Bee4 & After

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2007/09/bee4-after.html


Bee4 & After

Bee4 enlightenment, chopping wood & carrying H2O
After InnLight10Mint, chopping wood & carrying H2O



candelabras Yin & Yang

Zen (Japanese: 禅), the Japanese translation for Chan (Traditional Chinese: 禪; Simplified Chinese: 禅), is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The word Chan is itself derived from the sanskrit Dhyaan, which means to contemplate deeply. The Korean pronunciation of 禪 is Seon and the Vietnamese pronunciation of which is Thiền.
Zen emphasizes dharma practice and experiential wisdom—particularly as realized in the form of meditation known as zazen—in the attainment of awakening. As such, it putatively de-emphasizes both theoretical knowledge and the study of religious texts in favor of direct, experiential realization.
The origins of Zen Buddhism are ascribed to the Flower Sermon, the earliest source for which comes from the 14th century. It is said that Gautama Buddha gathered his disciples one day for a dharma talk. When they gathered together, the Buddha was completely silent and some speculated that perhaps the Buddha was tired or ill. The Buddha silently held up a flower and several of his disciples tried to interpret what this meant, though none of them were correct. One of the Buddha's disciples, Mahākāśyapa, silently gazed at the flower and is said to have gained a special insight directly from the Buddha's mind, beyond words. Mahākāśyapa somehow understood the true inexpressible meaning of the flower. Thus, through Zen there developed a way which concentrated on direct experience rather than on rational creeds or revealed scriptures. Wisdom was passed, not through words, but through a lineage of one-to-one direct transmission of thought from teacher to student. (i did not 'know' this when i created this image~the kNOWn unkNOWn)

BlossOMs

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2007/10/blossoms.html


Bee free as the wind blows,
as the flowers blossOM,
in the unimpeded Light.
~Daitsetz Teitaro Suzuki



blossOMdahlia

Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki (鈴木 大拙 Suzuki Daisetsu, October 18, 1870 – July 12, 1966, (The Buddhist name "Daisetz", meaning "Great Simplicity", was given to him by his Zen master Shaku Soen) was a famous Japanese author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in spreading interest in both Zen and Shin (and Far Eastern philosophy in general) to the West. Suzuki was also a prolific translator of Chinese, Japanese, and Sanskrit literature.



blossOMRAflower

The Samurai class into which Suzuki was born declined with the fall of feudalism, which forced Suzuki's mother, a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist, to raise him in impoverished circumstances after his father died. When he became old enough to reflect on his fate in being born into this situation, he began to look for answers in various forms of religion. His naturally sharp and philosophical intellect found difficulty in accepting some of the cosmologies to which he was exposed.



blossOMrose

Suzuki studied at Tokyo University and simultaneously took up Zen practice at Engakuji in Kamakura studying with Shaku Soen (1859–1919). Under Shaku Soen, Suzuki's studies were essentially internal and non-verbal, including long periods of sitting meditation (zazen). The task involved what Suzuki described as four years of mental, physical, moral, and intellectual struggle. He described this life and his own experience at Kamakura in his book The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk.



blossOMZENnia

Suzuki married Beatrice Erskine Lane, a Theosophist and Radcliffe graduate, in 1911. Later Suzuki himself joined the Theosophical Society Adyar and was an active Theosophist. He and Beatrice founded the Eastern Buddhist Society; the Society is focused on Mahayana Buddhism and offers lectures and seminars, and publishes a scholarly journal. Besides teaching about Zen practice and the history of Zen (or Chan) Buddhism, Suzuki was an expert scholar on the related philosophy called, in Japanese, Kegon – which he thought of as the intellectual explication of Zen experience.
Suzuki was especially interested in the formative centuries of this Buddhist tradition, in China. A lot of Suzuki's writings in English concern themselves with translations and discussions of bits of the Chan texts the Biyan Lu (Blue Cliff Record) and the Wumenguan (Gateless Passage), which record the teaching styles and words of the classical Chinese masters. It was Suzuki's own view that in its centuries of development in China, Zen (or Chan) had absorbed much from indigenous Chinese Taoism. Suzuki believed that the Far-Eastern peoples had a sensitivity or attunement to nature that was acute, by comparison with either the people of Europe or the people of Northern India. He was also interested in how this tradition, once imported into Japan, had influenced Japanese character and history, and wrote about it in English in Zen and Japanese Culture. Suzuki also took an interest in Christian mysticism and in some of the most significant mystics of the West, for example, Meister Eckhart.
Suzuki subscribed to the idea that religions are each a sort of organism, an organism that is (through time) subject to "irritation" — hence, showing the capacity to change or evolve. It was Suzuki's contention that a Zen satori (awakening) was the goal of the tradition's training, but that what distinguished the tradition as it developed through the centuries in China was a way of life radically different from that of Indian Buddhists. In India, the tradition of the mendicant (holy beggar, bhikku in Pali) prevailed, but in China social circumstances led to the development of a temple and training-center system in which the abbot and the monks all performed mundane tasks. These included food gardening or farming, carpentry, architecture, housekeeping, administration (or community direction), and the practice of folk medicine. Consequently, the enlightenment sought in Zen had to stand up well to the demands and potential frustrations of everyday life.

