We are all Dreamers!

As John Lennon sang- “You may say I’m a dreamer, But I am not the only one, I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one” The blind poet Homer has served as a metaphor for the ability to catch sight of things beyond mere appearance and worth making into a poem. Dreams are the genesis of our reality and versions of our youth. The desire to freeze the image of a lover in a dream like sequence, capturing nuances of vitality and vivaciousness in time. We cherish these beautiful visions in our hearts hoping one day to realize it. Dreams help us to find a connection between our personal experiences and flight of fancy. It helps us to hide the aberrations of reality which cause so much bitterness in life. Dreams are hermetic thick clouds with mystical truths stuck deep in our nature and reality becomes a blend of perfection and imperfection. In this perception we cherish a beautiful vision, an undisclosed intent, gathered from the air, the inner eye perceiving the unconquered flame of our desires.-Vinay-

Religion: Who Needs It.?

The Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader and Richard Dawkins an evolutionary biologist and atheist. Both of them agree that Religion is an unnecessary evil and the world would be a better place without it. Religion may be divine, but it lacks spirituality and ethics. They state that we should mix spirituality and ethics and find a replacement for religion. All the existing organized religions tend to manifest conflict, violence, intolerance and unhappiness with their rigid holy concepts. David Barash a professor of psychology states, that our minds have a stubborn fondness for simple sounding explanations that may be false, but true enough for the believer. That is why faith thrives in some place and why religion is vestigial in countries like Denmark and Sweden. For the first time in human history, there are now hundreds of millions of unbelievers in all the developed countries. Robert Brault also echoes similar sentiments when he states man is the only creature who enjoys the consolation of believing in religion, salvation, absolution,heaven, and after life. All other living things enjoy the consolation of not worrying about it.

Once upon a time.

Whenever I see a FB post I fondly remember another era because they expressed a side to us that is forgotten now. A brief period when we had time for friends and family and fierce individuality was frowned upon. A reflection of my youth which I cannot see in the mirror anymore. I was successful with women not because of my six pack abs, but I could resonate with them as individuals and not as the opposite gender, peering deeply into their souls, so that we became the universe and nothing else apart from us existed. We understand each other desire as opposed to the prosaic concerns of normal men. I could light a fire with my words and the romance would deepen the intimacy between us, women liked my poetic masculinity as opposed to the brawny muscle types. There was no insecurity as I always gave them space to mingle with anyone as I never tried to own them. Each one of those women gave a deep meaning to my life- which excluded vulnerability but presented the relationship with a form of thoughtfulness rather than possessiveness or jealousy. As time left us, our youthfulness became atrophied with a thicker maturity that pulled the rug from under our feet, as we struggled with issues like career, love, loss, expectations and survival, the deeper issues that played a pivoted role in our everyday life. The freshness of youth that combined attractiveness has given way to a healthy skepticism as adulthood set in and we are doomed to lead the rest of our lives in wanton amnesia. Like the image in the rear view mirror, I watch my halcyon heydays recede through the rear window till it becomes a distant speck in my consciousness. Memory overflows as sentiments washes over the fading sepia tinted images.

Dark Night.

The dark night of the soul sounds threatening and is an experience to be avoided. To one engaged in the dark night, the suffering seems unending. Yet many seekers would encourage the dark night experience, if they knew what it truly was. The genuine seeker has gone through many significant phases as they progress toward higher consciousness. The dark night occurs after considerable advancement along this path. It is a rite of passage for those who do not seek just a relationship but immersion or unity with the higher consciousness. In the dark night you may feel profoundly alone- completely disconnected with the energy of the source. A dark night is a very difficult time, being caught between the old way of life and new possibilities, your sense of alienation will intensify. You enter dark night in earnest, when you feel completely strained. The dark night is a very private matter, often one’s outer demeanor is calm while the turbulence and vibrational shift arising from the inner suffering floats just below the surface. You become profoundly aware of the suffering of humanity- the transition point is reached & shift in consciousness occurs. A spiritual presence enters your inner sanctum: softy and gently your mind is filled with a bright light. Your heart is permeated with peace which flours outward through your body. Your ego dissolves and a higher sense of awaking open within you. The dark night has passed, let your heart open- we are dream in the heart of the Universe.- Heal thyself.

