Karma – it may not be what you think

Karma isn't mentioned in the oldest Hindu book, the Rig Veda, which was written before 1000 BCE; some say as early as 1400 BCE, others a more conservative 1200 BCE. (Please note that all dates are approximate.) Since it is not mentioned there, the idea of karma and its effect on recurring lifetimes is probably a later development.

Karma is first mentioned in the Upanishads, though I suppose it's impossible to tell which Upanishad came first. As a group, they were written between 800 and 500 BCE.

The Bhagavad-Gita follows the Upanishads and was written between 500 and 200 BCE.

As far as I have found in the books, the idea that everything you do earns karma, good or bad, or that karma is the reason you have multiple lifetimes, or that karma follows you from one lifetime to another, is not a universal idea.

Too many people today use the concept of karma as a warning: if you eat meat, if you kill a bug, if you shoplift, if you do something bad, they will tell you, "it's your karma," warning you of dire the consequences of your actions.

Karma was never meant to predict your fate, rather it was an explanation for the action/reaction cycle that determines a future. It wasn't a look at the future, it was an explanation of the past.

Karma is, basically, a way to look at cause and effect of your actions. A bad action accumulates bad karma; a good action accumulates good karma. Apparently, according to modern thought, you must accumulate more good karma than bad, and that will somehow release you from the birth-death-rebirth cycle.

That is not the way the books describe it!

Instead, it is a "doing," but release comes only when your actions are completely selfless.

All actions done with purpose, either good or bad, accumulate karma, they "bind the soul" to the cycle of death-rebirth. As it says in the Isa Upanishad, "Only actions done in God bind not the soul of man." (1) In other words, actions performed in selfless service do not accumulate karma.

Performing acts for good are still acts done with a self-centered purpose…..to do good! They accumulate karma just as harmful acts do.

The Isa Upanishad goes on to say, "He who knows both knowledge and action, with action overcomes death, and with knowledge reaches immortality." (1) (Knowledge and action are two types of Yoga (Union with the Divine), Jnana (Knowledge) and Karma (Action). The other types are Hatha (physical), Bhakti (Love), and Rajah (Mystical Experience).)

According to Soumen De in his essay on "The Historical Context of the Bhagavad-Gita and Its Relation to Indian Religious Doctrines," Karma is "The law of universal causality, which connects man with the cosmos and condemns him to transmigrate -- to move from one body to another after death -- indefinitely. In the Gita, Krishna makes an allusion to the eternal soul that moves from body to body as it ascends or descends the ladder of a given hierarchy, conditioned on the nature of one's own karma -- work of life or life deeds." (2)

Also in the Gita is the information needed to overcome this cycle of transmigration.

Aarjuna, the compassionate warrior in the Gita who doesn’t want to go to war, is told: 2.03 "Do not become a coward, O Arjuna, because it does not befit you. Shake off this weakness of your heart and get up (for the battle), O Arjuna." (3) (Chapter 2 line 3.)

Arjuna doesn’t know what to do. He doesn't want to accumulate bad karma, and usually killing would do that, but here is Krishna telling him to go to battle. In modern terms, "this does not compute!"

He is assured that a body is supposed to be born, live, and die. He is doing nothing more than fulfilling a natural cycle by going to war and killing his enemy.

He is assured that if he is performing this action in the name of Deity, no bad karma will be accumulated: "2.40 In Karma-yoga no effort is ever lost, and there is no harm. Even a little practice of this discipline protects one from great fear (of birth and death).

"Translator's note: Karma-yoga is also referred to as Nishkaama Karma-yoga, Seva, selfless service, Buddhi yoga, yoga of work, science of proper action, and yoga of equanimity. A Karma-yogi works for the Lord as a matter of duty without a selfish desire for the fruits of work, or any attachment to results. The word Karma also means duty, action, deeds, work, or the results of past deeds." (3) (Chapter 2 line 40.)

Arjuna is further assured:

"2.49 Work done with selfish motives is inferior by far to the selfless service or Karma-yoga. Therefore be a Karma-yogi, O Arjuna. Those who seek (to enjoy) the fruits of their work are verily unhappy (because one has no control over the results).

"2.50 A Karma-yogi gets freedom from both vice and virtue in this life itself. Therefore, strive for Karma-yoga. Working to the best of one's abilities without getting attached to the fruits of work is called (Nishkaama) Karma-yoga.

"2.51 Wise Karma-yogis, possessed with mental poise by renouncing the attachment to the fruits of work, are indeed freed from the bondage of rebirth and attain the blissful divine state." (3)

The interrelationship and the exemption from rebirth due to the combination of knowledge (janan) and work (karma) is explained in chapter 3, lines 2 through 9:

"3.02 [Arjuna] You seem to confuse my mind by apparently conflicting words. Tell me, decisively, one thing by which I may attain the Supreme.

"3.03 The Supreme Lord said: In this world, O Arjuna, a twofold path of Sadhana (or the spiritual practice) has been stated by Me in the past. The path of Self-knowledge (or Jnana-yoga) for the contemplative, and the path of unselfish work (or Karma-yoga) for the active.

Translator's note: Jnana-yoga is also called Saamkhya-yoga, Samnyasa-yoga, and yoga of knowledge. A Jnana-yogi does not consider oneself the doer of any action, but only an instrument in the hands of divine for His use. The word Jnana means metaphysical or transcendental knowledge.

"3.04 One does not attain freedom from the bondage of Karma by merely abstaining from work. No one attains perfection by merely giving up work.

"3.05 Because no one can remain actionless even for a moment. Everyone is driven to action, helplessly indeed, by the Gunas of nature.

"3.06 The deluded ones, who restrain their organs of action but mentally dwell upon the sense enjoyment, are called hypocrites.

"3.07 The one who controls the senses by the (trained and purified) mind and intellect, and engages the organs of action to Nishkaama Karma-yoga, is superior, O Arjuna.

"3.08 Perform your obligatory duty, because action is indeed better than inaction. Even the maintenance of your body would not be possible by inaction.

"3.09 Human beings are bound by Karma (or works) other than those done as Yajna. Therefore, O Arjuna, do your duty efficiently as a service or Seva to Me, free from attachment to the fruits of work.

Translator's note: Yajna means sacrifice, selfless service, unselfish work, Seva, meritorious deeds, giving away something to others, and a religious rite in which oblation is offered to gods through the mouth of fire." (3)

And, finally, this:

"3.19 Therefore, always perform your duty efficiently and without attachment to the results, because by doing work without attachment one attains the Supreme."

