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Showing posts with label Peace Walk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peace Walk. Show all posts

Thursday, October 9, 2008

John Lennon...spirit plays tricks on me today! Pray for peace...


I just had the eeriest experience this past hour as I sought to transfer a post from blogspot to the wordpress site in respect to a memorial being held for John Lennon later today.

Just before noon - after receiving an e-mail communication from Yoko Ono reminding me that October 9th was the anniversary of John Lennon's birth - I scurried about to pen a post since the former wife of the Beatle was requesting that everyone pray for peace in memory of her late husband at 8 p.m. tonight.(October 9th)

So, it was necessary that I get cracking!

The blogspot post went off fairly well without much of a hitch.

In fact - I managed to post the news flash on the Internet quickly enough to alert fans - that Yoko will be at the Peace Tower tonight at 8 p.m. praying for peace in memory of John.

But - a series of mysterious (mystical?) events transpired - as I attempted to post the news release on wordpress!

Initially, I crafted the post - so that the e-mail message I included within it from Yoko - was outlined in red.

But, shortly after the body of the post was inserted into the edit bay, weird goings-on started to spook the heck out of me!

What was going down, for heaven's sake?

When I hit the publish button - for instance - I suddenly noticed the script in the entire body of the message was now all "red" - not just the section meant to highlight Yoko's message.

So, I hit the edit button, and sought to resolve the screw-ball issue.

After painstakingly initiating edits on the script I wanted "black", I proceeded to click on the publish icon.

Argh!

The post was now split into distinct sections in red and black, and both were all out-of-whack. And, not in keeping with my aesthetic game plan at all!

Then, I noticed that something eerie was unfolding before me, too.

For some inexplicable reason, a rather large gap had erupted on the page - and started to stretch out-of-control with a mind seemingly of its own - between the last photograph in the layout and the contact information posted at the end of the page.

At this juncture - I strategically placed the cursor in the body of the post - and began hitting the backspace button to resolve the problem.

It should have been a snap to edit out the slip-shod space running down the page.

But, out-of-the-blue, the screen image distorted instead and went wide sideways!

How odd!

Because the "save" buttom was now obscured, I was unable to wrap up the edit process.


In sum, I was being blocked from deleting the void-like space!

When I clicked on "home" to check the status of the published post - the gap was several inches in depth now - and posing quite the dilemma.

As I tried to fill in with data - the space not only got larger - but strange distortions started to "freeze" up the entire page to my great dismay!

At this juncture, I threw my hands up and deleted the post.

I was going to start from square one.

Then, something curious happened.

Suddenly, I noticed there was an unpublished post in the queue!

When I clicked on the link to review the body of the post, I shook my head in disbelief!

The John Lennon post was not only intact - but featured the body of my writing in black with Yoko's message in red - as originally intended.

As if by magic!

So, I published the post.

At this point, I thought I'd pen a post about the disturbing hour or so that I wrestled with the computer trying to fathom out the strange events surrounding the John Lennon incident.

And, sure enough, odd scenarios descended on me all over again.

At one point - just as I was about to finish writing this piece, for instance - it disappeared from the screen.

Poof, the post vanished into thin air.

Oh God, I thought. I've lost an hour's work.

After all, there wasn't any icon in the tool bar, signaling it had been minimized by error at the flick of a misguided finger or two.

I thought something was truly amiss, too, because I was forced to use my password and ID to gain access to the site all over again.

But, when I logged back on, a surprise was waiting for me.

Lo and behold - as I whispered a little prayer to myself (God, please let it be there on the dashboard) - I spied the ghostly post in the line-up waiting to be published - undisturbed!

Well, in view of what transpired this afternoon, I would have to surmise that John's spirit has been hovering around.

And, just maybe, was the good-humored musician playing games with me?

Alright, John.

I'll get the message out.

Give Peace a chance.

And love to Yoko, you say?

Oh my God. Electric shivers just raced up and down my spine.

John's spirit is here in the room with me, undoubtedly!!!

Cup of tea?

