Daily meditation Friday 31st of July 2009

"Young people, who are naturally curious and daring, are never afraid of launching into all sorts of experiences that may mar their physical and psychic health. And when their parents and other adults wiser than themselves try to restrain them, they say these people are narrow-minded, limited bigots, who want to prevent them from experiencing what life is all about. What life is all about… The young aren’t aware there are other experiences they must have in order to know true life. Or if they are aware, it’s enough for them that others, such as philosophers, mystics and saints, have had these experiences… They admire these people, they even quote them, but there’s no question of their imitating them. They prefer to imitate all those who have scorched their wings. Is this reasonable? When it’s a matter of the deplorable experiences of all manner of people who have come to a sticky end (literature and history are full of them), wouldn’t it be better to make do with quotations and, instead, try to relive the experiences of those exceptional beings who have shown us the path to heaven?"

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Thursday, Jul. 30

Even if our efforts of attention

seem for years to be producing

no result, one day a light that

is in exact proportion to them

will flood the soul.

Simone Weil

Daily meditation Wednesday 29th of July 2009

"Everything that exists in the universe, from stones and plants to the archangels and God himself, yes, everything that exists in the universe exists also in human beings. Even in our physical body, all the elements of creation are present. Nothing is missing, and that is why we are capable of limitless progress, and nothing can stop us.
In order for us to achieve this progress, there is one condition we must fulfil: we must work on our own matter, our psychic matter as well as our physical matter, so as to purify it and make it supple, malleable and vibrant, until it becomes capable of expressing the divine world. And in this way, we will one day manifest fully as we are on high in the divine world, in our higher Self."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

Daily meditation  Tuesday 28th of July 2009

"If you know how to observe yourself, you will notice your emotional life is largely composed of subtle exchanges and that it’s these exchanges that nourish you. When you leave home in the morning you meet men and women for whom you feel friendship, liking or admiration. You greet them, they return your greeting and you are happy. These exchanges are made through the intermediary of your heart, mind, soul and spirit.
You say you don’t have much opportunity to meet men and women in person who inspire these feelings of friendship or admiration in you… Does that really matter? You can hear them on the radio or see them on television. And there are also the books you read, the music you listen to, the works of art you gaze at in wonder. Are these not also exchanges made with other creatures? Through their masterpieces, artists give you something, and you give them something in return with your admiration and love. Of course, many of them are dead, but their soul and spirit, which created these masterpieces, are immortal, and you continue to communicate with them."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Tuesday, Jul. 28

Gratitude unlocks the fullness

of life. It turns what we have

into enough, and more.

Melody Beattie

Daily meditation Monday 27th of July 2009

"Taking the path to the heights is the only way to win our freedom. And taking the path to the heights means trying to accomplish the will of God at every moment of the day. Freedom does not exist without submission to God, to the One called ‘the Almighty’ in the Psalms, who is Power, Wisdom and Love.
By separating themselves from the Creator, consciously or unconsciously, humans believe they become free: in fact they become the slaves of lower entities that have an interest in seducing and then controlling them, like the serpent that caused Adam and Eve to leave paradise. For what Genesis calls ‘the serpent’ is a symbolic expression used to designate a whole category of malevolent beings that had rebelled against God and then wanted to drag human beings into their rebellion. Now, in order to regain our freedom, we must link ourselves to those luminous entities that remained faithful to the Lord: they will help us to resume our path towards the summits."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Monday, Jul. 27

The greatness of a community

is most accurately measured

by the compassionate actions

of its members, a heart of

grace, and a soul generated

by love.

Coretta Scott King

Daily meditation 26th of July 2009

"A blessing is a ritual whereby objects and beings are placed under the influence or protection of heaven, and it still holds an important place in religious ceremonies. Of course, we can question how effective this practice is. In reality, it depends on the person giving the blessing and, when the recipient is a human being, on the person receiving it.
The word ‘blessing’ means to say ‘good things’, in the sense of saying words that bring about good. A true blessing is therefore an act of white magic, and those that make this gesture must be pure, disinterested and master of themselves, otherwise it’s just a farce. As for those that receive this blessing, they must at least be receptive, they must want to improve themselves and work for good. If these conditions are not fulfilled, the blessing is useless. In spite of that, it is still good to keep this ritual, in the hope that one day, as humans become conscious of its significance, the words and gestures used will become effective."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

Daily meditation  Saturday 25th of July 2009

"The initiates of India have summed up the work of man’s identification with the Deity by the formula ‘I am He’. This means that only He, the Lord, exists; I, myself, do not exist, or I only exist as his reflection or shadow. As long as human beings do not know their true reality, they identify with their physical body, with their thoughts and feelings, not knowing that these are not the true reality. It is this ignorance that keeps them in weakness and illness.
No human being exists as a separate creature: we are part of the Lord, who alone possesses an independent existence. God alone exists, and we are a projection of him. So, when we say, ‘I am He’, we link ourselves to him, we draw closer to him until the day we become like him. For thousands of years, history has handed down the testimony of those beings that have succeeded in identifying with the Lord, and they have received light, they have received true powers, they have tasted ecstasy."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Saturday, Jul. 25

Spring passes and one remembers

one's innocence. Summer passes

and one remembers one's

exuberance. Autumn passes

 and one remembers one's

 reverence. Winter passes and

one remembers one's perseverance.

