SUMMER-SUUSI-SUSHI

Yes it has been quite a while, yet according to recent studies time remains a paradox in Relativity...

A month ago I received some extra time, at least 40 hours a week, when I was laid off unexpectedly (but carefully timed by management). Due to "re-structuring" of my department there was no longer a need for me. Very awkward if you think of the fact that I'd spent a good amount of time working on proposals to generate more business (successfully).

This out of the blue (company made a profit and I had recently received a raise) decision made me go through a range of emotions, from being very mad to very sad. As time passed by I started to feel a sense of relief though, maybe this is a blessing in disguise, maybe this will move me towards a purpose more close to who I really am?

It's time to move on! Past week I spent a lot of time with about 1000 like minded people at SUUSI (not the Japanese Sushi, but the Southeast Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute) and thanks to them I can be grateful for having the opportunity to explore new work opportunities and I am inspired to engage in activities that really make a difference.

Events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order the continuous thread of revelation.
Eudora Welty

Namaste, MO

EASTER-EASTRE-ISHTAR

With the Easter celebration just behind us, I wanted to dig a little deeper in the origins of this ritual. Not so much the "resurrection of Jesus" story, I'll come back to that later, but the Pagan roots of this Spring celebration. Upon my search I found the following:

The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

Aphrodite from ancient Cyprus
Ashtoreth from ancient Israel
Astarté from ancient Greece
Demeter from Mycenae
Hathor from ancient Egypt
Ishtar from Assyria
Kali, from India
Ostara a Norse Goddess of fertility.

Pagan origins of Easter:
Many, perhaps most, Pagan religions in the Mediterranean area had a major seasonal day of religious celebration at or following the Spring Equinox. Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess, had a fictional consort who was believed to have been born via a virgin birth. He was Attis, who was believed to have died and been resurrected each year during the period MAR-22 to MAR-25. "About 200 B.C. mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult centered on Vatican hill ...Associated with the Cybele cult was that of her lover, Attis (the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus under a new name). He was a god of ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection." 3

Wherever Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were active in the same geographical area in ancient times, Christians "used to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus on the same date; and pagans and Christians used to quarrel bitterly about which of their gods was the true prototype and which the imitation."

Many religious historians believe that the death and resurrection legends were first associated with Attis, many centuries before the birth of Jesus. They were simply grafted onto stories of Jesus' life in order to make Christian theology more acceptable to Pagans. Others suggest that many of the events in Jesus' life that were recorded in the gospels were lifted from the life of Krishna, the second person of the Hindu Trinity. Ancient Christians had an alternative explanation; they claimed that Satan had created counterfeit deities in advance of the coming of Christ in order to confuse humanity. 4 Modern-day Christians generally regard the Attis legend as being a Pagan myth of little value. They regard Jesus' death and resurrection account as being true, and unrelated to the earlier tradition.

Wiccans and other modern-day Neopagans continue to celebrate the Spring Equinox as one of their 8 yearly Sabbats (holy days of celebration). Near the Mediterranean, this is a time of sprouting of the summer's crop; farther north, it is the time for seeding. Their rituals at the Spring Equinox are related primarily to the fertility of the crops and to the balance of the day and night times. Where Wiccans can safely celebrate the Sabbat out of doors without threat of religious persecution, they often incorporate a bonfire into their rituals, jumping over the dying embers is believed to assure fertility of people and crops.

Author: B.A. Robinson

WHAT A YEAR!

I have to admit I am very thrilled with our President select, I think Barack will really bring us the much needed change. He is erudite, humble, sincere and very smart, I am looking forward to his presidency. I encountered that talking about politics is a rather delicate excersize in the US, and at work one was advised not to talk politics at all because it could be perceived as harrasment. Luckily I was not the only elated person in the office after the election results were clear. Just very proud of America taking such a bold step and showing so much hope and courage!

XOMO

CIRCLE

As I travel further and further along my personal road of life I encounter more often these intriguing roundabouts ;-)
No I am not going in circles or getting lost! Au contraire, these circles seem to connect everything magically (something most Asian relegions have acknowledged for thousands of years). I still struggle with this concept of unity, that all, everything and everyone are ONE. I just can't believe that the person who cuts me off in traffic is part of me and that we are in that same reality...that an insane mother who kills her child is somehow connected to me, it just doesn't make sense.
I would love to be liberated from duality and feel more united at least to start with being united with my real self...part of that journey. For now I'll just enjoy the scenery and try to be as much as possible HERE and NOW. That is a bigger challenge than being occupied with the past and future, something most people are very skilled in. In my next writing I'll describe a few of these circle samples, like how I found a Unitarian Universalist meeting via the Buddhist temple and how I finally understood the real meaning of the Dutch word for the Universe, HeelAl.

