May 24, 2003 This week, I am happy to present to you- The Hatha Yoga Pradipika: The classic manual on Hatha Yoga Author: Svatmarama Translator: Brian Dana Akers pdf sample $11.95 paperback April 14, 2003 A new feature has come to GodConsciousness.com as a bit of an experiment. This week, psitank was launched. Y psitank is an alternative news and information source at its most basic level. In the future, I hope psitank will encompass the thoughts of sensitive thinkers around the world on global political issues (ie. the environment, renewable sources of energy, worldwide justice, genetic engineering, etc.) March 24, 2003 At this very moment, US and British troops are bombing Iraq and the world finds itself in a rather precarious position. Perhaps never before in the history of humankind has the entire globe been so involved in an international dispute. Countries around the world, both small and large, are being pulled into this stormy maelstrom. The political rhetoric is beginning to fly from all sides. There are those who support the war and dethroning Saddam, others vehemently opposed to any kind of military conflict in the region, and perhaps a large segment of international thinkers who are still a bit unsure of the outcome of this potentially significant series of events. Fear and anxiety seems to be creeping into our hearts with a greater intensity. We continue to fear our enemies, so we seek their destruction. Whatever this war is ultimately about (and it is hard to believe that it is not about oil when so much attention is being paid to oil fields, oil prices, and the capture of oil resource centers), the world is once more finding itself in the midst of war. Why do we continue this vicious cycle? Why do we support those who are violent? Do we expect different results from the same actions? As we funnel more and more of our collective attention, financial resources, and personal energies into activities perpetuating war, what do we suppose will be the outcome? As I lean over to my day calendar with words of wisdom from the Dalai Lama, today's quote seems so very appropriate: As long as we are on this small planet together, we need human gentleness, human affection. Our planet is indeed so tiny and as far as we know, the human race only has one planet to inhabit. We need to eventually learn how to live together in peace. How long will this take? Will we always have leaders who are seeking their own ends at any costs? A military cliche keeps coming to my mind as I reflect upon this war: "we are fighting over here, so that you can enjoy peace and freedom at home." This logic is so entrenched in many of our minds. We believe that war is necessary to secure peace. Yet, peace is peace. She does not need war for her subsistence. In fact, peace and love are much greater powers than hate and violence. I feel the potential criticisms coming that I am being much too naive. I am not so sure that the ends justify the means. March 7th, 2003 As many of our regulars have likely noticed, we have changed our homepage here at GodConsciousness.com. Please let me know what you think as the homepage continues to evolve. I hope to create a rather elaborate flash menu system which should hopefully be pretty cool, but will take some time to complete. You are seeing the initial stages of the launch now. I hope you have gotten a chance to check out the books advertised under the "hot and new" section below entitled Namaste and Once Upon A Soul by Dr. Joyce Kovelman. I have been reading over her books lately and have found them to be quite innovative. She recently contacted me through the site and impresses me as being both spiritually sensitive and intellectually quite profound. In other news, we put out another edition of JOY today. A new poem and articles appear on JOY's homepage. I have been updating the forums as much as time allows and really enjoy the yoga and science forum. I have been happy to see the journal take off since the recent launch and I hope that it continues to grow. And please, if you have any essays lying around on yoga, send them in. I have also been in contact with Antonio Roybal again recently (see the visionary art page) and he mentioned that he is transitioning into a slightly different genre in his artwork. He calls it 'playful.' In the midst of all the seriousness and gravity we now find ourselves in, I think we could probably use a little more playfullness. Get out and play! PS. In the spirit of playfullness, I have been trying to get back into surfing once again. I suck terribly but the weather here in florida has been awesome and the water is starting to warm up nicely. February 16th, 2003 As peace rallies form around the world, political tensions seem to be on the rise across the globe. It seems that we may be in fact entering an era when a kind of global consciousness is in the early stages of development. What would this mean though? Is the philosopher and anthropoligist Teilhard de Chardin correct in his assertion that a Noosphere would envelop the Earth and lead humanity into a new stage of evolution? How could we tell if this is indeed occuring? Perhaps one of the tell-tale signs is the realization by vast members of the global community that each and every one of us are interconnected to each other. What affects one of us, can and does affect us all. Yet, the mere realization of this facet of our existence does not seem to be what Teilhard was ultimately describing. It may be the first stage however. Sooner or later, this initial realization begins to manifest itself in collective actions