Divine Timing
Something Divine seeks to restore equilibrium between humanity and the natural environment. Something Divine seeks to bring peace to the warring classes of humanity. Something so sacred, so subtle, yet so powerful that in its global balancing act it is both disruptive & healing at the same time. This subtle energy is the energy of rebirth, the prelude to the restoration of the Dominion of the Divine Lovers -- it is the Sacred Emergence of the Divine Feminine.
I’ve always naively believed that some people are somehow more gifted, or smarter or more inspiring than others.
When I was younger I thought somehow that the honor students group I was part of in high school were better off, smarter than the rest of the class or that somehow quick thinking would rub off on me. I wanted to be cool.
Later in the 60’s I thought the flower power generation was the place to be; then in my 20’s as a young artist I thought artists surely were more inspired and more capable of changing the world for the better -- so that there would be more equity, more peace, less hatred around me.
Then it was the feminists, I thought, who could help bring balance in the world but I discovered that some of them could be as extreme and hateful as the so called patriarchy against which I was rebelling. I was shocked to discover that women could be as power hungry as men, exercising ‘power over’ every bit as much as men do.
Then I thought it was the organic and biodynamic farmers who had the wisdom to make sweeping necessary changes so that more people could eat healthier food and thereby create better thinking humans who were concerned with things like compassion, equitable use of resources and a healthier ecosystem along with fair distribution of food.
Then it was the meditators or people who’d chosen a spiritual path who I thought could influence people to behave more charitably and with equanimity.
What I found in each case, in each phase of my life is that people are people no matter what path they choose, and that we are complex creatures with both good, bad and mediocre aspects to our nature.
The main failing within each of these groups was that they all thought they were the most deserving, the most important and that somehow other people were lesser beings.
Curtis had the same experience over his decades going to grammar school with the Bush kids, working later as an adult with journalists, interviewing politicians and plutocrats, corporate chieftans and rich wall street movers and shakers.
While he investigated the savings and loan fraud scandal in the 80’s, he actually had real estate developers working with Savings & Loan owners to loot financial institutions tell him he was an idiot if he thought there was something wrong with financial fraud, because it was common practice among those white collar privileged dudes. They considered it a victimless crime like smoking marijuana because deposit insurance through the FDIC would insure that people all got their money back. Of course taxpayers had to pay 500 billion dollars, but these guys didn’t worry about that.
Many individuals in these groups I mention all believe that their community is the best, the most deserving, the smartest and somehow more worthwhile than anyone else, those others being inferior to them.
Maybe it’s a failure of imagination or perhaps they have not met enough other people outside of their own little clique.
I am reminded of a poignant moment a couple of months ago when Curtis and I sat by my father in law’s bedside at the nursing home where we watched a nurse’s aide, so-so slowly feeding Philip pureed food. We were so excited that he was finally able to eat something since they’d not thought to give him pureed food before our insistence, even though he had advanced Parkinson’s and was clearly struggling to swallow.
I remember we talked with her, wanting to know something about her and where she came from and we were shocked to hear her sad story. She was a refugee from the horrors of ethnic cleansing in Rwanda. Her manner was serene and calm and loving as she told us the story of walking, sometimes running across Africa away from Rwanda, not knowing if she’d ever see her husband again, having watched her siblings and mother and father killed in front of her own eyes. She ran with her infant child and toddler while pregnant. The story was so shocking that I’ve blocked out some of her details, but she was wandering for almost a year or more until she was accepted by a European country where she was given asylum. Then she later made her way to America where she studied to become a nurse’s aide.
I cried as I watched her patiently feed my father in law telling this story with no animosity or anger or even a sense of feeling sorry for herself. For Curtis and I, she really was the voice of compassion, a true bodhisattva.
Sometimes we may be able to be compassionate, sometimes people may never achieve compassion or sympathy for others. I think that is why war marches on for all these thousands of years; that is why people lie, cheat and harm others either with malice of forethought or from ignorance, because they are unable to feel compassion for others.
But what I have also learned over the years in my six decades on our lovely home Planet, is that there are moments everywhere every day, where people do behave lovingly toward and with one another, that the life force is so much stronger than the forces of hatred, ignorance and fear.
It is true now more than ever, that sometimes we need to make a greater effort to behave with love in our hearts and put aside our differences to reach a commonality. We need to move through our own fear, hatred and lack of understanding to find a place of commonality.
I grew up with the threat of the ‘red menace’ and the cold war, impending nuclear war, with drills of ‘duck and cover’ in elementary school, with people whose families thought about bomb shelters as investments. It horrifies me at the same time as I find it ironic that this same cycle seems to have come back around. Only now, I believe much more is at stake. There is much more at risk as we’ve used up so many of the plentiful natural resources that in third grade sounded infinite to me as I learned the “Pledge of Allegiance”, “America” (My Country Tis of Thee) and “The Star Spangled Banner” all of which seemed to declare our land a land of plenty.
