Three days ago I got an e-mail from the webmaster of the site “Wicca & Esoteric Library“. He had seen the publications of the Circle of Good Will and asked if we would like to publish articles in his library: It is a “totally free resource and will stay so for as long as I can keep it online.”

I had a look at the site and thought, why not. Though there are quite a lot of “adds by Google” all around the published texts (clicking on them will cause costs for the advertisers and makes the cash tills ring with the site owner and with Google), but maybe this way some people will find the wisdom teachings which wouldn’t stumble across them otherwise.

I wrote to him, that I could contribute some articles, but since all of them are written on the basis of the wisdom teachings, especially those of Master KPK (Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar) and Master EK (Dr. Ekkirala Krishnamacharya), they should not go under my name, but under “Circle of Good Will”.

This wasn’t what they had designed: He answered, I could take one of the names of the Masters as the author, since for legal purposes he needs the name of the author. I replied that this isn’t possible either: I have reframed the texts, without changing the content, by taking parts from many publications, often unpublished notes. From a “worldly legal side” I might be considered to be the author, from a spiritual point of view, however, I’m not and I would never claim it to be, because it is not my content, even though I am entitled to use the texts.

Finally we found a way – that I accept the legal responsibility associated with publishing these articles on the site, by adding the related details in their admin-space. This information is not visible to the outside. As per the details under the general information, I can add something about the Circle of Good Will.

Having these points – and some others – cleared, I added a few articles to different sections of the library. Three of them have been reviewed and published by now, some others probably will follow soon. You might have a look here, here and here. But all these articles and many more you find in a better formatted form as pdfs on the Good-Will site.

“The Writer” in a doll’s house, after Carl Spitzweg’s famous painting “The Poor Poet“.

Two days ago I read an interesting report (PDF) from Alertnet, the humanitarian support branch of Reuters Foundation. It is the summary of a workshop from July 24 in London about “Are Aid Agencies ready for the Blogosphere?” Nearly 50 people attended from 30 British-based organisations, plus experts from the media and non-profit sector.

In the blog-post on the workshop they write: “As one blogging true believer has said, blogs should be written while sitting in front of the computer in dirty pyjamas. They’re not the type of thing you write while wearing a suit. Much of aid agency communications is of the wearing-a-suit variety. Open and frank discussion is rare.”

About 2 years ago I tried to get the organisation where I work blogging – and resigned after a while, for there was to much skepticism from the side of the management. (However, I started then this blog.) Now it seems that a new interest of the international department is coming up again. I’ll sketch a conception draft in the next weeks, when I find some time…

Other aid agencies have started in the last times. A friend from the Swiss branch of a big international NGO to whom I sent the link about the Alertnet-workshop told me that it came just in time – they are about to launch a blog and he is just preparing a presentation to the management body.

Blogging can also be dangerous: A Swiss blogger about web security and anti-spam was attacked last weekend by spammers with a diffamation campaign, where in a faked mail he was announcing his suicide (I also got this mail). He got 10’000 reply-mails and a visit from the police in the night who wanted to prevent his suicide – of which he didn’t know. And the Google copyright expert William Patry just closed his blog because he was writing about the dangers of the copyright development and had loyalty problems with his job.

Not from the blogosphere, but from another sphere: artwork at the roof of Zurich Main Station.

I normally don’t do „corporate marketing” in this blog, but today I got a news release announcing a new way of communication to cross language barriers, which sounds very fascinating:

Together with IBM, the phone company Jajah has just started today a real-time free phone translation service called Jajah Babel that allows anyone in China, the U.S., UK and Australia to call a local number, speak in English and immediately hear the message back in Chinese Mandarin. It also works the other way round. So you can simply hand your phone to the other person or put the phone on loudspeaker, so they hear the message.

I wonder how the system manages to understand the ambiguities of language, which automatic translation programs don’t hit (for example: “Bill Gates” as the bill for the doors…), but nevertheless it is a great step ahead in finding a way out of Babylon.

A friend of our group today sent me the link to the site of the campaign: “Candle4Tibet“. The initiative says:

“August 7th 2008 is the day before the opening ceremony of The Olympic Games in Beijing. On this day we aim to create the world’s greatest LIGHT PROTEST, when at least 100 million people from all over the world will light a candle and say YES to freedom in Tibet!

All you are asked to do is to light a simple candle
on August 7th at 9 pm in your own time zone.