and behaviors. Essentially, humanity begins to think and act as a group for the benefit of one and all. Our tendencies towards isolation, nationalism, and egoism begin to gradually be replaced by the larger Whole and Collective which includes all peoples, forms of life, and organic earth. As we begin to behave in ways that benefit this Wider Life, each of us are able to enjoy the overflowing baskets of abundance. It seems difficult to tell at this juncture in time what could occur on the face of the earth when all of us join together to help one another. Perhaps the simple and often quoted dictum "think globally, act locally" is a motto that we can integrate into our daily lives as we embark into the 21st century. The current situation in Iraq is being felt around the world. All nations seem to be involved in one way or another. Seemingly, the manner in which this conflict is handled will reverberate in waves through our cities and nations. Yet, there are many issues around the world that need our attention. Everyday people are suffering the throes of poverty in even the wealthiest of countries. What little contributions might we be able to make? Unemployment is yet another issue facing struggling economies as they rush into the 21st Century. The list goes on and on. What can we do then? When so much seems out of our control and chaos continues to march forward, what are our options? Perhaps more is in our realm of possibilities than we realize. Maybe we can learn how to love ourselves and one another however slowly it takes, and despite all the pain. It's not easy. Noone can do it for us. Jesus beckoned us to 'love our enemies' and now we may start to realize that our enemies are also extensions of God. May we pray for our world leaders as we proceed. Sunday Jan. 5th, 2003 Dear GodConsciousness.com Readers, I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to the new year. Here at GodConsciousness.com, we are celebrating our 3rd anniversary and we hope to have another amazing year. I can hardly believe that we have been online for three years already! Over the past year, we had a few developments that I am especially proud of. I launched my first ebook "Dawnings", JOY: The Journal of Yoga was officially launched online, we welcomed visionary artists Shayna Bracha, Martina Hoffman and Camilo Villanueva, brought back by popular demand our t-shirts, mugs, mousepads, and other GC memorabilia, and added several new free ebooks for your reading pleasure. This year, we hope to bring you much more exciting content as we continue to grow and expand. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome. Current events around the world make our mission that much more important. God and religion have come under serious attack as they have been used as devices for war, segregation and political strife around the world. We have witnessed the atrocities that accompany extremist forms of religious belief. We need a new way forward. A way that characterizes what I believe God's true character actually is- one imbued with love and peace. Why do we continue to use God in our wars? I can hardly imagine Jesus, Mohammed, Abraham, Rumi, or Aurobindo taking up arms against their fellow men and women. We are all of one source. We live and die together. I am deeply concerned (and I believe that I am not alone in this sentiment), about larger global issues concerning the environment, corporate scandals and the relentless drive towards profits in a living organism that must take the blows of our often ruthless behaviour. Our own personal lives and the life of the planet are interdependent. We must fully realize this in our actions. Perhaps, if nothing else, the consciousness of God in our daily lives can help to facilitate respect in our lives- respect for ourselves, one another, and the beautiful diversity of life that surrounds us. I hope and pray that a new era is now emerging- however difficult it may now seem to us to fully realize. Changes are certainly coming. We know this for sure. Each of us has a crucial role to play. An intensification of our conscious capacities may be our best hope. Yet, we must proceed rationally and with care. Our extremism will get us nowhere. We can meet others where we can and open a dialogue. The peaceful among us will hopefully make their voices heard in a time when warmongers get all the attention. Whatever we conceive God to be- a gray headed old man, being of extreme light, worn out concept, projection of man, a final nothing, creator of the universe, or anything else we can imagine "God" to ultimately be- these conceptions will likely characterize who we are and what we shall become. Our beliefs shape our day to day lives. Our priorities, orientation toward others, vision of ourselves and our planet will be a reflection of what we consider most true. We cannot escape this assessment. Our thoughts and reflections are imperative and invaluable. I will be the first to admit that I am in a dark and shadowy 'cloud of unknowing.' I do not know what God is. I do not know how we got here. I don't even know how my heart is beating at this very moment. I may be able to give you a brief description of this or that and perhaps you will see the same thing. Yet, despite my lack of understanding, I know how love and hate feels. I much prefer the former and I doubt I am the only one. May blessings shower on all of us this new year!

Home | Mystic Texts | Visionary Art | Meditation Aids | Entheogens | Music

Guiding Symbol | Mission | About Us | Partners | Contact | Submissions | JOY | Web Services