Each year a special full moon occurs in May. If there are 2 full moons, it is the second of these and declared the celebration of Wesak, or Buddha’s commemoration. The name Wesak is derived from the Sanskrit name for this particular month.
Buddhist temples, decorated with the appropriate flags and flowers, are visited before dawn. Hymns are sung to celebrate the Buddha, his teachings (the Dharma), and his disciples (the Sangha). Processions with candles light up the evening.
During Buddha’s life, he told his followers to commemorate his life by living his teachings of compassion, peace, and good will, and by devotion to the service of humanity. Thus, at this time Buddhists give extra energy to performing noble deeds: observing vegetarian diet; offering donations of money and food to people and charity organizations in need; there are blood drives; and wild animals are released back into nature.
Buddha was born in 623 B.C. in India. It is believed that he attained enlightenment during the full moon in May, and that his final liberation from this material world was on the same day. Buddha’s birthday is also celebrated as being on this day by his millions of followers.
Buddha gained enlightenment while meditating under a tree (Ficus religiosa), called peepalin India. It has heart-shaped leaves, and is used medicinally. This kind of tree is said to live over 1500 years. A cutting from the original Bodhi tree was planted in Sri Lanka and is claimed to be over 2200 years old. In Burma, during Wesak, Bodhitrees are watered to ensure their survival through a dry summer.
•by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder•In our self-conscious state of mind, we often think our Creator is so far away, someplace other than within us. We think: “Maybe It’s out there in space…” or “He’s on a mountaintop.”
The Divine’s consciousness inhabits the space between each atom, between each subatomic particle in our bodies. Meditation is so important to each of us, becausein the silence of our beings we can find this space where the Divine is. Just sit and be still. Pray that God will reveal himself, herself to you.
When we can perceive the center of our own consciousness, that smallest of all places within us, we can perceive God. We can hear the perpetual chant of AUM, of HUM. We can then perceive the Divine’s voice speaking to us—a real conversation with God. We hear words, actual replies to our questions.
What a wondrous thing it is that we have the ability within us to communicate with the Divine. So few really practice it! Yet, nothing on Earth is more important.
Jesus said: Seek first the kingdom of God, and: The kingdom of God is within you. How can we find it within us? We find it through true prayer and meditation.
O beloved Mother,we dedicate this day to your beautiful Earth, your garden floating in infinity.What a jewel it is! We dedicate our energy and our lives todayto helping preserve your garden here for your children, now and in the future.It is a blessing to be a caretaker of your Earth,so full of your Spirit.
We love you Father! We love you Mother! Open our consciousness to your presence. This day, let us all become warriors of light and truth, that we may go forth in your will and your guidance to help your world and your children.Amen
•by Dawn King• Saint Patrick’s Day (March 17th) is celebrated in many parts of the world. Lesser known is his contemporary, Ireland’s patroness, Saint Brigid of Kildare, also known as Bridget of Ireland. These two figures of renown lived around the year five hundred.
Brigid’s father was a Druid chieftain; her Portuguese mother had been captured and transported to Ireland by pirates. Brigid was named after the Druid goddess of fire, whose manifestations were song, craftsmanship and poetry. In that era, wisdom was shared through poetry, mostly sung; therefore poetry was considered to be the flame of knowledge.
Brigid the Druid goddess and Brigid the Irish saint share February 1 as their feast day. A simple form of woven cross is attributed to her. When attached to the ceiling (above the hearth) it was credited with preventing the home from catching fire; Irish homes had thatched roofs which burned readily.
Famous for her common sense and goodness, Brigid was honored for her compassion and generosity toward those in need. As a young girl, her only wish was to devote her life to God. Women had little opportunity to exert self-will, and her father forbade her aspirations.
Undaunted, she gave away the household bounty to others. Her father decided to let her become a nun after she gave his jewel-encrusted sword to a leper. She later established a convent for women and a number of charitable foundations.
One story is associated with the official blessing Brigid received to acknowledge her as Abbess of Kildare Abbey. This famous monastery accommodated both nuns and monks. During the ceremony, the elderly Bishop inadvertently read the wrong rites and consecrated her as a Bishop. At the time, this could not be rescinded under any circumstances. The Abbess position retained such power until the Synod of Kells in 1152.
During her own lifetime, Brigid was considered to be a saint. She is known today throughout Ireland, sometimes as “Mary of the Gael” (Mary of the Irish). An excerpted translation of the oldest account of Brigid follows:
Saint Brigid was not given to sleep, nor was she intermittent about God’s love; Not merely that she did not buy, she did not seek for The wealth of this world below the Holy One.
•by Jake Collier (with Dawn King)• The bodies we inhabit are incredible creations, more sophisticated than any supercomputer. Part of the Creator’s plan is that vital actions in these bodies can be carried out without us having to think of them every time they’re needed (like breathing). The original purpose for this was to perpetuate happiness, joy, and closeness with our Creator.Because we have free will, the downside is that we can easily establish habits, including ones that aren’t good for us.
A new study tells us that it takes about 66 days of effort to start (or break) a habit. Meditation is a wonderful tool that can help us establish good habits and get rid of any negative ones. It can even help us reflect and realize that we have a habit that doesn’t serve us. Kriya meditation actually helps us burn up the karma of negative habits.
Association with people who are living the ideals you aspire to can help you attain your goals. Another factor is willpower. Paramahansa Yogananda recommended that we find some pursuit or goal that would be challenging, then strive continually toward it, until we achieve it. This builds willpower, as well self-confidence and strength of character.
Our evening meditations are the best time to reflect on our thoughts and actions of the day, and to make resolutions for the next day. We want our habits and actions to lead us into a state of spiritual ecstasy. The energy of our Creator permeates this whole creation. The more we draw it in, drink it, consume it, the stronger our will becomes. We want our habits to lead us toward illumination, to feel the joys of increased life, and the indescribable comfort of being embraced by love divine.
•by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder•To have God present in our lives every day, we tune in before we go outward to do our work. To meditate in the morning with the rising sun is to bring the sweetness of God’s presence into our life for the whole day; to receive instruction mentally and visually. We arrive at the right time and the right place for the right thing to happen for us, not too early or too late, missing the great benefits. When we are on God’s time, patiently meditating and praying every morning, wondrous things begin to happen in our lives. We see God fulfilling our selfless desires, and freeing us up for the journey ahead.
To spend half an hour, or even fifteen minutes with God in the morning every day before work, and again before you go to sleep at night, even if you have to miss some sleep, is to receive angelic, illumined beings who desire to help you on your journey. This is why I meditate, and why I encourage others to do so. It is your birthright to see and know God as your best friend. Your Divine Father-Mother exists in this immensity, even as your earthly father and mother exist.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” saith the Christ, who is ever patiently waiting. We have to open the door on the crown of our head and invite Christ, I Am That I Am, into our temple. The right and left hands of God, moving in dual vortexes, descend as softly as a dove and land on the crown of our heads. This is the anointment, the baptism of divine fire, which you can see and feel with the love and presence of Christ within.
