Which do you think you belong to ?

I was surfing the web one day when I accidentally came upon this site Indigo Life Center. At this point, I am not sure what I was looking for when I chance upon above said site. Anyways, why I thought it was interesting was that some of the stuff it has mentioned describes so much about the way I behaved when I was little (10 years old). I'll clip some of the information I am talking about and leave it below this. (Note : The information available below was clipped from Indigo Life Center )

Indigo Adult Characteristics:
* Are intelligent, though may not have had top grades.
* Are very creative and enjoy making things.
* Always need to know WHY, especially why they are being asked to do something.
* Had disgust and perhaps loathing for much of the required and repetitious work in school.
* Were rebellious in school in that they refused to do homework and rejected authority of
teachers, OR seriously wanted to rebel, but didn’t DARE, usually due to parental pressure.
* May have experienced early existential depression and feelings of helplessness. These may
have ranged from sadness to utter despair. Suicidal feelings while still in high school or
younger are not uncommon in the Indigo Adult.
* Have difficulty in service-oriented jobs. Indigos resist authority and caste system of
employment.
* Prefer leadership positions or working alone to team positions.
* Have deep empathy for others, yet an intolerance of stupidity.
* May be extremely emotionally sensitive including crying at the drop of a hat (no shielding)
Or may be the opposite and show no expression of emotion (full shielding).
* May have trouble with RAGE.
* Have trouble with systems they consider broken or ineffective, ie. political, educational,
medical, and legal.
* Alienation from or anger with politics – feeling your voice won’t count and/or that the
outcome really doesn’t mattter.
* Frustration with or rejection of the traditional American dream – 9-5 career, marriage,
2.5 children, house with white picket fence, etc.
* Anger at rights being taken away, fear and/or fury at “Big Brother watching you.”
* Have a burning desire to do something to change and improve the world. May be stymied
what to do. May have trouble identifying their path.
* Have psychic or spiritual interest appear fairly young – in or before teen years.
* Had few if any Indigo role models. Having had some doesn’t mean you’re not an indigo,
though.
* Have strong intuition. * Random behavior pattern or mind style – (symptoms of Attention
Deficit Disorder). May have trouble focusing on assigned tasks, may jump around in
conversations.
* Have had psychic experiences, such as premonitions, seeing angels or ghosts, out of body
experiences, hearing voices.
* May be electrically sensitive such as watches not working and street lights going out as
you move under them, electrical equipment malfunctioning and lights blowing out.
* May have awareness of other dimensions and parallel realities.
* Sexually are very expressive and inventive OR may reject sexuality in boredom or with
intention of achieving higher spiritual connection. May explore alternative types of
sexuality.
* Seek meaning to their life and understanding about the world May seek this through
religion or spirituality, spiritual groups and books, self-help groups and books.
* When they find balance they may become very strong, healthy, happy individuals.

Please note, anyone could have a few of these traits, but Indigo Adults have most or all of these 25 characteristics.

MORE ADULT CHARACTERISTICS:
First Wave Indigo Profiles

These are some of the qualities and challenges that First Wave Indigos experience.
Most Indigos can relate to at least 90% of this list .

~ Were born en masse (about 62%) between 1969 and 1987 (With stragglers before and after – 30% were born in the 50’s).~ Highly intelligent in their “Own Way.”~ Are literally “wired differently” than other people.

~ Know in their heart and core that they are here “on a mission” but many don’t remember what that is or how to go about it.

~ Have an inner awareness that what is being taught in churches and schools is NOT accurate and know there are hidden agendas around the lies that are being accepted by the masses as “Truth.” This is extremely frustrating but inspires them to uncover the cover-ups and expose The Real Truth!~ Have a strong sense of truth, ethics, justice and freedom. (That is why “authority figures” many times irritate and frustrate them). When these are in jeopardy, will give their “all” for their cause, and many times feel they would rather die than give-in to tyranny and deception.

~ Many have strong or unusual Psychic and Telekinetic abilities.

~ Have extraordinary levels of compassion.~ Have purple/UV as their favorite color or see it in their dreams.

~ Have an affinity to Knights, Castles, and Dragons.

~ Shut down psychic abilities because it scares people.

~ Feel like they could be one of the characters on the 1980’s television series “The Misfits of Science” or one of the young people in Xavier’s school for the gifted in the recent movies from the comic books “The X-Men.”

~ Many times get along better with animals and nature than people.

~ Have a bond/connection to the trees, and nature in general.

~ Can relate well to children and or the elderly

~ Feel very comfortable lounging, and would rather sit on the floor on a pillow than in a hard, uncomfortable chair. (Would prefer sitting on the floor in school, and business meetings if they could get away with it!)

~ Are very attracted to soft natural fabrics in their cloths and fuzzy blankets are the ultimate!

~ Many times get very impatient when with someone who doesn’t get to the point.

~ Creative, inventive, and very intuitive.

