DANCE OF A THOUSAND HANDS

Avalokitesvara, The Bodhisattva of Compassion

Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

By: Gavin Hellier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgHmSdpjEIk

Click on, watch and be ASTOUNDED!

The synergy of creativity, imagination, spirituality and dance.

THIS MAY BE THE BEST FIVE MINUTES OF YOUR DAY.

As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart

A thousand hands will naturally come to your aid

As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart

You will reach out with a thousand hands to help others

Guan Yin

Is the Bodhisattva of Compassion,

Revered by Buddhists as the Goddess of Mercy.

Her name is short for Guan Shi Yin.

Guan means to observe, watch, or monitor;

Shi means the world;

Yin means sounds, specifically sounds of those who suffer.

Thus, Guan Yin is a compassionate being

Who watches for, and responds to,

The people in the world who cry out for help.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED...

LEONE BATTISTA ALBERTI

This Statue is located in the Courtyard of the Uffiza Gallery, Florence

ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE TERM "RENAISSANCE MAN" ?

We had to do a bit of research on this for a story-in-progress and thought it might be worth posting the first-draft excerpt (please excuse any/all mistakes, our esteemed editor is at Sugar Apple buying lunch):


RENAISSANCE MAN. Several years ago, Faye had baptized Michael with this term of endearment. She remembered the moment, as if it were yesterday. A golden autumn afternoon. The uniquely sweet-vinegar smell of over-ripe grapes from the Viticulture Lab filled the air at the University of California. Michael and Faye had just listened to another riveting ancient history lecture by the colourful and passionate Spirodakis, a favorite professor on campus. He was so popular that history classes were held in 194 Chem, to accommodate his almost celebrity-status following. Spirodakis possessed an exceptional and rare gift. He could make those long dead become vibrantly alive.

“Leone Battista Alberti. Anyone recognize his name? Anyone?”

The massive amphitheater-shaped classroom, not an empty seat available, suddenly became quiet as a tomb.

Spirodakis continued, “Leone Alberti. Ahhh! How I admire this rather spoiled-bastard-orphaned son of one of the most influential and wealthy bankers in Venice. Born on a cold February morning in 1404, Leone would live for 24,820 days. His unmarried mother would die of bubonic plague. His father, an honorable man, made sure Leone received the best education available to an Italian nobleman. At an early age, Leone’s athletic prowess and precocious intellect became legendary. Stories record his ability to, with feet together, jump over a man’s head.” Spirodakis attempted a long-jump maneuver across the stage before returning to the microphone, “He was a superb horseman and studied music with a master. In a mere lifetime of sixty-eight years, Leone became an accomplished athlete, superb horseman, musician, artist, writer, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, cryptographer and Renaissance humanist polymath. Whew!" Spirodakis dramatically wiped his brow.

"In case you were wondering, ‘polymath’ comes from the Greek word: Polumathes, quite literally meaning ‘somebody with much learning.’ Leone stood out from the crowd. He was a mover and a shaker, part of the Humanism Italian Renaissance Cultural Movement who believed in a system of thought that is based on the characteristics, values and behavior that are believed to be best in human beings, rather than on any supernatural (religious) authority. Leone Battista Alberti is The Original Renaissance or “universal man.”

Spirodakis paused and sipped from his famous coffee cup that lived on the lectern. He looked up, scanning the highest levels of the amphitheater,

“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Modern World. Your assignment, if you should decide to accept it…this might be MISSION IMPOSSIBLE…is to consider, ponder, analyze and philosophize on this question:

Is it possible, in today’s world, 1975, to be a Renaissance Man or a Renaissance Woman?
What might Leone think of a Renaissance Woman!?!
The assignment is to be legible, due next Thursday.”

The classroom erupted into the organized chaos of student departure. Everyone waited before opening the two sets of double doors at the very top of the stairs. They waited to hear Spirodakis joyfully command: “Carpe Diem!”

DRAGONFLY MEDICINE

A MODEL OF A DRAGONFLY IN A WIND TUNNEL.
SHOWS THE PATTERN OF AIR PASSING OVER THE INSECT.
By: PAUL CHESLEY

Last night, very late, the lamps were still burning in the MUSEologies Studio. I walked by the wall of French windows and some very small thing caught my eye. Against the black of a thunder-cloud night, on the white ledge, sat one lone Dragonfly peering in the window. It must have been drawn to the light, as it was very still. Crouching down, I put my nose to the window, and we were eye-to-eye. The Dragonfly did not fly off but made the smallest movement as if to look at me. The eyes were an iridescent green-blue-gold. We looked at each other for several seconds. I whispered, “What are you here to tell me?” The Dragonfly just kept looking at me. I laughed and felt such a sense of peace, such a sense of awe for the magnificent moment of a dragonfly sitting, companionably, at my window on a sleepless night. I don’t know how long we sat together. Gracefully, the Dragonfly shifted, as if to judge air currents, and disappeared.

