THE REVOLUTION WILL BE CUDDLY
Friday, January 04, 2008
on gnosticism and aa - (ps: jung is the connection)
"Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know
Through the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine"
-Wiliam Blake
Jung's influence can sometimes be found in more unexpected quarters. For example, Jung once treated an American patient (Rowland H.) suffering from chronic alcoholism. After working with the patient for some time, and achieving no significant progress, Jung told the man that his alcoholic condition was near to hopeless, save only the possibility of a spiritual experience. Jung noted that occasionally such experiences had been known to reform alcoholics where all else had failed.
Rowland took Jung's advice seriously and set about seeking a personal spiritual experience. He returned home to the United States and joined a Christian evangelical church. He also told other alcoholics what Jung had told him about the importance of a spiritual experience. One of the alcoholics he told was Ebby Thatcher, a long-time friend and drinking buddy of Bill Wilson, later co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Thatcher told Wilson about Jung's ideas. Wilson, who was finding it impossible to maintain sobriety, was impressed and sought out his own spiritual experience. The influence of Jung thus indirectly found its way into the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous, the original 12-step program, and from there into the whole 12-step recovery movement, although AA as a whole is not Jungian and Jung had no role in the formation of that approach or the 12 steps.
The above claims are documented in the letters of Carl Jung and Bill W., excerpts of which can be found in Pass It On, published by Alcoholics Anonymous. The detail of this story is disputed by some historians.
"Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know
Through the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine"
-Wiliam Blake
Jung's influence can sometimes be found in more unexpected quarters. For example, Jung once treated an American patient (Rowland H.) suffering from chronic alcoholism. After working with the patient for some time, and achieving no significant progress, Jung told the man that his alcoholic condition was near to hopeless, save only the possibility of a spiritual experience. Jung noted that occasionally such experiences had been known to reform alcoholics where all else had failed.
Rowland took Jung's advice seriously and set about seeking a personal spiritual experience. He returned home to the United States and joined a Christian evangelical church. He also told other alcoholics what Jung had told him about the importance of a spiritual experience. One of the alcoholics he told was Ebby Thatcher, a long-time friend and drinking buddy of Bill Wilson, later co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Thatcher told Wilson about Jung's ideas. Wilson, who was finding it impossible to maintain sobriety, was impressed and sought out his own spiritual experience. The influence of Jung thus indirectly found its way into the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous, the original 12-step program, and from there into the whole 12-step recovery movement, although AA as a whole is not Jungian and Jung had no role in the formation of that approach or the 12 steps.
The above claims are documented in the letters of Carl Jung and Bill W., excerpts of which can be found in Pass It On, published by Alcoholics Anonymous. The detail of this story is disputed by some historians.
The Auric Egg and Chakras
The Auric Egg Exercise, besides being an indispensable tool, is also a good preparation exercise for beginning meditation. Once learned it becomes automatic and may be used in preparation for any meditation. It is also quite useful when walking into the Mall and you need a some space between yourself and the energy draws and noise around you. Using this exercise in conjunction with, and as the opening exercise to the spiritual practice of retrospection, meditation and prayer is highly recommended as it is a calming and centering exercise.
Some people meditate on specific chakras using their corresponding color. You may wish to do so also, but know that white light is all that is really needed as white light contains all of the colors of the rainbow. However, in any case, chakras may be used as reference points of concentration when drawing light into the body and it certainly can help to focus your mind and relax your body.
Chakras are a spiritual term used to describe the location of certain centers of energy in the spiritual body that correspond to centers in the physical body called nerve plexuses. Plexuses are bundles of nerves concentrated in areas where nerves relating to a specific functions of the body are found clustered in close proximity. The picture below shows their location. The spiritual colors of the plexuses are portrayed as corresponding to the colors of the rainbow.
The head or crown chakra is assigned the color violet and spiritually it is seen as that chakra which connects us to the realm of higher thought, significantly it is also associated with the pituitary gland, a small oval endocrine gland attached to the base of the vertebrate brain, consisting of an anterior and a posterior lobe. The secretions of the pituitary control the other endocrine glands and influence growth, metabolism, and maturation.
The forehead chakra is called the third eye; it is assigned the color dark blue and is associated with spiritual sight.
The throat chakra is assigned the color sky blue and is associated with speech.
