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XAMMON COSMIC MAGAZINE - VOLUME 1
A Valediction Forbidding Mourning by John DonneAS virtuous men pass mildly away,And whisper to their souls to go, Whilst some of their sad friends do say, "Now his breath goes," and some say, "No." So let us melt, and make no noise, No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move ; 'Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love. Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears ; Men reckon what it did, and meant ; But trepidation of the spheres, Though greater far, is innocent. Dull sublunary lovers' love Whose soul is sensecannot admit Of absence, 'cause it doth remove The thing which elemented it. But we by a love so much refined, That ourselves know not what it is, Inter-assurd of the mind, Care less, eyes, lips and hands to miss. Our two souls therefore, which are one, Though I must go, endure not yet A breach, but an expansion, Like gold to aery thinness beat. If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two ; Thy soul, the fix'd foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if th' other do. And though it in the centre sit, Yet, when the other far doth roam, It leans, and hearkens after it, And grows erect, as that comes home. Such wilt thou be to me, who must, Like th' other foot, obliquely run ; Thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end where I begun.  Ainu Creation MythIn the beginning, the world was nothing but a quagmire. Nothing could live there. But in the six skies above and in the six worlds below dwelled Gods, demons, and animals.In the foggy and hanging skies of the lower heavens, demons lived. In the star-bearing and high skies of the clouds lived the lesser Gods. In the skies of the most high lived Kamui, the creator God, and his servants. His realm was surrounded by a mighty metal wall and the only entrance was through a great iron gate. Kamui made this world as a vast round ocean resting on the backbone of an enormous trout. This fish sucks in the ocean and spits it out again to make the tides; when it moves it causes earthquakes. One day Kamui looked down on the watery world and decided to make something of it. He sent down a water wagtail to do the work. When the poor bird arrived and saw what a mess everything was in, it was at its wit's end to know what to do. However, by fluttering over the waters with its wings and by trampling the sand with its feet and beating it with its tail, the wagtail at last created patches of dry land. In this way islands were raised to float upon the ocean in this, the floating world. Even today, the faithful wagtail is still carrying on its work, still beating the ground with its tail. When Kamui created the world, the devil tried to thwart him. One morning, the devil got up and lay in wait with his mouth gaping wide to swallow the sun. But Kamui sent a crow to fly down the devil's throat and make him choke and cough. That is why the crow is such a bold bird. Because a crow once saved the world, all crows think they can act as they like, even stealing people's food. When the animals who lived up in the heavens saw how beautiful the world was, they begged Kamui to let them go and live on it, and he did. But Kamui also made many other creatures especially for the world. The first people, the Ainu, had bodies of earth, hair of chickweed, and spines made from sticks of willow. That is why when we grow old, our backs become bent. Kamui sent Aioina, the divine man, down from heaven to teach the Ainu how to hunt and to cook. When Aioina returned to heaven after living among the people and teaching them many things, the Gods all held their noses, crying, "What a terrible smell of human being there is!" They sniffed and sniffed to find out where the stink was coming from. At last they traced the smell to Aioina's clothes. The Gods sent him back to earth and refused to let him back into heaven until he left all his clothes behind. Down in the floating world, Aioina's cast-off sandals turned into the first squirrels.
  Apache Creation MythIn the beginning nothing existed -- no earth, no sky, no sun, no moon, only darkness was everywhere. Suddenly from the darkness emerged a thin disc, one side yellow and the other side white, appearing suspended in midair. Within the disc sat a small bearded man, Creator, the One Who Lives Above. As if waking from a long nap, he rubbed his eyes and face with both hands.When he looked into the endless darkness, light appeared above. He looked down and it became a sea of light. To the east, he created yellow streaks of dawn. To the west, tints of many colors appeared everywhere. There were also clouds of different colors. Creator wiped his sweating face and rubbed his hands together, thrusting them downward. Behold! A shining cloud upon which sat a little girl. "Stand up and tell me where are you going," said Creator. But she did not reply. He rubbed his eyes again and offered his right hand to the Girl-Without-Parents. "Where did you come from?" she asked, grasping his hand. "From the east where it is now light," he replied, stepping upon her cloud. "Where is the earth?" she asked. "Where is the sky?" he asked, and sang, "I am thinking, thinking, thinking what I shall create next." He sang four times, which was the magic number. Creator brushed his face with his hands, rubbed them together, then flung them wide open! Before them stood Sun-God. Again Creator rubbed his sweaty brow and from his hands dropped Small-Boy. All four gods sat in deep thought upon the small cloud. "What shall we make next?" asked Creator. "This cloud is much too small for us to live upon." Then he created Tarantula, Big Dipper, Wind, Lightning-Maker, and some western clouds in which to house Lightning-Rumbler, which he just finished. Creator sang, "Let us make earth. I am thinking of the earth, earth, earth; I am thinking of the earth," he sang four times. All four gods shook hands. In doing so, their sweat mixed together and Creator rubbed his palms, from which fell a small round, brown ball, not much larger than a bean. Creator kicked it, and it expanded. Girl-Without-Parents kicked the ball, and it enlarged more. Sun-God and Small-Boy took turns giving it hard kicks, and each time the ball expanded. Creator told Wind to go inside the ball and to blow it up. Tarantula spun a black cord and, attaching it to the ball, crawled away fast to the east, pulling on the cord with all his strength. Tarantula repeated with a blue cord to the south, a yellow cord to the west, and a white cord to the north. With mighty pulls in each direction, the brown ball stretched to immeasurable size -- it became the earth! Creator scratched his chest and rubbed his fingers together and there appeared Hummingbird. "Fly north, south, east, and west and tell us what you see," said Creator. "All is well," reported Hummingbird upon his return. "The earth is most beautiful, with water on the west side." But the earth kept rolling and dancing up and down. So Creator made four giant posts -- black, blue, yellow, and white to support the earth. Wind carried the four posts, placing them beneath the four cardinal points of the earth. The earth sat still. Creator sang, "World is now made and now sits still," which he repeated four times. Then he began a song about the sky. None existed, but he thought there should be one. After singing about it four times, twenty-eight people appeared to help make a sky above the earth. Creator chanted about making chiefs for the earth and sky. He sent Lightning-Maker to encircle the world, and he returned with three uncouth creatures, two girls and a boy found in a turquoise shell. They had no eyes, ears, hair, mouths, noses, or teeth. They had arms and legs, but no fingers or toes. Sun-God sent for Fly to come and build a sweathouse. Girl-Without-Parents covered it with four heavy clouds. In front of the east doorway she placed a soft, red cloud for a foot-blanket to be used after the sweat. Four stones were heated by the fire inside the sweathouse. The three uncouth creatures were placed inside. The others sang songs of healing on the outside, until it was time for the sweat to be finished. Out came the three strangers who stood upon the magic red cloud-blanket. Creator then shook his hands toward them, giving each one fingers, toes, mouths, eyes, ears, noses and hair. Creator named the boy, Sky-Boy, to be chief of the Sky-People. One girl he named Earth-Daughter, to take charge of the earth and its crops. The other girl he named Pollen-Girl, and gave her charge of health care for all Earth-People. Since the earth was flat and barren, Creator thought it fun to create animals, birds, trees, and a hill. He sent Pigeon to see how the world looked. Four days later, he returned and reported, "All is beautiful around the world. But four days from now, the water on the other side of the earth will rise and cause a mighty flood." Creator made a very tall pinon tree. Girl-Without-Parents covered the tree framework with pinon gum, creating a large, tight ball. In four days, the flood occurred. Creator went up on a cloud, taking his twenty-eight helpers with him. Girl-Without-Parents put the others into the large, hollow ball, closing it tight at the top. In twelve days, the water receded, leaving the float-ball high on a hilltop. Girl-Without-Parents led the gods out from the float-ball onto the new earth. She took them upon her cloud, drifting upward until they met Creator with his helpers, who had completed their work making the sky during the flood time on earth. Together the two clouds descended to a valley below. There, Girl-Without-Parents gathered everyone together to listen to Creator. "I am planning to leave you," he said. "I wish each of you to do your best toward making a perfect, happy world." "You, Lightning-Rumbler, shall have charge of clouds and water." "You, Sky-Boy, look after all Sky-People." "You, Earth-Daughter, take charge of all crops and Earth-People." "You, Pollen-Girl, care for their health and guide them." "You, Girl-Without-Parents, I leave you in charge over all." Creator then turned toward Girl-Without-Parents and together they rubbed their legs with their hands and quickly cast them forcefully downward. Immediately between them arose a great pile of wood, over which Creator waved a hand, creating fire. Great clouds of smoke at once drifted skyward. Into this cloud, Creator disappeared. The other gods followed him in other clouds of smoke, leaving the twenty-eight workers to people the earth. Sun-God went east to live and travel with the Sun. Girl-Without-Parents departed westward to live on the far horizon. Small-Boy and Pollen-Girl made cloud homes in the south. Big Dipper can still be seen in the northern sky at night, a reliable guide to all.  Auguries of Innocence by William BlakeTo see a World in a Grain of SandAnd a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour. A Robin Red breast in a Cage Puts all Heaven in a Rage. A dove house fill'd with doves & Pigeons Shudders Hell thro' all its regions. A dog starv'd at his Master's Gate Predicts the ruin of the State. A Horse misus'd upon the Road Calls to Heaven for Human blood. Each outcry of the hunted Hare A fibre from the Brain does tear. A Skylark wounded in the wing, A Cherubim does cease to sing. The Game Cock clipp'd and arm'd for fight Does the Rising Sun affright. Every Wolf's & Lion's howl Raises from Hell a Human Soul. The wild deer, wand'ring here & there, Keeps the Human Soul from Care. The Lamb misus'd breeds public strife And yet forgives the Butcher's Knife. The Bat that flits at close of Eve Has left the Brain that won't believe. The Owl that calls upon the Night Speaks the Unbeliever's fright. He who shall hurt the little Wren Shall never be belov'd by Men. He who the Ox to wrath has mov'd Shall never be by Woman lov'd. The wanton Boy that kills the Fly Shall feel the Spider's enmity. He who torments the Chafer's sprite Weaves a Bower in endless Night. The Caterpillar on the Leaf Repeats to thee thy Mother's grief. Kill not the Moth nor Butterfly, For the Last Judgement draweth nigh. He who shall train the Horse to War Shall never pass the Polar Bar. The Beggar's Dog & Widow's Cat, Feed them & thou wilt grow fat. The Gnat that sings his Summer's song Poison gets from Slander's tongue. The poison of the Snake & Newt Is the sweat of Envy's Foot. The poison of the Honey Bee Is the Artist's Jealousy. The Prince's Robes & Beggars' Rags Are Toadstools on the Miser's Bags. A truth that's told with bad intent Beats all the Lies you can invent. It is right it should be so; Man was made for Joy & Woe; And when this we rightly know Thro' the World we safely go. Joy & Woe are woven fine, A Clothing for the Soul divine; Under every grief & pine Runs a joy with silken twine. The Babe is more than swaddling Bands; Throughout all these Human Lands Tools were made, & born were hands, Every Farmer Understands. Every Tear from Every Eye Becomes a Babe in Eternity. This is caught by Females bright And return'd to its own delight. The Bleat, the Bark, Bellow & Roar Are Waves that Beat on Heaven's Shore. The Babe that weeps the Rod beneath Writes Revenge in realms of death. The Beggar's Rags, fluttering in Air, Does to Rags the Heavens tear. The Soldier arm'd with Sword & Gun, Palsied strikes the Summer's Sun. The poor Man's Farthing is worth more Than all the Gold on Afric's Shore. One Mite wrung from the Labrer's hands Shall buy & sell the Miser's lands: Or, if protected from on high, Does that whole Nation sell & buy. He who mocks the Infant's Faith Shall be mock'd in Age & Death. He who shall teach the Child to Doubt The rotting Grave shall ne'er get out. He who respects the Infant's faith Triumph's over Hell & Death. The Child's Toys & the Old Man's Reasons Are the Fruits of the Two seasons. The Questioner, who sits so sly, Shall never know how to Reply. He who replies to words of Doubt Doth put the Light of Knowledge out. The Strongest Poison ever known Came from Caesar's Laurel Crown. Nought can deform the Human Race Like the Armour's iron brace. When Gold & Gems adorn the Plow To peaceful Arts shall Envy Bow. A Riddle or the Cricket's Cry Is to Doubt a fit Reply. The Emmet's Inch & Eagle's Mile Make Lame Philosophy to smile. He who Doubts from what he sees Will ne'er believe, do what you Please. If the Sun & Moon should doubt They'd immediately Go out. To be in a Passion you Good may do, But no Good if a Passion is in you. The Whore & Gambler, by the State Licenc'd, build that Nation's Fate. The Harlot's cry from Street to Street Shall weave Old England's winding Sheet. The Winner's Shout, the Loser's Curse, Dance before dead England's Hearse. Every Night & every Morn Some to Misery are Born. Every Morn & every Night Some are Born to sweet Delight. Some are Born to sweet Delight, Some are born to Endless Night. We are led to Believe a Lie When we see not Thro' the Eye Which was Born in a Night to Perish in a Night When the Soul Slept in Beams of Light. God Appears & God is Light To those poor Souls who dwell in the Night, But does a Human Form Display To those who Dwell in Realms of day.  