I seek and find

- Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.

Apple co-founder and long-time CEO Steve Jobs died Wednesday at the age of 56. Known as an inventor, an “outside the box” thinker and one of the most successful businessmen in the world, Jobs also had a deep spiritual life, marked by a pilgrimage to India in the 70’s, experiments with psychedelic drugs and a life-long Buddhist practice supported by a strict vegetarian diet.

After working at Atari Inc, as a video game developer in 1974, Jobs took a break and backpacked around India in search of spiritual enlightenment.

His interest in the Indian pilgrimage began when he entered Reed College, in Portland, Oregon.

He first dropped out and then he "became a 'drop- in' back at Reed, attending only the courses, such as calligraphy, that interested him, while scratching an existence earning a few cents recycling cans and eating for free each week at the local Hare Krishna temple." Source

“Jobs, being from a middle-class background, had trouble fitting into the affluent school. He dropped out after just one semester. He was a voracious reader of philosophical writings, and had keen interest in religion. Jobs was determined to study and experience, first-hand, what he thought were the last vestiges of spiritualism and existentialism.” The Times of India

In the summer of 1974, Steve and his college friend Dan Kottke with whom he shared his interest in Eastern religion and mysticism set out on a month-long journey to meet a spiritual leader in India.

“He is said to have visited the Kainchi ashram in Kumaon Hills in Uttar Pradesh, and wanted to meet Neem Karoli Baba. Unfortunately by the time they arrived Baba had died and people were trying to profit from his popularity.

Jobs came to an important realization:

 “Great ideas without actions suddenly seemed empty. We weren't going to find a place where we could go for a month to be enlightened.  It was one  the first times that I started to realize that maybe Thomas Edison did a lot more to improve the world than Karl Marx and [guru] Neem Karoli Baba put together." Michael Moritz’s "The Little Kingdom"

As an aside, in Anthony Imbimbo book, Steve Jobs: The Brilliant Mind Behind Apple, he mentions that Dr. Larry Briiliant (Google.org) was a friend of Jobs, and also a follower of Karoli Baba who partnered with Ram Dass (Dr. Richard Alpert) to start the Seva Foundation, an organization devoted to ending poverty. The Seva Foundation's first $5,000 donation came from not-yet-famous computer inventor, Steve Jobs.

"When Steve came back, he resumed his job at Atari, and would spend some of his days in primal scream therapy sessions or at the Los Altos Zen Center, where he befriended Governor Jerry Brown and his guru Kobun Chino. He also spent several weeks with his girlfriend Chris-Ann and Dan Kottke in a hippie commune in Oregon, the All-One Farm. Here they would cultivate apples and for some time, Steve would eat only that — when he wasn’t fasting, that is." All About Steve Jobs.com

“The journey was a sort of ascetic pilgrimage. They had even shaved their heads. "Except we didn't know where we were going," Kottke has been quoted as saying. The pair were only seeking spiritual solace and enlightenment.”

“Jobs is a Buddhist, a choice he might have made thanks to his India connection. Consumer trend strategist Jeff Yang says that the secret of Apple's success lies in Jobs embrace of a Zen Buddhist principle that expresses the power of nothingness. It is this, Yang says, that made Apple put simplicity at the core of its products, and which is what has helped them become category-defining icons.” The Times of India

Jobs also experimented with psychedelics, and mentioned that his LSD experiences were "one of the two or three most important things [he had] done in [his] life". “He has said that people around him who did not share his countercultural roots could not fully relate to his thinking.”

His wedding to Laurene Powell, on March 18, 1991 was presided over by the Zen Buddhist monk Kobun Chino Otogowa. Wikipedia

In a very moving speech (see video) given at Stanford University’s 114th Commencement, his third story was about death:

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Farewell for now to a brilliant man who dazzled us with technologies which as he said "don't necessary change the world but make it easier to allow us to touch people we might not otherwise."

Most of us try to avoid people sneezing on the street, washing our hands more frequently and taking extra vitamin C to defend ourselves against catching the flu. Though the CDC recommends Tamiflu or Relenza, there are a few Homeopathic remedies that have been very effective during all the major flu epidemics.

“In the 1918 flu pandemic homeopaths reported around 1% mortality in their cases, while conventional doctors were losing 30% of their patients. “

Homeopathy can be traced back to ancient times when Hippocrates found that he could cure vomiting in a sick person with an herb that actually induces vomiting in a healthy person.

In later years, a German scientist and chemist, Hahnemann, rediscovered the same process when he found an herb that cured malaria in a sick person actually caused malaria-like symptoms in a healthy person. Homeopathy restores the body's innate healing abilities; almost in the same way a vaccine stimulates our immune system.

Dana Ullman of Homeopathic Educational Services states:

"Each person has their own "species" of an illness." One's specific symptoms are unique; pointing to the way “your” body deals with illness, and may be different from person to person. So, the symptoms are not suppressed (like most modern over-the-counter medicines are fashioned to do), but rather, Homeopathy stimulates your body's defenses by giving you nano doses of substances that would cause those symptoms in a healthy person. Essentially, supporting the theory that "like cures like," or as stated above, how our vaccines stimulate our body's innate defense mechanisms.