Now we are all together in a world of impending environmental catastrophe and resource wars while so called green energy thinkers promote nuclear and coal energy as “clean energy”.
We see increased polarization among the many political, economic, religious and spiritual groups in this country and around the world, we have a food supply increasingly threatened by scientific tinkering and political gerrymandering.
Ancient foods and agricultural practices are being threatened by Big Ag and politicians alike. When farmers are told that the collection of seed which they have carried out for thousands of years is a way of life which is threatened or is no longer legal, when our oceans are fouled by oil spills, when our land is polluted by fracking and it seems like the war of all against all is really gearing up, then I say it’s time to take a big step back and review our collective creation here on Planet Earth.
This isn’t a warship, this is our starship! Yes we all belong to a unique community with unique skills and talents but we also have more in common than that which separates us. Let’s try to remember that, because now more than ever in this transitional time of the age of hydrocarbons to the new solar age, we must call upon our commonalities, learn to share and to respect our differences and honor them.
So let’s try and call upon our better selves, our more compassionate, patient and loving selves now. Let’s see where we are in relation to the cosmos right now. As Curtis and others have been writing for months, there are major changes in the cosmic weather patterns affecting us all, especially this Grand Cardinal Cross which perfects, intensifies and carries on now for the next few weeks. This unique planetary configuration involves the slow moving planets in our solar system and the effects will be felt for years to come. Scroll down to see the links below in this newsletter to read Bill Herbst’s excellent articles about the Grand Cardinal Cross.
I’d like this Eastertide to be a time when we call upon the Mother, She who is often overlooked at this time of year in favor of the ‘Jesus-died-for-our-sins’, ‘Jesus-bleeding-on-the-cross’ themes and scenarios and instead take a deeper look into what those mysteries exemplify. Learn how we can have a direct experience ourselves of those mysteries and their benefits.
From our article, “Eastertide, Uniting with the Cosmic Christ, Honoring the Divine Mother” …“This is a season especially sacred to the Divine Mother. Around the time of the Spring Equinox, in mid-March and through April, the Divine Feminine is adored as Cybele, the Great Mother Gaia also known as Rhea and by many other names. In Japan & China, this is the season to worship Kwan Yin, the Lady of Compassion. Kwan Yin is known to many in the East and West for her unselfish action upon reaching the final spiritual goal of enlightenment. She refused her own personal Liberation to become a Bodhisattva--one who works for the liberation of all before accepting it for herself. Kwan Yin brings her Compassionate Service to all in the hopes that their souls will evolve & receive liberation from the endless cycles of despair. Call upon her in your hour of need and she will respond, for that is her nature, her service, and her highest desire.
“It is no accident that Our Lady is Worshipped at this time of year, when the Life Forces are rising, when the chi is evident in the first golden hues to paint the weeping willow branches, when the birds' song serenades you at dawn, when the first robin is sighted, when animals & people alike mate & seek union. The fecundity of our fields, farms, hearths & bodies is very much present in our consciousness, our daily tasks & all around us for "those with eyes to see” and hearts to hear.
“Now is the time to practice walking meditation. Go out into nature & observe the earth as it awakens. In the northern hemisphere, and especially in the Northeast US snowbells appear, daffodils are poking through the cold ground, alliums emerge from hiding, the iris shows us her blades & the first shoots of purifying spring plants make their appearance, bursting through the sometimes still frozen ground.”…
Here in the east San Francisco Bay Area, although there is an extreme drought as there is in much of the western US, there is still an exuberant display of flowers, flowering trees and shrubs, roses overflowing in every yard and the ceaseless tides of the Life Force of this magnificent planet are in evidence wherever you look. One can sense the lush fecundity of the Divine Mother all around us this springtime.
…“Now, during this Festival Season celebrating both Christ and the Divine Mother, more than ever we feel the need for the re-emergence of the energy of the Divine Lovers and the need to usher in a time of balanced male & female relations. (Those who want to understand more about the ancient Wisdom School teachings of the Divine Lovers, and their significance to the New Aquarian Age, can read our article, “The New Age of the Divine Lovers”.)”
“…there is something else going on, sometimes more subtly than the cacophony of war & greed that seems so overwhelming. Something is taking place in the auras & the hearts & minds of many of us as well as in the etheric body of the earth itself; something which acts to bring the unbalanced state of human existence into balance.”
“Something Divine seeks to restore equilibrium between humanity and the natural environment. Something Divine seeks to bring peace to the warring classes of humanity. Something so sacred, so subtle, yet so powerful that in its global balancing act it is both disruptive & healing at the same time. This subtle energy is the energy of rebirth, the prelude to the restoration of the Dominion of the Divine Lovers -- it is the Sacred Emergence of the Divine Feminine.”