Australian Aboriginal Creation MythThe Dreamtime: In the beginning the earth was a bare plain. All was dark. There was no life, no death. The sun, the moon, and the stars slept beneath the earth. All the eternal ancestors slept there, too, until at last they woke themselves out of their own eternity and broke through to the surface.When the eternal ancestors arose, in the Dreamtime, they wandered the earth, sometimes in animal form -- as kangaroos, or emus, or lizards -- sometimes in human shape, sometimes part animal and human, sometimes as part human and plant. Two such beings, self-created out of nothing, were the Ungambikula. Wandering the world, they found half-made human beings. They were made of animals and plants, but were shapeless bundles, lying higgledy-piggledy, near where water holes and salt lakes could be created. The people were all doubled over into balls, vague and unfinished, without limbs or features. With their great stone knives, the Ungambikula carved heads, bodies, legs, and arms out of the bundles. They made the faces, and the hands and feet. At last the human beings were finished. Thus every man and woman was transformed from nature and owes allegiance to the totem of the animal or the plant that made the bundle they were created from -- such as the plum tree, the grass seed, the large and small lizards, the parakeet, or the rat. This work done, the ancestors went back to sleep. Some of them returned to underground homes, others became rocks and trees. The trails the ancestors walked in the Dreamtime are holy trails. Everywhere the ancestors went, they left sacred traces of their presence -- a rock, a waterhole, a tree. For the Dreamtime does not merely lie in the distant past, the Dreamtime is the eternal Now. Between heartbeat and heartbeat, the Dreamtime can come again.  Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms by Thomas MooreBelieve me if all thoseEndearing young charms Which I gaze on so fondly today Were to change by tomorrow And fleet in my arms, Like fairy gifts fading away Though would'st still be adored As this moment thou art Let thy loveliness fade as it will And around the dear ruin Each wish of my heart Would entwine itself Verdantly still. It is not while beauty And youth are thine own And thy cheeks Unprofaned by a tear That the ferver and faith Of a soul can be known To which time will but Make thee more dear No the heart that has truly loved Never forgets But as truly loves On to the close As the sunflower turns On her god when he sets The same look which She'd turned when he rose.  Buddhism and Cosmology by Trinh Xuan ThuanWhat are the consequences of the concept of interdependence on cosmological ideas in Buddhism? The concept of interdependence implies that the elements of the conventional reality we are all familiar with do not possess an existence that is permanent and autonomous. This thing exists because something else exists, that happens because this has occurred. Nothing can exist by itself and be its own cause.Everything depends on everything else. Suppose that there is an entity that exists independently of all the others. This implies that it is not produced by a cause, that is, either it has always existed or it does not exist at all. Such an entity will be unchanging since it cannot act on others and others cannot act on it. The world of phenomena could not function. Thus interdependence is essential for phenomena to manifest themselves. Because the concept of interdependence implies that nothing can exist by itself and be its own cause, it goes against the idea of a creative principle, a First Cause or a God that is permanent, all-powerful, that has no other cause than itself, and which created the universe. In the same vein, Buddhism rejects the idea that the universe can be born out of nothing - a creation ex-nihilo - because the universe has to depend on something else to emerge. If the universe was created, it is because there was a potentiality already present. The coming into being of the universe is merely the realization of that potentiality. One can thus interpret the Big Bang as the manifestation of the phenomenal world emerging from an infinite potentiality already in existence. In a poetic language, Buddhism speaks about of "particles of space" which carry in them the potentiality of matter. This is strongly reminiscent of the vacuum filled with energy that is thought to have given birth the material content of the universe in the modern Big Bang theory. Material phenomenon and things are not "created" in the sense that they go from a state of non-existence to one of existence. Rather they go from an unrealized state to a realized state. Once it has come into existence, the universe goes through a series of cycles, each composed of 4 stages: birth, evolution, death and a state where the universe is pure potentiality but has not manifested yet itself. This cyclic universe has no beginning nor an end.  Buddhism: The illimitable Void of the universeThe illimitable Void of the universe is capable of holding myriads of things of various shape and form, such as the sun, the moon, stars, mountains, rivers, worlds, springs, rivulets, bushes, woods, good men, bad men, dharmas pertaining to goodness or badness, deva planes, hells, great oceans, and all the mountains of the Mahameru. Space takes in all these, and so does the voidness of our nature. We say that the Essence of Mind is great because it embraces all things, since all things are within our nature. 1
  Chinese Creation MythIn the beginning, the heavens and earth were still one and all was chaos. The universe was like a big black egg, carrying Pan Gu inside itself. After eighteen-thousand years Pan Gu woke from a long sleep. He felt suffocated, so he took up a broadax and wielded it with all his might to crack open the egg. The light, clear part of it floated up and formed the heavens, the cold, turbid matter stayed below to form earth. Pan Gu stood in the middle, his head touching the sky, his feet planted on the earth. The heavens and the earth began to grow at a rate of ten feet per day, and Pan Gu grew along with them. After another 18 thousand years, the sky was higher, the earth thicker, and Pan Gu stood between them like a pillar 9 million li in height so that they would never join again.When Pan Gu died, his breath became the wind and clouds, his voice the rolling thunder. One eye became the sun and one the moon. His body and limbs turned to five big mountains and his blood formed the roaring water. His veins became far-stretching roads and his muscles fertile land. The innumerable stars in the sky came from his hair and beard, and flowers and trees from his skin and the fine hairs on his body. His marrow turned to jade and pearls. His sweat flowed like the good rain and sweet dew that nurtured all things on earth. According to some versions of the Pan Gu legend, his tears flowed to make rivers and radiance of his eyes turned into thunder and lightning. When he was happy the sun shone, but when he was angry black clouds gathered in the sky. One version of the legend has it that the fleas and lice on his body became the ancestors of mankind. The Pan Gu story has become firmly fixed in Chinese tradition. There is even an idiom relating to it: "Since Pan Gu created earth and the heavens," meaning "for a very long time." Nevertheless, it is rather a latecomer to the catalog of Chinese legends. First mention of it is in a book on Chinese myths written by Xu Zheng in the Three Kingdoms period 2. Some opinions hold that it originated in south China or southeast Asia. Another version of the Pan Gu story Among the Miao, Yao, Li and other nationalities of south China, a legend considers Pan Gu the ancestor of all mankind, with a man's body and a dog's head. Up in Heaven the God in charge of the earth, King Gao Xin, owned a beautiful spotted dog. He reared him on a plate 3 inside a gourd 4, so the dog was known as Pan Gu. Among the Gods there was great enmity between King Gao Xin and his rival King Fang. "Whoever can bring me the head of King Fang may marry my daughter," he proclaimed, but nobody was willing to try because they were afraid of King Fang's strong soldiers and sturdy horses. The dog Pan Gu overheard what was said, and when Gao Xin was sleeping, slipped out of the palace and ran to King Fang. The latter was glad to see him standing there wagging his tail. "You see, King Gao Xin is near his end. Even his dog has left him," Fang said, and held a banquet for the occasion with the dog at his side. At midnight when all was quiet and Fang was overcome with drink, Pan Gu jumped onto the king's bed, bit off his head and ran back to his master with it. King Gao Xin was overjoyed to see the head of his rival, and gave orders to bring Pan Gu some fresh meat. But Pan Gu left the meat untouched and curled himself up in a corner to sleep. For three days he ate nothing and did not stir. The king was puzzled and asked, "Why don't you eat? Is it because I failed to keep my promise of marrying a dog?" To his surprise Pan Gu began to speak. "Don't worry, my King. Just cover me with your golden bell and in seven days and seven nights I'll become a man." The King did as he said, but on the sixth day, fearing he would starve to death, out of solicitude the princess peeped under the bell. Pan Gu's body had already changed into that of a man, but his head was still that of a dog. However, once the bell was raised, the magic change stopped, and he had to remain a man with a dog's head. He married the princess, but she didn't want to be seen with such a man so they moved to the earth and settled in the remote mountains of south China. There they lived happily and had four children, three boys and a girl, who became the ancestors of mankind.
  Christianity Creation MythIn the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth." And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens." So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds, cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and the cattle according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation.
  Comes the Dawn by Veronica A. ShoffstallAfter a while you learnthe subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul and you learn that love doesn't mean leaning and company doesn't always mean security. And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child and you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight. After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much so you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure you really are strong you really do have worth and you learn and you learn with every goodbye, you learn...  Desiderata by Max EhrmannGo placidly amid the noise and haste,and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.  Design by Robert FrostI found a dimpled spider, fat and white,On a white heal-all, holding up a moth Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth -- Assorted characters of death and blight Mixed ready to begin the morning right, Like the ingredients of a witches' broth -- A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth, And dead wings carried like a paper kite. What had that flower to do with being white, The wayside blue and innocent heal-all? What brought the kindred spider to that height, Then steered the white moth thither in the night? What but design of darkness to appall?-- If design govern in a thing so small.  Eight Point Cosmic Blossom of Birth by Bryant McGillEight_Point_Cosmic_Blossom_of_Birth_by_Bryant_McGill.jpg)
 From the Realm  Galactic Convergence (NGC 4038 & 4039) by NASA
“Galaxies NGC 4038 & 4039 colliding as seen by the Hubble telescope.”
