Gaia Community: mu's Blog

OneTemple.org Updates!

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:24:47 GMT

I just updated my OneTemple.org website.

I added a couple of cool videos...

The Mayan New Dawn - Don Alejandro Perez Oxlaj appointed representative of Guatemalan Maya priests gives a message to the world based on the 2012 Mayan prophecies. (Remember, 2012 is not about a doomsday end-of-the world scenario!)

And a cool video Re-mix of Boards of Canada (surfing and skydiving shots) with a rare very old audio recording of Lester Levenson (Release Technique aka The Sedona Method) playing over it. Very cool! (Scroll halfway down the page to watch the video)

I've also added a few new links on the OT links page. The 2012 Portal is very cool (click on the Mayan Calendar and check out the Underworld page.)

Until next update...

Peace!
mu

Tags: One Temple Update, onetemple.org, Lester Levenson, Boards of Canada, 2012, Maya Prophecy, Don Alejandro Perez Oxlaj, release technique

True Inner Power

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:11:47 GMT

I recommend clicking on the link at left where it says "Products". Then "Audio/Video". There are a lot of good audio programs (especially the classic Lester Levenson recordings).

Enjoy and may your journey Be,
mu

Tags: peace, freedom, liberation, love, abundance, lester levenson, larry crane, sedona method

Not a Gavel

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:24:24 GMT

Courtesy of Neil Young's site "Living With War"...

Tags: living with war, war, peace, neil young, iraq, Bush, Conservatism

Saving Lives One Drop at a Time

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:43:05 GMT

OneDrop.org

http://www.onedrop.org/en

- mu

Tags: water, saving lives, one drop, clean water, water crisis, poverty, water for life

Say (What You Need to Say)

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:33:26 GMT

Tags: Say, John Mayer, Bucket List

Free Hugs

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Fri, 23 May 2008 05:40:24 GMT

Tags: Free Hugs, Hollywood, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Video, Love

Release Technique - Lester Levenson

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 10:28:47 GMT

I want to share a very simple technique to help people reach Ultimate Freedom -- Awareness of their/our Infinite Beingness (Self-Realization).

This is a method created by American Master Lester Levenson after he was sent home to die in 1952 at the age of only 43 after having his second massive coronary. The doctors told him to buy loafers so he would not have to bend down to tie his shoelaces because it could kill him. He was scared to death -- of dying. He was paralyzed with that fear of dying for three days straight until he decided to do something about it. Within three months he had not only healed himself, he had freed himself and achieved the Ultimate Freedom. Lester continued to live and thrive for another 42 years until he made the conscious choice to leave his body in 1994 at the age of 84.

For more information on Lester and this simple Method (now called the Abundance Course), please click here or the banner below.

If you want more info or have any questions, please email me.
- mu

http://www.onetemple.org/release.html

Tags: Lester Levenson, Release Technique, ultimate freedom. beingness, infinite beingness, abundance course, abundance, lester levinson

New Websites...YenzenDesigns.com & OneTemple.org

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 05:45:10 GMT

Yenzen Designs

Indoor/Outdoor home furnishings and much more!

I just finished the Yenzen Designs website
and am currently in the process of developing my newest website:

One Temple*

*[please ignore the construction dust as the temple building continues!] - mu

Tags: yenzen designs, one temple, zen, kelly upson, water features, design, bamboo, home decor, statues

Just a Ride...

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:45:03 GMT

just a ride

Bill Hicks

Tags: bill hicks, just a ride, choice between fear and love

A Holiday Message from Lester ... (and mu!)

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 01:04:28 GMT

"My wish is that everyone attain the highest state possible, so that here on earth we have that heaven that everyone dreams of, where life is beautiful, life is easy and everyone has the greatest love and respect for each other!

This would cause all misery to drop away, all sickness to disappear, all thoughts of war and destructiveness to be eliminated from our minds,and in place of it, just the opposite: love, beauty, joy.

