Uppercase Urban Ambles

A long time ago, before we arrived, the stage was all set for matter alive. Each one a rung on the spiralling stair, we all belong in each other’s care.

Namaste, and sincere greetings to all readers. Last weekend, Amanda was back in the capital, on business. With a blog post in mind, she rose with the dawn to take these pics while the streets were free from the morning throngs. And what a beautiful day it was, which seems quite providential when you think about it, because since the weekend we find ourselves scudding through April monsoons once again.

Here in this ancient city, we walk on roads old and new. Here things that came into existence a long time ago endure alongside things now becoming. If this place should stand come two millennia hence, I wonder how much, if any of what we see today will remain.

We belong to our time, as the builders of the wooden ships that sailed from here belonged to theirs. They too walked on roads old and new. If we were they, would we do things differently?

Fortunately, it doesn’t matter, because metaphysical speculation doesn’t increase knowledge. And none of us here are qualified to judge the soul of any other, even though we may taste perforce the rotten fruits of their ignoble labours. However, the divine gift, freely given at birth, which is the knowledge of right and wrong, unites us more intimately with the hearts of our noble ancestors than do all the handmade things they left for us to own, no matter how greatly valued, or even useful they are.

We know only too well the wrongs that were committed by certain ancestors, for we are charged with fixing them. While we observe the blind leading the blind to perdition, divine honour gently reminds us to work hard at keeping our personal lives clean, and above all, blameless. And to know that no matter how painful and difficult our individual lives may be, we are charged with the duty to say no when we are called upon to hurt, steal, cheat, lie and kill. It is as easy as that, where is the confusion?

I love the lonely palm tree, flourishing in exile, and reminding the riverbank of long ago, in a very different time, when lions and crocodiles were familiar feeders around here.

We want to express our gratitude to all who enjoy dropping by, there will be more photos taken during that morning in the big city coming soon. Until then, take care of your thoughts, strive to keep a light heart, and keep in mind at all times the fact that you are a child of the divine creation, no matter what anyone ignorant of this self-evident fact might believe.

Peace from Amras.

Willing to experience aloneness, I discover connection everywhere;
Turning to face my fear, I meet the warrior who lives within;
Opening to my loss, I am given unimaginable gifts;
Surrendering into emptiness, I find fullness without end.
Each condition I flee from pursues me. Each condition I welcome transforms me
And becomes itself transformed Into its radiant jewel-like essence.
I bow to the one who has made it so, Who has crafted this Master Game;
To play it is pure delight, To honor it is true devotion.

~ Psychotherapist Jennifer Welwood.

Photography ©Amanda Moloney.

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Crystals En Regalia

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Namaste, and greetings. This post is a simple tribute to the beauty of crystals. All the above pics were taken in 2004, using an early digital camera. As flowers grow from soil, crystals grow from stone. Crystals remind me of the parable of the lilies of the valley,  “Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.…”

When we ponder the many ways that crystals come into being, we can gain insights that will enhance our appreciation for all of creation. From atoms to devas, to crystals, to rainbows, to galaxies, to angels. We stand in the very centre of infinite creation. We are one with all, and all is one with us. According to Rudolph Steiner, the world is crystallised from the consciousness of the highest angelic beings, who give off their energetic and etheric substance to form the matrix of all things on earth.* So with all these deep connections that the intuitive mind makes when pondering the world within, and the understanding of how minerals, with their perfect atomic geometry, are connected to the workings of our bodies, our appreciation of the great divine mystery, felt deeply within the silence of our central selves, is enhanced with ever more heartfelt appreciation and gratitude.

Since our previous post, Amanda, Luke, and I were stricken with the latest flu strain that is rampaging everywhere. They have more or less recovered now, and I, despite all odds, am recovering rather well too. It felt for me like a mini dose of salmonella; so I do hope sincerely that no reader suffers the same. Take good care everyone.

Until next time, Peace from Amras.

“I forgive everything, everyone, every experience, every memory of the past or present that needs forgiveness. I forgive positively everyone. I also forgive myself of past mistakes. The Universe is love, and I am forgiven and governed by love alone. Love is now adjusting my life. Realizing this, I abide in peace.”

Charles Fillmore.

*Quotes from older posts in our Crystal Therapy category: ‘Crystal Minerals And The Body – Part 2’ and ‘Crystals Require More.’ In case anyone noticed, by the way, this posts title was inspired by Frank Zappa.

Photography ©Francis Moloney.

 

The Freshly Waxed Sled

We were treated to a heavy snowfall. It stayed for a week, but now is gone. It was a nice lead up to the seasonal festival here in the hills, where the soundless blanket of frozen crystals fell from the air. It seemed as if we were living in a scene from a Christmas card.

I am old enough to remember snowfalls that almost completely buried the houses where I lived, and which endured for many months. Temporary ski slopes were created in the unlikeliest of places, and I used to go sledding almost every day. Most of the roads were impassable for traffic, so walking to school and back was akin to embarking on an arctic expedition, which came complete with freezing flurries, and howling winds. Also ambushes, and pitched snowball battles with rivals from other schools. That was 62/3. Winters have never been so good since.