 Girl Washing Her Hair by Hugo Robus  God's Curse by James Tissot
Hidden Beauty by Lady Catherine  Hinduism: As the web issues out of the spiderAs the web issues out of the spiderAnd is withdrawn, as plants sprout from the earth, As hair grows from the body, even so, The sages say, this universe springs from The deathless Self, the source of life. The deathless Self meditated upon Himself and projected the universe As evolutionary energy. From this energy developed life, mind, The elements, and the world of karma, Which is enchained by cause and effect. The deathless Self sees all, knows all. From him Springs Brahma, who embodies the process Of evolution into name and form By which the One appears to be many. 5  Hinduism: To ashes, the fire of knowledge burnsAs the heat of a fire reduces wood to ashes, the fire of knowledge burns to ashes all karma. Nothing in this world purifies like spiritual wisdom. It is the perfection achieved in time through the path of yoga, the path which leads to the Self within. 6
  Hopi Creation MythThe dominance of Spider Woman, the female creative principle, befits a culture that remains to this day matrilineal. The Hopi creation myth uses many familiar motifs: the creative female principle itself, associated with the Earth; the more mysterious divine spirit, the sun god Tawa; the division of the divine parents into new creative forms; and creation by thought, a motif common to many Native American mythologies. An interesting development is the notion of creation by song, an innovation that seems to owe something to Anasazi-Hopi ritual song-dances.Most important, the Spider Woman story is an example of an emergence myth, a type of creation myth popular among Native American tribes. The emergence story stresses the idea of the Earth as a womb from which the people emerge gradually, as in childbirth. At each stage they grow in knowledge and ability, and only when fully born are they bathed by the light of the Sun God's power, the power of Logos, the principle that allows for proper social ordering. First Tale In the beginning there were only two: Tawa, the Sun God, and Spider Woman, the Earth Goddess. All the mysteries and power in the Above belonged to Tawa, while Spider Woman controlled the magic of the Below. In the Underworld, abode of the Gods, they dwelt and they were All. There was neither man nor woman, bird nor beast, no living thing until these Two willed it to be. In time it came to them that there should be other Gods to share their labors. So Tawa divided himself and there came Muiyinwuh, God of All Life Germs; Spider Woman also divided herself so that there was Huzruiwuhti, Woman of the Hard Substances, the Goddess of all hard ornaments of wealth such as coral, turquoise, silver and shell. Huzruiwuhti became the always-bride of Tawa. They were the First Lovers and of their union there came into being those marvelous ones the Magic Twins -- Puukonhoya, the Youth, and Palunhoya, the Echo. As time unrolled there followed Hicanavaiya, Ancient of Six 7, Man-Eagle, the Great Plumed Serpent and many others. But Masauwhu, the Death God, did not come of these Two but was bad magic, who appeared only after the making of creatures. And then it came about that these Two had one Thought and it was a mighty Thought -- that they would make the Earth to be between the Above and the Below where now lay shimmering only the Endless Waters. So they sat them side by side, swaying their beautiful bronze bodies to the pulsing music of their own great voices, making the First Magic Song, a song of rushing winds and flowing waters, a song of light and sound and life. "I am Tawa," sang the Sun God. "I am Light. I am Life. I am Father of all that shall ever come." "I am Kokyanwuhti," the Spider Woman crooned. "I receive Light and nourish Life. I am Mother of all that shall ever come." "Many strange thoughts are forming in my mind -- beautiful forms of birds to float in the Above, of beasts to move upon the Earth and fish to swim in the Waters," intoned Tawa. "Now let these things that move in the Thought of Tawa appear," chanted Spider Woman, while with her slender fingers she caught up clay from beside her and made the Thoughts of Tawa take form. One by one she shaped them and laid them aside -- but they breathed not nor moved. "We must do something about this," said Tawa. "It is not good that they lie thus still and quiet. Each thing that has a form must also have a spirit. So now, my beloved, we must make a mighty Magic." They laid a white blanket over the many figures, a cunningly woven woolen blanket, fleecy as a cloud, and made a mighty incantation over it, and soon the figures stirred and breathed. "Now, let us make ones like unto you and me, so that they may rule over and enjoy these lesser creatures," sang Tawa, and Spider Woman shaped the Thoughts into woman and man figures like unto their own. But after the blanket magic had been made, the figures remained inert. So Spider Woman gathered them all in her arms and cradled them, while Tawa bent his glowing eyes upon them. The two now sang the magic Song of Life over them, and at last each human figure breathed and lived. "Now that was a good thing and a mighty thing," said Tawa. "So now all this is finished, and there shall be no new things made by us. Those things we have made shall multiply. I will make a journey across the Above each day to shed my light upon them and return each night to Huzruiwuhti. And now I shall go to turn my blazing shield upon the Endless Waters, so that the Dry Land may appear. And this day will be the first day upon Earth." "Now I shall lead all these created beings to the land that you shall cause to appear above the waters," said Spider Woman. Then Tawa took down his burnished shield from the turquoise wall of the kiva and swiftly mounted his glorious way to the Above. After Spider Woman had bent her wise, all-seeing eyes upon the thronging creatures about her, she wound her way among them, separating them into groups. "Thus and thus shall you be and thus shall you remain, each one in her own tribe forever. You are Zunis, you are Kohoninos, you are Pah-Utes..." The Hopis, all, all people were named by Kokyanwuhti then. Placing her Magic Twins beside her, Spider Woman called all the people to follow where she led. Through all the Four Great Caverns of the Underworld she led them until they finally came to an opening, a sipapu, which led above. This came out at the lowest depth of the Pisisbaiya 8 and was the place where the people were to come to gather salt. So lately had the Endless Waters gone down that the Turkey, Koyona, pushing early ahead, dragged its tail feathers in the black mud where the dark bands were to remain forever. Mourning Dove flew overhead, calling to some to follow, and those who followed where his sharp eyes had spied out springs and built beside them were called "Huwinyamu" after him. So Spider Woman chose a creature to lead each clan to a place to build their house. The Puma, the Snake, the Antelope, the Deer, and other Horn creatures, each led a clan to a place to build their house. Each clan henceforth bore the name of the creature who had led them. The Spider Woman spoke to them thus: "The woman of the clan shall build the house, and the family name shall descend through her. She shall be house builder and homemaker. She shall mold the jars for the storing of food and water. She shall grind the grain for food and tenderly rear and teach the young. The man of the clan shall build kivas of stone under the ground. In these kivas the man shall make sand pictures as altars. Of colored sand shall he make them, and they shall be called 'ponya.' The man too shall weave the clan blankets with their proper symbols. The man shall fashion himself weapons and furnish his family with game." Stooping down, she gathered some sand in her hand, letting it run out in a thin, continuous stream. "See the movement of the sand? That is the life that will cause all things therein to grow. The Great Plumed Serpent, Lightning, will rear and strike the earth to fertilize it; Rain Cloud will pour down waters, and Tawa will smile upon it so that green things will spring up to feed my children." Her eyes now sought the Above where Tawa was descending toward his western kiva in all the glory of red and gold. "I go now, but have no fear, for we Two will be watching over you. Look upon me now, my children, ere I leave. Obey the words I have given you, and all will be well. If you are in need of help, call upon me, and I will send my sons to your aid." The people gazed wide-eyed upon her shining beauty. Her woven upper garment of soft white wool hung tunic-wise over a blue skirt. On its left side was woven a band bearing the Butterfly and Squash Blossom, in designs of red and yellow and green with bands of black appearing in between. Her neck was hung with heavy necklaces of turquoise, shell and coral, and pendants of the same hung from her ears. Her face was fair, with warm eyes and tender lips, and her form most graceful. Upon her feet were skin boots of gleaming white, and they now turned toward where the sand spun about in whirlpool fashion. She held up her right hand and smiled upon them, then stepped upon the whirling sand. Wonder of wonders, before their eyes the sands seemed to suck her swiftly down until she disappeared entirely from their sight.
  Human Boundaries by Dennis C. Chisum
 Humbling Human Divisions by Bryant McGill Huron Creation MythIn the beginning there was only one water and the water animals that lived in it.Then a woman fell from a torn place in the sky. She was a divine woman, full of power. Two loons flying over the water saw her falling. They flew under her, close together, making a pillow for her to sit on. The loons held her up and cried for help. They could be heard for a long way as they called for other animals to come. The snapping turtle called all the other animals to aid in saving the divine woman's life. The animals decided the woman needed earth to live on. Turtle said, "Dive down in the water and bring up some earth." So they did that, those animals. A beaver went down. A muskrat went down. Others stayed down too long, and they died. Each time, Turtle looked inside their mouths when they came up, but there was no earth to be found. Toad went under the water. He stayed too long, and he nearly died. But when Turtle looked inside Toad's mouth, he found a little earth. The woman took it and put it all around on Turtle's shell. That was the start of the earth. Dry land grew until it formed a country, then another country, and all the earth. To this day, Turtle holds up the earth. Time passed, and the divine woman had twin boys. They were opposites, her sons. One was good, and one was bad. One was born as children are usually born, in a normal way. But the other one broke out of his mother's side, and she died. When the divine woman was buried, all of the plants needed for life on earth sprang from the ground above her. From her head came the pumpkin vine. Maize came from her chest. Pole beans grew from her legs. The divine woman's sons grew up. The evil one was Tawis-karong. The good one was Tijus-kaha. They were to prepare the earth so that humans could live on it. But they found they could not live together. And so they separated, with each one taking his own portion of the earth to prepare. The bad brother, Tawis-karong, made monstrous animals, fierce and terrifying. He made wolves and bears, and snakes of giant size. He made mosquitoes huge, the size of wild turkeys. And he made an enormous toad. It drank up the fresh water that was on the earth. All of it. The good brother, Tijus-kaha, made proper animals that were of use to human beings. He made the dove, and the mockingbird, and the partridge. And one day, the partridge flew toward the land of Tawis-karong. "Why do you go there?" Tijus-kaha asked the partridge. "I go because there is no water. And I hear there is some in your brother's land," said the partridge. Tijus-kaha didn't believe the bird. So he followed, and finally he came to his evil brother's land. He saw all of the outlandish, giant animals his brother had made. Tijus-kaha didn't beat them down. And then he saw the giant toad. He cut it open. Out came the earth's fresh water. Tijus-kaha didn't kill any [more] of his brother's creations. But he made them smaller, of normal size so that human beings could be leaders over them. His mother's spirit came to Tijus-kaha in a dream. She warned him about his evil brother. And sure enough, one day, the two brothers had to come face to face. They decided they could not share the earth. They would have a duel to see who would be master of the world. Each had to overcome the other with a single weapon. Tijus-kaha, the good, could only be killed if beaten to death with a bag full of corn or beans. The evil brother could be killed only by using the horn of a deer or other wild animal. Then the brothers fixed the fighting ground where the battle would begin. The first turn went to the evil brother, Tawis-karong. He pounded his brother with a bag of beans. He beat him until Tijus-kaha was nearly dead. But not quite. He got his strength back, and he chased Tawis-karong. Now it was his turn. He beat his evil brother with a deer horn. Finally, Tijus-kaha took his brother's life away. But still the evil brother wasn't completely destroyed. "I have gone to the far west," he said. "All the races of men will follow me to the west when they die." It is the belief of the Hurons to this day. When they die, their spirits go to the far west, where they will dwell forever.  