Prayers and Reflections

It was far in the sameness of the wood;
I was running with joy on the Demon’s trail,
Though I knew what I hunted was no true god.
i was just as the light was beginning to fail
That I suddenly head–all I needed to hear:
It has lasted me many and many a year.

The sound was behind me instead of before,
A sleepy sound, but mocking half,
As one who utterly couldn’t care.
The Demon arose from his wallow to laugh,
Brushing the dirt from his eye as he went;
And well I knew what the Demon meant.

I shall not forget how his laugh rang out.
I felt as a fool to have been so caught,
And checked my steps to make pretense
I was something among the leaves I sought
(Though doubtful whether he stayed to see).
Thereafter I sat me against a tree.

–Robert Frost

………..

A year of beauty. A year of plenty. A year of planting. A year of harvest.
A year of forests. A year of healing. A year of vision. A year of passion.
A year of rebirth. A year of rebirth. This year may we renew the earth.
Let it begin with each step we take. Let it begin with each change we make.
Let it begin with each chain we break. And let it begin every time we awake.

Nous: “Mind”, The soul, not the same as ‘pneuma’ or spirit. It is the part of
the anima that gives us consciousness. The anima as a whole gives life (or
literally movement.. “animates”) to our bodies. Tatian declares the soul as a
special kind of spirit. (See; Tatian’s “Letter to the Greeks’)

Numerology: The study of numbers, and their use in divination, revelation, or
prediction. The I Ching is based upon the trigrams, or Ba Gua, as divinations
based upon astrology and numerology. Trigrams that represent ”variations,”
instead of divinations can make the Tai Chi, and the Sethian Monadology a
measurement instrument of enlightenment. (See; ”The History of Chinese
Philosophy,” Vol. 2., by Fun Yu-Lan, Princeton, 1953.)

Ogdoad: Regarded in some texts as the “eighth kingdom above the hebdomas.” It
is the realm of the Demiurgos (or sometimes that is the 7th, with the eighth
being that of Sabaoth), as well as usually being the realm of the zodiac
(dodecon). Sometimes it is also seen as the beginning of freedom from the
Archons, and the beginning of connection to the Aeons. Pythagoris says…
“The ogdoad–8–was sacred because it was the number of the first cube, which
form had eight corners, and was the only evenly-even number under 10
(1-2-4-8-4-2-1). Thus, the 8 is divided into two 4′s, each 4 is divided into two
2′s, and each 2 is divided into two 1′s, thereby reestablishing the monad. Among
the keywords of the ogdoad are love, counsel, prudence, law, and convenience.
Among the divinities partaking of its nature were Panarmonia, Rhea, Cibele,
Cadmæa, Dindymene, Orcia, Neptune, Themis, and Euterpe (a Muse).” (Thomas
Taylor’s Theoretic Arithmetic, Thought by one source to be the rarest and most
important compilation of Pythagorean mathematical fragments extant.)

”… the Ogdoad, which is the eighth, and that we might receive that place of
salvation.” (”The Testimony of Truth.” See also; ”A Valentinian
Exposition.”)

Ophites: Also called Naassenes. (Sethians) A 2nd century Greek Gnostic sect who
are associated with their reverence toward ‘ohis’ the serpent. They contended
that the serpent represented the introduction of good and evil in the Garden of
Edan. Known to have divided into other sects, like Borborites with diverse
beliefs. Used a symbol of an equilateral cross in the center of a circle, called
the Ophite Cross, and other symbolistic icons using circles, leviathans. (See;
Gaffney, Hippolytus, Ref. of All Her. Bk 5, See also; ”The Brother of Jesus,”
Butz, Inner Traditions, 2005.)

Oracle: A shrine consecrated to the worship and consultation of a prophetic
deity, as that of Apollo at Delphi. A person, such as a priestess, through whom
a deity is held to respond when consulted. The response given through such a
medium, often in the form of an enigmatic statement or allegory. A person
considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinions. An
authoritative or wise statement or prediction. A command or revelation from God.
In the Bible, the sanctuary of the Temple. (American Heritage Dictionary.) (See;
”Oracles of Zoroaster.”)

