Namaste

May we all be One, One family, One
NAMASTE

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The Great Invocation

The Great Invocation is known as the “Invocation for Power and Light” in the archives of the Masters. In these archives, it has a symbol beside it which indicates the era or period it can be used, the Tibetan tells us. “It is interesting to us,” he adds, “that the evolution of humanity is in line with the indicated timing.”
From the point of Light
Within the Mind of God,
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love
Within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Love increase on Earth.
From the Center
Where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide our wills
the purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the center which we call Humanity
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and Power
Restore the Plan on Earth.

7 Questions That Can Change the World ~ Debbie Robbins

For me, the singular question that lies underneath everything that is happening right now — from Occupy Wall Street to the brutal famine in Somalia — is: WHAT KIND OF WORLD DO WE WANT TO LIVE IN?

Those of you who know me well know I do not engage in the “right/wrong game.” Everyone is entitled to their answer. Personally, I am giving this question more thought than ever before in my life.

Here are some six additional questions I am posing to myself:

What is my definition of wealth?

Is a wealthy country just its Gross National Product?

Is a wealthy person only the balance in their bank account?

Is a wealthy company solely their financial profitability, revenue and stock price?

Are we really that “connected” now, that every choice I make does affect someone else’s chance for prosperity?

If that answer is yes, what more can I be doing with my life to add, rather than detract, from the well being of others?

One of my closest friends, HuffPost blogger and relationship expert Heide Banks just shared this brilliant commencement address with me, given by Paul Hawken in 2009. In case you missed it, like I did, I invite you to take the time, amidst the complexities of your life, to read it. Paul is a renowned environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist and author. He has some important answers to the above questions.

The unforgettable Commencement Address 2009, excerpted for this blog:

Class of 2009: You are going to have to figure out what it means to be a human being on earth at a time when every living system is declining, and the rate of decline is accelerating. Kind of a mind-boggling situation… but not one peer-reviewed paper published in the last thirty years can refute that statement. Basically, civilization needs a new operating system, you are the programmers, and we need it within a few decades.

This planet came with a set of instructions, but we seem to have misplaced them. Important rules like don’t poison the water, soil or air don’t let the earth get overcrowded, and don’t touch the thermostat have been broken. Buckminster Fuller said that spaceship earth was so ingeniously designed that no one has a clue that we are on one, flying through the universe at a million miles per hour, with no need for seatbelts, lots of room in coach, and really good food–but all that is changing.

There is invisible writing on the back of the diploma you will receive, and in case you didn’t bring lemon juice to decode it, I can tell you what it says: You are Brilliant, and the Earth is Hiring. The earth couldn’t afford to send recruiters or limos to your school. It sent you rain, sunsets, ripe cherries, night blooming jasmine, and that unbelievably cute person you are dating. Take the hint. And here’s the deal: Forget that this task of planet-saving is not possible in the time required. Don’t be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done.

When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand the data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse. What I see everywhere in the world are ordinary people willing to confront despair, power, and incalculable odds in order to restore some semblance of grace, justice, and beauty to this world…

You join a multitude of caring people. No one knows how many groups and organizations are working on the most salient issues of our day: climate change, poverty, deforestation, peace, water, hunger, conservation, human rights, and more. This is the largest movement the world has ever seen. Rather than control, it seeks connection. Rather than dominance, it strives to disperse concentrations of power…

There is a rabbinical teaching that says if the world is ending and the Messiah arrives, first plant a tree, and then see if the story is true. Inspiration is not garnered from the litanies of what may befall us; it resides in humanity’s willingness to restore, redress, reform, rebuild, recover, reimagine, and reconsider. “One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice,” is Mary Oliver’s description of moving away from the profane toward a deep sense of connectedness to the living world…

The living world is not “out there” somewhere, but in your heart. What do we know about life? In the words of biologist Janine Benyus, life creates the conditions that are conducive to life. I can think of no better motto for a future economy. We have tens of thousands of abandoned homes without people and tens of thousands of abandoned people without homes. We have failed bankers advising failed regulators on how to save failed assets. We are the only species on the planet without full employment. Brilliant. We have an economy that tells us that it is cheaper to destroy earth in real time rather than renew, restore, and sustain it. You can print money to bail out a bank but you can’t print life to bail out a planet.

At present we are stealing the future, selling it in the present, and calling it gross domestic product. We can just as easily have an economy that is based on healing the future instead of stealing it. We can either create assets for the future or take the assets of the future. One is called restoration and the other exploitation. And whenever we exploit the earth we exploit people and cause untold suffering. Working for the earth is not a way to get rich, it is a way to be rich.

The first living cell came into being nearly 40 million centuries ago, and its direct descendants are in all of our bloodstreams. Literally you are breathing molecules this very second that were inhaled by Moses, Mother Teresa, and Bono. We are vastly interconnected. Our fates are inseparable…

So I have two questions for you all: First, can you feel your body? Stop for a moment. Feel your body. One septillion activities going on simultaneously, and your body does this so well you are free to ignore it, and wonder instead when this speech will end. You can feel it. It is called life. This is who you are. Second question: who is in charge of your body? Who is managing those molecules? Hopefully not a political party.

