"Butterfly Song"

“Rise high, rise high like a butterfly
You were meant to spread your wings
Rise high, rise high in your heart and your mind
You were meant for greater things” – Ganga Sunshine

Out of what was entangled around the fleshy body appear the forms of the conditional past. Layer upon layer that slimy liquid dries itself until there is little movement and shallow breath. In the womb, the heart of the universe beats. In the womb all doubt and fear squeeze themselves out of ancient pores with putrid smells of judgments and anxieties until at last the impulse to transform is so great, the dream unfolds.

Everything painful begins to drop away. The awkward limbs and heavy appendages dissolve into nothingness. Everything begins to follow a timeless pattern of color and shape. Everything in the blueprint of a long forgotten dream begins to appear. Longing cries out for the Universal Mother. The insatiable thirst pleads for that Nectar. There is such desperation for lightness and flight. There is an ache to reach beyond the beginning and touch Eternity. Now desire explodes and bursts all shackles of dependency and emerges a Master of the Garden.

In that stillness, Beauty continues her journey. Her wings open and close in absolute peace. She carries hope to every flower and draws from each the immortal blessing. She rides the wind. The heart of the Universe beats within her. She is the Butterfly Song of all the ages. She is begotten again and again.

“Be just like that butterfly
who floats with grace and ease.
She was just a little worm
Stuck to her life in trees.
But the vision grew inside her
And though her means were scarce and gone
That promise blossomed anyway
And now she flutters in the sun.”

May all your “Butterfly Dreams” come true,

Ganga

ASOS Quote: “True desire is when your whole Being is soaked in the image of your desire and you cannot see the difference between your desire and the physical world around you.” – Tulshi Sen

Love for Love's Sake Alone

*"If I adore You out of fear of Hell,
burn me in Hell!
If I adore you out of desire for Paradise,
Lock me out of Paradise.
But if I adore you for Yourself alone,
Do not deny to me your eternal beauty." - Rabia

Her poetry is so intoxicating to recite over and over. Rabia Al Basri lived in Iraq the second half of the 8th century. She became widely known for her songs and poems that ever declared the pure love for the Divine for it’s own sake and not out of fear or self-aggrandizement. Her compositions are so full of unconditional and wholehearted devotion; one cannot help but be lifted up. She ever reaches down into the core of her own being to find the Truth and the Light. She believed that fear and hope were illusions that keep us away from knowing who we really are in relation to the Universe.

I don’t know how many times these words have brought tears to my eyes. I look at all the people around me and observe the feelings I have for them. It has been my life quest so far to recognize the Divine in all people. We are all One and this Consciousness lives in each one of us. It’s not always pleasant what I see in others, but when I look hard enough and accept a person’s journey in its own evolution, there is always a beautiful gift that reveals itself. I realize that some people are only meant to be in my life for a moment, but I still learn something from each interaction. The more I remember this, the easier it becomes to see the Light that shines out of so many eyes around me every day. This connects me more deeply with the Universal Heart. In that Oneness, Self-acceptance blooms forth its offerings and Self-forgiveness becomes possible. Only then can we love for Love’s sake alone.

Practicing the Four Proclamations as outlined in “Ancient Secrets of Success”, by Mr.Tulshi Sen has helped me to become more centered in this quest. It breaks down the barriers of the ever-judging mind to surrender to the greater part of who I am. This greater part is connected with “every point in space”. Many brilliant artists, poets, painters, sages and prophets from every walk of life have created masterpieces out of this feeling of Union. It cannot be spoken or explained, merely reached for in complete surrender. Mr. Sen explains why this is so:

“The mind intellectually rejects any thoughts of Unity or being One with the Universe and does not allow this Truth to enter your heart. The Ancients understood this and so they devised instruments to train the mind for realizing the Truth, that You and the Universe are One, God is One. These instruments are the Four Proclamations…”

The demands of the information age leave its toll on our stress levels and oftentimes we do not even have the energy or focus to engage in any other activity after a long hard day. We feel so exhausted with worries, we often put off nourishing our inner reserves of strength and resilience. The meditation on the Four Proclamations helps to calm this anxiousness and opens us up again to Self-love and limitless inspiration until we can love for Love’s sake alone.

In this feeling of peace I am reminded of more of Rabia’s words: “How long will you bang on this open door?”…I smile and reach for Antara (the name of my guitar)… to disappear into the exquisiteness of the Grace that pours through.

“Assalamu Alaikum” (Arabic: Peace Be Upon You)
Ganga

**From: Doorkeeper of the heart: versions of Rabia / [translated by] Charles Upton. Putney, Vt.: Threshold Books, c1988

"One Song of Life"

“I’m gonna find my own dream again
I’m gonna break through these clouds of rain.
Straight to that bright shining sun,
in the name of the One
I have my claim
I’m gonna live my own dream again.”

