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The older we get...

Posted on Sep 19th, 2008 by Gien : yogic musician Gien
The older we get
the wiser we get

Unfortunately,
we are also paying
for all the dumb mistakes we made when we were younger

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The Comment that started it all!

Posted on Aug 1st, 2008 by Gien : yogic musician Gien

Friendship

Hi Gien
Dropped by your page and read some beautifu things
love
HummingBird


Hmmm....Hummingbird, you dropped the "L" in beautiful
...I was going to see a lot more of your funny spelling!

On July 31, 2007
I was celebrating Jopoa's 5th anniversary of her death
Many friends here at Gaia also took time that day
to meditate and honor and remember Jopoa
and their own loved ones
so many blessings for beings that day

On August 1, you came by my page
browsed through my pages for hours
and saw something that intrigued you

You read my volumous writings
saw the celebration
perhaps it reminded you of Gra-anna
and remembering and honoring her with art

You saw the pictures I uploaded on Jopoa's 5th anniversary celebration
and were touched by them
and then you contacted me with the above messsage
on August 2, 1:48am, my time
and thus
Jopoa and Gra-anna laid the karmic seeds for our fateful meeting

Now
today
one day after we celebrated Jopoa's 6th anniversary
we celebrate the 1st anniversary of our meeting

Funny
how the anniversary and rememberance of a loved one's death
spawns the anniversary and rememberance of another love one's birth

Following in the footsteps of nature
out of the ashes of death
life is reborn
out of winter comes spring
out of spring comes fall
the leaves fall from the tree
making way
for another cycle of birth

Today
I must sing
WE ARE PART OF THE CYCLE OF EVERYTHING

I love you Anna
our love
karmically born out of Jopoa and Gra-anna

All throughout
all these meetings and anniversaries all coinciding
.....must be more than just coincidence!

Somewhere in the greater space which transcends birth and death
there are 2 beings joyfully celebrating along with us
on the love they have given birth to
from their own passing

Blessings to all beings on this day
that selfless love may reign supreme in the heart of all beings
that which we search for our whole lives
is with us in each single moment
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Jopoa's 6th Anniversary

Posted on Jul 31st, 2008 by Gien : yogic musician Gien
Today marks the 6th anniversary of Jopoa's death

Today
6 years have gone by
and yet
it seems only like last nights dream
Time
such an illusion

One day
we will all reach that moment
so, as our teachers say
not a moment to lose
plumb this life
to find it's true nature

I spent this day with Anna
and we began the day with meditation
and ended it with meditation

We walked around the home this morning
hitting our gongs
I had a beautiful glass vase
which made an equally beautiful sound
and as Anna and I walked around the house
filling it with sacred tones
the thin wall of the glass vase gave way
SMASH!
One never knows what to expect in life!
...expect the unexpected!

And this evening
we created a shrine
for Jopoa and Gra-anna
the two beings who brought Anna and I together

love
this energy that propagates from one being to another
this wave that sweeps through us
morphing
leaving physical bodies behind
and finding new ones to host it

Jopoa
in your death
you remind us of what life is

In learning to accept death
we begin to truly accept life

Until we come to fully accept our death
we cannot fully accept our life

Why should we love others
if they are going to die
leaving us broken-hearted?

Is our life just a continual running away from death?
If so
isn't this a continual running away from life itself?
If we continually pretend everything is ok
and fail to even look honestly at our own mortality
aren't we also then
just pretending to live?
How genuine is our life
when we are continually avoiding the inevitable?

It is death alone
that makes life sacred

May your love continue to propagate
from me and all those you touched
to all those we interact with
continuing this flow of love
throughout the universe


E ma Ho

PS. See anna's blog for a posting of today's rememberance as well


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Hammering in the 12 Nails

Posted on May 30th, 2008 by Gien : yogic musician Gien
From the 100,000 Songs of Milarepa:

The Mantrayana view seeks to discover the true nature of mind through the direct perception of mind

Milarepa said that there are 12 nails that need to be hammered home to understand the nature of phenomena:

  • 3 aspects of the Mantrayana view of the true nature of mind
  • 3 aspects of meditation
  • 3 from conduct
  • 3 from the result

Three Aspects of the Mantrayana view of true nature of mind

1. Both "outward" appearances of the 5 senses and "inward" appearances of happiness, suffering, defilements and thoughts arise from the mind itself.