To sum up, my overall wish is for everyone (the rest of me!) to fully know what I know so that all misery and unhappiness is at an end."

Love, Lester

Tags: Lester Levinson, release, holiday message, heaven on earth, love, respect, misery, sickness, war, beauty, joy

Locks of LOVE

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 00:28:16 GMT

This Holiday Season, I'm putting out a request to those of you who may have long hair and are willing to part with it for a very good cause. You will truly be giving a 'gift of yourself' if you do.

If you have it in your heart, please consider cutting your hair and donating it to Locks of Love. (12 inches or more is fabulous, but they will accept any length to help cover costs of keeping the organization running). (Men, women, and children can donate! - See donor photos.) In return, you will receive a wonderful, light, loving feeling of joy and happiness!)

For the past decade or so, I have grown my hair out several times, chopped it off, and donated it. It isn't much, but it is _some_thing I am able to do to help these children who don't have the luxury or benefit of being able to grow their own hair. For those of us who do have that luxury, I'm asking that you please consider giving this very personal gift of yourself.

WHAT IS LOCKS OF LOVE?

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.

There is a step-by-step video on the Locks of Love website on how to donate hair.

THANK YOU!!!

And have a wonderful Holiday Season.
Love,
mu

PS: Forgot to mention that many stylists and salons participate in the Locks of Love Program and offer discounts and sometimes *free* haircuts for anyone who is donating their hair! Can't beat that. ;-) You can go to the locks of love website and do a search for a participating salon in your area, or call your local salon and ask if they participate in the locks of love program. If you prefer to chop-chop your own hair and send it in yourself, they have a form that can be downloaded and sent in with your donation.

Tags: Locks of Love, hair donation, gift of yourself, holiday season

Dear Mr President

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 06:18:48 GMT

Tags: Dear Mr President, Pink

Pure Inspiration

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 07:12:34 GMT

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=646496&fr=yvmtf

Paul Potts on Brittains Got Talent

-mu

Nessun Dorma - Translated from the score.

The Prince Nobody shall sleep!... Nobody shall sleep! Even you, o Princess, in your cold room, watch the stars, that tremble with love and with hope.
But my secret is hidden within me, my name no one shall know... No!...No!... On your mouth I will tell it when the light shines.
And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!...

The Chorus of women No one will know his name and we must, alas, die.

The Prince Vanish, o night! Set, stars! Set, stars! At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win!

(Paul Pots did win! He won the competition and a recording contract).

Tags: pure, inspiration, genius, opera, love, joy, perfection, life, artist, Nessun Dorma

The Mystical Path - Living an Unreasonable Life

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 21:17:38 GMT

Living an Unreasonable Life vs. the Reasonable Life

Swami Muktananda could not have described the mystical path better when he wrote in his spiritual autobiography Play of Consciousness, “The mystical path is best not taken. But once begun, there is no turning back.” Like discovering a truth one would rather not know, once the cat is out of the bag, you can’t get it back in. And yet, inevitably, the alert individual will also say, “And it feels good to be released from the prison of denial and falsehood.” Regardless of how much truth changes the content of a person’s life, truth is always the better companion than deceit. And like the mystical path, once the path of truth is taken, there is no turning back.

What exactly makes the mystical path so compelling and yet, at the same time, so ominous? Why would a great spiritual master caution his disciples that it is better not to walk the very path that brought him to his own enlightenment? The simple answer is that the mystical path is the path of the unreasonable life. All your life you have relied on your five senses and your base of intellectual and street knowledge to chart a reasonable course. That is to say, logic and order govern our choices, because none of us deliberately wants to throw our life into chaos by making decisions that ignore the fundamental rules of common sense. Our five senses combined with our trust of logic and rational thought seek to maintain a structure for the sake of physical survival, and that is appropriate, as we all need to find a comfort zone with survival. But let us penetrate a bit more deeply into how and why we cling so ardently to our love of our five sensory perceptual system and our adoration of reason and order, because there we find our first insight into why Swami Muktananda would warn the novice sojourner to be cautious about taking the mystical path.