~ Involve themselves in human/animal rights efforts.

~ Have an innate sense of “oneness” and connectedness to all of creation. Get confused and disturbed when others don’t share their reality of “at-one-ment.”

~ High capacity for love, and therefore others may feel uncomfortable by their intensity.

~ Very sensitive, sometimes “Hyper Sensitive” and may not be able to distinguish between the emotional fields of those around them and their own personal emotions.

~ May go through periods of apathy and cynicism as coping mechanisms.

~ Intense longing for “their own kind”·.Soul Mates·but don’t know where to look.

~ Have what I endearingly term H.D.D. or “Hug Deficit Disorder” and need immense amounts of physical touching, hugs, and love to “cuddle.”

~ Because of being misunderstood and then betrayed, may develop strong trust issues, and therefore keep many of their thoughts, feelings and opinions to themselves.

~ About 30% have difficulties expressing them selves, especially in writing.

NOTE: If you read some of the poorly written correspondence from some of these First Wave Indigos, you would assume they were uneducated and nearly illiterate, but the truth is, that these same people can also be speed readers and can absorb information in seconds that would take others minutes to understand and retain.

~ Very disciplined when properly motivated.

~ Get bored and or frustrated in school.

~ Male Indigos (and many Females) for the most part don’t “do authority” very well because most of the time they are smarter than those in authority.

~ Many find themselves in “Alternative Schools.”

~ Female Indigos seem to be able to cope better with the school systems than their male counterparts.

~ Many are labeled “Dyslexic” and find themselves in “Special Classes” at school that usually never work for them.

~ Indigos have a strong desire to know “why” ·and if they don’t see “the point” in something, (or if is it isn’t explained properly), will feel it is simply not worth their time/energy and will either react with resistance or just simply “blow off” the people/things that seem not worth their time and energy.

~ Innately have their own ways of calculation and many have been accused of cheating in school because they do the answers in their head and cannot show their work.

~ Indigos have an evolved awareness of how things work, therefore, many of the rigid rules and methods of learning Math, English, and Physics (NOT metaphysics or quantum physics) make no sense to them.

~ All First wave Indigos have what might be termed as “A Gift of Healing” ….whether it is making people feel better with their humor and wit, hands on healing, animal and plant healing, healing with music and tone, or healing with new “unproven” methods.. ·some of which are natural and need no external training for.

~ Many Indigos have “Telepathic Healing” abilities and long distances make no difference to the efficiency of their work.

~ Because of their expanded perception, unusual creativity, wanting to try new things, and running way ahead of what is being taught in class, many were diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Disorder, and put on Ritalin as children.s

~ Most Indigo’s (especially males) have a high innate aptitude for computers/electronics and or auto mechanics. It is common for them to “Just Know” how to operate and trouble shoot with very little help from a book or an instructor.

~ First Wave Indigo’s are extremely creative, and express this innate skill in many (and often times OUTRAGEOUS forms.) These skills manifest in: Drawing, Painting, Sculpting, Decorating, Photography, Writing (in sometimes very extreme and unique ways), Making Blueprints and Prototypes, Composing and Playing Music·.(even if they have never had lessons), inventing games, and creating new & more efficient ways of doing things.

~ Very few Indigos are interested in aggressive sports such as Football and Hockey. They would rather spend their physical exercise time and energy in personal achievement and outdoor sports such as track & field, skateboarding, mountain climbing, cycling, kayaking, etc. They are also attracted to discipline and self-defense sports such as Fencing and Martial Arts

~ Because of their feeling so foreign to this planet, a very high percentage of Indigos have been put on “Antidepressants” to make them appear “Normal” and fit in our society·.this is just a temporary fix though, and only adds to their challenges.

~ Many Indigos are drawn to Theatrics, Drama, and Stand-up Comedy. In these venues they can “pretend to be someone else” when actually they are using this as an outlet to vent and express their own views and pent up emotions. It is also a place for “misfits” to find a place of refuge and “fit in”.

~ Because of their feeling so “alien” here, many go through periods of severe grief, loneliness, and displacement·..and may turn to drugs, alcohol, or attempt suicide for a way out.

~ One trademark that a high % of First Wave Indigos have, is living through extreme hardships as children, teenagers, and young adults. Many were born into family situations that were physically, emotionally, spiritually and psychically abusive. These Indigos had to figure out how to balance and keep their inherent integrity levels, while being subjected to painful and life shattering experiences. A large % were implanted in such horrendous situations as: organized crime, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and even ritual/cult abuse & mind control.