From the foremost historian of Homeopathy, Julian Winston:

Perhaps the most recent use of homeopathy in a major epidemic was during the Influenza Pandemic of 1918. The Journal of the American Institute for Homeopathy, May, 1921, had a long article about the use of homeopathy in the flu epidemic. Dr. T A McCann, from Dayton, Ohio, reported that 24,000 cases of flu treated allopathically had a mortality rate of 28.2% while 26,000 cases of flu treated homeopathically had a mortality rate of 1.05%. This last figure was supported by Dean W.A. Pearson of Philadelphia (Hahnemann College) who collected 26,795 cases of flu treated with homeopathy with the above result.

The most common remedy used was Gelsemium, with occasional cases needing Bryonia and Eupatorium reported. Dr. Herbert A. Roberts from Derby, CT, said that 30 physicians in Connecticut responded to his request for data. They reported 6,602 cases with 55 deaths, which is less than 1%. Dr. Roberts was working as a physician on a troop ship during WWI. He had 81 cases of flu on the way over to Europe. He reported, "All recovered and were landed. Every man received homeopathic treatment. One ship lost 31 on the way."

According to some Homeopath sources, the first method is to take Oscillococcinum (Anas Barbariae), a homoeopathic medicine that is manufactured from wild duck heart and liver, which are said to be reservoirs for influenza viruses.

This medicine is sold by the company Boiron, over-the-counter in most pharmacies and is very effective as long as it’s used within the first 48 hours of getting flu symptoms.

If you know you have been exposed to the flu virus it can also be taken as a preventive measure.

The dosage for adult and children 2 years of age and older is: one tube every 6 hours up to three times a day.
If the symptoms haven’t subsided within 24-48 hours the next course of action is to find that “more specific” to your constitution remedy.

Early stages of cold and flu
1. Aconitum Napellus: For sneezing and runny nose, and the sudden onset of a cold and for sore throat.
2. Belladonna: For serious symptoms of cold, flu, infection and sore throat that come on suddenly.
3. Ferrum phosphoricum: For people with a weak immune system. Cold and flu symptoms are not vague but uncomfortable. There might be a slight earache, running nose and a mild sore throat.
4. Gelsemium : For fatigue and a generalized heavy, weak feeling pervading the person, even leading to trembling of individual parts and to having heavy, half-open eyelids. These people tend to have little or no thirst, can experience chills up and down their spine, and have a headache in the back part of their head.
For the mid-stage of a cold or flu:
1.  Allium Cepa: For profuse nasal discharge, red eyes, and if the discharge is burning and irritating the nostrils.
2. Nux vomica: relieves sneezing attacks.
3. Natrum Muriaticum: Person has a thick, clear fluid discharge that resembles raw egg white. Lips are dry and cracked with cold sores on the side or outside of the mouth.
4. Bryonia: For body aches during the flu that are aggravated by any type of motion suggest the need for this remedy. Generally, these people also have a headache in the front part of their head which is also aggravated by motion. People with the flu who are very irritable and insist upon being left alone tend to benefit from this remedy.


Influenzinum: If the symptoms linger on after the flu, give a single dose of this remedy in the 30th or 200th potency.

Find a trained Homeopath to find your constitutional remedy and prescribe the correct dosages and combinations.

Most of these remedies are packaged by Hylands and Boiron as composite remedies and are package in adult and child dosages. There are even dissolving strips for kids.

Trivia:

• The Seal of NY Medical College Contains a Photo of Homeopathy's Founder :Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, is on the N.Y. Medical College 's Seal because this college was previously the New York Homeopathic Medical College , which in conjunction with the famous Flower Homeopathic Hospital , provided health care services to almost 30,000 patients a year.
• John D. Rockfeller and Mark Twain were both proponents of Homeopathy.

This article is for entertainment purposes and is not to be taken as medical advice. Contact your doctor or allopathic doctor before taking any medication, if symptoms worsen or persist or if you have any doubts as to whether these remedies are correct for your specific illness.

Resources:

U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health
Senator Royal Copeland. The medical and political career of a homeopathic physician.
Davidson JR, Dantas F. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University, USA.
Homeopathy: from Hahnemann to the present. Tamaccio A. Department of Science and Mathematics, University of La Verne, Athens, Greece.
Homeopathy. An overview. Ballard R. Melbourne and Monash Universities, Victoria.
Casanova, P, Gerard R. Bilan de 3 annees d'estudes randomisees multicentriques Oscillococcinum/placebo. Oscillococcinum-rassegna della letterature internationale. Milan : Laboratoires Boiron; 1992:11-16.
J.P. Ferley, D. Zmirou, D. D'Admehar, et al., "A Controlled Evaluation of a Homoeopathic Preparation in the Treatment of Influenza-like Syndrome," British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology,  March,1989,27:329-35.

There are movies that entertain us and then there are movies that can change the way you look at life. These are some new movies that introduce ageless wisdom in modern perspectives. They help us understand ourselves and our place in the Universe and finally teach us to heal ourselves and expand our perception.

What the Bleep Do We Know?
 What the Bleep Do We Know is a combination documentary, feature film and scientific expose. This movie bridges philosophical and religious truth with the newest discoveries of quantum physics.