The heart chakra is assigned the color green, the color of healing (sometimes it is also shown as pink). The heart center maybe conceived of as the transformer of the lower nature into the higher nature; it is also the balancer of Spiritual Law and is considered the source of Compassion. It is located at the center of the cross of our bodies.
The solar plexus is assigned the color yellow and corresponds to the will and the Christ energy (or Krishna or Buddha Energy: the Golden Light is of the Purified Will).
The navel chakra is assigned the color orange and corresponds to the desire nature and assimilation.
The root chakra is assigned the color red and is located at the very base of the spine; it is considered to be the source of the life force; the color red is also associated with the Holy Spirit and is associated with generation and regeneration: Creation.
Auric Egg Exercise Instructions
1. For western style meditation sit in a straight-backed chair in a relaxed position. This position may be used by anyone. It is the position used by some of the ancients and western meditators throughout the ages.
For eastern style meditation you may adopt sitting on the floor with legs crossed in the folded lotus position.
Stretch your body, then feel, tense and relax any contracted areas. Do this several times. Become aware of your body and all its parts and inch by inch relax.
2. You may want to imagine a string at the top of your head pulling your spine erect. Feel the vertebrae of your spine gently stretched and your spine elongated and then mentally place each vertebrae beginning at the bottom of your spine, one upon the other, until your whole spine feels aligned. Then hold the position, but relax into a comfortable state.
3. Now, Visualize yourself within an Egg shaped field which extends outward from the center (the naval - solar plexus region) of your body, three feet in all directions.
4. Draw into the ovoid shape of the Egg from as high as you can imagine above your head, Pure White Light, down through the top of your head and into your body.
5. Anchor this light in your solar plexus area. Breathe naturally, feel the beating of your heart and your breath and allow them to become as one: at some point your breathing and heart will be in a natural rhythm. You will notice that you become peaceful.
6. On the in breath, feel and imagine the light coming into your body. As you exhale, allow the light to expand and fill your head, then your shoulders and arms, then allow the light to fill your torso area, then allow the light to fill your legs and feet.
7. You may also if you wish, draw the light down through the chakras; allow the light to expand to fill your body from each chakra. After you feel that your whole body is filled with light, allow the light to expand past your body to fill the field of the circle then the whole of the Auric region until you can feel it three feet around your body in all directions. Imagine that the outer edge of this sphere is solid and impenetrable.
Continue to draw in the light into the area of your solar plexus and let it expand from that region to fill your aura ...
Maintain this space for at least 5 -10 minutes or longer if you like.
Notes: In performing this exercise you may begin to experience a vibrant uplifting of being, exhilaration and peace. This exercise is regenerative, healing and balancing. Consistent practice of this exercise will aid you in bringing forth a fuller experience of an inner reality.
Eventually you will find your own rhythm and as you practice, the steps you take will become natural. Soon, you may be able to sense or even see the brightness of the white light and you may begin to experience the exhilaration and the peace it brings. After three or four days of practice you may begin to see and/or feel the Light in your aura, or personal atmosphere.
The center of this Egg of Light is the ovoid space your physical and spiritual bodies occupy. In the center of the spiritual body, located in the region between the heart and the solar plexus chakras, it is said resides the Self and Soul. Some people have reported after a time that they notice that their center of gravity shifts to a more balanced place.
Once you have established seeing and experiencing this Light surrounding you and filling you completely, you may begin concentrating on Light at the center of your being, the God Self within; that part of you that is a spark of the Greater Light.
Visualization is the preparation and key that leads you into truly seeing and experiencing the Light within. Visualization allows you to be receptive to another reality. The idea is to relax and allow the light to come in.
It is recommended that you do this exercise if possible at least twice a day, once in the morning and once at night before retiring. It is also recommended that you have a journal nearby. You may wish to log your results, and keep a record of your progress and any spiritual experiences you may have.
If you have any questions please write me: kl@gnostic.org
Copyrights Jessika © 2003
Also See: Daily Meditation Practice
Prayer for World Peace (author unknown)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May I and All Who Work
For a World of Peace and Reason
Be Granted the Gifts off Strength and Courage,
May the Good That Dwells
Within Every Human Heart Be Magnified,
May the Blessings of Truth
And Understanding Be Ours,
May the Love and Joy of the One Spirit
Abide Within All of Us
And as We Create and Plan for Tomorrow
May We Do so in Sympathy With All Others. Amen
Part 2: Perform a retrospection of the day in light of your ideals. Ask for forgiveness for those errors you have made and bless each person you believe you may have offended, including yourself, with light. love and peace. Look at how you might have handled the situation differently. Bless all those you have encountered and any others (friends, family) your dwelling, place of work and so on. Look at what you have learned during the day as well. When you are finished with your retrospection allow your mind to complete its thoughts and clear. Write down anything you would like to remember in your journal. This may take 5-20 minutes.
