Obaitori

Nana Summer's Roses & her Tiara Wearing Cats

After we moved some of the images from my vision board fell off leaving just flowers. This is the predominate object in my life at the moment. This afternoon I'm putting Krishna, Amma, Shiva, Saint Catherine & any other enlightened being I have a picture of up onto my board to awaken the presence of God in my heart.

Lots of flowers have come my way in the last couple of months. Today my mum gave me roses out of their garden.

These dark pink roses are from my paternal great grandmother's garden. We call them Nana Summers' roses. The rose was planted in 1939. My dad dug it up & planted it in their garden. The rose is over 70 years old this year & stills grows strong.

Born in 1893 in Shandwick Scotland, Nana Christina Summers came to Australia in January 1924 with her husband & three little children. They sailed on the Red Sea & my nan, as a five year old girl, remembers seeing men in white turbans & camels along the shoreline. Nana Summers lived in a College St. Drummoyne & then moved into a massive federation house in Yasmar Avenue Haberfield. Her garden was huge & enchanting especially to little children like my sisters & cousins who would come to visit her. From a massive peppercorn tree hung a large white cane egg shaped chair. We used to sit it in for hours dreading the time when we were called home. Right down the back of the garden was a little yellow garden shed, distillery & herb drying area. It had glass windows & lots of old wooden shelves.

My Nana Summers was the sweetest lady. My father remembers her extremely fondly. A family orientated woman, stoic, with a broad Scottish accent she kept since the day she died. My dad says that he liked her alot & that she was a bit unusual. She didn't have many attachments, she never kept anything including photos & paintings. On her 90th birthday, our family sent overseas for birth certificate. The certificate arrived & it turned out that somewhere long in her beautiful life she forgotten or had lied about her age. She was 92. My mum remembers her coming down the street - mum & dad grew up in the same street & knew each other since birth - mum wanted a nanna like her & she wanted to be like her too. Every week, wearing a hat, she brought cakes to daughter's house, heart shaped french pasteries with pink icing.

Nana Summers, like me, Loved cats. When Prince Charles & Lady Diana were married she dressed all of her cats up in shawls & tiaras. Something else we have in common, she never hung her smalls on the outside of the washing line.

Nana Summers died aged 99. It makes me so happy that we still have her rose. A gentle reminder of a beautiful strong, kind woman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Less Doubt & More Positive Energy

Some very special things happened here this weekend. The gardenia burst forth & there are 5 blooms on the plant. It didn't blossom last year because some eager little fingers got to the buds before they opened to display their magnificence. But this time the children were older enought to restrain themselves & here are the results. Another point of wonder; the scent of the flower is in the seed! This bud went from this to full bloom by the afternoon. this morning I picked one to offer. I then placed it next to Dazla's bedside.

Indi had a friend for a sleep over on Saturday evening. On Sunday we collected some flowers on a walk around the neighbourhood, we rescued a snail & chased butterflies. Well, Dazla chased butterflies. Indira was on his shoulders & shouted, "Quick, follow that butterfly!" I turned around & thought, 'Really? where did you get that phrase?'

This is what we found.

We blew streamers & overall had a very peaceful weekend.

& from one of my favourite astrologers, Jonathan Cainer;

In a rare coincidence both Venus and Jupiter end their retrograde phases on Thursday. Around the world, there will soon be less doubt and a lot more positive energy.

 

Hope you had a good weekend.

"Spirituality is returning to our original source of existence" ~ Amma

Earth's Lessons

Many traditions use stories to teach great spiritual truths. Here, on Sundays, some of these stories will be re-told. They can be understood by adults & children. Where possible I will suggest a children's picture book that teaches the same or similar story.

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This story is from Thich Nahn Hanh's biography of the Buddha, Old Path White Clouds.

 

Photo

One afternoon as the bhikkhus - fully ordained male Buddhist monks - passed by rice fields near Ekanala, they were stopped by a wealthy farmer from a noble caste named Bharadvaja. He owned several thousands acres. It was the season for plowing & he was out directing the efforts of hundreds of laborers. When he saw the Buddha pass by, he stood directly in his way & said with some contempt, "We are farmers. We plow, sow seeds, fertilize, tend & harvest crops in order to eat. You do nothing. You produce nothing, yet you still eat. You are useless. You don't plow, sow, fertilize, tend or harvest."