There it is, in a nutshell: "doing work without attachment one attains the Supreme"

Karma is not accumulated without attachment to the outcome.

The way to accumulate karma is to remain attached to the outcome; good or bad, attachment accumulates karmic debt.

To be free of karma, to escape the death-rebirth cycle, is to act selflessly, only in the name of Service, only in the name of God, Creator, Spirit, or any other name you wish to apply.

(1) Mascaro, Juan translator, The Upanishads, Penguin Classics, New York, 1965

(2) De, Soumen: The Historical Context of The Bhagavad Gita and Its Relation to Indian Religious Doctrines; Exploring Ancient World Cultures http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/de.htm

(3) Prasad, Ramanand translator, The Bhagavad Gita, Realization.org

http://www.realization.org/page/namedoc0/gita/gita0.htm

Phoenix Legends

A few legends of the Phoenix from Arabia, China, Egypt, Greece, India, Japan, the Jewish tradition, Native American, Roman, and Russian folklore.

Astronomy: Phoenix in the Sky

Phe (Phoenix) is a constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near Tucana and Sculptor. Phoenix was named by Johann Bayer in 1603 in his catalog, Uranometria. It lies between Grus and Eridanus.

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The Arabic Roc

In Arabic legends, the roc, or rukh, was a gigantic bird with two horns on its head and four humps on its back. It is mentioned in the Arabic tales, The Thousand and One Nights. The Venetian explorer Marco Polo referred to the roc in describing Madagascar and other islands off the coast of Eastern Africa. According to him, Kublai Khan inquired in those parts about the roc and was given what was claimed to be a roc's feather, which may really have been a palm frond. Sinbad the Sailor also told of seeing its egg, which was "50 paces in circumference." The roc is associated with strength, purity, and life.

***

The Phoenix lived in Arabia. According to the legends, only one Phoenix lived at a time for 500 years. At the end of its life-cycle, The Phoenix built a nest as it was dying and set the nest on fire and was consumed by the flames. After its death, a new Phoenix would then arise from the ashes and the new Phoenix was reborn. This cycle was repeated over and over. The Phoenix was the symbolic representation of the death and rebirth of the sun.

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The Chinese Phoenix

The legendary phoenix was a symbol of high virtue and grace to the Chinese. The phoenix, representing power and prosperity, reflected the empress, and only she was allowed to wear its symbol. The "phuong" is the male phoenix, and the "hoang" is the female. As conceived by the Chinese imagination, the phoenix has a large bill, the neck of a snake, the back of a tortoise, and tail of a fish. It carries in its bill either two scrolls or a square box that contains sacred books. According to tradition, the phoenix's song includes all the five notes of the traditional musical scale; its feathers include the five fundamental colors and its body is a composite of the six celestial bodies: the head symbolises the sky; the eyes, the sun; back, the moon; the wings, the wind; feet, the earth; and the tail, the planets. The phoenix appears only in peaceful and prosperous times, and hides itself when there is trouble. Therefore, the phoenix is both a sign of peace and a symbol of disharmony. In Chinese mythology, the phoenix is represented by the feng-huang, a bird symbolizing the union of yin and yang.

***

In China, Feng-huang, a bird that symbolizes the union of yin and yang, a sign of both peace and disharmony [sic].

***

The Phoenix from another of the Chinese Mythology offers another description. Under another name, Feng - it’s depicted as a bird of shining colors, very much like a pheasant. In remote times, The Feng supposedly frequented the gardens and palaces of righteous Emperors. As with all mythological creatures the versions, significance and the characters tend to vary according to culture and their belief.

***

The Chinese have a group of four magical creatures that represented the primodrial forces of the feathered, armored, hairy and scaly animals. These beasts are Bai Hu (tiger) or Ki-Lin (unicorn) for the West, Gui Xian (the turtle or the serpent) for the North, Long (dragon) for the East and for the South, Feng, the phoenix. Feng represented power and prosperity and was an attribute of the Emperor and Empress, who were the only people in China allowed to bear the symbol of Feng. It is the personifications of the primordial force of the Heavens, and is sometimes represented with the head and comb of the pheasant and the tail of the Peacock. However, the Chinese wanted to give Feng the best attributes of all beasts, and so it has the crane's forehead, the fowl's bill, the swallow's throat, the neck of a snake, the shell of a tortoise, the dragon's stripes and the tail of a fish. In its bill it carries two scrolls or a square box that contains sacred books. It is also said that its song contains the five notes of the Chinese music scale, that its feathers include the five fundamental colours (green, red, yellow, white and black), and that its body is a mixture of the six celestial bodies: the head symbolises the sky; the eyes, the sun; back, the moon; the wings, the wind; feet, the earth; and the tail, the planets. Feng is sometimes pictured with a fireball, representing the sun, and is called the "scarlet bird". It is the emperor of birds.

***

Feng (or Feng-huang) lives in the Kindgom of the Wise which is to the east of China. It drinks the purest water and eats bamboo. When it sings, all the roosters in the world accompany it in its five-note song. It only appears in time of peace and prosperity, and disappears in times of trouble. Unlike the European Benu, Feng can be male or female and live as a couple. This couple represents marital happiness. The Feng delivers the soul of the infant to the mother's womb, once she conceives it.

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The Phoenix in Egypt

In Egypt the phoenix was usually depicted as a heron, but also as a peacock or an eagle. The brilliantly red and golden plumed Bennu was the sacred bird of Heliopolis. Identified as a heron with its long straight back and head adorned at the back with two erect feathers, the Bennu was later named Phoenix by the Greeks. The Bennu lived on the ben-ben stone or obelisk within the sanctuary of Heliopolis and was worshipped alongside Ra and Osiris. It was said to create itself from the fire that burned on the top of the sacred Persea tree in Heliopolis. The sun rose in the form of the Bennu each morning. Bennu was also considered a manifestation of Osiris, said to spring from his heart as a living symbol of the god. The Bennu symbolizes rebirth as it rises from the ashes, just as the new sun rises from the old.

***

Although it’s a common legend to many ancient civilizations, the origin of the myth of The Phoenix is attributed to the Egyptians, a civilization that was obsessed with eternal life. Phoenix is the Greek name given to a mythological bird offered in sacrifice to Ra, god of the Sun in ancient Egypt. This bird was similar to an eagle and possessed a splendid golden-red plumage that made it look like it was wrapped up in flames. In some versions, The Phoenix was shown in flames rather than in feathers.