I Want to Know You by Oriah Mountain DreamerIt doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your life's longing.It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive. It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have been shriveled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human. It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself, if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray you own soul. I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day, and if you can source your life from God's presence. I want to know if you can live with the failure, yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, 'Yes'! It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children. It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments. In The Great Hindu Temple Rameswaram India  Interpretation of Azoth of the Philosophers by Dennis William HauckThis meditative emblem first published in 1659 as an illustration for the book Azoth of the Philosophers by the legendary German alchemist Basil Valentine. The word "Azoth" in the title is one of the more arcane names for the One Thing. The "A" and "Z" in the word relate to the Greek alpha and omega, the beginning and end of all things. The word is meant to embrace the full meaning of the One Thing, which is both the chaotic First Matter at the beginning of the Work and the perfected Stone at its conclusion.At the center of this striking drawing is the face of a bearded alchemist at the beginning of the Work. Like looking into a mirror, this is where the adept fixes his or her attention to meditate on the mandala. Within the downward-pointing triangle superimposed over the face of the alchemist is the goal of the Work, the divine man in which the forces from Above and Below have come together. Each of the sequentially numbered points on the star emanating from the alchemist stands for an operation in the Emerald Formula (Calcination, Dissolution, Separation, Conjunction, Fermentation, Distillation, and Coagulation) and contains the cipher for the corresponding metal. To see an explanation of these operations, click on the appropriate point on the star. The alchemist's schematized body is the offspring of the marriage between Sol, the archetypal Sun King seated on a lion on a hill to his right, and Luna, the archetypal Moon Queen seated on a great fish to his left. "Its father is the Sun," says the tablet, "its mother the Moon." The laughing, extroverted Sun King holds a scepter and a shield indicating his authority and strength over the rational, visible world, but the fiery dragon of his rejected unconscious waits in a cave beneath him ready to attack should he grow too arrogant. The melancholy, introverted Moon Queen holds the reins to a great fish, symbolizing her control of those same hidden forces that threaten the King, and behind her is a chaff of wheat, which stands for her connection to fertility and growth. The bow and arrow she cradles in her left arm symbolize the wounds of the heart and body she accepts as part of her existence. In simplest terms, the King and Queen represent the raw materials of our experience -- our thoughts and feelings -- with which the alchemist works. The King symbolizes the power of thought, ultimately the One Mind of the highest spirit. The Queen stands for the influence of feelings and emotions, which are ultimately the chaotic One Thing of the greater soul. The much anticipated Marriage of the King and Queen produces a state of consciousness best described as a feeling intellect, which can be raised and purified to produce a state of perfect intuition, a direct gnosis of reality. "All Obscurity will be clear to you," says the tablet of this state of mind; it is "the Glory of the Whole Universe." The goal of alchemy is to make this golden moment permanent in a state of consciousness called the Philosopher?s Stone, and it all starts with the marriage of opposites within us. In our drawing, the body of the alchemist is composed of the Four Elements. His feet protrude from behind the central emblem; one is on Earth and the other in Water. In his right hand is a torch of Fire and in his left a feather, symbolizing Air. Between his legs dangles the Cubic Stone labeled with the word Corpus, meaning body. The five stars surrounding it indicate that it also contains the hidden Fifth Element, the invisible Quintessence whose "inherent strength is perfected if it is turned into Earth." Where the head of the alchemist should be, there is a strange winged caricature that is variously interpreted as a heart, a helmet, or even the pineal gland at the center of the brain. The symbol evolved from the Winged Disk of Akhenaten and became the top of the Caduceus, the magical wand of Hermes where opposing energies merge to produce miracles. This knob represents the Ascended Essence, the essence of our souls raised to the highest level in the body, to the brain, where it becomes a mobile center of consciousness able to leave the body and travel to other dimensions. Touching the wings of the caduceus are a salamander engulfed in flames on the left side of the drawing and a standing bird on the right. Below the salamander is the inscription Anima (Soul); below the bird is the inscription Spiritus (Spirit). The salamander, as a symbol of soul, is attracted to and exposed in the blazing fire of the Sun. Likewise, the bird of spirit is attracted to the coolness of the Moon and is reflected in it. This is a subtle statement of the fundamental bipolar energies that drive the alchemy of transformation. Spiritus, Anima, and Corpus form a large inverted triangle that stands behind the central emblem. Together they symbolize the three archetypal celestial forces that the alchemists termed Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt. Again, these chemicals are not chemicals at all, but our feelings, thoughts, and body.  Iroquois Creation MythAbout 1390, today's State of New York became the stronghold of five powerful Indian tribes. They were later joined by another great tribe, the Tuscaroras from the south. Eventually the Iroquois, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas joined together to form the great Iroquois Nation. In 1715, the Tuscaroras were accepted into the Iroquois Nation.Long, long ago, one of the Spirits of the Sky World came down and looked at the earth. As he traveled over it, he found it beautiful, and so he created people to live on it. Before returning to the sky, he gave them names, called the people all together, and spoke his parting words: "To the Mohawks, I give corn," he said. "To the patient Oneidas, I give the nuts and the fruit of many trees. To the industrious Senecas, I give beans. To the friendly Cayugas, I give the roots of plants to be eaten. To the wise and eloquent Onondagas, I give grapes and squashes to eat and tobacco to smoke at the camp fires." Many other things he told the new people. Then he wrapped himself in a bright cloud and went like a swift arrow to the Sun. There his return caused his Brother Sky Spirits to rejoice. Second Version In the beginning there was no earth to live on, but up above, in the Great Blue, there was a woman who dreamed dreams. One night she dreamed about a tree covered with white blossoms, a tree that brightened up the sky when its flowers opened but that brought terrible darkness when they closed again. The dream frightened her, so she went and told it to the wise old men who lived with her in their village in the sky. "Pull up this tree," she begged them, but they did not understand. All they did was dig around its roots, to make space for more light. But the tree just fell through the hole they had made and disappeared. After that there was no light at all, only darkness. The old men grew frightened of the woman and her dreams. It was her fault that the light had disappeared forever. So they dragged her toward the hole and pushed her through as well. Down, down she fell, down toward the great emptiness. There was nothing below her but a heaving waste of water. She would surely have been smashed to pieces, this strange dreaming woman from the Great Blue, had not a fish hawk come to her aid. His feathers made a pillow for her and she drifted gently above the waves. But the fish hawk could not keep her up all on his own. He needed help. So he called out to the creatures of the deep. "We must find some firm ground for this poor woman to rest on," he said anxiously. But there was no ground, only the swirling, endless waters. A helldiver went down, down, down to the very bottom of the sea and brought back a little bit of mud in his beak. He found a turtle, smeared the mud onto its back, and dived down again for more. Then the ducks joined in. They loved getting muddy and they too brought beaks full of the ocean floor and spread it over the turtle's shell. The beavers helped -- they were great builders -- and they worked away, making the shell bigger and bigger. Everybody was very busy now and everybody was excited. This world they were making seemed to be growing enormous! The birds and the animals rushed about building countries, the continents, until, in the end, they had made the whole round earth, while all the time they sky woman was safely sitting on the turtle's back. And the turtle holds the earth up to this very day.
  Jainism: Blown away by the breeze The wise man looks upon life as a mere dew drop which quivers upon the tip of a blade of kusa grass, to be whisked off or blown away by the breeze at any moment. The life of an unwise, imprudent, and ignorant person is likewise as transient as said dew drop. 9 Mik'Maq Creation Myth (Micmac)This story has been passed down from generation to generation since time immemorial and it explains how Mik'Maq people came into existence in North America. The story tells about the relationship between the Great Spirit Creator and Human Beings and the Environment. It also explains a philosophical view of life which is indigenous to North America. This way of thinking is evident in the Native Languages and Cultures and in the spiritual practices.The fact that the Mik'Maq people's language, culture and spiritualism has survived for centuries is based on the creation story. Respect for their elders has given them wisdom about life and the world around them. The strength of their youth has given them the will to survive. The love and trust of their motherhood has given them a special understanding of everyday life. Among the Mik'Maq people, the number seven is very meaningful. There are seven districts for distinct areas which encompass an area of land stretching from the Gasp coast of Quebec and include New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. The most powerful spirit medicine is made from seven barks and roots. Seven men, representatives from each distinct area, or Grand Council District, sit inside a sweat-lodge and smoke the pipe and burn the sweet grass. Inside the sweat-lodge, the Mik'Maqs will pour water over seven, fourteen and then twenty-one heated rocks to produce hot steam. A cleansing or purification takes place. A symbolic rebirth takes place and the men give thanks to the Spirit Creator, the Sun and the Earth. They also give thanks the first family, Glooscap, Nogami, Netaoansom, and Neganagonimgoosisgo. Read the story. ONE GISOOLG Gisoolg is the Great Spirit Creator who is the one who made everything. The word Gisoolg in Mik'Maq means "you have been created." It also means "the one credited for your existence." The word does not imply gender. Gisoolg is not a He or a She, it is not important whether the Great Spirit is a He or a She. The Mik'Maq people do not explain how the Great Spirit came into existence, only that Gisoolg is responsible for everything being where it is today. Gisoolg made everything. TWO NISGAM Nisgam is the sun which travels in a circle and owes its existence to Gisoolg. Nisgam is the giver of life. It is also a giver of light and heat. The Mik'Maq people believe that Nisgam is responsible for the creation of the people on earth. Nisgam is Gisoolg's helper. The power of Nisgam is held with much respect among the Mik'Maq and other aboriginal peoples. Nisgam owes its existence to Gisoolg the Great Spirit Creator. THREE OOTSITGAMOO Ootsitgamoo is the earth or area of land upon which the Mik'Maq people walk and share its abundant resources with the animals and plants. In the Mik'Maq language Oetsgitpogooin means "the person or individual who stand upon this surface," or "the one who is given life upon this surface of land." Ootsitgamoo refers to the Mik'Maq world which encompasses all the area where the Mik'Maq people can travel or have traveled upon. Ootsitgamoo was created by Gisoolg and was placed in the center of the circular path of Nisgam, the sun. Nisgam was given the responsibility of watching over the Mik'Maq world or Ootsitgamoo. Nisgam shines bright light upon Oositgamoo as it passes around and this brought the days and nights. FOUR GLOOSCAP After the Mik'Maq world was created and after the animals, birds and plants were placed on the surface, Gisoolg caused a bolt of lightening to hit the surface of Ootsitgamoo. This bolt of lightning caused the formation of an image of a human body shaped out of sand. It was Glooscap who was first shaped out of the basic element of the Mik'Maq world, sand. Gisoolg unleashed another bolt of lightening which gave life to Glooscap but yet he could not move. He was stuck to the ground only to watch the world go by and Nisgam travel across the sky every day. Glooscap watched the animals, the birds and the plants grow and pass around him. He asked Nisgam to give him freedom to move about the Mik'Maq world. While Glooscap was still unable to move, he was lying on his back. His head was facing the direction of the rising sun, east, Oetjgoabaniag or Oetjibanoog. In Mik'Maq these words mean "where the sun comes up " and "where the summer weather comes from" respectively. His feet were in the direction of the setting sun or Oetgatsenoog. Other Mik'Maq words for the west are Oeloesenoog, "where the sun settles into a hallow" or Etgesnoog "where the cold winds come from." Glooscap's right hand was pointed in the direction of the north or Oatnoog. His left hand was in the direction of the south or Opgoetasnoog. So it was the third big blast of lightening that caused Glooscap to become free and to be able to stand on the surface of the earth. After Glooscap stood up on his feet, he turned around in a full circle seven times. He then looked toward the sky and gave thanks to Gisoolg for giving him life. He looked down to the earth or the ground and gave thanks to Ootsigamoo for offering its sand for Glooscap's creation. He looked within himself and gave thanks to Nisgam for giving him his soul and spirit. Glooscap then gave thanks to the four directions east, north, west and south. In all, he gave his heartfelt thanks to the seven directions. Glooscap then traveled to the direction of the setting sun until he came to the ocean. He then went south until the land narrowed and he came to the ocean. He then went south until the land narrowed and he could see two oceans on either side. He again traveled back to where he started from and continued towards the north to the land of ice and snow. Later he came back to the east where he decided to stay. It is where he came into existence. He