Part 3 : Reaffirm your sphere of light. Ask any questions you might have of the God you worship. Meditate 10-15 minutes (more if you like) in a state of openness to an intuitive answer. Record your experiences or any insights you may receive in your journal.
Part 4: Close your meditation with A Prayer of Affirmation and Peace (suggestions are below) and record anything else in you journal you might want to remember.
The Lord's Prayer
O Giver of All Life,
Who Is in Heaven and in Earth,
In Whom We Live, Move,
And Have Our Being,
Holy Is Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom Come.
Thy Will Be Done.
In Earth, as it Is in Heaven.
Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread,
And Forgive Us, Our Trespasses
As We Forgive Those
Who Trespass Against Us.
Keep Us from Temptation.
Keep Us Ever Mindful of Thee.
For Thine Is the Kingdom,
and the Power, and the Glory,
Forever and Ever. Amen.
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord make me an instrument of Thy Peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love:
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it is in dying
That we are born to Eternal Life. Amen
The Auric Egg Exercise, besides being an indispensable tool, is also a good preparation exercise for beginning meditation. Once learned it becomes automatic and may be used in preparation for any meditation. It is also quite useful when walking into the Mall and you need a some space between yourself and the energy draws and noise around you. Using this exercise in conjunction with, and as the opening exercise to the spiritual practice of retrospection, meditation and prayer is highly recommended as it is a calming and centering exercise.
Some people meditate on specific chakras using their corresponding color. You may wish to do so also, but know that white light is all that is really needed as white light contains all of the colors of the rainbow. However, in any case, chakras may be used as reference points of concentration when drawing light into the body and it certainly can help to focus your mind and relax your body.
Chakras are a spiritual term used to describe the location of certain centers of energy in the spiritual body that correspond to centers in the physical body called nerve plexuses. Plexuses are bundles of nerves concentrated in areas where nerves relating to a specific functions of the body are found clustered in close proximity. The picture below shows their location. The spiritual colors of the plexuses are portrayed as corresponding to the colors of the rainbow.
The head or crown chakra is assigned the color violet and spiritually it is seen as that chakra which connects us to the realm of higher thought, significantly it is also associated with the pituitary gland, a small oval endocrine gland attached to the base of the vertebrate brain, consisting of an anterior and a posterior lobe. The secretions of the pituitary control the other endocrine glands and influence growth, metabolism, and maturation.
The forehead chakra is called the third eye; it is assigned the color dark blue and is associated with spiritual sight.
The throat chakra is assigned the color sky blue and is associated with speech.
The heart chakra is assigned the color green, the color of healing (sometimes it is also shown as pink). The heart center maybe conceived of as the transformer of the lower nature into the higher nature; it is also the balancer of Spiritual Law and is considered the source of Compassion. It is located at the center of the cross of our bodies.
The solar plexus is assigned the color yellow and corresponds to the will and the Christ energy (or Krishna or Buddha Energy: the Golden Light is of the Purified Will).
The navel chakra is assigned the color orange and corresponds to the desire nature and assimilation.
The root chakra is assigned the color red and is located at the very base of the spine; it is considered to be the source of the life force; the color red is also associated with the Holy Spirit and is associated with generation and regeneration: Creation.
Auric Egg Exercise Instructions
1. For western style meditation sit in a straight-backed chair in a relaxed position. This position may be used by anyone. It is the position used by some of the ancients and western meditators throughout the ages.
For eastern style meditation you may adopt sitting on the floor with legs crossed in the folded lotus position.
Stretch your body, then feel, tense and relax any contracted areas. Do this several times. Become aware of your body and all its parts and inch by inch relax.
2. You may want to imagine a string at the top of your head pulling your spine erect. Feel the vertebrae of your spine gently stretched and your spine elongated and then mentally place each vertebrae beginning at the bottom of your spine, one upon the other, until your whole spine feels aligned. Then hold the position, but relax into a comfortable state.
3. Now, Visualize yourself within an Egg shaped field which extends outward from the center (the naval - solar plexus region) of your body, three feet in all directions.
