes. I find the sound so mystical and heavenly. My cousin Robert Martin of Maryland used to play the sitar, among many other stringed intruments that he collected from around the world. I've always enjoyed Ravi Shankar and especially my CD "Sacred Chants of Shiva: From the Banks of the Ganges" by the Art of Living Singers, affiliated with The Art of Living Foundation founded by guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (not the famous sitar musician cited first). My favorite song is "Shivoham." In times past I used to light candles and incense on my personal altar and meditate to this piece dedicated to Shiva (The Preserver & The Destroyer), equivalent of the Christian Holy Spirit. The 3rd member of the Hindu Trinity (with Brahma and Vishnu) that syncs with the 3rd member of the Christian Trinity (with God the Father and Jesus).  And how can we forget the songs "Within You, Without You" and "Baby You're A Rich Man" by The Beatles where George Harrison did such a lovely job on the sitar. Ref: Shivoham-Sacred Chants of Shiva-Art of Living Singers-YouTube Sacred Chants of Shiva-Amazon.com Within You, Without You-The Beatles-YouTube Baby You're A Rich Man-The Beatles-YouTube Love & Light. From here to eternity, Thoth 11:11 >;< >;< >;< |
27362
From: Chuckles, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Thanks Chuckles! I love sitar music
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You are so welcome! The flute is played by my sweet friend Prasanna and was the only time ever being recorded. I'll listen to the links you provided tomorrow night, thank you! According to some well known artist's, Prasanna has done an incredible accomplishment with his his paintings that no others have done before, he has been able to bring forth from within, standing on the edge of the known and unknown peering out into that unknown, and painting it onto a blank canvas. His wish is to keep those paintings altogether so that those who wish to see them, can. Prasanna has told me that something happens to those who come to see those paintings, something so so wonderful happens. Tears flow from those as they peer into the unknown, for it is I, I AM, the beautiful tears that flow from within. This video in the link was taken from next door to my Mother's place some time ago, and I had the honor of visiting this sweet and wonderful person over the years. When looking into prasanna's eyes, it was as though I was looking into the All and All, never have I seen that in anyone before. I highly recommend a few of his books which can be found on amazon, Prasanna Sheth, they are wonderful writings. |
27369
From: Thoth, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Chuckles: Regarding artist Prasanna's 15 paintings of the ineffable
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Hey Chuckles: I enjoyed the interview with the artist Prasanna who I had never heard of until your post. I would love to experience these paintings both visually and consciously. I watched the entire YouTube interview and The ONE sentence that I especially enjoyed was: "I give some form to the formless." - Prasanna Living on the East Coast I don't know when I might be able to get back to the West Coast to visit Prasanna's home and see his 15 paintings of the ineffable. Hopefully some time and space. The last time I was in Sonoma, CA (where Prasanna lives) was 1997. However, following the unexpected break up of my 30-year marriage I spent all of January and half of February 2017 in Southern California between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. Among other things, Spirit prompted me to discover the Malibu Hindu Temple - one of the largest Hindu shrines in the Western Hemisphere. I knew nothing about the temple beforehand but it kept catching my eye when I drove from the Motel 6 in Thousand Oaks down to Malibu and points farther south. The Malibu Hindu Temple at 1600 Las Virgenes Canyon Road also got my attention because the address synchronized with my birth on 1-6-60 in Virginia and 1.6 Phi - the Golden Ratio at the heart of our physical universe. During numerous drives by the temple I never saw more than a handful of cars in the parking lot, but the day I finally was prompted to visit there were hundreds of cars. It was a Saturday, January 14, and I wondered, "What's going on?" Why so many people at the temple today?"  Upon arriving at the temple, I took off my shoes and socks like the Hindus, and just before entering a large group who had gathered on the front steps asked if I'd be willing to take their photo. I happily obliged and it turned out that it was a family and one couple was from the other side of the continent in Charlottesville, VA - just an hour west of my home in Richmond, VA. How Divinely synchronistic! WATO? (What Are The Odds?).  Then I found my way into the sacred innermost chamber of the Shiva Shrine. One of several shrines dedicated to different Hindu deities. For years I've felt a closeness to Lord Shiva, especially after a miraculous event happened to me on Feb. 28, 2007. I had ordered a beautiful bronze statuette of Shiva Nataraja to accompany statuettes of Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha on my personal altar atop my primary metaphysical bookshelf. The day the Shiva statuette finally arrived in the mail I placed it on my altar and seconds later heard the distinctive sound of an incoming email on my desktop computer located a few feet away. Normally I'd wait and check emails later at night but this time my intuition told me to check the email immediately. At this particular time in my life I was getting all kinds of emails from many different sources, including several daily emails from Beliefnet.com. The subject line of this particular email, "Beliefnet: Consciousness and Bliss," did not really grab my attention, but I was astounded when I opened the email and saw how it was a "Daily Hindu Wisdom" that synchronistically ended with "I am Shiva! I am Shiva!" The first time that I'd ever gotten an email from this website about Shiva. Oh my gosh! WATO?  