“The only way to bring peace to the earth is to learn to make our own life peaceful.”
-Buddha
Buddha’s Universal Love, Compassion, Peace & Wisdom…
Tag Archives: Buddha
Reflection for today…The Goal of Creativity -Moby
23 Apr“The Goal of Creativity is Beauty.”
-Moby
Moby and David Lynch: Two Masters in Creativity
Photo courtesy of Moby
http://www.moby.com/
David Lynch & Moby Working in Creative Synchronicity
Photo Courtesy of Moby
http://www.moby.com/
Moby Reflects…
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In this short clip, Moby reflects on the goal of creativity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xitia8di4n4
He heard David Lynch say:
“Creativity in and of itself is a beautiful thing.”
That one sentence resonated so much with Moby that it inspired him to adjust his artistic focus.
Moby reflected on the preciousness of life and decided that he wants to remember making beautiful art and music on his death-bed.
His new focus is self-expression and to make beautiful art that will affect people.
In my opinion, Moby has always made beautiful emotive music that has touched people’s souls.
I have been a fan of his music for many years and am grateful that he is continuing on his artistic path.
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What Moby said made me reflect on the legacy that I want to leave behind.
{Thinking of what you want to remember on your death-bed really puts life into crystal clear focus}.
I think that the relationships, friendships and interactions with people is what we leave behind.
{Of course if you are an artist you will leave behind your art as well}.
Whenever we gave the gift of our spiritual presence, love, compassion and kindness is hopefully what people will remember.
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This clip also made me realize again how interconnected we really are.
{Buddhism and many spiritual paths speak about the interconnection of sentient beings}.
You never know how your words or actions will affect someone.
{I try to be really mindful about this}.
Our words and actions are so powerful that they have ripple effects.
Why not try to give the best of yourself to others?
{I know that it is easier said than done but we can still try our best to give our best}.
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Please enjoy The Sky is Broken by Moby…
{The X-Files episode “All Things” from Season 7 includes Moby’s song “The Sky is Broken}.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsFIZa1jQCE
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What are your creative goals?
What do you think the role of creativity is?
How can you infuse your life and the lives of others with more beauty?
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For more information…
Moby…http://www.moby.com/
David Lynch…http://davidlynch.com/
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Moby wishes you peace, love, creativity and enlightenment…
Peace & Namaste….
Related articles
- Reflection for today…Music & Creativity -David Lynch interviews Moby (mysoulsonice.wordpress.com)
- Reflection for today…Art Is A Question Mark -Marilyn Manson (mysoulsonice.wordpress.com)
- Reflection is Fuel for The Creative Process -Gotye (mysoulsonice.wordpress.com)
- Reflection for today…Creativity & Intelligence -Albert Einstein (mysoulsonice.wordpress.com)
- Reflection for today…How Art Evolves Consciousness -Alex Grey (mysoulsonice.wordpress.com)
Reflection for today…The Power of Compassion -Dalai Lama
15 Apr“If a person has never encountered love towards himself or herself from any quarter, it is a very sad thing.
But if that person can meet even one person who will show unconditional love– simply acceptance and compassion –
if he knows that he is an object of someone else’s affection and love,
it is bound to have an impact, and this will be appreciated.
Because there is a seed in himself, this act of love will start to catalyse or ripen that seed.”
if he knows that he is an object of someone else’s affection and love,
it is bound to have an impact, and this will be appreciated.
Because there is a seed in himself, this act of love will start to catalyse or ripen that seed.”
-The Dalai Lama
For more information on the Dalai Lama, please visit his official website…http://www.dalailama.com/
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Peace & Namaste…
Related articles
- Reflection for today…Laziness- The Dalai Lama (mysoulsonice.wordpress.com)
- Reflection for today…Surprises About Humanity- The Dalai Lama (mysoulsonice.wordpress.com)
Reflection for today…Creativity & Intelligence -Albert Einstein
12 Apr“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
-Albert Einstein
The beautiful marriage of creativity and intelligence…
Do you think that creativity and intelligence are interrelated or do you think that they are separate entities?
Does ”creative intelligence” exist?
Do you think that creative expression can heal?
Can creative expression be a spiritual practice?
How do you like to express your creativity and intelligence?
Are there other creative outlets that you would like to try?
Would you rather stay with your favourite forms of creative expression?
{I would like to try many creative outlets…music {being a DJ and learning to play an instrument}, photography, jewellery design, graphic design, interior design, fashion design, teaching {the alchemy of education}, cooking, gardening, cinematography, graffiti artist, painting, sculpting, origami, making art on Etsy and Deviantart, learning photoshop, make-up artistry, typography, calligraphy {the art of beautiful writing}, dancing, yoga, meditation, etc }.