4. Draw into the ovoid shape of the Egg from as high as you can imagine above your head, Pure White Light, down through the top of your head and into your body.
5. Anchor this light in your solar plexus area. Breathe naturally, feel the beating of your heart and your breath and allow them to become as one: at some point your breathing and heart will be in a natural rhythm. You will notice that you become peaceful.
6. On the in breath, feel and imagine the light coming into your body. As you exhale, allow the light to expand and fill your head, then your shoulders and arms, then allow the light to fill your torso area, then allow the light to fill your legs and feet.
7. You may also if you wish, draw the light down through the chakras; allow the light to expand to fill your body from each chakra. After you feel that your whole body is filled with light, allow the light to expand past your body to fill the field of the circle then the whole of the Auric region until you can feel it three feet around your body in all directions. Imagine that the outer edge of this sphere is solid and impenetrable.
Continue to draw in the light into the area of your solar plexus and let it expand from that region to fill your aura ...
Maintain this space for at least 5 -10 minutes or longer if you like.
Notes: In performing this exercise you may begin to experience a vibrant uplifting of being, exhilaration and peace. This exercise is regenerative, healing and balancing. Consistent practice of this exercise will aid you in bringing forth a fuller experience of an inner reality.
Eventually you will find your own rhythm and as you practice, the steps you take will become natural. Soon, you may be able to sense or even see the brightness of the white light and you may begin to experience the exhilaration and the peace it brings. After three or four days of practice you may begin to see and/or feel the Light in your aura, or personal atmosphere.
The center of this Egg of Light is the ovoid space your physical and spiritual bodies occupy. In the center of the spiritual body, located in the region between the heart and the solar plexus chakras, it is said resides the Self and Soul. Some people have reported after a time that they notice that their center of gravity shifts to a more balanced place.
Once you have established seeing and experiencing this Light surrounding you and filling you completely, you may begin concentrating on Light at the center of your being, the God Self within; that part of you that is a spark of the Greater Light.
Visualization is the preparation and key that leads you into truly seeing and experiencing the Light within. Visualization allows you to be receptive to another reality. The idea is to relax and allow the light to come in.
It is recommended that you do this exercise if possible at least twice a day, once in the morning and once at night before retiring. It is also recommended that you have a journal nearby. You may wish to log your results, and keep a record of your progress and any spiritual experiences you may have.
If you have any questions please write me: kl@gnostic.org
Copyrights Jessika © 2003
Also See: Daily Meditation Practice
Prayer for World Peace (author unknown)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May I and All Who Work
For a World of Peace and Reason
Be Granted the Gifts off Strength and Courage,
May the Good That Dwells
Within Every Human Heart Be Magnified,
May the Blessings of Truth
And Understanding Be Ours,
May the Love and Joy of the One Spirit
Abide Within All of Us
And as We Create and Plan for Tomorrow
May We Do so in Sympathy With All Others. Amen
Part 2: Perform a retrospection of the day in light of your ideals. Ask for forgiveness for those errors you have made and bless each person you believe you may have offended, including yourself, with light. love and peace. Look at how you might have handled the situation differently. Bless all those you have encountered and any others (friends, family) your dwelling, place of work and so on. Look at what you have learned during the day as well. When you are finished with your retrospection allow your mind to complete its thoughts and clear. Write down anything you would like to remember in your journal. This may take 5-20 minutes.
Part 3 : Reaffirm your sphere of light. Ask any questions you might have of the God you worship. Meditate 10-15 minutes (more if you like) in a state of openness to an intuitive answer. Record your experiences or any insights you may receive in your journal.
Part 4: Close your meditation with A Prayer of Affirmation and Peace (suggestions are below) and record anything else in you journal you might want to remember.
The Lord's Prayer
O Giver of All Life,
Who Is in Heaven and in Earth,
In Whom We Live, Move,
And Have Our Being,
Holy Is Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom Come.
Thy Will Be Done.
In Earth, as it Is in Heaven.
Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread,
And Forgive Us, Our Trespasses
As We Forgive Those
Who Trespass Against Us.
Keep Us from Temptation.
Keep Us Ever Mindful of Thee.
For Thine Is the Kingdom,
and the Power, and the Glory,
Forever and Ever. Amen.
