sages
ONE DAY IN HEAVEN
BLISS
bliss /blis/ (noun): perfected happiness
I most appreciate Osho’s discussion of bliss as it relates to consciousness. Osho divides humanity into those who are sleeping, those who are awake and those who are in between. Happiness depends on where you are in your consciousness.
The Sleeping Ones
If you are sleeping, then pleasure is happiness. Pleasure is trying to force the body to achieve something it is not capable of. People are trying, in every possible way, to achieve happiness through the body, but it cannot be done. The body can give you only momentary pleasures, and each pleasure is balanced by pain in the same amount, in the same degree. The body exists in a world of duality, just as the day is followed by night, your pleasure will be followed by your pain…and your pain will be followed by pleasure.
But you will never be at ease. When you are in a state of pleasure, you will be afraid that you are going to lose it…and that fear will poison it. And when you are lost in pain, of course, you will be in suffering…and you will try every possible effort to get out of it — just to fall again back into it. Buddha calls this the wheel of birth and death. To the sleeping, pleasurable sensations are happiness. He lives from one pleasure to another pleasure. He is just rushing from one sensation to another sensation. He lives for small thrills. His life is very superficial; it has no depth, it has no quality. He lives in the world of quantity.
Those in-between being sleep and being awake
When one starts meditating, one will begin to move from being sleep to being awakened. In this transitory state, happiness has a different meaning: it becomes more of a quality, and less of a quantity; it is more psychological, less physiological. She enjoys music more, she enjoys poetry more, she enjoys creating something. She enjoys nature, its beauty. She enjoys silence…she enjoys what she had never enjoyed before, and this is far more lasting. Even if the music stops, something goes on lingering in you.
The difference between pleasure and THIS happiness is: it is not a relief, it is an enrichment. You become more full, you become a little overflowing. Listening to good music, something is triggered in your being, a harmony arises in you — you become musical. Or dancing, suddenly you forget your body; your body becomes weightless. The grip of gravitation over you is lost. Suddenly you are in a different space: the ego is not so solid, the dancer melts and merges into the dance. This has a depth. But this is also not the ultimate.
DROPPING KEYS
The small man
Builds cages for everyone
He
Knows.
While the Sage,
Who has to duck her head
When the moon is low,
Keeps dropping keys all night long,
For the
Beautiful
Rowdy
Prisoners.
Poetry by Hafiz (with edits by Selena Sage)
HERO: MALALA
The story of Malala Yousafzai literally makes me cry. The bravery of this young girl, still only 15, is beyond imagination. In 2007, terrorism took over the Swat region of Pakistan [where Malala is from], with constant attacks on the citizens and children of the region. In 2009, the Taliban issued a warning that girls – Read More –
M. C. ESCHER
Maurits Cornelis Escher (1892 – 1972) was a brilliant graphic artist. Known for mind-bending [and sometimes headache inducing!] structures, Escher’s art spanned lithographic prints, woodcuts and wood engraving. He produced thousands of drawings and sketches and has left an inspirational body of work which continues to confound and delight.
Escher decided to bypass his original study of architecture and pursue graphic art instead. Perhaps Gaudi was inspired to follow the opposite path :)
GENIUS: INTERPRETIVE DANCE
PEACE FROM ANGER: THE BUDDHIST WAY
We all have a seed of anger in the depth of our consciousness. Even the Buddha said that a monk has the right to be angry, but not for more than one night. The goal is not to suppress our anger, but to take care of it…to heal it…through mindfulness.
When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment, he needs help.
If we think of anger as a seed, it is watered through what we consume with our mouth, eyes, ears, and consciousness. What we eat, see on TV, or hear in conversation can be toxic. It may contain anger or frustration, which you may ingest and express later on. If you drink alcohol mindfully, you can understand that it creates suffering. The intake of alcohol causes disease to the body and mind, and results in deaths on the road. Even the habit energy that is formed by seeing a parent constantly react with anger can be transmitted. We have to live in such a way that we stop consuming the things that poison us and intoxicate us.
Most of the time, anger is born from a wrong perception. You may have misunderstood what you heard or saw. You may have the wrong idea of what had been said or done. You believe that your misery has been created by another person. But, in fact, when faced with the same situation, another person may not have gotten angry at all. Through your anger, you have created the hell inside you.
When anger is present in us, we should refrain from reacting, namely from speaking or doing anything. We are first responsible for calming our own anger. If you chose to respond to a person that is making you suffer, he will try to find relief by making you suffer more. The result is an escalation of suffering on both sides. Only compassion can stop this vicious cycle.
How to heal anger and find peace:
QI GONG: LIFE = BREATH
Stated most simply, Qi Gong (CHEE-gong) is breath. It is the art and science of combining breathing, body posture, and a meditative mindset for healing. I am very fortunate to have Dr. Baolin Wu, a Taoist master and monk from the White Cloud Monastary in Beijing, as a teacher. Dr. Wu is a Qi Gong master and utilizes the practice of Qi Gong to replace the body’s Qi with healthy and vital Qi energy from nature.
The most fundamental Qi Gong practice is proper breathing. Without breathing, there is no life. Proper breathing will allow you to prolong your life and combined with Qi Gong practice, you will be able to heal yourself. I will share a lesson from Dr. Wu:
GAUDI
Antoni Gaudi [1852-1926] became Barcelona’s most famous architect. With designs that could only have been born from the most creative imagination, Gaudi’s works redefined the city of Barcelona…and have made it somewhat of a Mecca for art enthusiasts.
Though most known for his work on Sagrada Familia [“Church of the Holy Family” in Barcelona dedicated to Jesus Christ and his earthly parents, Joseph and Mary], the Casa Battlo [rooftop pictured above] captured my attention during a visit to Barcelona. The myriad of colorful tiles make it stand out from all of the surrounding buildings.