There is so much to choose from in a possible creativity palette.
{Some of these creative possibilities can even be a spiritual practice e.g. Buddhist monks creating mandalas for meditative purposes}.
Photo courtesy of: http://www.buffalo.edu/
I would also like to do some writing and research to develop a thesis into a possible book.
Of course, working on and hopefully improving this humble blog is a favourite creative outlet.
*It must be noted that creative consumption is also part of the creativity & intelligence equation.
Your creative diet is vital for your creative expression.
I love to read other blogs in order to inspire, educate and enlighten me.
Thank you for all of your hard work fellow blog lovers!!!
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Peace & Namaste…
Related articles
- The importance of imagination according to Einstein (fabtastes.wordpress.com)
Reflection for today…Faith In One’s Spiritual Path -Paulo Coelho
11 Apr“In order to have faith in his own path,
he does not need to prove that someone else’s path is wrong.”
―Paulo Coelho
Stic Man Praying…
Buddhism is an inclusive spiritual path…
Please enjoy “No Way As The Way” by Dead Prez…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEXB0WsFVKg
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I love how inclusive “no way as the way” is.
“…My mind is a Buddhist temple.
The truth is simple.
I try to be principled.
Walking with a warrior’s spirit.
Aint’ nothing like learning from first hand life experience.
I’m a realist.
That’s all I deal with.
Respecting truth, that’s all I build with.
A child of the universe.
My religion is life and it’s just as valid.
I strive for balance…”
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For more information…
Paulo Coelho…http://paulocoelhoblog.com/
Dead Prez….http://deadprezblog.wordpress.com/
Their new album ”Information Age” is available for purchase now…
{Thank you Stic Man & M-1!}
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/information-age/id565661367
http://www.amazon.com/Information-Age/dp/B009I5LNMW
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Peace & Namaste…
Reflection for today…Time is of The Essence -Buddha
27 Feb“The trouble is,
you think you have time.”
-Buddha
Soft Watch at the Moment of First Explosion
Melting Watch, 1954 by Salvador Dali {Photo Courtesy of: http://www.edali.org/}.
The Melting Watch, (also known as Soft Watch at the Moment of First Explosion) is an example of this surrealist movement. Created in 1954, Dali used the presence of a dreamlike quality and ghostly appearance to accentuate the mysterious and unexplainable in his painting.
Surrealism rejects logic, reason and natural order. It uses techniques such as dreamlike or ghostly qualities, juxtaposition (a method for rejecting harmony in their work) and incorporates surreal objects and subject matter. Dali uses these same techniques in his painting Soft Watch at the Moment of Explosion to intrigue his viewers and provoke thought.
In his painting, Dali assimilates shadowy outlines of objects and uses the dreamlike quality in the way the watch twists and its broken pieces unexplainably float above it. Also, the ghostly way the watch drapes over one edge of the box as if melting. The watch seems to be pulling apart and stretching. It may denote Dali’s belief that time passing brings eventual destruction.
In Soft Watch at the Moment of Explosion, Dali incorporates a great deal of color juxtaposition. Most of the background consists of deep browns and gold and is contrasted by the white clock in the center of the painting. Dali’s painting also displays surreal objects, although most of these are in the foreground (a moth, a fly and a bizarre clock). In the background we see a small cluster of mountains.
As Dawn Ades wrote:
The soft watches are an unconscious symbol of the relativity of space and time, a Surrealist meditation on the collapse of our notions of a fixed cosmic order.
This interpretation suggests that Dalí was incorporating an understanding of the world introduced by Albert Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity. Asked by Ilya Prigogine whether this was in fact the case, Dalí replied that the soft watches were not inspired by the theory of relativity, but by the surrealist perception of a Camembert cheese melting in the sun.”
-http://www.edali.org/
Persistence of Memory, 1931 by Salvador Dali
Photo Courtesy of: http://www.edali.org/persistence-of-memory.jsp
“The faithful transcription of dreams has always played a major role in Dali’s paintings. The painter had studied psycho-analysis and the works of Freud before joining the Surrealists. To dream is easy for him because of his Mediterranean heritage. A siesta, to him, has always opened the doors of a pre-sleep period, the instant when one forget the presence of one’s body. Dali’s demonology owes a great deal to his reveries. They have given birth to heterogeneous elements which he then brings together in his paintings without always knowing why. In the works of the Surrealist period, Dali treated those elements of disparate appearance with absolute realism which emphasized the proper character of each one of them, making an exact copy from a document, a photograph, or the actual object, as well as using collage.”
