We hold a weekly study group in Quincy, MA, part of Edgar Cayce's greater-Boston area Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
"The Buddha Play," a one-man off-Broadway show this Sunday at the Cambridge Y
A one-man show by Evan Brenner (Website)
Sunday, October 4, 2009
7:00 - 9:00pm
Cambridge YMCA theatre
820 Massachusetts Avenue
This dramatic portrayal of the Buddha’s life and journey as gleaned from the earliest sutras, performed by the author as a special benefit for the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center (CIMC website) endowment fund. Recently, this play went off-Broadway, so this is a very special performance, and something you don’t often encounter happening at your local Y!
Tickets: $40. Advance tickets available at brownpapertickets.com/event/73386, by calling 1-800-838-3006, or by stopping by the CIMC office at 331 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139. Please note: Pre-registration is encouraged for this event.
PROGRAM: The life of the Buddha in his own words — the evolution of his thought, his triumphs, and the rarely portrayed tragedy at the end of his life.
The man we know as the Buddha lived in Northern India around 500 BC and introduced the teaching known as Buddhism. Approximately 300 years after his death, an extensive oral history of the movement was written down, carried and copied throughout Asia, and this canon became the taproot of the entire Buddhist tradition. Framed in a most unusual and personal context, The Buddha Play brings to the stage these authentic texts to enact the extraordinary life of the man, start to finish.
The Buddha considered his own life a model for all our spiritual struggles saying, "He who knows me, knows the Dharma." It's no dry tale — The Buddha's life stands among the great archetypal adventure stories.
The performance is 90 minutes with a ten minute intermission.
Witness
is hidden from me in veils
of cloud, sometimes
I am hidden from the mountain
in veils of inattention, apathy, fatigue,
when I forget or refuse to go
down to the shore or a few yards
up the road, on a clear day,
to reconfirm
that witnessing presence.
Denise Levertov
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
anti-gravitational vital force
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,
III. 39.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Every morning I walk
they have no tongues, could lecture
all day if they wanted about
spiritual patience? Isn't it clear
the black oaks along the path are standing
as though they were the most fragile of flowers?
Every morning I walk like this around
the pond, thinking: if the doors of my heart
ever close, I am as good as dead.
Every morning, so far, I'm alive. And now
the crows break off from the rest of the darkness
and burst up into the sky—as though
all night they had thought of what they would like
their lives to be, and imagined
their strong, thick wings.
- Mary Oliver
What need have I for such a great evil spirit?
If all the harms
Fears and sufferings in the world
Arise from self-grasping,
What need have I for such a great evil spirit?
And then a resolution is born in us to destroy that evil spirit, our greatest enemy. With that evil spirit dead, the cause of all our suffering will be removed, and our true nature, in all its spaciousness and dynamic generosity, will shine out.
- Sogyal Rinpoche
We are as the flute
We are as the flute, and the music in us is from thee;
we are as the mountain and the echo in us is from thee.
We are as pieces of chess engaged in victory and defeat:
our victory and defeat is from thee, O thou whose qualities are comely!
Who are we, O Thou soul of our souls,
that we should remain in being beside thee?
We and our existences are really non-existence;
thou art the absolute Being which manifests the perishable.
We all are lions, but lions on a banner:
because of the wind they are rushing onward from moment to moment.
Their onward rush is visible, and the wind is unseen:
may that which is unseen not fail from us!
Our wind whereby we are moved and our being are of thy gift;
our whole existence is from thy bringing into being.
- Rumi
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Carl Jung’s Secret Book
Carl Jung was a giant in the dawn of the age of psychoanalysis. A student of Freud who broke with Freud. Champion of the individual spiritual quest as doorway to the universal.
In midlife, he looked for his own soul and found nothing. Dug deeper, for years, late at night, recording wild visions: gods and demons, winged snakes and crocodiles. Found his soul’s footing, but feared he’d be called insane.
Jung said his “red book,” in which he recorded his visions, was the base of everything else he did. But it was locked away for years in a Swiss vault.
Now it’s out.
http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/09/carl-jungs-secret-book
Earth Festival - Cumberland, RI, SUNDAY Sept 27
Spirit in Nature Pathways and Drums for One & All
Earth Festival
at the
New Dawn Earth Center
Sunday, September 27, 2009
75 Wrentham Road
Cumberland, RI
1-6PM
(Rain or Shine)
Silent Path Meditation Walk 1:10 to 2:00
with drum and bell
Welcoming & Drum Circle 2:45 hosted by David Curry
Engaging activities for all 3:30 to 4:45
Potluck 5:00
RVSP ASAP to: newdawn@mercyne.org
Or call 401-333-1341
http://spiritinnaturepathways2009.shutterfly.com/
Pls. check out www.350.org
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Egolessness
- Sogyal Rinpoche
Saturday, September 19, 2009
'I Am Wind, You are Fire'
where are you, where, oh where?