***

The Egyptians were the first to speak of Benu, which later became the Phoenix in Greek legends. Benu is mostly depicted as a heron, with a long straight back, a head adorned with two erect feathers, and its plumage red and golden. It was the sacred bird of Heliopolis, city of the Sun, where it stayed on the ben-ben stone or obelisk, inside the town's sanctuary. Its true home was however the Arabian desert, it only came back to Heliopolis to die/be born. Benu was associated with the Sun god Ra and with Osiris, god of the Underworld, who is said to have given the secret of eternal life to Benu. It symbolises rebirth, as it rises from its ashes like a new sun rises when the old has died. It also symbolises a new period of wealth and fertility, when the Nile flooded the earth each year.

***

It is said that Benu had created itself from the fire that burned on the top of the sacred Persea tree in Heliopolis. Another story says that the heron Benu was the first life form to have appeared on the mound which rose from the watery chaos of the first creation, which links Benu to the nile and its periodical floods. The mound was called the ben-ben, and was the origin of the town of Heliopolis. Benu is, one way or the other, the personification of creation and life-force. After 500 years, according to Herodotus, Benu flew to the Sun temple in Heliopolis to build its funeral pyre with incense twigs. It then climbed onto it and waited for the sun's rays to consume it, singing a song of rare beauty as it did so. According to Pliny, from the ashes emerged a small worm that the sun's rays turned into a new Benu at the end of the day. It is also said that a new Phoenix rose immediately from it's father's ashes and flew with it's predecessor's emblamed remains to Heliopolis, accompanied by a flight of turtledoves.

***

The planet Venus was called the 'star of the ship of the Bennu-Asar' (Osiris), and is mentioned as the Morning Star in this invocation to the sacred sun bird, Benu:

I am the Benu, the soul of Ra, and the guide of the gods in the Douat *,

Let it be so done unto me that I may enter in like a hawk,

And that I may come forth like Bennu, the Morning Star.

* the Douat is the Egyptian Underworld.

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The Phoenix in Greece

Greek mythology places the phoenix in Arabia, where it lives close to a cool well. Every morning at dawn it bathes in the water and sings a beautiful song. So beautiful is the song that the sun god would stop his chariot to listen. There only exists one phoenix at a time. When the phoenix feels its death approaching (every 500 or 1461 years) it builds a nest, sets it on fire, and is consumed by the flames. A new phoenix springs forth from the pyre. It then embalms the ashes of it's predecessor in an egg of myrrh and flies with it to the City of the Sun. There the egg is deposited on the altar of the sun god.

***

The Greek poet Herodotus wrote in one of his passages from his writings of The Phoenix’s legend that the Phoenix comes back every 500 years in order to search the body of its predecessor. After making a myrrh egg, The Phoenix puts the body of its predecessor inside it, and takes it to the Temple of the Sun located in Egypt.

500 years later, Tacitus and Plinius agreed that many of the ancient myths were confusing so they investigated the chronology of The Phoenix. Through their studies, they concluded that The Phoenix lived an equivalent to a Platonic year, a calculation determined by the alignment of the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets known at that time needed to return to their original positions which in our time represents a period of 12.994 years.

***

The ancient ones believed that this enormous astronomical cycle was complete provided all conditions of the planetary influence were the same. In other words, The Phoenix was considered similar to a mirror of the universe. By the end of the IVth century, Claudianus had written some verses about an immortal bird, able to reborn from its ashes, an heir to itself, and a witness of that time.

***

The Greek believed that the Phoenix lived in Arabia, in a cool well. At dawn, each morning, it sung a beautiful song, so beautiful that the Sun god would stop his chariot to listen. The Phoenix is a unique bird, there may only exist one at a time, which makes it a solitary bird. It does not reproduce, which adds to its loneliness, as only its death will bring on another of its race. When it feels its end approaching (between 500 and 1461 years, depending on the legend), it builds a nest with the finest aromatic woods, sets it on fire, and is consumed by his own flames. From the pile of ashes, a new Phoenix arises, young and powerful. It then embalms the ashes of its predecessor in an egg of myrrh, and flies to the city of the Sun, Heliopolis, where he deposits the egg on the altar of the Sun god.

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The Indian Garuda and Japanese Karura

In the Hindu and Buddhist culture, the phoenix is called Garuda, or Karura in Japan (see lyrics of "You Are Phoenix"). Garuda in some legends has an eagle's beak and wings, and a human body, with a white face, scarlet wings and a golden body. In others, especially in Japan, he is an enormous fire-breathing eagle with golden feathers and magic gems crowning its head. Garuda is the mount or avatar (earthly embodiment) of the god Vishnu (Hindu tradition), and is one of the supreme seers of infinite consciousness.

Kadru, mother of all serpents, had picked a fight with the mother of Garuda, that she locked away. Garuda then went to fetch the Soma, which gave him immortality, to free his mother from Kadru. Vishnu, impressed, chose him as his avatar or mount. However, Garuda kept a great hatred towards the Naga (family of serpents and dragons), and killed one every day for his meal. But a Buddhist prince taught him abstinence, and Garuda brought back to life the bones of many serpents he had killed.

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The Jewish Milcham

In Jewish legend, the phoenix is called Milcham. After Eve ate the forbidden fruit, she became jealous of the immortality and purity of the other creatures in the garden of Eden. She managed to persuade all the animals in the garden to eat the forbidden fruit and share her fallen state. All except for the phoenix gave in to her. God rewarded the bird by setting him up in a walled city where he could live in great peace for 1000 years. And at the end of every 1000 year period, the bird was consumed and reborn from an egg found in its ashes.

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The Native American Thunderbird

In the legends of native North Americans, the thunderbird is a powerful spirit in the form of a bird. Lightning flashes from its beak, and the beating of its wings is creates the thunder. It is often portrayed with an extra head on its abdomen. The majestic thunderbird is often accompanied by lesser bird spirits, frequently in the form of eagles or falcons. The thunderbird petroglyph symbol has been found across Canada and the United States. Evidence of similar figures has been found throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe.

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Roman Phoenix

In Greek and Roman legends, the Phoenix is the symbol of immortality and resurrection. It is associated with the Sun god Phoebus (Apollo). Its name "Phoenix" is the Greek word for "red", which links this magical bird to fire and the sun. It is said to resemble an eagle or a peacock.