Soul of Spirituality.

Spirituality is the manifestation of higher intelligence. Greed, selfishness, love hate and competitiveness are part of our evolution and lie at the core of human existence. It is a world view with a penchant for the abstract tinged with mysticism, and you create your own world. The major source of inspiration for this inner world is from your own experience of the rhythms of the outer world. While observing the interactions of humanity and nature, a powerful inner voice guides your actions and reactions, this is the essence of spirituality. Compassion becomes part of our nature when we reach the higher realms of spirituality. Disappointments and success are themes that have a soft focus in our sterile lives. Spirituality enables us to explore our sensitivity; it has a personal spiritual horizon of fusion. It precludes nothing- everything that belongs to man’s culture, tradition and emotions are appropriated and integrated within the inner self. The underlying essence of spirituality is to draw our attention to the sublime intention, rather than delineating the relationship with the physical form of reality. There is no complicated philosophy or religious love, where when you dig deeper you will find that it is the loss of love and the loneliness of betrayal that causes the deepest misery. In spirituality we cultivate compassion and communicate with loving kindness to everything in the Universe. The assumptions guide the realms of spirit. You observe life like looking through the window of your soul which then transforms our lives through deep contemplation which become the compelling influence that guides our thoughts to action. It forms the core values of the existence with the universe and everything that exists

The Gorilla’s Bride.

Many romantic novels portray the plight of plain Jane in their stories dealing with the difficulties facing those who seek an honest successful marriage in an intrinsically hypocritical society. The lonely woman, waiting for the tall dark stranger to appear in her life – the eternal virgin waiting for true love to come by ……. and at the last minute like a stranded hitchhiker searching for a lift on the desolate highway of spinster hood. Advancing age sexually and politically scandalized, finally making up her mind to take the socially suicidal step of marrying anyone – throws herself at the mercy of some uncouth boorish man. The fragments of hope she has shored up rub against the ruins of her dreams – while he gropes for the normally employed parts of her body. The trappings are all there - wheels of a town car the suburban house, the occasional barbecue parties fumbling at the faucet, to prevent her tears. Underneath it all there she lies, trapped like a fox – while he is pumping her in and pumping her out, this Gorilla’s bride so to speak. She clings to the fragments hoping they will lead her to wholeness once again – a heap of broken images. If only she could make a wish … make a wish …… vinay

Timbuktu.

When we were kids we would holler at each other “go to Timbuktu” thinking is was a far away fictional place at the end of the world. BAMAKO, Mali – Isolated for centuries by the harsh desert that surrounds it, Timbuktu now finds itself even more cut off from the rest of the world. Rebels supported by Al-Qaida who captured the city in northern Mali in April have imposed a form of hard-edged Islamic rule, prompting many residents to flee in fear and changing the face of what had been a tolerant and easygoing destination that drew tourists from around the world. Women are now forced to wear all face-covering veils. Music is banned from the radio. Cigarettes are snatched from the mouths of pedestrians. And the look of the ancient mud-brick town is changing. A centuries-old monument, the shrine of a 15th century saint, has been defaced; bars have been demolished; and black flags have been hung around town to honor Ansar Dine, or defenders of the Faith, the radical Islamist movement that emerged from the desert and turned life upside down. “There is no liberty,” said Abdoulaye a tailor who fled Timbuktu as the Islamist were circulating with guns. All of Mali size of France have wrested the Tauregs and under Ansar Dine are promoting and enforcing the Taliban brand of Islamic law of Shariah. Women are living in terrible fear in this sinister situation as these fundamentalist want to put a veil on everything. Restrictions range from the petty to the serious. Followers defaced the ear of a woman for wearing a short skirt and flogged men who drunk alcohol. “When you accept that there is Islam, you have to accept that there; if Shariah obliges us to cover women, we are obliged to apply it, “adding, “we have not chosen you as judge.” Timbuktu has taken on the air of a ghost town. The traditional evening gathering of young men who drink tea and chat on doorstep have disappeared – -