Life is creating the conditions that are conducive to life inside you, just as in all of nature. Our innate nature is to create the conditions that are conducive to life. What I want you to imagine is that collectively humanity is evincing a deep innate wisdom in coming together to heal the wounds and insults of the past…

This extraordinary time when we are globally aware of each other and the multiple dangers that threaten civilization has never happened, not in a thousand years, not in ten thousand years…The most unrealistic person in the world is the cynic, not the dreamer. Hope only makes sense when it doesn’t make sense to be hopeful. This is your century. Take it and run as if your life depends on it.

The Power of Perspective ~ Dr.Terri Kennedy

What is your perspective? What type of lenses are you looking through? Do you generally see problems or possibilities?

With fluctuations in the economy, the backdrop of multiple wars and the tempestuous weather showing us evidence of global warming, change is clearly in the air. For many people the uncertainty of what will come can be quite stressful. However, as the Chinese saying goes: “Crisis is an incipient moment (when something begins or changes).” The outcome will depend on your perspective, which in turn will drive your choices.

As John Lobbock said: “What we see depends on what we look for.” In fact, this is true. Psychologists call it selective perception. Since there is so much stimuli coming at us we choose what we hear and see to suit our needs. Just as a photographer uses various lenses to show “reality” in different ways, we each have a set of filters — experience, culture, economic status, mental and physical health, etc. — through which we see the world. Therefore, if life constantly looks dismal to you, it could be your perspective.

Your viewpoint shapes your thoughts, decisions, actions — and ultimately, your feeling of success. For example, have you ever wondered why people in some of the poorest parts of the world seem happier than those in the wealthiest nations? It’s probably because they view life through the values-lenses of health and family versus wealth and fame. Of course, those choices are not mutually exclusive. However, if you lose the latter you can recover, if you lose the former you’re truly lost. Remember a time when your perspective changed dramatically, such as falling in love or a death in the family. In an instant, your orientation shifted. What you placed in focus was different. The world may have looked brighter, or dimmer. You may have been prompted to action. If you just welcomed the birth of your first child, for example, you may start thinking about the quality of the local school system or have the impetus to leave work earlier.

If you are experiencing a challenging time right now, think about how you can shift your perspective. If you’ve lost your job, maybe it’s an opportunity to go back to school or turn your hobby into a business. If you must reduce your spending, maybe it’s an opportunity to streamline your entire life and spend more time around the dinner table with your family. If you have received a diagnosis, perhaps it’s a reminder of the importance of healthy living. Taking an optimistic viewpoint of the chaos in our external world, maybe it’s time for all of us to go inside ourselves and reevaluate our core values. It may even usher us into a new spiritual paradigm where the currency is how many people we can inspire versus how many things we can acquire (see “The Power Living Manifesto”).

The Yoga Sutras teach us that the entire world is our own projection, and that things outside neither bind nor liberate us; only our attitudes toward them does that. For example, think about the belief that “life is hard.” If you operate from this assumption, everything you do will seem like a struggle. You look for challenges in every situation, potentially creating your own roadblocks. Instead, if you turn that around to “I am meant to succeed,” then you open your mind to new ideas. As my yoga lineage guru Sri Swami Satchidananda said, “There’s nothing wrong with the world. You can make it heaven or hell according to your approach.”

The ability to reframe a situation is an important skill that can transform your life and our world. Today, take time to clear your lenses so you can view life from a higher perspective.

Action steps:

Choose to take at least one action to make a difference in your life today. Here are some suggestions:

Be a neutral observer. When a situation occurs, don’t immediately judge it. Take a deep breath and take yourself out of it. Try to see it from multiple angles.

Take an optimist viewpoint. Look for the opportunity in a seemingly “bad” situation.

Deliberately test out a new perspective. Next time you are in a traffic jam, don’t fret about “wasted” time. Use it as a chance to meditate or do some isometric exercises.

Be grateful for what you have. Next time you think you have it bad, think about those who have it worse. Remember the Denis Waitely quote: “I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.”

Offer your services to someone who could benefit from your talents. This may change their perspective as well as your own.

Keep a “belief journal.” Write down your core values and beliefs. Determine which ones serve you and which ones don’t. Constantly review it and make adjustments.

Affirmation:

The second principle of Power Living is “Tune Your Mind to the Positive,” and one technique we use with clients is affirmation. Here’s one to help shift your perspective:

Today, I have an optimistic view on life. I look for the opportunity in every situation. I accept new ideas and viewpoints. I know that all is working for my highest good. I understand that the outside world is based on my thoughts and mental attitude. If I control my mind and frame of reference, I have controlled everything… in my control. Today, I have an optimistic view on life.

Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy – “Dr. Terri K.”