Characteristics of Rainbow and Golden Children.
Rainbow Children

• This is the fully developed Thirteen Dimensional Universal Human Being, able to carry and transmit all the Rays of Incarnation and Evolution within their vibrational field
• Have very strong wills and personalities
• Be very high energy
• Be very attuned to colour and colour vibrations around them and other aspects of clairvoyance
• Have passionate creativity
• Love bright clothing and colourful environments
• Bubble over with enthusiasm for everything in life
• Expect instant manifestation of whatever they think/need
• Have healing abilities
• Have telepathy and clairaudience
• Perfectly balanced in masculine and feminine energies
• Confident without aggressiveness* (Unless they have no other choice, i.e. self-defence in the existing dominate third dimensional consciousness)
• Intuitive and psychic without effort
• Magical and can bend time
• Go without food and sleep for the most part
• Able to live in the world without being swayed by it* (Possibly. Rainbows have the ability to walk where things are not, i.e. in parallel worlds.)
• Become invisible*(Walk in the Astral Plane.)
• Not be negatively affected by harsh energies, while still retaining their ultra-sensitivity, empathy and clairsentience* (Some Pioneers find harsh energy depleting most likely because they may be suffering from an imbalance.)
• No karma*(Twin Flames share Karma so if theirs has incarnated on this Earth before while they haven’t, they may have to deal with any existing Karma that their Twin may have. Rare cases though.)
• Completely connected to all that is* (Pioneers may become disconnected on occasion, especially in their early years when dogged by the dominating third dimensional consciousness.)
• Aware of their shadow side, but have brought it to the light*(Or are in the process of doing so.)
• These children are the mirror of all actions and energy of love*(Reflect others back on themselves and give their unconditional love to everyone and everything.)
• Do not choose dysfunctional families* (Pioneers may choose difficult life paths or families that need their pureness, their light and their energy of love.)
• They are all about service*(They do however recognise the importance of the ego in the grand design.)
• Operate purely out of joy, not need or impulse*(Again understand the importance of the ego.)
• May have big eyes like the Crystal Children,
• Unlike the Crystal Children they are totally trusting
• Entirely fearless of everybody and practically everything

Golden Children (Also referred to as ‘Gifted’ Children)
Based on Pioneers.

• The Golden Children will have the same characteristics as Rainbow Children
• Have a Golden Aura
• An early interest in surroundings
• Super-sensitivity to surroundings
• Strong curiosity and powers of observation
• An extensive vocabulary
• An exceptional memory
• May talk early and fluently
• The ability to read early – often self-taught
• Can choose to concentrate for long periods
• The propensity to ask shrewd/unusual questions
• The ability to grasp ideas quickly
• A “quirky” sense of humour
• Less need for sleep
• A thirst for knowledge about the most unlikely subjects
• Insatiable curiosity
• A critical attitude, especially self-criticism
• Requires emotionally stable and secure adults around him/her
• Will resist authority
• May become easily frustrated because of his/her big ideas and not having the resources or people to assist him/her in carrying these tasks to fruition
• Learns from an exploratory level and resists rote memory and just being a listener
• Cannot sit still unless absorbed in something of his/her own interest
• Very compassionate
• If they experience failure early, may give up and develop permanent learning blocks
• Exhibit a high IQ, but they often exhibit “frozen” creativity as well
• Has avid interest in science or literature
• Has a wide range of interests
• Is resourceful – solving problems by ingenious methods
• Is creative in new ideas, seeing associations, pursuing innovations
• Is perceptually open to his or her environment
• Has the capacity to use knowledge and information other than to memorise
• Shows superior judgement in evaluating things
• Learns rapidly, easily and efficiently
• Uses a lot of commonsense
• Retains and uses information which has been heard or read
• Is persistent
• Has a high energy level
• Is independent
• Is friendly and outgoing
• Is fluent in producing and elaborating on ideas
• Is flexible in thinking patterns
• Senses when problems exist
• Acts spontaneously, intuitively
• Provides multiple solutions or responses to problems
• Is intellectually playful, interested in fantasy, imagination
• Always trying to adapt or improve things
• Doesn’t mind being different
• Is bored with memorisation and recitation
• Produces unexpected, sometimes “silly” responses
• Is considered, and perhaps resented, by some peers as “crazy”
• Can show unusual degrees of originality, concentration and persistent hard work on projects
• Can stimulate, organise and arouse others
• Recognises skills and abilities possessed by others
• Can articulate ideas clearly
• Can listen to others empathetically
• Exercises authority reliably and responsibly
• Demonstrates endurance, stamina and persistence in physical activities and is rhythmic
• Responds readily to rhythm, melody and harmony
• Uses music to express feeling or experience
• Enjoys dance and dramatic activities with musical elements
• Uses voice to reflect changes in mood
• Communicates feelings by means of facial expressions, gestures and bodily movements
• Demonstrates ability to dramatise feelings and experiences
• Uses art to express feelings and experiences

So which group do you think you belong to ?

A Little kindness goes a long way.

An ex-colleague of mine sent me an email that literally brought tears to my eyes that I thought I would share. Its not the email that made me tear up, but it was the message that was attached in there.

At a fund raising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

'When not interfered with by outside influences,
everything nature does, is done with perfection.
Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other
children do. He cannot understand things as other
children do.Where is the natural order of things
in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued.

