Epiphany: Amid darkness, light

There's a temptation to feel a little bit of a letdown this time of year, even after a really great holiday season. And there's unrest in many places vying for center stage on news broadcasts around the world. Not all the darkness is outside; our hearts have been touched and saddened.

Read more here: » Christian Science: Epiphany - Amid darkness, light

Latest news from the Oneness Festival team.

Read more here: » Oneness Festival - Intermediate Newsletter 040104

Kabir, the inspired poet weaver of northern India, declared that there was neither Hindu nor Muslim, but only man as the embodiment of the Divine.

Sufi texts record that after Saint Kabir died, his followers and fans, both Hindus and Muslims, fought for the right to either cremate or bury his remains. As the quarrel started fanning communal passions, an elder requested members of both communities to cover the saint'sbody and to wait till the next morning. Morning dawned and when the sheet was taken off, the warring communities found that in place of the body, two heaps of flowers were kept. The Hindus cremated the Tulsi flowers while the Muslims buried the Jasmine heap and the problem was over.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Bound by a Common And Rich Heritage

The practice of Christian meditation dates back to the beginning of Christianity; its objective is to daily 'empty the self' to experience the fullness of God. It is consonant with Jesus's invitation to his disciples to take up their cross daily and follow him. It is central to Easter celebrations, 'dying' to rise to a New Life.

The way of meditation is the way of silence. Silencing the ceaseless chatter of a mind buzzing with thoughts is not easy. The way to silence is the way of the mantra. Choosing a sacred word and repeating it from the beginning to the end of the period of meditation forms part of the essential teaching of Christian meditation. It is advisable to choose a word of four syllables and pronounce them with equal length. The recommended word in the Christian Tradition is Ma-ra-na-tha. In Aramaic, the language of Jesus's time, it means 'The Lord comes'.

(See also: Christian Meditation , Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Christian Meditation: Christian Meditation - Death of the Self  

A great article about the Venus Transit by Gururattan Kaur Khalsa, Ph.D, packed with background information, astrological references (including the implications of the full moon june 2, 2004) suggestions for participation and much more.

Read more here: » Venus Transit: New Millenium Being

Main article: Festivals of Nepal Several festivals are celebrated in Nepal, lasting from one day to several days. Dashain is the longest and the most important festival of Nepal. Generally Dashain falls in late September to mid October, right after the end of the mansoon season in Nepal. It is "a day of Victory over Demons". Tihar is another important festival of Nepal. Other important festivals include Buddha Jayanti (the celebration of the birth of Buddha); Maha Shivaratri, a festival of Lord Shiva, and during Maha Shi ...

See also:

Culture of Nepal, Culture of Nepal - Tribes & ethnic groups, Culture of Nepal - High Himalayas, Culture of Nepal - Temperate zone, Culture of Nepal - Terai region, Culture of Nepal - Music & dance, Culture of Nepal - Art & Craft, Culture of Nepal - Folklores & folktales, Culture of Nepal - Languages & literatures, Culture of Nepal - Religions & philosophy, Culture of Nepal - Festivals & celebrations, Culture of Nepal - Food and drink

Read more here: » Culture of Nepal: Encyclopedia II - Culture of Nepal - Festivals & celebrations

Epiphany celebrates the intervention of God in the life of a people, relating effectively, the Christmas message which emerged from Christ's birth place at Bethlehem. Hence it is also called the Feast of Lights or the Candlemas Feast.

In the past it was also known as the Twelfth Day as it falls on the twelfth day after Christmas and winds up formally the Christmas season of rejoicing.

(See also: Epiphany , Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Epiphany: Epiphany - Festival of The Twelfth Night  

Dr Turi, famous astrologer known for his many accurate predictions give his perspective on the Venus Transit of 2004. What will be the influences on politics, business, economy and other world events?

Read more here: » Venus Transit: Astrological significance of Venus Transit 2004

MOTHER KALI

The Destroyer of Demoniac Attributes

It is unfortunate that Devi is ignorantly understood by many as a mere blood-thirsty Hindu Goddess. No! Devi is not a vicious demoness nor is She the property of the Hindus alone. Devi does not belong to any religion. Devi is that conscious power of God. The words Devi, Shakti, etc., and the ideas of different forms connected with these names are concessions granted by the sages due to the limitations of the human intellect; they are by no means the ultimate definitions of Shakti.

From " Hindu Fasts & Festivals " by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Kali: The Hindu Godess Mother Kali

There is a lot of information found both in prophecies and in recent writings and articles talking about Earth Changes, usually defined as catastrophic geological events such as earthquakes, volcanoes, polar shifts, flooding, and global warming. Many point to the shifting times and the moving into the Golden Age and to 2012 being a turning point in the history of mankind. The research and sometimes channeled material presented, probably with the best of intentions, often still carries elements of our own subconscious fears but is it only fear based material or is there something to this predictions of Earth Changes?

Read more here: » Earth Changes - Will there be dramatic Geological and Political changes the coming years until 2012?

Jesus came into the world to unveil the essence and scope of humanity. French philosopher Pascal said, it is through Jesus of Nazareth that we learn who we truly are, and what birth and death really mean.

The genius of humanity is revealed fully in Jesus; that's why he stands at the centre of human history. However, with most people focusing more on the events surrounding his birth, the essence of Christmas itself tends to get lost.