2. What is mind? It can think and change, it can engage with lucidity in all kinds of thoughts. The mind is Clarity and wisdom;  not a material thing.

3. The mind itself cannot be identified because its nature is emptiness. Milarepa introduces clarity of the mind first, then emptiness by pointing out that clarity cannot be identified.


Three aspects of meditation

1. Many thoughts appear in meditation and if the nature of mind is not identified, the thoughts become a problem. They will become solid and an obstacle. However, when the true nature of the mind is realized, although thoughts arise, they are liberated as the dharmakaya.

2. When thoughts are naturally realized to be the dharmakaya, the clear knowledge of the mind is a state of bliss which is free from suffering. Meditation is then accompanied by the experience of bliss.

3. This meditation is not the creation of something new. Delusion has been dispelled by the mind resting in its own natural state, without alteration or artifice. The mind must rest, be relaxed in the nature of the mind itself.


Three aspects of conduct

1. In the mantrayana view one does not need to deliberately accomplish the ten good actions. The practice of good actions will occur spontaneously from the realization that comes from meditation.

2. One does not need to deliberately accomplish the ten unvirtuous actions. They will be spontaneously avoided without any need to deliberately control one’s actions. With the realization of the nature of mind one does not need to have contrived conduct.

3. One does not need to deliberately contrive remedial actions, to achieve realization through effort. If one rests relaxed in the natural state of the mind, the realization of clarity and emptiness will naturally arise.


Three aspects of result

1. According to the Buddha’s exceptional view of the mantrayana, nirvana and Buddhahood are not located in some other place; we do not have to go somewhere else to get them. They are not newly created or achieved.

2. Samsara is not garbage that has to be thrown away. There isn’t anything that can be thrown away. The very nature of samsara is nirvana, whether we realize it or not.

3. Nirvana is not something to be created and samsara is not something to be eliminated because our mind is Buddhahood. There is no Buddhahood that is other than us; it is the nature of our own mind.


Finally, there is one more nail, a thirteenth nail, the nature of phenomena is ungraspable. It is empty and transcends all extremes and all concepts. If we analyze too much, we will become confused and the other nails cannot be hammered in. The guru is the key who introduces and leads us to recognize the ungraspable nature.

When we have eliminated all the negative qualities and gained all the positive qualities of realization, we will find it to be just the unchanged nature of our own mind, exactly as it is. This is Buddhahood. While we do not realize this, we are under the power of the defilements and wander in samsara. When we realize the true nature of the mind, we will have confidence that this mind of ours is Buddhahood.

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Buddhism and sensuality

Posted on May 20th, 2008 by Gien : yogic musician Gien
There is a beuatiful and lucid Youtube teaching by Monk Ajahn Brahm of Buddhist Society of Australia on Youtube on spirituality and sensuality / sexuality....for those of you looking for clarity on this subject.


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OK...You knew it was coming!