Shiva Nataraja statuette on far left of my altar From: BeliefnetHinduWisdom@partner.beliefnet.com To: thothrises@aol.com Sent: 2/28/2007 12:53:41 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time Subj: Beliefnet: Consciousness and Bliss  This Divine synchronicity where I received an unusual email saying "I am Shiva! I am Shiva!" just seconds after placing a new Shiva statuette on my personal altar also reminded me of how Shiva is sort of the Hindu equivalent of the Holy Spirit of Christianity who is said to be omnipresent (everywhere all of the time). Such a Being would KNOW how to simultaneously sync a new statue at my house in Richmond, VA with an odd email from a website in Timbuktu. Anyhow, on Jan. 14, 2017 when I entered the Shiva shrine at the Malibu Hindu Temple there was a 30-something Indian devotee sitting in lotus position inside the holy of holies and I sat across from him while also assuming the lotus position. I meditated across from him for about 30 minutes as hords of Hindus entered and exited the shrine while paying their respects to Lord Shiva. I seemed to be the only non-Indian in the temple, execept for an African-American woman who appeared to be a street person with a back-pack, but she did not enter the Shiva Shrine as I did. Whenever she caught my eye, she always was laying kind of low. For all I know, this woman may have been an Angel in disguise or the most spiritually- evolved person at the temple that day?  Next, I sat on the floor in a large room near the Shiva altar that was bedecked with colorful fruits and flowers. The altar was attended by two Hindu priests. I then took part in wonderful singing and chants that lasted for about an hour. Males were on one side and females on the other. Hindus of all ages took part, from old folks to little children. I have been a singer all of my life and this was some of the most ONEderful vocal expression that I've ever taken part in. During my 20s I enjoyed singing in the choir at our baptist church, but I felt like this Hindu singing and chanting (including some people with thumb cymbals) where nobody seemed to be in-charge but everyONE shared in song selection and lead vocals, was abSOULutely ONEderful! Fantastic! A communal feast of the heart, soul and voice. Women also had brought casserole dishes filled with various Indian foods that they laid in front of the Shiva altar. At first I thought the tasty-smelling food might simply be an offering to Lord Shiva and/or the Hindu priests, but after the singing and chanting the women took up the food and placed it on portable tables in the back of the room. Then everyone inside the temple enjoyed a grand feast. I figured that non-Indians who were not members of the temple probably could not partake and that I'd only be able to enjoy the delectable aromas. I also was wondering if this kind of extravagant singing and culinary bounty was just a normal weekend for them? So I asked some folks and they informed me that this was a very special occasion, Makar Sankranti, the Hindu harvest festival connected to the winter solstice. They said it sort of is the Hindu equivalent of Thanksgiving in the United States. Wow! WATO? This family from the Los Angeles area then invited me to dine with them on the floor! So I got to eat some fabulous Indian cuisine while also enjoying the company of these gracious Hindus. I felt truly blessed and never will forget it. Thank you Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. P.S. I also visited Paramahansa Yogananda's Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisades where some of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes are located. On my second visit, Jan. 5, 2017, I was able to take part in yoga, meditation, prayers, Indian music and a banquet during the annual Yogananda memorial celebration that marks the late guru's birthday - which synchronistically was the five-year anniversary of my beloved mother's passing on Jan. 5, 2012. Again, I felt very blessed to be there at this special time. I did not plan it this way. It just happened.   Love & Light. From here to eternity, Thoth 11:11 >;< >;< >;< |
27374
From: Chuckles, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Chuckles: Regarding artist Prasanna's 15 paintings of the...
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Awesome you were able to come out west and visit those special places of peace. Hopefully you'll get to see Prasanna, he's pretty healthy and strong, but he is getting up there in age. I want to ask him again since I forgotten where his Jesus painting is being held and guarded back in Connecticut somewhere so I can see it in person. He never mentioned it in the two videos of him being interviewed. He showed me a photo of it and it like no Jesus painting I've ever seen. Taken him two years of deep meditation going deep within, and the moment came and he painted Jesus. |
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27377
From: Thoth, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Chuckles: How blessed you are to have seen a photo of Prasanna's Jesus
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Hey Chuckles: Wow! You are blessed to have seen Prasanna's paintings, and especially a photo of his Jesus painting that's "being held and guarded back in Connecticut somewhere...like no Jesus painting (you'd) ever seen. Taken him (Prasanna) two years of deep meditation going deep within, and the moment came and he painted Jesus." That's so cool! Interesting too how Prasanna's Jesus painting is being held on the East Coast when Prasanna's other paintings of the ineffable are at Prasanna's place on the West Coast. Truly fascinating! Side Note: For anyone who hasn't visited Paramahansa Yogananda's Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisades, CA, on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean just north of Los Angeles. Yogananda was born a Hindu in India but behind the altar at the Lake Shrine are paintings of mostly Hindu saints, but Jesus Christ is in the center next to Lord Krishna. I also learned that each year Yogananda's Lake Shrine hosts a children's Christmas Nativity celebration that honors Jesus Christ's birth. And since some of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes are located at the Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisades, CA, I also will note how Gandhi, born a Hindu in India, also was a great admirer of Jesus. Similar to how some of us Westerners are admirers of Lord Krishna. The spiritual energy is very similar. As I'm sure you know, many believe that Jesus and Krishna both are avatars of Vishnu. In essence, the male aspect of the AbSOULute that has no gender and is formless, existing beyond space and time. Love & Light. From here to eternity, Thoth 11:11 >;< >;< >;< |
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