Crossings

Horizontal lines
Sleeping prone on a bed
Unawake, Unaware

Vertical lines
Climbing a ladder
Awake, Aware

Crossing lines
Life on planet earth
Sometimes asleep
Sometimes Awake

Inspired by -
http://dearteachercrow.blogspot.com/2009/10/blog-post.html

My Birth Chart

The first thing I noticed about my birth chart were the three triangles. They reminded me of three pyramids. My friend Mem Key mentioned tonight that he noticed the triangles, too. What oh what does it mean? I don't know anything about astrology.

Wise Abe

"I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me." ~Abraham Lincoln

Abe sounds very illuminated here.

Wise Abe knew who his friend was.

Honest indeed.

I know who Abe's friend is.

Think of Him/Her as a mutual friend.

Balance

"I know not how I may seem to others, but to myself I am but a small child wandering upon the vast shores of knowledge, every now and then finding a small bright pebble to content myself with." ~Plato

I am like that child, picking up pebbles on the shore of knowledge and amusing myself with them for a time before picking up a new pebble. The thing is, I've always got a pebble in my hand so I never pay attention to the beach. With Plato it was only "every now and then", not all the time.

I am a lover of knowledge and intellectual subjects. My mind likes to think and analyze, always always analyze. So I guess that though I have denied it before, I am an intellectual. Most would consider this a good thing. Perhaps so, back in the days when I aspired only to be a Mensan. But the time has come - has actually been here a while - that I must go beyond my fascination with intellectual things and develop my spiritual strength. I'm just not going to get anywhere by reading. I have to practice. So no more simply talking the talk. It's time to walk the walk.

Soooo....... My goal now is to find a balance between intellectual and spiritual activities. It is now time for me to more regularly practice meditation and other spiritual activities. This is not easy for me, I can hear my mind screaming "No!" because it might go into withdrawal after not having constant intellectual stimulation. It might, God forbid, get bored! It is time for me to be a loving but firm parent to my childish mind; I've got to practice greater control.

It's time to pick up pebbles of intellectual knowledge only every now and then as Plato did. It's time to run from the shore on the beach of knowledge into the waters of greater things.

Carl Sagan "A Glorious Dawn" feat Stephen Hawking (Cosmos Remixed)

I found this video online today and I just watched it three times in a row because it's that good. Someone has taken some of Carl Sagan's speech and also Stephen Hawking's and created a kind of techno trance song with it. The lyrics are AWESOME!

On a side note, recently I have been honored in a most wonderful way - one of my pieces of art was used in an exhibition in the Royal Albert Hall in London. The exhibition featured the work of a photographer who photographs astronomers, astrophysicists, mathematicians and other people who work in fields related to outer space. They chose my fractal-based image because it evokes the theme of the multiverse. I was particularly excited because my name shows up on the same page as Stephen Hawking! I am truly honored to have one of my pieces of art show up next to the work of an amazing photographer. (Names aren't revealed since I don't use my real name on this blog. If anyone wants to see it I would be glad to send the link to the exhibition page in a private email to anyone that requests it. Of course my ego loves this.)

Notes from My Notebook

I headed to the (very small) local library last night with my notebook and stood by the shelf where the spiritual books are. There was a book that had "Green" in the title and it caught my attention due to the vision I had the other day regarding the Green Prophecy. I grabbed the book and looked through it but nothing really grabbed my attention. However, as I was putting the book back I saw beneath it a book that I currently have on my iPod but have not listened to yet - "Don't Know Much About Mythology". Considering it was next on my list of books to listen to I thought it would be interesting to skim through the book so I took it with me to a table and looked through the pages. I found some quotes that I thought are worth mentioning here:

It is an old story
But one that can still be told
About a man who loved
And lost a friend to death.
And learned he lacked the power
To bring him back to life.
~Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative, Translated by Herbert Mason

I have read Gilgamesh, though it's been over nine years ago. While I know this verse pertains to the story itself it also reminded me of someone trying to breathe life back into an old friendship in order to renew it but not having any luck.

Another clipping from the same book:

"All men have need of the gods...."
~The Odyssey by Homer

The above quote came at an important time for me as I had once again been examining the similarities between spirituality and psychology.

Lastly, a paragraph from the book that I liked as it spoke of the inclination of most people today to be unaware of the unseen around them:

One of the reasons why religion seems irrelevant today is that many of us no longer have the sense that we are surrounded by the unseen. Our scientific culture educates us to focus our attention on the physical and material world in front of us. This method of looking at the world has achieved great results. One of the consequences, however, is that we have... edited out the sense of the "spiritual" or "holy" which pervades the lives of people in more traditional societies at every level and which was once an essential component of our human experience of the world.
~Karen Armstrong, A History of God (1993)

Dark Night of the Soul

It's only my concern and no one else's but I feel the need to point it out because I can't keep up with correspondences right now.

Memento Mori

I am drawn to this image. It's allegorical and perfect for my situation - I must die. Death is grabbing me by the hair.

Last but not least, the kiss of death, to send the self to its grave.