KAchinas

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2008/07/kachinas.html


WarriOrrwOManCano

The KAchinas were photographed by Joe Cabaza. This one is his favorite. The KAchinas are John Isaac Antiques, 323 Romero St. Albuquerque, NM 87104-1400, 505-842-6656 KAchinas are the Spirit messengers of the Hopi Pueblo People and the spirit essence of everything. The greatest gift they bring is happiness, good health, and a long life. The Warrior Woman shown here, represents a warrior spirit. This KAchina can be a man dressed in women's clothing or a woman using men's equipment depending on the mesa where one hears the story. Despite the differences in the folktales, she is a very potent warrior. Because she is so potent, KAchina guards are often called upon to protect certain ceremonies from her dangerous presence. The background was made from a photo of light reflecting on pavement.
KAchinas (also spelled Katsina, the plural "katsinam") exist in Hopi and in Pueblo cosmology and religious practices. In Hopi, the word KAchina (Katsina or Qatsina) means literally "life bringer", and can be anything that exists in the natural world or cosmos. A KAchina can be anything from an element, to a quality, to a natural phenomenon, to a concept. Within Hopi mythology, the KAchinas are said to live on the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona. The most important Hopi KAchinas are called wuya.


WarriOrrwOManSorceress

Among the Hopi, KAchina dolls are traditionally carved by the uncles and given to uninitiated girls at the Bean Dance (Spring Bean Planting Ceremony) and Home Dance Ceremony in the summer. The function of the dolls is to acquaint children with some of the many KAchinas.


KunmingKAchina

The Zuni believe that the Kachinas live in the Lake of the Dead, a mythical lake which is reached through Listening Spring Lake located at the junction of the Zuni River and the Little Colorado River. BTW, the background 4 this KAchina was shot at Kunming Lake in China.
The Corn Dancer (shown here) is one of the most popular KAchinas for both dance and song, as well as function. He is a prayer for the fulfillment of a good corn harvest, the staple food of the Hopi. He and the other Plant KAchinas literally bring their own water to the dances because without water there would be no corn or plants, and without corn or plants there would be no Hopi.


BearCloud

White Bear Katsina is Qotsa'honaw Katsina representing leadership. Most of the Hopi Village leadership comes from the Bear clan, who are responsible for much of the Hopi Religious functions.


BearBlu

White Bear appears during the Katsina night dances in March and also during the day Katsina dances.


SpiritBear

He can be part of a group of Bear Katsinam or can appear singly with the Mixed Katsinam. They are very powerful spirit beings. The Bear Clan Kachinas are very powerful and considered to be great warriors. They are also healers, capable of curing bad illnesses.

