The last six days I was on a seminar and celebration of 25 Years World Teacher Trust-Global, with our spiritual teacher, Dr. Kumar. About 170 people from different countries of Europe, the USA and India had come for the meeting in Engelberg, a beautiful village surrounded by high mountains in the center of Switzerland.

It was a very intense time with a lot of exchanges and networking – and of course the seminar. It was again excellent, with very subtle topics, though partly too complex to give here in the blog an adequate understanding.

The theme of the seminar was “Service and the Law of Liberation”. Here is short extract from my notes of a talk of Sri Kumar, from a caption on inner and outer freedom, with the example of Sri Aurobindo. The text is a bit adapted for the blog:

“Freedom outside is political freedom without freedom. The freedom has to come from within. That is why there is not much demonstration on the roads by those who are working for inner freedom. Sri Aurobindo is a good example for someone first working for the political freedom and later working for the freedom of personality. Sri Aurobindo was working for political freedom, then he was thrown into prison. There he prayed to the divine, “When I was working for the freedom, why have you imprisoned me?” The divine said, “I have built an outer prison, so that you continue to work with the inner freedom.”

Before he was imprisoned he received a message in which he was warned that it would be better for him to fight inside for inner freedom than to fight outside for political freedom. He saw a beautiful form appearing to him, while he was constructing a bomb against the British. He received a dream in which Master KH appeared and said, “This is not the freedom to work out. The inner freedom is more important.”

But he did not listen and was imprisoned by the British. In prison he prayed, then again he saw and he heard: “You are forewarned to work for inner freedom, not for outer freedom, it is more important. We have organized the imprisonment for you to protect you.”

And then Sri Aurobindo continued his contemplation while in prison, and he reached the state of consciousness, where he could see within and without the same consciousness. He could join Krishna consciousness, divine consciousness, Christ consciousness, naming is not the problem.
We put so many labels everywhere. Somehow the labels are of more interest to us than the content. He could see the One Divine within. When he saw the guardian of the prison as Krishna, his attitude changed so much. There are so many barriers that the personality builds inside, to such an extend that one gets distasteful of the divine energy. That means the sickness is complete, the imprisonment is complete. Something has to happen.

In many cases a strong event has to happen to solve the imprisonment. Service is the solution. If you start service, gradually the inner freedom comes and the outer shackles go. You feel so free. That is why all great workers for political freedom, when they gained inner freedom, they also gave the knowledge to others freedom workers…. You see the simplicity of Mahatma Gandhi, highly respected for his knowledge, of high qualification. This simplicity comes through service…

Be joyful while you serve. For this reason many times I say, the old way of saying is, I have to do this. The new way is, I like to do it, I love to do it. If you turn the “I have” to the “I love to do it”, you are much more in tune with the doing. A joyful way of doing.”

Lake Truebsee near Engelberg – photo of a friend

In the last days I got several mails about warnings of a World War 3. One is referring to his information from star visitors contacts with humankind and warns of an impending world war before November 4th, another (“Indian Daily”) says that “Remote viewing Tibetan monks sees Extra Terrestrial powers saving the World from destroying itself in 2012“:

“Between 2010 and 2012, the whole world will get polarized and prepare for the ultimate dooms day. Heavy political maneuvers and negotiations will take place with little progress. In 2012, the world will start plunging into a total destructive nuclear war. And at that time something remarkable will happen, says, Buddhist monk of Tibet. Supernatural divine powers will intervene. The destiny of the world is not to self-destruct at this time…. Beyond 2012, out technologies will take a different direction.  People will learn the essence of spirituality, the relation between body and the soul, the reincarnation and the fact we are connected with each other are all part of “God”.”…

There are a lot of expectations around the magic date of 2012, some kind of a hype especially with esotericists. Of course the actual political situation gives enough stuff to get concerned about the craze of partisanship in Eastern Europe or elsewhere. And somehow prophesies have a magic attraction, like a spell-charm. It seems they are tickling curiosity together with a shudder.

