eternal youth

“Still crazy, after all these years.”
-Paul Simon

There lies, in the heart of every person, a seed of youthful enthusiasm. I experienced this at our mega-1970s neighbourhood reunion last weekend, where a couple hundred old friends all got together for the first time in over three decades. No matter how much time seems to glide by under the bridge, or how stiff and ‘mature’ we seem to become, all the heartfelt fun and optimism of our youth linger on inside us, camouflaged like a wide-eyed, baby doe on the edge of a shady forest.

The setting up of this event (and the ongoing Facebook reunion) has been a labour of love for the past eight months. More than an excellent hobby, it has proven to impact my life and those of life-long friends in a way that only reawakened friendships can. The human heart is a mysterious place, full of unexplored depths and heights. It is my belief, after almost thirty years of daily meditation and introspection, that, when enlightened, the heart can take us to our superhuman potential and the indescribable joy that inevitably accompanies that.

Getting together with old friends to reminisce and laugh may seem like a mundane function, but the relatively small waves of love that surface in our hearts are just the peaks of an infinite ocean – and if That can be awakened inside us, then the world will rapidly rise to a whole new level of enjoyment and harmony. There is a specific something in us that, when triggered, links our limited attention to the unlimited field of our spirit. It’s my intention to help beloved old friends, who were as dear to me as family long ago, to come within reach of this inner connection. I sincerely hope that many can feel that now, and will gradually discover all their buried treasure within.

Best wishes,
Ed Saugstad

http://70snorthdelta.wordpress.com/about/

Linc.laugh

festival of Light on the ‘spiritual Ganges of Europe’

Here’s my short film on the first annual Culture of the Spirit festival, where East meets West in a beautiful, rural river valley in Italy.

It’s been found that pure, absolute Spirit is in essence joy and love, that brings a rewarding sense of clarity to ones perception. This phenomena was felt by the hundreds of visitors and participants at this event, brought on by the subtle beauty and light of the performances and exhibitions, and intensified by the simultaneous collective experience.

A science presentation revealed that distant cells communicate with one another, and that this process may happen through the medium of light. If we are all ascending into a new, more transparent and joyful state of awareness, this may indicate that we are to be increasingly empowered to communicate by means of the light in and around us.

Could there be anything more beautiful and fulfilling than discovering whole new ways of sharing creative love on unlimited, powerful wavelengths, and perhaps to find our dormant brain functions spring to life with undreamed of comprehension of playful reality? We may have yet to discover what it actually means to be fully functional human beings. Even our genes, which are changed by mundane experiences and passed on to future generations, can now be constructively altered for our optimum spiritual growth by connecting ourselves to the deepest Vibrations, from which all life emerges.

This meditative weekend generated unique inspiration that brings the promise of great things to come.

Meet you next summer in the Borbera Valley, the ‘Ganges of Europe’!

Note: Hold your hands open, palms up, while watching this film, and see what you feel.

(Hint: A cool breeze would be ideal – to actually feel Light!)

(higher resolution, 480p,  can be selected at the bottom after you start)

(p.s.~ Some of the artworks seen are from my wife! … Ceramic sculptures …)

http://brigittesaugstad.com

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inner silence = world peace

On May 9, 2009, an enthusiastic gesture for peace was made in Nicosia, Cyprus, as hundreds of artists and children worldwide had their ambassadors for peace – handmade elephants – displayed on both sides of the dividing-line checkpoint.
The two mayors of the world’s last divided capital embraced in friendship, a gesture showing hope for a future of peace. History was also made by three ‘enemy’ passport holders – students helping with the exhibition – being allowed to cross the island’s severely guarded, temporary internal border! It may not have been the joyful civic tidal wave that eradicated the dreaded Berlin Wall in 1989, but every drop counts when it’s to help quench the thirst for freedom of the innocent generations to come.

Another highlight of the day came as a local shopkeeper near the checkpoint gave the artist organizers access to his wireless Internet service, allowing us, via web-cam, to broadcast live to the international Schengen Peace Foundation conference taking place simultaneously in Luxembourg – from one end of Europe to the other on Europe Day! All the delegates in attendance applauded after seeing and hearing about the efforts being made, by adults and children alike, for the important cause of lasting peace over in Cyprus.
The following day, Mother’s Day, the peace-exhibition was invited to Jerusalem by an Israeli university professor. The elephants-without-borders are on the march!

With a little mutual forgiveness, and respect for the innocent generations to come, this world can become a beautiful home for everyone.

Here’s my video-collage of the event (music courtesy of Matt Malley, former Counting Crows bass player)

(higher resolution, 480p,  can be selected at the bottom after you start)
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on the lighter side of life

With the world sliding full speed into the gravest scenario since a meteor walloped it, wiping out all manner of species, we thank heaven for comedians (especially the Canadian variety). Only a highly evolved race can laugh at itself as it teeters on the edge of extinction. If we’ve taken ourselves too seriously at times, it’s only because we forgot to listen to the tiny Jim Carrey or Dan Aykroyd jesting inside. I mean, come on, did we really think we could defy all constructive perimeters of existence and get away with it indefinitely? We are indeed a laughable lot! Well, hopefully some eleventh-hour humble introspection and meditation will bring out the very best in each of us, and bring a rosy hue to the prospects for the coming generations.

fun 'n' games!My wife and I find ourselves constantly playing funny role improvisation (it’s probably out of survival instinct – the only way to survive if you both live and work under one roof!) We are living proof that only the body ages … the soul keeps getting younger and sillier. After I’ve had a particularly good morning meditation, I feel like a small kid in a universal Disney land, with creativity and mirth springing out of my every pore. We may think it would be highly irresponsible to let children run the world, but what about the children inside us, with the important advantage of all our years of practical experience and knowledge. Just add the wisdom, common-sense and benevolence of a child (okay, my two-year-old was also definitely not ‘benevolent’, but you know what I mean), and we could steer the ship of humanity into more peaceful waters.