Lillith

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2008/07/lillith.html


lillidala

LEGEND OF LILLITH

"My name thou knowest not,
and yet shall know,
And know too late.
But, know thou this indeed:
Joy is my sister. Sister I, to Death."


lillitotem

It is said that Lillith was the twin sister of Adam and dwelt with him in the Garden at Paradise. Adam was king of Eden and Lillith wished to be co-ruler with him, but the Lord of Light permitted it not. Lillith was beautiful and wise. She wearied of her brother, Adam, who was less wise than she. Lillith refused to bear children from Adam. The Lord of Light was angered and turned Lillith out of Paradise. Samuel, an angel of the Lord of Light and a son of god, fell in love with Lillith. To Samuel, Lillith bore three half-god, half-human children, all called the nephilim. Their wisdom, power and beauty was so great that the children of Darkness were afraid of them and called them monstrous names to defile them. Lillith would not be defiled.


lillith

From her beloved Samuel she learned the wisdom of the Lord of Light and became the first witch. She lived as a daughter of the night mother, calling the people to dance and be joyous by the light of the moon. Her symbol was the night owl, and those who followed her called her Arionrhod. The children of Darkness trembled and barred their doors at night seeking to protect themselves lest Lillith take them and teach them the ways of the wise ones, the witches of old.

ErinTrilogy

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2008/07/erintrinity.html


ErinTrinity

The Trinity as a Christian doctrine, states that God exists as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases (that which stands beneath), but is one being. The persons are understood to exist as God the Father, the God the Son (incarnate as Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.

Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.



YinYangTrinity

The Trimurti (English: ‘three forms’; Sanskrit: trimūrti) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahmā the creator, Viṣṇu the maintainer or preserver, and Śiva the destroyer or transformer." These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity". They are often looked at as the creator, preserver and destroyer respectively.

According to the Ayyavazhi religion the Ayyavazhi Trinity is the incarnation of God in the current stage of world development (Kali Yukam). Ayya Vaikundar, the Incarnation, is the combination of the Ultimate God, Narayana and Human Being.
The avatar (incarnation) of Vaikundar is the combination of three dimensions of God and it happens in three stages.

* The Soul - The Soul of Ultimate God
* The Spirit - The Spirit (Karana Sarira) of Narayana
* The Body - The Body of Muthukutty (Human Being)



TrinityWeb

In ancient Indo-European mythologies, various goddesses or demi-goddesses appear as a triad, either as three separate beings who always appear as a group (the Greek Moirae, Charites, Erinnyes and the Norse Norns) or as a single deity who is commonly depicted in three aspects (Greek Hecate and the cult image of Latin Diana Nemorensis, of whom Hecate is one part). Often it is ambiguous whether a single being or three are represented, as is the case with the Irish Brighid and her two sisters, also called Brighid, or the Morrígan who is known by at least three or four different names. In most ancient portrayals of triple goddesses, the separate deities perform different yet related functions, and there is no obvious difference in their ages. In Wicca and related Neo-pagan religions, the Triple Goddess is, along with the Horned God, held in particular reverence, and her three aspects are most often portrayed as being of different ages: Maiden, Mother and Crone.

ZENniaDala

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2008/07/zenniadala.html


ZENniagrey


The 360º mind does not have any preconceived notions—not even the preconceived notion that there should not be any preconceived notions. The 360º mind is open, flexible and uncontrived. It is without blocks and always change-ready.


ZENniaDala

Certain things in the world appeal to you. Certain other things don't. You have your considered opinions about different issues. You may believe there is a benign power somewhere that cares for you. You may believe it's a chaotic world without any rhyme or reason.
How you perceive the world not only tells about the world, but it is also a reflection of how your mind works. Seeing your own mind in how the world appears to you is to come full circle.

Trinitii

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2007/11/trinitii.html




Father, BrotherSun, Espiritu
Mother, SisterMoon, Espiritu

ivy

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2009/07/ivy.html





Gort (GORT), ivy - Ivy (Hedera helix L.) is also a vine, growing to 100 feet long in beech woods and around human habitations, where it is widely planted as a ground cover. Ivy produces greenish flowers before Samhain on short, vertical shrubby branches. The leaves of these flowering branches lack the characteristic lobes of the leaves of the rest of the plant. Like holly, ivy is evergreen, its dark green leaves striking in the bare forests of midwinter. Ivy is widely cultivated in North America. It is a member of the Ginseng family (Araliaceae).