However, expectations are clouding the sense of discrimination and making us live more in future fantasies than in the needs of the present. In his book “Spiritual Astrology” Master EK (Dr. Ekkirala Krishnamacharya) warns of prophesies, here in the context of astrological prophesies:

“Trying to learn anything about his own future or the future of others should be strictly avoided. One should remember that one’s future is moulded by oneself and the moulding deity (the false conception of fate) is locked up within oneself by one’s own limitation and self conditioning. The future of man is always veiled by the curtain of the alternatives that are worked out by his own hesitation, doubt, miscalculation and overdoing. Knowing the future through astrology as prophecy is utterly false. Astrology gives the past, present and future of the whole universe and the higher forces that are working in it. Nature always maintains certain secret workings in the plan and there is always an element of variability and uncertainty to the mind of man with regard to details. Moreover, a man on this earth is too tiny to have the details of life worked out so prominently in nature as to be deciphered by him.

When man gets the prediction of a good incident on the mundane plane, immediately a new thought-wave starts in him from the time of his expectation. From time to time, it produces a set of thought-forms by way of repeated anticipations. They accumulate in his memory and stimulate his desire body towards the anticipation. This necessarily creates a stir in the astral body above and the etheric double below. Thus the thought-forms are slowly galvanized into active karma. This change manifests its fruit of fore-knowledge periodically upon his environment. … This creates a big world of confused thought-forms around him…” Spiritual Astrology P. 207f)

So keep an open mind and a positive attitude. Discrimination helps dealing with doomsday prophesies.

Lighthouse at the coast of Costa Brava, Spain

I got several mails with links to websites fostering global cooperation through subjective meditational work:

One is the “Global Coherence Project“, which “is designed to help individuals and groups work together, synchronistically and strategically to increase the impact of their efforts to create positive global change.” The project “offers education and technology on how to increase individual heart coherence. As groups of people in the Global Coherence community intentionally send coherent love and care to the world, a more powerful heart-filled environment is created.” They want to scientifically observe changes in the earth’s magnetic field and test the hypothesis that the earth’s field is affected by mass human emotion, positive or negative. For this they want to use a method they call The Global Coherence Monitoring System.

Another effort along similar lines is “The Intention Experiment“. They say: “The Intention Experiment is a series of scientifically controlled, web-based experiments testing the power of intention to change the physical world. Thousands of volunteers from 30 countries around the world have participated in Intention Experiments thus far. …” They do a Peace Intention Experiment: “September 14, 2008 will see the first in a series of Peace Intention Experiments testing the power of group intention to lower violence in areas around the world. This could be the largest scientific study in history, with hundreds of thousands of participants sending an intention for peace under highly controlled scientific conditions.”
You can join the experiment, if you like.

A third initiative is “The Orion Project” for “developing clean energy solutions to empower the 21st century.” They want “to transform the current energy, environmental and social crisis into a world of sustainability and Enlightened Abundance.” One of their “goals is to support the research and development of new energy generation systems to benefit the environment, alleviate world poverty and decrease dependence on all forms of fossil fuels.” There are a lot of links and calls for donations (energy-input). The intentions  are certainly going into a good direction, while the output still seems to be vague.

The latest newsletter of the Aquarian Age Community, who are dedicated to supporting the UN from a spiritual side mentions: “Increasingly, voices such as that of HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal are seeking to establish a supportive global environment wherein “individual rights, states rights, and international rights must be seen as an indivisible and dynamic unity” and “not as a source of polarization and conflict. … Gradually, and seemingly ever so slowly, humanity’s new habits of enlightened self-interest, cooperation and human solidarity based on recognition of the interconnectedness of all life are becoming the compelling directives of our day.”

A globe of white roses, from a flower-exposition in Berne, May 08

Yesterday evening we had a visit from a woman of our village. She had seen the announcement of our public evening theme in April, but didn’t have time to come. Later she contacted me via e-mail, subscribed to the newsletter and we invited her to come once for a visit.

She is a very intuitive person who has been working for years with Feng shui and space cleaning, counseling people. She feels especially attracted to working with the symbolism of water, inside and outside, and water has a great purifying quality.