Origen: (185- 254 C.E.) Born in Alexandria. He studied Greek philosophy with Ammonius, and others. He became a Christian under Clement. Some of his surviving work is considered somewhat Gnostic in its nature according to later western Christian leaders. Origen was declared heretical on the basis of his beliefs in the pre-existence of souls and his beliefs about apokatastasis. In 553 A.D the Chalcedonians anathematized him. http://www.iep.utm.edu/o/origen.htm

Orosius, Paulus: (385-420 c.) Latin writer that opposed Origenists, and
Gnostics, especially the Pricilliannists, who advocated that Jesus was ascetic
in his nature. He sided with Augastine in declaring heretical works, and
identified a book called ”Memoria of the Apostles,” in which he identifies the
parable of the ”sower.” “A sower went forth to sow his seed, the sower was not
good: asserting that had he been good he would not have been careless, nor cast
his seed by the wayside or on stony places or unfilled ground: willing it to be
understood that that this (the ruler of the world?) was the sower, who scattered
the souls he had caught into various bodies as he pleased. In the same book
much is said about moist things, and the principle of fire: he would have it
understood that all good things happen in this world, not by the power of God,
but by contrivance.” ( “The New Testament Apocrypha,” James, Apocryphile
Press, page, 21.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orosius

Ouroboros: This is an image of the serpent biting it’s own tail, and is meant to
imply infinity. Or, possibly, eternally being stuck in the material cycle.

With his vigour grown strong, his mind should be placed in samadhi;

For if thought be distracted we lie in the fangs of the passions.

 

 

No distractions can touch the man who’s alone both in his body and mind.

Therefore renounce you the world, give up all thinking discursive!

 

Thirsting for gain, and loving the world, the people fail to renounce it.

But the wise can discard_;this love, reflecting as follows:

 

Through stillness joined to insight true,

His passions are annihilated.

Stillness must first of all be found.

 

That springs from disregarding worldly satisfactions.

 

  Shortlived yourself, how can you think that others, quite as fleeting, are worthy of your love?

 

Thousands of births will pass without a sight of him you cherish so.

 

When unable to see your beloved, discontent disturbs your samadhi,

   When you have seen, your longing, unsated as ever, returns as before.

 

  Then you forfeit the truth of the Real; your fallen condition shocks you no longer;

   Burning with grief you yearn for re-union with him whom you cherish.

 

 Worries like these consume a brief life – over and over again to no purpose;

  You stray from the Dharma eternal, for the sake of a transient friend.

 

To share in the life of the foolish will lead to the states of woe; You share not, and they will hate you; what good comes from contact with fools?

 

Good friends at one time, of a sudden they dislike you,

   You try to please them, quite in vain – the worldly are not easily contented!

 

   Advice on their duties stirs anger; your own good deeds they impede;

   When you ignore what they say they are angry, and head for a state of woe.

 

 

Of his betters he is envious, with his equals there is strife;

To inferiors he is haughty, mad for praise and wroth at blame; Is there ever any goodness in these foolish common men?

 

 

Self-applause, belittling others, or encouragement to sin,

Some such evil’s sure to happen where one fool another meets.

 

Two evils meet when fools consort together.

Alone I’ll live, in peace and with unblemished mind.

 

Far should one flee from fools. When met, they should be won by kindness,

Not in the hope of intimacy_, but so as to preserve an even, holy, mind.

 

Enough for Dharma’s work I’ll take from him, just as a bee takes honey from a flower.

Hidden and unknown, like the new moon, I will live my life.

 

The fools are no one’s friends, so have the Buddhas taught us; They cannot love unless their interest in themselves impels them.

 

Trees do not show disdain, and they demand no toilsome wooing; Fain would I now consort with them as my companions.

 

Fain would I dwell in a deserted sanctuary, beneath a tree, or in a cave,

In noble disregard for all, and never looking back on what I left.

