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“Meditation brings wisdom; lack of mediation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what hold you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.”

~~~ Buddha

Life is beginning to settle down around here. It shouldn’t be too much longer before we’ll be back on our usual twice a week posting schedule again.

Before I get into today’s article about meditation, I do want to remind you about the super special for this month only (May, 2007) at the Spiritual Cinema Circle. The feature film is “Illusion” starring Kirk Douglas. If you sign up for your membership this month (May, 2007), you’ll get “Illusion” starring Kirk Douglas plus 3 terrific short films. You’ll also get, as a free BONUS, the “Soulmate Collection” featuring 6 heartwarming short films about true love. You’ll get all 10 films and all you have to do is cover the cost of the shipping ($6.95 domestic, $9.95 International). Now that’s a deal — but it’s only for this month. Here’s where to get yours: Spiritual Cinema Circle – Just Click Here! Or, the banner over on the left will take you to the same place. Either way — just do it today. The month is almost over!

As many of you know, I believe in meditation as part of my daily life. I practice mine for an hour every day. There are some days where I will meditate more than once. I don’t do this every time, but most of the time I use incense sticks while I meditate.

When I light the incense stick and focus on it, I find that I’m moving into a wonderful, mystical space that is both physical and spiritual at the same time. When you stop to think about it, an incense stick has many similarities to us. Like us, the incense stick is earthbound with an ember that burns for only a finite time, but the diaphanous spirit it releases is unbound by time or space. Rather than shutting down our senses to focus on an inner realm, incense involves our senses as we follow whirling smoke upward and outward while we take its scent into us, filling us as we breathe.

“What’s encouraging about meditation is that even if we shut down, we can no longer shut down in ignorance. We see very clearly that we’re closing off. That in itself begins to illuminate the darkness of ignorance.”

~~~ Pema Chodron

I think of meditation as a journey. It’s similar in some ways to the journey of the incense stick. The journey starts with a flame, and then a glowing ember releases smoke to rise above us in an ethereal dance. Ashes fall below, purified by the fire. As Pema Chodron points out in the quote above, we can use this to imagine the ashes as the negative thoughts of ignorance being changed from darkness into the beauty of warm enlightenment and a beautifully scented spun-silver plume, lighter than air. We can watch as our atmosphere is altered to become reminiscent of the heavens and lifts our thoughts: Embers become shooting stars, and the silver ribbon of smoke becomes unraveled clouds. Altered senses may guide our inspired thoughts to travel along new, perhaps undiscovered, pathways.

It starts to become possible to imagine our own self being represented by the incense stick. Our inner fire is releasing out into the world. We are expanding to mingle with the breath of all other beings as we come to realize that we’re part of everything. We can also see in the swirling smoke our life’s path, not a straight line but a twirling, meandering ballet that moves us ever onward and upward. We may leave a bit of ourselves behind as we bounce off of our surroundings, working through them, but no matter what we do, we cannot avoid our final destination: oneness with all that is.

Remember, we are spiritual beings enjoying a physical experience on this planet. This way of relating the incense stick to ourselves can help us to remember the beauty and wonder of our existence. Everything — heaven and earth — the physical and the spiritual parts of us — all of this is available to us in every moment.

I hope you’ll all try meditation — and when you do, add the wonderment of incense sticks to your practice.

“After sleeping through a hundred million centuries we have finally opened our eyes on a sumptuous planet, sparkling with color, bountiful with life. Within decades we must close our eyes again. Isn’t it a noble, an enlightened way of spending our brief time in the sun, to work at understanding the universe and how we have come to wake up in it? This is how I answer when I am asked — as I am surprisingly often — why I bother to get up in the mornings.”

~~~ Richard Dawkins

Remember, that if you have one of the “readers” — like My Yahoo, My MSN, or the Google Reader, or any of the others, you can get our blog sent to you automatically, whenever I post to it. Just click one of the buttons over on the left side to add it to your reader.

“Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.”

~~~ Karen Ravn

And, as I always say in closing — remember these words …

You are the most precious gift you can give yourself. Every day look in the mirror and say, “I’m available to more good than I have experienced, realized or imagined ever before in my life!” Do this every day while you look into your own eyes.

You are special — and you are loved. You are the greatest gift you can be.

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

~~~ DBL-R
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===============================================================
If you’ve been reading here for any length of time, you know that I practice meditation every day. When I do so, I use, what I truly believe, is the most powerful personal growth and mind development tool on earth. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” – then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

Regular, daily meditation can give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels —

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — then click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution
===============================================================

====================================================================
[tags]peace, inner self, The Secret, Law of Attraction, dreams, spiritual energy, action, value, inner balance, enlightenment, destiny, manifestation, meditation, patience, gratitude, tolerance, acceptance, body balance, life cycle, beginnings, endings, positive thinking, ego, silence, consciousness, staying grounded, cycle of life[/tags]

“Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.”