What do you get when you cross a Harvard MBA and a Doctor of Philosophy in World Religions with a Holistic Health Counselor?

Quite a bit of yin-yang! After almost dying from an ulcerated digestive system in her twenties, Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy realized that her Type-A workaholic tendencies might be good for the bottom-line, but not for her spirit or health. The process of rebuilding herself – mind, body, and spirit – unveiled her calling. A few years later, when she decided to leave her lucrative media career to become a social entrepreneur and health advocate, most people thought she had lost her mind. Instead, she found her Self. Now, her mission is to help people from all walks of life, live better lives.

She is President of Power Living Enterprises, Inc., a business & lifestyle consulting company which helps individuals, businesses and communities make purposeful choices that create long-term sustainability. She is also the Founder of Ta Yoga, which operates one of the first yoga studios in Harlem, and Chair of the Board of Yoga Alliance – the internationally-recognized non-profit organization that sets standards for yoga teaching in the United States. A leading expert on Health and Productivity Management, she was named National Ambassador for the American Heart Association in 2008 representing them in the media with a focus on their “Search Your Heart” campaign.

“Power Living is being spiritually connected, mentally focused, physically energized, emotionally engaged, and environmentally supported. It is a way of being that allows life to flow. It is committing your energy to what you care about on a day-to-day basis.”

The practice is guided by Five Principles, each of which represents the five dimensions, which are all inter-related:

1. Live on Purpose (spiritual)

2. Tune your Mind to the Positive (mental)

3. Honor Your Body (physical)

4. Be a Humble Warrior (emotional)

5. Sanctify your Surroundings (environmental)

The Power Living Pledge

I live on Purpose every day;

I look to my Creator to show me the way.

I choose thoughts that nurture my mind;

I eliminate views that are negative and unkind.

I honor my body as the temple of my soul;

I choose foods that are nourishing and whole.

I serve my Self, and others with Love;

showing gratitude to my Source above.

I seek order, simplicity and peace,

creating space for my blessings to increase.

I choose wisely in all I do, prioritizing

my energy to live authentically and true.

I pursue every task with conviction;

I view unconscious inaction as an affliction.

I am fully Present, living as if,

this is the last day for me to enjoy my Gift.

I take time to Pause and Play,

giving balance and joy no delay.

I live these power-filled principles every day;

I do my best to get out of the way!

Purposeful and Powerful, indeed! :-)

THE WAY OF THE BODHISATTVA: A Translation of the Bodhicharyavatara by Shantideva

Extract :
Foreword by The Dalai Lama

The Bodhicharyavatara was composed by the Indian scholar Shantideva, renowned in Tibet as one of the most reliable of teachers. Since it mainly focuses on the cultivation and enhancement of Bodhichitta, the work belongs to the Mahayana. At the same time, Shantideva’s philosophical stance as expounded particularly in the ninth chapter on wisdom, follows the Prasangika Madhyamika viewpoint of Chandrakirti.

The principal focus of Mahayana teachings is on cultivating a mind wishing to benefit other sentient beings. With an increase in our own sense of peace and happiness we will naturally be better able to contribute to the peace and happiness of others. Transforming the mind and cultivating a positive, altruistic and responsible attitude is beneficial right now. Whatever problems and difficulties we may have, we can thereby face them with courage, calmness and high spirits. Therefore, it is also the very root of happiness for many lives to come.

Based on my own little experience I can confidently say that the teachings and instructions of the Buddhadharma and particularly the Mahayana teachings continue to be relevant and useful today. If we sincerely put the gist of these teachings into practice, we need have no hesitation about their effectiveness. The benefits of developing qualities like love, compassion, generosity, and patience are not confined to the personal level alone; they extend to all sentient beings and even to the maintenance of harmony with the environment. It is not as if these teachings were useful at some time in the past but are no longer relevant in modern times. They remain pertinent today. This is why I encourage people to pay attention to such practices; it is not just so that the tradition may be preserved.

The Bodhicharyavatara has been widely acclaimed and respected for more than one thousand years. It is studied and praised by all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. I myself received transmission and explanation of this important, holy text from the late Kunu Lama, Tenzin Gyaltsen, who received it from a disciple of the great Dzogchen master, Dza Patrul Rinpoche. It has proved very useful and beneficial to my mind.

I am delighted that the Padmakara Translation Group has prepared a fresh English translation of the Bodhicharyavatara. They have tried to combine an accuracy of meaning with an ease of expression, which can only serve the text’s purpose well. I congratulate them and offer my prayers that their efforts may contribute to greater peace and happiness among all sentient beings.

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Treasured by Buddhists of all traditions, The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara) is a guide to cultivating the mind of enlightenment, and to generating the qualities of love, compassion, generosity, and patience. This text has been studied, practiced, and expounded upon in an unbroken tradition for centuries, first in India, and later in Tibet. Presented in the form of a personal meditation in verse, it outlines the path of the Bodhisattvas–those who renounce the peace of individual enlightenment and vow to work for the liberation of all beings, and to attain buddhahood for their sake.