 

Fain would I dwell in spacious regions owned by no one, And there, a homeless wanderer, follow my own mind,

 

A clay bowl as my only wealth, a robe that does not tempt the robbers,

Dwelling exempt from fear, and careless of my body.

 

Alone a man is born, and quite alone he also meets his death; This private anguish no one shares; and friends can only bar true welfare.

 

Those who travel through Becoming should regard each incarna­tion

As no more than a passing station on their journey ‘through Sam­sara.

 

So will I ever tend delightful and untroubled solitude,

Bestowing bliss, and stilling all distractions.

 

And from all other cares released, the mind set on collecting my own spirit,

To unify and discipline my spirit I will strive

…………..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samadhi

Samadhi (Sanskrit: समाधि) is a Hindu and Buddhist term that describes a non-dualistic state of consciousness in which the consciousness of the experiencing subject becomes one with the experienced object, and in which the mind becomes still (one-pointed or concentrated) though the person remains conscious. Sahaj samadhi is the effortless and continual state of perfection of a satguru. It varies from technical terms used to describe the higher levels of concentrated meditation, or dhyana (alt. “jhana”), in Yogic schools, and is considered a precursor for enlightenment, or Nirvana, in Buddhism. It is the eighth and final limb of the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, and comprises the pinnacle of achievements in Samyama, the three-tiered practice of meditation including also dharana and dhyana.

Samadhi is also the Hindi word for a structure commemorating the dead (similar to a mausoleum), which may or may not contain the body of the deceased. Samadhis are often built in this way to honour people regarded as saints or gurus in Hindu religious traditions wherein such souls are said to have passed into (or were already in) samadhi at the time of death.

……………

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara

Samsara or saṃsāra (Sanskrit: संसार) refers to the cycle of reincarnation or rebirth in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other related religions

………………….

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma

The Sanskrit term Dharma (help·info) (Devanāgarī: धर्म) (Pali: Dhamma) signifies the underlying order in nature and life (human or other) considered to be in accord with that order. The word Dharma literally means ‘that which upholds or supports’ (from the root ‘Dhr’ – to hold), here referring to the order which makes the cosmos and the harmonious complexity of the natural world possible. Dharma is a central concept in Indian civilization and Dharmic Traditions where it governs ideas about the proper conduct of living. So central is it, indeed, that the symbol of the dharma – the wheel – takes central place in the national flag of India.

In its most frequent usage (in the sphere of morality and ethics) dharma means ‘right way of living’, ‘proper conduct’, ‘duty’ or ‘righteousness’. With respect to spirituality, dharma might be considered the Way of the Higher Truths. What is in the West called religion in India comes within the general purview of dharma. Thus the various Indian religions and Dharmic Traditions are so many versions of Dharma (versions of what is considered to be ‘right’ or in truest accord with the deepest realities of nature). A fraction of scholars called these various paths dharmic religions. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are referred to in India as sanatana-dharma, Buddha-dharma, Jain-dharma and Sikh-dharma respectively. Each of these paths emphasize Dharma as the correct understanding of Nature (or God, as the origin of nature) in their teachings. In these traditions, beings that live in accordance with Dharma proceed more quickly toward Dharma Yukam, Moksha or Nirvana (personal liberation). Dharma also refers to the teachings and doctrines of the founders of these traditions, such as those of Gautama Buddha and Mahavira. In traditional Hindu society with its caste structure, Dharma constituted the religious and moral doctrine of the rights and duties of each individual. (see dharmasastra). Dharma in its universal meaning shares much in common with the way of Tao or Taoism.

The antonym of dharma is adharma meaning unnatural or immoral.

……….

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha

In Buddhism, a buddha (help·info) (Sanskrit: Awakened) is any being who has become fully awakened (enlightened), and has experienced Nirvana.

