
I have been salivating over several images published by todd456 at zoto.com.
I think they are simply gorgeous and I am so curious as to how they were made.
Such fluidity and movement! I want to be able to do that!
Contemporary Hindu culture originated primarily with the Aryans who invaded India about 1500 B.C. bringing with them the Sanskrit language and the Vedic religion. However, for at least 1000 years prior to this invasion, there existed a culture in India about which we know very little.
The cities of the Indus river valley left no large monuments and although they did have a written language, it has not yet been translated. From some fragmentary evidence that does remain, scholars conclude this early culture contained within it many elements that were later incorporated into the Hindu religion.
The Language of Consciousness
The exploration of consciousness has developed to a remarkable degree in the Hindu culture. In fact, the Sanskrit language has shown itself to be sufficiently precise in describing the subtleties of consciousness exploration that many Sanskrit words, with no adequate English equivalents, have become commonplace in our own contemporary culture. Consider for example these terms:
asanas: postures used to stimulate flow of life-force through the body and to aid meditation.
atman: The human soul or spirit -- the essence of the inner being.
ahimsa: The doctrine of non-violence toward sentient beings.
akasha: The ether; primordial substance that pervades the entire universe; the substratum of both mind and matter. All thoughts, feelings, or actions are recorded within it.
Brahman: Hindu god who represents the highest principle in the universe; the essence that permeates all existence. Brahman is the same as atman in the philosophy of the Upanishads.
dharma: One's personal path in life, the fulfillment of which leads to a higher state of consciousness.
dhyana: The focusing of attention on a particular spiritual idea in continuous meditation.
guna: A cosmic force or quality. Hindu cosmology maintains that the universe is composed of three such qualities: satvic, meaning pure or truthful; rajasic, meaning rich or royal; and tomasic meaning rancid or decaying.
Ishwara: Personal manifestation of the supreme; the cosmic self; cosmic consciousness.
karma: The principle by which all of our actions will effect our future circumstances, either in the present or in future lifetimes.
mantras: Syllables, inaudible or vocalized, that are repeated during meditation.
maya: The illusions the physical world generates to ensnare our consciousness.
moksha: The attainment of liberation from the worldly life.
mandala: Images used to meditate upon.
nirvana: The transcendental state that is beyond the possibility of full comprehension or expression by the ordinary being enmeshed in the concept of selfhood.
ojas: Energy developed by certain yogic practices that stimulates endocrine activity within the body.
prana: Life energy that permeates the atmosphere, enters the human being through the breath, and can be directed by thought.
pranayama: Yogic exercises for the regulation of the breath flow.
samadhi: State of enlightenment of superconsciousness. The union of the individual consciousness with cosmic consciousness.
sadhanas: Spiritual disciplines. Practical means for the attainment of a spiritual goal.
samsara: The phenomena of the senses. Attachment to samsara leads to further rebirth.
siddhis: Powers of the soul and spirit that are the fruits of yogic disciplines.
soma: A plant, probably with psychedelic properties, that was prepared and used in ritual fashion to enable men to communicate with the gods.
tantras: Books dealing with the worship of the female deities and specifying certain practices to attain liberation through sensuality, particularly through the heightened union of male and female energies.
yoga: This is the Sanskrit word meaning union and refers to various practices designed to attain a state of perfect union between the self and the infinite.
Interviewer:I am still trying to wrap my mind around the concept of "time" without a direction or flow. I'm with you on the idea that motion would be impossible if there was such a thing as a static instant - but the "time" that leaves me with (without a flow) is still a bit muddy. Einstein killed off the idea of a universal "now" with his description of time depending on ones speed and relationship to gravity. Now you appear to be killing off one's individual "now" - as a neuronally induced cinematic-like illusion of a progressive present moment (aka consciousness). Where does that leave time as a concept - and our relationship with it, if it does not flow? Can you explain what you mean by "relative order of events"?
Peter Lynds: Hi and a big thanks for your interest in my work...
To try to answer your question, although there mightn't be a flow of time and there's no such thing as an instant or present moment in time in nature (i.e. they're completely subjective), there is interval in time (relative duration as indicated by a watch). If there wasn't duration between events, those events couldn't take place successively and all physical continuity, including motion and the progression of the hands of a clock or its mechanism, wouldn't be possible. As such, I think an assertion of time not existing is a bit strong, and should firstly be made with the acknowledgment of duration.
I think one must also be careful not to confuse the notion of a flowing time with a dimensional representation of time, as they are not the same things. The first is something that would actually have physical existence, while the latter is just the way in which interval in time is represented and modeled. The same applies to spatial point in nature vs. a dimensional representation of space.