again watched the animals, the birds and the plants. He watched the water and the sky. Gisoolg taught him to watch and learn about the world. Glooscap watched but he could not disturb the world around him. He finally asked Gisoolg and Nisgam, what was the purpose of his existence. He was told that he would meet someone soon. FIVE NOGAMI One day when Glooscap was traveling in the east he came upon a very old woman. Glooscap asked the old woman how she arrived to the Mik'Maq world. The old woman introduced herself as Nogami. She said to Glooscap, "I am your grandmother." Nogami said that she owes her existence to the rock, the dew and Nisgam, the Sun. She went on to explain that on one chilly morning a rock became covered with dew because it was sitting in a low valley. By midday when the sun was most powerful, the rock got warm and then hot. With the power of Nisgam, the sun, Gisoolg's helper, the rock was given a body of an old woman. This old woman was Nogami, Glooscap's grandmother. Nogami told Glooscap that she came to the Mik'Maq world as an old woman, already very wise and knowledgeable. She further explained that Glooscap would gain spiritual strength by listening to and having great respect for his grandmother. Glooscap was so glad for his grandmother's arrival to the Mik'Maq world he called upon Abistanooj, a marten swimming in the river, to come ashore. Abistanooj did what Glooscap had asked him to do. Abistanooj came to the shore where Glooscap and Nogami were standing. Glooscap asked Abistanooj to give up his life so that he and his grandmother could live. Abistanooj agreed. Nogami then took Abistanooj and quickly snapped his neck. She placed him on the ground. Glooscap for the first time asked Gisoolg to use his power to give life back to Abistanooj because he did not want to be in disfavor with the animals. Because of marten's sacrifice, Glooscap referred to all the animals as his brothers and sisters from that point on. Nogami added that the animals will always be in the world to provide food, clothing, tools, and shelter. Abistanooj went back to the river and in his place laid another marten. Glooscap and Abistanooj became friends and brothers forever. Nogami cleaned the animal to get it ready for eating. She gathered the still hot sparks for the lightening which hit the ground when Glooscap was given life. She placed dry wood over the coals to make a fire. This fire became the Great Spirit Fire and later became known as the Great Council Fire. The first feast of meat was cooked over the Great Fire, or Ekjibuctou. Glooscap relied on his grandmother for her survival, her knowledge and her wisdom. Since Nogami was old and wise, Glooscap learned to respect her for her knowledge. They learned to respect each other for their continued interdependence and continued existence. SIX NETAOANSOM One day when Glooscap and Nogami were walking along in the woods, they came upon a young man. This young man looked very strong because he was tall and physically big. He had grey colored eyes. Glooscap asked the young man his name and how he arrived to the Mik'Maq world. The young man introduced himself. He told Glooscap that his name is Netaoansom and that he is Glooscap's sister's son. In other words, his nephew. He told Glooscap that he is physically strong and that they could all live comfortably. Netaoansom could run after moose, deer and caribou and bring them down with his bare hands. He was so strong. Netaoansom said that while the east wind was blowing so hard it caused the waters of the ocean to become rough and foamy. This foam got blown to the shore on the sandy beach and finally rested on the tall grass. This tall grass is sweetgrass. Its fragrance was sweet. The sweetgrass held onto the foam until Nisgam, the Sun, was high in the midday sky. Nisgam gave Netaoansom spiritual and physical strength in a human body. Gisoolg told Glooscap that if he relied on the strength and power of his nephew he would gain strength and understanding of the world around him. Glooscap was so glad for his nephew's arrival to the Mik'Maq world, he called upon the salmon of the rivers and seas to come to shore and give up their lives. The reason for this is that Glooscap, Netoansom and Nogami did not want to kill all the animals for their survival. So in celebration of his nephew's arrival, they all had a feast of fish. They all gave thanks for their existence. They continued to rely on their brothers and sisters of the woods and waters. They relied on each other for their survival. SEVEN NEGANOGONIMGOSSEESGO While Glooscap was sitting near a fire, Nogami was making clothing out of animal hides and Netaoansom was in the woods getting food. A woman came to the fire and sat beside Glooscap. She put her arms around Glooscap and asked "Are you cold my son?" Glooscap was surprised he stood up and asked the woman who she is and where did she come from. She explained that she was Glooscap's mother. Her name is Neganogonimgooseesgo. Glooscap waited until his grandmother and nephew returned to the fire then he asked his mother to explain how she arrived to the Mik'Maq world. Neganogonimgooseesgo said that she was a leaf on a tree which fell to the ground. Morning dew formed on the leaf and glistened while the sun, Nisgam, began its journey towards the midday sky. It was at midday when Nisgam gave life and a human form to Glooscap's mother. The spirit and strength of Nisgam entered into Glooscap's mother. Glooscap's mother said that she brings all the colors of the world to her children. She also brings strength and understanding; strength to withstand earth's natural forces and understanding of the Mik'Maq world, its animals and her children, the Mik'Maq. She told them that they will need understanding and co-operation so they all can live in peace with one another. Glooscap was so happy that his mother came into the world and since she came from a leaf, he called upon his nephew to gather nuts, fruits of the plants while Nogami prepared a feast. Glooscap gave thanks to Gisoolg, Nisgam, Ootsitgamoo, Nogami, Netaoansom and Neganogonimgooseesgo. They all had a feast in honor of Glooscap's mother's arrival to the world of Mik'Maqs. The story goes on to say that Glooscap, the man created from the sand of the earth, continued to live with his family for a very long time. He gained spiritual strength by having respect for each member of the family. He listened to his grandmother's wisdom. He relied on his nephew's strength and spiritual power. His mother's love and understanding gave him dignity and respect. Glooscap's brothers and sisters of the wood and waters gave him the will and the food to survive. Glooscap now learned that mutual respect of his family and the world around him was a key ingredient for basic survival. Glooscap's task was to pass this knowledge to his fellow Mik'Maq people so that they too could survive in the Mik'Maq world. This is why Glooscap became a central figure in Mik'Maq story telling. One day when Glooscap was talking to Nogami he told her that soon they would leave his mother and nephew. He told her that they should prepare for that occasion. Nogami began to get all the necessary things ready for a long journey to the North. When everyone was sitting around the Great Fire one evening, Glooscap told his mother and nephew that he and Nogami are going to leave the Mik'Maq world. He said that they will travel in the direction of the North only to return if the Mik'Maq people were in danger. Glooscap told his mother and nephew to look after the Great Fire and never to let it go out. After the passing of seven winters, "elwigneg daasiboongeg," seven sparks will fly from the fire and when they land on the ground seven people will come to life. Seven more sparks will land on the ground and seven more people will come into existence. From these sparks will form seven women and seven men. They will form seven families. These seven families will disperse into seven different directions from the area of the Great Fire. Glooscap said that once the seven families arrive at their place of destination, they will further divide into seven groups. Each group will have their own area for their subsistence so they would not disturb the other groups. He instructed his mother that the smaller groups would share the earth's abundance of resources which included animals, plants and fellow humans. Glooscap told his mother that after the passing of seven winters, each of the seven groups would return to the place of the Great Fire. At the place of the fire all the people will dance, sing and drum in celebration of their continued existence in the Mik'Maq world. Glooscap continued by saying that the Great Fire signified the power of the Great Spirit Creator, Gisoolg. It also signified the power and strength of the light and heat of Nisgam, the sun. The Great Fire held the strength of Ootsitgamoo, the earth. Finally the fire represented the bolt of lightening which hit the earth from which Glooscap was created. The fire is very sacred to the Mik'Maqs. It is the most powerful spirit on earth. Glooscap told his mother and nephew that it is important for the Mik'Maq to give honor, respect and thanks to the seven spiritual elements. The fire signifies the first four stages of creation, Gisoolg, Nisgam, Oositgamoo and Glooscap. Fire plays a significant role in the last three stages as it represents the power of the sun, Nisgam. In honor of Nogami's arrival to the Mik'Maq world, Glooscap instructed his mother that seven, fourteen and twenty-one rocks would have to be heated over the Great Fire. These heated rocks will be placed inside a wigwam covered with hides of moose and caribou or with mud. The door must face the direction of the rising sun. There should be room from seven men to sit comfortably around a pit dug in the center where up to twenty-one rocks could be placed. Seven alders, seven wild willows and seven beech saplings will be used to make the frame of the lodge. This lodge should be covered with the hides of moose, caribou, deer or mud. Seven men representing the seven original families will enter into the lodge. They will give thanks and honor to the seven directions, the seven stages of creation and to continue to live in good health. The men will pour water over the rocks causing steam to rise in the lodge to become very hot. The men will begin to sweat up to point that it will become almost unbearable. Only those who believe in the spiritual strength will be able to withstand the heat. Then they will all come out of the lodge full of steam and shining like newborn babies. This is the way they will clean their spirits and should honor Nogami's arrival. In preparation of the sweat, the seven men will not eat any food for seven days. They will only drink the water of golden roots and bee's nectar. Before entering the sweat the seven men will burn the sweetgrass. They will honor the seven directions and the seven stages of creation but mostly for Netawansom's arrival to the Mik'Maq world. The sweetgrass must be lit from the Great Fire. Glooscap's mother came into the world from the leaf of a tree, so in honor of her arrival, tobacco made from bark and leaves will be smoked. The tobacco will be smoked in a pipe made from a branch of a tree and a bowl made from stone. The pipe will be lit from sweetgrass which was lit from the Great Fire. The tobacco made from bark, leaves and sweetgrass represents Glooscap's grandmother, nephew and mother. The tobacco called "spebaggan" will be smoked and the smoke will be blown in seven directions. After honoring Nogami's arrival the Mik'Maq shall have a feast or meal. In honor of Netawansom they will eat fish. The fruits and roots of the trees and plants will be eaten to honor Glooscap's mother. Glooscap's final instruction to his mother told her how to collect and prepare medicine from the barks and roots of seven different kinds of plant. The seven plants together make what is called "ektjimpisun." It will cure mostly every kind of illness in the Mik'Maq world. The ingredients of this medicine are: "wikpe" alum willow, "waqwonuminokse" wild black-cherry, "Kastuk" ground hemlock, and "kowotmonokse" red spruce. The Mik'Maq people are divided into seven distinct areas which are as follows:
 Miracles by Walt WhitmanWhy! who makes much of a miracle?As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles, Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan, Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky, Or wade with naked feet along the beach, just in the edge of the water, Or stand under trees in the woods, Or talk by day with any one I love--or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love, Or sit at table at dinner with my mother, Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car, Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive, of a summer forenoon, Or animals feeding in the fields, Or birds--or the wonderfulness of insects in the air, Or the wonderfulness of the sun-down--or of stars shining so quiet and bright, Or the exquisite, delicate, thin curve of the new moon in spring; Or whether I go among those I like best, and that like me best-- mechanics, boatmen, farmers, Or among the savans--or to the soiree--or to the opera, Or stand a long while looking at the movements of machinery, Or behold children at their sports, Or the admirable sight of the perfect old man, or the perfect old woman, Or the sick in hospitals, or the dead carried to burial, Or my own eyes and figure in the glass; These, with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles, The whole referring--yet each distinct, and in its place. To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, Every cubic inch of space is a miracle, Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same, Every foot of the interior swarms with the same; Every spear of grass--the frames, limbs, organs, of men and women, and all that concerns them, All these to me are unspeakably perfect miracles. To me the sea is a continual miracle; The fishes that swim--the rocks--the motion of the waves--the ships, with men in them, What stranger miracles are there? Miss Expanding Universe by Noguchi
Natural Order (A FIBONACCI SEQUENCE) by Peter Thomas
 On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kuebler-RossWatching a peaceful death of a human being reminds us of a falling star; one of a million lights in a vast sky that flares up for a brief moment only to disappear into the endless night forever.
