Posts Tagged ‘enlightenment’

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Welcome to Kala’s Quick Five, where I chat with fascinating authors, artists, teachers and researchers and ask them five questions about their work. Our guest today is Dr. Gabriel Constans, author of the novel, Buddha’s Wife. Gabriel Constans has served the community since 1974 as a grief counselor, chaplain, social worker and massage therapist and is certified in Thought Field Therapy (TFT). He is the co-parent to five children in The States and an extended family at ROP Center for Street Children in Rwanda.

Kala: Gabriel, thousands of books, texts and stories have followed Siddhartha’s path to becoming The Buddha (and his teachings), but little has been written about his wife Yasodhara, how she reacted to his leaving her and their newborn child in the middle of the night, and her desire to find compassion and enlightenment for herself and others. What prompted you to write this book?

Gabriel: Until it was pointed out to me a number of years ago by a friend, I had forgotten that The Buddha had even been married (when he was known as Siddhartha). Even though I’d been a Buddhist for 40 years, none of my teachers had spoken about it, let alone told me about his leaving his wife and only child just days after he was born. I wanted to give Yasodhara (pronounced Ya show da rah) a voice, as well as all the other nuns and women followers.

Kala: How does the novel discuss the portrayal of women in literature and religious life, in the past and in the present?

Gabriel: Buddha’s Wife is told from Yasodhara’s perspective, as she is dying. She speaks about her life as a young girl, when married to Siddhartha, her grief and despair when he left, her life later as a nun and when she is older and leaves the order. A number of facts about Buddha’s reluctance to allow women to become nuns and his belief that “women would be the downfall of the order”are all spoken of in the story as they happened. Many of the issues women faced at that time and place (India around 550 BC) are still being perpetuated in present day, in a number of religious contexts (not just Buddhist).

Kala: Were this story to take place today, do you think Siddhartha would handle things differently?

Gabriel: Perhaps, but there have been many well known men who have been involved in large religious or social movements in the last century who also had little time for their own families or much connection with their children. We (Sacred World Productions and I) are presently in pre-production to make a film based on the book, yet set in a contemporary setting. It will be dealing with this question most intimately.

Kala: What does the novel teach about compassion, inspiration and forgiveness?

Gabriel: Even though the grief and loss experienced by Yasodhara, her son and family (when Siddhartha leaves them in the middle of the night) was great, she eventually finds a way to both acknowledge the pain and reality that it caused, while also finding forgiveness and compassion, not only for Siddhartha, but for people in general, even the woman she believes became involved with her husband later on. She doesn’t forget, but uses her life experience to work on herself and find ways to let go of her anger and resentment.

Kala: In the story, Yasodhara shares her belief that Siddhartha was scared of intimacy, emotion and love. Can you explain the thoughts around this idea to our readers?

Gabriel: I believe some people (historically male) find it difficult to share emotional love and intimacy with another. It is too threatening and raw and reveals the truth of who they are, as opposed to how they perceive themselves or wish to be, that they avoid it altogether or never completely commit. Many men (especially well known) are comfortable being superficially involved with thousands of people (in some role or capacity), but shy away from one to one relationships. In Buddha’s Wife, Yasodhara gives examples of why she believes that may be the case with Siddhartha.

Kala: Thanks for your time Gabriel, appreciate your time on Kala’s Quick Five. For more information about Buddha’s Wife and Gabriel Constans work, visit http://www.gogabriel.com or http://www.buddhaswife.com

Gabriel: Thank you for the excellent questions and the opportunity to share a little about the novel Buddha’s Wife.

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Join Kala on July 23-25, 2010 as she teaches at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York for a weekend workshop entitled:
Energy Anatomy: Exploring and Healing Your Auras and Chakras.

More about Kala Ambrose: Kala Ambrose is an award winning author, business intuitive and talk show host of the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show. Her thought-provoking interviews entice listeners to tune in around the globe! Described by her guests and listeners as discerning, empowering and inspiring, she speaks with world renowned authors, artists, teachers and researchers delving into metaphysical, holistic and paranormal topics. As a business intuitive she brings a wealth of knowledge to corporations, businesses and individuals providing insightful solutions with a competitive edge to achieve their business and personal goals.