Yoko Ono

Daily meditation Friday 24th of July 2009

"To be rich… Of course, who doesn’t long for wealth? Only, it’s not so advisable to seek material wealth, because when you do so you are always obliged to a greater or lesser degree to drive out a neighbour or competitor, or even to act dishonestly. The earth is limited; space is limited; resources are limited; so people always become wealthy at the expense of others. And who can say whether they’ll ever feel truly fulfilled?
So don’t look so much for earthly riches. Look towards heaven: it is so vast, immense and infinite! You will always be able to draw from its wealth, you won’t diminish this immense, inexhaustible ocean by a single drop; you will damage no one’s interests. And once you have become rich, even if you distribute these spiritual riches to others, you will not become poorer; you will always live abundantly."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Friday, Jul. 24

A thankful person is thankful

 under all circumstances.

A complaining soul complains

even in paradise.

Baha'u'llah

Daily meditation 23rd of July 2009

"In Bulgaria, the Master Peter Deunov asked us not to throw away the stones from the fruit we had eaten but to plant them. And I advise you to do the same. If you don’t have a garden, plant them wherever you can, it doesn’t matter where. The important thing is to realize that a kernel is a creature that needs to give birth to the living seed it carries within itself; it suffers when its seed is kept imprisoned in wood, where it will perish for lack of a favourable terrain, when all it asks is that it may continue to live.
Of course, all kernels that are placed in the earth do not give birth to trees, but the main point of this exercise is to make you more and more aware of the fact that you have other kernels within you to plant: ideas, thoughts and feelings. When these produce fruits, not only will you live in abundance, you will be able to feed lots of creatures."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Wednesday, Jul. 22

Jesus invited his hearers

to see reality as characterized

by a cosmic generosity.

Marcus J. Borg
Conflict, Holiness, and Politics

Daily meditation Wednesday 22nd of July 2009

"You encounter a difficulty, an inconvenience, someone has annoyed you, and so on: instead of giving way to irritation or discouragement, try using the power of a smile.
‘The power of a smile?’ you ask. ‘What do you mean? Smile at other people?’ No, not necessarily. ‘Well, what, then?’ Even if you are alone, try smiling, simply to show you are above all difficulties. Tell yourself that deep down you are invulnerable, immortal and eternal, and when you pass a mirror give yourself a smile… This smile will perhaps be a bit of a grimace at first, but that doesn’t matter, it’s a start! Once you’ve decided to be in a good mood, you will succeed in overcoming your irritation more easily."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Tuesday, Jul. 21

To live content with small

means; to seek elegance

rather than luxury, and

refinement rather than fashion....

In a word, to let the spiritual,

unbidden and unconscious,

 grow up through the common.

This is to be my symphony.

William Ellery Channing

Daily meditation Tuesday 21st of July 2009

"What is the present? A time to benefit from the past and anticipate the future. But, for a spiritual person, the past and present are not just any past and any present. By ‘the past’ I mean only what belongs to that authentic tradition whose essential principles have been transmitted intact since time immemorial. And the future means all the new elements of universality that will be added to this tradition. For the future, the real future, will be one that is moving toward universal, fraternal values.
Spiritual people must therefore live in the present, with all they have acquired from the past, but at the same time they must launch themselves into the future, with all the immensity of their soul and all the power of their spirit. That’s what we can call a rich, fulfilled life."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Monday, Jul. 20

A problem is a chance for

you to do your best.

Duke Ellington

Daily meditation Monday 20th of July 2009

"In order to attract angelic beings and keep them with us, we must create a very pure atmosphere around us. The most favourable moment to do this work is at sunrise.
The sun gradually changes colour as it climbs above the horizon. It is red when it first appears, then orange, then yellow, and depending on the quality of the air, it can also take on subtle hues of green, blue and violet. And finally it becomes incandescent white. As it rises in the sky, the sun sings the whole range of colours, and each one emits a sound. So, what a symphony there is when it reaches dazzling white! In this symphony, in these great bursts of light, our aura is purified and strengthened and vibrates more intensely; it sends out signals to angelic beings, who feel they’re being invited to a celebration. They rush to take part and, like all guests invited to a party, they bring presents with them."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Sunday, Jul. 19

Not only is another world

possible, she is on her way.

On a quiet day, I can hear

her breathing.

Arundhati Roy