Category Archives: Ganesha

“Happy New Year!”from the Canadian/Austrian Saugstads

Brigitte Saugstad Art Exhibition

public opening in Neulengbach, Lower Austria

3 December 2022:

AND ALREADY FIFTEEN YEARS AGO!😃

(Brigitte’s first solo exhibition)

Georgio Pilla, Italian art critic
~Austrian artist Brigitte Saugstad~
(Venice, 16 January 2008)

“This artist, this charming signorina, is here to present her ceramic work.
These pieces are art in its purest form.
She takes nature and transforms it into art.
That alone should give you an idea
of her intellectual and comprehensive capacity.
But she doesnʼt rest there.
She also wants to give us the feeling of joy in form,
and so these pieces were created, beautiful, sometimes white,
sometimes colorful, a little darker a little lighter.
And when she concentrates on her favorite sport,
she gives us the ice princesses, where the body weight defies gravity.
As you can see, the skaters are quite robust,
but their whole being, the whole body, their physical form turns to poetry in her hands.
They simply float in the air, there is no weight,
only music and dance, only pleasure in contact with the frozen earth
or lifting up and away from it.
These ice dancers, when they are in the air, appear to be flying.
It looks like there is no weight holding them down.
She was able to feel this and express it in these wonderful works of art.
Look at these figures that float towards the sky.
It is truly an expression of joy, an expression of happiness, and much more.

Nature is expressed in these beautiful spheres, which are made up of nothing but little field flowers.
Look at the wonderful forms that remind me of seashells and the waves, the song the ocean sings.
We are looking at pure art; we are in the hands of an artist.
Out of a handful of earth, out of a handful of clay, life is created, because these figures are alive.
They live in her and, as they are here in front of us, they should also live in us now and in the future.
We should feel the joy and the lightness of heart that she has given us today.”

about Creativity 🌞🌱

In case you’d like to hear Edward talk spontaneously about Creativity for a few minutes (from the SY Cabella Camp!) …

PUBLIC ONLINE INTERVIEW IN CHINA
First video:
“How do you keep the inspiration flowing continuously and bring forth the new ones in your artistic works? Have you ever felt the inspiration exhausted? Can you share the secret of persisting in creation for decades?”

Second video (scroll down):
“Modern people’s creations can easily be displayed, for example, when they are posted on the Internet, they can easily receive affirmation and cyber attacks. For a creator, being criticized may hurt his creativity. How can he protect it?”

CLICK: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/NM66yrEY-pkkf1Vm3iz1Mw

HOST’S WEBSITE TEXT:

—The second chakra of the subtle system—

The abdominal chakra is the second chakra of the subtle system. In the body, this chakra provides the energy needed for the liver, spleen, pancreas, intestines and cerebral cortex to function properly. It expresses creativity and execution. This is a very important chakra: it creates all our desires on the left side, while the right channel starts at the location of the abdominal chakra. The main quality of this chakra is creativity, but this chakra also produces fat cells which, upon reaching the brain, are converted into an energy supply that helps the brain to think and process all the information it receives.

The Trait of the Abdominal Chakra is “Creativity”
The origin of all creativity is Love. Without Love, there is no creativity. When Kundalini nourishes this center, people become very creative. All great creative work has vibrations. All works of art that vibrate are held together by time. All work without vibrations is destroyed by nature and forgotten over time.

—Ten Days of Yoga—

(IMAGES – Brigitte Saugstad artworks)

She (Kundalini/Saraswati) teaches us through nature: listen to the sounds of birds, the gurgling of a creek or the thunderous roar of a waterfall, the rustling of the wind over the leaves or the forceful blowing of a canyon.

Look at the many greens in the garden, look at the sky, look at her paintings in the clouds. How many colors she uses when the sun rises over the sea or when the sun sets, enjoy her creations.

The origin of all creativity is love. Without love, there is no creativity. She holds a veena on which she plays the most beautiful music to inspire everyone.

Not only did she teach us beautiful music, but she taught us how to dance, talk, sing, write books, paint, and build. When we meditate, she exposes us to all the knowledge we can grasp.

Ganesha, Ganesha everywhere!

