November 2009 Thanksgiving Meditation Moment
November 25, 2009

by Curtis Lang and Jane Sherry		print version
		print version (graphics)

Welcome to the November 25, 2009 Thanksgiving Weekend edition of the Satya Center newsletter. Warm greetings from your Editor, Curtis Lang with your co-editor, Jane Sherry, and warm wishes for a yummy, festive and loving Thanksgiving Holiday!

We apologize there have been fewer newsletters the last couple of months. Jane and I have been criss-crossing the country, attending spiritual retreats in California and Connecticut, visiting family in Texas and Florida, and spending a week at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show, where we found a lot of amazing new jewelry, gems and power-stones for us all to enjoy.

We also found a community spirit among the various types of folks we met with in Denver. We spent time with Tokyo-based shamanic gemstone artisan Pedro [http://www.satyacenter.com/store/crystal/gemstone_art_pedro], whose work appears in several museums around the world, with the alchemical Brazilians, the high-end Europeans, the New Age Americans, and the South Asian gem-freaks — and we all felt that we were together for a reason, because we all had something unique to share with one another, something unrelated to business. And we did share. Just gifts of Self from one to another.

Jane and I had a great time, and everyone there agreed that we can all expect more in 2010 in the way of spontaneous community self-organizing, serendipitous meetings and initiations, synchronistic shared pathways through time and space leading to a Higher Love.

We offer this message of love to you from the whole Denver crowd: Curtis and Jane, Paul Jensen, creator of our Tools of Evolution line of jewelry[http://www.satyacenter.com/store/crystal/tools_for_evolution], alchemical creator of Kabbalistic Cut Vogel wands Ray Pinto [http://www.satyacenter.com/store/crystal/kabbalistic], author and authority on Azeztulite crystals [http://www.satyacenter.com/store/crystal/azeztulite], channeling and Ascension practices Robert Simmons, and the rest of the Heaven & Earth crowd.

In spite of the conflicted history of Thanksgiving, and in spite of the ongoing Saturn-Pluto dramas, the wars, the weird weather, the economic gloom and an underlying vibration of deep-rooted fear gripping the world for much of this year, now epitomized by the apocalyptic sensationalism of the 2012 global disaster horror films, there is a brilliant Light arising within humanity, and that Light is being met by a tsunami of Shakti from the Source of Spirit, under the guidance of the Ascended Master Hierarchy and the Guides and Teachers incarnate on this planet who bear the standards of the Mystery School traditions of the East and the West.

And these Lights will shine — this Thanksgiving, this Christmas and this New Year of 2010! We are grateful to know you all.

We've got several thoughtful, deep, soulful and beautifully written articles new on the Satya Center website this Thanksgiving week. We hope you find these articles and the rest of the newsletter uplifting and inspiring -- we've got a lot of food for thought, some spicy, some bitter, some sweet and some just for fun.

You know, it's pretty hard to miss, this holiday season, that there’s an atmosphere of fear in America. Fear among consumers, fear among retailers, fear among investors, fear in Washington, on Wall Street and up and down Main Street.

On the Internet, with a few clicks of the mouse, we can find videos, pictures and accounts of the suffering of the tens of millions of Americans losing their jobs, their homes, their health insurance, and their retirement savings.

But love is the antidote to fear. And love’s great ally is faith.

For we must have faith to invest in our children's future, in their children's future, and in their children's future as if it were our own! That kind of love is an unconditional love for the entire human family.

We must have faith to love someone, a child, a neighbor, a lover, a brother or sister, a great-great-great grandchild unconditionally.

Because that kind of love demands that we surrender unconditionally. But faith demands faith, and good faith creates more good faith. We all know that what is in our hearts will soon become our new reality. Mark’s Gospel reports that “Jesus saith to him: ‘All things are possible to him who believes.’"

Yes, that kind of faith and that kind of love can transcend the negative energy and thought-forms generated by a decaying global Empire, and are indeed the keys to the kingdom of heaven here on earth.