This is the verse to a song written at a time when my husband had left this world and I felt dried out and spent and about 200 years old. I had to imagine a new fresh direction of happiness again. Writing and singing about finding a new vision for my life helped and still helps me to focus. A beautiful and memorable experience with a woman today brings the lyrics back to mind and formulates the theme of today’s posting.

While walking up Yonge Street in busy downtown Toronto, my inquisitive nose suddenly caught a whiff from the open doorway of a new chocolate shop. A young man leaning against its front window was fanning himself with some papers. As our gaze met, he handed me one of his brochures to come for some delicious free samples tomorrow. Suddenly a woman behind me dropped all her groceries and they rolled in between where the man and I were standing. As the woman and I gathered all her food back into her bags, we immediately became wrapped up in a conversation and walked all the way to the end of the street. We both agreed that nothing ever happens by accident and there must have been a reason for the connection. We laughed and she moved towards a bench on the sidewalk and sat down, now somewhat out of breath. Then she asked me if I believed we have the power to change our life? I leaned against a nearby lamppost, looked into her searching eyes and confessed that I have been on a quest for that answer for many years. At last I felt I had found something that addressed all my discoveries and aspirations. Taking my copy of “Ancient Secrets of Success for Today’s World” out of my shoulder bag I sat down next to her.

The intensity of our conversation continued as we discussed all the wonderful ways that positive thinking and creative visualizations are necessary tools for personal growth but to actually keep our thoughts tuned and to keep the imagination expansive enough was not all that easy. I excitedly began to tell her about Mr. Sen’s breakthrough techniques of helping to keep the mind still enough so that we can tune in to all the things that we really want to do with our lives. It is not just a matter of knowing great laws of thinking, but we must have access to our inner selves to find all the passion for the things we truly want to experience. Finding that center is up to each of us alone. We each live in a circle that ever expands out of Itself. Opening to Mr. Sen’s chapter on “Centering Yourself for Success”, I felt moved to read the excerpt from page 73:

“The center is the cause of the circumference. Without the center it is impossible to have a circumference. The center is thought and the circumference is the thing. The center radiates from itself to reproduce the circumference. In the same way, your thoughts will reach out to generate, with all the power that ever was or will be in the Universe, and radiate your thoughts into manifestation as seen by you in the center, your Absolute, your In-visible world.”

My exuberance over these words heightened as I revealed how endless songs and poems and pictures flow out of my heart when I practice the meditation on the 4 Proclamations. In the peace that comes with daily practice, innovation and aspiration yearn for fulfillment. My creative passions in turn fuel my life with patience, compassion, endurance and believing that the impossible is possible. I literally see my world transform as I go about my daily tasks. Everything is brighter, easier, more relaxed and meaningful. I can see more clearly the direction I want to head in. I can feel the Heart of the world when I feel who I am in relation to the Universe. Each of us has a unique song in our own heart and sung with others who also sing from within, will find it to be in perfect harmony because we are all One.

After giving her the website address for Mr. Sen’s book and audio teleseminars, www.ancientsecretsofsuccess.com , I wondered what dreams were still latent in her life and what she will discover from the book. For now I feel centered and inspired all over again and post this artwork of the three women singing their own songs in the great “One Song of Life”.

Namaste,
Ganga

"Bathe Yourself in That Rain"

…“There the clouds do not cover the sky
yet the rain pours down in gentle showers.
O bodiless one, do not sit on your doorstep.
Go forth and bathe yourself in that rain.”

These are four of my favorite lines written by a 14th Century Ecstatic Poet of the East known as Kabir. To be able to reach fantastic heights of joy and happiness while reciting or singing in adoration or devotion was a great gift of many profound poets of the past. They broke down barriers of politics and religion to reach into the depths of their own direct experience with the Almighty. Their work bubbled out of them with such purity and intensity that future generations could still drink from the nectar and feel the urge to embrace the “Beloved” in their own way. I know this because I feel this joy when I recite or sing their words. They take me away from all the limited ways of seeing the world and expand the imagination to reach farther into exhilaration and what is known to some as “God-Intoxication”. I know this because I have felt these feelings, even while battling the loss of my husband. Can you imagine the excruciating pain of grief being transformed into rapture within a few hours of meditation and song? When we can expand our way of seeing, we can embrace everything within ourselves and what was not possible becomes possible. Tears of agony turn to tears of endless joy when we begin to see that we are not separate from the Creator. How can we feel alone when we are more and more aware of our Unity with Consciousness? Mr. Sen puts it so beautifully in his book “Ancient Secrets of Success for Today’s World” where he says:

“To experience Unity is the goal of the individual while still in the body. This is the teaching and the objective of the ancient traditions. Unless you experience this Unity, which is different from union, you will not be able to know yourself…. Unity is when you realize: You are One with the Universe. Unity cannot be understood by the intellect and neither can it be explained in words, in any language.”