In the Pali Canon and the Theravada tradition, the term ‘buddha’ usually refers to one who has become enlightened (i.e., awakened to the truth, or Dharma) on their own, without a teacher to point out the Dharma, in a time when the teachings on the Four Noble Truths or the Eightfold Path do not exist in the world. By comparison, those who awaken due to the teachings given by a Buddha are known as Arahants, a title also applied to Buddhas. Arahants and Buddhas are the same in the most fundamental aspects of Liberation (Nirvana), but differ in their practice of perfections paramis.

In the Mahayana tradition, the definition of Buddha extends to any being who becomes fully awakened. The Theravada Arhant would be considered a kind of Buddha (although not generally by Mahayana Buddhism itself) in this Mahayana sense, and this usage also occurs in the Theravada commentaries

Buddhists do not consider Siddhartha Gautama to have been the only Buddha. The Pali Canon refers to many previous ones (see List of the 28 Buddhas), while the Mahayana tradition additionally has many Buddhas of celestial, rather than historical, origin (see Amitabha or Vairocana as examples). A common Buddhist belief across all Buddhism is that the next Buddha will be one named Maitreya (Pali: Metteyya).

Form is void
Void is form
Form is in no wise different from void
Nor void in any way separate from form…’
………………….

“The other is not a person;
If you mistake it for another, you are already way off.
Your child has wandered outside -
Give it a call; when it sees your face it will follow its parent.”

…………

He who clings to the Void

And neglects Compassion,

Does not reach the highest stage.

But he who practices only Compassion

Does not gain release from toils of existence.

He, however, who is strong in practice of both,

Remains neither in Samsara nor in Nirvana.

……..

Better than one thousand verses

Where no profit wings the word,

Is one solitary stanza

Bringing peace of mind when heard.

 

Rabbi Simeon then rose and spoke: “In meditating, I have perceived that when God was about to create man, then above and below all creatures commenced to tremble. The course of the sixth day was unfolding when at last the divine decision was made. Then there blazed forth the source of all lights and opened up the gate of the east, from where light flows. The light which had been bestowed on it at the beginning, the south gave forth in full glory, and the south took hold upon the east. The east took hold on the north, and the north awakened and, opening forth, called loud to the west that he should come to him. Then the west traveled up into the north and came together with it, and after that the south took hold on the west, and the north and the south surrounded the Garden, being its fences. Then the east drew near to the west, and the west was gladdened and it said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’ [Gen. 1:26], to embrace like us the four quarters and the higher and the lower.’ Thereupon were east and west united, and produced man. Therefore have our sages said that man arose out from the site of the Temple.

“Moreover, we may regard the words ‘Let us make man’ as conveying this: to the lower beings who derived from the side of the upper world God disclosed

the secret of how to form the divine name Adam, in which is encompassed the upper and the lower, in the force of its three letters alef, dalet, and mem final. When the three letters had come down below, there was perceived in their form, complete, the name Adam, to com­prehend male and female. The female was fastened to the side of the male, and God cast the male into a deep slumber, and he lay on the site of the Temple. God then cut the female from him and decked her as a bride and led her to him, as it is written, ‘And he took one of his sides, and closed up the place with flesh’ [Gen. 2:21]. In the ancient books, I have seen it said that here the word ‘one’ means ‘one woman,’ that is, the original Lilith, who lay with him and from him conceived. But up to that time, she was no help to him, as it is, said, ‘but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him’ [Gen. 2:20]. Adam, then, was the very last, for it was right that he should find the world complete when he made his appearance.”

“No shrub of the field was yet in the earth” [Gen. 2:5].

Rabbi Simeon went on to say: “The allusion is to the magnificent trees which grew later, but as yet were minute. Adam and Eve, as we have said, were created side by side. Why not face to face? For the reason that Heaven and earth were not yet in complete harmony, ‘the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth’ [Gen. 2:5]. When the lower union was rendered perfect, and Adam and Eve turned face to face, then was the upper union perfected.