Of the many characteristics and features of this force called life, such as the continual cycle of creation and destruction that expresses itself in hope emerging out of despair, love out of hatred, and the need to produce life after massive loss through wars and natural upheavals, we fear life’s chaos the most. We fear what we cannot control, and so, our lowest, irrational instincts, can drive us out of fear to destroy what threatens us, as in the invasion of Iraq. When we function from our lowest level of consciousness, it is nearly impossible to reason with us, much less to get us to grasp a greater symbolic portrait of what is unfolding in the cosmos. From that level of consciousness, when someone or something – an event such as 9/11 – has threatened us, all we can focus on is to gain control of what is out of control for the sake of survival.

Most people are not so intensely fearful as to think that in order to protect their physical world they have to destroy the life around them, so let us move up a notch on the spiral of the five senses to what we could consider ordinary life. (And yet, ordinary life for us must now include the fact that we are a nation at war, and the impact of that war is such a factor within our psychic field that it has to be included in this discussion.) You are not, however, driven by the chaos of war and the fears of those living on the streets of Iraq, (unless, of course, you have family serving there). You are driven by a subtler but no less real need to maintain order in your life, and this need is so strong that it can drive you to “destroy” that which you perceive to be a threat to your survival. We are going to explore this topic a bit more, because to grasp this is to pierce through Swami Muktananda’s mystic’s veil.

Your methods for destruction are, of course, appropriately subtle. They are, to say this in terms of the subject at hand, fully reasonable, at least as far as you are concerned. Criticizing someone you perceive as a threat, for example, is a “reasonable” act. Or, if you perceive that an individual has violated you in emotional, psychological, or financial ways, you are (still) free to file a lawsuit, which again is something we consider a completely rational thing to do if circumstances merit such action. (You realize I’m tempted to say that even if circumstances don’t merit a lawsuit, that doesn’t stop anyone these days….) Just consider how many divorces turn into courtroom war games in which both sides are participating in acts of destruction of which they would have never thought themselves capable prior to the division of the goods accumulated during their marriage, all of which represent how each party will survive without the other.

[End of Part 1]

Blessings,
Caroline

(Caroline Myss)

Tags: mystical life, life, swami muktananda, caroline myss, creation, destruction, fear, anger, love, power, soul

Part 2 - Living an Unreasonable Life

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 21:34:01 GMT

The list of the ways and means through which we behave when threatened, the extremes to which we will go to re-establish our sense of security, goes on indefinitely: letters we are capable of writing, threats we are capable of making, degrees of anger we can express when enraged, acts of manipulation we can engage in when we are determined to get our way. The common factor is that when it comes to battling the forces of chaos that threaten our survival, we will bargain with the powers of destruction and find ways to rationalize our actions, if only in the moment. “I didn’t know the gun was loaded,” said a woman who killed her husband. A young man who shot several students at a high school said in an interview recently, “I really thought the students would just get up again after I shot them, you know, like in the video games I played on my TV set at home.” These are extreme examples, but we can reach the extreme in our lives, each in our own way.

The operative questions appropriate to all of us are these: How much authority do your fears have over you when it comes to the decisions you make? And is it reasonable and appropriate to excuse our behavior by citing our fear? How often have we used fear as our method of explaining destructive behavior, expecting those around us to greet us with an embrace of compassion because we acted out of a fear that “possessed our reason”? The implication of this scenario is that we are not as responsible for destructive actions that spring from our fears, particularly those rooted in childhood, because the fears and our personal history associated with them have made us vulnerable to forces beyond our conscious, rational control. Given that rather dicey form of reasoning, we are then able to rationalize most destructive behaviors in our favor.