As the desperate, tearful child said in a CNN interview this morning, after he and his mom lost their home to the Recession: “PEOPLE HAVE GOT TO START HELPING EACH OTHER!”

Where there’s the capacity and a heartfelt will, there’s a way.

ARMS RACE

the world is a stage!

If the Armageddon really takes place, please, may all the musical mobflashers be spared!

Love it!

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the healing of the Mother

Earth heart

Our Earth has a heart that beats and loves.

It’s time to find that rthymn inside ourselves and reciprocate Her love.

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trying to fathom the unfathomable

We just came home from a beautiful ceremony celebrating the short life of a dear friend, Anna-Radhika, who passed away nine days ago after sudden complications in her lungs. In evidence of this fifteen-year-old’s open and loving personality, was the large variety of adorers who came to wish her well on her outward journey. Apart from the many relatives from two distinct cultures – Austrian and Indian – there was a multitude of friends, and friends of friends. A whole school bus of classmates were present with tears of affection, enthusiastic recollections of life with her, and dozens of colorful balloons that they let playfully fly up to heaven with her. There have been a few great souls in history who have earned the respect of the masses simply through their inherent state of deep generosity, and their unconditional giving to others that which is essential and beloved to all: love. But it seems that more and more of these great personages are being born among us, to help lift us on our glorious way.

Before this funeral service, I had big aspirations to write about some important lessons we all need to learn in life, but I suddenly find myself as small and ignorant in this great, mysterious universe as every other mortal. How can anyone else know all the factors that determine the plot of another soul’s story? How many of us leave behind our present role to pass onto another stage in fulfillment of higher destiny; and who leaves unnecessarily, at the wrong time, by accident? Are there such things as accidents when it comes to birth and death, and what can we, as parents, do to ensure the subtle nurturing of our children? Someone told me last week that he had suffered chronic bronchitis till the age of sixteen. He could suddenly breathe freely for the first time in his life, as soon as his father and grandfather made up and started speaking with each other after years of mutual hatred. I’ve discovered late in life that my many moments of urgent desire to die, to leave, to run away from a horrible world of pain and frustration, came from scary feelings in my childhood when my parents were drunk and fighting, or simply not there for me in my darkness. I realized at some point, that I could never take my life, because, even though I didn’t like myself very much, I could never mercilessly hurt all the people who love me – that, I could never do. And now I see that my role here is still unfolding. But some do depart, what seems to us to be too early, and for a myriad of reasons that we may never logically understand.

When an apparently happy, healthy person stops breathing, due to an otherwise manageable condition, we may well wonder if they were trying to tell us something. In such a dramatic exit there may be an ardent plea to the world: Never forget to live each breath with heartfelt enthusiasm! You too are special.

Anna-Radhika9 August 1993, to 23 April 2009

Anna-Radhika ~ 9 August 1993, to 23 April 2009

(Our condolences go out to the suffering heart that was one with her. No earthquake or hurricane can compare in ferocity to the grief of a mother that has just lost her only child.)

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getting untangled from our stress mess

Ganapatipule

Sitting beneath a shady coconut grove on an Indian beach, I chatted with a bank manager about the state of modern society. We agreed that it’s ironic that the deep wisdom of the East is now being sought by the West, while the Eastern root-civilization frantically tries to ‘catch up’ with the withering Western boughs. It’s time that both sides learn to imbibe, in balance, the lessons that the other has to offer. Can the East achieve prosperity without losing it’s countless treasures of wisdom; and can the West adopt those wisdoms in order to fortify its foundations for future generations?

At the heart of every ancient culture there pervaded an inkling of unseen Reality. Even modern science (quantum physics) begins to hint towards a wonderful Source that lies just beyond our handicapped awareness. With all the precision mechanics that make up our universe and our own beings, would it be at all surprising that a specific mechanism could be built in to each of us to eventually link us to our Source? It is there, and waits in the sacrum bone at the base of our spine to be awakened. And it’s not surprising to discover that this benevolent ‘mechanism’ can only sprout naturally, without force or concentration – when the heart is ripe.

This knowledge was once a ‘secret’ because we, as a race, were not mature enough to know it. It remains a secret only through our advanced complacency. A child-like curiosity would now be our most valuable asset; a natural interest in our inevitable link to enlightenment. It’s time to emerge from our self-created jungle of stress and disorientation by starting this inner process. Even better than a cooling coconut juice on a tropical seashore!

angel awakening painting

everyone gets enlightened

(public Sahaja Yoga Meditation workshop, Austria, March 2009)

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selfless, universal Love

Today, on the 21st of March, as spring once again raises its smiling face, the 86th birthday is celebrated of someone I dearly love – a very special someone: Mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, outspoken advocate of individual and universal spiritual revolution, known fondly worldwide as Shri Mataji (beloved mother). This humble mention is to honor all that is highly promising in each of us, and all that she has done to reveal that, in order to create a better world for all.

Jai Shri Mataji!


Shri Mataji :-D

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and you think YOU’RE having a bad day (6)

my dentist

living synchronicity

morning subeams

Many of us intuitively recognize the subtle connection that exists between all human beings, and with all of nature. This field of awareness has something to do with our minds, but much more to do with our hearts.

I recently chanced upon a subject of discussion with someone, that led to my meeting, for the first time in my life, with two sisters and a brother who I’d never had contact with (fifty years late, but maybe at the exact time it was meant to happen). This took place during a short visit to Canada. A few months later, I made a new friend while in Cyprus. During a lull in an after-dinner conversation, I suddenly started talking about my small ‘miracle’ in Canada to him. It turned out that this man also has a brother who he has never met, and who happens to live in my place of residence, Austria. By ‘chance’, I know the head of personnel at the company that his brother works for, which may lead to the healing meeting of these two separated siblings.