'I believe that when a child like Shay,
who was mentally and physically disabled
comes into the world, an opportunity to
realize true human nature presents itself,
and it comes in the way other people treat
that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park
where some boys Shay knew were playing
baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll
let me play?' I knew that most
of the boys would not want someone
like Shay on their team, but as
a father I also understood that
if my son were allowed to play,
it would give him a much-needed sense
of belonging and some confidence to
be accepted by others in spite of
his handicaps. I approached one of the
boys on the field and asked (not
expecting much) if Shay could play. The
boy looked around for guidance and said,
'We're losing by six runs and the
game is in the eighth inning.
I guess he can be on our team
and we'll try to put him in
to bat in the ninth inning.'Shay
struggled over to the team's bench and,
with a broad smile, put on a
team shirt. I watched with a small
tear in my eye and warmth in
my heart. The boys saw my joy
at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning,
Shay's team scored a few runs but
was still behind by three. In the
top of the ninth inning, Shay put
on a glove and played in the
right field. Even though no hits came
his way, he was obviously ecstatic just
to be in the game and on
the field, grinning from ear to ear
as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning,
Shay's team scored again..
Now, with two outs and the bases
loaded, the potential winning run was on
base and Shay was scheduled to be
next at bat.At this juncture, do
they let Shay bat and give away
their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat.
Everyone knew that a hit was all
but impossible because Shay didn't even
know how to hold the bat properly,
much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the
plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other
team was putting winning aside for this
moment in Shay's life, moved in a
few steps to lob the ball in
softly so Shay could at least make
contact.The first pitch came and Shay
swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again
took a few steps forward to toss
the ball softly towards Shay. As the
pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball
and hit a slow ground ball right
back to the pitcher. The game would
now be over. The pitcher picked up
the soft grounder and could have easily
thrown the ball to the first baseman.
Shay would have been out and that
would have been the end of the
game. Instead, the pitcher threw the ball
right over the first baseman's head, out
of reach of all team mates. Everyone
from the stands and both teams started
yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!'

Never in his life had Shay ever
run that far, but he made it
to first base. He scampered down the
baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran
towards second, gleaming and struggling to make
it to the base. By the time
Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder
had the ball . The smallest guy on
their team who now had his first
chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to
the second-baseman for the tag, but
he understood the pitcher's intentions so he,
too, intentionally threw the ball high and
far over the third-baseman's head
Shay ran toward third base deliriously as
the runners ahead of him circled the
bases toward home. All were screaming,
'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
Shay reached third base because the opposing
shortstop ran to help him by turning
him in the direction of third base,
and shouted, 'Run to third!
Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from
both teams, and the spectators, were
on their feet screaming,
'Shay, run home! Run home!'
Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate,
and was cheered as the hero
who hit the grand slam and won
the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly
with tears now rolling down his face,
'the boys from both teams helped bring
a piece of true love and humanity
into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer.
He died that winter, having never forgotten
being the hero and making me so happy,
and coming home and seeing his Mother
tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

What if I have been wronged ?

Be calm, be composed, most of all be still.
Let no anger, hatred, nor any negative feelings arise,
Invoke the power of your invisible protectors, Boddhisattva, Buddhas, God, Jesus, Mother Mary, etc,
to grant you the wisdom, and the strength to see you through this difficult time.
Bear no bad thoughts for your accuser/s,
instead bless them for giving you the opportunity to test your resolve.
Eventually, the truth shall be illuminated one day, and all will become clear.

Always bear in mind - "as you sow, so shall you reap."
The Law of Cause and Effect is unforgiving.

To be Contented is to be Happy

In an conversation with one of my friends that happened quite some time ago, he said something that striked me as being so meaningful and applicable in our lives today. He said in mandarin " zhi(1) zu(2) chang(2) le(4) ". That just hit me really hard about how much truth those 4 little chinese words meant. In translation to English it just means, if we are contented we will have everlasting happiness.

In our daily life of constant struggle for material wealth, comfort, and survival, we have overlooked that little morsel of wisdom. How much of it all is enough to fulfill us? Once we have achieved what we wanted, would we want more? Will we ever be fulfilled, or will we crave for even more fulfillment?

About Karma

On a few previous occasions, I have mentioned the concept known as Karma. Unfortunately, that concept has not been explained. I shall now attempt to elaborate a little more about the concept of Karma.

To many of us, Karma has been commonly associated with the practice of Buddhism. Contrary to this, Karma is not an exclusive concept to Buddhism. The concept of Karma predates Buddhism, to some ancient religion with Hindu origin. Therefore, Karma has its place in many Indian religions.