(My wife’s beautiful artworks ☺️)

becoming your own spiritual master

Ed leading international online meditation via Australia today

(I finally got a chance to visit Australia!😃🇦🇺🦘)

https://youtu.be/ArbfnRFbgAg

“Happy Birthday!”🌞

Brigitte and I have our birthdays just 2 1/2 weeks apart in mid-winter. Look who greeted us this year!

Brigitte Saugstad Ganesha Happy Birthday

https://goldenganeshart.com/

“Happy Festival of Light 2021!”🌞🎆

goldenganeshart.com/

what’s fresh out of the oven?…

!😃!

https://goldenganeshart.com

“Happy Easter 2021!”💐

“Happy Easter 2021!” 💐 (from us and our new ‘Family’!)
“Happy Easter 2021!” 💐 (our joyful garden Ganesha celebrating his 16th Easter with us!)

https://goldenganeshart.com

fresh out of the kiln!

🌈🌞 https://goldenganeshart.com

“Happy Valentine’s Day!💗”

https://goldenganeshart.com

https://goldenganeshart.com

“Happiness and Good Fortune, 2021!”

Wishing you all the best for the coming year!

Best wishes, Ed and Brigitte

“Merry 2020 Lockdown Christmas!”

Lots of love from Brigitte & Ed.

Here comes 2021! …

Christmas songs:

“Happy Diwali…

…with lots of Love and Light to you and yours!”

https://goldenganeshart.com/ceramic-art/

GoldenGaneshArt.com

Welcome to my wife’s beautiful new Online Shop:

GoldenGaneshArt.com

Goldenganeshart.com homepage

interview of an old Canadian pioneer sahaja yogi

MEDITATE TO REGENERATE ☺️

our open house/studio!

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drop by for a visit!

 

Sir Ed Word Designs Amazon t-shirts

In case you ever wondered if it would be possible to enjoy Brigitte Saugstad‘s beautiful statues wherever you go:
Now you can!
If you live in the USA or Europe, just visit one of the three following Amazon addresses that go to:

Sir Ed Word Designs

Pick your size and colour, and order away 😃

(new designs will be uploaded often!)

for U.K. and Europe:

DANCE AS THOUGH

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07P5ZJZ5K

I CAN DANCE

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07P16KS86

HUG ME

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07P7W7VXM

DANCE WITH ME

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PG92H2S

DANCE DANCE WHEREVER YOU MAY BE

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PM8YR9L

I LOVE SUMMERTIME

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PPK2TQX

I LOVE MY CRAZY FRIENDS

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PPXZX5W

ALL OF US HIDE A HERO INSIDE

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PS6VDL2

(gold sitting Ganesha front/back)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PR7M2P6

CHILL

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PNZ2RWK

(red-white large sitting Ganesha)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07NRVQV4W

(white standing Hanuman)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Q47QL8P

(white looking up dancing Ganesha)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Q4GF693

for the U.S.A:

DANCE AS THOUGH

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P23LKL4

I CAN DANCE

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P9WBYJ1

HUG ME

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PB1L9FN

DANCE WITH ME

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P9DK54T

DANCE DANCE WHEREVER YOU MAY BE

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PGBPKTL

I LOVE SUMMERTIME

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PSVF8QM

I LOVE MY CRAZY FRIENDS

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PPXYH7J

ALL OF US HIDE A HERO INSIDE

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PR25RL1

(gold sitting Ganesha front/back)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PN1521L

CHILL

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PSF54HK

(red-white large sitting Ganesha)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NRVQLG2

(white standing Hanuman)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q6HCGY2

(white looking up dancing Ganesha)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q4FZF6W

for Germany and Austria

TANZ ALS OB

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07NX9CPF4

ICH KANN TANZEN

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07NYBJCHS

UMARME MICH

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07PSPVJTM

TANZ MIT MIR

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07PG91SXM

(DANCE DANCE -wordless)

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07PN78YS1

I LIEBE SOMMER

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07PSVT25L

I LIEBE MEINE LUSTIGEN FREUNDINNEN

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07PR2F43N

HELD

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07PMTMBQG

(gold sitting Ganesha front/back)

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07PN15SKY

CHILL

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07PR845BJ

(red-white large sitting Ganesha)

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07PZFB5BF

(white standing Hanuman)

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07Q47RQXY

(white looking up dancing Ganesha)

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07Q8VRCVF

 

“Happy Easter!”