Yesterday, I connected with an old friend via Facebook, who I hadn’t seen in about thirty years. We exchanged a few sentences of enthusiastic, typed dialog in the tiny chat-box. Of all the things he chose to mention in these moments, was the fact that he lives near another old friend who I also hadn’t seen in years. I told him – amazed – that twenty-five minutes before I had just looked up that same person in a public internet search site, and phoned his home to say hi!

I have the feeling that this Power/Universe/Spirit manifests in our lives when we need to experience constructive inner growth and healing. In fact, judging by the many similar experiences I’ve lived and heard about in my travels, these compassionate nudges are becoming more and more frequent in people’s lives. Could we be entering a time when all the invisible beauty inside us shines out, when the collective consciousness of universal love unites us and puts an end to jealousy and aggression?

Things may get temporarily worse before the break-through, but there is no doubt in my mind – and heart – that a sunrise is coming that no generation will ever forget.

(Valentine’s Day, 2009)

heart sunrise

world peace begins in each heart …

Despite the fact that the world family is growing closer and closer together in communication, love and understanding, there are still certain hot-spots on our planet that require patient, collective attention. One such healing wound is called Cyprus. In mid-January, 2009, the voices of a few international artists and enthusiastic children brought cooling balm in the form of ‘Elephants for Peace.’ This was the beginning of a world-tour art/peace project created by German artist and historian, Rose Marie Gnausch, and the Art Initiative Naturalmente RoMa.

My wife and I were honored to be present for this inauguration, to be able to share our creative talents for such a noble cause, and to meet so many local, influential people whose hearts are set on peace for future generations. The next event in Cyprus will be along Ledra Street in Nicosia on both sides of the border – May 9 and 10, for the one year anniversary of this border opening – before the growing exhibition moves on to other countries. Here’s my little film collage of the initial ‘sprouting’ (higher resolution, 480p,  can be selected at the bottom after you start)

 

if that doesn’t work, go to this address and wait a few minutes for high resolution streaming before playing:

 

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starting 2009 with a natural, inbuilt advantage …

There’s more to life than meets the eye -

Discover the very best about yourself. Life is just beginning:

~ click on the sleeping elephant ~

The Beginningand have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

- Ed

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Mom ascending

When I received the sad news this morning, I felt – believe it or not – a gentle lightening of the heart, an enthusiastic happiness that had nothing to do with my personal loss of the mother who raised and loved (loves) me. After a few seconds of meditation, I realized that I must be feeling what she is presently feeling: a dynamic, delightful freedom; a breathtaking view of life from high above life; a baby-like mood of spontaneous creativity and endless possibilities.

We weep in self-pity.
Congratulations Mom for all your achievements, and all those yet to come – enjoy the higher life for us, also!
(It’s just too bad that you can’t send postcards, but love has its own lines of communication)

With love, your son,
Ed

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E. May Saugstad

24 March, 1930 ~ 9 December, 2008

(Mother of Darlene, Cheryl, Rick, Ed, Glenn, David, Allan and Don)

Mom in Heaven

“Christmas greetings”

The Coming of the Three Kings

follow the star

my web talk-show interview …

the LINK

~click the LINK to the Interview~

Every age has its greatest discovery. The greatest of all is inside of us.

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drummin’ for all the lonely …

When I woke up this morning, this new rhythm was vibrating through me. I would like to dedicate it to all unsung, lonely children and adults out there, waiting to someday be hugged. May the day come soon, when no human being feels unloved.

(The bass is my heel on the floor – heard best through a proper set of speakers – and the rest comes from my fingers on the desk)

with much (needed) love,
Ed

bearhug

a message

a message

As I clasp my hand tightly in yours,
from my heart emerges a solemn wish:
that happiness and wisdom will come freely to you,
and that your knowledge may be bountiful.

Also, hope that the winds of reality may be gentle,
and guide you peacefully through the tides of life –
for you are my brother, and my love for you is infinite.

Ed Saugstad, age fourteen, 1972
(a message to the human race)

Burnsview long ago

(Ed’s cover for the Burnsview Junior High School yearbook, 1972-73, North Delta, Canada)

never a dulllll moment

After arriving back over in Vancouver for a summer holiday, many new amazing things started falling into place….

The fun started with a spontaneous boat ride to the beautiful island resort where I spent my childhood summers. With a couple of brothers and my wife and son, we visited Buccaneer Bay (its real name!) for my first time in thirty-five years. (Captain McTaggart, one of the Greenpeace pioneers, also spent holidays there with his family in their cottage. Celebrities parked their yachts in the bay on their cruises along the coast. The Canadian Prime Minister stopped in once, and we saw John Wayne and his family another time!) It was the first place that I experienced joy. It happened when I was about twelve while climbing the small mountain there, Spyglass Hill, and seeing the breath-taking view of forests, islands and heaven-blue ocean, skies and mountains stretching out to all horizons. I would often take my sleeping-bag down to the white, sandy beach at night and fall asleep in the peaceful solitude, watching the endless, timeless starry heavens. The place hadn’t changed. There were still the same cottages, trees (quite a bit bigger now!), mossy bluffs and fresh, salty breezes – and still no electricity or modern conveniences! We knocked on our old neighbour’s door and found that most of their family was there, including new grandchildren and great-grandchildren. As one of the Hendersons remarked, it was a ‘blast from the past’ meeting again after so long.

During our outing, I happened to mention something to one of my brothers about our childhood and the two sisters and the brother that we never met, as our father had left his first wife and kids to marry our mom, who then gave birth to us. To my great surprise, he told me that two of Dad’s first offspring had managed to contact him a few years back. After discovering the name and hometown of one, I wasted no time in contacting her. She was so thrilled to get a call from me, that she couldn’t sleep the whole night as she had waited her whole life to meet us. We had agreed to meet the following weekend. My wife, Brigitte, and I spent the night in the home of my lost sister and her husband (who is part native Canadian, the great-grandson of a First Nation chief). By the time we left the next day, it felt like a half century of healing had taken place, as the joy and vibrations were very strong. We also spoke on the phone to my other missing siblings, and we’ve planned to get together soon for a big reunion. (As it turns out, my other sister breeds horses, and one of them was in China recently participating in the Olympics!)