  Opalescent Cosmology by Bryant McGill  Philosopher's Stone by Sir Isaac Newton  Pregnancy by Zhang Xiaohong  Proto Views of Man  Salish Creation MythOld-Man-in-the-Sky created the world. Then he drained all the water off the earth and crowded it into the big salt holes now called the oceans. The land became dry except for the lakes and rivers. Old Man Coyote often became lonely and went up to the Sky World just to talk. One time he was so unhappy that he was crying. Old- Man-in-the-Sky questioned him."Why are you so unhappy that you are crying? Have I not made much land for you to run around on? Are not Chief Beaver, Chief Otter, Chief Bear, and Chief Buffalo on the land to keep you company?" Old Man Coyote sat down and cried more tears. Old-Man-in-the-Sky became cross and began to scold him. "Foolish Old Man Coyote, you must not drop so much water down upon the land. Have I not worked many days to dry it? Soon you will have it all covered with water again. What is the trouble with you? What more do you want to make you happy?" "I am very lonely because I have no one to talk to," he replied. "Chief Beaver, Chief Otter, Chief Bear, and Chief Buffalo are busy with their families. They do not have time to visit with me. I want people of my own, so that I may watch over them." "Then stop this shedding of water," said Old-Man-in-the-Sky. "If you will stop annoying me with your visits, I will make people for you. Take this par fleche. It is a bag made of rawhide. Take it someplace in the mountain where there is red earth. Fill it and bring it back up to me." Old Man Coyote took the bag made of the skin of an animal and traveled many days and nights. At last he came to a mountain where there was much red soil. He was very weary after such a long journey but he managed to fill the par fleche. Then he was sleepy. "I will lie down to sleep for a while. When I waken, I will run swiftly back to Old-Man-in-the-Sky." He slept very soundly. After a while, Mountain Sheep came along. He saw the bag and looked to see what was in it. "The poor fool has come a long distance to get such a big load of red soil," he said to himself. "I do not know what he wants it for, but I will have fun with him." Mountain Sheep dumped all of the red soil out upon the mountain. He filled the lower part of the par fleche with white soil, and the upper part with red soil. Then laughing heartily, he ran to his hiding place. Soon Old Man Coyote woke up. He tied the top of the bag and hurried with it to Old-Man-in-the-Sky. When he arrived with it, the sun was going to sleep. It was so dark that the two of them could hardly see the soil in the par fleche. Old-Man-in-the-Sky took the dirt and said, "I will make this soil into the forms of two men and two women." He did not see that half of the soil was red and the other half white. Then he said to Old Man Coyote, "Take these to the dry land below. They are your people. You can talk with them. So do not come up here to trouble me." Then he finished shaping the two men and two women -- in the darkness. Old Man Coyote put them in the par fleche and carried them down to dry land. In the morning he took them out and put breath into them. He was surprised to see that one pair was red and the other was white. "Now I know that Mountain Sheep came while I was asleep. I cannot keep these two colors together." He thought a while. Then he carried the white ones to the land by the big salt hole. The red ones he kept in his own land so that he could visit with them. That is how Indians and White people came to the earth.
  Scandinavian Creation MythOdin is the All-Father. He is the oldest and most powerful of the Gods. Through the ages he has ruled all things. He created heaven and earth, and he made man and gave him a soul. But even the All-Father was not the very first.In the beginning, there was no earth, no sea, no sky. Only the emptiness of Ginnungagap, waiting to be filled. In the south, the fiery realm of Muspell came into being, and in the north, the icy realm of Niflheim. Fire and ice played across the emptiness. And in the center of nothingness the air grew mild. Where the warm air from Muspell met the cold air from Niflheim, the ice began to thaw. As it dripped, it shaped itself into the form of a sleeping giant. His name was Ymir, and he was evil. As Ymir slept, he began to sweat. There grew beneath his left arm a male and a female, and from his legs another male was created. These were the first frost giants, all of whom are descended from Ymir. Then the ice-melt formed a cow, named Audhumla. Four rivers of milk flowed from her and fed Ymir. Audhumla nourished herself by licking the salty blocks of ice all around. By the end of her first day she had uncovered the hair of a head. By the end of her second day the whole head was exposed, and by the end of a third day there was a complete man, his name was Buri, and he was strong and handsome. Buri had a son named Bor, who married Bestla, the daughter of one of the frost giants. Bor and Bestla had three sons: Odin, Vili and Ve. Odin and his brothers hated the brutal frost giant Ymir, and they slew him. So much blood flowed from the slaughtered giant that it drowned all the frost giants save Bergelmir and his wife, who escaped in a boat made from a hollowed tree trunk. From Ymir's flesh, Odin and his brothers made the earth, and from his shattered bones and teeth, they made the rocks and stones. From Ymir's blood, they made the rivers and lakes, and they circled the earth with an ocean of blood. Ymir's skull they made into the sky, secured at four points by four dwarfs named East, West, North and South. They flung sparks of fire from Muspell high into the sky to make the sun, the moon, and the stars. From Ymir's brains, they shaped the clouds. The earth was made in the form of a circle and around the edge of it laid the great sea. Odin and his brothers gave one area, Jotunheim, to the giants. They also established the kingdom of Midgard, protecting it from the giants with fortifications made from Ymir's eyebrows. One day, as they walked along the shore of the great sea, Odin and his brothers came across two logs. Odin gave them breath and life; Vili gave them brains and feelings; and Ve gave them hearing and sight. These were the first man, Ask, and the first woman, Embla, and Midgard was their home. From them, all the families of mankind are descended. Below Midgard is the icy realm of death, Niflheim. Above it is the realm of the Gods, Asgard, where Odin sits on his throne and watches over all the worlds. Asgard and Midgard are linked by a rainbow bridge, Bifrost. At the center of all the realms is a great ash tree, Yggdrasil, whose branches shade the world, and whose roots support it. Scientific Commentaries on the origins of existence"We know that nature is described by the best of all possible mathematics because God created it." 10~ Alexander Polyakov "The current scenario of the origin of life is about as likely as a tornado passing through a junkyard beside Boeing airplane company accidentally producing a 747 airplane" 11 ~ Sir Fred Hoyle "The origin of life appears to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have had to be satisfied to get it going." 12 ~ Sir Francis Crick "The simplest bacterium is so damned complicated from the point of view of a chemist that it is almost impossible to imagine how it happened.". ~ Harold Klein Chairman of the National Academy of Review of the origin of life "One need never be ashamed of the intellectually respectability of belief in an intelligent creator; modern science has come down decisively on the side of the person who would posit such a belief. While Hume and Kant may have been right in their arguments that scientific proof for the existence of God cannot be made, they would surely be as impressed as I am with the compelling evidence that makes such a belief perfectly reasonable." ~ Dr. Walter Bradley "The scientific community is prepared to consider the idea God created the universe a more respectable hypothesis today than at any time in the last 100 years" ~ Frederic B. Burnham, Science Historian "There is only one actual universe, with a unique set of basic materials and physical constants, and it is therefore surprising that the elements of this unique set-up are just right for life when they might easily have been wrong. This is not made less surprising by the fact that if it had not been so, no one would have been here to be surprised. We can properly envision and consider alternative possibilities which do not include our being there to experience them." 13 ~ J.L. Mackie, Well known atheist "Slight variations in physical laws such as gravity or electromagnetism would make life impossible . . . the necessity to produce life lies at the center of the universe's whole machinery and design" 14 ~ John Wheeler Princeton University, Professor of Physics "The equations of physics have in them incredible simplicity, elegance, and beauty. That in itself is sufficient to prove to me that there must be a God who is responsible for these laws and responsible for the universe" 15 ~ Paul Davies "What we have found is evidence for the birth of the universe . . . It's like looking at God." ~ Professor George Smoot Recent measurements by the Cosmic Background Explorer COBE and by the Hubble Space Telescope, both reported in 1992, seem to confirm beyond any reasonable doubt that the Big Bang cosmology is indeed correct. George Smoot, Professor at the University of California at Berkeley and Principle Investigator of the COBE team which made the discovery, said the above regarding these new observations. "For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story [of the big bang] ends like a bad dream. For the past three hundred years, scientists have scaled the mountain of ignorance and as they pull themselves over the final rock, they are greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries." ~ Professor Robert Jastrow "Such properties seem to run through the fabric of the natural world like a thread of happy coincidences. But there are so many odd coincidences essential to life that some explanation seems required to account for them." 16 ~ Sir Fred Hoyle "There is a necessary molecular complexity required to provide minimal life functions: processing energy, storing information, and replicating. Chemical evolution, as distinct from biological evolution, cannot look to mutation and natural selection to solve its problems, which don't solve the problems of macroevolution either. Chemical evolution addresses the development of living systems from a prebiotic soup which did not initially have molecules, much less systems, capable of replicating. The production of molecules such as protein, RNA and DNA from a prebiotic soup is extremely difficult to imagine. The original euphoria associated with the making of building blocks such as amino acids under prebiotic conditions by Stanley Miller in 1952 has gradually been replaced with a somber recognition that the assembly of such molecules into function biopolymers is indeed the real problem. It is analogous to the problem of selecting a sequence of letters by randomly picking out of a box of typeset and hoping to accidentally get a sequence that corresponds to words, sentences, and coherent paragraphs." ~ Unknown "If the relationship between the strong force and the electromagnetic force were to vary only slightly, we would not have the quantum energy levels which allow the remarkable conversion of beryllium to carbon [nearly 100% efficient] and the partial conversion of carbon to oxygen. With slight changes in either of these constants, we would have had a universe either rich in beryllium and little, if any, carbon or alternatively, a universe rich in oxygen with no carbon. Since carbon is unique in its ability to chemically bond with almost all other elements in bonds that are stable but not too difficult to break [playing the critical role of the round pieces in a tinker toy set], it is remarkable that these forces are so precisely tuned to provide carbon in abundance, along with oxygen which is critical in its own right." ~ Unknown "If the strong force which binds together the nucleus of atoms were just five percent weaker, only hydrogen would be stable and we would have a universe with a periodic chart of one element, which is a universe incapable of providing the necessary molecular complexity to provide minimal life functions of processing energy, storing information, and replicating. On the other hand, if the strong force were just two percent stronger, very massive nuclei would form, which are unsuitable for the chemistry of living systems. Furthermore, there would be no stable hydrogen, no long-lived stars, and no hydrogen containing compounds." ~ Unknown  Sculpture by Samuel Cashwan Sikh Creation MythFor millions upon millions, countless years was spread darkness,When existed neither earth nor heaven, but only the limitless Divine Ordinance. Then existed neither day or night, nor sun or moon; As the Creator was absorbed in an unbroken trance. Existed then neither forms of creation, nor of speech; neither wind nor water. Neither was creation or disappearance or transmigration. Then were not continents, neither regions, the seven seas, nor rivers with water flowing. Existed then neither heaven or the mortal world or the nether world; Neither hell or heaven or time that destroys. Hell and heaven, birth and death were then not--none arrived or departed. Then were not Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva: None other than the Sole Lord was visible. Neither existed then female or male, or caste and birth-- None suffering and joy received. Unknowable Himself, was He the source of all utterance; Himself the unknowable unmanifested. As it pleased Him, the world He created; Without a supporting power the expanse He sustained. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva He created and to maya-attachment gave increase. 17 Himself He made His Ordinance operative and watched over it: Creating continents, spheres and nether worlds, the hidden He made manifest. Creating the universe Himself, He has remained unattached. The compassionate Lord too has made the holy center [the human being]. Combining air, water, and fire, He created the citadel of the body. The Creator fashioned the Nine Abodes [of sensation]; In the Tenth [the superconscious mind] is lodged the Lord, unknowable, limitless. The illimitable Lord in His unattributed state of void assumed might; He, the infinite One, remaining detached: Displaying his power, He himself from the void created inanimate things. From the unattributed void were created air and water. Raising creation, He dwells as monarch in the citadel of the body. Lord! In the fire and water [of the body] exists Thy light; In Thy [original] state of void was lodged [unmanifest] the power of creation. Sikhism: Absorption in the cosmic VoidThe Formless is Attributed and Unattributed,And gone into absorption in the cosmic Void. Himself has He made creation; Himself on it meditates. In the cosmic Void is he absorbed, Where plays the unstruck mystic music-- Beyond expression is this miraculous wonder. 18 Soul Fires - Stop Haunt Me Everyday Collection by Tony Ariawan
