Who bring us
From the darkness to the Light
From ignorance into Bliss
From misery and suffering
into Everlasting Love
I wouldn’t be here without you all…
(I know that these few images only scratch the surface of the countless divine manifestations of the One truth that have graced this planet and the other-worlds… feel free to add your own links, images and quotes in the comments section)
From the great master Papaji:
“Approaching the Self is like walking the razors edge: Two cannot go there,
you can’t even bring your mind or a thought.
The only One who can help you is Self.
Anything that touches this Flame becomes Flame.
Touch a Sage and you become a Sage,
knowing Self you see only Self and this Self is your Teacher.
Eventually you have to get rid of the name and form of both Master and yourself,
you have to reject the finger in order to see the moon.
Where there is name and form there is falsehood,
there is an impediment to Freedom because
nothing you see will give you Freedom.
Hold on only to Self when you are drowning,
reach for anything else and you will die.
The Satguru is Within, meditate only on That!
The true Teacher is Self, all else is pointing to Self.
Don’t cling to anything made from the five elements.
The Guru has no body, visible or invisible.
Do not depend on any body, which are just fingers pointing to the Truth!
Reject the form of the Guru and only the Supreme is left.”
- Sri H.W.L. Poonja - aka PAPAJI
Happy Guru Purnima 2008 (full moon July, day of the guru)
See the Facebook application I created to share the saints, god and angels that have inspired and guided me throughout my life and my quest for eternal happiness: Saints, Gods & Angels…
“Serving the world with love and cooperation, you will find your own true Self. As you help those in need, selfishness will fall away, and without even noticing you will find your own fulfillment.”
- Amma
Mata Amritanandamayi Devi - aka Amma, the ‘hugging saint’ - is currently in the US on her 2008 world tour. Since 1981 she has been giving hugs, inspiration and spiritual guidance to people around the world, and is estimated to have hugged more than 30 million to date. Tens of thousands line up for her ‘darshan’ (Sanskrit for divine sight, or blessing) wherever she travels. On her recent visit to Los Angeles, I decided to investigate this phenomenon, and figure out what it is exactly that draws so many millions to share the ‘Amma experience.’
I first met Amma in June of 2006, just two days after my sister’s death in a tragic car accident on the afternoon before her planned visit to see the hugging saint. The idea of wading through thousands of people to see the renowned saint-figure had always kept me away, but this time I felt a divine mandate to go and meet her myself, and share with her the awful news of what had happened to my sister, Ananda, who was a longtime Amma devotee. Continue reading →
Believe it or not, Mickey’s Disney-friends are off to join the cause in Iraq. An American development firm based in Los Angeles is spearheading the multi-million dollar “Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience,” a 50-acre amusement park that will feature a skateboard park, rides, a concert theater and a museum. The park is being designed by Disney’s “Imagineering” pioneers, Ride and Show Engineering (RSE).
Llewellyn Werner, chairman of C3, the Los Angeles-based holding company for private equity firms that’s funding the Pentagon-backed project, admits he’s facing certain unusual obstacles - namely, insurgent attacks and looting.
The story hit the news this past April, but a new Facebook group created by Rudy Duboille out of France “Non à Disneyland en Irak - Go Home !” is bound to stir some notice on the social media network.
Nonetheless, it’s doubtful American policy-makers will take much notice, considering the 200,000 American government-sponsored skateboards already shipped to Iraq for assembly to promote the new skateboard park opening in advance of the complete “Baghdad Experience.” Continue reading →
I’m just getting ready to send out my first edition of the Secrets to Happiness newsletter. For those who haven’t subscribed yet, now’s your chance to get in before the first one goes out… Is There a Secret to True Happiness…?
I must say, having a blog is an interesting experience…evolving every day…sort of like life…! You gotta stay flexible, and be able to roll with the punches. Which reminds me, I found an awesome quote from Muhammad Ali at my bank’s parking lot entrance, of all places, the other day:
“Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision…”
Which just shows to go you, you never know where you’ll find unexpected inspiration, so be open to life’s little secret messages whispering in your ear, and don’t forget to keep your eyes on your ultimate prize…your dream, your vision, your hope for this life. I believe that’s one of the great secrets to happiness…
What’s your dream?
p.s. I just created a new Facebook Group, also called Secrets to Happiness…if you’re reading this you probably have some appreciation of the power of the social network…Facebook is a great place to witness that, and the strongest tool yet for connecting and interacting with old and new friends. See you there!
This is my friend Dermot Butterly, the Irish Gandhi aka ‘Gandhi Rolling Stone’, as he prepares to walk across the country from Santa Monica, CA to Washington DC. Departing May 17th from Paramahansa Yogananda’s Lake Shrine Self-Realization Fellowship, Pacific Palisades, CA, where Mahatma Gandhi’s Ashes are enshrined. Meet @ Noon! I will be shooting as we walk to Santa Monica for the first leg of the voyage…
Every good thought, every good word, every good emotion, and every act of kindness, is lifting the vibration of your being to new heights. And as you begin to raise your vibration, a new life and a new world will reveal itself to you. Continue reading →
Ladies and Gentleman, it’s official: this site is up and running, as is…!
I will continue to add features and content, a gallery, videos and writing - like the article i just wrote, “How to stay happy while the world burns,” which will be posted shortly…
It’s been a long road, but over these past months i’ve learned so much about blogging and web designing and seo, etc…my brain is practically computer toast…but it’s all been well worth it! It’s hard to believe the amount of work that goes into the millions of sites out there - i have some serious newfound respect.
Speaking of which…
It being May Day, an ancient pre-Christian holiday celebrating life and the start of Summer, as well as International Labor Day, i’d just like to point out a few live statistics from the truly remarkable Worldometers site, in solidarity with our earth and all of us who live and work in this beautiful world…
A word on the context…it’s spring of 2003, year two of the Tribeca Film Festival, just blocks away from ground zero and my studio at the time. The bombs have just recently begun raining on Baghdad in the ill-fated Iraq oil war…