-http://www.edali.org/
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, 1954 By Salvador Dali
Photo Courtesy of: http://www.edali.org/the-disintegration-of-the-persistence-of-memory.jsp
“Dalí had been greatly interested in nuclear physics since the first atomic bomb explosions of August 1945, and described the atom as his “favourite food for thought”. Recognising that matter was made up of atoms which did not touch each other, he sought to replicate this in his art at the time, with items suspended and not interacting with each other, such as in The Madonna of Port Lligat.
To Dalí, this image was symbolic of the new physics—the quantum world which exists as both particles and waves. The imagery of the original Persistence of Memory can be read as a representation of Einstein’s theory of relativity (although Dalí himself denied the connection to the theory), symbolizing the warping of spacetime by gravity. In this new work, quantum mechanics is symbolized by “digitizing” the old image.”
-http://www.edali.org/
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Buddha’s reflection on time is that it is taken for granted.
Time is of the essence because death is approaching {memento mori}.
Being mindful gives us awareness of how we use our time. Hopefully our time is being used living our potential and awakening spiritually and otherwise.
The key is to live in the present moment {the now} and do your very best.
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I wonder about Buddhist conceptions of time.
I found an intriguing excerpt on Buddhist notions of time from www.tricycle.com
Daniel Goleman: “What is the Buddhist understanding of Time? How can we relate our sense of the process of time to our experience of the present moment?
His Holiness the Dalai Lama: In Buddhism, the concept of linear time, of time as a kind of container, is not accepted. Time itself, I think, is something quite weak. It depends on some physical basis, some specific thing. Apart from that thing it is difficult to pinpoint—to see time. Time is understood or conceived only in relation to a phenomenon or a process.
DG: Yet the passage of time seems very concrete—the past, the present, aging. The process of time seems very real.
HH: This business of time is a difficult subject. There are several different explanations and theories about time; there is no one explanation in Buddhism. I feel there is a difference between time and the phenomena on which time is projected. Time can be spoken of only in relation to phenomena susceptible to change, which because they are susceptible to change are transitory and impermanent. “Impermanent” means there is a process. If there is no process of change, then one cannot conceive of time in the first place.
The question is whether it is possible to imagine an independent time which is not related to any particulars, any object that goes through change. In relation to such an object, we can talk about the past of that thing, its present state, and its future; but without relation to such particulars, it is very difficult to conceive of an instant of time totally independent of a particular basis.”
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This video clip is from The Tudors.
King Henry the eighth reflects on loss.
He asks his beloved friend Charles Brandon…
What loss is to man most irrecoverable?
Charles answers virtue and then honour.
Henry says that by his actions man can redeem his virtue.
He may also find the means to recover his honour as he recovers fortune that has been lost.
Henry answers…
Of all losses time is the most irrecuperable for it can never be redeemed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0RME0FD1_k
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I highly recommend watching The Tudors if you haven’t seen it yet…
Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ performance as Henry VIII is unforgettable to say the least.
Long live the king!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTiL8pgNqhs
Have a surrealist day 
Peace & Namaste…
Related articles
- Reflection for today…Love’s Alchemy -Rumi (mysoulsonice.wordpress.com)
- Reflection for today…Use Buddhist Teachings As A Catalyst -Dalai Lama (mysoulsonice.wordpress.com)
Reflection for today…Use Buddhist Teachings As A Catalyst -Dalai Lama
28 Jan“Don’t try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist;
use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are.“
-His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Butterflies: A Symbol of Metamorphosis
Photo Courtesy of: http://till-we-droop.tumblr.com/
I love how inclusive Buddhism is.
Every life is precious.
Everyone has buddha nature.
Everyone has the potential to reach enlightenment.
I know Buddhism is a religion but I see it as a way of life.
Peace & Namaste…
Related articles
- The Best Guide to Buddhism (I’ve found) (tinygrenade.com)
- Reflection for today…Time is of The Essence -Buddha (mysoulsonice.wordpress.com)
Reflection for today…The Roots of Peace -Thich Nhat Hanh
10 Jan“Our capacity to make peace with another person and with the world depends very much on our capacity to make peace with ourselves.”
How can you make peace with yourself?
How can you make peace with others?
