11:11

I always thought this was weird:

How often have you noticed the numbers 11:11, 12:12, 10:10, 22:22, 12:34, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44 or 5:55 popping up all over the place? These number sequences are not necessarily only time prompts. They can also be number sequences, like 333, 1111 etc. To your mind, is this a coincidence, or are they too frequent to be random? Perhaps you are puzzled or amused by this phenomenon? Possibly even a little bit nervous? The question everyone is asking is “What does 11:11 mean?” and “Is there a reason for this?” And there certainly is.

Click the link for the full treatment….

Wealthy Buddhists

I just put up (at my other blog) a provocative little post that analyzes Buddhist wealth as opposed to American wealth, in case you’re intrested in clicking on over there….

Today’s Ramana Moment

Here’s a new site dedicated to Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

From the front page:

The degree of happiness that we experience at any moment is directly proportionate to the degree of clarity with which we are then conscious of our true and essential being. Therefore happiness is not only our essential being, but is also our consciousness of our being. In fact, since we are the consciousness that experiences our own being as ‘I am’, we are both being and consciousness. In other words, our essential being is consciousness, or more precisely it is self-consciousness – consciousness that knows itself clearly as ‘I am’. Therefore, since our unobstructed consciousness of our own being is experienced by us as happiness, in our essential nature we are non-dual being, consciousness and happiness.

They offer a free ebook and the promise of more, so if you’re Jonesing for some saintly discussion, this is a great place in which to spend time.

Radical Reverend Bates

Just a quick note of welcome to my new friend, Rev. Hank Bates of Desert Cities Religious Science in Palm Springs, CA.

His brand of Radical Religious Science appeals to my tendency toward taking a practice to its logical extreme — which is to say, I’ve no interest in watered-down spirituality, and Rev. Bates is all about walking the talk when it comes to the business of living in communion with the One Mind.

So, I’ve added his website to my blogroll, and am appreciative of his willingness to engage my earnest questions in a series of email conversations. For those interested in the prospect of 24/7 communion with All That Is, please check him out at the above link….

The Wisdom of Gandhi

I just found an incredible site that is filled to bursting with Gandhi quotes. Here are some samples:

• If you have faith in the cause and the means and in God, the sun will be cool for you.
• A fear-stricken person can never know God, and one who knows God will never fear a mortal man.
• The force of nonviolence is infinitely more wonderful and subtle than the material forces of nature, like electricity.
• Forgiveness is the quality of the brave, not of the cowardly.
• A life of sacrifice is the pinnacle of art, and is full of true joy.
• The human society is a ceaseless growth, an unfoldment in terms of spirituality.
• If it is man’s privilege to be independent, it is equally his duty to be inter–dependent.
• An India awakened and free has a message of peace and goodwill to a groaning world.

Lots more of Gandhiji is available online:

• Mahatma Gandhi One Spot
• Gandhi Wikipedia entry
• M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence

In college I T.A.’d two classes on Gandhian nonviolence, and found it to be one of the most powerful experiences of my entire life. Popular conception says that nonviolence (usually derided as “pacifism”) is a gutless, cowardly way to avoid confrontation. Nothing could be further from the truth, and an honest, in-depth study of the Mahatma would leave no doubt in your mind that engaged nonviolence is not only a truly effective strategy against oppression, but one of the most intense spiritual exercises available to humanity.

Unfortunately, without a Gandhi to stand up as a living example to the masses, we cannot expect this most demanding of philosophies to arise automatically.

Thus, we must live the philosophy in our own lives, one person at a time, leaving mass movements to arise according to the Divine Plan.

Life of the Buddha

 

Go to the Buddhism Channel to watch a very interesting, 49-minute documentary on this unparalleled spiritual teacher.

Scientists Discover God

Well, maybe not all scientists, but I just found an Archive of Scientists’ Transcendent Experiences.

While you’ll perhaps want to peruse several (or all?) of the testimonies, here’s a sample from Allan Smith’s “My Experience of Cosmic Consciousness”:

[…]

The Cosmic Consciousness experience began with some mild tingling in the perineal area, the region between the genitals and anus. The feeling was unusual, but was neither particularly pleasant nor unpleasant. After the initial few minutes, I either ceased to notice the tingling or did not remember it. I then noticed that the level of light in the room as well as that of the sky outside seemed to be increasing slowly. The light seemed to be coming from everywhere, not only from the waning sun. In fact, the sun itself did not give off a strong glare. The light gave the air a bright thickened quality that slightly obscured perception rather than sharpened it. It soon became extremely bright, but the light was not in the least unpleasant.

Along with the light came an alteration in mood. I began to feel very good, then still better, then elated. While this was happening, the passage of time seemed to become slower and slower. The brightness, mood-elevation, and time-slowing all progressed together. It is difficult to estimate the time period over which these changes occurred, since the sense of time was itself affected. However, there was a feeling of continuous change, rather than a discrete jump or jumps to a new state. Eventually, the sense of time passing stopped entirely. It is difficult to describe this feeling, but perhaps it would be better to say that there was no time, or no sense of time. Only the present moment existed. My elation proceeded to an ecstatic state, the intensity of which I had never even imagined could be possible. The white light around me merged with the reddish light of the sunset to become one all enveloping, intense undifferentiated light field. Perception of other things faded. Again, the changes seemed to be continuous.

At this point, I merged with the light and everything, including myself, became one unified whole. There was no separation between myself and the rest of the universe. In fact, to say that there was a universe, a self, or any ‘thing’ would be misleading — it would be an equally correct description to say that there was ‘nothing’ as to say that there was ‘everything’. To say that subject merged with object might be almost adequate as a description of the entrance into Cosmic Consciousness, but during Cosmic Consciousness there was neither ‘subject’ nor ‘object’. All words or discursive thinking had stopped and there was no sense of an ‘observer’ to comment or to categorize what was ‘happening’. In fact, there were no discrete events to ‘happen’ — just a timeless, unitary state of being.