We then had a great time the following two days as guests of the local Hindu Temple, which held a festive open-house. A dear friend and professional singer from India, who recently settled in Victoria, was invited to sing. The audience loved him. We also presented a small introduction to Sahaja Yoga, which was also very much appreciated by all.

Along the merry way, I made a point of distributing copies of my new children’s books to families that we passed on planes, ferries and other public places (as well as among our old friends at Buccaneer Bay, feeling somehow that I was sending redeeming vibrations back into my sometimes scary and tragic childhood). The stories, full of loving vibes, are created to help lift the reader toward self-realization. Surprisingly, many adults have also reported getting special, uplifting feelings from these fictional adventures! I hope those hundred or so books – and the many more that may eventually make their ways into the lives and hearts of good souls everywhere – will help in some small way to water the roots of enlightenment in the coming generation.

(p.s. – Did you know that the largest octopuses in the world live in the waters between Vancouver and Victoria, and that you can see whales, dolphins and seals almost every day there? Did you know there are magnificent, natural guardians watching over Vancouver, two mountain peaks with the shapes of lions, as well as the huge rain-forest city park with the shape of an elephant’s – Ganesha’s? – head?)

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To enjoy a few of these magical moments, click on the cruise ship …

sail away into life ...

Oakee Doakee lives!!!!!!!!

After countless hours, days and weeks of sleepless labor

Oakee Doakee has arrived at last!


If you know anyone who’s looking for a new kind of

children’s adventure book

check out my recently published creations … :-D

~ click to zip over to Oakee’s place! ~

Cool Check

I don’t know if you’ve ever felt that amazing, soothing cool breeze that flows out of the hands and top of the head after self-realization, but it isn’t just another interesting thing. I’ve known people who’ve felt it clearly and been benefited immensely by the fact, and then somehow forgotten or ignored it.

If you ever get the lucky chance to feel this connection to your subtle self, INVESTIGATE! …
“Hey! Why can I feel a joy-giving coolness flowing from me? It’s obviously not someone doing something to me because I can feel it when I’m alone (and the air-conditioning’s not on). Is there a history behind this phenomena? What is it good for? Can it be increased?”

Our attention is normally sucked so intensely outwards and towards distracting thoughts, that we don’t even know how to watch and enjoy our Selves. Thanks to the revolutionary fact that any human being can now feel the subtlest, life-giving energy that exists everywhere (and no longer just a few enlightened souls), we are in an unprecedented position to manifest all the ideal qualities that can create an existence that truly – well – truly ROCKS!

After meditating this morning, I felt permeated with a sweet, baby-like softness that made my perception clear and my heart sing. The Vibrations were emitting like a seaside breeze. In this state, it’s possible to put the peaceful, steady attention on any problem and spontaneously recognize colorful, doable solutions.

Year after year, it gets better, like an irrigated desert where new life increasingly sprouts into form.

What to say.
Better check it out.

Unexpected internal coolness on a hot Lebanese day

~ self-realization in Raouche, July 2008 ~

the next generation

A little girl from my hometown spills her heart to the United Nations

and you think YOU’RE having a bad day (5)

nice kitty

helping hands

The other morning I went out to our garden for a few moments of meditation before finishing the illustrations for my children’s books. Soon after I sat down on the lawn, I heard scratching sounds coming from inside the metal drain pipe that runs down from the roof. It occurred to me that one of the young birds that recently hatched nearby had somehow managed to get itself trapped in the pipe, and couldn’t fly up to escape. Realizing that it would slowly cook to death once the sun rose, I opened the bottom of the pipe, just below the bend, hoping it would find its way out. A few minutes later I opened my eyes at the sound of frantic wings as the excited bird blasted away into the trees, chirping wildly to its friends about its scary adventure! I’ve never gone out to sit at that particular spot before. How very auspicious.


In a world full of mutual distrust and back-stabbing, it’s an inspiration every time strangers take an opportunity to help each other. I was recently ripped-off by one of those many ‘vanity publishing’ companies out there. (In this case it was Diggory Press, who’s proprietor is being taken to court by many injured writers this summer.) It came as quite a shock to discover that not only was my money up-in-smoke, but that I would not be published in time for my upcoming organized deadlines. Well, as good fortune would have it, my fall was not as hard as it could have been. Through this drama I was lucky to become acquainted with an amiable and enthusiastic educator/writer named Stephen who, with his family, lives on the windswept Atlantic coast of Ireland where he has just started a small but reputable publishing company (CheckPointPress.com). Everything worked out perfectly for me to publish in time, and that with comfortingly transparent, encouraging arrangements.


I just wanted to share these small events to encourage other eager birds like me to keep watch for the helping hand just around the next hard corner.

Lulu

(p.s.- Something else: Do you usually remember what you just dreamed if you wake up suddenly? I don’t normally remember, but this morning I heard this in deep sleep: ‘There’s a way of waking up in time.’ Then I opened my eyes. Then my alarm rang. There’s a lot that we still have to learn about ourselves.)


Tell it like it is

Sometimes it becomes necessary to speak out in defense of that which is innocent and good >>>>

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don’t dry out

Mother: “Never mind, dear. You’re too young to understand the difference between heaven and hell.”

Child: “I know the difrinz! Heaven is where you have lots of love and fun, and hell is where everybody just stays serious.”

laugh all the way to heaven

and you think YOU’RE having a bad day (4)

nosey boss

reaching in

reaching in

Oh, hi – so glad you could drop in!