“This we may know from the matter of the Tabernacle: for we have learned that together with it there was put up another tabernacle, nor was the upper one raised until the lower one was erected; and so it was in this case. Moreover, inasmuch as all above was not yet perfectly ordered, Adam and Eve were not created face to face. This is borne out by the order of the verses in the Scripture; first it is written,

‘For the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth,’ and following, “there was not a man to till the ground” [Gen. 2:5], and it signifies that man was yet imperfect, for only when Eve was made perfect, was he then made perfect too. Further proof is that in the word vayisgor [and he closed], there occurs for the first time in this passage the letter samekh, which signifies “support,” as much as to say that male and female they now supported the one the other. In like wise do the lower world and the upper sustain each other. Not until the lower world was made perfect, was the other world also made perfect. When the lower world was made to support the upper, by being turned face to face with it, the world was then finished, for ‘previously ‘the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth.’

“Then, ‘There went up a mist from the earth’ [Gen. 2:6], to make up for the lack, by ‘watering the whole face of the ground’ [Gen. 2:5]; and the mist rising is the yearning of the female for the male. Yet another interpretation says that we take the word “not” from the first verse to use in the second with “mist,” and this means that God failed to send rain because a mist had not gone up, for from below must come the impulse to move the power above. Thus, to form the cloud, vapor ascends’ first from the earth. And likewise, the smoke of the sacrifice ascends, creating harmony above, and the uniting of all, and so the celestial sphere has completion in it. It’ is from below that the movement starts, and thereafter is all perfected. If the Commu­nity of Israel failed to initiate the im­pulse, the One above would also not move to go to her, and it is thus the yearning from below which brings about the completion above.

 

–The Zohar

(32)

Jesus said,

“ A city being built on a high mountain

and fortified cannot fall,

nor can it be hidden.”

 

 

Matthew 5:14

“You are a light for all the world.

A town that stands on a hill cannot be hidden.”

 

Camelot is under construction

inside of you and in this world.

While under construction,

it must be protected

from those who would tear it down.

Once completed, however,

the Kingdom‘s radiance

does not allow it to be hidden

from those who seek it.

It is to be a beacon

for anyone who becomes lost,

a safe haven

where people can live

without fear.

 

But he came to water God’s Paradise and the enduring [generation], because [he]will not corrupt the [watering of] that generation but […] for all eternity.

Judas said to [him, “Rabbi] what type of fruit does this generation have?”

Jesus said, ‘The souls of every human generation will die. But when these people have completed the time of the kingdom and the spirit leaves them, then their bodies will die. Their souls will be enlivend and they will be taken up.”

Judas said, ”What will the rest of the human generation do?”

Jesus said, “It is not possible to sow upon [rock] and get fruit. In the same way […] the [corrupted] generation and the perishable Sophia […] the hand that created mortal people, so that their souls ascend to the eternal realms above.  Truly I say to you […]angel; […]power can see those […] […] holy generation […].”

After Jesus said this, he left.

 

–Gospel of Judas (April D. DeConick Translation)

 

 

“Every person born into this world represents something new, something that never existed before, something original and unique…..Every single person…..is called upon to fulfil his particularity in this world…..Every person’s task is the actualization of his unique, unprecedented and never recurring potentialities…..Rabbi Zusya…..said…..’In the world to come I shall not be asked: Why were you not Moses? I shall be asked” Why were you not Zusya?’”

 

- Martin Buber (The Way of Man According to the Teaching of Hasidism)

 

 

The fear of the Lord is glory and exultation,
and gladness and a crown of rejoicing.
The fear of the Lord delights the heart,
and gives gladness and joy and long life.
Those who fear the Lord will have a happy end;
on the day of their death they will be blessed.

To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
she is created with the faithful in the womb.
She made among human beings an eternal foundation,
and among their descendants she will abide faithfully.
To fear the Lord is fullness of wisdom;
she inebriates mortals with her fruits;
she fills their whole house with desirable goods,
and their storehouses with her produce.
The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom,
making peace and perfect health to flourish.
She rained down knowledge and discerning comprehension,
and she heightened the glory of those who held her fast.
To fear the Lord is the root of wisdom,
and her branches are long life.