It is really a first of its kind; not only as a movie genre but also because of its message. It is the first movie to try to explain how we perceive our reality and how that perception is what creates it.

It goes on to reveal scientifically, how our thoughts influence our brain chemistry which finally affects not only our physical bodies but our longevity as well.

The Secret
The Secret probably needs no introduction since it was publicized so heavily. The Secret originally was an excellent attempt at taking ancient and new thought principles and applying them to our modern world. The original film had a lot of great material from Abraham-Hicks and even the Master Key System and the Emerald Tablet.

A second version of the film was prepared after the Hicks decided it was getting a bit too commercial. In any case the catch phrase “you create your reality” became popular after this movie came out (though it has been a concept around since ancient times).

It is still very much worth watching and the publicity though a bit overpowering, did succeed in getting the message out to millions.

Peaceful Warrior
Peaceful Warrior is a wonderful drama based on Dan Millman’s book of the same name.

It is based on  a true story about an athlete who after a terrible accident, meets a man, Socrates, who teaches the young protagonist how to focus and confront himself.

The dialogue in this movie is timeless enough for anyone to find meaningful guidance.

Celestine Prophecy
Celestine Prophecy is a movie based on James Redfield’s book of the same name.

Though the movie was considered a low-budget film with a somewhat weak plot; the message of this movie and in particular the “Nine Insights”, are priceless.

For people who have had experiences of a fourth-dimensional kind, the imagery of the experience of “seeing” between worlds is as close as one can get to depicting visually, an experience that is basically subjective.


You Can Heal Your Life
Louise Hay's movie You Can Heal Your Life, brings to life her 30+ years of teaching and publishing self-help and healing literature. The movie is filled with interviews with people like Wayne Dyer, Gregg Braden and Dr. Christine Northrup to name a few. Louise Hay has spent her lifetime teaching us how to use positive affirmations to heal our bodies as she healed hers.

The movie itself is full of wonderful affirmations and leaves you focused, refreshed and with a renewed belief in your power to heal your life.

Though hundreds of spiritual movies have preceded these selections and others are coming out left and right, these will most likely remain classics in their genre.

For those of you who want their spiritual DVD delivered to their door, there is a movie club called Spiritual Cinema Circle that handpicks the most inspirational and enlightening movies by visionary filmmakers from around the world. Every month, they choose from short films, documentaries and feature films and compile four of them into a DVD that is delivered every month to your door for a small fee.

The thing to keep in mind about Spiritual Cinema Circle is that most of these amazing and inspiring films we never get to see because they aren't mainstream enough to attract studio interest. Spiritual Cinema Circle gives a chance to filmmakers who have messages that uplift, inform and touch your soul.

Nikola Tesla is the man responsible for every form of modern technology we have available to us today. There would be no Twittering, Googling, BlackBerrys, cell phones, satellites in space, airplanes, x-rays, or physics as we know it.

Nicolas Tesla was born on July 9th, 1856 at Midnight.

One man certainly remembered Nikola Tesla this week, Dr. Ljubo Vujovic. Dr. Vujovic is nominated this year to receive the American Biographical Institute, Inc. Award: "2009 Man of the Year in Education" for his work as President and Editor of the Tesla Memorial Society of New York website, which is one of the main sources of information about the famous inventor and scientist Nikola Tesla as well as other world figures in history.

It’s fascinating that Tesla has more notoriety for the lack of attribution given him than all his works combined. Though great efforts have been made by scholars all over the world, to finally give recognition to the genius and contributions of this great man; there still remains an air of mystery surrounding his life and works.

Many consider that the most obvious of reasons was that his inventions were way too progressive for the technical resources available and much too far advanced for humanity’s collective psyche at the time. Many theories point to his lack of business sense and his failed project with J.P. Morgan while building the "The Tower of Dreams,”  The Tower of Dreams was to be a World Broadcasting Tower in Long Island that would have broadcast telephone messages across the ocean; news, music, stock market reports, private messages, secure military communications, and even pictures to any part of the world. But funding ran out in the middle of the project and other more insidious circumstances prevailed at the end.

Tesla told Morgan, "When wireless is fully applied, the earth will be converted into a huge brain, capable of response in every one of its parts."

Tesla predicted the birth of the Internet and our computers. In 1937, he said, “At this very moment scientists working in the laboratories of American universities are attempting to create what has been described as a "thinking machine." I anticipated this development.”

He also invented our future wireless boxes at the turn of the century.



The Teleautomaton, was a device Tesla invented in the 1890’s. It has a spooky resemblance to our wireless internet connection boxes that make it possible for us to sit in places like Starbucks and drink coffee while type on our laptops. Wireless makes it possible for us to talk on our cell phones, fly our airplanes, watch our reality TV, and listen to our radios while waiting in traffic.

The Teleautomaton was simply an apparatus with Tesla coils. These coils, in the initial experiment were inserted into a boat and tuned to resonate with other coils located on shore. By tuning the coils, an operator on shore could remotely control the boat.

His resonance experiments at one point got a little out of hand even here in New York.