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord make me an instrument of Thy Peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love:
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it is in dying
That we are born to Eternal Life. Amen
this damn world
tragedy culminates a string of bad luck. ok there's the lonely feeling that almost always burns,especialluy when invited to things i don t go to because of the threat aof evil old man alcohol, then me and strauss are sposdeda get together and awork on post production of our nefarious film then the car acccident ahappens; iaam fine but go to the hostipal anywya. im sorry to the other womanm, it was totally my fault then the threat of another psyche ward which thankfully i escaped, now my right hand hurts and my left wont move. its hard to type. oh,and i have no car. the end?
tragedy culminates a string of bad luck. ok there's the lonely feeling that almost always burns,especialluy when invited to things i don t go to because of the threat aof evil old man alcohol, then me and strauss are sposdeda get together and awork on post production of our nefarious film then the car acccident ahappens; iaam fine but go to the hostipal anywya. im sorry to the other womanm, it was totally my fault then the threat of another psyche ward which thankfully i escaped, now my right hand hurts and my left wont move. its hard to type. oh,and i have no car. the end?
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Lyrics for: If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
'Cause there's a million things to be
You know that there are
And if you want to live high, live high
And if you want to live low, live low
'Cause there's a million ways to go
You know that there are
Chorus:
You can do what you want
The opportunity's on
And if you can find a new way
You can do it today
You can make it all true
And you can make it undo
You see ah ah ah
It's easy ah ah ah
You only need to know
Well if you want to say yes, say yes
And if you want to say no, say no
'Cause there's a million ways to go
You know that there are
And if you want to be me, be me
And if you want to be you, be you
'Cause there's a million things to do
You know that there are
Chorus
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
'Cause there's a million things to be
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
'Cause there's a million things to be
You know that there are
And if you want to live high, live high
And if you want to live low, live low
'Cause there's a million ways to go
You know that there are
Chorus:
You can do what you want
The opportunity's on
And if you can find a new way
You can do it today
You can make it all true
And you can make it undo
You see ah ah ah
It's easy ah ah ah
You only need to know
Well if you want to say yes, say yes
And if you want to say no, say no
'Cause there's a million ways to go
You know that there are
And if you want to be me, be me
And if you want to be you, be you
'Cause there's a million things to do
You know that there are
Chorus
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
'Cause there's a million things to be
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
Out on the edge of darkness
there rides a peace train,
'O Peace Train take this country, come take me home again...'
March 2003
________________________________
With the drums of War echoing across the globe, it seems the vibrations have shaken everybody. Yusuf Islam has also been moved to align himself with millions of people across the planet calling for peace. Yusuf has just finished recording two songs, Peace Train and Angel of War. The two tracks are being made available to Radio Stations around the world and Peace Train will also be available for download here on this site.
"It's certainly not a return to Cat Stevens, but an underline of the message needed right now", said Yusuf during his recent journey to Johannesburg, South Africa where he recorded the tracks. Like many, his wish is to contribute whatever possible to help avert a forthcoming humanitarian crisis, the likes of which we have seen too many times before. "The words of the songs", as he says, "speak for themselves".
As a singer who sprang from a generation of highly idealistic free spirits between the 60's and 70's, I like to think the songs I wrote somehow held up an altruistic mirror to our planet's time and era. Though times have changed, it's a nice surprise to see that youthful feeling of anti-war sentiment returning once more to the cobbled main streets of Europe.
Peace Train is a song I wrote, the message of which continues to breeze thunderously through the hearts of millions of human beings and there is a powerful need for people to feel that gust of hope rise up again.
Thirty years later, as Yusuf Islam, I have more right and more reason to reclaim this anthem of my evolutionary Cat Stevens period, that's why I rerecorded it. As a member of humanity and as a Muslim, this is my contribution to the call for a peaceful solution to the dangerous path some world leaders today seem to be taking.
The present battle we see for global dominance, I believe, is nothing more than a clash of egos. So with Angel of War, I decided to revisit my legacy of music again and remould another old track, to reflect my thoughts and concerns about the questions to be asked of war today.
What many people don't understand is that there will always be an enemy: the egotistical soul within. The nature of Man is already prone to earthly lusts such as 'greed' and 'envy'. Together with 'pride', the three primal vices have plagued the human being since his first appearance on the bloodstained pages of Time.
Another Bosnia is not what the world needs; the devastation and suffering seen of recent history is ample evidence to support the view of every conscientious objector - of which I am one.
Let the words of the songs speak for themselves.
Peace be with you
Yusuf Islam