Unjust anger cannot be justified,
for anger tips the scale to one’s ruin.
Those who are patient stay calm until the right moment,
and then cheerfulness comes back to them.
They hold back their words until the right moment;
then the lips of many tell of their good sense.

In the treasuries of wisdom are wise sayings,
but godliness is an abomination to a sinner.
If you desire wisdom, keep the commandments,
and the Lord will lavish her upon you.
For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and discipline,
fidelity and humility are his delight.

Do not disobey the fear of the Lord;
do not approach him with a divided mind.
Do not be a hypocrite before others,
and keep watch over your lips.
Do not exalt yourself, or you may fall
and bring dishonor upon yourself.
The Lord will reveal your secrets
and overthrow you before the whole congregation,
because you did not come in the fear of the Lord,
and your heart was full of deceit.

–The Wisdom of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus)

 

 

“Meditation is like a vehicle, a medium by which we can travel in consciousness, and it has nothing to do with what we ordinarily experience as the mind. The state of consciousness it induces is of a very different quality than we normally experience during our ordinary states of  wakefulness and sleep – it is a deep calm in which we are completely alert. Meditation is a medium, like a chariot, by which we bypass the intellect and enter the great ocean of awareness that resides within us all and that is one and the same with the universe and infinity. It is one of the most powerful tools of transformation known to humankind because it helps us voyage into the deep unknown recesses of our selves…..

 

        The central kernel of Jewish meditation is Ayis or Ayn Sof. This is the infinite point of zero. Emptiness, in this sense, is not to be imagined as a state of sadness, regret, and discomfort….. Ayis is the opening of the heart to the infinity of wholeness, it is absolute, it is total. As the Baal Shem Tov wrote: ‘Merge your mind always in intimacy with the Infinite Divine, so that you are always in contact with your great feeling of love for Her – and merge with Her, and say always to yourself, How can I be more worthy that Her resplendent Light dwell in me?’…..

 

        The task of Jewish meditation is to open the heart to union with the infinite, this is the same fundamental and underpinning point that underscores everything else within the tradition. It is ‘Ehyeh asher Ehyeh,’ God in our breat, God and us in Oneness. When we meditate, we watch Zot, a feminine word that is both one of the names of God and the meaning of ‘thisness.’ When we meditate we naturally expand and cultivate Chesed – compassion and loving-kindness…..When we meditate we become healers not only of our own wounding, which we repair by connecting it to God, but also of the world around us.”

 

- Avram Davis and Manuela Dunn Mascetti (Judaic Mysticism)

 

 

“It is true that God is the One Who produces in our hearts both our good desires and their effect, ‘for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to accomplish, according to His good will’ (Philippians 2:13).

Nevertheless, if we do not ourselves freely desire and manfully carry out HIs will, His grace will be without effect:  since the effect of grace is to make us freely do His will.”

–Thomas Merton

I CEASE not from desire till my desire
Is satisfied; or let my mouth attain
My love’s red mouth, or let my soul expire,
Sighed from those lips that sought her lips in vain.
Others may find another love as fair;
Upon her threshold I have laid my head,
The dust shall cover me, still lying there,
When from my body life and love have fled.

My soul is on my lips ready to fly,
But grief beats in my heart and will not cease,
Because not once, not once before I die,
Will her sweet lips give all my longing peace.
My breath is narrowed down to one long sigh
For a red mouth that burns my thoughts like fire;
When will that mouth draw near and make reply
To one whose life is straitened with desire?

When I am dead, open my grave and see
The cloud of smoke that rises round thy feet:
In my dead heart the fire still burns for thee;
Yea, the smoke rises from my winding-sheet!
Ah, come, Beloved! for the meadows wait
Thy coming, and the thorn bears flowers instead
Of thorns, the cypress fruit, and desolate
Bare winter from before thy steps has fled.