TwinFlame & SoulMates

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2007/12/twinflame-soulmates.html


TwinFlame
The ultimate love union, the phenomena of spiritual twins or twin souls... two hearts that beat as one. The Love of Souls, soulmates, twinsouls, twinflames, love, divine union, sacred sexuality, reincarnation, love, relationship, sex, spirituality, metaphysical, ascension, 11:11, lightworker, soul, spirit, god, goddess. Twin souls, also called Twin Flames or Twin Rays, are the other half of your soul. This is based on the belief that we are all parts of the Divine Being, All That Is, Source, Spirit, Creator. The Divine Being, in order to experience Its Self, divided into many souls, each in turn divided into many others and many others. The final splitting of the many neutrally gendered souls created male and female halves of a whole, the Twin Soul.
It is said that one does not meet their Twin Soul or Twin Flame until they have learned many lessons of love, loss and forgiveness through close Soul Mate
relationships, that the heart is made resilient and strong through pain and loss, and must be so to face the intensity of being with the other half of their soul.
Many people who have met their Twin Soul had experienced a "Dark Night of the Soul", or a major spiritual transformation just prior to meeting, or upon meeting this soul. It's almost as if you need to be "emptied out" emotionally, spiritually and mentally as a test of your spirit. Meeting your "other half" can be a magical, maddening experience that opens your perceptions. Some experience an opening of their psychic
awareness as their heart expands in this unbounded and unconditional love. The
fact is, your life will not be the same, and whether you perceive this as a gift or a curse is the challenge of your soul's evolution. The Twin Soul connection is always a triad involving the Divine Spirit/All That Is, two people connected by soul, connected to God.
Before one can physically unite with their Twin Soul, one must do the conscious work of healing and becoming whole within their self. Twin Soul love cannot exist in a codependent, ego-based relationship, or from a perceived "need" that the other person will make you whole. Both must often face separations while they strengthen their own
connection to Spirit and find their strength and purpose on their own.
Each half will find balance in their male/female, yin/yang before union. When both halves of the Soul become strong pillars on their own, have healed and resolved karmic ties in the present life, then they can unite to fulfill their Divine purpose, but the challenges do not end. There is an intensity that can be frightening when dealing with your mirror, your weaknesses and strengths magnified, unresolved issues and wounds painfully open to push you to further healing, or cause ego to run from the relationship in fear. It's important for Twin Souls to find their greater purpose, whether it's a task they will accomplish together, or alone, there will be work to be done.
Some Twin Souls do not unite physically here on Earth, and the relationship may last a lifetime on the spiritual level alone, while one or both may be living physically with another soul in karmic agreement. Some Twin Souls other halves are not even on the Earth plane at the same time and will offer guidance and comfort from beyond as a "guardian angel".
Psychic and spiritual connection with your twin soul is intense and profound. Many experience a feeling of connection in a matrix of golden white threads of light, whether consciously or in a dream state. Some have strong psychic connection with their twin, feeling their thoughts embrace them mutually in an ecstatic place of comfort and bliss. You may feel your twin's pain and suffering in heart-wrenching anguish. Often physical symptoms are shared between twins, simultaneous nosebleeds, headaches, body aches are confirmed by both twins.
Synchronicity: the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events (as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality.
Synchronicity plays an important part in twin soul meetings... I like to say that synchronicity is God's way of getting your attention. You may find similar experiences in the same time frames before you even met, marriages, births, divorces, illnesses. You may find that you had lived as neighbors in totally different towns at some point in your lives or vacationed in the same country at the same time.
One of the most intriguing messages of synchronicity has to do with the numbers 11:11, you may find those numbers jumping out at you from digital clocks, restaurant receipts, license plates, phone numbers and such.
The appearance of 11:11 is an always beneficial act of Divine Intervention. It tells you that it is time to take a good look around you and see what is real and what is illusory. It's time to pierce the veils of illusion which keep us bound to an unreal world. You have been chosen, because you are ready, to step into a Greater Reality. To lead the way for others into a new way of living, into a Greater Love. To ascend from duality into Oneness. The 11:11 is the bridge between duality and Oneness. It is our pathway into the Unknown.
In numerology, the numbers 11 and 22 are master numbers, numbers that have their own unique meanings before being broken down into 2 and 4 respectively. In numerology the number 11 is often considered the number of the "spiritual messenger", a number of spiritual illumination signifying a channel for the information between the "higher" and "lower", a connection between conscious and unconscious, heaven and earth, yin
and yang, male and female. Two "ones" joined, that make the pillars to the heavenly gate. The vibration and message of "two into one" and "ones' into two", the power of "one" twice amplified ... this is a perfect symbol of the twin soul.
Many twin flames have experienced this phenomena of 11's in birthdates, numerology, dates of meeting and such, and constantly receive the same 11:11 messages. I believe it can only be a symbol of the greater work that twin souls have been united on this earth to do.
Meeting the "other half of your soul" is generally so life changing and profound
that Twin souls will both recognize this extraordinary bond, whether they are evolved and whole enough to acknowledge and act upon it is another thing. Meeting with your twin soul brings about an internal spiritual revolution, a deeper connection and understanding of the Divine and the Universal Oneness, this is the greatest gift of knowing your twin. Twin soul love is not to be confused with an obsessive/compulsive
disorder, it's not another, but truly a challenge to love unconditionally and without expectation, to be whole and complete within yourself before joining with the other whole and complete side of your soul. The longing and desire to be with your twin soul is intense, but through growth and perception can be seen as the greater longing to join with the Divine, and that is the true lesson, you are two halves of a much
greater whole.
When you meet your twin, there will be no "game-playing" or manipulation, you will have the need to be transparently honest in your relationship and communication with one another. If there is karma from past lives to work out between you, it will be apparent and consciously worked out. If you or your twin is committed to another relationship, you will respect and honor that bond and realize the tests of unconditional love. Meeting your twin soul challenges you to grow spiritually, heal mentally, emotionally, physically, and to see beyond time, ego, and physical limitations. You will be driven with the desire to be the best manifestation of
your soul on earth. This is not a relationship of hearts and flowers, but one that will be tested in fire and will endure beyond time and space.
I need to caution that all of these signs are not "proof" of meeting the other half of your soul, very often we are challenged by the meeting of a "near twin" or karmic soul mate that can mirror all these signs. In my own experience, the man I believed with my entire being of being my twinflame, turned out to be a karmic soul mate, and one of the most painful lessons of my life. I've come to see that there are no guarantees in life, in all our lessons we are called to learn unconditional love,
compassion and forgiveness, a meeting with a karmic soul mate can be the ultimate test of your spiritual evolution.
In other words, if we are so determined to believe that this or that certain person is our twin, we tend to become blinded to the rest of the lessons in life. Life is about love in all forms, how can we truly grow without trusting in the wisdom of the Universe to bring to us those which will teach us best? Love is not about expectation, love is without condition, but relationships on this Earth are all about conditions. I would advise anyone who believes they have met their twin, yet is in such pain from that meeting, that perhaps the time for union is not right, or that they are enmeshed in a karmic soul mate or "near twin" relationship. Only in "letting go" can we be prepared to receive what is truly ours. There are some that believe the "reunion" with our twinflame is truly within, that we carry the essence of our beloved within our soul, and we are challenged to manifest that love in all we do, without attachment, without expectation, we become ONE.