Behind every single resurrection there smiles the same power: Love
— may all your inner-upgrades be subtle and everlasting!

http://www.brigittesaugstad.com

“Happy Springtime 2019!”

http://www.brigittesaugstad.com

the Art of Birthdaying!

Brigitte Saugstad exhibiting at the annual ArtInnsbruck art fair, 16-20 January 2019

MORE PHOTOS AT:

https://www.facebook.com/edward.saugstad/media_set?set=a.10156147997386545&type=3

 

inner-most-child

🌺 each of us has a happy baby elephant inside 🌺

Brigitte Saugstad TV interviews – autumn 2018

(MORE OF MY WIFE’S BEAUTIFUL ARTWORKS IN TV ☺️ )

 

I Left My Heart In the Centre of the World

“Happy Diwali 2018!”
Festival of Light
🌞💗🌞💗🌞💗🌞
(benevolent grace in Greece)

If the ancient waters and coastlines could speak, what amazing tales they could tell us!

Have you ever spontaneously flown somewhere, not knowing what to expect but feeling a rare thrill rising in your heart? When my wife first heard that many of our friends were booked to fly to Greece to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Light, she took out her smart-phone and booked two seats for us.

I’d never been down to that fabled peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea, but my first impression was similar to that of India, an ancient world that I’ve had the privilege of visiting many times. This initial intuition that began when my wife came home and announced that we would soon be going there, was boosted when we eventually boarded an airliner half full of laughing, singing, childlike Indian women, all of whom had also strongly felt the calling.

My first impressions there were that everything was familiar. It was easy to get around in, like any other Western country. The freeways were almost empty and everyone seemed to drive slowly, which was very relaxing  (although it did occur to Brigitte and me that maybe due to the economic hardships the locals are experiencing, not many can afford to speed, or even to drive). Then a massive wall of dark grey-purple cloud rose up and washed the landscape clean with a brief rain. We found it to be a significant welcome for all the pilgrims showing up that weekend, and I was reminded of the ancient demigods who were believed to inhabit this land in prehistory. (Human beings, in particular one or two ‘poets’, long ago wrote perverted interpretations of these titans’ lives on Earth, lowering them to the level of incest and murder, ideas unfortunately still generally accepted today.)

My wife’s favourite thing in life is to wake up early near a beach and go for a long walk and foot-soak there. We were sheltered near the scenic end of a bay, and because it was outside of the busy summer season, there was hardly anyone around. In Greece, even the stray dogs and cats seem at peace as they stretch out beside strangers and give the impression of being completely fulfilled (when actually they’re cleverly making friends to get something to eat!). Every morning our hearts would stretch out to the distant islands and mysterious waters so our souls could consume the vast beauty and deep history around us. We attended colourful Diwali functions, enjoyed ourselves immensely with many new and old friends, and even ascended the ancient inland hills to the Centre of the World, the Navel of Creation! (Weeks later, Brigitte hasn’t lost the inspiring heart-boost that she still rides on daily.)

They say that Zeus, king of the demigods, in order to determine the centre of the world, sent two great eagles flying, one from each extreme, east and west. They met in the place that was later named Delphi. A most magical place! I really felt like I was back in India where everything began thousands of years ago, not in young Europe any more. There’s even a natural free-standing stone in the original centre of the sacred grounds, recognizable as the Hindu child-god, Ganesha, emitting amazing vibrations (light and cool).

All two-hundred-and-fifty of us felt light and joyous, many reminded of the old tours of central India that we used to go on in the nineteen-eighties. In contrast to the great subtle significance of this location, Brigitte pointed out that the manmade history was just full of ego. Pompous conquerers would display statues of their officers there to show the gods and all the world how very important they were. Even down in the so-called civilized nation-state of Athens, such a great, benevolent genius (I would go so far as to say divine messenger) like Socrates was killed by men-on-ego. And here we are, thousands of years later, repeating the same patterns in our heads, hearts and actions.