The following is a text by a Roman author, Claudian, which tells the story of the Phoenix. This poetic version is translated by Henry Vaughan.

THE PHOENIX

He knows his time is out! and doth provide

New principles of life; herbs he brings dried

From the hot hills, and with rich spices frames

A Pile shall burn, and Hatch him with his flames.

On this the weakling sits; salutes the Sun

With pleasant noise, and prays and begs for some

Of his own fire, that quickly may restore

The youth and vigor, which he had before.

Whom soon as Phoebus * spies, stopping his rays

He makes a stand, and thus allays his pains......

He shakes his locks, and from his golden head,

Shoots on bright beam, which smites with vital fire

The willing bird; to burn is his desire.

That he may live again; he's proud in death,

And goes in haste to gain a better breath.

The spice heap fired with celestial rays

Doth burn the aged Phoenix, when straight stays

The Chariot of the amazed Moon; the pole

Resists the wheeling, swift Orbs, and the whole

Fabric of Nature at a stand remains.

Till the old bird anew, young begins again.

* Phoebus another name for Apollo, but is also a poetic word to describe the sun.

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The Russian Firebird

The Russian Firebird

by Cyril Korolev

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/f/firebird.html

In Russian folklore the Firebird (Zshar-ptitsa) is a miraculous bird. Its feathers shine like silver and gold, its eyes sparkle like crystals, and it is usually been seen sitting on a golden perch. At midnight this bird comes to gardens and fields and illuminates the night as brightly as a thousand lights; just one feather from its tail could light up a dark room. The Firebird eats golden apples which give any who eat them youth, beauty and immortality; when the bird sings, pearls would fall from its beak. The Firebird’s chants can heal the sick and return the vision to the blind.

Resurrection, Rebirth, and Other Symbolism in the Number Three 3

As I demonstrated in my last post, Symbolism of Orion's Belt, some things based on the number three that are of spiritual and cultural importance are derived from astronomical sources other than the three popular lunar phases. For instance, the three stars of Orion's Belt have held great significance in many societies over the centuries.

However, many people believe that the philosophical and/or spiritual significance of the number three is connected to the visible phases of the moon, First Quarter, Full, and Last Quarter.

No doubt many things do correspond with moon phases, for example the Maiden, Mother, Crone of the modern pagan and Wiccan traditions which is a variation of the Birth-Life-Death trio of goddesses in the Greek and Roman mythologies.

The one "three" that is often overlooked is the three days of the New Moon. I believe that the period of three days during which the moon is invisible, dark, or "dead," is the astronomical event behind the concept of rebirth or resurrection, and frankly wonder why the Resurrection of Christ and the date of Easter is based on a Full Moon event when "rebirth" occurs following a New Moon.

Many death-defying or resurrection journeys to Under- or Other-worlds are accomplished through a pattern of three, or a multiple of three.

There is the ancient Egyptian journey of the soul to the Otherworld of Osiris which accomplished by passing through twenty-one gates (7 X 3). Plato's resurrection/rebirth "Myth of Er" in which the warrior who died in battle was returned to earth after 12 days (4 X 3).

In the original Sumerian myth of Inanna (known to the Assyrians and Babylonians as Ishtar), she disappeared for three days and nights in her journey to the Underworld looking for her sister. Before she left, she also sends a message to three gods, Enlil, Nanna, and Enki, asking them to save her if anything goes amiss. It's interesting to note that she also passes through seven gates on her way.

In some Sumerian myths, there are only three steps to the Underworld. (This is later expanded to seven.) Also, there are three guards of the underworld; the first holds the key, the second controls the river, and the third is the ferryman. Source: Inanna New Moon Goddess.

Since most of these journeys to and through death include the symbolism of darkness, I believe they are rooted in the three dark nights of a New Moon. The rebirth of the participant on the third day in those journeys is the symbolism of the appearance of the crescent moon, the lunar equivalent of resurrection or return to life.

Below is a list of threes in mythology and religion from Wikipedia. I've added a couple things which you'll find enclosed in brackets [ ]. Notice how many are on the theme of life and death!

Wikipedia on the significance of Three

In Mythology

• Georges Dumezil developed the idea of a Tripartite Ideology (Trifunctional Hypothesis) with respect to the Indo-European peoples consisting of three class divisions: Priestly~ Warrior~ Farmers/Craftsmen.

• 3 Greek gods: Zeus~ Poseidon~ Hades (Heaven~ Earth~ Underworld)
• 3 Roman gods: Jupiter~ Neptune~ Apollo (Heaven~ Earth~ Underworld)
• Ancient Egypt Theban Triad: Amun~ Mut~ and their son Khans
• 3 ancient Egypt central religious figures: Horus~ Isis~ Osiris

• The Maya believed 3 stars in the Orion Constellation (Alnitak~ Saiph~ Rigel) were arranged by the gods as a triangular hearth, enclosing the smoke of the fire creation - the nebula.

• 3 Greek Fates (Moirai, Moires): Clotho~ Lachesis~ Atropos (sometimes referred to as the 3 spinners).

• 3 Roman Fates: Decima~ Nona (goddesses of birth)~ Morta (goddess of death)
• 3 Roman Graces- (in Greek mythology called the charities and according to the Spartans, Cleta was the third): Aglaia~ Euphrosyne~ Thalia.

• 3 monstrous offspring by Loki and Angroboda: Fenrir~ Hel~ Jormungund
• 3 hags possessing immense power in Norse Myth: Urdr~ Verdandi~ Skuld
• 3 Gorgons-(snake-haired sisters in Greek mythology): Stheno, Euryale, Medusa are sometimes depicted as having wings of gold, brazen claws, and the tusks of boars. Medusa is the only one of the gorgons that is mortal.

• 3 different beings made up the different qualities of death according to ancient Greek belief: Thantos (male)~ Ker (female)~ Gorgo (female).

• 3 Roman Furies (female personifications of vengence) that were called the Erinyes (the Angry Ones) or Eumenides by the Ancient Greeks (Orestes called them the Solemn Ones, or the Kindly Ones): Alecto ("unceasing")~ Megaera ("grudging")~ Tisiphone ("avenging murder").