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“Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, poet, scholar, and peace activist. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967 by Martin Luther King Jr. for his efforts in generating peace and reconciliation in his native country. Thich Nhat Hanh travels internationally, teaching from his book The Art of Mindful Living. He lives at Plum Village Practice Centre in France, a Buddhist monastery for monks, nuns, and laypeople.”-Shambhala Sun
To learn about Thich Nhat Hanh and his work,
please visit his website:
Peace & Namaste…
Related articles
- Thich Nhat Hanh: 5 Mindfulness Trainings (mbsbalance.wordpress.com)
- [Quote] Peace (davidhulonhood.typepad.com)
- We Live Love Mindfully: Mindfulness in action at Plum village, The hiding place of Thich Nhat Hanh (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
- How a sense of sacred can help sustainable business (guardian.co.uk)
Reflection for today…Awakening Compassion -Pema Chödrön
9 Jan“Learning how to be kind to ourselves is important.
When we look into our own hearts and begin to discover what is confused and what is brilliant, what is bitter and what is sweet, it isn’t just ourselves that we’re discovering.
We’re discovering the universe.
When we discover the buddha that we are, we realize that everything and everyone is Buddha.
We discover that everything is awake, and everyone is awake.
Everything and everyone is precious and whole and good. When we regard thoughts and emotions with humor and openness, that’s how we perceive the universe.”
How can you be more compassionate towards yourself and others?
Compassion is our love letter to the universe.
Peace & Namaste…
Related articles
- A Modern Interpretation of Buddha Nature (aumparasamgate.wordpress.com)
- Dissolving Our Self-Importance (shambhala.com)
Reflection for today…Compassion Is The Key To Enlightenment -Buddha
15 Dec“For those of you who want to attain enlightenment,
do not study many teachings.
Only study one.
What is it?
It is great compassion.
Whoever has great compassion has all Buddha’s qualities in his hand.”
-Buddha
Photo Courtesy of: http://www.tibetanecology.org/Tibetan-Tent_files/tibetan_contemporary_art_mantras.html
Compassion Mantra: Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum
Art by: Artist: Tsultrim Gyatso
“All the teachings of Buddha are contained within the six letters, also it is the embodiment of the compassion Buddha Avalokiteshvara. Tibetans believe that praying or chanting the mantra will increase your compassion and make closer your connection to the Buddha Avalokiteshvara eventually achieving Buddhahood.”
Photo Courtesy of: http://www.wiseattention.org/blog/2012/04/01/palden-gyatso/
This photo accompanies a sobering and inspiring articled entitled,
‘Compassion for My Torturer’: A Meeting With Palden Gyatso.”
Written by: Vishvapani on http://www.wiseattention.org/
“Tibetan Buddhist monk, Palden Gyatso, spent 33 years imprisoned by the Chinese and drew deep on his Buddhist practice to survive his brutal treatment. He escaped to the West to tell his story and I met him in London to discuss his experiences his searing memoir, Fire Under the Snow.”
Angelina Jolie Photographed by: PER-ANDERS PETTERSSON
The caption on his website:
Darfur Refugees
“Angelina Jolie, the Oscar winning actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, holds a mentally disturbed boy, as he is tied with a rope in a camp in Oure Cassoni, Chad, 2007.
Angelina Jolie met the 7 year-old boy while spending two days visiting Oure Cassoni, a refugee camp close to the Sudan border.
Almost 27,000 refugees lives there and it was opened in 2004.”
“I also spent time with SOS Children’s villages staff, and we visited a 7-year-old boy that was held with a rope to a pole by his family.
This to keep him from wandering away, they said.
According to SOS, the boy saw his village bombed when he was 3- years old.
He hid alone in the bush for 2 days before his family found him and they all fled across the border.
SOS Children’s villages launched an emergency relief program for refugees from Darfur in 2006.
They focus on providing psychosocial care for traumatized children and their parents.
They presently care for about 230 children and adults.
Many have been living in the camp since 2004.
Many children experience symptoms such as nightmares, bedwetting and behavioral problems.
These children are often in a state of anxiety and they often have hallucinations. The children attend group therapy sessions where they play, sing and paint.
They work closely together with UNHCR and International Rescue Committee in the camp.”
Photo Courtesy of: http://lesjoyeusesboucanieres.net/2011/03/23/krista-tippett-reconnecting-with-compassion/
Angelina Jolie: Humanitarian, Social Activist & Beautiful Soul
Audrey Hepburn: Humanitarian, Social Activist & Beautiful Soul
The teachings of wisdom and compassion made me fall in love with Buddhism as a way of life.
Peace & Namaste Friends…
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Related articles
- Krista Tippett: Reconnecting with Compassion (http://lesjoyeusesboucanieres.net/2011/03/23/krista-tippett-reconnecting-with-compassion/)
- Enlightenment! (lijiun.wordpress.com)
- Buddhism 101 – What Is Buddhism? (liefortruth.wordpress.com)
- Lewis Richmond: Celebrating Bodhi Day for the 21st Century (huffingtonpost.com)
- The Art of Compassion (perspectives11.wordpress.com)
- Compassion. Who Needs It? (walkswithyogi.wordpress.com)
- the Four Immeasurables ~ Buddha’s Advice to Rahula (jasbaku.wordpress.com)
Reflection for today…Humility Is Compassionate -C.S. Lewis
11 Dec
Photo Courtesy of: http://www.soulcoin.com/HumilityandJoy.html
The elements of this coin focus your attention on humble thoughts.
