We spend time in this virtual environment,
Gaia, the internet, chatrooms, blogs,  social websites, twitter

browsing, chatting, purchasing, giving / receiving ideas
keeping up with news, finding out about the world, finding out about life
improving our relationships, finding new ways to make money
expanding our horizons

Look at the technological marvel
this thin screen
now getting ever smaller and more compact
with images and sounds and words
voices, faces, music, dance and movement

Our ancestors would consider it magic
this thin rectangle
which seems to contain an entire universe within

Yet it is all symbols
streams of voltages and currents
just "1"'s and "0"'s
that get translated into things we humans resonate with

As we become enthralled by this virtual world
knowing it is pure representation
and reflecting upon this
can lead to deep wisdom


Just as these symbols appear on the screen thru the magic of science
so reality appears to us as well
thru the magic of pure being
we are humbled by knowing
that science itself is simply arisen from pure being

These technological marvels are the manifestation of human potential
Yet, in the same way,
human beings themselves
are the manifestation of this universal potential

We live our lives in this symbolically created world
full of words, language, conventions and representations
What would our life be like
if we were to extricate ourselves
from this symbolic world?

Stripped of our conventions
down to our bare bones
is there something fundamental in life
that is not part of this convention
and that we have forgotten?

Dearest Anna, Hummingbird
Mother, daughter, wife,
teacher, student, giver or love, receiver of the gifts of the universe
lover of life
receiver of my love
my partner, my companion on this journey to the center of our hearts

Happy Birthday, my beloved
and thank you for being the biggest part of my life
This year is the first year
of our "triple threat"
your birthday, our wedding anniversary and my birthday
back to back honorings!

Together, we laugh and cry
sing and dance
tell good AND bad jokes
cook and eat
break bread (and eat it too, yummy!)
you are the yin of my yang

Thank you for coming into my life
teaching me
guiding me
sharing your past and present with me
giving me your love
and receiving mine

May we continue traveling this road together
bringing awareness and bliss to all beings (including ourselves)
uncovering the hidden jewel
of our true nature

I thank the universe for my beloved

E ma Ho

On our first anniversary

Anna and I reflected on how we got here
and where we are going

One year ago today
I journeyed halfway around the world
to be with another human being
(hey, she's a hummingbird, why didn't she fly to me! :D)
whom I met here on Gaia
and fell in love with

Our courtship was followed here on Gaia
and we shared our wedding with all our friends here

My, how time flies
(even though it is not real :D)

We are 2 living beings who found each other
amongst these billions of other people
I met lots of other living beings where I lived
and so did she
but love isn't something predictable
it's very mysterious, isn't it?

One thing Anna and I know
is that our time here is short
as it is with everyone
realizing this
we must love each other
and love all others
to our greatest capacity possible
and inspire others to their own greatness
because in the end
loving others is really all that counts
This life is too precious to squander

Together
we are each others greatest teachers
and each others best students

Thanking all our friends at Gaia again
for celebrating our lives with us

Please go to Hummingbird's blog
and celebrate with her

My wedding vows are shown
Anna said her's spontaneously

Today is my birthday
and I received a warm wish from Anna's daughter Natalie
who thanked me for loving her mum so much
I felt it important to post my response to share with others here:


I love your mum a great deal
and she loves me in the same way
Our bliss is very natural and spontaneous

In Buddhism there is the idea of compassion or "bodhicitta"
this means love for all beings
I think this is profoundly important in a relationship
and the actual "secret" to true happiness

For a genuine relationship to flow effortless and free
we must love both the other person AND ourselves in the relationship

We know that the joy we bring our partner
is returned to us many times over
In bringing joy to another
that is the only genuine way that we ourselves can receive the others joy

If we were to take a selfish view instead
and try to GET joy for ourselves from the other
by controlling the other and dictating conditions to the other
that is when it backfires

What we create instead
is an environment for a desire and attachment filled relationship
where the conditions no longer exist for love to flow freely

When we perceive that something is wanted from us
we feel used and objectified
and that closes down our natural propensity to give
How does it feel when someone comes to us
and demands "I want this", "Give me that"?
It doesn't feel right, does it?
There is no sense of gratitude
no expression of appreciation of the other

For this reason
we have the paradox
that the selfish attitude when manifest in relationships
leads to the very failure of the relationship
while the limitless giving to our partner
is what creates the condition
for our partner's limitless giving to us

Many blessings

Anna and I have an announcement to make:

On this, my birthday
as Anna and I awakened
we were inspired and birthed a new being
(not a baby!)
we have decided to write a book together
on love and the internet

look forward to it!

:D

Many Blessings