~~~ Mark Twain

Needless to say, my time to write these past days has been limited by the time needed to rest from the heart-fixing procedures that I had done earlier this month. I am mending and will get back to a regular schedule soon.

I don’t usually devote an entire posting to marketing something, but today, I wanted to be sure to tell you about the movie that is the feature film for the May, 2007, Spiritual Cinema Circle offering.

The movie is “Illusions” starring Kirk Douglas.

Before I tell you more about this great movie, I wanted to be sure to tell you that for this month only, May, 2007, you can get a free trial membership to The Spiritual Cinema Circle.

When you do, you’ll get “Illusions” starring Kirk Douglas plus 3 terrific short films (I’ll tell you more about these below). You’ll also get, as a free BONUS, the “Soulmate Collection” featuring 6 heartwarming short films about true love. You’ll get all 10 films and all you have to do is cover the cost of the shipping ($6.95 domestic, $9.95 International).

Kirk Douglas has made the movie, “Illusion” e memorable event.

I have to give this film high marks because it is so successful at what it sets out to do. When you see this film, you will see why I feel that Kirk Douglas’ performance will stay in your memory for quite some time.

The once handsome Douglas of “The Bad and the Beautiful” and “Spartacus” has been ravaged by time and a stroke in 1996 that has left his face partially paralyzed. A lesser actor might understandably call it quits, but Douglas has forged a second career for himself, playing the grandfather in “It Runs in the Family” with son Michael and grandson Cameron and in various other projects that call for men of his age in major roles.

His performance in “Illusion” is a courageous, powerful tour de force. Douglas plays Donald Baines, a legendary Hollywood film director in the vein of a Frank Capra or George Cukor. He’s on his deathbed when he gets a visit from a Marley’s Ghost kind of figure, the spirit of his long-dead editor, Stan Ron Marasco.

Those of us who are movie fanatics will rejoice in the set-up for Baines’s journey through the past, for in the world presented in “Illusion,” everyone’s past is captured on film.

Baines is given the golden opportunity to see the son he never knew, the illegitimate offspring of a one-night stand, played out in three little mini-movies. Michael Goorjian, who also wrote and directed “Illusion,” plays the son, Christopher Baines, at three significant times of his life: as a gawky teenager, a Goth punk, and, finally, as a man, newly released from prison, at a crossroads in his life, a crossroads in which his father can enter his son’s life at long last and help him make a right decision.

Television fans might be familiar with Goorjian as a regular on the popular series “Party of Five” as Justin, Neve Campbell’s love interest. He rallied a number of television cronies, including Marasco of “Freaks and Geeks,” Bryan Cranston, the dad on “Malcolm in the Middle” and Ted Raimi, brother of director Sam and a regular on “Xena: Warrior Princess,” probably thrilled to have an opportunity to work in a film of this caliber.

Scoring Douglas in the lead role elevated the project from a mildly interesting visit to the dark side of “It’s A Wonderful Life” to a film of substance. The strongest scenes are those with the veteran actor whose ability to use nuance and comic timing to reveal the depths of his character has not been hampered by his age or health. He still has screen presence, that ineffable “It” that separates the mere actors from legendary stars.

It is sometimes uncomfortable to look at Douglas, for we know we are not looking at make-up nor an actor playing an elderly person who has had a stroke. It’s a sad reminder of our elderly parents, or a beloved old uncle in the nursing home; we’d prefer to think of them as the vital younger versions of themselves. Uncle Kirk has aged, his trademark dimple often disappearing into the folds of skin that time hath wrought.

Movies tend to show us the what we prefer to see: perfect people with perfect teeth living out our fantasy selves. In this way “Illusion” is a brave movie project for it challenges us to look at something else. It conjures up images from previous movies about guardian angels and second chances, yet at the same time is unique, a scrappy one-of-a-kind movie.

You don’t want to miss this — Click Here to Get Yours Now!

In addition to “Illusion” you will receive 3 short films.

Awakening

In this moving short film, the mysterious story of a lost man slowly unfolds through layers of psychic healing taking us from the past, into the realm of the unknown to bring healing to the present.

Grazie Al Cielo/Thank Heavens

This clever and twisted short film from Italy follows a man who whines from dawn till dusk, until he meets an angel sent to straighten him out.

City Paradise

In this fantastical short film blending animation and live-action, a recent immigrant to London discovers a magical realm underneath the city that fills her with hope and a sense of place and safety.

And, don’t forget, you’ll also get the “Soulmates Collection” that I mentioned above.

Just click here: Spiritual Cinema Circle to get yours!

“Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.”

~~~ Sigmund Freud

“I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.”