What is Karma then? The term "karma" has its roots in Sanskrit, which means action, or performance. Thus, Karma as a concept, refers to the actions, or deeds, that causes the entire cycle of cause and effect. Simply, it is the consequence that results from the performance of an action, or deed. Sadly, such simple reactions rarely do happen. In reality though, the consequence/s resulting from action/s can cause further consequences, and so on and so forth; becoming a chain reaction.

I am quite sure many of us know by default what the cycle of cause and effect is. It could have been mentioned in different religions in their own ways, or explained to us by our close relatives, and family members, from their own perspective. All of which drill down to one common line of thought, "you reap what you sow." That line of thought has given birth to many more well known quotes such as, "do unto others as you would have others do unto you", "revenge is a bitch", "hell hath no wrath like a woman's scorn", "before you begin on the journey of revenge, dig two graves", "Our deeds determine us as much as we determine our deeds", "Sin makes its own hell, and goodness its own heaven", "Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity", to quote just a few.

From my own personal perspective, I view Karma as a bank account. This Karma bank account records all the good deeds and all the bad ones as well, and keeps a running total of both. As far as I understand, they both do not cancel each other off, which means having equal amounts of both good and bad deeds does not mean one has NO karma. Meritorious deeds begets good karma, and hence rewards. Devious deeds begets bad karma and thus punishment, or suffering. If one has equal amounts of both good and bad karma, then he/she will benefit and suffer equally. As a result, because of the enjoyments reaped from the benefits, the suffering may not be as bad.

To illustrate this with a real world example, lets assume that such a person exist. Lets assume that he/she is fated to have a near fatal accident in a deserted part of town where rarely anyone goes there (middle of no where). He/she suffers the accident, but will be saved by a passerby calling for help.

On the other hand, lets assume that his/her good karma account was lower then the bad karma debt. The result of such a situation could be that he/she would have the accident, but could die as a result of the accident, or may have to agonize over his near fatal injuries for hours before being saved. Each outcome depends on the amount of amount of good and bad karma accrued.

In short, we each receive the payout from each account accordingly. None of us may escape the effects of karma. However, having an overly positive karma account would not hurt anyone. But how do we differentiate between a deed that would produce good karma, from one that would produce bad karma?

I am quoting what a very respectable monk said once - as a rule of thumb, if the deed was done not to gain personal benefit, but solely for the benefit of others then it is a great meritorious deed and will gain good karma. If a deed was done for the sole benefit of oneself, then it is most likely a deed that will accrue bad karma.

A New Year's Day Prayer for the World

For the coming years ahead :

Let there be enough food for all to eat and be well fed.

Let there be enough clean drinking water for all to drink and be thirst quenched,
and also to keep cool and keep clean;depending on the situation.

Let there be enough good sturdy shelter for all to live under to be well protected from the elements, so that we may all be able to keep ourselves cool, warm, dry, and clean; depending on the situation.

Last but not least, let there be enough clean comfortable clothing for all to wear so that we may all be kept decent, cool, warm, dry, and clean; depending on the situation.

The Avatar Movie

I watched the Avatar movie over the Christmas holidays. I must say I liked the whole plot and storyline. Not forgetting to mention that the entire movie was also beautifully crafted, again with alot of subtle threads linking their imaginary world into our own world. I just wanted to share what I got out of it.

Mankind has discovered a very valuable mineral (read worth alot of cash) on the beautiful lush green (again more puns of money growing on trees) world of Pandora. Tempted by greed, humans have encroached into the homeland of the Navis in an attempt to reclaim these very expensive and valuable mineral, even to the extent of destroying the very home that these folks lived in (kind of reminds me of elves living in their tree homes). Their home is this HUGE GIGANTIC tree that literally housed the entire tribe (like Yggdrasil, the world tree in Norse mythology).

The Navis believed that everything is linked to one another (Eywa is the mother of all things on Pandora, in the movie Sigourney Weaver's character said that all the plants and trees on Pandora were linked via a network of roots that is even more complicated then the human brain). That all come from the energy. Such energy is only borrowed (all living things on Pandora). Eventually that energy would have to be returned (death, and the Navis bury their dead under the roots of their home tree).

In the movies, there were these little floating jellyfish like creatures. Neytiri (the main female charater of the Navi, and Jake Scully's love interest) describes these creatures as very pure spirits, seedlings from the mother tree (sounds like their translation of the devas in our world, they even look a little like them if you have ever seen them before in photos). So anyways, I doubt I should go on any further for the benefit of those who have not seen the movie. For the practitioners of Buddhism, it is not too hard to see the links at this point. In Buddhist teachings, we have been told that we all come from the same thing, and will return to it someday (when we realise our ONE TRUE SELF). That we are all one, therefore we should not differentiate, but treat each one equally for we are one and the same. That is also why all things are transient (forever changing) and hence empty (not real; we may think that it is real because we were conditioned to think thus. Just like when one is sleeping and having a dream, everything in the dream would be real to the dreamer, once the dreamer awakens, he/she will realise that it was a dream. Just like how Jake Scully becomes his Navi Avatar in the beginning). Thus, the life we lead now is empty. It is not too difficult to see that if we are empty, and everything we can see and touch is empty, why do we then insist on accumulating even more stuff that is also empty. When we pass on, we cannot bring any of it into the after life (or next life, depending on how you look at it).