However, my wife and I noted afterwards that it took us a while in the talk to find “the common ground”. Her approach to spirituality and the one we are used to seemed to be quite different, though the topics near. When my wife and I reflected about what was the reason, we saw that somehow in the course of the years we have become in a way “sober” and down-to-earth as per dealing with subtle energies. They don’t have anymore the quality of a “magic wand” of sudden transformation (or at least normally). We have experienced that a lot of reflection on knowledge and understanding helps in deepening the knowledge. It is somehow no more of the child-like spontaneity and immediacy. It was fascinating to see that immediacy in the way this woman was dealing with the subtle world, in a sincere way, not like man esotericists do, though moving in the same field.

My wife and I also have a deep conviction coming out of our experience that to delve into deeper realms a guide and teacher is of utmost importance. This woman was wandering through the spheres on her own, and she didn’t even seem to feel any need for a guide, at least an outer one. She feels everything is coming to her just like this, and this gave her a fascinating simple-heartedness and naiveté. I thought, it’s not easy to come back to this “childhood paradise”, though she wasn’t young. After a long way back, you also might come to this home of simplicity, oneness and unity, behind the many conceptions of thought. It is a feeling like being at home.

Stairs in Spain, with flowerpots. July 08

In the evening of August 1st there was a firework on the meadow just in front of our house. I took a series of photos which captured some fiery flowers. The beautiful forms created an uplifting inspiration and reminded me of the sparks of the fiery worlds which the Agni Yoga Series describe. So you read in the book on Infinity, Vol 2/184:

“The cosmic energies are strained into blending by the driving Fire. Each life pulsation carries in itself sparks of Fire. Each striving life pulsation is marked by the Cosmic Magnet. So also, thought is strained into pulsation by Fire. So many errant thoughts fill the space! Space vibrates with thoughts.”

Enjoy the dance of the Devas of Fire.

A friend from the States sent me links to a number of sites related with spirituality – feminine, ecological, indigenous, some about film projects. I had a glance through them, some of the topics might be of interest for you.

In March 08 there had been a summit in Jaipur, India, entitled: “Making Way for the Feminine – For the Benefit of the World Community. A Global Reflection with Leaders from Religion, Government, and Civil Society”. Their goal was to explore six themes as avenues for vital, life-giving transformation to create a balance honoring the feminine energy: Visionary Leadership (leadership that can help shift thought and behavior), Oneness (the force that unifies all creation), Ahimsa & Satyagraha (Sanskrit words for “nonviolence” and “holding to Truth”), Self-Evolution, or Education of the Complete Person (to develop in young people more than material and intellectual skills), Creating an Economy of Care (Redefining Progress and Development), and Listening to the Earth (Honoring Earth’s Life Systems to understand the life force that sustains our planet and its inhabitants).

The site “Wiser Earth” wants to serve the people who are transforming the world. The site is a community directory and networking forum that maps and connects non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and individuals addressing the central issues of our day: climate change, poverty, the environment, peace, water, hunger, social justice, conservation, human rights and more. Content is created and edited by the users. There is a database about more than 100,000 organizations.

“Time of the Sixth Sun” is a film in the making, about the shift in global awareness and transformation of consciousness, which many expect for the year 2012. They write: “From the Americas to Africa, from Tibet to Australasia, these times are seen as pivotal in the evolution of mankind. Ancient prophecies speak of massive earth changes and of a huge shift in Planetary Consciousness. According to the Mayan Long Count Calendar, the last date recorded is the winter solstice – 21st December 2012. They call this the time of the Sixth Sun – each sun marking the evolutionary steps of human consciousness. They also refer to this time as the “end days” or the end of time – as we know it. There is a trailer from the film and a call for generous donations needed to fund fund the complete filming / editing.

Another film project is also about 2012: “The Shift of the Ages – The Call of Our Ancestors“, a “look through the indigenous lens to focus on what is transpiring in the world today. It is a shamanic rite of passage and grassroots effort to raise awareness for Mother Earth in her time of need.” You find some short trailers under the link above.