~~~ Alan Watts

Remember, that if you have one of the “readers” — like My Yahoo, My MSN, or the Google Reader, or any of the others, you can get our blog sent to you automatically, whenever I post to it. Just click one of the buttons over on the left side to add it to your reader.

“Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.”

~~~ Karen Ravn

And, as I always say in closing — remember these words …

You are the most precious gift you can give yourself. Every day look in the mirror and say, “I’m available to more good than I have experienced, realized or imagined ever before in my life!” Do this every day while you look into your own eyes.

You are special — and you are loved. You are the greatest gift you can be.

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

~~~ DBL-R
================================================================

===============================================================
If you’ve been reading here for any length of time, you know that I practice meditation every day. When I do so, I use, what I truly believe, is the most powerful personal growth and mind development tool on earth. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” – then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

Regular, daily meditation can give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels —

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — then click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution
===============================================================

====================================================================
[tags]peace, inner self, The Secret, Law of Attraction, dreams, spiritual energy, action, value, inner balance, enlightenment, destiny, manifestation, meditation, patience, gratitude, tolerance, acceptance, body balance, life cycle, beginnings, endings, positive thinking, ego, silence, consciousness, staying grounded, cycle of life[/tags]

“For the hand that rocks the cradle – Is the hand that rules the world”

~~~ William Ross Wallace

The time away from writing to you has gone a little longer than planned. I did spend some time in the hospital for some heart difficulties that needed a little more work to fix than I had originally thought. I am back home again today, but I’m needing to take it easy for a few more days — so I’ll keep the article for today short.

As many of you are aware, I’m a strong advocate for peace. I truly believe that the only way for there ever to be peace on earth, is to live as peacefully as possible in our everyday lives. All we are receiving with the violence in the world and in our neighborhoods, is more violence.

There is a piece of history that has become distorted over the years, and that is Mother’s Day. It has become another of the many commercial excuses to go out and spend more money on “stuff” as a way to tell our mothers that we love them. We worry about whether to get flowers or chocolates or jewelry or some gadget to use in the kitchen.

Did you know that the original Mother’s Day was conceived to bring war to an end? That’s right! It wasn’t thought up as a way to get us to buy a bunch of stuff for Mom. Nope! Mother’s got together to advocate for peace.

“Disarm, disarm. The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.”

~~~ Julia Ward Howe

Julia Ward Howe, the author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, wrote the original Mother’s Day Proclamation in 1870 calling upon the women of the world to unite for peace. She had just witnessed the carnage of the American Civil War and the start of the Franco-Prussian War.

In honor and respect for the real Mother’s Day, I’d like to share with you a 21st century video reading of that original Mother’s Day proclamation with Vanessa Williams, Felicity Huffman, Christine Lahti, Alfre Woodward, Fatma Saleh, Ashraf Salimian, and Gloria Steinem, on behalf of an organization called “No More Victims”.

“No More Victims” is a non-profit organization which brings war-injured Iraqi children to the United States for medical treatment — like Salee, a ten-year-old Iraqi girl. Last November, she lost her brother and both her legs just outside her home in Hasswa. Donations to “No More Victims” would help Salee to go to Shriner’s Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina to receive six months of surgery and prosthetics services.

We have acted more wisely than we would have done in marking out any eccentric course of our own and adhering to it.

~~~ Julia Ward Howe

In this small way, I’m hoping that you will help me to honor the origins of Mother’s Day with this short online video. Share this with your Mom and with your family and friends.

Here’s a link if you want … or you can just click the “Play” button below to watch it here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtzAwo1HU2w

I’d also like to ask you to stop by this website:

http://mothersdayforpeace.com/

Remember, that if you have one of the “readers” — like My Yahoo, My MSN, or the Google Reader, or any of the others, you can get our blog sent to you automatically, whenever I post to it. Just click one of the buttons over on the left side to add it to your reader.

“Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.”

~~~ Karen Ravn

And, as I always say in closing — remember these words …

You are the most precious gift you can give yourself. Every day look in the mirror and say, “I’m available to more good than I have experienced, realized or imagined ever before in my life!” Do this every day while you look into your own eyes.

You are special — and you are loved. You are the greatest gift you can be.

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

~~~ DBL-R
================================================================

===============================================================
If you’ve been reading here for any length of time, you know that I practice meditation every day. When I do so, I use, what I truly believe, is the most powerful personal growth and mind development tool on earth. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” – then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

Regular, daily meditation can give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels —

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — then click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution
===============================================================

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

================================================================
[tags]peace, inner self, The Secret, Law of Attraction, dreams, spiritual energy, action, value, inner balance, enlightenment, destiny, manifestation, meditation, patience, gratitude, tolerance, acceptance, body balance, life cycle, beginnings, endings, positive thinking, ego, silence, consciousness, staying grounded, cycle of life[/tags]