The Buddha responded, "Oh, but we do. We plow, sow, fertilize, tend & harvest."

"Then where are your plows, your buffaloes & your seeds? What crops do you tend? What crops do you harvest?"

The Buddha answered, "We sow the seeds of faith in the earth of a true heart. Our plow is mindfulness & our buffalo is diligient practice. Our harvest is love & understanding. Sir, without faith, understanding & love, life would be nothing but suffering."

Bharadvaja found himself unexpectedly moved by the Buddha's words. He asked an attendant to bring the Buddha some fragrant rice simmered in milk, but the Buddha refused saying, "I have not shared these things with you in order to be given food. If you would like to make an offering, please do so at another time."

The landowner was so impressed by this that he prostrated himself before the Buddha & asked to be accepted as a lay disciple.

David & Edel

Yogi's Cat Bath & the Flea's Reincarnation

Yogi has many little idiocyncrasies. One of the most interesting is his love for water. He only drinks fresh water out of a running tap - not so unusual, he plays with water & he is often found in the bathtub while the tub is filling up for my bath - thigh deep in warm to hot water. He moves around the tub taking slow, moderated steps & the look on his face is priceless. Happy, smiling, content.

We recently treated him for fleas - rife in the hot Australian summers - it was a success, they were completely gone, assume happy face. He is always more calm without the fleas, he is much more tolerant of the children lying on top of him, dressing him up & screaming in his big black ears. But with fleas - he becomes a temperamental black blur of hissing & spitting with a flurry of claws. Those fleas came back, care of Rockstar - our Clayton's dog, new name - Fleabag.

This time I put Yogi in the laundry tub for a chemical free bathtub of his own. This recipe is from the very remarkable & fabulous, Juliette de Bairacli Levy's book The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog & Cat.

1 cup of environmentally friendly washing up liquid or soap flakes

2-3 drops of eucalyptus or tea-tree {only if your cat is fully grown} or lavender essential oil

The soap stops the fleas from clinging on to the fur & the essential oil acts as a anti-septic, anti-biotic & flea deterent.

Make sure you work around under the areas that the fleas will try to escape to; under the arms, legs & neck & around the top of the head. After the bath, fully rinse your cat. Then use a flea or lice comb to make sure all the fleas are gone. This should ensure all fleas are gone, err, I mean dead. Of course, you are left with all that karma of your action - to neutralise it - I chant Om Mani Padme Hum. This enables the dead fleas to reincarnate to a higher realm for their next life & it can also soothe the cat.

For carpets, sprinkle bi-carbonate soda/penny royal or lavender & vacumn. Wash all of the cat's bedding too & make a spritzer of citrus oils to spray around the cat's bed & other places your cat likes to hang out.

There are no photos of Yogi having a bath here wet, bedraggled & without his dignity but here is one with that look on his face.

{this moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama. In her words...

 

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

 

Peace ~ Now & Forever, Amen.

Today I received a truly beautiful gift. Bodhi & I were shopping in a huge supermarket when over the loud speaker came, "Ladies & gentlemen, we are about to stop for one minutes silence to mark the rememberance of Armistice Day." Me - aahh, shiver, shiver. I was so happy that this big chain was going to mark this special moment of peace, the end of the first dreadful World War & all the subsequent wars up to the craziness happening now in Afghanistan.

Services are held at 11am on this day the eleventh of the eleventh month at war memorials & schools in suburbs and towns across the country, at which the "Last Post" is sounded by a bugler and a one-minute silence is observed.

Another announcement, "Please now stand still to mark the occasion of the armistice & our fallen soldiers." We stood. Everybody stood, customers & staff. Still. Bodhi & I stared into each others eyes. A few more moments. "Thank you ladies & gentlemen."

We wandered over to the next section - my gift? - it emerged a few moments later. I observed  that everyone, including the atmosphere seemed a little more peaceful, slower, calmer after this very short pre-meditation practice.  I stopped again, pulled Bodhi a little closer & closed my eyes. I prayed, 'Thank you God, may this collective thought of peace seep through to the whole wide world.'

Thich Nhat Hahn has a teaching called the Bell of Mindfulness. He teaches that every time you hear a bell, or bell like sound, stop, breathe, smile. This is what happened today in our big fluorescent lit market.