"In his lab at 46 E. Houston Street, while conducting mechanical resonance experiments with electro-mechanical oscillators, he generated a resonance of several surrounding buildings but, due to the frequencies involved, not his own building, causing complaints to the police. As the speed grew he hit the resonant frequency of his own building and, belatedly realizing the danger, he was forced to apply a sledgehammer to terminate the experiment, just as the astonished police arrived. (Wikipedia: O'Neill, "Prodigal Genius" pp 162-164).

It was probably experiments like those that got Tesla branded as a mad scientist. He has been accredited with experiments in time-travel, alien communication, and machines that record thought among many others. His later experiments in accessing “free energy” most likely got him in even more disfavor. Generally, not being able to “bill” energy, wouldn't have gone over too well with the “the powers that be.”
We tend to attribute “genius” to spiritual force or a gift from the Divine Spirit. Though Tesla had no gripe with religion, he said, “Religion gave man “ideals” that give significance to his life and most importantly promoted “good conduct,” he surprisingly (though associated with occult activities and so forth), had purely mechanistic views of mankind.

“To me, the universe is simply a great machine which never came into being and never will end. The human being is no exception to the natural order. Man, like the universe, is a machine. Nothing enters our minds or determines our actions which is not directly or indirectly a response to stimuli beating upon our sense organs from without. Owing to the similarity of our construction and the sameness of our environment, we respond in like manner to similar stimuli, and from the concordance of our reactions, understanding is barn. In the course of ages, mechanisms of infinite complexity are developed, but what we call "soul” or "spirit," is nothing more than the sum of the functionings of the body. When this functioning ceases, the "soul" or the "spirit" ceases likewise.” (Source)

Most of us consider Tesla a visionary before his time; but surprisingly Tesla says in his own words:

“My enemies have been so successful in portraying me as a poet and a visionary," said Tesla, "that I must put out something commercial without delay." (Source)

Was he joking? Was he truly a pure scientist? Would his experiments eventually lead him to harnessing spiritual force? Would Tesla have found the “God” particle?

The bottom-line is Tesla certainly bridged the gap between science and spirit; whether he acknowledged this or not.

Maybe he didn’t believe in life-after-death, but his inventions surely have kept him very much alive-after-death.

Resources:
Tesla Memorial Society of New York
PBS Tesla Master of Lightening
Nikola Tesla Biography
Wikipedia Nikola Tesla

Oreo Creme Sandwich born in 1912 in NYC

Oreo cookies were born in New York City in 1912 when a few bakeries combined to form the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) and opened a factory in the Chelsea Market building on 9th Avenue between 15th and 16th St -now called "Oreo Way."

The first prototype of the cookie looked like a baseball mound or hill and the assumption is that Oreo’s got their name from the Greek word “oros” which means “mountain or hill” though it could also be from the Greek word “oraio” which means good and beautiful. Makes you think if there was a Greek ad man at Nabisco then.

After a variety of test runs, Oreo became the “Oreo Biscuit--two beautifully embossed chocolate-flavored wafers with a rich cream filling at 30 cents per pound,” then Oreo Sandwich and finally Oreo Crème Sandwich.

The design on the chocolate wafers was originally stamped out on brass rollers depicting a series of four-leaf clovers around the word Oreo which was surround by a circle with an antenna. In the early 1950’s the four-leaf clovers were changed to a more graceful garland of petals, though some four–leaf clovers are still apparent. The ridges around the cookie weren’t only for the design value but also to help grasp the cookie when dunking.

No one can argue that symbols can powerfully drive our activities and influence our subconscious. Symbols act as a sort of short-hand that triggers (through association) our subconscious and eventually our thought process, feelings and actions. The crosses, the swastika, the yin-yang symbol all drive human activity with their visual impact.

Oreo’s were embossed with:

Four-leaf clovers
An Antenna or Lorraine Cross
And a circle

What do four-leaf clovers symbolize? We can ask Saint Patrick or any Irish man or woman about Shamrocks, but actually the four-leaf clover goes way back to the Celtic Priests or the Druids who used four-leaf clovers as protection against evil spirits. The reality is that the clover plant doesn’t naturally produce four leaves. So, four-leaf clovers for hundreds of years have symbolized to our mass consciousness a rarity that protects and bestows good luck.

Antennas symbolize communication, broadcasting and reception. Funny coincidence is that “National Biscuit Company” abbreviates to NBC.

Crosses symbolized in pagan times, the four-elements and the power of manifestation in the earthly realm. This particular double cross was called the Lorraine cross and was considered the symbol of Joan of Arc’s crusade.

The circle is a symbol of wholeness and infinity.

The symbolic equation probably linked to Oreo’s success?

“Beauty and Goodness” or “mounds” of plenty surrounded by ”infinity and unity” transmitting an earthly manifestation or crusade or receiving “Oreo” (Beauty) from the Great Beyond which bestows garlands of good luck and protection from evil.

That is one powerful symbol on a small round cookie, over 12 billion of which, have been consumed by the world’s population in almost 100 years.

Chios Mastiha

(This was my original article removed from examiner.com)
FSC cigarettes even more dangerous?