Read more about the Mother and the Christ in our article, “Eastertide, Uniting with the Cosmic Christ, Honoring the Divine Mother” where we explain how “Christ exemplified the virtues of the spiritually evolved Aries personality, which puts personal integrity and one's own spiritual guidance above all other considerations. Christ's Self-consciousness was tempered by a Libran concern for the well-being of the community.”
“In fact, Christ sacrificed his life to create an energetic bridge that would allow humanity to re-connect with Spiritual Realms by following Christ's teachings and connecting with the energy of the Cosmic Christ.”…
“Easter is also a Festival of World-Renewal. Esoteric Christian teachings tell us that the death and resurrection of Christ infused the energy of the Cosmic Christ into all the realms of creation, from the lowest Underworld to the Earthly plane of existence, and upward to the highest heavenly peaks.”
In other words, according to our own tradition, Curtis and I always feel closest to the Christ on Easter out in Nature, where we feel His Love in all of creation.
“This is a very auspicious moment indeed for our meditation practice. Now is the time to celebrate the subordination of the ego in favor of the Higher Self. Now is the time to demonstrate our willed intent to connect with the Higher Self, Christ Consciousness, through meditation, prayer, ceremony and ritual. Now is the time to surrender and allow ourselves to be guided on the path of Spirit.
“On Good Friday, as he hung dying on the cross of wood, Jesus the Christ attained a world-altering spiritual victory over the personal ego which opened for all of us a doorway to the Way, the Truth and Eternal Life.
“The Hanged Man, that most daunting Tarot Trump, number 12, symbolizes the difficult process of re-orienting the life force from subservience to the egoistic personality to the service of the Higher Self, The Unity of the Web of Life, and the Universal Source of Creation.
“This re-orientation is the goal of all spiritual practices, both East and West. Seekers have used techniques such as meditation, fasting, prayer, ceremonial magic, vision quest, and even martyrdom to subordinate the ego, purge the Self of the mind’s illusion of separation, and attain the unity consciousness that is the fruit of this Great Sacrifice.
“The Hanged Man also depicts the crucifixion of the body. This is the card of surrender, the card of death by water.
“Those who were crucified normally died a long, slow death from suffocation brought about by the collapse of lungs filling with water, as they found themselves unable to maintain an erect posture, sinking down with fatigue, increasingly unable to breathe.
“Symbolically, it was through being filled with the element of water, which represents the emotional power of compassion manifest as unconditional love, that the ego of Jesus died on Good Friday.”
I think the cosmos will support this kind of journey for us all right now in letting go or sacrificing outmoded ways of thinking, being, acting and feeling. It’s an ideal time to relinquish old bad habits which no longer serve us or the greater good of our family, our community and our ecosystem.
Click on this link to read the entire article, “Eastertide, Uniting with the Cosmic Christ, Honoring the Divine Mother”.
Because we all need to meditate or practice some sort of contemplative prayer right now more than ever, we recommend that you enjoy our article available on our homepage: “Spring Equinox: the Archangel Raphael Meditation”.
“Archangel Raphael reigns over spring. Raphael commands a myriad of spirits who work on the regeneration and growth of vegetation. So at the beginning of spring establish a bond with the Archangel Raphael. Ask him to make you receptive to the virtues hidden in trees, grasses and flowers, so that this new life penetrates you as well.”
There are more articles about Spring and renewal and can be found by clicking on these links:
“Spring Equinox, Mysteries and Histories”: “We celebrate the triumph of love, life and light over darkness and death at the start of the Astrological New Year, on the Vernal Equinox. This is a time of equal day and equal night, and in the Aquarian Age the Spring Equinox is a celebration of the Divine Lovers.”
“Spring Equinox Newsletter 2014”: “Happy Crow Full Moon! Wishing You a Numinous Spring Equinox!! May You Be in Harmonious Balance!”
And the article “Honoring the Divine Mother” : “Something Divine seeks to restore equilibrium between humanity and the natural environment. Something Divine seeks to bring peace to the warring classes of humanity. Something so sacred, so subtle, yet so powerful that in its global balancing act it is both disruptive & healing at the same time. This subtle energy is the energy of rebirth, the prelude to the restoration of the Dominion of the Divine Lovers -- it is the Sacred Emergence of the Divine Feminine.”…
Read Bill Herbst’s articles about the Grand Cardinal Cross: “Clarifying the Timeline of Change: 2012 and Beyond” and “Astrological Patterns Signal Social Transformation in 2013-2014”: “A string of Uranus-Pluto aspects and other outer planet configurations will cause global turmoil in the next two years. Challenges apply to all corridors of massive, concentrated power and the institutions that provide support and reap the benefits. Corporations and governments around the world are vulnerable to the profound challenges of revolt (Uranus) and upheaval (Pluto).”