About a Fellow Hermit?

One springtime Rabia entered a house, and did not come out. A follower said to her: Come outside, and see the beauties of the creation. Rabia said: Come inside, and see the creator. If you see the creator, you become too preoccupied to look at the creation.

- Attar: Rabi'a

The True Green Prophecy

The words in the title came to me earlier today right upon waking from sleep. It's not often that this happens and the few times I've had similar flashes they have led me to interesting epiphanies. One time I saw a seven digit number and curiosity compelled me to type it into Google. It turned out it was the phone number of someone who lived a number of blocks down the street from me, someone I have never met or seen. Some other times these visions have led me to meet some interesting people, like Yellow Horse Man and IRUNURI. So, I am left wondering today what is behind the term "The True Green Prophecy". The words were very loud in my mind the moment I awoke and stayed there for a few moments as if they were supposed to get my attention.

Alchemy Video

Michael Maier: Atalanta Fugiens, Fuga 1

The rest are on YouTube under similar titles.

Good Dream Behavior

Last night I was being tested in my dreams. The Higher masters must have wanted to test me. Sometimes my behavior in dreams is appalling, especially when I would never consider doing such things while awake. This sometimes worries me because I see quotes about how a man's true character is shown in his dreams. Last night I had a dream that gave me reason to have a bit of pride today. I was pleased with myself and how I had behaved. Indeed I feel that my behavior in that dream was closer to how I would behave while awake.

Here is a bit of a retelling of my dream, though brief due to having forgotten most of the dream during the day.

I was being employed by an older woman in her seventies. She was very wealthy and hired a bunch of women to work for her in her mansion. All the ladies were dressed with business attire, skirts and high heels, etc. All the women were about my age, late twenties or early thirties. She had given all the other women really fancy jobs, but condescendingly turned to me and demeaned me by saying, "But you shall work a boring desk job." Instead of being angry or frustrated I kindly curtsied and accepted the job. I remained humble.

Later in the dream I was upstairs in one of the rooms of her mansion. It was a bedroom and all over the floor there was a lot of beautiful jewelry. Mostly they were large lockets with grand scenery vignettes in gold or silver; they were reliefs. I touched them and opened them; I was enchanted by them. Wishing to explore further I got down on my hands and knees and began to crawl around to look for things. There was a hidden area near the floor in the back of the room and when I laid down to look inside the area I saw a small open box with a huge stash of cash. Something in my head told me take the money, to steal it, but I said out loud - while pushing the box away - "No, that's not nice."

Later the older woman came upstairs to speak with me. She seemed a bit sad and was telling me about these growths she had on her skin on some places of her body. She showed me one. I gently caressed it with my finger and asked her, "Is it Chlamydia?" I felt bad for her.

Now, I should say that I really didn't know what Chlamydia was until now - I just looked it up in Google and learned that it is a sexually transmitted disease. So in the dream I must have had the name of the growth wrong. The growth in the dream was a skin growth, like a type of skin tumor.

Anyway, I am pleased with myself for not having been angry at the woman for humiliating me in the beginning. Many times in my dreams I get angry. I'm not an angry person. In real life I would never consider stealing money. So perhaps now I can say that I saw a bit of my true character in last night's dream.

Symbols in Old Illustrations

I'm wanting to learn more about symbolism so I've been looking through random occult artwork scattered throughout the Internet. I found this image on Flickr, with no information to tell me what it is or what it means. Just picking out the obvious - the Ferdi at the top and the Nandvs at the bottom go together well as Ferdinandvs which is Ferdinandus when you change the old v to the modern u. The crown seems to imply a monarch, so... King Ferdinand? There is also the symbol for Vitriol on the crown. (Not that I know what that is at this moment but I've seen that symbol in the past somewhere else.) This thing is screaming alchemy but I don't know much about alchemy yet, being the rookie I am. And there are all these fascinating numbers and the shape in the center which seems to imply some kind of sacred geometry.

Anyway, I'm posting it here for further examination by myself or anyone else who cares to join in. I'd love to hear some ideas. I'd look further into it now but it's almost 3:30am and I must go to sleep. Tomorrow, Google awaits.

Goodnight.

Guinea Pig Please?

Hi all,

After over a month of waiting I have finally and happily received an invitation to use Google Voice. I'm in the midst of setting it up and would love to test out one of the features. Is there anyone up right now (11:30pm EST)? I am looking for someone to call who is long distance from me. I'll keep the call short because I'm not very verbal in live conversation, but I really want to test this out. Free long distance!!! :)

Update: At the moment I can only call free within the U.S. or Cananda.

Happy Harvest Moon

Full Harvest Moon - October This is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this Moon. Usually the full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice the chief Indian staples are now ready for gathering.

http://www.farmersalmanac.com/full-moon-names

Namaste

"Namaste. I honour the place in you where the entire universe resides... a place of light, of love, of truth, of peace, of wisdom. I honour the place in you where when you are in that place and I am in that place there is only one of us." ~Mohandas K. Gandhi

(Happy birthday, Gandhi!)