Spring Showers by Robert BlackChipped clouds pour down on rainy lanesFalling as gently swirling waves Dribbling through gurgling burbling drains, Brushing away tangled knots of people Gossiping in the streets far below.  Taoism: It is called formless formYou look at it, but it is not to be seen;Its name is Formless. You listen to it, but it is not to be heard; Its name is Soundless. You grasp it, but it is not to be held; Its name is Bodiless. These three elude all scrutiny, And hence they blend and become one. Its upper side is not bright; Its under side is not dimmed. Continuous, unceasing, and unnameable, It reverts to nothingness. It is called formless form, thingless image; It is called the elusive, the evasive. Confronting it, you do not see its face; Following it, you do not see its back. Yet by holding fast to this Way of old, You can harness the events of the present, You can know the beginnings of the past-- Here is the essence of the Way. 19  The Cry of the Eagle by Theun Mares, ToltecWhen the Knock of the Spirit happens for a whole group or race of people simultaneously it is known as the Cry of the Eagle. The Guardians of the Race have long foreseen that this moment is in the making for humanity, and it has been in anticipation of this momentous event that They have labored in all earnestness ever since World War II. The world today therefore has these great beings to thank for Their far-reaching vision and meticulous preparation, for on the full moon of June 1995 the Cry of the Eagle was indeed sounded for the whole of humanity.Cosmic law dictates that the Knock of the Spirit cannot be sounded until man is convinced that he has his back to the wall and that the sword is dangling overhead, for human nature is such that unless man is desperate, he will not risk everything on an impulsive decision taken in the moment. The decision to follow the Spirit, the Eagle, must be completely spontaneous and unconditional, for this is the way in which power has set it up. When the moment comes, there can be no arguing or hesitation. Already humanity has worked itself into an uncompromising corner, and perhaps even as you read these words you will have come to acknowledge the fact that the sword is now well and truly dangling overhead. Once humanity has come to realize this it will have the opportunity to go with the Eagle, or to stay where it is the opportunity to use its knowledge and ability to build a bright new world, or to stay upon its present course of self-destruction. The decision in humanity's alone, and no one is going to force it into making a particular decision, except that a decision either way will have to be taken. Many will opt to go with the Eagle, and no doubt many in their stubbornness would choose to remain where they are. This will bring about the final but necessary separation. Friends, family members, men, women and children from all walks of life will stand divided as they choose which way to go. This division, sad as though it may be, is the very same problem that the ancients have recognized as continuing to exist ever since the great split in the days of Atlantis. Now, however, humanity must bring this problem to a conclusion. Those who choose to go with the Eagle will find themselves catapulted into a totally new and radical level of awareness an awareness which will enable them to see and understand things in a way which has hitherto been beyond their capabilities. With this new perception and understanding they will clearly see the way humanity is destined to walk and, acting upon this new knowledge, they will begin building a new world. The tide of evolution cannot be stemmed, and the forces of destiny cannot be avoided. Everyone will have to choose. The only thing that remains to be seen is how many will choose to follow the Eagle, and how many will choose to stay. As has already been stated, no one can interfere at this point, for the decision is humanity's alone, and thus every man and woman must decide for him or herself. May the forces of Light be strong enough so that as many as possible would choose to go with the Eagle. It is best to avoid trying to express what the consequences of a wrong decision will be, for the darkness which will result is of such an enormous, such a grotesque and ancient nature, as to be beyond description or imagination. Let us and therefore rather focus upon the Light instead and set our intent upon a new world in which peace and plenty will bring harmony to all life upon our wonderful and breathtakingly beautiful planet. Let us decide to take heart and courage for never before the history of life upon Earth have the stakes been so high, and never before has the opportunity for humanity been so awesome.  The Human Seasons by John KeatsFour Seasons fill the measure of the year;There are four seasons in the mind of man: He has his lusty Spring, when fancy clear Takes in all beauty with an easy span: He has his Summer, when luxuriously Spring's honied cud of youthful thought he loves To ruminate, and by such dreaming high Is nearest unto heaven: quiet coves His soul has in its Autumn, when his wings He furleth close; contented so to look On mists in idleness--to let fair things Pass by unheeded as a threshold brook. He has his Winter too of pale misfeature, Or else he would forego his mortal nature. The Negative Effect of Fear on the Mind by Dr. Lee WarrenFear is the Mind Killer. Jb. 23:13 "But he (Elohim) is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth..."The most powerful forces known to man are not nuclear weapons, nor nature's awesome wonders, such as the might of an earthquake, the power of the sun, or mastery of a hurricane, but the thoughts and ideas of the mind. The irony of thoughts or ideas is that no one has ever seen or handled them with the physical senses nor have the philosophers proven their existence. Yet everyone personally has conceived an idea and reflected on a thought in their mind. In fact, no one would argue that the mind is ever without a thought or idea. We use ideas and thoughts everyday for emotions, creativity, problem solving, etc., and they constitute our very reality. However, man knows more about the nature of matter and electricity than he knows about thoughts and ideas in his mind. In fact, the word 'thought' or 'idea' has never been defined as matter has been. We all know that matter consists of atoms, which are composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons. But what is the substance of thoughts? Or from whence do thoughts and ideas come? These are questions of great debate in psychology and philosophy. Recent scientific discoveries in medicine and other fields of science have moved man's concepts of consciousness and mind toward the non-material. Do thoughts really affect the physical body? Various studies have dealt with the affect thoughts have on the body and mind. Thoughts, as ethereal as vapor, have a profound affect on the mind and body. There are cases of people dying in their sleep of a frightening dream or nightmare. We know this to be true for people who are awake have actually been scared to death! So we see that thoughts have a very powerful affect on the biochemistry of the physical body. The master Yahshua the Messiah warned his disciple of negative thoughts. He stated, "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man (Matt. 15:18-20)." These negative thoughts have a powerful affect on both the mind and the body. Can examining the natural body's response to thoughts help us understand the spiritual affect of ideas on the soul? Science, being unable to directly analyze the affect thoughts have on the mind, opt to redefine mind as the brain and analyze the affects emotions have on the physical body. (See May/June 1993 "PLIM REPORT," p. 23 "Do images in our minds stimulate a biological response?") The Apostle Paul and the Messiah said that the natural or physical things point to the spiritual (Rom. 1:19-20; John 3:12). Since it is impossible to examine the affect ideas have on the mind or soul without a physical example, we can examine various emotions in the brain and their affects on the physical body (see illustration on p. 28). Thus, the physical body is an image of the invisible soul (I Cor. 15:44) and the brain is the visible image of the mind. In Part One of this article we will examine the affect of fear, panic, terror, and anxiety on the body using case studies to understand their affect on the soul. Part two will examine the physiological operation of fear on the body to understand how it affects the soul. How are fear, panic, terror, and anxiety defined? According to the American Heritage Dictionary fear is: "an emotion of alarm and agitation caused by the expectation or realization of danger; Extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power." Fear can also have a positive side by causing us to avoid danger, such as that written by King Solomon. "The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge... (Prov. 1:7)." However, this article will examine the negative affects of fear and the physical body's reaction to it. The medical and psychological definitions are as follows. "Fright, dread. Primitively, the emotional reaction to an environmental threat; it now also, presents itself frequently as an indicator of inner problems. .... (Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary). Panic is: "a sudden overpowering terror, often affecting many people [Fr. panique, terrified]." Terror is: "an intense, overpowering fear. [Lat. terror Anxiety is defined as: "A troubled feeling; expressing a feeling of dread or fear especially of the future or distress over a real or imagined threat to one's mental or physical well being (Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary)." It must be understood that fear, panic, anxiety, or terror are spiritual principles. In fact, Yahweh told Israel that if they violated his laws and ordinances they would experience those negative principles by means of the plagues Yahweh would bring upon them (Deut. 28:15-68; Lev. 26:14-39).Are there studies that document the affects of fear on the physical body? Let us examine some documented cases that deal with fear and prove the power of the mind to bring fear into materialization. In the New York Times, July 26, 1970, an article entitled "Child's Death in London Laid to Fear of Dentist" was published and also included in a book entitled Psychosomatics by Howard R. and Martha E. Lewis ( 1975 Viking Press), p. 27. A four-year-old child had a bad experience with a local anesthetic for stitches taken from her forehead. When she went to the dentist to have some baby teeth extracted, she screamed hysterically in the dentist's chair. He gave the child a sedative to quiet her for the examination. Within a few minutes after having her teeth removed, the child had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital where she died two days later. The autopsy found very high levels of adrenaline in her blood stream due to fear that caused her to have a heart attack. Fear of the dentist resulted in the child's death. So we see excess fear can be catastrophic on a man's mind. Do snakebite victims die from venom or fear? In another example from Psychosomatics the authors write about fear. "There is some evidence that extreme anxiety, in the form of panic and terror, can be fatal. Eighty-five present of the people who die from snakebite don't have enough venom in their bloodstream to account for their deaths. Then how do the die? Researchers suggest that the terror felt by a person who receives a potentially fatal snakebite may cause heart failure (p. 261)." It is startling to note that NOT THE SNAKE'S VENOM, but the fear and shock in the victim's minds and their presumed image of death associated with a snake bite causes them to have a heart attack. In short, the meaning the victim associates with the snakebite causes his death? (Please refer to the May/June 1993 "PLIM REPORT," p. 21 "How does the mind react to fear?") Can fear of pain during childbirth alter the reproductive process? The most interesting example of fear and its affects on the body can be shown in a case where the fear of pain during pregnancy actually closed the Fallopian tubes of a woman. The patient was married at twenty and wanted to start a family right away, but after three years of trying without conception, she went to a doctor. It was known by medical science that injury and infection can cause the Fallopian tubes to close. Dr. Flanders Dunbar, who described this case, said it is now known that: "...emotional crisis or shock can close these tubes just as it may make one clench one's fist (Psychosomatics, p. 215-216)." He stated that he found his patient's tubes closed during ovulation, but when the ovulation was over, he found his patient's tubes open again. The obvious conclusion, said Dr. Dunbar, "was that the muscles contracted involuntarily at the time of ovulation." The reason for the closing of the tubes was the woman's deep fear of pain associated with childbirth in her mind. These fears and images were placed in her when she was a child. Again we see the reproductive system of a woman reacting to fear's power on the mind. There are numerous cases in medicine where fear impairs the operation of the reproduction system. Some men have become impotent due to real or imaginary fears. Can thinking you are dying, cause you to die? Let us examine a case of fear where a black man thought he was fatally shot and dying. "... Fear had seized him with tremendous power, he shook like an aspen leaf, he bordered on the state of collapse and death seemed imminent. Not finding any blood ... all clothes removed and, while he was being undressed, a flattened bullet fell upon the floor. The doctor exhibited the bullet to the frightened patient, explaining that he had had a miraculous escape, whereupon his countenance improved, his temperature became normal and the look of life returned to his eyes which had been fixed with the gaze of death, ... (Your Psychic Powers and How to Develop Them, p. 26, by Hereward Carrington, 1975 Newcastle Pub. Co.)