I was just doing a bit of surfing and was overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of messages out there. Unfortunately, those trillions and zillions of statements don’t always steer a person in a constructive direction. The web of words can be our downfall, as our history has so clearly pointed out. If we can just climb up to a higher vantage point to get our bearings, then our life takes on a meaningful pattern and we can head out in the right direction.Sahasrara 2

As May 5th becomes a specially significant anniversary in the lives of more and more self-realized persons, I would like to offer my best wishes (pure desire) to you on this most illuminating of days. May you have the personal, golden opportunity to reach into the Source – into the Silence – where peace and clarity will recharge your worn batteries. Welcome to the soothing Sahasrara.

As-Salamu Alaykum

Sahasrara 1

defeating that which crushes your enthusiasm

enthousiasmos, from enthous ‘to be one with a god; inspired’

I spent the first half of my life half alive. Looking back down from the high hillside of middle age, I begin to really appreciate the inner security that has come with years of daily meditation and introspection. Twenty-six years ago today I stepped out of a self-dughero myth (I do nothing) grave and made my way steadily into that sunlight which shines deep inside each of us. There have been many milestones on this path; solid, comforting indications that inner progress has been made and maintained.

Like the nightmare I had recently – a real classic, subconscious horror-thriller. I was in a haunted house, actually descending into it’s bowels in a dark elevator with an unseen monster gripping my throat. (The result of a bit of undigested pizza, or the b-movie I watched before sleeping?) I don’t know about you, but when this sort of slide into the extreme left ballpark sometimes occurs, the inevitable result is always sheer panic and helplessness. Imagine my surprise when I heard myself casually remark, C’mon – gimme a break, will ya’? as the vicious creature whimpered away and the lights went on. Somehow, you just suddenly realize that a high percentage of your inferior attitudes (and ensuing aggressive frustration) is in fact just fog giving you a false impression about yourself. Through the peaks of clarity reached with regular meditation, and recurring indications of being established on ever higher levels of stability, your true, lucky state of being becomes obvious (outshining those occasional glitches that blur the inner widescreen, high-definition view of your self.)

It’s amazing to feel how quickly the enthusiasm highest benevolencefor living life to its fullest increases as soon as the troubling illusions of self-doubt vanish in the light of your true Self. Agreed, it takes some time to establish the stability of this clarity, but getting there is practically effortless – it just takes some patience and a turn of the key to get the process rolling; and then a keen inner eye to discern what’s real. The automatic, benevolent attitude is then your new Mercedes-Benz for traveling on to unexpected, inspiring landscapes.

(Sketches by Ziya Dikbas – inspired by my recent, inner-breakthroughs) :-)

and you think YOU’RE having a bad day (3)

bad morning at the office

in the Land of Light

Cool Hands

Radiant Mother Earth

On my way home today from my twenty-first pilgrimage in India, loving hand workI suddenly became aware of the renewed lightness of my body. Not that I had lost physical weight on the journey, but it was clear that I had left behind heavy, invisible waste which has been replaced with a light, soft breeze of Vibrations. It never fails to amaze me how that country, known by some as the Kundalini of the Earth, emits this subtle, enlightening Force. And it’s not just the refreshing change of pace that a vacation brings. I’ve traveled a great deal and found, as have many others, that this part of our planet, including the Himalayas, the Birth Houseis apparently the only place that has this divine quality to this intense degree.breath-taking Mother Earth

Next time you want to really lighten up, take a trip to this magical, ancient land (avoiding the heavy tourist-ized and religious-ized locations). Spend some time attentively absorbing that which the super-charged natural elements there have to offer. You will learn something new and valuable about your Self.

India by Night

Continue reading

the coolest Happening

I’ve just had the grefelicitationsat and amazing privilege to attend an unprecedented event in the center joy danceof India. On the 2008 spring equinox, just as fellow-human beings all over the world coincidentally enjoyed their annual religious celebrations ~ which happened to fall on the same day this year ~ I found myself surrounded by thousands of joyful faces out in an
ancient, rural landscape, all drawn together for one of mankind’s most universal of celebrations: a birthday party! And this was indeed a very special birthday party, as it marked the eighty-fifth year of a universally benevolent person who has become loved and respected throughout he world for her ongoing efforts to integrate humanity: H. H. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi.
The rustic living conditions and flower dancethe atmospheredecorations of mutual affection seemed to bring out the real insides of the countless doctors, students, lawyers, artists, accountants, social-workers, secretaries and all the other international visitors gathered there to honor the highest that we know: the spirit of unconditional love put into practice.
As if called together by Mahatma Gandhi to his ashram (located nearby), we, of all religious backgrounds, came enthusiastically to participate in something that would sincerely unite us above our trivial, mundane concerns. The cooling, dramatic winds, rain and lightning that manifested there, most uncharacteristic for this time of year, inspired awe in the heart of the beholder.
The moving felicitations for Shri Mataji ~ known affectionately the world over as ‘Mother’ ~ featured messages of acknowledgment and honor from many dignitaries, including the U.S. president and his wife, and universal sunsetthe prime minister of Canada.
I came away from that timeless moment of joyful music and celebration with the feeling that we are, after all, naught but small children involved in our games ~ and that the house of our Parents has yet to reveal all the glory and wonder in store for us … one family under one roof.
Vibrating Landscape

and you think YOU’RE having a bad day (2)

Great view, but …

You

Windows to Innocence
Beyond the windows of your eyes,
Your soul abides in sunny skies,
Bathing in the light of love
That pours down sweetly from above.

That is the way it’s supposed to be
When a soul is clear and free,
But on the unmapped sea of life
Inner storms bring pain and strife.

High above each storm, a star
Shines to show you who you are:
Not this head and not this hand;
Not the owner of this land;

Not this angry shrunken heart
Feeling like it’s torn apart;
Not the one whose thoughts bring noise
Never knowing peace or joy;

Not the child that fears the night;
Not the man that wants to fight;
Not the woman, alone and sad;
Not those thousand dreams gone bad.

High inside, but within reach,
There waits a pristine, sun-lit beach,
That graceful shore of your own spirit –
Listen now, and you will hear it.