This version, tranlated from the Tibetan, is a revision by the tranlators of the 1997 edition. Included are a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a new translators’ preface, a thorough introduction, a note on the translation, and three appendices of commentary by the Nyingma master Kunzang Pelden.

Bodhisattvas renounce nirvana and vow to work for the welfare of all beings. This pivotal work outlines the path that bodhisattvas should follow as they seek to teach others the path to nirvana. It contains moral instruction and meditation exercises for bodhisattvas to practice as they engage in their work. One of the great classics of Mahayana Buddhism, this text is beloved by Buddhists of all traditions.

“Shantideva’s work is required reading for an understanding of Tibetan Buddhism, and the clarity and crispness of this new translation makes it an accessible way into this world.”–Publishers Weekly

AVATAR: THE EPIC HERO: Spiritual Teachings of the Avatar

Video Produced by www.PeteMcCormack.com
In Spiritual Teachings of the Avatar Jeffrey Armstrong speaks to anyone concerned with the sustainability of Mother Earth, the role of elders in our society, the seemingly unconsciousness of science and corporations, and the subtleties of unseen realities, resulting in spiritual growth, a deeper relationship with nature, and a better world for all.

AVATAR: The Earth is Intelligent:

Imagine a world filled with souls who live in the service of all beings, inspired by the loving example of the great Avatars.
From the New book ….”Spiritual Teachings of the AVATAR – Ancient Wisdom for a New World”. Beyond Words Publishers. Available on Amazon.com worldwide! Interview with Jeffrey Armstrong. Produced by Pete McCormack.

AVATAR: Seeing the Soul in Everyone 3.mov

The word Avatar has been thrust into the global consciousness, raising the question what exactly does Avatar mean? To many, an avatar is what you call the digital representation of your physical self for video or computer games, but that meaning has only existed for the last two decades. Avatar as Armstrong describes it, has been in use for over 5,000 years by one of the most ancient cultures—India.

In Spiritual Teachings of the Avatar author Jeffrey Armstrong shares the hidden messages of the historical Avatars, which offer insights we can use today to sustain our planet and elevate our spiritual growth. Armstrong explains the ancient Indian wisdoms embodied in the word Avatar. These divine beings view the sacredness of all life and the soul of all beings as eternal—meant for freedom and made of divine essence.
Armstrong has studied Vedic knowledge for over forty years and has explored the depths of many of the greatest teachings of India. He is a westerner who has been selected by Hindu leaders throughout the world to act as a spokesperson for Hindu Dharma and culture.

How to Be Harmonious in a Changing World ~ Sandra Ingerman, M.A.

As we continue to experience change to the Earth due to climate changes, it is important for us to shift our perspective about what is happening. We are also witnessing deterioration on political and economic levels.

Today many people talk about the change in consciousness and evolution that humans are going through. And at the same time all of life — all species and the Earth herself are going through a change.

The landscape of the earth is evolving and changing as it has done throughout time. Land masses have changed over time and will continue to do so.

The destruction that we experience is hard on the people and animals who suffer loss of home and lives.

And at the same time we must recognize that the Earth is evolving and changing into new landscapes just like human consciousness is evolving into a new landscape.

One way we can work is to look at how we can work on a physical, mental and spiritual level — body, mind and spirit.

Body:

We have a body and the Earth is a body. And the Earth with all the elements air, water and the sun support our life here on this planet. All of life is part of nature. And to live a healthy life we must live in harmony with nature.

Everything that exists goes through constant change and dies. And death is not an end — it is a transition. We must learn how to honor life, as it is so precious, and at the same time learn how to let go. There is always new birth that comes with all change and transition.

We are also being asked to learn to work in partnership in our local communities. There are now many different projects to create community gardens. This is a wonderful example of how we can come together to work in partnership to create the food needed for all where we live. Local communities are also joining together to help rebuild after destructive events occur. And there is also some wonderful work being done in communities to help the youth create a vision of a positive future for themselves and the world. These are just some of the examples.

Mind:

We need to be aware of what energies we are feeding with our thoughts. Indigenous cultures teach that thoughts are things.

Are we directing our thoughts towards what we desire to create in the world? Or are we directing our thoughts towards sabotaging our dreams? I think the phrase that we use “train of thought” is such a powerful key to our work. For a train ends up at a station. We must be more conscious about where our train of thought is leading us. We must start to replace sabotaging and defeatist thoughts with thoughts that will help to lead us towards the dream of the world we wish to live in.

As with any garden we must begin to look at what plants have strong roots that are overtaking our garden. If we have seeded our garden with thoughts of defeat then we must go to the core of the garden and do some weeding. For what you plant and nurture will grow.

If you think of your thoughts as seeds what thoughts do you nurture throughout the day? Those are the thoughts that will grow into healthy plants.

Our thoughts are made up of words. And words have power.