In the Satsang entitled Faith, Focus and Healing, Swami Amar Jyoti offers these words of loving wisdom: “It is not by hard labor—meditation, yoga—that God appears to us. It is by faith. Why do doctors sometimes give a placebo without telling the patient? Just to maintain trust between patient and doctor. Faith and trust establish the communication that makes the cure possible. This applies to the Guru-disciple relationship as well. It is not alone by saying that you have faith but your inner faith that is important. It is what someone actually means that counts. That is what God hears, or you, yourself hear. Your own truth—not dishonesty—will establish what you want. This applies on all levels: physical, mental & spiritual.”

Let's take Swami Jyoti's words into our hearts and set aside some time for our spiritual practice this Thanksgiving in a spirit of humble gratitude for the opportunities to achieve accelerated spiritual advancement we enjoy living here in the material Universe on planet Earth.

In Change You Can't Believe In: Health Care, Winning a Battle, Losing a War, Mother Jones magazine’s James Ridgeway argues that
Obama and the Democrats have no real vision for a transformed health care system, so they've gone for a slightly modified version of business as usual. Change you can believe in? Not! Ridgeway profiles the winners and losers.

In Hot Colds and Cold Colds: Winter Health, you can read well-known herbalist Susun Weed's wise words of wisdom for this flu season: "Preventing colds and the flu can be summed up in three words: Wash your hands. The viruses that cause colds and the flu most readily enter our bodies by means of our hands. Wash your hands after shopping. Remind your children to wash their hands as soon as they come home from school. A little "hysterical hygiene" goes a long way to keeping colds at bay."

In Brussel Sprouts Fast & Fancy, Satya Center Editor Jane Sherrypromises that “Even people who swear they despise brussel sprouts will love this recipe. A great fast & fancy side vegetable dish to grace any autumn or holiday table.”

Jane's Autumn Relish is a yummy compote to brighten any autumnal meal, made quick from leftovers & fall seasonal treats. "It's just like I imagine my Hungarian grandmother might have made,"says Curtis.

We are ready to settle down now for winter here in the Hudson Valley -- after a long and difficult growing season with way too much rain, potato blight, tomato blight, and sun-deprivation, we are delighted to be putting the herb garden, the vegetable garden and our other gardens to bed during a nice two-week run of exceptional warmth and sun. Jane's going to make her last tinctures of the season from several medicinal roots to steep in winter's restful dark.

Let us give thanks to the Universe for all the many gifts we received during this harvest season. Let us give thanks for the assistance we have been given in our lives that helps us to advance spiritually. Let us give thanks to our parents, to our ancestors, to our spiritual teachers, to the long lineage of teachers that preceded them, and to our friends, our neighbors, our families and all those who have touched our lives.

Let us give thanks in advance for the spiritual gifts we know we shall receive when we are fully prepared, for we are certain that even now, that although we experience the ups and downs of daily existence, the brightening and the darkening of consciousness that comes in cycles as we travel the peaks and valleys of life, we will reach our goal – if not today, then tomorrow, if not this lifetime, then in the next, if not in this world, then in the Realm of Spirit.

For this is the promise of all Wisdom Teachings, that the spiritual evolution of humanity is part of the unfolding consciousness that comprises the totality of the Universe, and each of us shares in that consciousness. “Tat tvam asi”, “Thou art That”, is the Mahâvâkya (Grand Pronouncement) from the Chandogya Upanishad.

Let us recall the promise of the Cosmic Christ, expressed in John (14:12) “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

Let us recall in all humility that service to humanity is the inevitable fruit of gratitude and let us all ask our Spiritual Guides and Teachers at this time of Thanksgiving to provide us with golden opportunities to be of maximum service in the world during the coming year.

Let us extend love offerings to our family, friends, neighbors, and especially to those who grew the food for our Thanksgiving feast during long seasons of labor in sun and rain and wind, and to those who cooked it!