After lighting up are you experiencing more headaches, stomach cramps or a coppery taste in your mouth? Does your new FSC (fire-safe cigarette) taste bad, cause dry mouth and are you coughing more?
New York State was one of the first states to require that cigarettes be made with the new fire-safe paper. This paper is constructed by gluing two or three thin bands of less-porous paper together with an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer emulsion based adhesive (carpet glue).

These papers have bands (see image) that act as speed bumps, so if the cigarette is left unattended it will self-extinguish. The coalitions that passed these laws believe that these cigarettes would limit the number of cigarette fire deaths.

Though this law was passed in 2004, the number of deaths caused by fires from cigarettes hasn’t been greatly reduced, but complaints from smokers all over the U.S have multiplied.

Symptoms include:
Nausea, sores in mouth and throat, dry throat, constant headaches, extreme coughing, tightness in the chest, vomiting, body aches, pain in the abdomen and respiratory conditions including asthma and bronchitis.

The firesafecigarette.org website mentions a study by the Harvard School of Public Health:

“The report states, "The majority of smoke toxic compounds (14) tested were not different between New York and Massachusetts brands. Five compounds were slightly higher in New York brands. There is no evidence that these increases affect the already highly toxic nature of cigarette smoke." The research found the majority of toxic compounds were no different between the smoke of the New York and Massachusetts brands that were tested. Five compounds were slightly higher, but no evidence exists that the small increases affect the already highly toxic nature of cigarette smoke.”

Essentially, what they are saying is that since cigarettes are already toxic, let’s make them more toxic.

The real numbers from the study are:

“The Harvard School of Health reported that when comparing NY Cigarettes (FSC) versus Regular Cigarettes, the FSC cigarettes produced 13.9% more Naphthalene and 11.4% more carbon monoxide than regular cigarettes. Naphthalene is commonly found in moth balls, and exposure in high amounts can result in headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, malaise, confusion, anemia, jaundice, convulsions, and coma. Therefore, it has been proven that FSC cigarettes contain higher levels of chemicals that are harmful to smokers.”

You can identify these packs of cigarettes by the FSC above the barcode. For now, over 30 states have enacted this law and soon the entire country.

Some smokers have opted to RYO (roll your own) or MYO (make your own) by purchasing rolling tobacco, cigarettes tubes with the filter attached and inexpensive injection machines. Most of these smokers mention that after switching to rolled cigarettes; the symptoms subsided after a few days.
The question is, when and if, the FSC laws will be applied to rolling papers as well.

These "speed bumps" on the cigarette paper can be easily identified (darker color) if you hold the paper up to the light.

Though tobacco was used as a medicinal and ceremonial plant among many indigenous tribes around the world and maybe should have remained a plant for special occasions, devotion and healing, its present day over-use and abuse has spurned the Dark Ages for this very sacred plant.

Now, carpet glue has been added to the mix. On the plus side, it has made smokers return to the more ceremonial use of tobacco; it takes time, effort and attention to roll a cigarette, even when using a special rolling machine. The Spirit of Tobacco may not have been pleased with our present day indulgence and inattention. It takes a carpet glue scare to guide us back to a more sober use.

For more info:

Petition to repeal FSC cigarette laws: Petition Website
RYO Revolution RYO-Roll your own cigarettes or MYO-Make your own cigarettes. This website has detailed information on how to roll or make your own cigarettes easily. The RYO method uses an easy to operate 'tobacco stuffer' to fill pre-made filtered cigarette tubes that make cigarettes with filters that look and smoke the same as manufactured cigarettes.
RYO Forum
Fire Safe Cigarettes - Or - Smokers as Lab Experiments on YouTube

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation A three-foot-tall sandstone grave marker for James Jackson, who died on Sept. 22, 1799, was discovered during construction work in Washington Square Park.

What do burial grounds, gallows; Edgar Allan Poe and bad Feng Shui have in common?

Washington Square Park in New York City.

Washington Square Park is built on what was once Potter’s Field. A potter’s field is a term refers to a place where unknown or indigent people are buried.

From consultant to the Oxford English Dictionary, Barry Popik’s The Big Apple Website:

Laborers Find Human Remains of 1800's in Washington Sq.
Lieutenant William Burns gravely investigated. He learned that the present common was a Potter's Fields from 1797 to 1823. More than 100,000 yellow fever victims were buried there; that Rose Butler, a young, serving woman, was hanged and buried there in July, 1819, either for murder or robbery.

6 May 1953, New York Times, "About New York" by Meyer Berger, pg. 33:
Most of the new properties look right over the Square itself. A good part of that was the old Brevoort Farm. Six and one-half of its better than nine acres were Potter's Field from 1797 to 1823, and 10,000 New Yorkers were buried in it….

Not only were over 100,000 people buried here but, see the beautiful Washington Arch here:

Right here were gallows where public executions were held.

They were built when the Square was Potter's Field. When this section was an uncultivated tract the houses faced the city's gallows, where public executions were held. It is said the hangman of New York once lived in the corner house. The gallows lifted their gaunt head where the Washington Arch now stands. A large elm tree, which stood in the Square as late as 1799, sometimes serves as a gallows. There is little doubt but that the hangman walked from the corner house to serve at the last public execution in the Square, when Rose Butler, a negress, was hanged.
13 March 1941, New York Times, pg. 23:
UNEARTH A POTTER'S FIELD

Edgar Allan Poe, America’s most famous writer of many genres amongst them, gothic horror, actually had a residence a few blocks from this “burial ground” in NYC.