In religion

Abrahamic religions

• There are three main Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
• The Holy Trinity in Christian doctrine (or trinity in general), is God both as a single being and three persons: the Father, the Son and the Spirit. This is also known as Tripartite division.
• Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.
• The Wise Men who visited Jesus after His birth left Him three gifts.
• A devout Muslim tries to make a pilgrimage to all three holy cities in Islam: Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem
• King Solomon states in Ecclesiastes 4:12: "A three-ply cord is not easily severed." Examples of this concept of three-ness in Judaism are:
• The three Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• The three pilgrim festivals (Sheloshet HaRegalim): Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot
• Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel taught: "The world continues to exist because of three things: justice, truth, and peace" (ibid. 1:18) [If only that were true!!!]
• The three Theological virtues referred to 1 Corinthians 13.
• In Roman Catholicism, three groups of martyrs, collectively known as Faith, Hope, and Charity (named after the Theological Virtues).
• Heaven, Hell and Purgatory (or Limbo).

Other religions

• The Wiccan Rule of Three claiming that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times.
• The Triple Goddess: Maiden, Mother, Crone.
• In Taoism, the Three Pure Ones.
• [In the I Ching (Yijing), often considered a book of sacred philosophy to some Asian spiritual traditions, the lines of the trigrams and hexagrams from top to bottom represent heaven, man, and earth.]
• The three Gunas underlie action, in the Vedic system of knowledge. There is also the concept of Trimurti in Hindu tradition. The Buddha has three bodies. The three Vedas are called trayi i.e triad. Lord Shiva is Trinetra-Three-eyed. The confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and hidden Sarasvati is the famous Triveni-confluence of three rivers. Buddhism's three refuges are Trisharana- Buddhan sharanam gacchami, Dhammam sharanam gacchami, Sangham sharanam gacchami.
• In Greek mythology, the Three Graces or Charites. Also the number of heads of Cerberus, the monstrous dog that guards the gate to Hades
• Various Triple deities.

In esoteric tradition

• The Theosophical Society has three conditions of membership.
• Gurdjieff's Three Centers [intellectual, emotional, physical] and the Law of Three [every whole phenomenon is composed of three separate sources: active, passive, and reconciling or neutral]
• Feri Tradition teaches of the existence of three souls in each individual person.
• [Ancient Egyptians also believed a person had three souls, the Ba that roamed the earth as a human-headed bird, the tomb-bound Ka, and the Akh which journeyed to the Otherworld.]

The numbers 63 and 64, the I Ching, and fractions of the Eye of Horus.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

The Eye of Horus (originally, The Eye of Ra) is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and power, from the deity Horus or Ra. In the Egyptian language the word for this symbol was "wadjet" (according to M. Stokstad "Art History").

The Eye of Horus, originally the Eye of Ra, symbolized royal power. The ancients believed this symbol of indestructibility would assist in rebirth. The Eye of Horus was found under the 12th layer of bandages on Tutankhamun's mummy. Horus was an ancient Egyptian sky god; one of his eyes was the sun and the other the moon. The eye represents a peregrine falcon's eye and the markings around it, including the "teardrop" marking sometimes found below the eye.

In arithmetic

In the Ancient Egyptian measurement system, the Eye Of Horus defined an Old Kingdom rounded off number limited by: one(1)= 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 + 1/32 + 1/64. The Eye of Horus statements created 6-term rounded off numbers. The Old Kingdom definition had dropped a 7th term, a remainder 1/64, that was needed to report exact series. During the Middle Kingdom exact series definitions and applications were written by creating 7-terms, or more, written as Egyptian fraction series, often scaled to 1/320 hekat. For example, the Akhmim Wooden Tablet wrote quotients in the Eye of Horus 6-terms, while writing 7th term remainders as Egyptian fractions, scaled to 1/320 of a hekat. The metaphorical side of this information linked the Old Kingdom six fractions, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and 1/64 to separate parts of the eye, as noted by:

· 1/2 was represented by smell, symbolized by the right side of the eye in a form of the nose. The pyramid text says: "Behold [the fire] rises in Abydos and it comes; I cause it to come, the Eye of Horus. It is set in order upon thy brow, O Osiris Khenti-Amenti; it is set in the shrine and rises on thy brow."

· 1/4 was represented by sight or the sensation of light, symbolized by the pupil. The pyramid text says: "Perfect is the Eye of Horus. I have delivered the Eye of Horus, the shining one, the ornament of the Eye of Ra, the Father of the Gods."

· 1/8 was represented by thought, symbolized by the eyebrow. The pyramid text says: "...the Eye of Horus hath made me holy...I will hide myself among you, O ye stars which are imperishable. My brow is the brow of Ra."

· 1/16 was represented by hearing, symbolized by the left side of the eye in the form of an arrow pointing towards the ear. The pyramid text says: "That which has been shut fast/dead hath been opened by the command of the Eye of Horus, which hath delivered me. Established are the beauties on the forehead of Ra."

Headline text

· 1/32 was represented by taste, by the sprouting of wheat or grain from the planted stalk, symbolized by a curved tail. The pyramid text says: "Come, the Eye of Horus hath delivered for me my soul, my ornaments are established on the brow of Ra. Light is on the faces of those who are in the members of Osiris."

· 1/64 was represented by touch, symbolized by a leg touching the ground, or what can also be thought of as a strong plant growing into the surface of the earth. The pyramid text says: "I shall see the Gods and the Eye of Horus burning with fire before my eyes!"

In the Middle Kingdom the 1/64 symbol denoted 'rest' and 'healing' as connected to the hekat, with the word dja being attached.

*** End Quote ***

What I find so amazing about this is that the numbers 63 and 64 have a very special significance in the Yijing (I Ching) also.

Hexagram 63 is called "After Completion." This is the only hexagram in the I Ching in which all six lines are in their proper places. There is an energetic law in the I Ching that favors the "weak" yin/broken lines resting on the "strong" yang/whole lines, so it is usually favorable that when comparing pairs of lines, the lower line be yang, the upper line be yin.

In observance of this energetic law or rule, yang lines in places (counting from the bottom to the top) 1, 3, and 5; yin lines in places 2, 4, and 6 constitute energetic perfection and balance. The pairs of lines are all in complete harmony: the yang and yin pairs of lines are 1/2, 3/4, and 5/6. They also are compared in pairs of lines 1/4, 2/5, 3/6.