Open your hands and feel your breeze
That softly blows through inner trees,
In the Country that’s your own
Where seeds of happiness are sown.

It’s only just a breath away.
Once you reach here, you will stay;
For here is where your life will start,
And soul and joy will never part.

- Edward Saugstad 2008
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the calm before the storm

We get a great variety of small birds here in our corner of the Vienna Woods, but this morning brought an eerie stillness. Just one tiny fellow made his way nervously through the garden, birdiegrabbing a quick last meal before the storm hits.

As the ominous wind begins to rise, we’re once again reminded of the delicate balance that exists between us and our perishable environment. Throughout this day, as blasted trees sever human power lines, and roofs are torn from human homes, we can look ahead and worry; or we can look within and change.

My young son mentioned yesterday, how dramatically the world is splitting between the very positive and the very negative. On the one hand, people are religiously killing themselves, children, and even the Earth, as if life no longer has value – and the corrupt just keep getting more selfish and powerful; and on the other hand, universal cooperation, communication and understanding is at a record high. If we could just go a little bit deeper into the vast reservoir of wisdom inside ourselves, the benefits would spill out into this life that we know and love. We give our children presents on religious holidays and birthdays, but do we give them that basic requirement – the obvious – a safe future on an abundant planet?

Climate is a reflection of our collective, inner state. It’s time to tidy up in there.

and you think YOU’RE having a bad day (1)

Like Friends

karma + dogma = dharma?

KARMA-DOGMA

I remember in my early youth, asking an adult friend if the ego was a good or bad thing. She said I could ask her (hippy) husband because he enjoyed discussing things like that. What was then for me an impenetrably thick, peanutbutter-like layer of confusion over all things inner and intangible, later became, with the help of a subtle internal connection and some enlightening meditation, as clear as day to my once thick and sticky perception. My thirst for Truth has not diminished, but the obvious is no longer hidden from my understanding.

Take karma for example. It’s no longer a mystery whether or not past deeds and desires can influence our present life. Our psyche/conditionings/subconscious contains enough past goo to keep us repeating lots of wanted and unwanted patterns (even looking through the lens of astrology or genetic mutation, one can see that some influence stretches way back into our personal histories). The real question is, can we somehow be liberated from undesirable karma. The answer is a resounding inner YES. As physics sometimes hints at, we effect what we perceive, just by perceiving it. We live in an inevitable cycle of cause and effect. If there was only a way to rise above cause and escape the trampoline of life’s ups and downs. Well, there is …

It’s been discovered (and I’m also speaking from personal experience) that by raising the limited human awareness to a higher, thoughtless level, not only does physical health improve, but so does one’s good fortune. Although this is a golden, natural law – and easily attained – it is still proving awkward to maintain. That is to say, as human beings at a certain stage of our spiritual evolution, all the goodies of a complete and fulfilling life are becoming available to us, but we’re still quite rusty at getting all that extra Mother in cloudspotential in us to light up. And that is to very simply say, that all the dogma and ritual and prayers and good wishes will not do any more than they have till now (very little on the whole) unless and until we are in that very clear, tangible and powerful state, the result of self-realization and meditation: thoughtless awareness. It takes very little regular practice to get the hang of it – then one notices the benefits (individual and collective) steadily increase.

(Sorry ego and conditionings, it’s been fun, but – hey – after all, we’ve just been fooling around, warming up for the super life ;-) )

when the heart takes to flight

As mentioned at the beginning, the human heart is a veritable treasure chest of wonderful surprises, still lying buried under our layers of conditionings and projections. When the subtle key rises up the spine to unlock the gate at the top of the head, we start a new, enriched life full of the treasures of joy and spontaneity. Once released from it’s bonds, it will fly you on to beauty undreamed of. . . .

the flight of a freed heart

do you know what your child is feeling right now?

Eight weeks after my fifteenth birthday I swallowed a massive dose of LSD and went temporarily insane. I still sharply recall the feeling of sheer terror when I realized that I was losing my mind. The demons moved in to possess my soul and I was plunged into a sadistic hell; my mind on fire and my heart torn to pieces in my chest – and then weeks of utter emotional darkness. Nine years later, hard drugs and alcohol had almost extinguished what remained of the small, comforting light somewhere inside me, but at one point a motherly hand reached down deep into the vacuum that was my life, and pulled me lovingly up into the fresh air and sunshine. When I see photos of myself as a teenager, I’m surprised to see how young and vulnerable I looked. I had thought that I was grown up and master of my world. How very sad to be so completely lost in the midst of a civilization that is supposed to be advanced.

I come from a broken home – not in the sense of bombs exploding and loved ones killed by war or hunger, like some children; but an almost mundane, commonplace sort of broken home: one cracked by Drunkenness and Divorce. My parents are lovely people; sensitive and kind. But sensitivity has not been a virtue cherished in our society. Escape into intoxication has rendered most of us numb to the terrible norms of our lives – child abuse, mockery, violence and the like.

I’ve been clean for almost twenty-six years now. In this time, I’ve reached peaks of joy and clarity that I didn’t believe were available to normal human beings like myself. When you feel the presence of that person beside you on the bus, or you hurriedly brush past your child or spouse, ask yourself what they might be feeling. Could they be in a desperate state of inner need? And should they require your loving attention, would you have the capacity to quench their burning thirst? It’s up to each of us to attain the beautiful Unlimited in us and share it as unconditionally as possible. It’s time to find out just how amazing we really are.

amazing inside

pure desire

pure desire
There once was a child
Who played with a ball
And thought of the children
With no ball at all:
He picked up that ball
And gave it a kiss
And for every poor child
A ball he did wish.
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There once was a child
Who looked at the sky
And seeing the dirt there
She started to cry:
She reached out her arms
Hugged sky to her heart
And prayed that the people
Stop sending up dark.
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There once was a child
Who dreamed in the night
That God is inside us
With comfort and light,
And when the time comes
For the Mother to rise
All the problems will end
In the love from our eyes.
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- e.s.
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this morning in Venice