Reflect on what you create throughout the day with your words. Reflect on your thought process throughout the day and you will get real insights into the life and world you are creating.

Our thoughts and words make up our daydreams. Shamans around the world have been saying we are dreaming the wrong dream.

We dream new dreams with our imaginations. Where is your imagination focusing? Are you using your imagination to focus on what is not working? Or are you imagining with all your senses the dream you would like to see manifest for all of life?

Our future is created by what we are doing in the present. It is time for us to examine and be aware of what is growing in our inner landscape and bursting forth into the world.

Spirit:

When you go beyond the body and mind, you find that you are spirit. This aspect of spirit is divine and is a reflection of the creator.

Our spiritual nature is light which radiates from us and naturally transforms and heals. This spiritual light also creates unlimited possibilities of what can happen versus the limitations our minds put on things.

The sun shines light that is absorbed by all of life. The sun does not decide that since things are going “badly” in the world it won’t shine today. The sun shines each day.

We must make a choice to shine our light and allow that light to radiate no matter what is going on in the outer world. We can’t go back and forth deciding one day to feed the light and then one day to feed fear and anger. This going back and forth detracts from the focus and concentration of spiritual energies needed right now to create true change.

Let go of judging your work by what is happening in the outer world. Let go of the outcome. Your role right now is to do the work you are called to do and the universe will provide a pathway for the outcome to be achieved.

Think of a camera. If you keep moving the camera back and forth between your feeding a dream of hope and creating a healthy and abundant world and feeding a dream of anger, fear, and hopelessness you will never be able to produce a picture. To get a clear picture you have to keep your focus and keep the camera still.

Sandra Ingerman, M.A., is the author of eight books, including Soul Retrieval; Medicine for the Earth; Shamanic Journeying: A Beginner’s Guide; How to Heal Toxic Thoughts; How to Thrive in Changing Times; and Awakening to the Spirit World: The Shamanic Path of Direct Revelation.

Sandra teaches workshops internationally on shamanic journeying, healing, and reversing environmental pollution using spiritual methods. Sandra is a licensed marriage and family therapist, a professional mental health counselor, and a board-certified expert on traumatic stress. To order Sandra’s books and to read her blog, visit her on Red Room or at sandraingerman.com.

The author talks about her book, “Medicine for the Earth: How to Transform Personal and Environmental Toxins,” in this 2-minute copyright-free video.

Who Was Confucius and Why Does it Matter ? ~ Rodney L. Taylor, Ph.D

Confucius was born in the 6th Century B.C.E. in the small state of Lu, located in the present Shantung peninsula. He lived during the Chou Dynasty at a point when the central authority of the dynasty was being challenged by the growth of increasingly powerful states attempting to challenge the power of the central government. Confucius himself was a member of what was referred to as the ju, a class of people primarily occupied with the study of writing from the earliest generations of the Chou period, the writings that become known as the ching or Classics, numbering five or six, but accruing additional numbers with the passage of time. So Confucius was essentially a scholar of his time.

Confucius can be understood in his historic context. That context is the slow disintegration of the stability and order of the political order of his day. His focus is upon a series of writings that described the harmonious ways of the generations before him and even further in the past, a time when sages, sheng, brought their wisdom to the governing of the world. For Confucius the Classics were the documentation that when sages governed, the world was ordered. This concept of order was defined largely in terms of a moral code of humaneness, the concept of jen, goodness, exercised by the sage rulers toward their subjects and in turn became the governing principle for all people in society.

The contrast between what Confucius read of the records of the ancients and his own age was stark. As a result Confucius sought to bring the ways of the ancients to his own generation. For many years he traveled from state to state, often at great personal risk, to attempt to inculcate the teachings of moral goodness to the rulers of the various states

In this endeavor he was a remarkable failure! No ruler was interested in a teaching of moral goodness. Is it any different today? What a surprise, such rulers were only interested in strategies to guarantee their own sustaining power and authority! Finally with no measurable success, Confucius retired to his home state and gathered increasing numbers of students around him, teaching the moral principles of the ancient sages. The formal biography ends with his role as a teacher, but his influence began with his role as a teacher.

And what was the nature of these teachings? He stressed the need to learn, hsüeh, to engage in study of the Classics and the ways of the ancient sages. His hope was that through these teachings the world would be brought back to a state of harmony and order and all society would live at peace. What were the underlying features of these teaching? The focus was upon the cultivation of a moral self, self defined in terms goodness, caring, compassion, altruism and benevolence. There are many specific teachings corresponding to these various ideas but when Confucius was asked by his disciples whether there was not one principle idea running through his teaching, he answered by saying that the “single thread” of his teachings could best be described by the term shu, most frequently translated as reciprocity.

