My previous blog entry was about the ego. The ‘I’ and ‘me’ is the center of attention here on planet earth for humans. Our names form our identities among other things, but have you ever viewed your name as a symbol of who you are?

Ancient symbols are reminders of the unseen, the mystery behind our existence.  We yearn to regain a connection that will unravel the mystery. We know it’s there, we want attachment to it, yet we live our lives detached, more focused on symbols that reinforce our sense of self rather than where we came from. We favor symbols that reinforce our belief systems or provide us with a sense of power, protection or affiliation.

All religions speak of God, that God is always with us, omnipotent and part of our being, the source of our creation, the explanation of who and what we are as human beings. Yet there is another population that does not endorse the organized religion route to find that missing Universal Intelligence, this is the secular crowd that has diverse belief systems about the nature of ‘God’.  Read more... (1232 words, 2 images, estimated 4:56 mins reading time)

They say Buddhism is called the ‘Middle Way’ because it does not espouse a doctrine of creation nor an afterlife in Heaven.  The Buddha Dharma stresses the condition of the here and now and does not try to explain where we came from nor where we are going. So in order to provide a benchmark as to where Buddhism stands, it could be called the Middle Way or a state of being in between. But this is not accurate either because it gives credence to the extremes, which Buddhism simply does not recognize. Buddhism could be called the Right Here, Right Now religion (even though its not considered a religion).

Stated in a politically incorrect way,  Buddhism does not have you wait till you arrive in Heaven in order to claim your “reward’. Fundamentally, because there is no “you” to give it to!

The question of where did you come from and where are we going begs the question (in Buddhist terms), just who is “You” and “We”. What makes you think that you are “you”. Can you really identify your self or the “I” that you refer to? Pondering such self awareness is the purpose behind developing an understanding of your own self, or ego nature.  Read more... (1259 words, 1 image, estimated 5:02 mins reading time)

The sky and wind remind us of Heaven and Spirit all around us.

Spirit is also in the earth,  water, fire, trees, animals and rocks.  The 4 sacred elements often used in European and Western cultures are Air, Water, Fire and Earth. According to most ancient traditions that honor the four elements, each is associated with a particular cardinal direction, North, South, East or West.

In keeping with the traditions of the various earth-based religions, most rituals and ceremonies call in or invoke the spirits of the four directions, which depending on the tradition, correspond to a specific element. We are speaking of mostly Pagan religions and belief systems, i.e. Wicca, Native American Shamanism, Taoism, Buddhism, Astrology, etc.

When used in a sacred geometry context, we normally see this represented in a circle divided into 4 quadrants or a cross. Along with the four elements and the four directions, we add on the four seasons which also correspond to a direction and an element. Then we look at the center of the cross, or where the elements and the spirit of the directions and seasons intersect or share in common. This is the point where Heaven meets Earth and is the center of Man’s existence.  Read more... (641 words, 1 image, estimated 2:34 mins reading time)

JOHN STUART LESLIE wants to help you create a garden that has meaning and provides a sanctuary for your mind, body and spirit.

Create a getaway in your own back yard

Having a place to go to unwind and reconnect with nature and oneself sometimes is hard to find, but John Stuart Leslie can help you create that place in your own back yard.

. Leslie takes items that have meaning to a person and puts together sanctuary, a place of serenity that can have a transformative effect on the mind, body and spirit. He has a master’s degree in landscape architecture and has been a licensed contractor since 1982.

Whether a person calls their specially created space a meditation garden, a spiritual garden or a sanctuary, it is the feelings evoked from the garden — serenity, relaxation, tranquility — that a person gets being in the garden that makes it a sanctuary, Leslie said.

“It’s like a room that is a sacred space, but it’s outdoors. We create the sacredness through the deeper meaning we bring to it,” Leslie said.  Read more... (301 words, 1 image, estimated 1:12 mins reading time)