So, in the I Ching as in the Eye of Horus, the number 63 appears to be the end. After all everything has been completed, all the lines of the hexagram are in harmony and in the right places. The trigram for water is above the trigram for fire, indicating that the energetic movement of each is toward the other….water moves down to combine with fire, and fire moves upward to combine with water. With its parts that add up to 63, the Eye of Horus appears to be whole and complete as well

So, what is the next step? Why is the Eye not a complete 64/64? Why does the final hexagram, hexagram 64, contain all the line comparison harmonies of hexagram 63, but have all the lines are in the wrong places, all the yang lines are "resting" on yin lines? That just won't do!

The next step after completing something is starting something else. A new life perhaps?

The final hexagram is named "Before Completion." The Image (referring to the upper and lower trigrams of three lines each) says: "Fire over water. The image of the condition before transition." Perhaps it means before the transition to immortality!

In Daoist philosophy, there is the concept of immortality. Each person is born with multiple souls. Some of these are heavenly souls (fire) and some are earthly (water). Through a practice called the Kan and Li Qigong (Water and Fire Energy Practice), a person can attain immortality by melding together his heavenly and earthly energies, his water and fire energies.

Some believe the I Ching is a map of how a person should work with their energies and souls to attain immortality. If they manage to complete the process, they reach the perfection of hexagram 63. If not, their energies move apart as they do in hexagram 64, the energies of fire rising skyward, and the energies of water flowing earthward, and immortality is not attained.

Some believe the Eye of Ra is a symbol of immortality also, especially the immortality of Ra of course, but there is something missing, here, too. The eye has everything it needs except a pupil….that part of the eye through which a person can see. An eye without a pupil is as good as no eye at all, for one cannot see with it. Is it possible that the missing 1/64 of the eye is the pupil, that part of the eye that would grant Vision, perhaps of an immortal or enlightened type?

Possibly this is so. The number 64 is the square of 8, and squares of numbers tend to have special significance, such as 3X3, and especially 7X7 (which we see in the saying "the seventh son of a seventh son").

The number 8 can represent two different ideas of wholeness or completeness. First, on a two-dimensional level, it can represent the eight directions; in time, it can represent the eight special days of the year, the two solstices and equinoxes as well as the cross-quarter days, the days that fall between the solstices and equinoxes. Second, on a three-dimensional level, the number 8 can represent the corners that form the earth (shades of the ancient "square earth" theory), and the four corners that hold up the sky! Without four heavenly corners, the sky would just fall and there would be no earth.

So, it seems very reasonable that the number 63 would symbolize a life well lived and well spent, and that 64 would be an indication of a life just starting over again!

In hexagram 64 we have balance and harmony, just in the wrong order, and if you give the Eye a pupil, that last little 1/64 of its weight, it will surely see it's way clear to return from the Otherworld of Osiris and make a new life here on Earth again.

Whether that new life is a rebirth or a resurrection is a topic for another post. :-)

February, month of the dead

Janus, god of doorways.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a picture of Februus, the god of the underworld, but read on....these two are very interrelated.

This might have been a bit more timely a couple of months ago, but some interesting information has come to light regarding the god Februus and the month of February as it relates to death, and rebirth/reincarnation.

First, a bit of background. In the ancient Roman calendar, the first day of the New Year was on the Spring Equinox, and there were only 10 months which I will list by their current names:

March – the first day was the Vernal Equinox

April

May

June – the first day was the Summer Solstice

July (renamed for Julius Caesar; was Quintilius which meant 5 or 5^th)

August (renamed for August Caesar; was Sextilius which meant 6 or 6^th)

September (which meant 7 or 7^th) – the first day was the Autumnal Equinox

October (which meant 8 or 8^th)

November (which meant 9 or 9^th)

December (which meant 10 or 10^th) – the first day was the Winter Solstice

They just didn't account for the days between what is now approximately January 21 and the New Year Vernal Equinox on March 21. I believe they considered these to be "days of the dead." The reason is the number of days included in this span of time.

The number of days contained in each of the ten named months varies with the reporter; some say each month had 30 days, some say it alternated with 30 and 31 days.

I believe it alternated with 29 and 30 days and here is why: this was a lunar calendar based on moon phases (any other lunar cycle would have produced months of 27 to 28 days). (The reason July and August both ended up with 31 days is because the two Caesars had to be equal and have the same number of days in their respective months.)

From New Moon to New Moon, called the Lunar Synodic Cycle, is 29.53 days. Technically speaking, it can be anywhere between 29.27 and 29.83 days. Given that this was a lunar accounting of months, and the cycle is 29.5 days, each month would have to span the synodic cycle and alternate between 29 and 30 days or the calendar would be out of phase quite quickly.

Taking the ten months from March to December, if five months have 29 days (145 days) and five months have 30 days (150 days) that accounts for only 295 days out of a 365 day year. How many days are left unaccounted for? 365-295=70 days.

I find this especially intriguing because in an earlier article, "How long does a phoenix live ," I explore the Egyptian symbolism surrounding death and rebirth: the star Sirius "died" for 70 days each year – it's morning visibility was obscured by the sun for 70 days. There came to be a parallel with the death and rebirth of Sirius with the death and rebirth of the human spirit due to the 70 days that it took to complete an embalming. (An embalming was the preservation of the body so that the spirit could leave the world of the dead and return to the world of the living. The preserved body was the spirit's anchor to earth; without it, the spirit could not return.). The morning star Sirius "died" for 70 days then returned, and it took 70 days of preparation before the spirit of the dead person could return to the earth.

The months of February and January (in that order) were tacked on to the end of the Roman calendar to account for the 70 days between the last day of December and the first day of March – the Vernal Equinox – and the start of a new year.

It rings true that the 70 days after December, February and January, were dedicated to the dead because it was winter, the time of year for the land to be dead as it rested for spring planting. So, even though the 70 days of death were at different times of year, two separate cultures, Roman and Egyptian, connected a span of 70 days to death and rebirth.

The name and meaning of February is often attributed to the Latin Februa (purification) or Februalia, a time during which sacrifices were made to atone for sins. However, other sources say the name February is fashioned after the name of the Etruscan god of the Underworld whose name was Februus. If indeed the 70 days of February and January was the time of year associated with the dead, it certainly seems that the first month of the 70 days of death would be named after the god of the Underworld, Februus. Where does a spirit go when it dies? To the Underworld!

I believe that it was much later, after February and January changed places in the calendar, that February became associated with purification and sacrifices. It would make sense that when February preceded March, sacrifices would be made to the gods just before the spring planting to ask for a bountiful crop for that year. However, I believe those dedications were originally made to Janus.