Descending back down to the twenty-first century at the end of the day, I remembered how, as a twelve-year-old child in Canada in 1970, I had suddenly been overwhelmed to write a long Social Studies essay on the Greek gods, accompanied by a hand-drawn wall mural; and in Art class I passionately attempted to carve a plaster-of-Paris bust of Socrates. I didn’t know what overcame me at that time, but now I guess it was personal insight into a higher realm of existence. Forty-eight years later I’ve breathed those essential airs and walked upon the very roots of legend that send the restless mind up into soothing meditation.

If you’ve never been to Greece, go there soon — with an open mind and heart.

Best wishes (pure desires),
Ed

Delphi:
The eternal watch of Pallas Athena

Ed initializes time warp
“Beam us up!”

One eagle from the West …

… and one from the East

Ganesha!

 

“HAPPY DIWALI!”
******************

more photos here:

https://www.facebook.com/edward.saugstad/media_set?set=a.10156077110191545&type=3

“Happy Easter 2018!”

“Happy Springtime!”
“Happy Easter!”
lots of love,
e&b

💐
(welcome back from the winter sleep)

http://brigittesaugstad.com

Ganesha for 2016!

http://www.brigittesaugstad.com

Ed’s next video~diary, March-Oct 2015

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Welcome on my journey.

Sit back and enjoy….

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Ed in Paradise

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“Feeling Happy!”

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Keep it real.

Keep it positive.

For you, in good humour….

 

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Image

if music be the food of love, play on!

if music be the food of love

one autumn evening in the Vienna Woods …

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Ganesha revisited

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My wife, perhaps a little bit like the great Goddess of old, spends her peaceful days and nights breathing life into simple clay.

Here we are sharing some of that Sweetness.

May the Earth forever smile in Her abundant Innocence.

 

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http://www.brigittesaugstad.com/html/werke2engl.html

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The Rising Son

One night along the road of life
Just as the burden of my strife
Became a load too hard to bear
There came a boon to ease my care.

It came to me upon a dream
When the pressing darkness seemed
To severe my last grasp on hope,
Leaving me in doubt to grope.

This boon appeared as a white dove
Shining light from far above,
But as it flew to where I lay
I saw only a hill of clay.

As I watched this smooth round mound
I heard a sweet and soothing sound,
And as my mood slowly improved
The living mound began to move.

A child’s body, clothed in flowers,
Radiating super powers,
Grew as if through divine charms,
With two stout legs and four strong arms.

Then to my rising surprise
There appeared two smiling eyes
And, dignified and radiant,
The head of a young elephant.

Now feeling light and filled with joy
I asked this handsome ele-boy,
“What has brought You down to Earth
With Your gifts of love and mirth?”

At first He simply read my soul
Until His gaze had made me whole.
And then He stirred and, playfully,
Crossed His legs and spoke to me:

“I have not come down to you.
If you move your point of view
You will see I’m always here,
In each heart that’s true and clear.”

Then, just as my senses cleared,
All around me I could hear
That healing angelic sound
That rose up richly from the ground.

Soon it filled my every cell
From a deep eternal well.
Finally I was at home
In the bright, primordial Om.

“Wow! How could I’ve been so near
But never feel Your Presence here?”
I asked, ecstatic by the Force
That now flowed from endless Source.

As this cool, enlightening Breeze
Dissolved my fears and doubts with ease,
I looked up and noticed that
My new Friend had donned a hat …

No, not hat, a shimmering crown,
Which shone its light now all around —
And I saw that He now grew
Making every being new.

As He expanded like a cloud
I felt proud to be allowed
To see His great magnificence
Fill the world with innocence.

Tears of gratitude I cried,
As I stood and faced the skies.
If we could all just look within
We would never fall again.

~E.E. Saugstad 2011

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creative family fun

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While our son studies art in Vancouver, Brigitte and I enjoy a new creative phase in our little Austrian village …

~click on the image to zoom in on the fun~

Brigitte.

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about Ganesha

By touching the mysterious elephant face, you will learn much that has escaped your attention until now …

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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)

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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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“Christmas greetings”

The Coming of the Three Kings

follow the star

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

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

the bully and the ghost

The Earth where we live is a very old place.
She has seen many things come and go.
From the left to the right, and right to the left,
The people have moved, fast and slow.