However, this is not to say that you should give up everything immediately. If you do decide to do that, you would have achieved alot of what most people cannot (of course all the Buddhas and Boddhsattvas of the 10 directions of incalculable realms of existence will rain down blessings on you, if you could do that) . There is still the responsibility to others around us. We must always keep that in mind when we act. We may strive to achieve spiritual greatness, but we should also strive to not affect negatively of others around us (this is why greed is bad, becoz greed tempts people to accumulate what they want irregardless of the consequences to others. This is illustrated very well in the whole movie).

Before I end this post, I would just like to add that when the outlook of things look bad, everything looks bleak, all hope is loss, and you feel hopeless. It may not be a bad idea to just quiet yourself down and pray (to whatever God, Diety, Boddisattva, or Buddha) tell them of the problems, and what you will need help in. Your prayers might just be answered in the most unexpected ways, you will just have to be patient. From my own personal experience, if your prayers were of unselfish motives, the answer will definitely come. If you feel that your prayers may not be answered, there is still no harm in trying. What you gain is a moment of peace, what you lost is just a few minutes of your lives. (Just like what Jake Scully did in the movie, despite what Neytiri said about Eywa, his prayers were answered) These loving spirits who watches over us are closer then you think they are.

2012 The Movie

So I watch the movie 2012 a few weeks ago. It was exactly what I had expected it to be, alot of "action" and "drama". The movie did a pretty good job of weaving all the little pieces of factual information peppered all over the world about the "end of the mayan calendar", into an action packed tale. Hopefully, the good intentioned message for the entire movie was not lost amongst all the drama and special effects.The underlying message was that we all need to abandon all our masks, and pretenses. No matter how rich, or how powerful you are; at the very basic level we are all still human, one of the same kind, both weak and frail in comparison to the wrath of mother nature. And when we are near the end, none of that really matters. When we are stripped down to our basics, and bare necessities, we are all nothing, and all we will have is each other, and possibly the clothes on our backs to keep us all decent. Time to repent, shed all our prejudices, pretenses, masks, and arrogance. Embrace our humanity as we should have done right from the start, like we are all equal and from the same family.

About Gossip and Idle Talk

Ever since I was young, the bigger people around me are always saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." To an extent, it is true. Sticks and stones will inflict physical harm, but words will never inflict any physical harm. Whoever coined that phrase must have been a very smart person to use those words to console another who felt hurt by words from another.

I did say "hurt" by words didn't I? Yes they do hurt! I am sure most of us have heard of the saying that "the pen is mightier then the sword." Words do hurt, and they cut deeper then sticks and stones. The physical wounds that sticks and stones inflict, if they do not kill you, will heal over time albeit with some scarring. The severity of the scar, and the time taken for the physical wounds to heal will depend on how severe the physical damage was. Obviously, the more severe the damage the longer it will take to heal, and the deeper the scars will be.

However, the damage words inflict are emotional. They are hidden from plain sight, no one will know you are bleeding inside, figuratively speaking. None outside will know the severity of this bleeding with just a look. This bleeding could last for days, weeks, months, years, even decades. Yes, that is how severe this kind of injury can be. The emotional hurt inflicted by words can be immeasurable. Sometimes it can even be contagious and the people around the person hurt might also feel hurt, like a disease. This bleeding can sometimes manifest itself as depression, very commonly, and at other times manifests itself as other forms of mental disorders like personality disorders, abnormal behaviours, etc. The ironic thing about all this is that it can be started with just a single sentence, a small phrase, or a word. For example, a father telling a child that he/she is worthless, or a child calling another insecure kid that he/she is fat, etc. This does not only happens to children, it happens to adolescents and adults too. One need not look far to see examples of this.

Have a gentle survey of the office at which you work at, keep your keen ears out for idle talk and gossips going round. Or in a school environment in areas where people tend to gather, one is bound to catch wind of some "juicy" gossip or a little idle talk. Most people think that this kind of talk is harmless. In some cases it is, in others it is NOT. The scary part is, none knows when the talk is harmful or harmless.

When idle talk, or gossip, harms someone, the Universal Law of Cause and Effect goes into play. The creator of any harmful talk starts accruing karmic debt for all the harm the talk has harmed. Propagators of such talk also accrues karmic debt, and the original creator of the talk also accrues debt again for causing the propagators to accrue debt. As the talk starts to inflict hurt on the people around surrounding the subject of the talk, debt mounts on the propagators, and the creator yet again. As this carry on, it is not hard to see that the creator of such talk starts to accrue karmic debt many fold as the idle talk spreads. The bottom line is all this karmic debt will have to be repaid some day. And the only the owners of the debt can repay the debt, none will be able to help.