Kala’s book, 9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled delves into the mysteries of ancient Egyptian mystery schools and explains their wisdom teachings. Kala’s Guided Meditations CD’s include a sacred site trilogy including Spirit of Hawaii, Egyptian Mystery Temple and Tibetan Mountain Journey. Kala Ambrose is a highly interactive teacher on a mission to educate, entertain and inspire. Kala lectures on Wisdom Teachings, Developing Business Intuition, Working with Auras, Chakras and Energy Fields, and Wise Woman Wisdom (also known as the Divine Feminine). More information about Kala at: www.ExploreYourSpirit.com

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Ask any expert on how they achieved their success and they’ll tell you that it’s a dedicated combination of hard work, timing, expert planning and a little bit of luck.  As we enter the new year and a brand new decade, perhaps it’s time to gather reinforcements to take those dreams and manifest them into reality.

This brings us to Gift Ten on the 12 Gifts of Enlightenment.
Gift Ten is – Give the Gift of Good Timing.

Mystics and seers have counseled through the ages that there are favored moments of opportunity, where intention can be directed and focused with greater clarity. A time honored tradition to assist with this planning is astrology. Conscious creators would be well advised to have an astrologer to work with on a long term basis. I have several that I consult with, especially when making a major life change. Consider the fact that when you are making a major decision on real estate, you consult a realtor, and you use an expert for financial planning and medical care. When timing is a crucial factor for a decision, whether for marriage, children, career, or even a better date to have elective surgery, shouldn’t you consult with an expert for some guidance and information?  One of my favorite astrologers is Marguerite Manning, an astrologer and author of Cosmic Karma: Understanding Your Contract with the Universe. Marguerite gets right down to the heart and the soul of the matter and astrologically provides answers and guidance to your most important questions. Want to know more about Marguerite and her book? Listen to my interview with her on the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show.

For the metaphysician in your life who likes to work with timing down to the days and cycles and uses herbs and candles in their work, a helpful guide to give to them is:  The Spellcaster’s Reference: Magickal Timing for the Wheel of the Year by Eileen Holland. Eileen breaks it all down to the hours of the day, astrological influences and accompanying oils, herbs, plants and other ingredients. Eileen begins the book sharing the esoteric reference of “as above, so below”, which has been taught in mystery temples throughout the ages and guides the reader through the wheel of the year and its corresponding influences. This is a well crafted guidebook that practitioners will keep close by on the shelf to refer to throughout the year.

Been working on manifesting your dreams and feel like you need a boost?  Author Judika Illes book, Magic When You Need It: 150 Spells You Can’t Live Without covers Money, Career, Love, Sex, Marriage, Children, Home and Trouble. Judika has created a handy guide with straightforward instructions and easily obtainable ingredients to conceive a ‘power pack’ assisting you on your journey. Consider it a cross blending of old world charms with new world accessibility.  One of my favorite spells is on page 110, dealing with pest control. The solution that she offers in the book, is almost exactly the same as one I was taught by a shaman years ago, which just agains reminds us that universal truths in nature and spirituality are shared by cultures all around the world. Another favorite is on page 96, Find A Home, with step by step instructions to manifest your dream home. Judika has put in the hard work to gather all of this information and put it together in an easy reference guide for all that ails you.

A calendar to mark the cycles of the moon and holidays is always a great service. This year, consider buying a copy of the Farmers Almanac as well as The Witches Alamanac. The Witches Almanac offers astrological information for the year as well as stories and a wealth of information on nature and the animal kingdom.  I particularly enjoyed the article on the Fleur De Lis, as well as the article on magical crossroads and the healing and protective properties of garlic.

Whether you choose to use a reference guide, calendar or an astrologist, the most important aspect to accomplishing your goals is timing. Prepare as best as you can, with good advice and information, but also be aware that surprises will come up, no matter how hard you plan. The real trick is to accept change and to be open to seeing pitfalls as potentials in the making. As Peaceful Warrior author Dan Millman said, “I learned that we can do anything, but we can’t do everything… at least not at the same time. So think of your priorities not in terms of what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything”.