In the center on the front is a door.
This door is from the Maisel Synagogue in Prague.
In regards to an arrogant person the Creator says: “I and he cannot dwell together.” The door to the Creator’s house
allows for the humble of spirit to enter. The door itself, represented by the Hebrew letter Dalet, is the property of humility and lowliness.
The letter Dalet is the large letter in the middle of the reverse side of the coin On the front, the phrase “I am but dust and ashes” , from Genesis 18:27, is written in English and Hebrew.
Hebrew – V’anokhi `afar va’efer
The plant below this phrase on either side is the hyssop – the lowly hyssop represents modesty and humility. It never becomes proud because of its numerous useful qualities, but remains humble in appearance and modest in its demands.
On the reverse (“tails”) side, the phrase “Know from whence you came”, is written in English and Hebrew.
This reminds you that once upon a time you were just a small bit of matter, and have no reason to be puffed up with pride.
Hebrew – da may’ayin ba’ta
In the center is the Hebrew letter Dalet, characterizing lowliness, the consciousness of possessing nothing of your own.
“434” is the numerical value of the Hebrew word “Dalet”. There are many meanings associated with this number and Dalet for you to explore if you so chose.
Photo Courtesy of:
http://ridingaspiral.blogspot.ca/2010/10/dont-know-mind.html
Dalai Lama Photo Courtesy of: http://truemilena.blogspot.ca/2009/06/sitting-with-remarkable-man-dalai-lama.html
DWENNIMMEN (djwin-knee-mann): “Ram’s horns.”
“West African symbol of strength (in mind, body and soul), humility, wisdom and learning.
The ram will fight fiercely against an adversary, but it also submits humbly to slaughter, emphasizing that even the strong need to be humble. “
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What a brilliant quote!
Humility as a cure for ego and selfishness- as prescribed by C.S. Lewis.
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Peace & Namaste…
Reflection for today…The Manifesto of Encouragement -Danielle LaPorte
20 OctThe Manifesto of Encouragement
Right now:
There are Tibetan Buddhist monks in a temple in the Himalayas endlessly reciting mantras for the cessation of your suffering and for the flourishing of your happiness.
Someone you haven’t met yet is already dreaming of adoring you.
Someone is writing a book that you will read in the next two years that will change how you look at life.
Nuns in the Alps are in endless vigil, praying for the Holy Spirit to alight the hearts of all of God’s children.
A farmer is looking at his organic crops and whispering, “nourish them.”
Someone wants to kiss you, to hold you, to make tea for you.
Someone is willing to lend you money, wants to know what your favourite food is, and treat you to a movie.
Someone in your orbit has something immensely valuable to give you — for free.
Something is being invented this year that will change how your generation lives, communicates, heals and passes on.
The next great song is being rehearsed.
Thousands of people are in yoga classes right now intentionally sending light out from their heart chakras and wrapping it around the earth.
Millions of children are assuming that everything is amazing and will always be that way.
Someone is in profound pain, and a few months from now, they’ll be thriving like never before. They just can’t see it from where they’re at.
Someone who is craving to be partnered, to be acknowledged, to ARRIVE, will get precisely what they want — and even more. And because that gift will be so fantastical in it’s reach and sweetness, it will quite magically alter their memory of angsty longing and render it all “So worth the wait.“
Someone has recently cracked open their joyous, genuine nature because they did the hard work of hauling years of oppression off of their psyche — this luminous juju is floating in the ether, and is accessible to you.
Someone just this second wished for world peace, in earnest.
Someone is fighting the fight so that you don’t have to.
Some civil servant is making sure that you get your mail, and your garbage is picked up, that the trains are running on time, and that you are generally safe. Someone is dedicating their days to protecting your civil liberties and clean drinking water.
Someone is regaining their sanity. Someone is coming back from the dead. Someone is genuinely forgiving the seemingly unforgivable. Someone is curing the incurable.
You. Me. Some. One. Now.
Copied & Pasted from: http://www.daniellelaporte.com/inspiration-spirituality-articles/the-manifesto-of-encouragement/
“Danielle LaPorte is the creator of WhiteHotTruth.com, which has been called the best place on-line for kick-ass spirituality.”
Please visit her website for some inspiration and wisdom…She is so brilliant. I just “discovered” her and will most likely be doing more blog posts about her and her writing.