Let all be warned when you feel like talking about something related to someone, especially if you are not sure if it is true or not. Even if it was true, do you have any business discussing someone else's business with someone else, if it was not for the purpose of therapy?

Happy Halloween

The celebration of Halloween has its roots back in the days when the Celts still lived in Ireland. This was over 2000 years ago. It was a celebration for the beginning of their new year, which starts on the 1st of November. The Celts believed that on the eve of the new year, the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead becomes blurred. The ghosts and spirits of the dead returned to the world of the living to wreak some havoc. They also believed that it is easier for their Celtic priests and Druids to make their prediction on this day. Thus, they build huge sacred bonfires where people would gather to make offerings to the Celtic dieties. During the celebration, the celts also dressed themselves up to go around attempting to make predictions about each others' futures.

Eventually, the celts were conquered by the Romans. Their traditions and practices were also assimilated into the Roman culture. Over the course of time, this festive day became the way it is today.

The Chinese also have a similar "celebration" known as the Hungry ghost festival. However, it does not fall on the same day as Halloween, and it does not last for one day but one month. The Chinese believed that on the 7th month of the Lunar Calendar all ghosts in Hell are given a month of vacation from their suffering. These ghosts return to earth to be amongst the living to do as they will. In order to appease these playful and sometimes destructive spirits, peace offerings are made to them.

Anyways, by now most of you will be wondering where am I going with all this talk about spirits, ghosts, and the other world/s. The intent is two fold; first and foremost is the hope that you will enjoy the festivities to the best of your understanding. Second, is to not discount things we are not able to perceive with our sense as fairy tales and make believes. It has been scientifically proven that our humanly 5 senses has limits. Dogs and cats can hear sounds beyound our normal hearing range. Dogs can smell things we cannot smell. Bats can navigate their surrounding by just using sounds.

With that, have a Happy Halloween everyone, and be safe.

A Simple Story

I read this story sometime ago, I apologize for not remembering the source. What I do remember though is that the story was from a source talking about Buddhist teachings. It is a very simple story that holds some meaningful and thoughtful lessons.

A man fell off the edge of the cliff, but was able to stop his fall by hanging onto some roots that was protruding out of the face of the cliff. However, he was not able to climb up the cliff because it was too steep, and the way down was just NOT an option either. With no where to go, he started praying to the Buddha for help. Then he heard a loud booming voice, "let go of the root that you are hanging on to and I will catch you with the palm of my hand." The man looked down but could not see anything below him, except the ground which he will probably land with a loud "splat" if he were to let go. The man replied "but I don't see your hand below me at all." To this, the Buddha replied "if you let go I will be able to catch you with my hand." The man replied "but how can I be sure that you will catch me if I let go?" The Buddha said "if you don't let go I will not be able to catch you." Again, the man said "but how can I be sure that you are not lying to me?" The Buddha said, "if you don't let go, you will never know!"

The moral of the story here is, sometimes we just need to have a little blind faith in order to experience something new. Only then are we able to learn what the new experience has to offer us, thus allowing us to decide for ourselves if the new experience is for us and if we want to continue with it.

End of days 2012 (edited)

I've been reading alot on the web about the 2012 end of days stuff. I have compared that to what I know about the things I know about 2012. Thus, I thought I might write something about it in hopes of dispelling some of the doom and gloom atmosphere surrounding the topic.

The Mayan Calendar ends on Dec. 21st 2012. It does NOT MARK in anyways end of the world. No, judgement day will not be happening then, as far as christianity is concerned. This date just marks the end of the cycle that they used for their calendar. The Incans called this day end of their Pachacuti. I recall reading somewhere that when the Spanish invaded them it was also at the end of another Pachacuti; and Earth still exists today, so it is NOT the end of the world.

One thing for sure that will happen is that for the first time in several thousands of years, the Earth, Sun, and the center of the Milky Way Galaxy will be aligned. Scientifically speaking, those are just the facts. Spiritually speaking, it may have other implications. I've read somewhere also that the magnetic poles will be realigned. I've also read that Shambala (if it exists) will be realigned. Again, when we start venturing into the occult and sprituality, there will not be any proof of anything until it actually happens and you can verify it for yourself (if you are able to percieve it, in the first place).

The Incans also believed that Dec 21st 2012 also marks a new beginning for all of Mankind. It marks the beginning of the Age of Aquarius. We are currently in the Age of Pisces. This new age would mean changes will happen for all of us. Changes that will pervade many facets of our life. The Age of Aquarius is supposed to be the Golden Age of Mankind, where mankind becomes more enlightened. I am sure I mentioned some of these things in a previous post, hence I shall not dwell on it more.

Dec 21st 2012 coming to pass is a GOOD thing. I personally cannot wait for it to happen, and wish that it would come sooner. We should not fear what will be coming on that day. We fear because we are attached to all the materialistic wealth we possess. We fear not knowing what will happen to all of it when the day comes. If you stop and think about it some, that is a little silly.