(See also: Christmas , Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Christmas: Celebrate The Spirit Of Life With Jesus - about Christmas  

Recently a discussion based on the Mayan calendar regarding an upcoming economic crisis in the United States has emerged. As I have shown in my forthcoming book: The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness the Mayan calendar does indeed with great exactness describe the ups and downs of the current economic system and this by itself is an important piece of news. Considering that we are getting deeper into a new Underworld, a new stage in the evolution of consciousness, such a discussion is indeed very much needed.

Read more here: » Mayan Calendar and the Coming Economic Crisis in the West

Use Feng Shui to Make the New Year Better

Every year the energies around us change and affect us differently. In feng shui, cosmic energies play a big role in affecting our well-being. As the earth rotates around the sun, day turns into night and seasons change. The shorter days of winter tend to depress us while spring and summer tend to rejuvenate us. Our financial well-being is related to sunspots on the top of the sun, while sunspots on the bottom of the sun are associated with economic recession. The moon's gravitational forces are known to cause earthquakes and floods.

Read more here: » Feng Shui: Use Feng Shui to Make the New Year Better

Halloween is a celebration that has evolved from the combination of several different traditions.

 The roots of Halloween are unearthed in the rituals of Druids and Celtic priests of pre-Christian Ireland and Scotland. November 1 was the beginning of the new year, so Halloween, or "Samhain," (pronounced "sow'an") was like New Year's Eve. It was both a time of death and new beginnings, of harvest feasting and magic.

Read more here: » Halloween: The Gnarled Roots of Halloween

Harmonic Concordance and its relation to the Maya Calendars "end of time". Carl Johan Calleman, author of the "Mayan Calendar" and other books about the Mayan Calendar give his response to the proposed idea that the Harmonic Concordance of November 8th 2003 marked the ending of the Mayan Calendar.

Read more here: » Harmonic Concordance - The end of the Mayan calendar?

Vasthu Ceremony - for laying foundation

The ceremony of the laying of the foundation for a building should be performed only during the home when the Deity of the plot (VASTHU PURUSHAN) is well awake. It is guide imperative to follow the presages to be carefully notices when performing the laying of the foundation ceremony.

The worship during laying the foundation ceremony should be postponed to another auspicious day in any of the following twenty presages are noticed.

Read more here: » Vastu Shastra: Vasthu Ceremony - for laying foundation

 The Tarot cards operate on many levels, describing both internal developments (emotions, thoughts, intuitive feelings) and external ones (actions and physical events). Think of the complete Tarot as a map where each card represents a different piece of a jigsaw puzzle. This puzzle symbolizes the wide variety of possibilities and experiences available to us all.

Read more here: » Tarot: Introduction to Tarot

In literature, art and cinema, death has been almost always depicted as a terrible thing, the final end, although in reality it is merely a release from the burden of the physical body.

Every religious tradition recognises that to reach the final truth, one must pass through death. This is the meaning behind Aanea's descent to the underworld in Virgil, of Dante's descent into hell in the Divine Comedy and the Christian baptism: “You were baptised into the death of Christ”.

(See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Life and Death: Finality of Death Is a Myth

A beautiful assembly of poems and prayers on the theme of LOVE and TRANSCENDENCE.

“We will read them during the transit tomorrow on the most sacred places on the Isle of Wight.
We invite you to pray for World peace and love during the Transit of Venus at 11am GMT on 8th June 2004 for fifteen minutes. This will be the biggest global mass prayer meeting in the history of the World. You will find some multifaith prayers and poems, and a list of goddess names for your use on this page. Or make up your own prayer in accordance with your own faith or lack thereof. Or, do what thou wilt.”

Read more here: » Venus Transit: Multifaith prayers and poems, and a list of goddess names

Makara Shankranti:

Salutations to Surya, the Sun-God, who on this great day embarks on his northward journey.

The Sanskrit term "Shankramana" means "to begin to move". The day on which the sun begins to move northwards is called Makara Shankranti. It usually falls in the middle of January.

From Hindu Fasts & Festivals by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Makara Shankranti: Hindu Worship - Makara Shankranti:

Gautama Buddha made a profound statement: "Be a light unto yourself". To this, Osho adds another: "Be a joke unto yourself". Osho would say: "I have to tell jokes because you are all religious people, you tend to be serious. I have to tickle you sometimes so that you forget your religiousness, your philosophies, theories, systems, and you fall down to earth".

Osho has seen that in spontaneous laughter the noise of the mind stops for a few precious moments, allowing us to experience mindlessness or meditation, however fleetingly.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Unburden Yourself With Laughter

Id-ul-Azha is the second most important festival of Muslims across the world. Today's celebration comes almost two months after Eid-ul-Fitr, the culmination of the holy month of Ramadan. The spirit of Eid- ul-Azha is incorporated in Hajj, the pilgrimage to Makkah. The underlying flavour is the spirit of sacrifice or qurbani, commemorating Abraham's great act of faith many centuries ago.

Eid-ul-Azha, also known as Eid-e-Qurban, is a time for Muslims to learn the value of self-denial by making a sacrifice of something living to God.

(See also: Id-ul-Azha , Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Id-ul-Azha: Faith And Qurbani - Spirit of Eid