And, so, here’s the point: The power to destroy, no matter how subtly that power operates within us—and it very much operates within all of us—is viewed as a rational and reasonable force, because it is activated most often by the fear of survival. And that fear seems to grant us the right to act in ways that push edge of the social, moral, and ethical envelope that many keep sealed when not threatened – for the most part. Now let’s complicate this by adding the mystical perspective, or the unreasonable force.

THE PATH BEST NOT TAKEN – THE UNREASONABLE ONE

Let me say once again that our powers of reason along with well refined five sensory skills are essential to our survival—and survive we must. Make no mistake here, I am not opposed to creating a healthy and comfortable physical life. We are equipped with our five senses and powers of reason precisely to help us maneuver in the physical world. But beyond your five senses and your powers of reason are your mystical senses and your powers of interior perception. Your interior self – your soul – perceives the whole of your life through a lens that seeks the truth and meaning unfolding within every moment. Your soul calls you to transcend the gravitational voice of your fears rather than giving in to the illusions that they create. Your mystical senses seek to illuminate each moment, each mystery of your life, lest you be destroyed or destroy others by the force of panic, fear, and the confinement of your own vulnerability.

[End of Part 2]

Blessings,
Caroline

(Caroline Myss)

Tags: mystical life, life, swami muktananda, caroline myss, creation, destruction, fear, anger, love, power, soul

Part 3 - Living an Unreasonable Life

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 21:44:01 GMT

Living an Unreasonable Life Continued...

One woman told me that she is living in a seemingly endless dark night brought on by her destructive actions toward others. She has since come to see clearly the reasons why she acted as she did; yet that insight, no matter how personally transforming, can do nothing to change the past. Nevertheless, this is the sensation of awakening and the meaning of “the path is best not taken.” Waking up to your power to destroy, a power we celebrate continually in our society – in our athletes, in our soldiers, in any form of competition, in business, in entertainment – is one of the most pivotal choice moments in your life, from which, as this wise teaching of Muktananda continues, there is no going back. Once you consciously realize that you have the power to destroy others and that you consciously use that power, the realization emerges that you also have another and far more profound power within you – the power of love and compassion. I am not referring to the kind of personal love that you feel toward your family and friends. That is a love with which you are already familiar. I mean a level of love that is inherent in your mystical senses, a transcendent force that comes with the soul’s realization of its power of destruction versus its power of creation. This is the awakening to what the mystics call one’s true self, about which Muktananda and other great masters caution their students as they prepare to enter the path of illumination. Great spiritual teachers are not enthusiastic about their students’ walking the spiritual path. They do not turn to them and say, “Wonderful choice. Well done.” True masters warn their students and fill them with caution, because they know all too well that each student is destined to confront the crossroads of their own power of destruction and creation.

And here is a magnificent paradox. You would think – logically – that the more attractive choice, the more compelling and engaging choice would be that of your power to create, but it is not. The more seductive choice for most people is their power of destruction, because your fears would have you believe that it is better to destroy the unknown than to consider it a blessing in disguise. Fear comes long before the power of faith for most people. And, according to the realm of logic and reason, the power of love and compassion is an unreasonable choice, a fool’s choice that has no backbone and no immediate and forceful consequence in this physical world.

Yet, once you truly have an awakening to how destructive you can be, you also awaken to your potential as a channel for love and grace. I could tell you endless stories of the power of love and grace in terms of healing, and the changes that prayer and grace have brought about in the lives of others, but suffice to say at this point that until we truly face our compulsion to destroy, we cannot begin to comprehend our power to change this world through love and grace. For in recognizing how much you can destroy, you can then begin to imagine how much good you can do.

Swami Muktananda says that once you are awakened there is no going back, and that is the truth. Once you engage in the spiritual practice of withholding destruction and substituting compassion, you realize that you are perceiving your life from within. You are no longer relying on the limited scope of your five senses for input, but you have instead awakened the mystical senses from which you constantly draw guidance about meaning and purpose. Once attained, no one leaves that sweet interior Castle. Rather, you grow to count more and more on your mystical senses over the survival skills of your five senses, eventually recognizing that the five senses are for physical safety and your mystical senses for the acquisition of truth and meaning. You need both in order to thrive as a balanced human being.