Years of watching the man I love go through agonizing medical treatments only intensified my sense of separation from this Truth. Then came more years of struggling with utter defeat which drove me to reach for the comfort of poets and Masters of the past. I wanted to relate to their words of courage and feelings of absolute rapture in the chambers of my own heart. I wanted to sing it alive within my own world and have direct knowing of the Inner Teacher. Also, I wanted to know for myself what my great-grandmother had told me while I was a young girl: “No matter what troubles You, Christ will give you rest and take your pain away.” After years of trying to be a good and loving person, obediently enduring one battle after another, I now hungrily, desperately ached to experience this promise wholeheartedly for myself.

Now, in my continuing quest for answers, the words of ancient poets and Masters continuously open passageways of embracing larger and larger ideals and emotions. Echoes of “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” vibrate from the confident voice of my great-grandmother’s legacy of undying faith.

In the closing lines of the above Kabir stanza, the Master Poet continues:

“There it is ever moonlight and never dark.
And who speaks of one sun only?
That land is illuminate with the rays of a million suns:
Oh my Heart, let us go to that country
where dwells the Beloved, the ravisher of my Heart.”

May the power of Ecstatic Poetry always awaken your Imagination.

Ganga

Romance is Contageous

"The strong calm man is always loved and revered.

He is like a shade giving tree in a thirsty land,

or a sheltering rock in a storm." - James Allen

While assiduously aspiring for serenity and peace of mind ,my meditation felt completely distracted this morning. Dizzying fleeting thoughts raced in every direction, I felt a headache pulsing and my shoulders felt cramped. Boldly sitting upright, I tried to force my body to relax and every inner effort was militant and unnatural. I thought of my to do list and felt rushed to get this meditation over with. Suddenly my eyes popped open and spied my secret weapon in times like these. Reaching for “Ancient Secrets of Success for Today’s World”, I knew that guidance would come to me. After a huge sigh of exhaustion, my hands opened the book to a random page that read as follows:

"When the mind relies on the relative for creation then the relative in turn becomes the cause of the next cycle of creation and reproduces more of the relative. It creates more of what you already have. It re-produces more of the same. Nothing new is created. This is what is called being trapped in your past thoughts and not being able to think outside the box. It is living in the leftover thoughts of all your yesterdays forever into the future. This is called living the ripple effect of your past deeds."

What the hec did that have to do with my “fidgetyness” today? Impatiently closing my eyes, and breathing deeply, an urge cried out to me. The feeling of dryness and the desert filled me. There was no innovation in me. The desire to feel romantic and light arose in my imagination and I knew it was a day to be gentle with myself and elevate to a new level. The past few days of working on repetitive tasks and thinking the same thoughts depleted my creative energy…the energy I felt to desperate to find in my meditation.

In that moment the phone rang. A friend who I had not seen in a long time had written a love song for her fiancé and would I meet her in the park to figure out some chords to it? At first my tired body thought of all the reasons that I didn’t have time today…when the urge for inspiration tugged at my heartstrings again. Moments later we agreed on a time. I’ll bring my guitar and a blanket. She’ll bring the sweet corn on the cob.

Two hours later, feeling a bit shy, she revealed the song to me. In her feminine voice I could feel something ancient and primal. We agreed that a simple drumbeat was all that was needed. She sang again. She wanted to know how to improve the song and the only thing that seemed right to say was, “just see and feel every word you sing”. Together in that park, we lost ourselves to the romance of those words; the images danced in our brains and followed the soft drumbeat that felt like a giant heart conducting the entire Universe.

Imagination carried us to exhilaration and oneness. A great breeze started to blow around us. There was a loud cricket buzzing behind the trees and a mystical beautiful feeling enveloped us. There was no more headache. There was no tension in the shoulders. There were no to do lists. Yesterday had disappeared. There was only joy and this moment. When the singing stopped and the drumbeat ended, we laughed like little girls. I stared into her eyes and felt gratitude for that moment. The Universe had shown me the meaning of today’s insight.

My friend’s creativity inspired me, her love for her partner lifted me and the music enchanted me. She lay down on the blanket and asked me to sing for her. I sang her the new Rainbow song and a few others. We ate some delicious sweet corn and reminded ourselves of the importance of listening to that inner voice that ever sings us back to who we really are.