The term reciprocity is central to Confucian teachings. The Chinese character is composed of two parts: one part means “to be like,” the second part means “heart” or “mind.” Taken together the character means literally “like-hearted” or “like-minded,” suggesting one shows care to another. It could be expressed by our word sympathy, but sympathy suggests condescension of attitude and that is not implied. Our word empathy, however, strikes at the quintessential meaning. So reciprocity is empathy. But Confucius himself goes on to define the term in a sentence sounding remarkably familiar to our Western ears: “Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.” Confucian teaching is articulated in no more basic moral axiom then this statement and it remains foundational throughout the history of the Confucian tradition.

Why does it matter who Confucius was? To answer this question we need to understand that in the centuries following Confucus’ death, his teaching rose to a position of greater and greater prominence in two spheres. Confucian teachings became the official ideology of the Chinese state, a position it held with virtually no break until into the 20th century. On the individual level, Confucian teachings became the central focus of individual learning and moral cultivation, the goal to become a moral person modeled upon the sages of antiquity.

And this aspect of Confucian teachings lasted not only into the 20th century but to our own day and presumably into the future. Historically we also witness the spread of Confucian teaching at both levels from China to both Korea and Japan and into South East Asia as well. The entire East Asian and South East Asia spheres have been dominated by Confucian values through out their history. To understand the thought and values of East and South East Asia, particularly in our own day, we simply must understand the teachings of this man Confucius.

But it goes further: to understand why Confucian teachings addressed not only the ideology of the state, but found their true focus upon the learning of the self to create a moral self, we must understand this man Confucius. Why? Is it important to create a moral self in a world not unlike the chaos of the world Confucius himself faced? Are we so very different? Have we travelled so very far from that fundamental necessity of finding the single thread of reciprocity and living by its virtue? Perhaps we all need to return to the simple teachings of Confucius to reacquaint ourselves with the simplest principles of living as a moral person and thereby creating a moral world. The message of Confucius is nothing more than the call to each person to fulfill his or her capacity of goodness, jen, and thereby, one by one, transform the world from what it is, to what can be and ought to be.

Dr. Rodney L. Taylor, Professor of Religious Studies at University of Colorado at Boulder for more than 30 years, received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in East Asian religion. His principle area of specialization is the understanding of Confucianism as a religious tradition both historically and in the modern world where Confucianism can be a voice in the contemporary discussion of religion and spirituality.

His books include: The Religious Dimensions of Confucianism; The Way of Heaven; The Confucian Way of Contemplation; The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism; Confucianism (high school text); The Cultivation of Sagehood as a Religious Goal in Neo-Confucianism; They Shall Not Hurt: Human Suffering and Human Caring (with Dr. Jean Watson); The Holy Book in Comparative Perspective (with Dr. Frederick Denny) and his most recent volume, Confucius, the Analects: The Path of the Sage from Skylight Paths.

Twenty-six centuries after their origination, the principles laid down in the Analects of Confucius still act as the foundation of Chinese philosophy, ethics, society and government, and play a formative role in the development of many Eastern philosophies. In this intriguing look at the ethical and spiritual meaning of the Analects, Rodney L. Taylor, the foremost American researcher of Confucius as a religious and spiritual figure, explains their profound and universal wisdom for our own time. He shows how Confucius advocates learning and self-cultivation to follow the “path of the sage” or “Way of Heaven,” a journey that promises to promote reason, peace and understanding.

Alongside an updated version of the classic translation by Sinologist James Legge, Taylor provides informative and accessible commentary that illuminates the meaning behind selected passages from the Analects and their insights on character development, respect and reverence, and the nature of learning, goodness, truthfulness and righteousness.

The Real Challenge of Our Times: The Need for a New Worldview ~ Anne Baring

Neither do men put new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles and both are preserved. Matt. 9:17

To reclaim the sacred nature of the cosmos – and of planet Earth in particular – is one of the outstanding spiritual challenges of our time. Diarmuid O’Murchu, Quantum Theology

The threat of global warming, the urgent need to free ourselves from dependency on oil and the current financial crisis could be the triple catalyst that offers us the opportunity of bringing about a profound shift in our values, relinquishing an old story and defining a new one. Our lives and well-being depend upon the fertility and resources of the Earth, yet in relation to the Earth, it would seem that we have been autistic for centuries. Now, instead of treating our planetary home as the endless supplier of all our needs, without consideration for Her needs, we could rethink beliefs and attitudes which have influenced our behaviour for millennia.

Because of those beliefs we have come to look upon nature as something separate from ourselves, something we could master, control and manipulate to obtain specific benefits for our species alone because ours, we were taught, has been given dominion over all others and over the Earth itself. It has come as a bit of a shock to realise that our lives are intimately bound up with the fragile organism of planetary life and the inter-dependence of all species. If we destroy our habitat, whether inadvertently or deliberately by continuing on our present path, we may risk destroying ourselves. We have developed a formidable intellect, a formidable science, a formidable technology but all rest on the premise of our alienation from and mastery of nature, where nature was treated as object with ourselves as controlling subject.