Hoping within some garden ground to find
A red rose soft and sweet as thy soft cheek,
Through every meadow blows the western wind,
Through every garden he is fain to seek.
Reveal thy face! that the whole world may be
Bewildered by thy radiant loveliness;
The cry of man and woman comes to thee,
Open thy lips and comfort their distress!

Each curling lock of thy luxuriant hair
Breaks into barbèd hooks to catch my heart,
My broken heart is wounded everywhere
With countless wounds from which the red drops start.
Yet when sad lovers meet and tell their sighs,
Not without praise shall Hafiz’ name be said,
Not without tears, in those pale companies
Where joy has been forgot and hope has fled.

– the Divan of Hafiz

…………

He who is All-Wise, and All-Knowing, whose Greatness is thus manifested in the worlds, is to be meditated upon as the Âtman residing in the Ether, in the Fourth Dimensional Space, in the shining city of Brahman (the Heart). He is the Controller of the mind and the Guide of the senses and the body. He abides in the dense body, controlling the heart. He, the Âtman, when manifesting Himself as the Blissful and Immortal, is seen by the wise through the purity of the heart.

–The Devi Gita (song of the Goddess)

………..

“Then,” Buddha asked, “does the fully enlightened one, ever think, ‘full enlightenment is mine’?”

“Indeed not,” Subhuti answered, “for nothing ultimately real is called fully enlightened, and that is why one who is fully enlightened is called fully enlightened. If one who is fully enlightened ever thought ‘the fruit of being fully enlightened is mine’, he would grasp a self, a personality, a soul or a concept of being.”

–The Diamond cutter sutra

Open your fists

into embraces

Open you arms’ length

into loving circles.

–James Broughton

……

“YHVH – His unique, glorious, and awesome name. We will explain its meaning according to the capacity to speak and to know about the glory of the supernal name of the Lord and His fear…..The [name] is transmitted only to the meek, who do not get angry, and to the God-fearing, who perform the commandments of their Creator. It is transmitted only over water, as it is written, ‘The voice of the Lord is over the waters’ (Psalms 29:3). Before the master teaches his disciples they should bathe in water and immerse themselves…..They should don white clothes and fast on the day he will teach them [the name], and they should stand in the water up to their ankles. Then the master opens his mouth in fear and says: ‘Blessed are You, O Lord, Our God, king of the universe, Lord, God of Israel, You are one and Your name is awesom. Blessed are You, Lord, who reveals His secret to those who fear Him, the One who knows all secrets.’ The master and his disciples should look at the water and say, ‘The ocean sounds, O Lord, the ocean sounds its thunder, the ocean souds its pounding, more majestic than the breakers of the sea is the Lord, majestic on high.’ (Psalm 93:3-4). ‘The voice of the Lord is over the waters, the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over the mighty waters’ (Psalm 29:3). ‘The waters saw You, O God, the waters saw You and wer convulsed; the very deep quaked as well’ (Psalm 77:17). ‘Your way was through the sea, Your path, through the mighty waters; Your tracks could not be seen’ (Psalm 77:20). Afterwards they should go near the water or to a synagogue or study-house where there is water in a pure vessel, and the master should say: ‘Blessed are You, Lord, our God, king of the universe, who has sanctified us with this commandments and commanded us and separated us from the nations and revealed to us His secrets and instructed us in the knowledge of His great and awesome name’.”

- Eleazer of Worms (Sefer ha-Shem)

………………

Rain fell today

and somewhere lotus flowers are blossoming.

So are we.

Defying the impossible

in the shelter and warmth of each other’s hearts,

extending the night, caressing the stars,

And knowing each other’s hearts

is our human bliss.

–Jarvis J. Masters (death row, SanQuentin)

………

“A person whose consciousness is always attached [to the Ayn Sof]…..enjoys great delight at every moment, for the root of soul is attached…..If he were to stop serving for even a moment he would immediately feel the absence of this great pleasure. Knowing that, he will make sure not to separate himself from service for even the briefest moment, so as not to be exposed to the harshness of that deprivation.”

- Likkutim Yekarim

………..