Janus (originally Ianus) was the two-faced god of gates and doorways (L. for door is ianua). He was often worshipped at the beginning of the planting times, so naming the month preceding the March spring plantings makes sense.

The other important clue to the origin, name, and order of February and January is Janus himself. As the god of the doorway and the gate, he ruled over the gateway of return to the earth of the spirits who had spent the previous month in the Underworld land of Februus.

From the beginning of February to the end of January, then, was the 70 days of the year dedicated to the dead, first the days of the dead in the month of Februus, and then the days of renewal and ultimately rebirth at the close of the month of Janus, the beginning of the new year on the Vernal Equinox in March.

Afterward:

Many depictions of Janus, from coins to statues, show a two-faced man with beards. However, there is another form that may have contributed to the symbolic Old year/New Year, old man and young man (baby). In some statues Janus has a old, bearded face looking to the left, and a young, un-bearded face looking to the right. Presumably this represents looking back to the past and forward to the future, but may also have been the origin of Father Time and the New Year Baby.

Eventually, the calendar was changed again. In 452 BC, February moved to its current location, between January and March. In 153 BC (or 46 BC?), New Year moved to January 1. According to some historians, Julius Caesar moved the date of New Year to 1 January. However, since he was assassinated shortly after his calendar reforms, I believe his change didn't stick. The civil calendar changed of the date of New Year to 1 January in 153 BC to correspond with the date the Roman consuls began their term in office.

How long does a Phoenix live?

There are various numbers tossed around as the lifetime of a phoenix: 300 years, 500 years, 1,000 years, 1461 years. The first three numbers sound poetically rounded; the number 1461 has the ring of truth. No one is going to make up a number like 1461. It's not a pretty number to say, it isn't easy to write, or to add or subtract with, so what gives?

Oftentimes, the number that looks like the odd-ball is the real deal, but the reasons for it have been forgotten. Not so with the phoenix's lifetime of 1461 years! The reason the phoenix is reborn every 1461 years has to do with astronomy, the cycle of a star and the sun, and the ancient Egyptian growing season.

A little knowledge of the Egyptian calendar is in order. The Egyptians had a calendar of 365 days; three seasons of 120 days each, and a 5-day period of feasting. The season that interests us is Akhet, the summer growing season. The first day of Akhet which, in 3000 BCE, was at the time of the Summer Solstice, heralded the yearly flooding of the Nile and meant the first day of the agricultural year, the growing season

There is another astronomical event which takes places at that time; the heliacal rising of Sirius, the star we call the Dog Star, one of the most important astronomical bodies to the ancient Egyptians. (A heliacal rising is the appearance of a star above the horizon just before the sun rises.)

While we, today, call Sirius the Dog star because it is the brightest star in the constellation of Canis Major, the Ancient Egyptians called it Sothis or Sopdet/Sepdet. Sopdet, sometimes identified with Isis, was a fertility goddess associated with the star Sirius and the agricultural year. When Sirius/Sothis/Sopdet became visible in the morning sky just before the sunrise, the sighting was celebrated with a festival called "The Coming of Sopdet" because it was the time of year for the waters of the Nile to rise; she brought with her the waters that would bring fertility to the land.

At the same time, Sothis herself was returning to life, too, because she had been missing for 70 days. Sirius can be seen in the morning sky for all but 70 days of the year, and those 70 days that Sirius is invisible (or "dead") are the 70 days immediately preceding the first day of Akhet. Here is the parallel with the Phoenix being burned: Sirius/Sopdet is considered to be dead for those days because she was "burned" into invisibility by the sunrise.

Interestingly enough, an embalming took 70 days, after which the deceased began the journey to the Otherworld ruled by Osiris (husband of Isis), so 70 days became associated with reincarnation of another sort, re-vitalization of the spirit and the spirit's ability to travel.

The association of the bird-Phoenix comes with the Bennu Bird. Bennu is related to the words "to rise" and "to shine." The Bennu bird was further associated with the Ba, the roaming spirit often depicted as a human-headed bird, of Ra/Re the Egyptian Sun god. Therefore, the Bennu bird became the symbol of the solar spirit. After the 70 days of embalming, the star Sirius represented the "rise" and "shine" of the Bennu bird which also meant the re-vitalization of the spirit.

The Greeks called the star Sirius, "scorching" or "burning," and probably made that association due to the rising of the star with the sun at the time of the Summer Solstice, and the hottest season of the year.

Phoenix is from the Greek and Latin and means purple-red color (possibly the color of the sky just before sunrise), or a Phoenician, a member of a well-known sea-faring folk from Phoenicia, the ancient kingdom in the area of Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. I believe the location of Phoenicia accounts for the idea that the Phoenix comes from the Arabian wilderness. Phoenicia as well as the heliacal rising of the Phoenix/Sirius/Sothis star with the Summer Solstice sun, is in the east for anyone living in Egypt, Greece or Rome.

The 1461 year lifetime of the Phoenix is due to the 365.25 day year and the lack of a Leap Year in the ancient Egyptian calendar.

As already stated, Sirius "died" for 70 days, consumed by the fire of the sun, and was "reborn" on the first day of the planting season known as Akhet, the day of the Summer Solstice, when the star was again visible on the eastern horizon just before sunrise.

So, for several generations of Egyptian astronomical observers, the floods were marked by the rise of Sirius, the rebirth of the Phoenix, in the pre-dawn morning on the first day of Akhet.

However, they accounted for only 365 days in each year, so that every four years, the day that Sirius was "reborn" came one day earlier! Instead of on the Summer Solstice, it would be one day earlier, and then four years later and another day earlier, and then another, and another. The rise of the fertility star and the day of the Summer Solstice became seriously out of alignment.

In order for the Phoenix/Bennu/Sirius star to be "reborn" on the first day of Akhet, 1,461 years would have to pass!

In fact, what did happen was that every 1460 years, the Ancient Egyptians would add an entire Leap Year of 365 days. .25 of a year X 1460 years = 365 days, or a full Leap Year. Add the Leap Year to the 1460 years equals the 1461 years known as a Sothic Cycle for the goddess Sothis and the star Sothis/ Serius/ Bennu/ Phoenix.

The Sothic Cycle of 1461 years is the lifetime of the Phoenix: the star Sirius again rises in conjunction with the Summer Solstice….after 70 days of death, the Phoenix Rises, reborn on the Summer Solstice.