Posted on May 5th, 2008 by Gien : yogic musician Gien
Guesswhat
<3
 me: here's a poem for you, my love
 Anna: aaw
12:57 AM me: When 2 becomes 1
  The Finger is a Trippin
  As the Heart goes a Racin
  Great minds think alike they say!
12:58 AM Tonight, my love together, at the same moment we thought the same beautiful thought
  Will you marry me?
12:59 AM It just seemed like the right time
  for your heart and mine
  Our life together
  so beautiful
  falling in love
1:00 AM in one month
  from half a world away
  Our karma's so strong
  we had no choice but to meet
  even though we were separated by a planet
  Your Gra-anna
 Anna: aaw
 me: My Jopoa
1:01 AM heavenly matchmakers
  who saw to it
  that their lives were not lived in vain
  putting the half from here
  together with the half from there
1:02 AM forging a union of great bliss
  Together, my love
  we dissolve over and over
  with each hello and each goodbye
  Before we met
 Anna: aaw so precious
 me: we had already loved many times more than most
1:03 AM and then when love called upon me to fly to the Hummingbird
  we entered another chapter of our love
  your beautiful countdown art
1:04 AM launching us into the stratosphere of love
  counting down from 60
  each one
  making this love deeper
  stronger
  more visceral
  and before we knew it
  we were down to 3
  2
  1
1:05 AM 0 CONTACT
  The Genie had landed!
  I looked for you
 Anna: yay!
 me: there in the small Johannesburg receiving area of the airport
  bum sore from a Coach ticket flight in which I hardly slept
1:06 AM and then a tap on my shoulder
  and my radiant deity appeared in living color
  adorned with beautiful silk cloth
  you appeared just as you had on the Gaia visualizations where I first encountered you
1:07 AM and your smile was more radiant in person than I could imagine
  and I remember you driving us home from the airport
 Anna: aaw
 me: and the feeling of disbelief
  that I was here sitting next to this woman I loved beyond compare
1:08 AM both of us drunk with giggles
  and I remember continually kissing your left shoulder as you drove
  and you couldn't stop laughing
  and then we got home
1:09 AM and met Sonnet and Princess, your 2 constant companion meows
  but the thing I remember most
  is the beautiful never ending kiss in the hallway
  a hallmark of many more to come
1:10 AM and in the 3 months that I lived and loved you
  we fell more in love
  there was no doubt in my heart
  from the first moment I met this hummingbird
1:11 AM that our hearts were meant to dissolve together
  So many doubted us
  from both sides of the ocean
  not believing that such a love was possible
  but of course
1:12 AM little did they know
  how many arrows
  we had shot into each others hearts already
  little could people know how much we shared
  and so our journey continued
1:13 AM and 3 months turned into 3 days
  and finally the day had come
  when my time was up
  and I had to return
  but though these bodies became temporarily separated again
1:14 AM our hearts have never been
  our silence on the phone
  more powerful than the words in between
  and now
  as we are to embark on the next phase of this love
1:15 AM we mark it with this formal ritual
  of the traditional popcorn heart
  ancient ritual
  another signpost on this great dissolving
  My love
  we have journeyed here
  through so much pain
1:16 AM so much trial and tribulation in our lives
  we were destined to meet
  and to find each other
  although it took us so much time, a lifetime
  we finally found each other
1:17 AM made difficult no doubt
  but the excellent hiding place of Johannesburg South Africa
  How else would I know
  to look there of all places!
  Thank goodness for Gaia!
1:18 AM We have already asked each other to marry many times before
  but this time
  there was a real reason behind it
  We already know we love each other beyond
  and we have already said yes many times before too
  Saying yes this time, however
1:19 AM was special
  Yes signposts
  in our lives
  They tell us where we've been
  and where we are going to
  in the imaginary flow of time
  My love
  Everything we do together is so precious
1:20 AM we are both teacher and student to each other
  Our love is so genuine
  our integrity so pure
  we never deny each other
  but when those difficulties arise
1:21 AM we've proved our integrity
  we've shown that we embrace openness
  we know that whatever we say to the other
  comes from the deepest place of love and compassion
  so this makes us listen to criticism
  and apparent obstacles
1:22 AM and see them for what they are
  not as things to run FROM
  rather
  as things to run TOWARDS
  so that we may grow our awareness
  We only ever say these things to each other
  from a pure view of love for the other
  Embracing this
  we move towards ultimate awareness of the Nondual
  Together
1:23 AM our love inspires each of us
  further along that if we were alone
  and this is the beauty of a genuine love
  When we dissolve so completely in each other
  that our love becomes one
  and that one vanishes into emptiness
1:24 AM so that neither you nor I exist any more
  And in that condition
  we can become tremendously beneficial to all beings
  allowing love to flow through us
  out of us
  and into all those beings who are near us
  They receive our radiant energy of love
1:25 AM channeled from the universe
  through us
  and back to the universe again
  May our love be in the true light of bodhicitta
  benefiting both ourselves
  and all other sentient beings
1:26 AM May our love make people go "aaw!"
  may it dissolve anger
  and reveal clarity underneath
  may it remind all beings
  of their own loving kindness
  May the preciousness of our love
  remind beings of the brevity of this life
1:27 AM and may that inspire them to act today
  to remove whatever ignorance brings suffering
  both to themselves and to others
  May our love deepen
1:28 AM and may it continue growing
  never ending
  For love is infinite
  and surprises us anew with each moment
1:29 AM each moment that I say "I love you, Anna"
  fills me with more bliss
  fills you with more bliss
  May our union
  that has already happened
  be a source of inspiration for all beings
  and may it lead them to discover their own beautiful bliss
  and may this continue
1:30 AM until all the suffering in the universe
  has been transformed into lotus blossoms
  of utter joy and peace
  I end this poem with the most important words
  I love you
1:31 AM Anna: aaw precious :)
  thank you I l<3ve you
 me: I love you, my love.....soooo much!
 Anna: documentary of our love!
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Mirror Reflection