Forget time and I'll be back before you know!

Be well, MO

LOVE FAQ

As I discussed love with several people this "frequently asked questions" idea came to me as a way of touching some love input and feedback. By no means would I consider myself a love expert, yet I think we all have some love expertise...

Q: So, what is love not?
A: To be treated as an afterthought and certainly not as an object of any ones ego.

Q: Is there a difference in being loving and being in love?
A: When a person loves with every fiber of their being (being in love) something wonderful happens. They become caring, nurturing, giving and mostly protective of those they have included in their love sphere. Kindness radiates from them and illuminates all about them. Being loving does not necessarily include nurturing and protecting, but certainly includes respect and compassion.

Q: Can you harm someone you love?
A: Yes, and harming your loved ones is harming yourself.

Q: Are there levels of depth in love?
A: When feelings are shallow and superficial they are cloying and restrictive. If a person is unstable in their soul and hasn't the ability to love themselves, there is no possible way they can even respect those they claim to love.

Q: Do you need to love yourself first?
A: Not being able to love yourself causes an emotional rift and one tends to stray from their partner, seeking what they inherently don't have. In this self absorbed state they don't realize it has to be found within before it can radiate outward. Unfortunately, because of this insecurity, they often refuse to let go of the very ones they are hurting so badly.

Q: How do personal priorities and love live together?
A: When you really love someone priorities naturally melt together, you’ll probably find out you have the same priorities!

Q: What is unconditional love?
A: Unconditional love is when you know you have found real love and can say: I am sharing my heart and my soul knowing I can trust you to treat it gently and with care. All I have, and am, is ours. Its total openness and transparency, the “you and me” transcends into “us”.

Q: Why is unconditional love so hard?
A: Unconditional love is opening your heart to everything from joy to pain. Sometimes the person you love may not reciprocate or even understand how you feel, but you should allow yourself to feel it regardless. Love is fearless. But it's silly to say I will love someone if they make me happy... or have my children... or fix my dinner... or any such thing. That's most certainly not unconditional. Most people love conditionally, often without being aware of it; this is what causes pain and conflicts.

Q: Why do so many seem to fall in love with the “wrong” person?
A: Wrong person does mean they aren't good people... it's just they may not be good for you or me. However, the good news is this... the right love may be just a thought away... right there inside your heart.


MO LOVE 2 U, MO

LOVE 2

I LOVE YOU!
People use it every day without knowing the real meaning of it. These words should be seen as strengthening bonds rather than breaking it apart. Saying “I love you” expresses genuine feelings of care and compassion. It’s profound and deep, making it sometimes seem almost impossible to understand. But when you feel it… you know it’s just there. And it isn’t just by letting people know through words that you love them; it should show in your actions and responses.

Contribution by Jim Allmon

In the book, The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams, the Velveteen Rabbit asked, "What is REAL?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit....

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does is happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have been carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

When we love a person, an animal, or a plant, they flourish. Everything embraced by love grows. However, we can only love to the degree we love ourselves.
Fall more and more in love with that which you truly value in yourself. Love flows from a wellspring in your soul and is the purest nourishment that God and the universe can provide.

It's a good practice to send out thoughts of love every day, as those toward whom they are directed will feel them. Love with all you are and they will feel the effect. The beauty is, you will heal not only them, but also yourself in the process. Love has an interesting way of melting away old scars and repairing broken things.

Deep within your soul, feel all the love you can. Silently, in your heart, radiate love to everyone around you. That's all there is to it and there's nothing else that needs to be done. Loving people share their love... even when it may not be understood or reciprocated. You see, unconditional love is the greatest gift there is and like any treasure from God... it's meant to be shared.

We were created in love and by it and the life we have is meant to be savored. Don't go forth stumbling in the darkness. Instead shine brilliantly in the light of love and become a beacon for humanity. Learn from life and embrace the miracle of you.

Fly high into the stars and enjoy yourself!


Love to you, MO

LOVE 1

What is the shape of Love?

What we see is not the most important.
Could dust rise without the invisible
hand of the wind?
Could a fan turn without any current?
Could lungs breathe without breath?
Tell me
What is the shape of Love?
How much does Joy weigh
when held in the palm of your hand?
Can you catch the Spirit of Life in a jar?

All things seen depend
upon the Unseen.
All sounds depend upon Silence.
All things felt depend
upon what is not felt

Adyashanti

Just wondering what is the definition of LOVE?
Can you LOVE someone and act in an unloving way at the same time?
What does LOVE do?
Why is there LOVE?

LOVE, MO