A third film with the same focus is already finished: “The White Road. Visions of the Indigenous People of the Americas“. They write: “For the first time people from other cultures were invited to the reunion of elders, indigenous priests and shamans from North and South America. The film is a documentation of this gathering that took place in Merida on the Mexican pensinsula of Yucatán in spring of 2003. In this film we immerse into the Mayan world with their fascinating temple grounds, their unique calendar system und their mysterious crystal skulls. Together with the indigenous people we follow the White Road, the spiritual path of the Mayas, in ceremonies and rituals such as the unification of the condor and the eagle in Mayapan, and the ceremony of the equinox in Chichen Itza.
The documentary shows the messages and wisdom of the ancient precolumbian cultures. In contrast to Western philosophy of life that draws ego limits, these cultures have the gift of confiding in themselves and in the entire creation. They greet each other with „In lak’ech, a lak’en“ meaning „I am in you, and you are in me.“

Iguazu, Brazil, May 08

My spiritual teacher, Dr. K. P. Kumar, sent me a CC of an e-mail exchange with a group member. The question was:

“Next August 8, 2008, some groups are saying that some gates will open (8-8-8).  Is there some truth to that ?”

He answered: “It is true that the human calendar is valid for the humans in the thought plane. We may therefore dedicate the day to invoke the colour of Blue. And meditate upon the Bliss of Existence.”

I liked the answer: Neither did he enter into the bustle of esoteric speculation nor did he deny the underlying urge for spiritual upliftment, but directed the attention to spiritual aspiration. This is always of importance.

Flower blossoming in the botanic garden of near Palafrugell, Spain – a symbol for spiritual upliftment

During our holidays in Spain we also stayed for two days with friends in their house near Barcelona. Sighseeing was not our prime interest, but exchange. And this was a very good occasion: A number of other friends from the WTT-Spain group joined us, so we had some interesting talks.

The friend where we stayed is a doctor and a homoeopath. He is the responsible person for the Spanish version of the Paracelsus magazine of the WTT and very open to innovative research in alternative medicine. In his practice he showed us a very modern apparatus for diagnostics and treatments from Russia called Oberon, based on a spectrum analysis of rotating magnetic fields of living organisms. He gave me a diagnostic and a treatment for my chronic ear disease. It was fascinating to observe the process on a flatscreen. The treatment showed certain immediate results, however, they were not long lasting (the treatment would have to go on for a while).

Afterwards we visited the new centre of WTT-Spain in Sabadell which the group had inaugurated about a year ago. It is located in the middle of the city, in the first floor of an old house. The group had renovated the rooms themselves, and they do regular meditation, study and exchange meetings there. It has a serene ambiance, where it is certainly inspiring to do group work.

We also had a tour through Barcelona seeing some touristic spots. The city was bathed in a warm, soft light and there was a certain ease in the air. Here are some impressions, where you feel the city’s striving into space, vertically and horizontally, maybe also inwardly.

View of Barcelona from the Montjuic – a sea of houses.

The Palau Nacional, now a national gallery.

Containers waiting in the harbour

The vastness of the place in front of the Olympic Stadium is intensified through the rows of pillars.

Reaching for the sun – Calatrava’s Olympic telecommunication tower

Or reaching for the divine – Antonio Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, full of catholic fantasies.

After the evening pizza we went to a beautiful spot overlooking the cliffs of the Costa Brava where an old lighthouse is shedding its beacon over the country. I had been at the spot a day before at noon time, so you see some impressions from day and from night. The lighthouse is a beautiful symbol for the light of the soul, or the divine light, which is guiding our path when we submit ourselves to its direction.

The lighthouse is a most beautiful place, and Cancer full moon enchanted the entire atmosphere.

Steep cliffs go down some 50 meters to the sea

The cliffs and a boat in the blue Mediterranean

The beacon is like the jewel in the lotus of the soul, a multi-faceted diamond of light

The beacon in the dusk

View from the lighthouse to the city of La Calella – it seems that the light is more guiding the cars than the ships

The beacon and the full moon

Cancer full moon reflecting on the waters of the Mediterranean

The beacon

Not far from our camping in Tamariú, near Palafrugell, Spain, there is a botanic garden on the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean, and in its middle there is an ancient castle. The entrance and the inner court reminded me very much of the way into the inner temple you experience on the spiritual path. The pictures show the passage from the outer to the inner, to the fountain of life and light.