The art posting today is a dedication for all those who are madly in love with their partners and for all those who long to feel more of the romance and bliss of life.

Here's to shade giving trees,

Ganga

Kindle Her Wondrous Heart

A few years ago, an incredibly inspiring woman told me that aboriginal culture calls the feminine cycle, "moontime". What a beautiful name I thought. She explained that it was a sacred time for women to gather strength and fine-tune their intuitive power. That is why we become so sensitive and vulnerable. It is our bodies aching for quiet and reflection. Since we are largely the energy that draws inward, it is a sacred time for clearing and purifying our body and mind. I never forgot that poignant explanation and have since realized that profound poetry and songs emerge and reveal themselves during these phases. These feeling and thoughts are so vital to capture because they are in themselves part of the creating process which is our life.

Mr Tulshi Sen writes in his book, "Ancient Secrets of Success", that:

"Life is thinking and feeling. Feeling creates thought and thought creates a mold which the Universe works to fill instantaneously. It pours the Universal Substance into the mold of thought to manifest it. That is why Science today declares we create by observation. Consciousness creates reality. The Universe is observer created."

That is why it is so much easier to vision while I sing sometimes. The mood stirs my soul and the words themselves lift me into a picture and I feel tranported to a place of joy and abundance and complete elation. I can actually see the scene of the song and experience the fulfillment of the original desire that sparked the creation of the song. After feeling completely immersed in that elation, I can go through the rest of my day with a smile on my face and a bounce in my step. What upset me before now flows like water off a duck's back. What's more is that other people can actually feel the peace in me and my experience with them elevates.

I remember a recent experience when I could not shake a particular worry from my thoughts and I sat down with my guitar and strummed the G chord over and over and the words came:

It's two in the morning and my mind just wants to play

Make me believe

that the storm clouds are here to stay...

so I close my eyes

breathe in the universe

where all my dreams come true...

and the tears that are me

and the Light that is You...

brings a Rainbow into view....

It was my moontime song. It was my vision song...which is now a gift manifested into form which brings beauty into my life. One day soon you will hear these songs and they may inspire your creative flow to form the mold of thought to design your world.

My post today is for all sisters in this world. We are so much more than anyone else can ever show us. This 21st Century world is our canvas and we have so much within us to contribute to its wealth and beauty. We come in all shapes and sizes, from every walk of life and are all Goddesses. Which one are you in my celebrational artwork? :)

Peace.

Ganga

All for One and One for All

I finally rolled out of bed today at 8:30am and in the sweltering heat of my apartment promised myself to have a productive day. (Isn't it so tempting on days off not to do anything that requires effort?) After a long lingering shower and an aimless daydreaming session in front of the mirror, I decided to take charge of my thoughts and randomly open my favorite book of wisdom: "Ancient Secrets of Success 4 Today's World", by Tulshi Sen. Here goes:

"Crossing Over to Success:

We are Consciousness. For example when we say I am happy or I am rich or I am in love, we are expressing a state of our Consciousness. If we are not conscious of a thing, it does not exist for us. Consciousness is our life. When we are unconscious we don't feel. Life is feeling."

I closed my eyes and let the words sink in. Awareness. What was I conscious of around me? What was real for me in this moment? What was I feeling? I could feel the gurgle in my stomach telling me to go to Tim Horton's for a coffee.
Mmmmmmmaybe a bagel too... I could ponder the depth of Mr. Sen's words on the way to the coffee shop.

On the way I felt the warmth of the sunshine. I heard the kids in the park laughing as they ran a relay race. I smelled the freshly poured concrete at the construction site and finally I felt the warmth of Kaitee at Tim Horton's as she grinned and wrote my name and drew a "smiley face" on my cup again . With every sensation, my day opened up wider and I could experience myself in a bigger and grander way. Everything felt like a part of me and I was a part of everything.

A great songwriter by the name of John Denver once wrote:

And do you care what's happening around you,
do your senses know the changes when they come?
Can you see yourself reflecting in the seasons,
can you understand the need to carry on?
Riding on the tapestry of all there is to see,
so many ways and oh, so many things.
Rejoicing in the differences, there's no one just like me.
Yet as different as we are, we're still the same.

And oh, I love the life within me,
I feel a part of everything I see.
And oh, I love the life around me,
a part of everything is here in me.
A part of everything is here in me,
a part of everything is here in me.

...and that is what I'll leave you with today. Just starting this blog makes me feel true to my aim to be productive today. I've added a little artwork, which is another hobby of mine. Now, I think I'll go sing for a while...

Smiles across the miles,
Ganga