Light the Candle at your home, workplace or in a public place. Put the candle in your Window, or on your desk, or anywhere else where other people will see it and hopefully do the same.

Our light protest will be seen by billions on TV screens all over the world on the day the Beijing Olympics open. We are not against the Olymipcs or anything else for that matter, we stand for Freedom. Period.

On the following day we will issue letters to every head of state in the world to tell him exactly how many people from his country wish Tibet to be free. We will also demand that each one of them will act for the freedom of Tibet.

We will also issue letters to the general secretary of UN, the government in Beijing and to other global organizations with data on global participation”

They also plan to flare mountain tops and sky scrapers with red smoke. A peaceful way of protesting for freedom. May it strengthen global solidarity.

From the site Candle4Tibet

I today got the link to a Buzzword-Generator: Whenever you come across some high-sounding technical expressions, they might come from this generator: “Bussword can create over 1 million buzzwords that mean nothing but sound impressive.” So when you read something about “Stand-alone coherent function” or “disintermediate logistical access” or “total responsive implementation” – these are just outputs of the generator. So have a try.

Hopefully this is not just a bussword generator: My laptop keyboard.

Last Tuesday I was in the management body of my office presenting the detailled conception of the new intranet cum document management, together with the head of the agency realising it. Finalizing the conception had been a bit turbulent, since some security questions arose the week before.

In the meeting, however, other questions came up. The discussion was at full swing before I was half-way through my introduction.

Though I had informed the management before about the effects the new system would have for all personnel, it seemed that some members of the board only realized now the impact of the new collaboration system: There was some irritation around.

I observed that irritation is a fertile ground for further irritation, for arguments motivated by different goals came in. It became clear that in some areas there was an information gap. So the director decided that I’ll have an individual talk with the different heads of departments in the next days to clear the questions. Fortunately he didn’t stop the project, but gave the green light, so that we can go ahead as soon as the extra-round is done.

I felt relaxed: the progress wasn’t arrested, the next phase, the implementation of the new system can start.

The situation reminded me of turbulences in a river with cataracts. When you are going through the rapids, you have to be extremely alert not to get drowned in some vortexes.

The Cataracts of Iguazú, Brasil.

I read today an article about a meeting of German newspaper publishers on April 16, where they spoke about the interaction between print and web. Norbert Bolz, professor of the TU Berlin said to the publishers that the battle going on in the internet is the battle of reputation: People are confronted with a tremendous amount of information which they cannot assimilate, and the newspapers help them to orient: “They decide what is important and unimportant. Nothing is more important in the 21st century than discrimination.”

What gives the guideline of discrimination? Who decides about what is important and what can be left away?

The situation is the same on the spiritual path: there is so much information around, that people get irritated by this and easily get lost in sideways. Some therefore prefer staying in belief systems they somehow have outgrown, like those of the mainstream churches.

Orientation by reputation might be helpful, if the authorities are farsighted and knowledgeable. Otherwise it is dangerous – the blind following the blind man.

Who are the authorities, what determines the right kind of reputation and who is creating it? In the case of orientation on the path into the subtle worlds the mainstream is of no avail, for they blind out the inner dimension of reality. The media as such seem to be ignorant of the signposts to the path of light. The same is true with the academic persons. They cultivate the intellect, but not the heart, the doorway to the higher worlds.

Discrimination is a quality of the soul, of the Buddhic plane of light. He who is centred in the soul knows how to discriminate, and more so if you have learned it from an enlightened teacher. In India there is a saying that the one who has found a wise teacher who has realised what he is teaching is really blessed.

You might want to have a look at our powerpoint presentation The Importance of a Teacher on the Path, from the series on Meditation – Experiment and Experience. It is also available as a PDF file, though not animated. There is also the number from Basics of Spiritual Life on “The Teacher-Student Principle“.

Picture of a Buddha statue at sunset. I took it last year in the garden of the friend.

Today I was in Geneva at the office of the UNHCR, the UN organisation for the protection of refugees.

Together with Google Earth they launched for Switzerland the new online mapping programme, Google Outreach (up to now it is only available in certain countries), and at the same time unveiled the outreach programme for the UNHCR:

“It’s absolutely fantastic. The potential for us and the potential to serve our interests and to serve the refugee interests round the world is quite substantial and we need now only seize the opportunity and move ahead with it,” Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees L. Craig Johnstone told more than 250 staff and invited guests at a launch ceremony in the atrium of UNHCR’s Geneva headquarters. Johnstone said the pilot UNHCR layers, which are now live on Google Earth Outreach and available from the UNHCR-site, made it possible to zoom in on specific refugee situations

L. Craig Johnstone

And indeed, it was very fascinating to see the the scope of possibilities this new technology offers. Rebecca Moore, manager and founder of Google Earth Outreach, gave an insight into the new application, showing different examples already realised.