As we look around us this Thanksgiving, we are surrounded by abundance, blessed with abundance in every aspect of our lives. We have a warm, snug home in the country. We are surrounded by farmland and woods. We have an abundance of storage crops from our neighbors' Miller's Crossing Organic Farms 'put by' for those frosty days deep in winter when we dream of next years' gardens.

Most important of all, we are blessed through a multitude of gratifying relationships.

We thank our neighbors who care for one another.

We thank our families for their support and love. Without that we would be impoverished indeed.

We wish to thank all those who contribute their stories, their poetry, their wisdom, their time and their efforts to the Satya Center website.

We wish to thank our many dear readers who make the website a worthwhile endeavor.

We wish to thank our many friends, near and far, with whom we communicate and share a tremendous energy, with whom we share our lives.

May you all be blessed with the abundant flow of grace and guidance, vibrant good health and material abundance you need to achieve your loftiest spiritual goals this Thanksgiving -- and throughout this 2009 Holidasy Season!

Meditation Moment: The Thanksgiving Prayer from the Mohawk Nation

~*~ The People ~*~

Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as People.

Now our minds are one.

*****

~*~ The Earth Mother ~*~

We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our Mother, we send greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

****

~*~ The Waters ~*~

We give thanks to all the Waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms-- waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit Water.

Now our minds are one.

*****

~*~ The Fish ~*~

We turn our minds to all the Fish life in the water. They were instructed to cleanse and purify the water. They also give themselves to us as food. We are grateful that we can still find pure water. So, we turn now to the fish and send our greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

****

~*~ The Plants ~*~

Now we turn towards the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to come.

Now our minds are one.

*****

~*~ The Food Plants ~*~

With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them too. We gather all the Plant Foods together as one and send them a greeting and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

*****

~*~ The Medicine Herbs ~*~

Now we turn to all the Medicine Herbs of the world. From the beginning, they were instructed to take away sickness. They are always waiting and ready to heal us. We are happy there are still among us those special few who remember how to use these plants for healing. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the Medicines and to the keepers of the Medicines

Now our minds are one.

****

~*~ The Animals ~*~

We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We see them near our homes and in the deep forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so.

Now our minds are one

*****

~*~ The Trees ~*~

We now turn our thoughts to the Trees. The Earth has many families of Trees who have their own instructions and uses. Some provide us with shelter and shade, other with fruit, beauty and other useful things. Many peoples of the world use a Tree as a symbol of peace and strength. With one mind, we greet and thank the tree of life.

Now our minds are one

****

~*~ The Birds ~*~

We put our minds together as one and thank all the Birds who move and fly about over our heads. The Creator gave them beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader. To all the Birds-- from the smallest to the largest--we send our joyful greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one

*****

~*~ The Four Winds ~*~

We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help to bring the change of seasons. From the four directions they come, bringing us messengers and giving us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds.

Now our minds are one

*****

~*~ The Thunders ~*~

Now we turn to the west where our Grandfathers, the Thunder Beings, live. With lightning and thundering voices, they bring with them the water that renews life. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunders.

Now our minds are one.

****

~*~ The Sun ~*~

We now send the greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Brother, the Sun.

Now our minds are one.

******

~*~ Grandmother Moon ~*~

We put our minds together and give thanks to our oldest Grandmother, the Moon, who lights the nighttime sky. She is the leader of women all over the world, and she governs the movement of the ocean tides. By her changing face we measure time, and it is the Moon who watches over the arrival of children here on Earth. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Grandmother, the Moon.

Now our minds are one.

*****

~*~ The Stars ~*~

We give thanks to the Stars who are spread across the sky like jewelry. We see them in the night, helping the Moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing things. When we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds gathered together as one, we send greetings and thanks to all the Stars.

Now our minds are one.

*****

~*~ The Enlightened Teachers ~*~

We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened Teachers who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring Teachers.

Now our minds are one.

*****

~*~ The Creator ~*~

We turn our thoughts to the Creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator.

Now our minds are one.

*****

~*~ Closing Words ~*~

We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we have named, it was not our intent to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way.

Now our minds are one.

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