If you want more inspiration and wisdom from Danielle, please go to her website: http://www.daniellelaporte.com/ to sign up for her newsletters.
You can choose to receive via email a “daily truthbomb”, a “somewhat weekly” newsletter and a “monthly digest” newsletter.
I am signed up for all of them and highly recommend them.
Her book The Fire Starter Sessions is at the top of my reading list.
Danielle has generously provided the first chapter of her book for free on her website. You can read it on Scribd or download it in pdf format. Please click on this link: The Fire Starter Sessions Chapter One.
Peace & Namaste Friends…
Photo Courtesy of Anastasia Photography
From their blog at: http://anastasiachomlack.typepad.com/laughter/2009/11/inspired.html
Related articles
- In company of visionary friends: Danielle LaPorte (creatingblueoceans.com)
- A Buddhist paradise — now also popular with tourists (photoblog.nbcnews.com)
- Fear and creativity. (tingkelly.wordpress.com)
Reflection for today…The Three Methods of Learning Wisdom -Confucius
5 Oct“By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is noblest;
Second, by imitation, which is easiest;
and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”
Dalai Lama Photo Courtesy of: http://www.equinoxpub.com/blog/2012/09/templeton-and-the-dalai-lama/
“In Japan, Conan, a male chihuahua, has been imitating Buddhist priest Joei Yoshikuni in the prayer stance.”
Photo Courtesty of: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/03/31/all-dogs-go-to-heaven/
“Derivation of Wisdom,” by Connie Tettenborn
A mix of poetry and calculus.
{Photo Courtesy of: Scientific American}
Reflection for today…To Be A Philosopher -Henry David Thoreau
27 Sep“To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts,
not even to found a school,
but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates,
a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust.
It is to solve some of the problems of life,
not only theoretically, but practically.”
-Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854), p. 12
Heart of Wisdom Symbolic Mandala by: Cristina McAllister at Gypsy Mystery Arts.
Please go to:
http://cristinamcallister.blogspot.ca/2011/01/art-spotlight-heart-of-wisdom.html for more information. She goes into an even deeper analysis and explanation on her blog. It is trully fascinating.
According to the artist Cristina McAllister:
“The heart is a symbol of love, of emotion, the center of our Selves. Wings represent freedom, divinity, and transcendence.
Together they suggest the form of an owl – an animal sacred to Athena, ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, civilization, strength and strategy. Owls have been revered throughout the world as messengers of sacred knowledge, insight and intuitive awareness, as well as scholarly pursuits.
At the top, a Native American shaman’s eye offers wisdom and protection. In many tribal cultures, shamans serve as intermediaries between the human and spirit worlds. They interpret omens and offer insight through mystical, as well as practical means, in effort to protect and guide their people.
Below twines a pair of snakes. These creatures signified wisdom to the ancient Egyptians, Jews, Gnostics, Eastern Indians and Chinese. The notion of snakes being wise was based on observations of their behavior. When hunting, snakes appear to think deeply and consider every move before acting.
Also present are two West African adrinka symbols. Sankofa, or “return and get it” (above the winged heart) represents the ability to learn from the past. Nyansapo, or “Knot of Wisdom” (at bottom center) indicates intelligence, wisdom and cleverness.”
Photo Courtesy of: Unborn Mind Zen Blog
http://unbornmind.com/myblog/2012/02/23/now-voyager/
Photo Courtesy of:
http://hellyeahreligion.tumblr.com/post/7518986524/the-buddha-was-sitting-under-a-tree-talking-to-his
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This quote begs the question…Do you love wisdom enough to live in wisdom?
Peace & Namaste…
Japan’s Suicide Forest Teaches About Compassion & The Human Need For Real Connection…
18 SepSuicide is a very uncomfortable and necessary subject to discuss.
I recently came across a YouTube video that left such an impact on me that I was not able to write a blog post until now {approx. 18 days}.
The video left such a deep impression on me that I had to reflect for a while before I could decide what to write.
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Japan’s Aokigahara (青木ヶ原) forest also known as the Sea of Trees (樹海 Jukai) or the Suicide forest is a place where many people go to contemplate suicide.
Sadly, many actually commit suicide.
I feel so much compassion for people who are considering suicide as a way to end their pain.
I strongly believe that people do not actually want to die but to end their pain and they do not see another way to achieve this.
Below is an actual suicide note found in the forest.
I find it heart breaking.
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Many moons ago, I had a friend that was considering suicide.
Sadly, we are not in each other’s lives anymore. {In case you are worried…don’t worry he is okay. He is one of the strongest individuals I have known. I saw him the other day from afar}.