." Thus, we see that the principle of fear totally paralyzed the man's mind. Because he perceived that he was .fatally wounded, he exhibited signs of dying. However, when the bullet was presented to him as proof that he had not been shot, he recovered immediately and all the death causing symptoms ceased. His recuperation showed forth that death was conceived in the mind and brought into materialization, or as Solomon said: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:... (Prov. 23:7)." This example leads us to investigate the power of fear on the mind and body in the case of ancient religions, such as Voodoo. Is Voodoo real or mere superstition? Dr. Larry Dossey in his book Meaning & Medicine p. 57 quoted a study on voodoo by a Harvard professor of physiology, Walter Cannon, entitled "Voodoo Death." Cannon wrote this in the American Anthropologist 44 (1942), pp. 169-181. Walter Cannon's related a case originally recorded by the explorer Merolla in his diary during his voyage to the Congo in 1692. The story began with a young Negro boy lodged in a friend's house overnight. The next morning the friend prepared a breakfast of wild hen, a food strictly forbidden by their custom and tradition. The boy asked his friend if he had cooked wild hen and was told no. So he ignorantly ate the wild hen. "..A few years later when the two met again, the old man asked the younger if he would eat a wild hen. He answered that he had been solemnly charged by the wizard not to eat that food. Thereupon the host began to laugh and asked why he refused it now after having eaten it at his table before. On hearing the news the Negro immediately began to tremble, so great was he possessed by fear, and in less than 24 hours he was dead." Again we see a trivial situation of eating a wild hen causing a catastrophe because the eater believed the interpretation or meaning attached to eating the forbidden food. Does modern voodoo or mesmerization still occur? Many may find a man dying from a primitive belief of a wizard hard to believe and accept. Yet there is proof that the same situation is present today, especially in medicine. Dr. Dossey states in his book, "Many patients trust their physician implicitly and are prepared to believe anything he or she says. For them the doctor's utterances may have oracular power. Many sensitive physicians realize the power of their words and use them purposefully to bring about healing affects in their patients. Some, however, do not. When a patient hangs on the physician's every word, and when the physician is insensitive to their effects, a potentially lethal brew forms (Meaning & Medicine, p. 76)." Dr. Dossey quotes Jon Kabat-Zinn who developed and heads the Stress Reduction Clinic of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The following case is from Kabat-Zinn's book Full Catastrophe Living which is a study that proves the assertion that patient's trust their doctor's implicitly. The case is about a well known Harvard cardiologist, Dr. Bernard Lown, training at Harvard Medical school under the tutelage of the noted specialist Dr. S. A. Levine. Now Dr. Levine was an accomplished clinician who possessed an awesome presence, and it was said that his patients literally believed every word he said. The situation arose that one of his patient's, Mrs. S., had tricuspid valve, the narrowing of one of the valves on the right side of her heart. She had experienced a low grade chronic heart failure, but was helped with medication. Dr. Levine, entering the clinic with a group of trainees, warmly greeted Mrs. S., and examined her. Upon leaving her room, he said to the young doctors, "This woman has TS." Mrs. S.'s demeanor changed immediately. "...She appeared fearful and began to breathe rapidly and deeply, obviously hyperventilating. Soon her skin was drenched with perspiration, and her pulse increased to more than 150 per minute.... her lungs were filling with fluid, although they were clear a few minutes earlier... Dr. Lown asked her why she was so upset. She replied that Dr. Levine had said that she had TS, which she knew meant "terminal situation." This amused Dr. Lown initially, for he knew the acronym stood for "tricuspid stenosis," the condition of her heart value. Mrs. S. failed, however, to be reassured by this explanation, and her congestion worsened. Her lungs continued to fill with fluid and she lost consciousness, unable to breathe....." She died later in the day from intractable heart failure. So we see how today in our medically advanced society, a few misinterpreted words can be as deadly as the primitive Congo boy eating wild hen. Can principles of Voodoo be found in our everyday lives? The American psychologist William James explains how fear within any social group causes conformity to the mores and social values of that society (an example of modern Voodoo) in Principles of Psychology. "A man's social me is the recognition ... he gets from his mates ... we have an innate propensity to get ourselves noticed, and noticed favorably, by our kind. No more fiendish punishment could be devised ... than that one should ... remain absolutely unnoticed ... If no one turned round when we entered, answered when we spoke..., but ... acted as if we were nonexisting things, a kind of rage and impotent despair would ... well up in us, from which the cruelest bodily tortures would be a relief; for these would make us feel that ... we had not sunk to such a depth as to be unworthy of attention at all. (quoted from Meaning & Medicine by Larry Dossey, M.D., p. 58)" The affect fear has on the physiological operation of the body has been well documented by medical science and psychology. Here fear is being used as a psychological tool to cause an individual to conform to society. How does the physical body react to fear? The affect fear has on the physiological operation of the body has been well documented by medical science and psychology. Hereward Carrington in his book Your Psychic Powers and How to Develop Them, p. 26 wrote, "It is an interesting fact that fear and all depressing emotions of a similar nature serve to constrict or contract the body - while mirth, love altruism and all the higher emotions serve to produce both physical and mental relaxation...." This statement along with the numerous case studies presented give sufficient scientific proof and evidence that thoughts, ideas, and emotions alter the body's biochemistry and the health of the body. Likewise, erroneous doctrines and beliefs in the mind affect the eternal life of the soul for an eternity. Excess fear or any other negative attribute elicits a negative response in the soul as correlated to negative reactions in the physical body. Can negative emotions be held in the mind without a negative reaction on the body? Emmet Fox, scientist, philosopher, and spiritual teacher, wrote about the affect of negative emotions on the body. "It cannot be too often repeated that to entertain feelings of anger, resentment, jealousy, spite,..., is certain to damage your health in some way or other, and quite likely to damage it very severely indeed. Remember that the question of the justification ... does not arise at all. It has absolutely nothing to do with the results, for the thing is a matter of natural law. A woman said: 'I have a right to be angry,' meaning that she had been the victim of very shabby treatment, and that she consequently possessed a kind of license or special permit to hold angry feelings without their natural consequences upon the body following. This, of course, is absurd. There is no one to give such a permit, and if it could be doneif general laws could ever be set aside in special instanceswe should have, not a universe, but a chaos. If you press the button, from no matter what motive, good or badto save a man's life or to murder himthe electric bell will ring; because that is the law of electricity. If you drank a deadly poison inadvertently, you would die or at least seriously damage your body, because such is the law. You may have mistakenly supposed it to be a harmless fluid, but that would make no difference because the law takes no account of intentions. For the same reason, to entertain negative emotions is to order trouble... quite independently of any seeming justification... (Sermon on the Mount, p. 90-91)" Is physical torment to the body only a type of hell? The physical body can have no peace as long as the mind (or brain) is full of fear and will utterly collapse from it. Now fear manifested in the soul or spiritual body is far worse than the affects of fear on the physical body. The soul never passes out or loses consciousness. So the pains and feelings of fear are a thousand times more intense in the soul and can last for an eternity. This is truly hellnever, never, never,... ever entering the state of Peace, Joy and righteousness, which is the Kingdom Of Yahweh (Rom. 14:17). So the mind of man must be transformed and renewed in order to inherit the state of peace and joy. Dr. Henry C. Kinley wrote that man will never understand the torment and pain a soul can suffer in hell until he understands the physical torment of the body is only a type. "The failure on the part of mankind to definitely understand what hell really is, is partly due to his not comprehending fully the three-fold makeup of the physical body. Mankind naturally thinks of his physical body when one speaks of everlasting punishment in a Lake of Fire and Brimstone, forever and since human flesh can not burn forever without being consumed, he dismisses the idea of such physical punishment. Then if he does discern that man has a spiritual body, he cannot quite comprehend how this would be affected by a physical fire in a Lake of Brimstone. In addition, he does not discern that a spiritual body can experience pain, grief, sorrow, torment, etc. having existed in a physical body all of his life and experienced physical pain, shed physical tears and endured physical agony (Elohim the Archetype Original Pattern of the Universe, 'A Condensed Explanation of Hell,' p. 114)." The pendant world by William Shakespeare Ay, but to die and go we know not where; To lie in cold obstrution and to rot; This sensible warm motion to become A kneaded clod; and the delighted spirit To bathe in fiery floods or to reside In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice; To be imprison'd in the viewless winds, And blown with restless violence round about The pendant world. 20  The Star Child by Tony Ariawan
The Sun, the Moon, and the StarsThe_Sun,_the_Moon,_and_the_Stars.jpg) “Astrology Wheel from the ceiling of an ancient Temple in Egypt”
There shall be signs in the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars. The Tree of Life Divides by Bryant McGill
The World is in Our Hands  Thy Days Are Done by Lord ByronCollaboration by George Gordon and Lord Byron.Thy days are done, thy fame begun; Thy country's strains record The triumphs of her chosen Son, The slaughter of his sword! The deeds he did, the fields he won, The freedom he restored! Though thou art fall'n, while we are free Thou shalt not taste of death! The generous blood that flow'd from thee Disdain'd to sink beneath: Within our veins its currents be, Thy spirit on our breath! Thy name, our charging hosts along, Shall be the battle-word! Thy fall, the theme of choral song From virgin voices pour'd! To weep would do thy glory wrong: Thou shalt not be deplored.  Unification Church: Each man is a microcosm of the universeEach man is a microcosm of the universe. Your body is made of all the elements of the world. Nature supplied all the ingredients that make your body, which means that the universe made you by donating itself. If nature demanded that you refund everything that nature loaned you, would there be anything left of you? You can feel that the universe gave you birth and made you, so nature is your first parent. Do you feel good that you are a microcosm of the universe? All the universal formulas can be found in you. You could accurately say that you are a small walking universe that can move, whereas the cosmic universe is stationary. Because you can move and act, you can govern the universe. The universe would want you to exercise dominion over it, so your first duty would be to love nature. Then, wherever you are, you can love the creation and appreciate it. 21Unio Mystica  What is life by CrowfootWhat is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. 22
 Wind Talker, Stop Haunt Me Everyday by Tony Ariawan
 Yesterday by Harry JeudyI wish I could turn back the hands of time and go back to yesterday.Because yesterday was happinessyesterday I smiled. My only link to yesterday are the memories she left behind. The Eternal memories in my heartthe fond memories in my mind. I wish I could go back to yesterday Because yesterday was laughter yesterday was joy. I think of yesterday often...her wonderful smileher jua de vie. I wish I could go back to yesterday Because even though it rained, and even though the clouds were sometimes gray Yesterday was beautifulyesterday was love.  Bibliography
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