SoulMates
Soul Mates are souls we have met and lived with in many life times. They have been our lovers, spouses, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, teachers, students, friends, and family, or even our enemies, victims, or tormenters. We contract with these souls to return to earth together for greater learning and growth.
We have many soul mates, the first larger splitting of souls. These souls resonate with us and there is a comfort in that recognition. We evolve and reincarnate with these souls through many lifetimes, learning lessons in our many unions and partings, you can say on some level we are all soul mates one with another, learning and growing together. Not all these lessons are loving or comforting as lessons in forgiveness and unconditional love are challenging. Sometimes we are the "victim", and sometimes we are the "darkness" that shows another soul their light. This is where freewill and choice comes into the "game", how we react or perceive our
relationships. Someone can come into your life and cause you much pain and suffering, this is a soul contract between you to grow and evolve in love and forgiveness. This is one perception of karma, and one that will free you from the karmic cycle of "I kill you, now you kill me" type of karmic dance some souls are involved in for many lifetimes. You break the cycle by acting rather than reacting, by freeing the ego from the soul and learning to love and forgive even in suffering.
Our greatest joy and our greatest pain are both conceived in these soul mate relationships, our feelings intensified by our soul connections, whether for good or bad. You can often spot a soul mate or karmic relationship by "love at first site" or "revulsion at first site", depending upon the lessons you've contracted to learn from this soul. (http://www.harusami.com/soul2soul/twinsoul.html)