One could say that giving up your power to destroy is among the most unreasonable choices you will ever make, as if you are turning off an instinct. But that is not so. Your instincts are to survive, not destroy. Recognizing this part of yourself, you are really acknowledging your profound relationship to creation and how that power expresses itself in every one of your actions. For if you have ever felt destroyed by the words or deeds of another person, imagine just for one moment how empowering that exchange could have been for you had those words been filled with love. Then recall words you have said and those on the receiving end of them, whether said in love or rage, and you can, even for one instant, imagine the power you hold within you. That is the force of creation itself in your soul.

Reflect on thoughts and actions that have been destructive in your life. What was said and what were the destructive consequences? Now consider just those words as a command of creation and measure the consequences in terms of your whole life. “You will never be able to learn….” and for the rest of your life you have not been able to study. How many people were “re-created” because someone uttered those words?
What words were said to you that created you anew?
When are you tempted to be destructive toward others and what are your methods?
How often do you excuse your own destructive behavior due to fear? Do you expect people to understand you if you use fear as an excuse? If you used anger, would you expect the same type of support?
Are you prepared to work with controlling that part of you that destroys when frightened or angry?

Reflect on these questions and consider once again the wise words of Swami Muktananda, “The mystical path is best not taken. But once begun, there is no turning back.”

I suspect most of you have already begun the journey.

Blessings,
Caroline

(Caroline Myss)

Tags: mystical life, life, swami muktananda, caroline myss, creation, destruction, fear, anger, love, power, soul

Global ONE Day - ONE Movie Screening Event!

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 04:09:49 GMT

REMINDER:

Tomorrow (today depending on where you are on the planet) is the

ONE Day - ONE Movie Global Screening day!

February 18, 2007
All Day around the world.

- If you have a copy of the film, please show it or watch it.

- If you have planned to be part of this event, THANK YOU!

- Please post comments on your blog or my blog about your event and tell us how it went!

I wish you all best on your screening day.

All the very best!
Love,
mu

Tags: one movie, one, one day one movie event

Update: ONE Day - ONE Movie

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 23:32:07 GMT

Global Screening Event

Hi Everyone!

I Just wanted to check in to see how everyone is coming along with their ONE Day - ONE Movie Event organization. I hope you have all received your copy of the DVD by now.

Please let me know if you need any info or help, and how plans are coming along.

I'm looking forward to sharing the ONE energy with all of you on February 18th!

All the best,
~mu

Tags: one movie, one, one day one movie event

Quotes

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 02:52:43 GMT

You should know that so far as Buddha-nature is concerned, there is no difference between an enlightened man and an ignorant one. What makes the difference is that one realizes it, while the other is ignorant of it.

-The Sutra of Hui Neng

Sitting peacefully on a cushion day and night seeking to attain Buddhahood, rejecting life and death in hopes of realizing enlightenment, is all like a monkey grasping at the moon reflected in the water.

-Shoitsu

The real basis of Buddhism is full knowledge of the truth of reality. If one knows this truth then no teaching is necessary. If one doesn't know, even if he listens to the teaching, he doesn't really hear.