Immediately, I went in search of one of my favorite Native American reference books, Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson. I had forgotten the teachings of the Dragonfly. When I read the word ILLUSION, I chuckled. It was not a coincidence that Dragonfly had decided to pay me a visit.

DRAGONFLY: ILLUSION
Written by Jamie Sams and David Carson

Dragonfly medicine is of the dreamtime and the illusionary façade we accept as physical reality. The iridescence of Dragonfly’s wings reminds us of colors not found in our everyday experience. Dragonfly’s shifting of color, energy, form and movement explodes into the mind of the observer, bringing vague memories of a time or place where magic reigned.

Some legends say that Dragonfly was once Dragon, and that Dragon had scales like Dragonfly’s wings. Dragon was full of wisdom, and flew through the night bringing light with its fiery breath. The breath of Dragon brought forth the art of magic and the illusion of changing form…Dragonfly is the essence of the winds of change, the messages of wisdom and enlightenment, and the communications from the elemental world. This elemental world is made up of the tiny spirits of plants, and of the elements air, earth, fire and water. In essence, this world is full of nature spirits.

Dragonfly Medicine always beckons you to seek out the parts of your habits which you need to change…Have you tended to the changes you have wanted to make in your life? If you feel the need for change, call on Dragonfly to guide you through the mists of illusion to the pathway of transformation. See how you can apply the art of illusion to your present question or situation, and remember that things are never completely as they seem.

WHICH WOLF WILL YOU FEED TODAY?

Plenty Coups, Chief of the Crows
Photographed in 1907-08 by Norman A. Forsyth

A TEACHING WITH TIMELESS MEANING

A fairly long time ago, we posted this story. Today, after a morning filled with the unpleasant, stress-inducing white noise of media negativity, we stumbled upon the message of Plenty Coups in the file. Allow it to drown out all the pessimistic, nonconstructive, even painful ‘hits’ that bombard you today. Consciously, this can be a real challenge…a REAL challenge.

Monday Mornings can be brutal. For that matter, any morning can start with a hellish dose of sensationalistic, panic-inducing TV, howling radio commentators with voices worse than fingernails on a chalkboard or newspaper headlines held captive by the living-dead edited by grim reapers on Quaaludes. Well, it’s enough to send any semblance of a happy mood or positive attitude swirling down into the negative toilets of the mind.

TAKE CONTROL.

Call upon your inner, positive warrior-spirit. I, for one, will have to make a concerted effort today to discover and focus on the beauty, kindness, compassion, generosity, and hope that exists in our world. As I write this, I feel a sense of deep embarrassment rising from my core consciousness. How spoiled am I? Sitting here at a computer, with every imaginable technological convenience within reach. A fresh cuppa’ delicious coffee sends soft tendrils of steam into the fragrant air. A magnificent view of swaying palm trees and thunder clouds sweep past the second-floor window. The world IS filled with magic.

OH, POISONED MIND: DRINK THY HEALING POTION!
FEEL thy Magic. HEAR thy Song! SMELL thy Wonder!
SEE thy Beauty! TASTE thy elixir of Life!

Thank you Plenty Coups. Because of your message, my angry wolf has fallen into a gentle sleep, his head on my bare feet. The day is before us – all things are possible.

WHICH WOLF WILL YOU FEED TODAY?

Plenty Coups, Chief of the Crows, looked into the expectant faces of the children; their cheeks flushed from the warmth of the sacred fire that crackled and sparked throwing great shafts of amber light into the night. Plenty Coups looked deeply into the golden crystal flames as he spoke from his Heart Power:

“Yesterday, I saw a wolf watching us intently from the cover the great forest. Did you know he was there?”

The children silently answered with positive nods of their heads. The wise Chief continued,

“A fight goes on inside me. It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self pity, guilt, racism, sexism, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and belief.

The same fight is going on inside of you as well as inside of the white man and every other person you will meet in your lifetime.”

The children thought about this for a moment and then the smallest child, granddaughter of the great chief, respectfully asked,

“Which wolf will win, Grandfather?”

Plenty Coups simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Postscript: Plenty Coups was called “Chief of Chiefs” by his people, The Crow Nation. He was one of the last traditional chiefs and their first modern leader. A Montana state park is named in his honour.

COURAGE, STRENGTH, CONFIDENCE

Wing Plumage of a Great Egret

Everglades National Park, Florida


Remembering September 11th


"The next time you feel frightened and fragile,
Stand very still.
If you do,
You might feel the tip of an angel's wing
Brush against your shoulder."

-Sarah Ban Breathnach-