Edgar Allan Poe's Residence 85 W. 3rd Street

Many of his most famous passages dealt with “questions of death, including its physical signs, the effects of decomposition, concerns of premature burial, the reanimation of the dead, and mourning.”*

Imagine if Poe actually choose this residence because of its proximity to a graveyard. Were the disincarnate of Washington Square Park conversing with Poe and inspiring his works?

Feng Shui experts consider living near a graveyard inauspicious for Humans. According to the precepts of Feng Shui, Humans are Yang and graveyards are overly Yin. When there is an abundance of Yin (Earth) energy, Humans tend toward depression, stubbornness, loss of opportunity and not to mention the influence of any lost disembodied spirits wandering around.

Depending on the Feng Shui source 1,650 feet away is a safe distance. A good deal of prime New York real estate is in this zone. For sensitive New Yorkers, it might explain; the creepy feeling in the area, (even though the presence of NYU attempts to blot it out) and its (until Bloomberg) past predominance of shady activities and drug deals.

*Kennedy, J. Gerald (1987). Poe, Death, and the Life of Writing. Yale University Press

Juan Mann with huggee in Pitt Street Mall

"Sometimes, a hug is all what we need."

Juan Mann started the Free Hugs Campaign simply because he needed cheering up one day in 2004 when he had to leave London and return to his hometown of Sydney with only a bag full of clothes and no one waiting for him at the airport.

As he says in his own words:

“Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me. So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words “Free Hugs” on both sides.”

Juan Mann and Shimon Moore, the lead singer for Sick Puppies, became friends at some point. Shimon recorded video footage of Juan and his fellow “free huggers” in 2004, but it wasn’t until 2006 (when Mann’s grandmother died), that Shimon made the music video and sent it to him.

It became a YouTube sensation that grew into a kindness initiative which currently has spread to over 80 countries around the world.

Mann says the campaign is “about many things, like making someone’s day a little brighter, meeting people and showing the world that strangers aren’t so bad after all. It’s also about bringing people together and sharing a happy moment before heading back out into the world feeling a little lighter.”


Mata Amritanandamayi (the hugging saint), who in 2006 was honored with the 4th Annual James Parks Morton Interfaith Award at the Interfaith Centre in New York has said, “Only when human beings are able to perceive and acknowledge the Self in each other can there be real peace.”



For more info:
Juan Mann's YouTube Channel
Original Free Hugs Video (Sick Puppies)
Free Hugs Campaign
The Illustrated Guide to Free Hugs

How Meditation Helps Me Deal With Anxiety
mindful.org

One of my early motivations for learning to meditate was the hope it would help me manage anxiety. My tendency is to the free-floating, generalized kind of fear that lends a nervous edge to every thought, often accompanied by heart palpitations, gut churning, and a general jumpiness that makes it hard to rest.

How the Brain Changes When You Meditate
mindful.org 

It’s hard to comprehend how this is possible. Practicing mindfulness is nothing like taking a pill, or another fix that acts quickly, entering our blood stream, crossing the Blood Brain Barrier if needed in order to produce an immediate sensation, or to dull one. But just as we learn to play the piano through practice, the same goes for cultivating well-being and happiness. Davidson told Mindful last August that the brain keeps changing over its entire lifespan. And he thinks that’s very good news: We can intentionally shape the direction of plasticity changes in our brain. By focusing on wholesome thoughts, for example, and directing our intentions in those ways, we can potentially influence the plasticity of our brains and shape them in ways that can be beneficial. That leads us to the inevitable conclusion that qualities like warm-heartedness and well-being should best be regarded as skills.

Free Video - Are you addicted to your struggle?



Dealing with Astrological Energies with all the planets in Cancer

Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov

I read this passage about 13 years ago right about when my budding 'empathy' was shifting to a mild clairvoyance. Back then when I read it, I thought, "Oh, he is too much of a purist for me, this ability is great - I can help people better."

But, now 13 years and thousands of clients later, I need to say, there is something to what he says.

There are always some seeds of power or greed that drive us 'spiritual seekers' and I'm not quite sure how 'seeing' more than what is already currently available to our senses, makes for a happy and productive life.

Pondering this, and looking back- here is the excerpt. Please feel free to comment and share your views.

From "Looking into the Invisible: Intuition, Clairvoyance, Dreams":


"What do you suppose is the first thing a clairvoyant sees when he looks around him? Heaven and angels?

I’m afraid not.  He sees the cupidity and greed of human beings, the criminal schemes they have in mind, the hatred they nurse in their hearts, all the dangers that threaten them...and it is a horrifying experience to have such things constantly before one’s eyes.  Clairvoyants are often the most wretched of men, and many of them beg the Lord to take away the gift again, for they see nothing but horrors in every direction and it makes life miserable.

