Hi There...

Hey kids, just a heads up to let you know that I am in the middle of writing an essay on our country's current dictators administration. In the mean time, why not Google the name Tom Scully (click on his name to read about what a wonderful man and rolemodel he is for the citizens of America) and read all about how he manipulated Congress into passing the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan--and then left Congress to become a lobbyist for some of the biggest drug companies. (We, the American people, MUST honor the men and women in uniform and make sure that they are risking their lives for the sake of the safety and preservation of our country. More on that subject later.)

After reading about that arm twisting fiasco--take a deep breath and read my latest poem on Bhakti Love Poems (Yes, thank God there are some of us out here who do believe in the innate goodness of the human heart; and we're bold enough to share our love with others.)

Speaking of other people who choose to live enlightening, rather than cheating and lying lives, click on the links below and acquint yourself with some of my favorite teachers, friends, and other spiritual warriors.

Have fun--and, as always, take a deep breath and know that goodness will win in the end. Lightness always dispels the darkness. Always. It can be no other way.

Sally Kempton (my great friend on this spiritual journey called life)

Ken Yuen (I will be using Master Yuen as a spiritual healer in the next few months; I have heard great things about him. I know, working together, we will heal my spine and rid me of the karmic risidual pain forever. Amen.)

Harold Lloyd (One of my favorite film makers of all time. The greatest comic actor that ever lived. His movies are available on Netflix.com. Check out "Safety Last". A classic.)

Joseph Campbell (Mr. Campbell is brilliant. Watch his 'Power of Myth' interviews with Bill Moyers; he outlines the mythical pattern within all cultures and organized religions, thus proving that all paths do lead to the same doorl= your own heart!)

Gyrobocop (This robot always brings a smile to my face! A great blog, to boot!)

Pema Chodron (This monk's generosity is boundless; her heart is wide open, ready to show you how to find the strength within through simple breathing and awareness techniques.)

Byron Katie (Byron Katie's 'Work' is phenomenal. Is the story going through your head right now--the thoughts that are playing over and over like a cassette tape that's been looped to repeat the same words over and over--really true? All good energy. I love "The Work".)

tags:Jaibhakti, Bhakti Brophy,
Tom Scully, Joseph Campbell, Sally Kempton, Gyrobo, Ken Yuen, Bhakti Love Poems, Harold Lloyd, good kind people,

All Great Blessings to you all.

Love,

Bhakti

TODAY...ON MY MIND:

I like to think of everyone and everything everywhere as Shiva (the Lord) with a costume on. I see things this way and I believe it to be true. If Christians were to study the Gospel of Thomas, they would come to know that Jesus is not someone or something outside us, but He IS ourselves. Thomas quotes Jesus as saying "Anyone who drinks of My cup becomes Me, and I him." I have come to know that everything everywhere is a manifestation of the Divine.

If one were also to compare the Gospel of Thomas to basic Hindu texts--say the Katha Upanishad--one would find that our two religions are basically saying the same thing, but with different symbols and languages. Joseph Campbell was right in saying that all 'myths' tell the basic need of each culture to make sense of their own existence/divinity. And as one of my teachers, Baba Muktananda, says--"All paths lead to the same door."

This is lovely! It is my contention that if people stopped paying attention to the mere words of their religious texts, but took them to be symbols of a deeper meaning, more people would realize that most of the major religions are talking about the same concepts. It is the language and the cultural plurality (and the human interpretation) that cause the differences and the strife. Think about it: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are ALL Biblical religions (that is, they use the 5 books of Moses as a basis of their religion)--and yet they are the three religions that are causing the conflict in the Middle East.

Literal interpretation of the Bible is dangerous. My experience of Jesus 'ascending to Heaven' means that He ascended above the solar plexus chakra (energy field/circle) and rose higher to the Heart Center, Ajna Chakra (Third Eye), and then finally to the Sahasrara, located at the top of the head. To me, this is the literal meaning of 'ascension'. Science (not to mention mere logic) has proved that a physical Heaven couldn't possibly exist. Think about: what is above us? The sky. Other Universes. Other Galaxies. What is below us? There is no 'below', because the Earth is round. There is only the center of the Earth.

That is not to say that Dante was wrong in his description of the 12 gates of Hell. I believe in the existence of Hell, although not a physical place. Hell, to me, is when we descend into the lower chakras. These are the energy places in the body where, when situated there, they allow us to cheat, lie, steal, murder, etc. This is NOT, by any measure, anywhere near the seat of the Lord. The purpose of our being born is to find the path that leads to the ascension of our spiritual energy to union with the Lord within (hence the word 'yoga').

Since globalization is the wave of today, and is obviously going to be the way of the future, we (the collective people inhabiting planet Earth) need to start taking into account that we come from not only different places, but we have different stories. Our forefathers all told different stories based on their own experiences. The story of Jesus of Nazareth is not going to make as much sense to a Native American as it does to a Christian European. Native Americans have their own myths and legends (in using the word 'myth', that is not to say that I don't believe that Jesus was an actual man); their stories illustrate the pursuit of man in finding his own Divinity; his own purpose; his highest good.

Let's come together and start comparing our religions before we wage wars over signs and symbols that may have the exact same inherent meaning, even when written in different languages, by different cultures. The time is now. There are no more excuses for faith based wars. We are ONE world.

""It will not come by watching for it. It will not be said, 'Look, here!' or 'Look, there!' Rather, the Father's kingdom is spread out upon the earth, and people don't see it." --Gospel of Thomas

"The self-existent pierced the openings outward;therefore one looks outward, not inside the soul.A certain wise person, however, seeking immortality,looking within saw the soul." --Katha Upanishad

Heaven is right here, right now. Look inside and find it.

Love,

Bhakti

TAGS: Jaibhakti, Bhakti, mysticism, Joseph Campbell, Bhakti Brophy, religious war, peace, spirituality,

RUMI MEETS JOSEPH CAMPBELL WHILE PLAYING CHESS AND DREAMING OF THE BLUE PEARL OF CONSCIOUSNESS! AND BHAKTI SMILED.

What a week of synchronicity it has been for me. One minute I'm caught up in the turmoil of the physical world, only to be swept away by a surge of my Beloved’s love. Om Namah Shivaya.

The long and short of it is that I have once again been reminded that everything is in perfect order, and that no matter what happens in the ‘outside’ world, there is space within me in which nothing exists but LOVE: transcendence of all dualities, as Joseph Campbell would say.

I speak of this place often: the Heart Center. I have learned that I must live there if I am to remain sane. Why flit back and forth between turmoil and peace, transcendence and duality when you don’t have to? I say that if I continue to let myself slip back into the physical realm of opposites that I shall merely slay the same dragons repeatedly: to what end? Insanity. There could be no other end. Would you choose to live in a life that bounces back and forth between Heaven and Hell if you knew that the key to Heaven was within your reach? You merely committ yourself whole heartedly and say-- “That’s it! I’m sick of these dragons!”

Until next time, may you rest in the innate state of transcendence that is closer than a heartbeat away.

Love,
Bhakti
tags: Jaibhakti, Bhakti Brophy, mysticism, Joseph Campbell, spirituality