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Though the Swastika was misappropriated by the German Nazi party becoming the symbol of evil, for thousands of years prior to it’s German adoption, the Swastika was a positive, powerful symbol of three religions – Hindu, Jain and Buddhist. The word swastika literally means good fortune, good health or well being. Among Buddhists, the swastika represents the footsteps of the Buddha. For Jains it is a symbol of auspiciousness, prosperity and good fortune. In Hindu teaching, the swastika symbolizes spiritual evolution. Satguru Sivaya Subramaniyaswami, founder of the magazines Hinduism Today, notes:
"The swastika's right-angled arms reflect the fact that the path toward our objectives is often not straight, but takes unexpected turns. They denote also the indirect way in which Divinity is reached--through intuition and not by intellect. Symbolically, the swastika's cross is said to represent God and creation. The four bent arms stand for the four human aims: righteousness; wealth; love; and liberation….It also represents the world wheel, eternally changing around a fixed center, God.” Hindus and Jains believe that the swastika has an energetic power to ward off misfortune and negative forces. For that reason it is often painted on doors and entrances to homes and buildings.
The symbol transcends countries and cultures. It has been found on coins in Mesopotamia, Navajo blankets, and ancient pottery in Africa and Asia. Prior to the Nazi misappropriation of the swastika, it was used in Western Culture as a symbol of good luck, much like a “lucky” four leaf clover and horseshoe. The swastika was also displayed on birth announcements and greeting cards. Boy Scouts could earn a swastika badge while the Girls’ Club official membership pin was a swastika. Club. In 1908, two gold prospectors in Canada established a small town in Northern Ontario naming it Swastika. Several Canadian hockey teams were called The Swastikas.
"The swastika's right-angled arms reflect the fact that the path toward our objectives is often not straight, but takes unexpected turns. They denote also the indirect way in which Divinity is reached--through intuition and not by intellect. Symbolically, the swastika's cross is said to represent God and creation. The four bent arms stand for the four human aims: righteousness; wealth; love; and liberation….It also represents the world wheel, eternally changing around a fixed center, God.” Hindus and Jains believe that the swastika has an energetic power to ward off misfortune and negative forces. For that reason it is often painted on doors and entrances to homes and buildings.
The symbol transcends countries and cultures. It has been found on coins in Mesopotamia, Navajo blankets, and ancient pottery in Africa and Asia. Prior to the Nazi misappropriation of the swastika, it was used in Western Culture as a symbol of good luck, much like a “lucky” four leaf clover and horseshoe. The swastika was also displayed on birth announcements and greeting cards. Boy Scouts could earn a swastika badge while the Girls’ Club official membership pin was a swastika. Club. In 1908, two gold prospectors in Canada established a small town in Northern Ontario naming it Swastika. Several Canadian hockey teams were called The Swastikas.
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For millennia, the fire under the pot has cooked suffering. To know why there are wars and calamities, just listen to the clamor of the slaughterhouse. –Buddhist proverb
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Photographer Andres Gonzalez has spent the past five years documenting mass shootings at American schools. He is putting together his research into a book titled American Origami, Recently interviewed, he was asked how families and communities felt about "condolence" items such as teddy bears, quilts, posters, cards, etc. The response indicates this isn't helpful at all:
Here's what he said about family response: "I was speaking with Kristina Anderson. She's a Virginia Tech survivor and she had said to me something that really stuck with me, which is that she felt all this memorabilia, it becomes a huge burden for families and survivors to go through, to catalogue and to store. It felt like it might be more in the service of the person giving, then the people that have actually been through the violence."
Here's what he said about community response: "A lot of the items are sent directly to the families and what I found is a lot of families don't want them. So, they leave them to the city or to the school, and the schools and the cities then spend time collecting them and finding a home for them and archiving them and cataloging them. I was just in Parkland and they had collected 227 boxes worth of mementos and moved them into Florida Atlantic University's library, where they will eventually be catalogued and stored and then digitized and put online. In Sandy Hook they were inundated with so much stuff. They had received over 65,000 teddy bears, over half a million letters, along with quilts and poetry and all the other ephemera that get sent to these sites. At first the city tried to hold it at city hall and it filled up city hall. Eventually they ended up moving it into a small airplane hangar and it filled up the airplane hangar and the city didn't know what to do with it. So the Connecticut State Library created a very small selection that went into the archive, but the majority of it was incinerated."