In relation to relative order of events, as time doesn't flow or go in any direction, it's the order that a sequence of events take place in that's relevant, not the direction of time itself. The order of a sequence of events can take place in either one order relative to its reverse order, or in the reverse order, relative to the first. Moreover, it only makes sense to say that the order of a sequence of events take place in one order, if one firstly stipulates which direction is to be considered which. For example, the assertion that events are taking place in a forward order, could equally be said to be taking place in backward order, and the reverse said to be forward. The same for up and down, future and past etc.
Henry De Tamble is a Chicago librarian with "Chrono Displacement" disorder; at random times, he suddenly disappears without warning and finds himself in the past or future, usually at a time or place of importance in his life. This leads to some wonderful paradoxes. From his point of view, he first met his wife, Clare, when he was 28 and she was 20. She ran up to him exclaiming that she'd known him all her life. He, however, had never seen her before.I thought Niffenegger did a great job of keeping the reader oriented, considering how potentially disorienting all the flashbacks might have been. I loved getting to know Henry and Clare both. I wanted them to be happy even with Henry's curious disorder.
schlump-tu-ous adj. -- luscious, sexy, plump (as in 'full'), sumptuous
ex. "She has schlumptuous lips!"
Dragon Mood? -- stirrin' up my dragon memory
[I am at our pied-a-terre, typing this on a borrowed laptop. I'm not used to typing on a laptop, so this feels awkward. Hopefully, my words won't reflect the feeling in my fingers.]
I want to pick up my story from last Sunday . . .
One of the things that Aunt Doris pointed out to me is that for every child baptized or person confirmed in the congregation, there is a person or couple who "sponsor" that child. They promise to pray for them, to help them, to affirm them, hug them, give them rides if needed. It's a powerfully affirming dynamic because the child feels taken in, not by some impersonal entity like a "congregation," but by specific individuals who have smiles and hugs and loving care for them. The sponsors are invested in that new member, taking a very personal interest in their daily needs, general well-being and spiritual growth. It is all so very concrete; there is nothing abstract or theoretical about it. I'm sure that is not a unique dynamic for many congregations, but I must say that I've never seen it in action in such a powerful way as I did there.
The congregation is aging. Many silver, white and even blue-haired heads dotted the pews, including Doris and Hemie. The community is changing; at first, I wrote dying, but that's not true. It is definitely changing. It used to be blue-collar whites. Now, it is poor, black, Mexican and first-generation immigrant Asians. It is definitely changing.
In all my days on this earth, I don't think I've ever been in a place that embodies what the Good News is about more fully than that congregation in Port Arthur. I don't believe I've ever witnessed a group of people more clearly putting into practice what the Gospel preaches than there. It wasn't about money or power or success. It wasn't about big fancy buildings or big preacher egos or even what people wore to church. It was about people touching one another's lives, connecting with each other, caring about one another...ultimately, loving one another, plain and simple. It was also, most importantly, about sharing the love of Jesus.
On our drive to the church, Ruth and I passed two churches, churches with large buildings that were closed, empty and totally shuttered. They were churches of mainline Protestant denominations. Another church, built in the style of a "colonial" Baptist church -- white southern plantation columns and all -- had been creatively converted into a Buddhist temple with upturned corners on what had formerly been the church spire. That was quite amazing to see and just a bit amusing.
Reflecting on those closed or altered churches, it made my aunt and uncle's church all the more remarkable for its resilience and redirection. While others close, this congregation grows. While other churches' members move away to more affluent neighborhoods or simply die out, this one's members welcome young, poor immigrant children and teach them English.
I spoke to Aunt Doris the other night. I told her that my experiences there in Texas were still reverberating for me. Think slow-moving ripples across a pool of water. Is there more? I don't know.
Here are the other postings (so far) from my Texas trip:
MICHIGAN'S JOB CRISIS:
GRANHOLM: 'We must eat or be eaten'
Gov. Jennifer Granholm sounded an urgent note to the Detroit Economic Club Monday, saying the state faces a jobs crisis that can only be solved with a better-educated workforce, fairer taxes and more-aggressive pursuit of technology industries.
"We must eat or be eaten as a state," she said. "I, as governor, refuse to let us become some other country's meal."
Granholm reiterated her proposals aimed at creating jobs immediately and producing more college graduates in the long term. Highlights of her speech:
Single business tax: "Tax cuts are not the only factor to job creation," she said. "A fair tax structure is important to job growth." But, she added, taxes on manufacturers, who would benefit most from her tax change proposal, are too high.
Loss of manufacturing jobs: "We have to be honest and say those" low-skill "jobs aren't coming back," Granholm said. "We need to wake up."
Education: "Every child in Michigan must go on to college," she said. Granholm said her plan to revamp the Michigan Merit Scholarship will encourage more students to earn college degrees. She proposes paying students $4,000 after they complete two years of college.
Labor unions: Michigan should not become a right-to-work state, she said. Unions "understand the global economy. They understand the importance of making the Big Three competitive."