And there are many more springtime treasures on our homepage!
I didn’t have time to write up my new favorite springtime soup recipe, but I can give you a great springtime tip you’ll never forget: use fresh English pea pods to make a quick super flavorful stock.
Buy as little as a half pound of peas (snap peas work well too, but what a shame to sacrifice them and not just eat them whole!), shell the peas and cook them in water, remove the peas from the water to use in your soup, then add more water to the pot and cook up the pea pods, strings and all (after washing thoroughly).
And add in well chopped onion, carrots and a few carrot tops along with salt, pepper and some good quality organic olive oil for a masterful soup base.
Cook for no more than 45 minutes to an hour on a low simmer, then cool, strain out all liquid by squeezing out every last drop and reserve in your frig for a few days or freeze to have on hand for the next time you want a very flavorful, vitamin rich base for any soup!!
Meditation Moments
by the Poet James Bertolino
Her Breath
She is where the song
sits down and weeps
for joy, where the red-winged
blackbird calls for what comes
after. She is the river
splashing the moon onto darkened stones,
the broken yolk that beckons the sun
to its yellow nest. Her breathing
stitches what time
has torn.
[read more inspirational poetry by James Bertolino in his archive at Satya Center or at his website where you can read more poetry and purchase his lovely books.
Another Meditation by Omraam Aivanhov
When spring arrives, we start to find nourishment in the rays of the rising sun, for light is the best of foods. And the pure air, the awakening earth, the surrounding trees, also nourish us, if we know how to cook them… Yes, cook them! With our thoughts and our love we can make delicious dishes from all these elements.
Spiritual life is a kind of nutrition. It is the art of turning everything we receive from outside into wisdom, kindness, power and peace.
We contribute to this change by first and foremost giving all our attention to the rising sun. Then, each time we come back to our daily activities, we feel replete, stronger and richer.
Yes, richer, because the sunlight we have received is gold, etheric gold, and this gold is worth more than all the gold bars piled up in banks, for it brings us life.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Copyright Jane Sherry, Curtis Lang & Satya Center LLC, All Rights Reserved 2004-2014 This article may only be reprinted with the approval of Jane or Curtis of Satya Center.
Jane Sherry, one of the Founders of Satya Center is a Reiki practitioner/teacher, spiritual counselor, creator of healing art talismans, healing gardens & loves to cook! She has a background in the visual arts before moving into the healing arts and has been a longtime lover of herbs & spices & cooking. She newly resides in Boca Raton, Florida, about one hour north of Miami. She works the Satya Center healing practice with co-founder and husband, Curtis Lang and co-operates the Satya Center Crystal Gallery and web portal. New gardens are being birthed now, here in the Florida sunshine, well watered by lots of drought breaking winter rains. You will always find crystals in among the herbs, flowers, spice & vegetable gardens!
Curtis Lang, one of the Founders of Satya Center is a Reiki practitioner/teacher, spiritual counselor with a background in investigative journalism, writing, editing and publishing for over 40 years. Prior to launching Satya Center, Curtis was an executive at Ameritrade.com.
He has been a restaurant reviewer, and has covered local, state and national politics, national security issues, the Federal Reserve and global central banking, the banking industry, personal finance, new media and information technology, and privacy issues in the digital age.
Curtis Lang's work has appeared in "WORTH" magazine, "The Village Voice", "Mother Jones", "The Nation", "Ad Age", "New Media", "NetGuide", "ULTRA", "Houston City" magazine, "Texas Business", and many more.
Picture Credits from top to bottom: Roses from Curtis Lang & Jane Sherry's upstate NY gardens, Original Mixed Media drawing by Jane Sherry from her one of a kind artist book called "History Lesson II" from 1978, "The Love Was the Food", mixed media drawing by Jane Sherry circa 1979, "the Lovers" by Jane Sherry mixed media drawing 1986, Page from the book of Goddesses by Jane Sherry 1975, Trump XII "The Hanged Man" Crowley Tarot Deck by Lady Freida Harris published by US Games, Byzantine image of springtime Archangel Raphael, Photo of yummy springtime soup made in Curtis Lang & Jane Sherry's Satya Center kitchen, 'Selfie' photo of Jane & Curtis on her 61st birthday in Carmel Valley, CA Satya Center founders by Jane Sherry & Curtis Lang 2013, photo of Jane Sherry & Curtis Lang 1980 outside the Philadelphia Museum after we saw Duchamp's Bride Descending a Staircase, photo taken by A Mare in 1980.