I think of him often and pray that he finds the strength to fight against his darkness.
I am still haunted by the fact that he felt this depressed and that I could not do anything to heal his pain.
I know that only he can heal his pain.
I did my best to be a loving friend but I know that we cannot truly save anyone.
We can only save ourselves.
In fact, we always had a friendly argument about saving and being saved.
It revolved around the graphic novel and film Sin City.
I recommend it if you get a chance to see it.
Here is the trailer in case you are interested
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKFLrTYKIXk
Please click this link for more information on the movie: Sin City.
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Marv was so madly in love with Goldie and he loved her so much that he wanted to go to hell to save her. 
My friend fiercely defended his thesis of loving someone so deeply that you go to hell to save them.
Art Made By Nat Wellington at http://boodoyouthinkyouare.blogspot.ca/
Conversely, I went for a different thesis. I said that you can love someone so much that you get out of hell because of your love for them and possibly their love for you. Your love for them is so powerful and/or their love for you is so strong that you pull yourself up with your own strength and get out of hell- your personal hell or the other kind. In essence, you save yourself instead of saving someone else. In other words, the alchemy of love.
No one was right or wrong. It was fun to discuss but I stand by my point of view even though I recognize his had merit. It all depends on how you look at things and being polar opposites, we were going to see differently once in a while. Well, it was a healthy discussion.
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Can we actually save someone?
Dita Von Teese & Marilyn Manson in Vogue Magazine
Photo By Steven Klein
Azusa Hayano makes me question my beliefs that we cannot save anyone but ourselves.
I do believe we can help someone to save themselves and this is what I think he does so brilliantly and compassionately.
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We meet an extraordinary soul, Azusa Hayano, in this vice documentary.
He is a geologist that does the most important job of suicide patrol in the forest. {I discovered from another video that the police also seem to do suicide patrol}.
Azusa also studies how people co-exist with nature because he says it is part of environmental research.
He still does not know why people kill themselves in such a beautiful forest (18:53) although he does explain that it may be because of a popular book written in the past.
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Azusa patrols the forest looking for people who are contemplating suicide in hopes of convincing them otherwise.
He even finds a man in a yellow tent that appears to have been contemplating suicide. According to the VICE website comments found at http://www.vice.com/vice-news/aokigahara-suicide-forest-v3, the man in the yellow tent had been camping in the forest for one month. He had to be taken out in an ambulance.
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The police even put up signs to try to stop people from committing suicide. They also provide the number for suicide hotlines.
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I found it fascinating that many people leave a trail of tape to find their way back in case they change their mind. This is hopeful because people who are undecided can finally decide to leave the forest.
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With his gentle and compassionate manner, one can see how Azusa could convince someone who is struggling to live.
I was struck by how much this man cares.
He really cares and that is so rare these days.
In a forest where traditional compasses do not work, Azusa uses his compassion and wisdom as his guides.
He also looks for people who have committed suicide.
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Azusa reminds me of the value of a life and how much difference one life can make in the world.
If we could find our purpose and live our potential, then we could make our contribution- our gift to the world.
We need more people like Azusa in this world.
We need more people who really care and have compassion for those who are suffering. I don’t know if he technically “saves” anyone but he does help people to save themselves and this is priceless.
Azusa is actually living the Buddha’s teachings- especially that of compassion.
I am also reminded by how the absence of one life can be a tear in the fabric of existence and humanity. I think about how that person had so much more life to live, love and wisdom to give and receive, experiences to be had, esoteric gifts to give and potential to be lived.
I think of the apocalyptic loss for their loved ones.
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Azusa states in the documentary that the internet and technology may be the reason why there is such a disconnection between oneself and others. It is as if a schism is caused between our waking lives and our onscreen lives. Our lack of face-to-face communication has a price. Disconnection, depression, further loneliness and numbness may develop. Azusa discusses the human need for connection in real life- not through the filter of a computer screen.
“Face-to-face communication used to be vital, but now we can live our lives being online all day. However, the truth of the matter is that we still need to see each other’s faces, read their expressions, hear their voices, so we can fully understand their emotions to coexist.”
-Azusa Hayano
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The essence of what Azusa teaches and lives is filled with compassion and wisdom…
This documentary also reminds me of the urgent need to discuss mental health issues.
I am and continue to be a mental health advocate.
I deeply believe in the strength and resilience of the human spirit. We can transcend our suffering and transform it into something beautiful and meaningful.
The phoenix always rises from the ashes…
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To those of you suffering and feeling depressed…I offer you my compassion. This post if for you.
Please speak to someone who cares- even if they are a stranger. You will never know what a difference it could make in your life. They might have some life changing wisdom to give you or messages from the universe.