Posted on Apr 18th, 2008 by Gien : yogic musician Gien
Lovestory
A simple Gaia love story  between a Genie and a Hummingbird.... told in Gmail icons
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Guru Rinpoche's Prayer

Posted on Apr 1st, 2008 by Gien : yogic musician Gien
all these forms that appear to eyes that see
all things on the outside and the inside
the environment and its inhabitants
appear, but let them rest where no self's found

Perceiver and perceived when purified
are the body of the deity, clear emptiness
To the guru for whom desire frees itself
To Orgyen Pema Jungnay, I supplicate

All these sounds that appear for ears that hear
taken as agreeable or not
Let them rest in the realm of sound and emptiness
Past all though, beyond imagination
Sounds are empty, unarisen and unceasing,
These are what make up the Victor's teaching
To the teachings of teh Victor, sound and emptiness
To Orgyen Pema Jungnay I supplicate

All these movements of mind towards its objects
These thoughts that make five poisons and afflictions,
Leave thinking mind to rest without contrivances,
Do not review the past nor guess the future;
If you let such movement rest in its own place,
It liberates into the dharmakaya
To the guru for whom awareness frees itself,
To Orgyen Pema Jungnay i supplicate

Grant your blessing that purifies appearance
Of objects perceived as being outside;
Grant you blessing that liberates perceiving mind,
The mental operation seeming inside;
Grant your blessing that between the two of these
Clear light will come to recognize its own face;
In your compassion, sugatas of all three times,
Please bless me that a mind like mine be freed

Taught by Guru RInpoche to Namkhai Nyingpo
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6 Degrees....of separation?....no of annihilation!

Posted on Mar 25th, 2008 by Gien : yogic musician Gien
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/sixdegrees/

....this makes Al Gores movie look meek! Bush family, you should be watching this!

go, explore and become concerned if you haven't already seen this.

Now we have a real threshold to aim towards....everyone can watch and see how fast we are  approaching this.

hmmm....didn't mum use to say....an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?
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The Field of Love

Posted on Mar 10th, 2008 by Gien : yogic musician Gien
I'm back in Canada, for now
getting loads of projects underway....
shaping my future
and the future of all those around me

My actions
a drop in the cosmic pond
influencing my local part of the world
which will spread out to influence others

It is only due to our ignorance
that we think we are isolated and disconnected
In reality every action
is connected to the entire universe

By sharpening our awareness
so that we are cognizant of our infinite connections
we will naturally empower ourselves
and find our infinite potential

Life has so much potential
It is so difficult and isolating when unaware
and yet so easy when we are aware
of our relation to everything and everyone

I flew to see a beautiful Hummingbird
we fell in love here in this virtual place
our love, just one love, one heart
borderless, boundless
openly embracing the pain in our lives
allowing us to embrace each other fully
learning to accept our death fully
even before meeting

and when we met
as if  we've known each other for many lifetimes

now, separated again momentarily
and our love morphing with it
adapting itself to our changing circumstances
openly embracing whatever unfolds
recognizing that our love for this other outward appearance
is nothing but the sacred love permeating all
where tears and laughter both arise equally powerfully
to express this bliss
rolling in waves and churning in our stomach
like the thunder storms of Johannesburg
and where coming and especially going
helps us to prepare for our final moment
when the love that we nourish together
comes to make a lasting impression and persistence in our field of living
what will envelope us with confidence in our "final" moment

love beyond words
this hummingbird and I have found together
yet mind's old habits trying to catch it in its net






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