[…]

Perhaps the most significant element of Cosmic Consciousness was the absolute knowingness that it involves. This knowingness is a deep understanding that occurs without words. I was certain that the universe was one whole and that it was benign and loving at its ground.

In terms of Buddhist teachings around meditative absorption, we’d say that Smith was blessed with a spontaneous tour through all four of the rupa (material) jhanas, at which point he seems to have hung out in the fourth for a while.

Yogis who maintain a serious daily meditation practice (i.e., at least three sessions a day, minimum of one hour each), who find time to do 10-day (or longer) retreats every year, become accustomed to “cosmic consciousness” as described here, finding that they are suffused and saturated in various levels of that state throughout each moment of the 24 hour cycle.

That scientists, who are accustomed to intense mental focusing, are reporting such experiences is, in my opinion, hopeful for life on planet Earth.

Good for Allan Smith, and may he revisit this state more and more frequently as his path deepens.

Before They Had Cameras…

A wonderful page describing the history, purpose and content of Orthodox iconography:

ICONOGRAPHY IS THE ORIGINAL TRADITION of Christian sacred art, and has been an integral part of the worship and mystical life of Christians since apostolic times. Referred to in the Eastern Christian tradition as “windows into heaven,” they have inspired and uplifted millions of the faithful, and have at times been the instruments for demonstrating God’s miraculous intercession in the life of mankind.

Despite my status as full-time iconoclast, I must admit to a long-standing affinity for this particular form of imagery. I’m not drawn to worship or even venerate the personages preserved in these pictures, but I am drawn to the love and devotion poured into them by their creators.

And the icons do seem to beam out some sort of juiced-up spiritual energy, don’t they?

One thing I didn’t know: St. Luke is considered to have been the first iconographer, when he painted the Virgin Mary and obtained her blessing. Apparently at least five of these images are still revered today, 2000 years later.

One New Earth (O.N.E.)

Here’s a worthy effort to which I’d like to draw everyone’s attention:

O.N.E. is a non-profit, social organization that seeks to unite human rights efforts worldwide.

The purpose of O.N.E. is to spread positive change through unifying the principles of consciousness and action. Our world is overwhelmed with a plethora of issues that seem so immense that we feel paralyzed in our reactions. Many of us either want to do something or are already doing something to remedy the world’s ills, yet still feel that the struggle toward justice is fragmented. A major objective of O.N.E. is to create a strong network of humanitarians whose talents and knowledge can be called upon to address various issues in society.

They’ve got a wonderful website, ready for your exploration.

It’s what this blog is all about: seeking a positive response to what may otherwise depress us, in the interest of creating a world we all would prefer to inhabit.

Alice Coltrane, R.I.P.

Is there not a tradition that these things “come in threes”? First, one of our favorite authors dies (Robert Anton Wilson, on 1/11/07), and now one of our favorite jazz musicians, who happens to have been a spiritual giant, has taken leave of our collective drama:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Alice Coltrane, an avant-garde jazz pianist and widow of saxophone great John Coltrane, whose musical legacy she helped keep, has died at age 69 of respiratory failure, an official said on Sunday.

Coltrane died on Friday at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in West Hills, a Los Angeles suburb, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Famed for replacing McCoy Tyner on piano in her husband’s last quartet as he broke new and controversial musical ground, Coltrane was also a convert to Hinduism and a guru who had her own commune.

Born Alice McLeod in Detroit, Coltrane was trained as a classical musician and as an organist, harpist and pianist. Among her jazz teachers was the legendary Bud Powell.

Jazz vibist Terry Gibbs told the Los Angeles Times that Alice Coltrane met her husband while playing with his band at Birdland in the 1960s.

“He saw something in her that was beautiful. They were both very shy in a way. It was beautiful to see them fall in love,” he told the paper adding, she was “the nicest person I ever worked with. She was a real lady.”

She left Gibbs’ band to marry and play piano for Coltrane as he moved into bolder, more spiritual music than he had been playing before.

In an interview with Essence magazine in September 2006, she was asked if she caused the change in his music and the break-up of the famous John Coltrane Quartet.

Her answer was, “I didn’t have to inspire John toward the avant-garde; he did not need anything from me. That is why it’s so interesting that critics decided to dislike me. At some point the members of the quartet felt it was time for a change, and left on their own.

“When John said that he wanted me to play with him on piano, I told him that there were many others who were qualified. He said, ‘I want you there because you can do it.'” She credited Coltrane with “showing me how to play fully.”

After his death in July 1967 at age 40, she raised the couple’s children, continued playing and expanding upon his music and devoted herself to the study of Eastern religions, adopting the Sanskrit name, Turiyasangitananda.

My wife discovered Alice Coltrane’s music during my time (1991 through 1998) working at an independent record store here in Boulder — this would’ve been 1995, I’m guessing. She’s been collecting Alice’s stuff ever since, including many Japanese import recordings of obscure concert dates at UCLA from the early 70’s.

Alice Coltrane’s spirituality came through every note of every song she ever played. When I would spin “Journey in Satchidananda” over the house system at the record store, shoppers would stop browsing and just listen, many of them buying a copy of the album on the spot.

It’s sad that she’s left us at 69, but on the other hand, I can think of few people who’ve lived such a full life as hers. Besides, I’m sure she would insist that life never dies, but simply moves on to the next thing.

My condolences go out to Alice Coltrane’s family and friends, who’ve been blessed by this unique woman’s presence.

For more, you can go here, here or here….

[Cross-posted over here….]