Tune in tomorrow as we explore Enlightenment Gift Number Eleven. If you’ve missed Gift’s One, Two, Three, Four, Five Six,  Seven, Eight, or Nine, click on the links here to visit the articles and click on the subscribe button on the top section of this page, where you’ll be notified via email each time a new article by yours truly appears.

Tempus Fugit…
*~Kala~*

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The 12 Days – 12 Gifts of Enlightenment series is based upon the “spirit of the season”, not pertaining to any particular faith. Consider it a nod to ancient cultures who celebrated the Winter Solstice with festivals, rituals and parties, heralding the return of the light -  the Sun. Ancient Rome celebrated the solstice holiday as Saturnalia, and Celtic Druids created bonfires in a three day ritual as the Oak King battled with the Holly King and won back the light. History of these celebrations are found with the honoring of Mithra, in Egyptian practices of Osiris and in various societies around the world. The seasonal observance for many at this time extends to January 6th in conjunction with the story of the Three Wise Men, the Magi who brought gifts upon their arrival. The 12 gifts of enlightenment are shared throughout the celebrations of the return of the light and need not necessarily culminate on a particular day. Perhaps it alludes to a time to create new rituals including for the New Year, with heartfelt intentions to bring abundance, joy, good health and inner wisdom.

The Twelve Days – Twelve Gifts of Enlightenment are a reminder that on the journey to esoteric wisdom, knowledge is the first key. As was written above a mystery school temple in ancient Greece, “Man, Know Thyself”, it has always been of tremendous value to spend time in self-observation and introspection. One of the ways to begin this journey, is to look at the past, review the history of humanity and discern the truth to see how history changes and is rewritten according to cultural and political mores. Begin with your own investigation of the origins and history of the holidays including Christmas, New Years and Easter to discover how they have evolved to the modern day concepts.

You may find during your research, that many of the holidays now celebrated began as a completely different celebration. My intent gentle reader, is not to discourage you from celebrating each holiday, but rather to encourage you to delve deeper into the history and find the path which is right for you to follow. As Anais Nin said, “The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery”.

On this path, I’d like to recommend two books that I have enjoyed reading this year, which share a particular perspective of western history. This brings us to:

Gift Number 9 – Give the Gift of Knowledge and Discernment.

The first book is: How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe by Thomas Cahill. The title is a bit ambitious, as most any student of history will note that the Greeks and the Eastern Byzantine Empire continued to exist and document historic record before and after the fall of Rome, as well as many eastern cultures. Perhaps a more accurate title would be: How the Irish Evolved By Combining Roman Catholic Beliefs with their Traditional Pagan Beliefs, creating Many Holidays and Cultural Beliefs Which We Celebrate Today. Having said that, one can plainly see which title is more attention grabbing. Cahill describes the decline and fall of Rome and how the Irish, due to their love of preservation, transcribed this written history during the Dark Ages, when recorded history throughout many parts of western Europe was on the verge of being destroyed by Barbarian cultures. The second portion of the book explains how Irish myth, lore and culture then placed its own unique stamp on civilization, blending a mix of Christianity beginning with St. Patrick, into traditional Irish pagan rites and customs. Cahill shares some of the life and history of St. Patrick, a roman boy who came from a family lineage of tax collectors, who was enslaved and taken to Ireland. Not mentioned in regard to the stories of St. Patrick are the reports of Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland, which chronicle how the Druid culture was driven from Ireland by Christian monks beginning with Patrick.

The beauty and passion of the Irish people is vividly described as Cahill shares his love of poetry and brings ancient Ireland to life, which also serves to stimulate popular interest in the history of western civilization. My hope is that the reader would begin here with this read, recognize it as only one piece to the puzzle and then venture further into study of the Greeks, Romans, Armenians, Coptics, Arabic, and many other cultures, all of whom carried forth the history from these dark times.

