Eva Libre's Blog (253)

Amna's Girls

by David Sparenberg

2016-07-11

With the permission of David…

I publish a exquisite text by David Sparenberg, who is also a member of Peace for the Soul.

Through all of suffering (and life is long and often hard), the brave stand strong. Before the beauty that soars beyond the limitations of time and circumstances, tears are copious and exceed control.



One hears a song, sees a smile,…

"Like most women, my youth was dedicated to raising a family. While music was always my solace, I was unable to make it a priority. Life has dealt me with many blows, each worse than the other. When my husband passed away, my beloved daughter encouraged me to pursue my passion. But soon, I lost her too. To get over the grief, I started to pursue music more…

Lotte Reiniger, the German film-maker who brought a European slant to the traditionally Asian art of silhouette puppetry, would have been 117 today.



Born in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin in 1899, Reiniger started experimenting with shadow puppet productions while still at school, making her silhouettes act out scenes from Shakespeare to entertain her schoolmates.





Cinderella (Aschenputtel) - Lotte Reiniger…

Sad News

Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, 91, died at her home in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, on May 26, 2016. An internationally renowned, respected and admired advocate for human and civil rights, Hedy was encircled by friends who lovingly cared for her at home.



Born August 15, 1924, in the Bavarian region of Germany, her lifelong…

"In dealing with other people, we must not only be aware of what they are saying, but we must also be open to the whole tone of their being. A person’s actual words and smile represent only a small fraction of their communication. What is equally important is the quality of presence, the way he or she presents themselves to us. This communicates much more…

"I gave birth to one child, a son, but I have thousands of daughters.

You are Black and White, Jewish and Muslim, Asian, Spanish-speaking, Native American and Aleut.

You are fat and thin and

pretty and plain, gay and straight, educated and unlettered, and I

am speaking to you all." Maya Angelou. Happy Mother's Day!

The Angelou…

When I heard the sound of the bell ringing,

there was no bell,

and there was no I -

there was only the ringing.

Once you stop clinging and let things be,

you’ll be free, even of birth and death.

You’ll transform everything…

And you’ll be at peace wherever you are.

Even as fire finds…

"The way of life is towards fulfillment, however, wherever it may lead. To restore a human being to the current of life means not only to impart self-confidence but also an abiding faith in the processes of life. A man who has confidence in himself must have confidence in others, confidence in the fitness and Tightness of the universe. When a man is…

Art : Christian Schloe

"The mother tongue, spoken or written, expects an answer. It is conversation, a word the root means, ‘turning together.’ The mother tongue is not mere communication but relation. It connects. It goes two ways, many ways, an exchange, a network. Its power is not in dividing but in…

I have no name,

I am as the fresh breeze of the mountains.

I have no shelter;

I am as the wandering waters.

I have no sanctuary, like the dark gods;

Nor am I in the shadow of deep temples.

I have no sacred books;

Nor am I well-seasoned in tradition.

I am not in the incense

Mounting on the high altars,…

Image : Andy Warhol, Hermann Hesse

"I am only a ferryman, and it is my task to take people across this river. I have taken thousands of people across and to all of them my river has been nothing but a hindrance on their journey. They have travelled for money and business, to weddings and on…

It is so tender here where you are now… unlike how you thought it would be. Feel it all. Stay embodied to the longing, to the emptiness, and to the rawness as it makes its way into your awareness. Everything is valid here. Nothing need be discarded or set aside. There are no obstacles in this environment. No matter where you look, there is only…

"Do you know what it means to come into contact with death, to die without argument? Because death, when it comes, does not argue with you. To meet it, you have to die every day to everything: to your agony, to your loneliness, to the relationship you cling to; you have to die to your thought, to die to your habit, to die to your wife so that you can look at…

I live far off in the wild

Where moss and woods are thick and plants perfumed.

I can see mountains rain or shine

And never hear market noise.

I light a few leaves in my stove to heat tea.

To patch my robe I cut off a cloud.

Lifetimes seldom fill a hundred years.

Why suffer for profit and fame?



- Shih-wu…

"Home"

no one leaves home unless

home is the mouth of a shark

you only run for the border

when you see the whole city running as well

your neighbors running faster than you

breath bloody in their throats

the boy you went to school with

who kissed…

"The understanding that everything anyone does is a result of karma -- of causes and effects -- has helped to keep me from labeling people as good or bad. Circumstances or behavior can change, of course, but at any given time no one can be other than the sum of all his or her contingent causes. A student in a class discussion about this topic once said, 'When…

Life scars us. It is inevitable. We learn to live with those scars, or they kill us long before we actually die. Small scars, large, scars as long and deep as the ocean—they define us; they become a part of our life map. A friend of mine recently lost a child and asked what she should do now that it was gone. I said it seems to me that the best thing to do is…

Live webcast of long life prayer and celebrations in Honor of the Dalai Lama's 80th Birthday at main temple, Tsuglag Khang, Dharamsala on June 21, 2015

For as long as humanity has existed, there has been a constant necessity for a higher purpose. Ancient civilizations realized the relatively unknown forces of nature to be “divine” and “powerful,” and so they were revered with constant admiration and fear. Thousands of years ago, spirituality was everything humans had. It was the basis for entire…