Kundalini Awakening
Looking out from our hotel in Venice this morning (where my wife participated in an art exhibition), I noticed a classroom full of Italian children through the window across the way. We had just spent the previous evening strolling through famous museums where the intense expressions of human souls have been on display for tens and, in some cases, hundreds of years. The ever-present thirst for growth and becoming was stirring. Now watching these children play and study, I was moved by the contrast between this striving generation’s vast creative potential and will to shape our future, and the watery foundations on which we were presently all resting.
timeless water
The thought that this charming, ancient city may some day be a ghost-town with the indifferent tides of time rotting its foundations and peeling away its fine tapestries, awoke in me a deep resolve to help reinforce the foundations of our race. If there was ever a moment in history to fully awaken and share the permanent treasure of enlightenment, then surely that moment is now. A time when the beautiful white light of Spirit can shine through the colorful prism that is each person, enriching every culture. With the trigger for activating this unprecedented leap in our evolution just waiting in each of us for our heartfelt attention, it is so important that we communicate the light we find within, and help each other to climb up to the secure heights.
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We have passed through centuries of unbearable injustice and brutality, but still we return again and again with hope in our hearts. May not the long hope of a single soul prove fruitless.
the Mysterious Connection
(For all those who clearly feel this connection, the haunting mystery of life has been replaced with lasting delight. Neither church nor temple can house that direct connection which lives in every human being.)
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meditation: a new, hope-filled beginning – part 2

Meditation2
After experimenting with various meditation techniques (in one case for over eight years), I tried something that I’d never heard of. Back in those days, Sahaja Yoga Meditation was only practiced by a handful of people on my continent, having been recently introduced there. My early experiences ranged from numb but hopeful regular practice, to waves of lightness and clarity that I previously could only have dreamt of. I had been a heavy drug user, and that, combined with the fact that my subtle system had been brutally short-circuited by incompatible overdoses of questionable meditation techniques, rendered me somewhat insensitive at first. But as the weeks progressed, I realized that I had stumbled upon something universal and essential – something which I had spent most of my life digging for.
One of the many significant changes that happened to me was the strengthening of my immune system. I rarely catch a cold now (at the most, once a year), and sometimes I can feel a virus enter my body – that is, I feel a slight over-sensitivity to cold, and the right side heats up as the liver works to filter the intruder – but it doesn’t actually manifest as cold symptoms. On such occasions my attention automatically focuses at the top of the head where the important opening to collective consciousness is established after self-realization, thus helping the nurturing kundalini energy in the spine to ascend and protect the entire system. This is clearly not a ceremonial effort based on belief in a theory, but a natural reflex occurring out of inherent comprehension of specific, internal phenomena. Because I’m familiar, due to the fact that my kundalini is active, with the various sensations and effects of my inner workings through regular meditation, I spontaneously take the appropriate action, if action is needed. Simply putting a hand (presuming one feels the flow of cool vibrations from the hand) on a discomforted place can cooling wavequickly relieve the body from harmful imbalance and tension. One need not have a degree in medicine to heal many of the simple complications that trouble us. There are of course a wealth of other useful methods, but the two important things that we need to begin are the sensitivity to subtle vibrations, and frequent freedom from thoughts, both of which come naturally through self-realization (awakening of the kundalini) and regular meditation to maintain the yoga, union.
It’s no wonder that Sahaja Yoga Meditation is now practiced in over a hundred countries, and has transformed countless lives, being passed on easily and cost free from one person to another. I was fortunate to catch an early glimpse of this essential transformation, and am truly happy to say that, unlike so many things in life, the benefits of this don’t diminish – these positive changes steadily increase. Everyone is hoping there is a simple, universal secret to reaching a joyful life. There is, and it’s purposely built in to each of us, eagerly waiting to be activated and nurtured.
Meditation Research

“Happy New Year!”

Happy New Year

season’s greetings

Hi . . .
This is just a little Christmas greeting – taking an opportunity to wish you well at
a special moment in time. For some, this particular moment won’t seem significant, that is, if you find in yourself no particular reason to especially enjoy the birthday of Jesus Christ, possibly because of other religious beliefs or out of disdain for the materialistic attitudes it brings out. Personally, I also respect and enjoy the special days set aside to honor others who deserve our admiration and gratitude: Buddha, Mohammed, Nanak, Moses, Krishna, Lao Tse and the many more who came, in indescribable compassion and wisdom, to guide us on the long road.

But I take this moment to honor the universal child in us – Shri Ganesha and Lord Jesus – with the sincere hope that we may all soon enjoy the unlimited joy and clarity that only a balanced child can know. And I honor universal motherhood. There are many who look forward with dread and insecurity. When I look forward, I look also inward, and I know that there is much to be enjoyed coming our way. That’s not a hunch but a certainty. I wish for you this comforting light, not just at this moment, but for always. It’s growing in our midst, uniting and strengthening us. The road leads to inner freedom. That is the wondrous beginning.

Vibrating Sky

your horoscope for today:

Baby Elephants

beyond ego pumpering

Did you know that you have a built-in Jeeves – a compassionate and intelligent butler who can gently lift you out of any tangle? By Jove – by Jeeves – you do indeed! It’s been rumored that we are using only a fraction of our brain power. Some think that by pumping and pampering (pumpering) of the ego, we can ascend to greater heights of skill in dealing with life. This line of thought leads to a solid dead-end. The only way to unleash that vast potential is to activate a specific energy at the base of the spine, whose purpose it is to rise up and open the pearly gate at the apex of the brain, thus connecting said brain to the power that created it. The more this energy is strengthened through appropriate meditation, the more this connection is expanded, and the more our brain is enlightened. In fact, our whole nervous system then becomes increasingly aware of subtler phenomena, and the dignified genius in us generously supplies answers to life’s many complications. You don’t have to be Bertie Wooster to have access to the ideal solver-of-problems. You become your own indispensable, wise best friend.