Monday, August 25, 2008

Thich Nhat Hahn...Walk for Peace! There is Joy in every step...



Last year, on the heels of the atrocities unfolding in Mayanmar - which shocked the sensibilities of the civilized world - Los Angeles hosted a peace walk on Saturday, September 29th (2007).

Citizens concerned about World Peace within shouting, walking, or sprinting distance, attended.

The "walk" commenced at 9:30 a.m. at MacArthur Park and was led by world-renowned Zen Master - and honored Spiritual Leader - Thich Nhat Hanh.

I attended the rally for peace and it was an enlightening experience.

Shortly after the Master arrived at the podium to convey simple messages of peace, he led a contingent of young children out of the picturesque park along Wilshire Boulevard through traffic-free city streets, then back again.

The theme of the event was "peace" in every step, based on the Buddhist teaching of mindfulness.

According to Thich Nhat Hanh,

"Mindfulness is the energy of being aware and awake to the present moment. It is the continuous practice of touching life deeply in every moment of daily life. To be mindful is to be truly alive, present, and at one with those around you, and with what you are doing."

Each individual was urged to be mindful of each step planted on the earth, to breathe deeply, and focus on world peace.

As we walked for peace, there was an intense calm - and except for the occasional helicopter buzzing overhead - a profound silence which was sweet amd beckoning.

Each foot - whether clad in leather, sandal, or humble sneaker - took a mindful step in unison with the other; with great accord, we were keenly aware that a mere second of life (we often take for granted in the throes of our hectic daily lives) was so precious.

When the sun broke from behind billowing clouds, and beamed down on the peace walkers, a moment of sublime joy touched each and every one.

The mystical event brought a smile to the face!

Thich Nhat Hanh was born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo in Thừa Thiên in 1926.

A graduate of Bao Quoc Buddhist Academy in Central Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh received training in Zen and the Mahayana school of Buddhism.

Ordained as a monk in 1949, he is now recognized as a Dharmacharya, and as the Spiritual head of the Từ Hiếu Temple and associated monasteries.

According to biographers, he is the Elder of the Từ Hiếu branch of the 8th generation of the Liễu Quán lineage in the 42nd generation of the Lâm Tế Dhyana school (Lin Chi Chán 臨濟禪 in Chinese or Rinzai Zen in Japanese).

At Từ Hiếu Temple on May 1st (1966) - Thich Nhat Hanh received the "lamp transmission" - making him a Dharmacharya (known as a Dharma Teacher) from Master Chân Thật.

On these shores, some Buddhist precepts have baffled and confused the seeker in the modern era.

With this in mind - Thich Nhat Hanh combined his deep knowledge of a variety of traditional Zen teaching methods with methods from Theravada Buddhism and ideas from Western psychology - to form a unique approach to modern Zen practice that is popular in America today.

As a result, Thich Nhat Hanh has become an important influence in the development of Buddhism in the West.

When Thich Nhat Hanh arrived in the US in 1966, his first task was to lead a symposium in Vietnamese Buddhism at Cornell University, and to continue his work for peace.

In 1965 - Thich Nhat Hanh wrote a letter to Martin Luther King, Jr. - and titled the essay: "Searching for the Enemy of Man".

Later - during that auspicious stay in 1966 - Thich Nhat Hanh met with the Spiritual leader and urged him to publicly denounce the Vietnam War.

On the heels of this meeting, Dr. King gave his famous speech at the Riverside Church in New York City in 1967, wherein he publicly questioned the U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Subsequently, Dr. King nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize.

In his nomination Rev. King said,

"I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of [this prize] than this gentle monk from Vietnam. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity."

Without doubt, it is due to Thich Nhat Hanh's inspired method of teaching, and insightful interpretation of the scriptures, that the truth of the Masters is understood in remarkable simplistic ways.

One of my favorite quotes,

"Looking deeply is to remove the frontier between our notions and reality."

In the event Thich Nhat Hanh returns this fall again for the peace walk in Los Angeles, I urge all of you to join in.

Walk for peace, perfect peace.
 
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