One day, I was having a go on my best friend’s freshly waxed sled on the street where he lived. Face first, and like a torpedo, I flew down the hill unstoppably towards the junction at the end, accompanied only by the cold wind singing in my ears. The road down there must have been gritted that morning, because I realised suddenly as I cleared the street, that my head was about to collide with the front wheel of a moving car. He must have been the first driver on that road in months. I just glimpsed the shock on his face, when at the instant his wheel should have crushed my head, I was lifted up by the collar of my coat, still clutching the sled, and was placed standing safely on the side of the icy road. This all happened in the blink of an eye. Thinking that my friend had somehow rescued me, I turned and shouted a heartfelt thanks, but there was nobody there. My friend was a quarter of a mile away. The car slid to a halt, and the driver got out. He said nothing, just gawked at me in what looked like complete disbelief, tinged perhaps with a little bit of fear. Cognitive dissonance, I suppose. Then he drove away, and I never saw him again.

My friend was greatly puzzled, but after an excited debriefing session, we agreed that for us, angels are proven, and nothing would ever take that knowledge away from us. We were nine.

Countless, I’m sure, are the numbers of people, who have, and who will experience such things, and although we live in a world that prefers us to keep it all to ourselves, we will alway know what is really true – and so will our angels. And that has to be a blessing.

I wish you all a blessed Christmas, and a safe and holy season in the arms of the giver of life. Let us remember in our hearts, all those who will not have it so good, and perhaps find time to reflect on the ebb and flow of things that cannot be quantified by any organ other than the heart.

On the Eve of the Winter Solstice, Peace from Amras.

Soundlessly they go,
the herons passing by:
arrows of snow
filling the sky.

― Yamazaki Sōkan (1464-1552), loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Die Gedanken Sind Frei.

Greetings to all. I’ve been meaning to post this pic for quite a while. I took it in 2005, after the fish had waited, posing this way for me these last several million years. How boldly a fish swims. Alone they prosper in the great and wild ocean, never fearing for a moment that they might drown. I added the colours to lend them an appearance of life; though that big one looks to me like he could still take your finger off.

It seems, in a way,  ironic that leaderless creatures as humble as these can leave so permanent an impression of their ancient lives on this earth. In a world dominated by thought, if fish could be said to think, I think it might be fair to say that they think for themselves.

With that said, I think will wrap it up again for this time. I hope you enjoyed your visit. I am on the better side of a bout of flu right now, and looking forward to feeling fewer unpleasant sensations in a day or so. Wish me luck. Namaste and Peace from Amras.

I think as I please
And this gives me pleasure.
My conscience decrees,
This right I must treasure.
My thoughts will not cater
To duke or dictator,
No man can deny —
Die gedanken sind frei.

~ German 16th-century peasant song (revived as a protest anthem against
the Nazi regime)

die gedanken sind frei
(“thoughts are free”)

Photography ©Francis Moloney.

Closer They Flew

People in this world must make their own sunshine. Discouragement too often overtakes those whose lives pass in the petty details of common-place existence.

Of all things, when the mood of discouragement overtakes one, he should think of anything and everything else than his own troubles, and more than this, should take measures at once to follow new currents of thought and feeling.

Sometimes the mood is merely the result of bodily conditions; and requires for its cure sleep, or exercise in open air, or change of diet, or a simple waiting until it passes away of itself. When it springs from causes not connected to the body, then the cure must be spiritual or intellectual.

An interesting novel, visitation among the poor, constant intercourse with fresh minds, change of scene, travel, the study of a science new to the patient, anything that will absorb the brain and keep it from consuming itself is good medicine.

The world is full of sunshine and beauty. “It is meet, right, and our bounden duty,” that we should open our hearts to all the soothing, healing, invigorating influences of the sky that bends over us in unchanging love, the balmy air, the happy chirp of innumerable insects, the ten thousand voices with which nature speaks to him whose ears are opened to receive her gentle teachings.

“Sunshine And Culture” from The “Summerland Messenger” 1875.

I manned my freshly repaired stair-lift, and made my way downstairs. Then, I stood outside, propped by two sticks, and felt the wintry sun shining on my face. Emmie, our faithful greyhound, sauntered up, and leaned gently against me.

High up, above the chestnut trees,  many figures were seemingly engaged in a fierce dog-fight. Closer they flew, until I could see that eight crows were harassing a very large hawk.

Closer yet they flew, until they were directly overhead. At this point, six crows departed, leaving two, who corralled the hawk even closer to view. I could count his feathers almost. Suddenly the crows headed for the trees, and the hawk, set free, soared away westward.

What a time to leave my camera indoors.

 

With that, I would like to thank all readers who enjoy this site; and a special thank you to Jay, for your patience and selfless kindness. (In return, I would like to ask for any reader who may feel so inspired, to say a little prayer for Jay.)

My health, perforce, is keeping me a little preoccupied, which is why I haven’t been blogging much of late. So I hope at least to create quality for you (if not quantity.)

 

The pic, “Guardians” was inspired by the story above, I hope you like it.

 

In The Name of The Universal Declaration of World Peace ~ Namaste from Amras.

 

 

 

Artwork ©Francis Moloney.