*Reach out to someone.
I pray the Buddha’s teachings, wisdom and compassion can alleviate your suffering.
Conversely, you never know how you can help someone who is suffering and in need.
You never know what impact you can have on someone’s life- even a stranger.
We are all interconnected.
By helping others we are actually helping ourselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuUhBuSgmik
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Here is the documentary friends.
Please be warned of the graphic subject matter of this video and of some sad and possibly disturbing video footage…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FDSdg09df8
Here is part of the transcript:
“Aokigahara: Suicide Forest
“I’ve been living here for more than 30 years. My job is mainly environmental protection, I study volcanic eruptions and the plantation at the foot of Mt. Fuji.
In the year 864, Mt. Fuji erupted, and the forest that grew over the dried lava was named “Jukai” or “Sea of Trees”. Aokigahara is the actual name of the place, but people started calling it “Jukai”, because the forest as seen from halfway up of Mt. Fuji, is green all year round, and it looks like the ocean.
We’re entering the forest now. There’s a car that’s been abandoned for a few months, let’s take a look. I’m assuming the owner of the car went in from here and never came out. I guess they went into the forest with troubled thoughts.
In the old days in Japan, suicide was mainly known as the samarai’s act, as in “Seppuku” (harakari). In other cases poor families would abandon their elders in the mountains. That’s how it was back then, they weren’t killing themselves cause they couldn’t adapt to society. That didn’t happen like it does now, it’s a modern phenomenon.
This is a sign to stop suicidal people.
“Your life is a precious gift from your parents,
Please think about your parents, siblings, and children.
Don’t keep it to yourself. Talk about your troubles.”
Then it says to contact the Suicide Prevention Association.
Locals don’t commt suicide here. As children they’re told not to come near here, that it’s a scary forest. This path is open for the public, but you can’t follow the trail beyond this point. It says not to enter because you can easily get lost. In the Jukai, I think I’ve found more than… 100 suicide corpses in the last 20 years or so.
I found something strange, I’ll show you. People who are indecisive about dying, wrap this tape on trees along their way, so they can find their way out. There’s something that looks like a tent. I’m going to see if anyone’s inside, please wait here.” -Azusa Hayano, geologist
The forest is a popular place for suicides, reportedly the world’s second most popular suicide location after San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. This popularity is often attributed to the 1960 novel Nami no To by Seicho Matsumoto, which ends with two lovers committing suicide in the forest. However, the history of suicide in Aokigahara dates from before the novel’s publication, and the place has long been associated with death: ubasute was allegedly practiced there into the 19th century, and the forest is reputedly haunted by the ghosts of those left to die…”
Copied and pasted from: http://ponury.tumblr.com/post/15293840018/aokigahara-suicide-forest-ive-been-living-here
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Here is a short video about the Aokigahara forest and the plague of suicide in Japan (2:34). There is thought to be one suicide every fifteen minutes in Japan.
An expert postulates that societal pressures and culture is to blame for the high suicide rate in Japan (1:55). He notes that even from a young age weakness is not allowed to be displayed.
“Whether it is within the family, at work or in society, it is very hard to show weakness. From a very young age, from primary school on, dynamic and happy kids are held up as examples to follow. If you don’t live up to that, other people treat you harshly and that’s is why people don’t ask for help.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq1-0FvME8U&feature=player_embedded
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This video offers a different perspective of the Aokiagahara forest (4:57).
It attempts to answer the question of why people come to die there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD2cJlx-caQ&feature=player_embedded#!
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It is intriguing to note that Dante wrote about a suicide forest.
His writing was also translated into art.
Dante Alighieri’s Inferno from the Original by Dante Alighieri and Illustrated with the Designs of Gustave Doré (New York: Cassell Publishing Company, 1890).
Dante Alighieri’s Inferno from the Original by Dante Alighieri and Illustrated with the Designs of Gustave Doré (New York: Cassell Publishing Company, 1890).
Dali’s depiction of the ‘Wood of Suicides’ from ‘Inferno’ 13
©2006 Salvador Dalí, Gala–Salvador Dali Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
I would love to hear your thoughts about this post.
Peace & Namaste…
Related articles
- Suicide (chasepage.net)
- Spontaneous Suicide (psychologytoday.com)
Reflection for today…Interrelationship -Thich Nhat Hanh
10 Aug“You are me, and I am you.
Isn’t it obvious that we “inter-are”?
You cultivate the flower in yourself,
so that I will be beautiful.
I transform the garbage in myself,
so that you will not have to suffer.
I support you;
you support me.
I am in this world to offer you peace;
you are in this world to bring me joy.”
Peace & Namaste…
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