And what about yourselves?  Do you think that you will be able to endure such a gift? No, not if you develop your faculties of clairvoyance before you have developed love, kindness, inner strength and self-mastery; you will long for the days when you could see nothing, for then, even if you lived in a state of illusion, you were a thousand times better off. On the other hand, if you have already overcome many of your failings, if you have prepared and purified yourselves, if you are in control of yourselves and are full of love for your fellow men, when you are obliged to see evil (and it is impossible not to see it), thanks to your love and courage and self-control, you will not be shaken, you will be moved neither to terror nor to despair, and you may even be able to help people with your thoughts.

Don’t be in a hurry to become clairvoyant because it will certainly cause you great distress and even a terrible feeling of revulsion at having to live among human beings.  So it is not something that is highly desirable.  Just as it is not highly desirable to have a very acute sense of smell.  Fortunately, this is one of man’s less well developed seses; if it were not so, people would be unable to bear the proximity of others because of the nauseating smell caused by the disastrous way they eat, live and think.

As long as you are not ready and able to conquer reactions of disgust and terror, you had better not try to see.  Besides, one wonders why some people are so eager to ‘see’, as though it were the be all and end all of the spiritual life.  Why is it considered so extraordinary to be able to see the making or unmaking of fortunes, future marriages or divorces, friends, enemies and illnesses.  It is always the same old catalogue of human weaknesses; what is the point of developing special faculties in order to see that?  Don’t  you think that you already see enough with your physical eyes?  We are so often sick and tired of what we see: why wear yourselves out and make yourselves ill by trying to see even more? Is that an intelligent way to behave? “I want to be able to see things,” people say.  But to see what? Get it into your heads the gift of clairvoyance will hinder your evolution if you develop it before the time is ripe, that is to say, before you have developed the qualities that will enable you to do something useful with what you see.  It is not enough to see; you must be capable not only of grasping and understanding what Heaven reveals to you, but also of facing up to the sight of Hell without being overcome by it."

"Looking into the Invisible: Intuition, Clairvoyance, Dreams" by Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov

Jonathan Zap grew up in the Bronx and attended the Bronx High School of  Science. He graduated from Ursinus College with honors in Philosophy and English and received his Masters degree in English from NYU.

Jonathan is the author of numerous published articles, essays, experimental works of fiction and the Zap Oracle.  His most recent book is Crossing the Event Horizon—Human Metamorphosis and the Singularity Archetype.

Jonathan has done numerous radio and television interviews including four three hour shows on Coast to Coast AM—the world’s most listened to late night talk show. He is a featured correspondent and editor for Reality Sandwich, the popular online magazine, which has published dozens of his articles.
Jonathan has an extensive background in Jungian psychology, paranormal research and dream interpretation. For over thirty years he has been using the tools of Jungian psychology to study popular culture and contemporary mythology.

Quote from Jonathan Zap on conspiracy theory:

"The conspiraitist world view—the belief that a unified cabal of elitists is manipulating world events, mind controlling the population,that the main stream media is nothing but lies and that we already live in a police state and a New World Order, etc. has become ubiquitous in global culture.

It is the premise of so many Facebook posts, viral memes, websites, radio shows and movies. It transcends red and blue and is as likely to be heard amongst the far right and the far left. It is a perspective widely held in Europe, Central and South America, the Arab world, Australia, New Zealand and almost any place you can think of.

Typically, the purveyors of this point of view think they are daring revolutionaries waking up the sheeple, etc. and don’t seem to notice that they are actually just one more of a vast and growing multitude who hold this perspective. Many of these people are close friends of mine. My challenge to them is to listen to this talk and consider whether this worldview actually represents an awakening rather than a distorted perspective riddled with problematic assumptions and reality testing issues." Watch the video below.

The Zap Oracle, written by Jonathan Zap, a high school English teacher, photographer, philosopher and author on human evolution and mythology, has created a masterpiece. Besides all his accomplishments, (dream interpretation and I-Ching), he has gathered one of the most incredibly insightful oracles online.

The oracle started as a compilation of thought provoking photographs and has turned into the online oracle on his site today with over 500 oracle cards. The cards are uncanny in their ability to take a snapshot of the present moment and reveal the essence of your current situation. The archetypal depth these cards touch creates a field for the deepest psychological processing. 

The oracle's page

“Fortuna” by Jean Bernard

The Morningstar Online Oracles, written by Lynx Greywolf, is the most inspired soul writing you will find on any online oracle. You simply click on one of the  links on the page and a comprehensively written essay of guidance will appear on the next web page. Don’t be fooled on how simple this website is, it has been around for a very long time. The quality of written guidance that will soothe your soul, spark awareness and assist you in understanding non-physical support.

From the prosperity oracle page:

"Issues about abundance and prosperity are Universal. Many, if not all of us, spend a great deal of time worrying about it, fearing we won't have enough or will never be able to afford the things we really want in life or thinking about how we might be able to attract more of it. Myths and misconceptions about money and it's function are handed down to us from our parents and from their parents to them, going back further and further into history.

By the time someone decides to step out from the mass consciousness and explore the true meaning and availability of money, many of those beliefs are so deeply ingrained and may even be deeply buried in the subconscious, that they fly up into the consciousness at moments when one thinks one has the problem solved!