Book recommendation number two is, How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe’s Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It, by Arthur Herman. Particularly interesting is that the UK title for this book is The Scottish Enlightenment, which is a better representation of the information found in this book. This also leads to the question, Must we as Americans require alleged super hero titles for every book in order for it to sell? Both books in review here, extend their titles to the extreme, but this is certainly not a new concept. One only has to look at American history to see how much of it has been fabricated to “sell the sizzle”. A quick example being the focus on the midnight ride of Paul Revere, when in reality, Israel Bissell rode farther and faster, but didn’t have what it took to turn him into a superstar to rally the crowds.

In How the Scots Invented the Modern World, Herman lists an impressive collection of Scots and their accomplishments including Andrew Carnegie, Robert Louis Stevenson, Alexander Graham Bell, Sir Walter Scott and John Muir. One of the best features of this book, is that it endeavors to explain Scottish history and development, without over-fanciful ethnic pride clouding the vision. An interesting read to add to a long list of selections for history buffs, mark this one as the tale of the 18th century as the age of enlightenment for Scotland.

Tune in tomorrow as we explore Enlightenment Gift Number Ten. If you’ve missed Gift’s One, Two, Three, Four, Five Six,  Seven, or Eight, click on the links here to visit the articles and click on the subscribe button on the top section of this page, where you’ll be notified via email each time a new article by yours truly appears.

Sitting amongst random piles of books, pondering the mysteries…
*~Kala~*

More about Kala Ambrose:
Kala is an award winning author, intuitive and talk show host of the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show. Her thought-provoking interviews entice listeners to tune in around the globe! Described by her guests and listeners as discerning, empowering and inspiring, she speaks with world renowned authors, artists, teachers and researchers delving into metaphysical, holistic and paranormal topics. Kala’s  book, 9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled delves into the mysteries of ancient Egyptian mystery schools and explains their wisdom teachings. Kala lectures on Esoteric Teachings,  Developing Business Intuition, Working with Auras, Chakras and Energy Fields, and Wise Woman Wisdom (also known as the Divine Feminine). Kala’s Guided Meditations CD’s include Spirit of Hawaii and Egyptian Mystery Temple and Tibetan Mountain Journey.  More info: www.ExploreYourSpirit.com

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Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. has joined the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) as a Research Support Member (RSM) involved in the governance, research, and expedition interests in Egypt. A.R.E. continues to cooperate with and support archaeological research in Egypt—especially in the search for ancient records. As an ARCE member, A.R.E. will interface with prestigious universities and museums on the Board of Governors of the ARCE.

According to A.R.E. Director John Van Auken, “This is all part of A.R.E. management’s efforts to expand A.R.E.’s global role in research and enlightenment. ARCE will provide logistical support in Cairo for archaeological expeditions in Egypt, including professional archaeological permits, excavation licenses, and visa extensions. We are looking forward to networking with the other fine organizations already supporting ARCE.”

The ARCE is a nonprofit organization founded in 1948 by a consortium of educational and cultural institutions to support research on all aspects of Egyptian history and culture. Among ARCE’s many great achievements is their relationship with the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) within the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. ARCE is viewed as making important contributions that serve to help Egypt directly in its pursuit of cultural heritage preservation. You can visit the ARCE’s Web site at www.arce.org.

More about the A.R.E.
Edgar Cayce founded the non-profit Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) in 1931, to explore spirituality, holistic health, intuition, dream interpretation, psychic development, reincarnation, and ancient mysteries—all subjects that frequently came up in the more than 14,000 documented psychic readings given by Cayce, who died in 1945. The mission of A.R.E. is simply to help people around the world change their lives for the better through the ideas and information found in the readings The Virginia Beach headquarters is a popular site for locals and tourists with free daily lectures, a Health Center and Spa, the Cayce/Reilly School of Massotherapy, an extensive metaphysical library, a meditation garden, a stone labyrinth, and a bookstore and gift shop. Visitors from around the world come to our conferences to hear expert speakers on subjects like ancient mysteries, holistic health, and spiritual development. A.R.E. also maintains an affiliation with Atlantic University. Through its many programs, services, publications, and membership outreach, Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. provides individuals from all walks of life and a variety of religious backgrounds with tools for personal transformation and healing at all levels—body, mind, and spirit. For more information about Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E., please visit EdgarCayce.org.

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