Here is a story about someone who’s left,
And someone who went very right.
And how, when they met, everything for them changed
And they came to the center of Light…

There once was a boy called Billy the Bull
Who walked with his nose in the air.
And when someone tried to show him their love,
He said that, “I really don’t care!”

But deep down inside Billy cared very much
And he wanted to show that he cared;
But when he was small he was hurt and abused,
And now he was angry and scared.

Every time big, bad Billy went out in the world
To find someone small to pick on,
He hid in his heart a big ocean of love,
And wished that the hate was all gone.

One lonely night, as he lay in his bed,
Billy felt he’s the worst in the world.
And as he sat up to shout out his shame,
He saw the small shape of a girl.

“What – who are you?” asked the boy in the dark.
But the little white shape hid and cried,
Till he walked ‘cross the room and sat on the floor
And told her to sit by his side.

There in the dark, on the cold bedroom floor,
Sat the bully and the white fairy.
Billy was trying to stay calm and strong,
But really he found her quite scary.

“You need not fear me”, came her quivering voice,
I’m a soul who has gone from this Earth.
When I was alive I was treated so bad
That I left, for I had little worth.”

And as she moved o’er, as if to fly off,
Billy begged her to stay and cheer up.
“Just because you were hurt, it’s no reason to die.
Why didn’t you fight and bear up?”

“You think it is better to fight like a fool?”
Asked the shimmering shape by his side.
“It is better to run and hide from the world,
Than show off your hate and false pride.”

“What do you mean? Running off is for fools!”
But before he could say any more
The room filled with golden, grand, sunny, warm Light,
And the children were filled with great awe!

Before them, a Boy with an elephant’s head
And the crown and the jewels of a king,
Stood smiling and shining like sun on a stream
With joy and sweet love o’erflowing.

“Take not to heart, all the pain that you’ve lived.
The dark ages of fear are to end.
For, coming to Earth, is the Mother’s sweet Realm.
All the wounds and dark thoughts, She will mend!”

“Little sister, fly up now and wait till you’re called.
A dear family is waiting for you.
You’ll come back, a baby in loving, warm arms
In a world with hearts clear and true!”

“And my brother, you’ve also been lonely too long.
Come with me and I’ll show you the times
That are coming to Earth, when innocence shines,
And all heart-songs, together, will rhyme!”

And up they did fly through great, wondrous dreams,
Till the whole world was laughing with joy.
Then down Billy bounced, into his soft bed,
Where he cuddled his favorite of toys.

When he awoke, with the sun in his eyes,
He looked out to see the new world.
Deep in his heart he saw, for the first time,
New hope shine for each boy and girl.

– Ed Saugstad

when common sense becomes uncommon

Ganesha’s Innocent Eye

In the morning I was down near the creek. I suddenly heard a deep, dangerous sound like a thunder clap rising out of the earth. I stood still and peered in the direction from which it came. As I watched, just eight or nine meters upstream from where I stood, rooted to the spot, an eighty year old cherry tree cracked in the middle of its wide trunk, and came ripping and crashing down onto my bank of the small river. Then all was silent and sunny again. Although it was rather a sad and shocking sight to see this old, proud member of the forest lying there, fatally broken, never to enjoy the water in her roots and sun and birds in her branches again, I understood that nature had run her course and that the saplings sprouting out of the rich earth nearby would rise up to take her place.

The same is true in the world of humans. It’s not a shame to pass away and be born again as something higher – someone richer in love and Gentle Roseexperience – but it is regrettable to shatter one’s inner foundations through frivolous free will, thereby scarring the face of future possibilities.

