ShivaShaktiMEdwards05
January 1, 2010
 
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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
 

ShivaShaktiMEdwards05

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.

Lawrence signature
Lawrence Edwards, Ph.D.
Founder and Director
The Anam Cara Foundation

Lawrence on the Isle of Iona, Scotland
All newsletter contents copyrighted 2009


phone: 914-234-4800
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