Archive for December, 2009

On Potential

Monday, December 28th, 2009

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that frightens us. Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.” – Nelson Mandela, inaugural address, written by Marianne Williamson

On Rumi

Monday, December 21st, 2009

December 17th marked the death of the poet Rumi.

“If you bake bread with the wheat that grows on my grave
you’ll become drunk with joy and
even the oven will recite ecstatic poems.
If you come to pay your respects
even my gravestone will invite you to dance
so don’t come without your drum.
Don’t be sad. You have come to Gods feast.
Even death cannot stop my yearning
for the sweet kiss of my love.
Tear my shroud and wear it as a shirt,
the door will open and you’ll hear
the music of your soul fill the air.
I am created from the ecstasy of love and
when I die, my essence will be released
like the scent of crushed rose petals.
My soul wants to leap and join
the towering soul of Shams.”

– Ghazal (Ode) 683
Translated by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi

dietrich_rumi

Painting by Lisa Deitrich

The Spirit of Giving

Monday, December 14th, 2009

teddy_bears

Last week, I attended “Bear Night” at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. When the Rangers scored their first goal, everyone was to throw a bear onto the ice. Sure, a number of folks were bear-bonked on the head; I know for certain that I hit someone with mine! However, the entire event was infused with such a wonderful energy! There was a thorough spirit of good-will, generosity, and the shared purpose of providing toys to children who could really use something to hug. It was a truly heart-warming event.

Who Was Edgar Cayce?

Monday, December 7th, 2009

Twentieth Century Psychic and Medical Clairvoyant

My current course work deals with the life and work of Edgar Cayce, likely made obvious by the fact that I’ve been writing about him for the past several weeks. Cayce (1877-1945) has been called both the “sleeping prophet” and the “father of holistic medicine.” He is the most documented psychic of the 20th century. For more than 40 years of his adult life, Cayce gave “readings” to thousands of people while in an unconscious state, diagnosing illnesses, past lives, and prophecies yet to come.

Cayce was born in 1877, on a farm in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. His psychic abilities began to appear during his childhood. He was able to see and talk to the spirit of his deceased grandfather, and often played with “imaginary friends” whom he said were from the other side. He also displayed an unusual ability to memorize the pages of a book by sleeping on it – a gift which certainly helped his schooling. These attributes labeled young Cayce as strange, but all he really wanted was to help others, especially children.

Later in life, Cayce had the ability to put himself into a sleep-like state by lying down on a couch, closing his eyes, and folding his hands over his stomach. In this state, he was able to place his mind in contact with the universal consciousness. From there, he could respond to questions, broad or specific:

  • What are the secrets of the universe?
  • What is my purpose in life?
  • What can I do to help my arthritis?
  • How were the pyramids of Egypt built?

His responses to these questions came to be called “readings,” and their insights offer practical help and advice to individuals, even in the modern day.

Although he died more than 60 years ago, the material in the readings — both practical and esoteric — is evidenced by the hundreds of books that have been written on the various aspects of this work as well as the numerous books focusing on Cayce’s life itself. They contain invaluable information which have had a tremendous impact on the world. “In 1945, the year of his passing, who could have known that terms such as ‘meditation,’ ‘Akashic records,’ ’spiritual growth,’ ‘auras,’ ’soul mates,’ and ‘holistic health’ would become household words to millions?”

The majority of Cayce’s readings deal with the treatment of illness, mostly from a holistic perspective. Individuals today receive physical relief from illnesses or ailments through information given in the readings. Although best known for this material, the Cayce did not seem to be limited to concerns about the physical body. In their entirety, the readings discuss an astonishing 10,000 different topics falling roughly into five main categories:

  1. Health-Related Information
  2. Philosophy and Reincarnation
  3. Dreams and Dream Interpretation
  4. ESP and Psychic Phenomena
  5. Spiritual Growth, Meditation, and Prayer

http://www.edgarcayce.org/