I recently read a reader’s short statement in a city newspaper, written by a simple, sensible woman, pleading for a move to balanced sexual relations between human beings in our modern society. It was a refreshing plea. We tend to be a society of addicts. Whatever feels good is used and abused to extremes until – like a drug whose effects we numb to, forcing us to take more to feel it – it dominates our senses and our true freedom. I imagine that this concerned citizen caught a distinct glimpse of this break down of common sense, and wondered why two people united in mutual, collectively sanctioned love, could not share this sacred and magical experience privately, without hearing and seeing the topic advertised around every corner like a circus event. Not all that is natural and personal should be hung out on your front door. There is sublime dignity, and there are deep, natural guidelines to a thriving existence, rooted inside each of us.

brokenBack in the early twentieth century, someone* came up with an absurd, twisted theory about sexual feelings between children and their parents (recently exposed as being unfounded) and certain followers of this concept, certain of their cause in making sex an open forum (in effect, watering down the potency of this special, intimate act) shouted from the roof tops that, because there are the nazi-like, or old-fashioned minded who try to repress us in our natural expression, we must run full speed in the other direction to avoid disaster. The individual and collective damage done in such a misguided venture is mostly subtle, but there appear obvious signs of weakness and decline which we tend to ignore. We, as a race, are very slow learners.

It’s time to adjust to the center and rebuild our inner foundations. The experiences of the left and the right extremes are sensational, but not sustainable, and certainly not constructive in the long term. Maybe we’re conditioned now by politics, believing that the ‘center‘ represents a sterile, diplomatic void where nothing concrete can be achieved. The inner center is actually the source of power and creativity. It is the eternal present, abundant in joy and resonant experience. It is built into our subtle beings, and easily accessible through spontaneous self-realization. There springs the love and innocence that make sex, and all other tender exchanges in a dedicated relationship, fulfilling.

Okay, we’ve tried all the cheap extremes. Now let’s get to the potent essence.

~

(*One of his students, Carl Jung, went on to discover more realistic and helpful facts about the human psyche.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5drUNviakdk

fallen

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the universal child

 

God dreamed,
And in Her dreams She saw
The Perfect Form
To reveal Her Love:

In soft
And tender, rosy limbs;
In gentle, curious,
Tickling buds;

In plump
And soothing curves that glow
With generous, happiest
Harmony;

With bright
Caressing, sunny eyes,
And ears to hear
What’s pure and dear;

With tiny,
Shiny lips and tongue
Which taste and sing
And breathe sweetness.

Into
One simplest, gracious Form,
The Best from God
Was humbly born.

And with
Each murmur, smile and wink,
The Mother’s Heart
Did bound and leap!

With each
Fumbling, curious grasp,
The Mother’s Voice
Was heard to laugh!

And when
That Child was sleeping sound,
The Mother’s tears
Of Joy ran down . . .

No flower,
No hill, nor moonlit sea
Can match that deep
Serenity.

Those soft
Eyelids, so calm in sleep,
Do lull to peace
The whole world’s grief,

As, cool
And clear, comes from Above,
That heartfelt Sigh
Of Mother’s Love.

– e. e. saugstad, 1996

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the case for Innocence

smile.jpg

Natural Innocence, like absolute Love, is the very foundation of life. It can’t be destroyed, only clouded over in one’s awareness. There are those who would accuse Innocence of being a limiting state that should be grown out of. In fact, it is of the Essence, and a priceless asset to every living thing. It is the fragrance that makes life worth living. If its light is smothered in us, we lose the vitality, the spark of joy, that fills our life with meaning.

I’ve worked on city streets and seen old children, working in the sex trade, hanging on corners with shriveled skin and hollow eyes, like burnt tree trunks in a once lush forest. There are religious organizations that would have us live in states of guilt and darkness, or of egoistical pride and fiery aggression, and the world seems to be run now by ravenous corporations bent on monetary profit at any sacrifice. Most of the daily bad news that bombards us is the result of, directly or indirectly, the decline of Innocence. But Tagore wrote: “Every child born brings the message that God is not yet discouraged of men.” We’re (still) in luck.

Innocence lives in each of us, and supports us, emanating from our Mooladhara center and our heart. We love to hear a child laugh (if we’re not too stressed); to see a puppy play, or the sun rise on a landscape, and sometimes we miss that certain something that seemed to have died in us when we left childhood. It didn’t die, and it is easily unearthed. There’s a simple experience that can be reached effortlessly by any human being, that allows that essential light to shine powerfully inside of us. It’s not a pay-for formula or a trick of the mind. It’s something built-in and it’s waiting, like a present on your birthday. It’s time to open it.

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