|
Greetings and Namaste!
There's a gentle snow falling right now as I
look out my window at the great oak tree
standing tall and majestic with the frozen
lake just visible beyond the woods. Nature
has slowed everything down to the pace of a
snowflake drifting gracefully to rest on the
welcoming tree branches, rocks, earth and
lake.
When we have the time to allow the mind to
settle it never tires of the joys of peace
and love. All good things are possible from
these. What if the overwhelming force we
were to project into the world, into places
of conflict, whether in our mind, our homes,
our communities or sister nations, was LOVE,
overwhelming, relentless, compassionate,
all-embracing LOVE.
We've tried the military and economic
versions of overwhelming force and what do
they bring? More violence, more suffering,
more pain, more of our children consumed by
the machinery of death wielded by those
hungry for power.
How do we martial the power of Love?
How do we become conduits for the
overwhelming force of Love?
Jesus knew, Buddha knew, Lao Tzu
knew, Hafiz and Rumi knew, Mirabai and
Ramprasad Sen knew.
You know. In your heart you've always known.
May your New Year be filled with the
blessings of remembering you are the source
of boundless Love!
Choose Love
If you take what the Buddha and Christ said,
and all the great yogis, saints, sages,
mystics, and lovers of God,
it can be reduced to two words:
Choose Love.
There is nothing higher than Love,
nothing purer,
nothing more selfless,
nothing more powerful,
and it is present in every moment.
Choose Love
In all times, in all places -
Choose Love,
for Love has already chosen you.
Kalidas
2007
|
|
|
New Year Blessings
Monks recite the sutras in honor of
the Founder,
their many voices cacophonous in my ear.
Afterward, making love, our intimate
whispers
mock the empty formal discipline of others.
Ikkyu Sojun (1394-1481)
from The Erotic Spirit, an anthology of
poems, edited by Sam Hamill (Shambhala, 1999,
p.87)
St. Theresa of Avila would
remind her nuns
that it's not about thinking much but loving
much, so do what most kindles love in you.
Sometimes, everywhere I look,
O my love, I see your radiant face.
With you ever present,
How could I close my eyes to anything?
Kabir (1398-1448)
from The Erotic Spirit, an anthology of
poems, edited by Sam Hamill (Shambhala, 1999,
p.94)
A Peaceful Heart
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,
"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall
be called the children of God." To work for
peace you must have a peaceful heart. When
you do, you are a child of God. But many who
work for peace are not at peace. They still
have anger and frustration and their work is
not really peaceful. We cannot say they are
touching the Kingdom of God. To preserve
peace, our hearts must be at peace with the
world, with our brothers and our sisters.
When we try to overcome evil with evil, we
are not working for peace. If you say,
"Saddam Hussein is evil. We have to prevent
him from continuing to be evil," and if you
then use the same means he has been using,
you are exactly like him. Trying to overcome
evil with evil is not the way to peace.
Thich Nhat Hanh
from Living Buddha, Living Christ (Riverhead
Books, 1995, pp. 74-5)
Let the flames of Love cleanse you
Of all clinging to illusion.
Let Love illumine the Truth.
Love is the most precious gift.
Love is the most sublime path.
Love is the most profound meditation.
Love is the highest attainment.
In Love - the fullness of compassion.
In Love - timeless patience.
In Love - unbounded awareness.
In Love - all is illuminated.
In Love - vast spaciousness.
In Love - form and emptiness embrace.
In Love - I and Thou disappear.
In Love -
Kalidas
2003
|
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Programs
Anam Cara Foundation, Bedford, NY
Tues. Jan. 12, 2010; 7:30-8:45
The Science & Art of Meditation
Start the New Year right with this
informative and great introduction to the
practice of meditation. Dr. Edwards will
review some of the amazing brain research on
meditation and how it supports optimal health
and wellbeing. This is a wonderful program
for people new to meditation and those who
are interested in the scientific research on
meditation. Suggested donation: $20.
Wed. Jan. 13, 20, 27, Feb. 3, 2010;
7-15-
8:45pm Buddhist Wisdom Treasures
II Many people have been asking for a
continuation of the Buddhist Wisdom Treasures
for
Non-Buddhists initial course and here it is!
Start the
New Year off with your highest good at heart.
You
don't have to have taken the first course,
though it will
be helpful, and of course you don't have to
become a
Buddhist to enjoy and benefit from the
insights and
wisdom of this great tradition.
Pre-registration
required. Fee: $125
Sat.
Jan. 16th
7:00pm
Monthly Kirtan
Night!
With Satya, Ma and
Kalidas. Join us in this ancient and
ecstatic practice
of chanting the names of the Divine.
Everyone is
welcome!
Meditation
Group
Every Tuesday
Evening:
Starts promptly at 7:30pm at our center at
the Anam Cara Foundation in Bedford, NY.
All are
welcome!
Directions
are on the Anam Cara website. If you
wonder
whether the group is being held on a
particular
Tuesday evening there will always be a
message stating if it is canceled on
that
night on 914-234-4800. Check the Anam Cara
Foundation website for new program additions.
For more information please visit our Events page (click here)
|
|
Thank you all
for your notes of appreciation for our
newsletter.
Everyone has
the heart to be a true friend of the soul, an
Anam
Cara. By embodying that ideal ourselves we
may serve to help
another to find love and compassion within
themselves.
Our highest nature is always
manifest in
relationship - to all other beings, to the
environment, in relation to our own body and
mind. Becoming mindful of the quality of our
relationships
allows us to learn where the light shines and
where it
needs to shine more. The ideal of Anam
Cara is to
continuously endeavor to expand the depth
and the
inclusiveness of the loving kindness we bring
into
every relationship, every moment, every breath.
If
you have any
suggestions, comments or sharings, for our
newsletter please don't
hesitate to e-mail me and I'll do my best to
respond.
The Anam Cara
Foundation is a 501
(C) 3,
non-profit
educational organization dedicated to
teaching
meditative practices. Our non-
denominational
programs are open to all. There are free
meditation instructions and downloadable
audio files of guided meditations on the
meditation page of our website.
Thank you for the many ways you have shown
support for The Anam Cara
Foundation. Because
of your gifts we can offer free programs and
instruction to thousands of people. If you
would like to
make a tax deductible donation please send it to
address listed below or go to our website
where you
can make a secure online donation. Click HERE.
That link will also bring you to our links
with Sounds True and purchasing gifts and
products from them will help support
The Anam
Cara Foundation.
I look forward to welcoming you
in person to our programs.
With
all my
appreciation and love, I thank you all.
May all beings realize complete freedom from suffering and may all our actions reflect only wisdom, compassion, patience and love.
|
|