Yet now, the foundation that seemed so secure is disintegrating: old structures and beliefs are breaking down. It is as if mortal danger is forcing us to take a great leap in our evolution that we might never have made were we not driven by the extremity of circumstance. Many people are defining a new kind of relationship with the Earth, based not on dominance but on respect, responsibility and conscious service. Because our capacity for destruction, both military and ecological, is so much greater today than it was even fifty years ago, and will be still greater tomorrow, we have only decades in which to change our thinking and respond to the challenge of this evolutionary leap.

There is a second problematic legacy from the past: the image of God shared by the three Abrahamic religions. This has presented God as a transcendent creator, separate and distinct from the created order and from ourselves. Western civilisation, despite its phenomenal achievements, developed on the foundation of this fundamental split between spirit and nature—between creator and creation. Only now are we brought face to face with the disastrous effects of this split.

Once again, as in the early centuries of the Christian era, it seems as if new bottles are needed to hold the wine of a new revelation, a new understanding of reality which could heal this split. But how do we create the vessel which can assimilate the wine of a new vision of reality and a different image of God or Spirit? How do we relinquish the dogmatic beliefs and certainties which have, over the millennia of the patriarchal era, caused indescribable and quite unnecessary suffering and the sacrifice of so many millions of lives?

I cannot answer these questions. But I do know that as the new understanding, the new wine comes into being, we have to hold the balance and the tension between the old and the new without destroying the old or rejecting the new. It must have been like this two thousand years ago when the disciples of Jesus tried to assimilate what he was telling them, something so utterly different from the belief-system and the brutal values which governed the world of their time.

Even today, the revolutionary teachings and the different values he taught have barely touched the consciousness that governs the world of our time, however much political and religious leaders proclaim allegiance to them. What would Jesus have thought of WMD, depleted uranium and cluster bombs, and the massacre of helpless civilians in war, let alone the destruction of vast swathes of the Earth’s forests to supply crops for biofuels? What would he have thought of the fact that colossal sums of money are spent on the military when 17,000 children die every day from hunger and disease?.

The need for a more conscious relationship with both nature and spirit, bringing them closer together, is intrinsic to the creativity of the life-impulse itself—urging us to go beyond the boundaries of the known, to break through the concepts and beliefs, whether religious, scientific or economic, which currently govern our culture and constrict the expansion of our understanding and our compassion.

What is the emerging vision of our time which could offer a template for a new civilization? I believe it is a vision which takes us beyond an outdated paradigm or worldview where we are held in bondage to beliefs and habits specific to race, nation, religion or gender, which have led us to exclude and devalue those who are different from ourselves and neglect our relationship with the Earth, our planetary home. It is a vision which offers us a totally new concept of spirit as an energy field — a limitless sea of being — as well as the creative consciousness or organising intelligence active within that sea or field, and a totally new concept of ourselves as belonging to and participating in that incandescent ground or sea of consciousness.

It is a vision which recognises the sacredness and indissoluble unity of the great cosmic web of life and imposes on us the responsibility of becoming far more sensitive to the effects of our decisions and our actions. It invites our recognition of the needs of the planet and the life it sustains as primary, with ourselves as the humble servants of those needs.

It invites us, as Einstein asked us to do, to widen our circle of compassion, to look upon every child as our child, every woman as our daughter or our mother, every man as our father or our son, every creature as our responsibility. Above all, it is a vision which asks that we relinquish our addiction to weapons and war and the pursuit of power; that we become more aware of the dark shadow cast by this addiction which threatens us with ever more barbarism, bloodshed and suffering—ultimately with the possible extinction of our species.

From this perspective, the crisis of our times is not only an ecological and political crisis but a spiritual one. The answers we seek cannot come from the limited consciousness which now rules the world but could grow from a deeper understanding born of the union of heart and head, helping us to see that all life is one, that each one of us participates in the life of a cosmic entity of immeasurable dimensions.

The urgent need for this psychic balance, this deeper intelligence and insight, this wholeness, could help us to recover a perspective on life that has been increasingly lost until we have come to live without it — and without even noticing it has gone — recognising the existence of nothing beyond the parameters of the human mind. It is a dangerous time because it involves transforming entrenched belief systems and archaic survival habits of behaviour that are rooted in fear, as well as the greed and desire for power that are born of fear. But it is also an immense opportunity for evolutionary advance, if only we can understand what is happening and why.

For a rapidly increasing number of us, there is the possibility of choosing whether to follow in the tracks of the past, continuing to live our lives in servitude to the power principle and the institutions which embody it, however subtly expressed. Or to live and act from a different relationship with life and commit ourselves to the immense effort of consciousness we need to make to understand and serve its mystery.

Surely, after so many billion years of cosmic evolution, it is simply unacceptable that the beauty and marvel of the earth should be ravaged by us through the destructive power of our weapons, our insatiable greed and the misapplication of our science and technology. It is inconceivable that our extraordinary species, which has taken so many million years to evolve, should destroy itself and lay waste to the Earth through ignorance of the divinity in which we dwell and which dwells in us.