Part of Laurence Binyon's Ode to the Fallen (1869–1943)

The Flanders poppy – the symbol of the sacrifice of shed blood.

No More War!

 

 

Wonder & Astonishment

It is so easy to get caught up in our lives of technology, the internet, mobile phones, bills, electricity, accounts, usernames, passwords, newspapers ...

I picked up a book I'm very fond of at my sister's house a couple of days ago, "The Art of Living". I flicked it open & read the following extract of a delightful, humbling article written in 1953 by W.E. Sangster.

"... To keep wonder in my life I constantly go back in thought to the moment when I first heard a wonderful thing. One day long ago I called on a frievd & learned that his young son had made a 'wireless set.' Would I like to listen? I would, never had I heard a radio. But what would I make of all those dots & dashes? I smiled benignly on the youngster while he awkwardly placed the earphones on my head & fiddled with what he called the crystal.

Then it came - a burst of music! I stared at the boy in incredulity. & I have recalled that incredulity a thousand times since. I think & take myself back to the breath-taking astonishment of broadcasting breaks over me anew. 

Foster wonder - of the world, of yourself, of humanity, of the Deity. Chesterton said: 'The world will never starve for wonders - only for the want of wonder.'"

What is causing you to wonder in your world?

 

Expression of Beauty & Divinity

 

Thank you dear readers for all the beautiful, kind & inspiring comments & Love. I really appreciate the thoughts, ideas, compliments, inspiration & your time to comment on Obaitori. This goes beyond praise for you ~ I see that it represents a true expression of your beauty & divinity. Thank you.

And so, a gentle humbling gift from my heart to yours.

 

Creating Your Own Sweet Song of Life

Mystic Medusa reminds us today that the message of the New Moon is; Keep Evolving. It's hard though, as Retro-Venus is bringing up every single little teensy bit of unresolved or still poignant-albeit-resolved relationship crud.

So how to be fabulous and evolutionary whilst not ignoring the romantic muck-raking as it can be productive? You process it: write it out, sing it out, analyze it with an objective pro, exercise it out, acknowledge what wants to be acknowledged, take some Pluto Juice...

Medusa considers Pluto Juice as Bach’s Walnut Essence;

"For those who have definite ideals and ambitions in life and are fulfilling them, but on rare occasions are tempted to be led away from their own ideas, aims and work by the enthusiasm convictions or strong opinions of others. The remedy gives constancy and protection from outside influences" ~ Dr. Edward Bach.

So we made... Walnut Biscuits

Oh, that Venus in retrograde! Lately, I have heard a lot of people saying that they are having these relationship ‘spring-cleans’ including my own. Personally, I really like it! Saying that it is horrible, scary & revolting when it all comes out, a bit like a raging boil bursting but there is so much relief when it is released. & with it comes, healing, understanding, compassion which all equal, Love. A stronger, more-Loving relationship.

At Satyananda Yoga Mangrove Mountain there is a Non-violent Communication; From Conflict to Connection course run by Dorset Campbell-Ross the weekend 19^th-21^st November. Yes, we will be there. It is $350 each with a 10% discount if booked 7 days in advance. With this relationship being among the most important in my life - I consider it money well spent. Ahimsa or non-violence is the second yama in Raja Yoga. The course includes;

Exploring & observing without evaluation. Exploring the origins of feeling, sending clear rather than confusing messages about feelings, stating universal needs clearly, making requests rather than demands. Expressing ourselves honestly: being real rather than 'nice'. Communicating pain, sadness, fear, and frustration without compromise, and in a way that meets the needs of others too. Self Empathy - connecting with ourselves with compassion, receiving others empathically. How to hear and be present for others in pain, anger, fear and sadness without fixing/comparing/analysing/belittling/ criticising etc. How to put it all together, homework, journalling.

I know that when I do my spiritual sadhana regularly I am more balanced, clearer & less grumpy - especially with my partner & my dear children. The following is a beautiful teaching by Satya Sai Baba that I like to read when I'm feeling unmotivated to practise. This recharges me to further strenthen the determination on my path.