Lets just assume for a minute that "all the continental plates will move 1 meter in a direction." Yes, that is going to cause an Earthquake everywhere and no place is safe. So if this Earthquake is going to tear down everyone's house, or open a sink hole 10m deep and 20m wide on your property, can you do anything about it ? Its still going to happen wether you worry about it now, or then. So why spend so much energy worrying over something that is going to happen in the future, even then we are not sure if it will happen. Direct that energy somewhere where is more well deserved, like being kind to someone, or make someone else happy everyday. That way, even if you really have to die on that day, you'd die knowing that you have made so many people happy before that fateful day. Move on and maybe meet them again in your next life. And maybe then its their turn to make you happy, after all a good turn deserves another. Or like the Buddhist say, "you reap what you sow."

In summary, there is no need to worry about whats coming up. Live an enlightened life now, so you would not regret later, come what may. Let time itself worry about time.

Edit : A little message from Reverend Jing Kung
Our environment is a reflection of our heart (inner self). If we think about bad things, bad things will happen. If we think about good things, good things will happen. Thus, if we keep thinking that bad calamities will happen in the year 2012, then bad calamities will happen then. Alternatively, if we all think and hope of good things to happen then, it will happen. So the lesson here is to quieten our minds, and still our hearts. Let time take care of itself, and we strive to quieten ourselves to discipline our minds. Our environment is a manifestation of the state of our mind.

Meaningful Hidden Message in Anime

I just finished an entire series of Anime that I thoroughly enjoyed, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn of an actually meaningful message within the series. I appreciate the fact that the creators did a huge amount of research to come up with such a story. Embellished with all the trademarks of Japanese Animation creativity, characteristic artwork, the usual robotic element but with a twist to it, yet still have a story that is relevant to our timeline, and quite possibly even beyound our time.

The title of the anime is called Aquarion, and the story is about the war between 2 races of beings - Humans and the Shadow Angels. The humans live on Earth that has been devastated by the war that is going on, while the Shadow Angels live in a sort of a parallel dimension where the Tree of Life grows bearing beautiful flowers but no fruits. Just in case some of you are planning on watching the anime, I shall not go too much into the plot and the story. Suffice to say that both factions were so intent of annihilating each other at one point that they forget that they both share a common goal. That goal is to preserve the life of their respective races.

You see, even though both races were fighting for their race's survival, the Tree of Life is the root of all life for both races. The Tree started to wither in the midst of their war, when the tree dies both their worlds will be destroyed. This phenomenon was oblivious to all parties involved in the fight - blinded by their hatred, and craving for vengeance. When it was brought to light what was going on, with great effort did they put aside their differences to save the Tree, and thus save the earth. In order to do that they must see past their differences to unite with compassionate love, and understanding.

The entire story did strike a chord within me. Sometimes we are so busy with ourselves that we totally miss the obvious. It also echos with the current situation the whole world is facing. There is literature out on the web that says we are entering the Age of Aquarius, the golden age of Humanity where we will see each other with compassionate love, understanding, and respect. But before that age can come about, we must learn to get past all our materialistic attachments, and learn to be more kind, loving, understanding, forgiving, and respectful of everyone.

This is such a good message that is sort of rare in the entertainment media. Hats off to the creators of the series for being able to bring forth such a message. I hope more stuff doing this same sort of thing would appear for all to enjoy, and to contemplate on.

Authoritarian Personality

I read something about Authoritarian Personality while I was studying for my exams, that I thought it was pretty informative and I'd share it with everyone. It was a section talking about Prejudice. The excerpt below is taken from Buskist, William., Carlson, Neil R. & Martin G Neil. (2007) Psychology (3rd ed) Massachusetts, USA : Peason Education Limited.

"Because prejudice is repugnant and can have such appalling effects, such as genocide, prejudice is often traced to individual differences and personality attributes. One of the most widely promulgated theories of prejudice is the authoritarian personality (Adorno et al., 1950). Children who are brought up in families where their parents use harsh disciplinarian methods to secure love and dependence develop a love-hate relationship with their parents, which is endurably stressful. The stress is resolved by idealizing their parents and all authority figures and redirecting their hatred onto weaker others. This resolution becomes a deep-seated and immutable personality syndrome, authoritarianism, which frames relations for the rest of the person’s life. It predisposes people to be prejudiced. Another personality explanation has been proposed by Rokeach(1948), who argues that some people, for whatever reason, have a general cognitive style that is prejudiced because they strive for a rigidly stratified social world, are resistant to belief change in the light of contradictory evidence, and are inclined to ground their beliefs in authority and orthodox belief systems."

Future parents to be take heed of the above when parenting. For some others, I hope this would shine a little light onto your present disposition. As for the rest, may this serve as a little piece of illumination.