Autobiographical Notes

I travelled widely in India and the Far East during the 1950′s before training and practising as a Jungian analyst. I am a member of the Scientific and Medical Network and, until my retirement from private practice in 2000, I was a member of the Association of Jungian Analysts, London and the International Association for Analytical Psychology. I have lectured for several years in both the United Kingdom and the United States and have recently given a seminar course called The Sleeping Beauty, the Prince and the Dragon – an Exploration of the Soul, which drew together my interest in psychology, mythology, ecology, fairy tales and alchemy (see Seminars). I am currently working on a new book which integrates these different aspects of our quest to understand ourselves and our relationship to the universe. (For an amplification of these notes, please see in particular lectures 4 and 8, and seminar 1).

—–I have always been fascinated by the power of individuals to shape and influence history. Why do people feel, think and act the way they do? What is the anatomy of human creativity and human destructiveness – the root of the invisible influences, both individual and collective, which can both create and destroy civilization? Since I was deeply affected as a child by the Second World War, I wanted to understand the causes – religious, political and psychological – which could drive human beings to the depths of depravity and the heights of altruism and self-sacrifice. How are we conditioned by beliefs and habits of behaviour to respond to events in the way we do?

—–After I left Oxford University, I took off in 1956 for India and the Far East, having found a job in Italy that commissioned me to purchase photographs of the finest works of art from all the museums in Asia (except China, which was out of bounds at the time) for inclusion in an Italian Encyclopaedia of Art. Attracted to religion, I studied Hinduism and Buddhism as I travelled in search of the required photographs. At the same time, I was asking myself those perennial questions of the soul: Who am I? What is life? Why am I here on this planet? These two journeys to the East changed the course of my life because they put me in touch with the sacred literature and art of ancient and extraordinary cultures which had posed and responded to those questions. Only after studying these in depth did I begin to understand Christianity. My first book, The One Work: A Journey Towards the Self, describes these journeys to the East and what I learned from them about the essential message of all religious traditions.

—–After finishing the book, I turned in a totally new direction, becoming a dress designer and manufacturer with my own shop in London. Inspired by the beautiful materials I had discovered in India, I took immense delight in designing evening dresses. This phase lasted for twelve years. Then, issues in my personal life, in particular, severe depression, led me into analysis with a Jungian therapist and, eventually, to train and practise as an analyst myself. This experience deepened my understanding of the causes of human suffering and at the same time brought together a longing to write, a passionate interest in history and a new interest in mythology, religion and psychology.

—–During the 1980′s I embarked on writing The Myth of the Goddess; Evolution of an Image with Jules Cashford, a friend and fellow analyst who had specialised at university in philosophy and English literature. The book took us ten years to write. What interested us most was the influence of the sacred image on Western civilisation and the need to integrate the masculine and feminine principles. The quest to explore this theme led us back to the Neolithic and Palaeolithic eras and the origins of the sacred image, tracing its development through the Bronze Age and beyond. We wanted to know why and how the image of deity changed from being feminine to masculine (Great Mother to Great Father) at a specific historical time (c.2000 B.C.) and how this change came to polarise spirit and nature, mind and soul, in human consciousness. We discovered that the polarisation originating so long ago has deeply influenced Judeo-Christian civilisation and the paradigm of reality which presently governs our culture, leading ultimately to the ecological and spiritual crisis we now face.

—- My concern over this crisis and, in particular, over the carnage in Bosnia, led me to write a book for children – The Birds Who Flew Beyond Time – which was illustrated by a close friend, Thetis Blacker.

—–A later friendship and collaboration with the author and mystic Andrew Harvey, led to the publication of two more books, The Mystic Vision and The Divine Feminine.

—–Since 1960, I have been married to the artist, Robin Baring. I will show some of his pictures on this web-site, because, although I have never intruded on his painting with my ideas, somehow it seems that he has been painting the images that reflect what I have been writing about. Word and image have become intertwined in our life together.

Spiritual Networking

Spiritual Networking is a cutting edge concept that transcends the usual networking notion. Spiritual Networking in itself embraces many aspects and manifestations that pertain to human connections. It is a Holistic and Organic approach, and a way to use a new outlook to translate connections.

Being part of a growing multifaceted community can enrich our lives, and at the same time create a myriad of new possibilities for interactions, relationships and connections. As we organize into a normal social network, Humanity Healing is setting the standard, providing the backdrop of Global Service, Ethical Standards, and Professional Excellency.

Humanity Healing’s concept of Spiritual Networking can be condensed down to this single concept: to make this world a better place by gathering as many willing hearts as possible, be they individuals or organizations, and assisting with synchronization so that together we can send our actions and intentions out through the connection of our shared Humanity.

The Ripple Effect concept has been a labor of love for Humanity Healing.

The pebble has been dropped. The ripple is spreading. Will you be a part of the wave?

Community Network:
www.humanityhealing.ning.com