Here, here is the Beloved!
Oh come now, come, oh come!
Your friend, he is your neighbor,
he is next to your wall -
You, erring in the desert -
what air of love is this?
If you'd see the Beloved's
form without any form -
You are the house, the master,
You are the Kaaba, you! . . .
Where is a bunch of roses,
if you would be this garden?
Where, one soul's pearly essence
when you're the Sea of God?
That's true - and yet your troubles
may turn to treasures rich -
How sad that you yourself veil
the treasure that is yours!
- Rumi 'I Am Wind, You are Fire'
Translation by Annemarie Schimmel
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Exercise, week starting Monday, Sept 14,2009
Exercise was from page 136 of Experiments...
Give love to those you encounter, regardless of who they are. Record your experiences.
Remember God
Let the caller and the called disappear;
Be lost in the Call.
- Rumi
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
What kind of tree are you?
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Enlightenment is real
Enlightenment is real; and each of us, whoever we are, can in the right circumstances and with the right training realize the nature of mind and so know in us what is deathless and eternally pure. This is the promise of all the great mystical traditions of the world, and it has been fulfilled and is being fulfilled in countless thousands of human lives.
The wonder of this promise is that it is something not exotic, not fantastic, not for an elite, but for all of humanity; and when we realize it, the masters tell us, it is unexpectedly ordinary.
Spiritual truth is not something elaborate and esoteric, it is in fact profound common sense. When you realize the nature of mind, layers of confusion peel away. You don’t actually “become” a buddha, you simply cease, slowly, to be deluded. And being a buddha is not being some omnipotent spiritual superman, but becoming at last a true human being.
- Sogya Rinpoche
Monday, September 7, 2009
Tiny Being Saved by Giant God-Creature
What do I see but a small dragonfly, hanging by a single thread.
So, I plucked him off and chatted him up. After pulling off the big pieces, the remaining problem was one remaining sticky thread, wrapped around his wing, like you'd put a tie around a scroll.
Seemed a simple solution: just pull off or cut off that thread. - But the the entire diameter of the rolled wing was only maybe 2 or 3 millimeters. My finger wasn't going to do it - not going to fit into that 2-millimeter slot.
After a while, he suggested that I might use the blade of my little key-chain knife, which has a nice angular point. I agreed.
He was a bit concerned at first, and pulled away. Finally, with a little bravery on his part, and some careful juggling on mine, we managed to slice the cable.
His wing spread out full after a bit, then he just rested.
I felt tongue-tied.
It seemed there should be more to say.
It took him longer than I thought it should, but finally, I just lifted my hand, and he flew off.
I wondered about what I'd done.
How many smaller creatures would be eaten by this one, as a result of my act?
Of what use, compassion?
Want to transform your life? According to Edgar Cayce, read John 14-17.
The instructions were to “read these not with the attitude that you believe this, or do not believe that. As you read, apply the messages not just to anyone but to self — as though He, the Lord, were speaking alone with thee (Reading 2067-6)!”
There are two main methods Cayce recommended, if I understand correctly. One is to read the whole of chapters 14 through 17, each day, for 28 days straight. More if you like. If you skip a day, begin again, reading daily for 28 days. The second way is to read “only five to ten versus each day. Then apply that given in those verses for a day. Then read five to ten more — apply that. You will find a regeneration (Reading 2067-6).”
Chapters 14 through 17 from the King James Bible version of John are below. However, choose the biblical translation you find most comforting. When asked which translation was best, Cayce had this to say: “The nearest true version for the entity is that ye apply of whatever version ye read, in your life. It isn't that ye learn from anyone. Ye only may have the direction. The learning, the teaching, is within self. For where hath He promised to meet thee? Within the temple! Where is that temple? Within! (Reading 2072-14)”
Remember, the key is to imagine that Jesus is speaking John 14–17 directly to you.
Happy reading.
John 14 (King James Version 2000)
- Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
- In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
- And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
- And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
- Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
- Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
- If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
- Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
- Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?
- Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
- Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
- Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
- And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
- If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
- If ye love me, keep my commandments.
- And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
- even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
- I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
- Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
- At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
- He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
- Judas saith unto him, not Iscar'i-ot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
- Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
- He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
- These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
- But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
- Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
- Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
- And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
- Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
- But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
John 15 (King James Version 2000)
- I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
- Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
- Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
- Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
- I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.
- If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
- If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
- Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
- As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
- If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
- These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
- This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
- Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
- Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
- Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
- Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
- These things I command you, that ye love one another.
- If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
- If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
- Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
- But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
- If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin.
- He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
- If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
- But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
- But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
- and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
John 16 (King James Version 2000)
- These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
- They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
- And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
- But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
- But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
- But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
- Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
- And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
- of sin, because they believe not on me;
- of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
- of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
- I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
- Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.
- He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
- All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.
- A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
- Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
- They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
- Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?
- Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
- A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
- And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
- And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
- Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
- These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father.
- At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
- for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
- I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
- His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.
- Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
- Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?
- Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
- These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
John 17 (King James Version 2000)
- These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee
- as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
- And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
- I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
- And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
- I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
- Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
- For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
- I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
- And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
- And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
- While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
- And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
- I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
- I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
- They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
- Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
- As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
- And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
- Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
- that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
- And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
- I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
- Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
- O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
- And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
What is life?
- Crowfoot, Blackfoot Warrior and Orator
Friday, September 4, 2009
There's still time to sign up for the 2009 Cape Cod retreat!
Craigville Conference Center
$185, includes meals and lodging
or $65 for Saturday only, with meals
Good news! There's still time to sign up for this year's weekend retreat in beautiful Craigville, Massachusetts. Details at www.are-northeast.org/boston/annualretreat.html. Ignore the deadline dates. If you have any questions whatsoever please contact Patty McCarthy at 1-781-878-1974. Hope to see you there!
Money tight this year? Check with Patty: there might still be a couple of scholarships available.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
A story about a man, a bull, and a new age, by Agnes Sanford
A certain engineer was once surveying in a field when a bull charged his party with lowered head and thundering hoofs. There was no tree to climb. There was no fence to jump. So the engineer stood his ground, filled his mind with the love of God and projected it to the bull.
“I am God’s man and you are God’s bull,” he thought in silence. “God made both of us, and in the name of Jesus Christ I say that there is nothing but loving-kindness between us.”
The bull stopped abruptly. For a moment he looked about uncertainly, as if confused. Then he wandered off and lay down peacefully under a bush. And all that day as the men prospected in the field he grazed quietly behind them, as if he enjoyed their presence.
“Will you tell me what you did to that bull!” asked a farm boy who was holding the rod for the surveyor. “That was a mad bull if I ever saw one. Will you tell me what you did to him?” (“I can believe every story in [your] book except the one about the bull,” a lady once said to me. But the engineer was my brother, and the story is true.)
The farm boy had seen, for the first time, the working of that force that will eventually take the place of bombs and shells upon this earth. For as soon as enough people are able to use the power of love in such a way as to create thereby a perfect self-defense, wars will be outmoded. When one can obtain justice and right and friendly cooperation without money and without price, without bloodshed and without pain, it will no longer be sensible to fight for them.
“If an armed burglar broke into your house with intent to kill,” the old question goes, “what would you do? Fight him, or lie still and let him kill your wife or child?”
Silly old question. One would do neither. One would project into the burglar’s mind the love of God, by seeing him as a child of God and asking God to bless him. And if one were strong enough in faith and love, the burglar’s mind would change. He would leave the family unharmed and go away.
“But hardly anyone can do that!” the answer comes.
Obviously. For if we could, we would not need to resort to war in order to defend ourselves. And we had best learn to do it, for until we do, we must suffer. Until we know the method of love and brotherhood, our choice of weak non-resistance or self-defense is only a choice of evils.
A new age is being born. The day has come when love-power, at the command of ministers and surveyors and children and everyone, is sufficient to change hearts here and there in the world about them.
This is the beginning of a new order. It is the dawning of a new day!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Abundance
- Wayne Dyer
Sign up now for healing with Malcolm Smith
September 9-11, 2009 / Wed-Fri @ 9am–9pm
Malcolm Smith is a gifted spiritual healer and former coal miner who lives in Yorkshire, England. He has been healing full-time for over 20 years. Malcolm works only through Edgar Cayce’s regional A.R.E. groups. Sessions are open to all. To ensure your space we recommend that you sign up as soon as you can. (Private sessions last 30 minutes and are held in a Braintree/Quincy area home. Call for pricing. Appointments scheduled from 9 am to 9 pm. “Remote” healing sessions also available, as are healing cloths. To schedule appointments, call Aantre (“On-tray”) Kennedy at 1-781-848-8860.)
- Testimonials
- Malcolm's website: www.malcolmsmithhealer.com
- Online video interview
- His book “Spiritual Power Healing Hands,” available for purchase in paperback or electronic version
Click here for our local A.R.E. calendar of events.
Peace to you and yours.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
...thoughts are running riot...
- Sogyal Rinpoche
Curious about your life purpose as it relates to astrology? Mark your calendar for September 8
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
6:30 to 9:30 pm
103 President Rd., Braintree, MA 02184 (Google map)
Gifted astrologer Stephin Bennett will be talking and teaching at the home of Aantre Kennedy. Bring your chart and/or come learn! Stephin is an astrologer (and Scorpio) specializing in determining one's life purpose from one's birthchart. He has previously given an astrology presentation to the Edgar Cayce's local Boston A.R.E. group and was both down-to-earth and enlightening. Stephin can be reached at AstrologyWorks@usa.com or 1-781-983-7504. (Free-will donations, for Stephen, appreciated.)