-Ajahn Chah, "Taste of Freedom"

Tags: enlightenment, meditation, buddhahood, realization, grasping, reality, teaching, enlightened man, buddha-nature

The Law of Attraction (Edited w/comments)

http://peacemonger.gaia.com — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 02:22:25 GMT

Comment: Some people have interpreted this (and my comment about in "Thine own time" to mean it was God's - in a semi-traditional view of God (Judeo-Christian view) doing, but that would be misleading as far as _my_ interpretation and experience of it went. There is nothing wrong with that particular interpretation in my mind, but I just wanted to clarify that simply because (or perhaps _exactly_ because ;-)) the particular book was "The Gospel of Thomas" didn't make the 'manifestation' or appearance of it at that particular time about a Christian God or similar Being - to me anyway. Part of what made the experience so beautiful and perfect was that it wasn't that interpretation - again _for me_ (based on previous 'satori' what-have-you-whatever experiences I had had). Lacking words as usual, it was more of an "I AM (emphasis on *I* as in "i") - or Divine Presence, or Isness, or Little-'ol-Me-ness etc. ad infinitum experience." But, if it was, let's say for the sake of argument the Judeo-Christian form of God's doing - that would have been just as meaningful and beautiful too me as well. Hope this makes some sense. Whew! Haha. ~~~~~

I posted this in the What The Bleep pod - Law of Attraction Thread. Thought I'd share the story here too.

Anyone else have a so-called "manifestation" story? I'd love to hear it! Post a comment or link here. Thanks! ~mu

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

Many years ago, my best friend and I had been roommates for a couple of years and through a series of moves to other states to help family members etc. and other unfortunate circumstances that were out of our control (looooong story), we found ourselves out of work and temporarily homeless. Previously, for several years, I had been searching for a copy or translation of The Gospel of Thomas. This sounds simple now because it is available everywhere. But many years ago, before computers and the Internet, it was very difficult to find. I scoured bookstores, universities, and libraries to no avail. I had been publishing a grassroots newsletter at the time and it was part of my research, but it was more than that. It was something personal. Something deep inside me drove me to find that book or manuscript, but my search proved fruitless. I had given up the active search, but the desire was obviously still there in my consciousness.

Homeless, belongings in storage, and about two weeks of living in various 'motels' we were out of money, and the food stamps I had procured were almost gone. After our last night at the motel that we had paid for in advance, we located a very small local agency that provided temporary emergency services and shelter for people. We spoke to the volunteer there and explained our situation. After she took some information from me, she said, “Why don't you go in the room over there." She pointed to a small alcove with some chairs in it. "And wait while I take your friend's information”. She added, “There are some oranges and warm coats and other donations there. Please take whatever you need or want.” I thanked her and walked into the tiny room.

I slumped down into a hard-backed folding chair. I was sick, very tired, cold and hungry. I was also scared, and at perhaps the lowest point in my life thus far. I put my head down and closed my eyes, trying to hold back weary tears. After a brief moment I opened my eyes and saw an open box on the floor in front of my feet. On the very top of the pile of old books, there was a bright orange (I guess so I didn't miss it) copy of The Gospel of Thomas! I gasped and said, “Oh my god!” My friend heard me and came into the little room. I was speechless, staring at the book like it was the Holy Grail - and it was in a way. I bent over and picked it up gingerly. I stroked the cloth cover and held it to my heart. In that moment I felt an… I don't know what to call it - "It" is known by so many names… but I'll just say, “Divine Presence” (there had been a complete and utter surrender to the moment - seeing only sweetness and beauty in it) then a powerful peace washed over me. "It" (I love words, but I really dislike words at times like this because they seem so inadequate) spoke to me and what I 'heard' lifted me out of that particular dark valley. I felt the Connection and Comfort I already Knew was there. I AM here _with_ you. Don't be afraid. You will survive. This too shall pass... (Comment: Could I possibly come up with any more cliches? Nah.)

So, why the book? Why then? I knew why. It makes sense doesn't it? Isn't it interesting? The phrase, “Not in my time, but in Thine” comes to mind (Comment: Or, when the student is ready the Teacher/Self appears - meaning Life / Suffering /Self are great Teachers! ;-)). It was the strongest most meaningful way to get a message _through_ to me at that time.

Beautiful eh?

~mu

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

Tags: Gospel of Thomas, manifestation, book, Divine Presence, ask and you shall receive