“Our vocation is precisely this: to bear witness to the truth of Christ
by laying down our lives at his bidding.”

–Thomas Merton

 

Stand relaxed, facing the moon.
Raise your arms up and face your LAOGONG points towards the moon
and look at the moon.
Use your mind to absorb the qi from the moon through your laogong
points into your body.

You will gradually feel a pushing pressure on your chest and you
might take a few steps backward involuntarilly.
Your palms will sometimes feel magnetized and you might take a few
steps forward involuntarilly.
Practice 20-30 minutes.
If you feel that the Qi is too strong, lead it out of your body
through your yongquan into the ground.

Absorb the moon’s Qi only during the 3 days before to 3 days
after the full moon (Liang and Wu. Qigong Empowerment, 222).

Although not mentioned, contraindicated in Yang deficiency
(Deficient Cold)

…

Qi, [ IPA phonetic spelling needed here ] also commonly spelled ch’i (in Wade-Giles romanization) or ki (in romanized Japanese), is a fundamental concept of traditional Chinese culture. Qi is believed to be part of every living thing that exists, as a kind of “life force” or “spiritual energy”. It is frequently translated as “energy flow”, or literally as “air” or “breath”. (For example, “tiānqì”, literally “sky breath”, is the ordinary Chinese word for “weather”). In Mandarin Chinese it is pronounced something like “chee” in English, but the tongue position is different.

 

Location

between the 2nd and 3rd metacarpal bones, proximal to the metacarpo-phalangeal joint, in a depression at the radial side of the third metacarpal bone.

note; this point is best located at the place where the tip of the middle finger lands when a fist is made.

Needling

perpendicular insertion 0.5 inch

moxa is OK

Actions

Clears heat from the pericardium and revives consciousness
Clears heat from the heart and calms spirit
Harmonizes the stomach and clears heat from the middle jiao
Clears the nutritive level and cools blood.

Signs and Symptoms

cardiac pain, mental disorder, epilepsy, gastritis, foul breath, fungus infection of the hand and foot, vomiting, nausea

Commentary

Laogong is a principal point to revive consciousness and calm the spirit. It is particularly useful in the treatment of febrile diseases affecting the Heart that give rise to psycho-emotional disturbances. According to ancient texts it was the Pericardium channel that treated diseases of the Heart. In fact, the Heart had no channel of its own at first. Even though, the Heart channel was added later, Pericardium points are still preferred to treat disorders of the Heart.

In 5 Elements theory both the Pericardium and the Heart are Fire. Laogong is the Fire point on a Fire channel making it particularly suited for clearing fire from the Heart.

Fire may develop in the Heart a number of ways including
i) stagnant Liver Qi
ii) deficient Kidney (water) failing to restrain Heart (fire)
iii) excess of any of the 5 cardinal emotions
iv) febrile diseases

Since the Heart is seen as the residence of spirit (mind), almost any disharmony will give rise to psychological and/or emotional disturbances. Heart excess will give rise to ceaseless laughter, while heart deficiency will give rise to profound sadness.

Heart fire is seen as an excess condition agitating the spirit giving rise to symptoms like a propensity to anger, mania-depression, and epilepsy.

The Heart is connected directly to the root of the tongue and opens into the tongue. Heart fire may manifest with tongue ulcers.

Since a branch of the channel travels through the diaphragm into the middle and lower Jiaos (the stomach and the intestines), plus being related to the San Jiao channel directly, Pericardium points have a strong effect on the middle. Laogong is indicated where fire disrupts digestion resulting in vomiting and foul breath.

Laogong’s ability to clear heat from the blood and its location makes it suitable to treat many skin disorders affecting the palms of the hands including eczema, tinea, (a fungal infection that causes white or light brown patches on the skin), and scaling.

Finally, Laogong is particularly important in Qi Gong practice as it is one of the points practitioners learn to breath through. It is also the principal point for ‘emitting’ Qi. In Reiki, Laogong is most likely the point through which Dr. Usui channeled Reiki energy.