You: “Jeeves! What on earth am I to do about this incessant mental rambling?”

Your-Own-Inner-Jeeves: “Sir?” (or “Madam?”)

“This unsolicited, unproductive thinking, Jeeves! Is there no stopping it? Is humanity to be driven off the brink of its remaining sanity by this relentless inner train?”

“There is a simple way to ascend comfortably above these disturbing trains of thought, Sir.”

“Well, out with it, Jeeves! What is this satisfying, cerebral secret that you’ve been withholding from the waiting world?”

“The answer is simultaneously simple and profound, Sir, and readily available to anyone, from any walk of life – it sleeps in each of us at the base of the spine.”

“Do you mean to insinuate, Jeeves, that my Aunt Agatha, among others, is presently sitting on the solution to mankind’s greatest problem?”

“Indeed, Sir. In fact, no single person on the planet is exempt from this common trait. Os sacrum, or hieron osteon, the ‘sacred bone’, was so named by the early Greek mystics because of the enlightening energy coiled there, necessary to connect the individual awareness to the all-pervading power that created us.”

“And you have proof that this benevolent something can free us from the noise within, thereby lifting the willing subject into a sort of golden, wise halo of silence?”

“Indeed, Sir. It is a purely natural phenomena which occurs spontaneously when this Kundalini energy awakens due to contact with the subtlest of universal vibrations, manifested, causing her to gently rise up the spine to the fontanel, thus opening the door to collective consciousness. This evolutionary breakthrough was available to very few in the past, but it seems that we have all reached an important threshold which allows anyone to ‘dance liberated into the light’, as the poet so aptly put it.”

“So you’re saying that the moment I make the magic wish to ascend beyond my miserable, human bonds, I’ll be ready to pass by a smiling cherubim radiating these fine vibes that will inevitably cause my being to lift off like a Nasa space-shuttle at the end of count down?”

“The experience is somewhat subtler than that, but you have the gist of the matter, Sir. It is the promised yoga, that is, union. May I demonstrate?”

“Demo away, Jeeves! I have cast my wish into the fountain of hope. What do I stand to lose?”

“What indeed, Sir? Place your hands, palms upwards, comfortably on your lap. You may close your eyes, and sincerely, in your heart, ask the universal Mother for your Self-realization.”

“Ask the what for my what?”

“Addressing this Kundalini energy, Sir, simply request that you may know your true, universal nature. I will expedite the process by lifting my open hand parallel to your spine to a point above your head. This will help the Kundalini to rise in response to the familiar vibrations.”

“As I’ve always conjectured, Jeeves – so you are an angel!”

“No more so than any other Self-realized person, Sir. Are you feeling anything yet?”

“I am. My goodness, you know? I really am . . . This is even better than whiskey, Jeeves. Have I lived all these years without knowing joy? I feel, well, I feel as light as a feather, as focused as a hawk, and . . . what is all this breezy coolness? It’s pouring out of my hands, and the top of my head feels like a fountain! May I open my eyes, or will it all fade like a beautiful dream on waking?”

“You may open your eyes, Sir, and I can assure you that it will not fade away. These are the Vibrations of which I spoke. They are the powerful Breath of Life which have been referred to throughout history in various cultures and religions as the Chi, Ki, Chaitanya, Prana, Ruach, Ruh, Pneuma and Spiritus, as well as the Wind of the Holy Spirit.”

“This is marvelous! Only a laughing, well-fed baby cuddling at its mother’s warm breast could know how I’m presently feeling! Who was it that rejoiced about the coming Age, calling every breeze sacred incense, Jeeves?”

“That would be Lionel Johnson in Vita Venturi Saeculi, Sir. ‘ Let green woods wave thee welcome, and blue seas laugh welcome, and each breeze be sacred incense round thee: peace appear through crystal atmosphere, impassioned, perdurable, omnipotent; given by God, not lent, foretaste of Heaven, ere heaven be all in all, come to the vexed world’s call!’

“That’s the one! Yes, I’m gushing with goodness – woods and waters – maybe a bit like those bliss-sharing Kalpa-thingy trees in the Indian proverb!”

“You must be referring to the passage from the Gyaneshwari, Sir: ‘Such men/women are the moving forests of Kalpataru trees. They are mines of wish-granting living jewels. They are vocal oceans of nectar.’ It is but one early description of realized souls, Sir.”

“All this enlightening has made me thirsty, Jeeves. Would you be so kind?”

“Certainly, Sir. Would you like your usual whiskey and soda?”

“Not today – I don’t want to come down. Bring me pure water. This new connection can use some meditative nurturing. I think someone has just answered my prayers.”

‘Holy mother, hear my prayer, somehow I know you’re still there. Send me please some peace of mind; take away this pain.’

“Shakespeare?”

“Eric Clapton, Sir.”

“Thank you, Jeeves.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Sir.”

Hear us, hear us, hear us, sweet Age to Come! Our hearts prepare thy home :-) L.J.

wireless mouse

wireless mouse

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Child of Love

Have you loved your Heart this day?
Held it like a tender Child,
Beheld pure Innocence at play,
Shared Its laughter, bold yet mild?

Have you turned your eyes within?
Seeing Goodness spread Its wings,
Breathing deep the cool, soft Wind,
Thanking Love for all good things?

Have you felt Her Lotus Hands
Carress the Child who dwells within,
Bathing It in Amrit sweet,
That flows as joy from Love’s Ocean?

Have you loved your Heart this day?
Have you sung Its Song of Bliss?

Take this moment now to pray
That we may all now share in This.

- Edward Saugstad

Earth Baby

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the Age of Woman is overdue

men as rulers – bullies of the planet – have overstayed their welcome

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/world/africa/07congo.html?th&emc=th

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/world/asia/08burn.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha1

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THE BIG BANG

Loud Sound