Reincarnation - some thoughts

Thousand-petaled Lotus: symbol of reincarnation and immortality

You would think that, being a phoenix and all, I'd not only be on board with reincarnation, I'd be driving the wagon.

That has not been the case. I have been on the fence over this topic, leaning first one way and then the other, changing my mind pendulum-like from yes to no to maybe mostly because I could not reconcile my beliefs about the nature of the spirit with the beliefs familiarly held by most major spiritual teachings.

I have finally come to the conclusion that yes, I do believe in reincarnation – thought the details are subject to change without notice – but with a twist.

What settled the question for me was, not surprisingly, the yin/yang nature and behavior of spirit and energy.

Energy continuously cycles from the material to the immaterial to the material, et cetera and so on. That's the nature of spirit and energy. That's what it does…it cycles. If it didn't, breakfast wouldn't be the most important meal of the day, and a Three Musketeers bar wouldn't be a pick-me-up at 3:00 PM. If energy didn't cycle, you wouldn’t burn calories by running or swimming. You wouldn't ever be happy or sad, you would be emotionally numb.

If energy didn't cycle, you would never change at all…which would be a blessing for some people and a curse for others!

"The ancients' belief in reincarnation produced many cyclic images of existence..." – from "The Wheel" by Barbara J. Walter from The Women's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects

It was once believed that the Sun died every night as it was submerged into the ocean to be reborn the next day. Another image of cyclic existence is the moon that disappears roughly every 27 days to be reborn after three dark nights. Then there is the annual cycle of the leaves that fall from the trees in autumn and decompose to feed the roots, nourishing the next years' growth in spring, long considered the "season of rebirth."

You can't name one material thing that doesn't cycle back into immaterial energy because everything does, even if, like plastic trash bags, it takes tens of thousands of years, everything eventually cycles from the material to the immaterial, and then feeds, indeed nourishes the creation of the material.

The thing that we know now that we perhaps did not know before is that matter IS energy. Through our knowledge of the behavior of waves and particles, we can say that matter is just energy gone solid. Light and heat and other forms remain as energy in a not-solid state.

Your body is obviously energy gone solid. However, in every cell of your body, there is a spark of non-solid electrical, spirited energy. Your cells vibrate to a particular frequency, your brain operates on electrical impulses, your heart beats to the rhythm of an electrical discharge. When these electrical charges cease to operate, your body ceases to operate. The material portions of your body will decompose and become energy for some other form of matter.

However, the energy that mobilized your body, that formed your thoughts and held your memory, your spiritual energy, has not disappeared, just as the electricity that fuels your light bulbs doesn't disappear when you turn off the light. That energy still exists, it just no longer exists in the same place.

So, where does it go? Look around….it's everywhere…spiritual energy is everywhere. You continually breathe in spirit every minute of every day! (Latin inspire and expire derive from spirare which gives us the words for both breathe and spirit).

Some Daoists believe the body is born with ten souls or spirits, three from the heavens called hun that are nourished by breath energy, and seven called po that come from the earth and are nourished by food energy.

Human Lotus: symbol of one way to practice to achieve immortality.

It is your job in this lifetime to work with these souls on the energetic level (through tai chi, qigong, meditation, etc.) until you bring them into perfect balance and harmony at which time they merge into a single soul and you become an Immortal. Some beliefs about Immortals continue on to include physical immortality. In others, it is believed the physical body dies, but they are often regarded as "light" beings, consciousness of Self is retained; You would still be You with the same thoughts, ideas, and memories.

If your ten souls do not merge into a single soul during this lifetime, the ten souls return to their origins, the hun to the heavens and the po to the earth. They mix with other hun and po souls, and eventually inhabit a new body when the time is right. However, since they have scattered since their last incarnation, they do not return as a group. It is possible that some people who recall a past life are recalling the past experience of one (or several) of the past experiences of a hun or po soul.

Personally, I think it goes beyond even that. If thoughts are things, how much more then is your life energy?

With all the millions of cells in your body, all the millions of little life-giving charges released into the atmosphere when your body is finished with them, it is very likely that there are millions of bits of you floating around, each with some thought, idea, or memory that you held as an incarnate being. I don't believe that each bit of spiritual energy is a personality as such. However, each of those thoughts, ideas, and memories is something that was unique to you, a treasure that is no longer available to the material plane. They can no longer be used in a meaningful way because they need a physical plane on which to manifest.

However, here is an interesting thing: all those energetic spirits released at the demise of the body have known each other for a while, and have become quite familiar with each other. I believe it is very possible, likely even, that their energetic familiarity works just like a magnet; it attracts them to rejoin in their next physical body. In sufficient critical-mass numbers, enough to "remember" their chosen ideal, they may even do so for the purpose of continuing to complete some theory or idea they had begun to formulate in a previous existence.

The Egyptians believed that the three souls of a person stayed together only if the body had been preserved. The body acted as a magnet to attract the souls. The Ba roamed around as a human-headed bird, the Ka was tomb-bound and required food, drink, etc, the Akh journeyed to otherworld sometimes as a bird. However, if the body were allowed to decay, the souls would dissipate.

I think those little sparks of life energy don't hang around the old body all that long, they move on to combine in other ways with universal energy. Remember, this is what spirit and energy does; it's the nature of spirit and energy to cycle from immaterial to material. It doesn't want to hang around; it's ready to move on.

This is not to say that former human energy always returns to a human just as a plant does not always decompose to feed the next generation of flower, fruit, or vegetable. Some of your energy probably ends up somewhere else, and some of the spirit you enjoy in your body right now may have come from other planes, or even other galaxies.

I know that may sound a little far out, but consider: you look up into the night sky and see stars. That star light, that light energy, has traveled millions, perhaps billions of miles, but as soon as it touches your eye, you touch it, too, and you accept it into yourself and absorb it just as you take in air, sunlight, moonlight, and last night's salmon dinner, and that's a good thing!

You know how confined and depressed you feel if you are stuck in a rut in day-to-day living. Imagine how you would feel if you were stuck in a rut from lifetime to lifetime with the same thoughts, same ideas, same spirit for eternity! You need that cyclic, energetic exchange; you need, from lifetime to lifetime, to have an infusion of new energy to create new bonds with universal energies, to think up new ideas, to imagine new beginnings.

This is how we, as a species, are able to progress. This is what we do, we un-form and re-form energetically, spiritually, to share information and inspiration, and ultimately to enhance our bond with each other and the universe.