This also explains why one may use a tool to enhance prosperity and sometimes the tool works very well and yet other times the result is not what one had hoped for. It's not that the tool has stopped doing it's job, it may in fact be trying to trigger a realization within us that we have another block around money within that we need to push through.

The basic fact is money is energy. It is fuel just the same as the petrol one puts in the tank to make a car run or food in our bodies to keep us alive from day to day. And like any other fuel, there is money energy that is helpful and nurturing, and money energy that can be toxic to someone. Money can be toxic when a person works at a job day in and day out that is not in their best interests for example. The person may complain mightily about how much they hate their job, they dread the ring of the alarm clock each morning and can't wait for the weekend to be able to do something they really enjoy! Yet if our little friend here does nothing to find a job they might enjoy, or does not have a plan of action to use the money he/she is earning to acquire better job skills in an area of interest, then the money being earned " to put food on the table" becomes a toxic energy that runs the person down on all levels.

Financially they may feel they never have enough to make ends meet, no matter how many hours they work. Or the may find they are spending money on trying to correct physical problems that have arisen due to stress and the ongoing flow of "I really hate my job" that will at some point be expressed through the body and not in ways that one might find enjoyable! Other areas of their lives will also be impacted in negative ways, relationships with a partner, friends or family can become strained and weakened. The car might break down on a regular basis creating a need for even more money. Appliances too may malfunction. Poison in, poison out. Round and round the cycle goes.

Obviously one cannot just up and quit one's job without another source of income, but if a person chooses to start looking around for something they might really enjoy as a career, decides to use some of their income towards training in something they already love doing and seeking ways to turn a hobby into a career, then the energy of money at that point becomes transmuted and healthier as long as the person follows through with the plan! Other opportunities to increase one's income in more joyful ways are also likely to appear. The intent has been sent and action taken on our own behalf means the Universe has a channel to bring more good to us! This point is so important I will be going more in depth with it later on in this article."

Read more of the article, Online prosperity

The links to two fantastic oracles on her website! Try both!

Prosperity Affirmations-Oracle
The Morningstar Online Angel Oracle

Photo credit: Jamie Taylor on Flickr

"Do masterful artists let paintings they have painted long ago decide how they will look at their life upon waking up each morning?

Do the master artists use their creative energy and time repainting the same picture over and over because they have decided that the previous copies aren't masterpieces yet?

I see master artists painting new pictures everyday knowing that each one is unique and will speak to and inspire people regardless of how they view it. Once a painting is done, does the artist sit in the gallery where it is displayed in order to gauge the reaction, feelings, and thoughts others take away when viewing it? While sitting there, is the artist apologizing to those who don't like it, reasoning with those who are angered by it, or smiling with those whose heart was opened by it?

I see the artist doing what they do best, what they are here to do, regardless of what others say or think. Do they paint what is in their heart and what they feel passionate about? Is their drive fueled by a knowing that this contribution will be their mark on the world? Faith is placed in the idea that their masterpieces will speak to other lonely artists whose life it will change the second they set eyes on it. A knowing that others will use it as their inspiration.

You have no idea the masterpieces you are creating for others everyday. Stop looking at your old pictures and wishing you would have painted them better. They are already in the gallery inspiring those who can see them. Do what you do best, what you are here to do. Never stop painting!" Jeffrey Jaxon

Jefferey Jaxen

Jefferey Jaxen is an open source researcher and writer on the front lines of many up and coming alternative health modalities working behind the scenes to bring them to the mainstream. Jefferey's mission in life is to teach & empower others to heal themselves. A compelling writer, active health researcher, and creative force are all attributes that have allowed his work to be published by Natural News, Collective-Evolution, Waking Times, Om Times, Natural Blaze, Zen Gardener and others.

Jefferey took to the ideals of consciousness and alternative health at a very young age while studying the martial arts. Inspired by the works/teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti, Osho, Moshé Feldenkrais, Bruce Lee, Hunter S Thompson, Mahatma Gandhi & others. Later, he made the decision to walk away from a Doctorate degree knowing there was more value in seizing a once-in-a-lifetime offer to do trailblazing mind/body research at the time. It proved to be the springboard from which he has never looked back. Continuing to find himself working alongside some of the top names in alternative health, physics, and consciousness, Jefferey spends his time as a constant learner taking part currently in many alternative & holistic health research projects. An adventurer always up for the next challenge, he keeps his ear to the ground for techniques, ideas, & solutions to issues humanity currently faces.

For spiritual guidance, focus on your question.
Breathe deeply, and get quiet.
Then go to Elsa Joy.
Follow her @iamwun

Pawel Kuczynski is a Polish artist that specializes in satirical illustration. Born in 1976 in Szczecin, Poland, he graduated with a graphics degree from the Fine Arts Academy in Poznan. Pawel has been focusing on satire since 2004 and has garnered nearly a hundred prizes and distinctions since then.

Much of his artwork deals with serious themes such as poverty, greed, politics and mortality. While his subject matter is stark, his illustrative style is whimsical and cartoonish. This provides great contrast and makes his work interesting to analyze.

Below you will find a curated selection of Pawel’s brilliant illustrations. To see more, be sure to check out Toon Pool where he has over 88 works of art posted along with select items for sale.