Luna Arjuna's Blog (96)

There is a tribe in Africa called the Himba tribe, where the birth date of a child is counted not from when they were born, nor from when they are conceived but from the day that the child was a thought in its mother’s mind. And when a woman decides that she will have a child, she goes off and sits under a tree, by herself, and she listens until she can…

Art : Elena Ray

‘Live in joy,

In love,

Even among those who hate.

Live in joy,

In health,

Even among the afflicted.

Live in joy,

In peace,

Even among the troubled.

Look within.

Be still.

Free from fear and…

May all beings be filled with joy and peace.

May all beings everywhere,

The strong and the weak,

The great and the small,

The mean and the powerful,

The short and the long,

the subtle and the gross:

May all beings everywhere,

Seen and unseen,

Dwelling far off or nearby,

Being or waiting to…

Art : Joel Robison, Between two worlds.

"You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it.

That is why you must read, that is why…

Image: Yukon, Tushti Lake mirrors the cloudy and blue sky.

"You know when you see something like a marvelous mountain against the blue sky, the vivid, bright, clear, unpolluted snow, the majesty of it drives all your thoughts, your concerns, your problems away. Have you noticed that? You say,…

"Opening to the full play of human experience allows for the possibility of a sudden dawning of wakefulness, known in Tibet’s Mahamudra tradition as ‘coemergent wisdom’ or 'wisdom born within.’ This is a sudden dropping away of dualistic fixation, allowing a direct and often abrupt entry into nondual presence. It arises right on the razor’s edge where…

THE LOTUS

"...you can hear a sound like a sigh or 'aah' -- an audible indication of awakening..."

~~~

"Buried in the rank, dark muck of stagnant mosquito-infested swamp water, a brown seed the size of a bean lies waiting; it is destined to give birth to an exquisite bloom that has inspired lovers of flowers and seekers of truth for…

Illustration of the Sufi Saint Khidr (the Green One) Wearing A Green Robe and Standing on a Fish that carries him over Water, circa 1700's.

"The place where the two seas meet is the locus of the mystical journey, "where the dead fish becomes alive," where spiritual teachings become a…

Woman Spends 14 Years Photographing World's Oldest Trees

Beth Moon, a photographer based in San Francisco, has been searching for the world’s oldest trees for the past 14 years. She has traveled all around the globe to capture the most magnificent trees that grow in remote locations and look as old as the world itself.

"Standing as the earth’s largest and oldest living monuments, I believe these symbolic trees will take on a greater…

Desiderata

Go 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…

Over 2,500 years ago, a man who had been searching for the truth for many, many lifetimes came to a quiet place in northern India and sat down under a tree. He continued to sit under the tree, with immense resolve, and vowed not to get up until he had found the truth. At dusk, it is said, he conquered all the dark forces of delusion; and early the next…

All fear punishment, all fear death.

Therefore, do not kill, or cause to kill.

Do as you would want done to you.

All fear punishment, all love life.

Therefore, do not kill, or cause to kill.

Do as you would want done.

 …

Invictus by William Ernest Henley. The story behind the poem is also impressive: Henley contracted tuberculosis of the bone when he was 13. At age 17, physicians had to amputate one of his legs.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may…

It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome.

Its appeal is to the material part, and if allowed its way, it will in time disturb

one’s spiritual balance. Therefore, children must learn early the beauty of generosity.

 …

May you awaken to the mystery of being here

and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

May you have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

May you receive great encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

May you respond to the call of your gift and find the courage to follow its path.

May the flame of anger free you from falsity.

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame and may anxiety never linger about you.

May your outer dignity…

Earth is Our Common Home

Rene Wadlow

My life is interwoven

with countless other lives,

human and non-human;

together we create the wholeness

that is earth.

I cannot be except as part

of that wholeness;

because of that wholeness

I am a world citizen.

In humanity,

Life becomes especially conscious of itself.

It can reflect upon who it…