Lawrence R. Spencer's Blog, page 563
March 17, 2013
EARTH: FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
This truly marvelous film gives us, the inhabitants of one tiny planet, lost among a nearly infinite number of planets in this physical universe, an extraordinary view of Earth from the outside looking in! The basis of all of human stupidity and superstition revolves around the idea that WE ARE THE CENTER of the universe! When we watch this simple film of the Earth from the OUTSIDE looking down, how can our myopic delusions of grandeur not be expelled once and for all? It becomes immediately obvious that we, as physical universe organisms, inhabiting a blue speck of dust in space, are simply an infinitesimally, microscopically tiny organism in the macrocosm of the space, time, energy and matter of the physical universe! In fact, there are a trillion, trillion planets floating within a billion, billion galaxies that are no less significant that Earth!
Yet, you and I, as Immortal Spiritual Beings, are, collectively, The Creators of it ALL! The simple, obvious proof of this assertion is this: If YOU can perceive it, YOU are creating it!
Time-Lapse | Earth from Bruce W. Berry Jr on Vimeo.
March 15, 2013
MILAREPA
Jetsun Milarepa (c. 1052 – c. 1135 CE) is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets.
Milarepa is famous for many of his songs and poems, in which he expresses the profundity of his realization of the dharma. Through the illustration of his own life, Milarepa set for all Buddhists an example of the perfect Bodhisattva, and a model of the incorruptible life of a genuine practitioner of Buddhist Tantrism. His life is an unmistakable testimony to the unity an interdependency of all Buddhist teachings – Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana – for Buddhahood is not attainable if any of the three is lacking. He made it clear to all that poverty is not a kind of deprivation, but rather is a necessary way of emancipating oneself from the tyranny of material possessions; that Tantric practice by no means implies indulgence and laxity, but hard labor, strict discipline, and steadfast perseverance; that without resolute renunciation and uncompromising discipline, as Gautama Buddha Himself stressed, all the sublime ideas and dazzling images depicted in Mahayana and Tantric Buddhism are no better that magnificent illusions.
Sri Anandamayi Ma
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Sri Anandamayi Ma (1896-1982) was one of the most influential spiritual luminaries of the Twentieth Century. Her devotees ranged from Prime Ministers and great Saints down to the simplest villagers, and people came from all over the world to simply see Her and sit in Her presence. Though virtually uneducated, She spoke with the authority of direct experience and captivated all with Her sweetness and power. To this day, Her presence and guidance is felt by those who turn to Her in prayer, and Her life is an inspiration to all who feel drawn to the spiritual Path.
Many times in the history of the world, Divinity has manifested to bring light, guidance and inspiration to the human race. Anandamayi Ma was an embodiment of Divinity and spiritual power in our own times, and Her message and guidance is eternally relevant and uplifting. She often stressed that Her appearance and birth was not the result of karma or compulsion, but that She was the visible manifestation of the pure aspiration of the spiritual longing of mankind. During Her eighty-six years on this earth, in Her own unassuming and spontaneous way, She exerted a profound influence on an entire generation.
March 14, 2013
OTHERS
John Holmes (January 6, 1904 – June 22, 1962), was a poet and critic.He was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, and both attended and taught at Tufts University where he was a professor of literature and modern poetry for 28 years. He wrote several volumes of poetry and the lyrics to several Unitarian Universalist hymns, including "The People's Peace".
March 13, 2013
DISAGREE
Agreement can be a form of hypnosis. Conversely, anyone who disagrees with being hypnotized cannot be hypnotized. Human beings have been very heavily and repeatedly indoctrinated and coerced into believing that they ARE A BODY. Every priest of every organized religion in the history of humankind has preached this message: "YOU ARE A BODY". Every medical doctor, every banker, every politician, every artist, every writer and screen play writer in the history of Western Civilization has reinforced the false idea that you ARE A BODY.
When was the last time you read a book or saw a film about a DISEMBODIED SPIRITUAL BEING? Can you remember ANY? The simple fact is that YOU, as yourself, are a Spiritual Being. You are NOT a body. Anyone who is trying to convince you otherwise is attempting to trap and enslave YOU inside a fragile chunk of flesh so you can be controlled and enslaved. One simple way you can begin to recover your Spiritual Freedom is to simply DISAGREE with the lies that "You Are a Body".
BE FREE! DISAGREE!!
March 12, 2013
UNITY AND DUALITY
Rabindranath Thakur, anglicised to Tagore ( 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941), was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. In translation his poetry was viewed as spiritual and mercurial; his seemingly mesmeric personality, flowing hair, and otherworldly dress earned him a prophet-like reputation in the West. His "elegant prose and magical poetry" remain largely unknown outside Bengal. Tagore introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing it from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit. He was highly influential in introducing the best of Indian culture to the West and vice versa, and he is generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of modern India.
March 11, 2013
PASSAGE HOME
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(Image by Cornelia Kopp)
"There is another dimension which is our home. In truth we are not here but there.
This is our shadow."
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī (Persian, also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī and more popularly in the English-speaking world simply as Rumi.
(30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Persianpoet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic.Iranians, Turks, Afghans, Tajiks, and other Central Asian Muslims as well as the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy in the past seven centuries. Rumi's importance is considered to transcend national and ethnic borders. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and transposed into various formats. In 2007, he was described as the "most popular poet in America."
March 10, 2013
LOTUS: DIVINE BEAUTY
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The lotus is an ancient symbol in Asian culture. Often used as an example of divine beauty and purity. Its unfolding petals suggest the expansion of the soul. The growth of its pure beauty from the mud of its origin holds a benign spiritual promise. In Buddhist symbolism the lotus is symbolic of purity of the body, speech, and mind as while rooted in the mud, its flowers blossom on long stalks as if floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. It is also symbolic of detachment as drops of water easily slide off its petals.
The lotus in both Egypt and India symbolizes the union of the four elements; earth, air, fire, and water. The roots are in the earth, it grows in and by means of water, its leaves are nourished by air, and it blooms through the power of the sun's fire. The lotus is therefore the perfection of the fourfold order of the natural world. The growth of a new flower directly from the earth-bound original may be interpreted as a symbol of transcendence as found in Indian philosophy: a spiritual emergence of a higher world directly from our physical manifestation.