The farmer, intent on cultivation, ignores even food and sleep, for he is too busy ploughing, levelling, scattering seeds, watering, weeding, guarding and fostering the crop. He knows that his family will have to subsist on the harvest that he brings home and that if he fritters away the precious season in idle pursuits, his family will be confronted with hunger and ill-health. So, he sets aside or postpones other pursuits and focuses all his attention on farming alone. He puts up with difficulties and deprivations, toils day and night, watches over the growing crops and garners the grain. As a consequence, he is able to spend the months ahead, in peace and joy, with his happy family. Students and spiritual seekers have to learn important lessons from the farmer. The stage of youth is the season for mental and intellectual culture. These years should be intensively and intelligently cultivated irrespective of difficulties and obstacles. The clamour of the senses has to be silenced; hunger and thirst have to be controlled; the urge to sleep and relax has to be curbed.

Fill the reservoir when it rains, so that in times of drought, you can feed the fields. Do intense Sadhana (spiritual exercises) now, when you are young and strong so that you can be in peace and joy for the rest of your life. Make the most profitable use of this present period of your lives. Do not waste the hours in irrelevance and irreverence. Do not indulge in the condemnation of others or in self-disapprobation. Let your hearts rejoice, clothed in fresh ideals, feelings and resolutions. Mould your lives into sweet songs of Love.

~ Divine Discourse October 1981.

Do You Believe In Ghosts?

 

About one in seven people believe they have seen or felt a ghost at some time in their lives.

I fall into this category & through experience I can say, I believe in ghosts. I think that there are a lot of these spirits around all the time but that it is only when we are tuned in that we can experience their presence.  This ability is sometimes stronger at times in our lives than other times. It is a skill however that can be developed through meditation, a clean diet, crystals & other methods of purification. I think it also runs or is rather encouraged & developed in families. My great-grandmother was a clairvoyant. Back them it wasn’t spoken about in our family but my grandmother remembers people coming in to the sitting room at the front of the house for readings.

Clairvoyance enables people to see, clairaudience to hear, clairsentience to feel/touch, claircognizance to know, clairescence to smell & clairgustance to taste. These are consider to be extra-sensory perceptions. Within yoga these powers are known as siddhis, some schools of Buddhism have very high meditation techniques which develop these skills particularly Tibetan Buddhism.

The following stories & film are from Hampton Court Palace.

Hampton Court Palace in Greater London is a magnificent Tudor building built by Cardinal Wolsey in the sixteenth century. It has become world famous for not only being the home of Charles I and II, Elizabeth I and Henry VIII, but also for its ghosts, which have been seen frequently in the interior of the palace and in the surrounding grounds.

Hampton Court Palace Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife, died at the palace twelve days after giving birth to her son, who later became Edward VI of England. She is often seen along Clock Court or in the Silver Stick Gallery, wearing a white robe and carrying a candle.

The ghost of Lady Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII, is believed to walk what is now known as the Haunted Gallery. This haunting is thought by many to be a re-enactment of an actual historical event. Catherine Howard married an elderly Henry in 1540, despite the fact that she had not even reached her twentieth birthday. The queen was accused of having affairs with younger men, which was classed as high treason, and was sentenced to death for her crime. When the queen heard news of the sentence, she ran through the corridors of Hampton Court to her husband's chapel where he was attending Hampton Court Palace mass, screaming and pleading for her life to be spared. The king chose to ignore her pleas, and she was beheaded at the Tower of London in February, 1542. Her ghostly screams are heard by some visitors to the palace, and some have seen a shadowy figure run through the Haunted Gallery.

There is a ghost of a 'Gray Lady' at Hampton Court who is thought to be Mrs. Sibell Penn, nurse to Henry VIII's children. She died of smallpox in 1562, but her spirit rested in peace until the remains of her body were removed from St. Mary's Church, Hampton, after the church was storm damaged in 1892. Residents at Hampton Court began to hear voices and the whirring sound of a spinning wheel. A wall was removed close to where the noise had been reported, revealing a sealed chamber containing a spinning wheel. It is thought that the wheel belonged to Mrs. Penn. The ghost continued to be seen despite this, and her apparition has been spotted by many separate witnesses.

Also amongst the strange occurrences at Hampton Court are ghostly cavaliers, pageboys and children dressed in Tudor costume.

The following film was captured by CCTV at the Court.