Rebecca Moore from Google

With layers you can place information and media into Google Earth (a downloadable program) and Google Maps (online version). Now Google Earth Outreach gives non-profits and public benefit organizations the knowledge and resources to greate maps and virtual visits to projects.

This way you can directly show people what is at stake at a place and not just speak about it. You thus can raise the awareness and reach a broader audience – at the moment there are more than 350 million Google Earth users world-wide. You can use the tool to educate people, inspire action and influence decision-makers.

To show the impact of photos to sensitize people to what is happening in other parts of the world, Zalmai, internationally reknown photographer, born in Kabul and and refugee himself, who had just returned from Afghanistan, showed very impressive pictures of the horrible living conditions of internally displaced people there.

In the afternoon there was a tech-session to explain how the magic works, and a a manual for developers (pdf) was handed out. And we did some experiments with the spreadsheets to create information for Google Earth – it’s really not difficult to use.

Google also just launched an initiative together with “The Elders” – a gathering of world leaders coming together to guide and support the people – called “Every Human has Rights“, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Google is now placing the 30 Articles of the declaration into the download version of Google Earth, so that you can see them at different parts of the globe, where they are at stake. This way also the knowledge about the human rights is spread all over – a very inspiring initiative.

At my office we are already using Google Maps to show the areas of world-wide activities. And since yesterday the Circle of Good Will can also be found on Google Maps. But I don’t know yet whether in my office or privately Google Outreach will come to a use… Nevertheless it is a great tool for inter-connecting the world and thus bringing in a fresh air of the Aquarian age.

We today got a (quite long) letter from a person living in the USA, who is the founder of the Living Love Fellowship and Soulprogress.com, two sites dedicated to spiritual upliftment:

“Our mission is to encourage all men and women to live spiritual life as a WHOLE, leaving out no part of their everyday lives. Only a whole spiritual life, lived in loving relationship with God and our fellow human beings, satisfies the hearts of God’s children. And, only a whole spiritual life really WORKS.”

In his letter he writes towards the end:

“When human beingness is rightly understood, the qualities above the solid red line on the enclosed diagram will be recognized as good, useful, and even Divine; and only what is below it – delusion, selfishness, and all that is of ego will be anathematized. Then, we can preserve our beautiful humanity and use it to everyone’s mutual benefit, even while we reject ego.

Our individual well-being and the collective destiny of our race depend on the living expression of all of our truly human characteristics. As truly human humans, we would certainly heal ourselves, each other, and the world! But until and unless human nature is resurrected from the trash bin in its entire and real. goodness and Godness, we will remain ineffective in love, and in creating a world of peace and happiness.

The world needs love more than anything else – desperately needs it. And, all truth seekers sorely need to love, both universally and personally. To empower human beings to love, please join us in teaching the world that:

1. True humanity and the truly human practice of relationship are beautiful – as God would have it be.
2. As children of God, it is natural for us to love both universally and personally.
3. We cannot love each other truly if, in our mystic search for God, we turn our backs on true humanity (in ourselves, and in others).

The change in thinking that’s needed is really big – and really important. Anything you’re already doing, or are willing to do, to help this human plight would be so appreciated, and tremendously helpful.”

They are running a project called “1,000 I LOVE YOUs - Dedicated to the upliftment and healing of humanity”, where they have movie samples of different persons saying into the camera (and to you): “I love you”. It somehow touches you seeing into the eyes of these persons, expressing their love towards you.

You might also want to read the text from Basics of Spiritual Life on “Love and Loving“.

My Indian friend sent me yesterday some other stories, and this one that is also quite widespread in the blogosphere (the world of blog writers). But it is worth while adding:

“When you see geese flying along in “V” formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way:

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in “V” formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are travelling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are headed the same way we are.

When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What messages do we give when we honk from behind?

Finally … and this is important … when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.”

You might like to read the Lunar Messenger about “Groups and Group Consciousness“.

Some birds like flying alone – an eagle (?) in front of a mountain in the Alps near Thun