Here's what he said about family response: "I was speaking with Kristina Anderson. She's a Virginia Tech survivor and she had said to me something that really stuck with me, which is that she felt all this memorabilia, it becomes a huge burden for families and survivors to go through, to catalogue and to store. It felt like it might be more in the service of the person giving, then the people that have actually been through the violence."
Here's what he said about community response: "A lot of the items are sent directly to the families and what I found is a lot of families don't want them. So, they leave them to the city or to the school, and the schools and the cities then spend time collecting them and finding a home for them and archiving them and cataloging them. I was just in Parkland and they had collected 227 boxes worth of mementos and moved them into Florida Atlantic University's library, where they will eventually be catalogued and stored and then digitized and put online. In Sandy Hook they were inundated with so much stuff. They had received over 65,000 teddy bears, over half a million letters, along with quilts and poetry and all the other ephemera that get sent to these sites. At first the city tried to hold it at city hall and it filled up city hall. Eventually they ended up moving it into a small airplane hangar and it filled up the airplane hangar and the city didn't know what to do with it. So the Connecticut State Library created a very small selection that went into the archive, but the majority of it was incinerated."
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More health features contain statements such as "sitting is the new smoking" or "sitting shortens life span" or "sitting erodes health." Though recent research is indeed coming to those conclusions, sitting too much has always been a health issues. As far back as the early 1950s researchers noted the connection between a sedentary lifestyle and cardiovascular health.
One of the earliest was conducted in Great Britain by Dr. Jeremy Morris who studied the incidence of heart attacks in 31,000 transport workers. Morris found that bus conductors, who spend most of their day climbing up and down the stairs of double decker buses, averaging between 500 and 700 steps per day, had reduced incidences of heart disease than their bus-driving counterparts, who spent 90 percent of their day sitting down. Furthermore, when bus conductors did develop heart disease it came much later in life and was less likely to be fatal.
Dr. Morris took his research personally and seriously, engaging in regular exercise most days. He died a few months before his 100th birthday.
(feel free to re-post or link to your social media)
One of the earliest was conducted in Great Britain by Dr. Jeremy Morris who studied the incidence of heart attacks in 31,000 transport workers. Morris found that bus conductors, who spend most of their day climbing up and down the stairs of double decker buses, averaging between 500 and 700 steps per day, had reduced incidences of heart disease than their bus-driving counterparts, who spent 90 percent of their day sitting down. Furthermore, when bus conductors did develop heart disease it came much later in life and was less likely to be fatal.
Dr. Morris took his research personally and seriously, engaging in regular exercise most days. He died a few months before his 100th birthday.
(feel free to re-post or link to your social media)
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What happened to the new year's resolutions you made in January? Are you still working at them or have they faded away. Since it's now June and midway (6 months) into a new year, why not take a few moments to re-think and re-commit so being a better, bigger person. Here are some suggestions:
- I resolve to take care of myself – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
- I resolve to practice gratitude and to count my blessings.
- I resolve to more spend time with people who are kind, positive, supportive, pleasant, and compassionate.
- I resolve to be a person who is kind, positive, supportive, pleasant, and compassionate.
- I resolve to help and support someone going through a tough time just now.
- I resolve to meditate regularly knowing it will keep me calmer and more balance while grieving.
- I resolve to let go of guilt, remorse, regret and anger.
- I resolve to be confident and optimistic.
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Don't be discouraged by your incapacity to dispel darkness from the world. Light your candle and step forward. - Mata Amritanandamayi
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Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh’s 2017 book The Art of Living has been awarded a gold Nautilus Book Award in the Religion / Spirituality of Eastern Thought category.
Established in the US in 1998, and named after the nautilus shell, a symbol of wisdom and growth, the Nautilus Book Awards are given out annually to the authors of books that encompass social and environmental justice. Previous recipients include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, American novelist, essayist and poet Barbara Kingsolver, American journalist Amy Goodman, Britain’s Charles, Prince of Wales and South African cleric Desmond Tutu.
In The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now, Thich Nhat Hanh, explores seven mindfulness trainings encompassing the Buddhist view on life, relationships, and interconnection, that were taken from his last full talks before his recent stroke.
Established in the US in 1998, and named after the nautilus shell, a symbol of wisdom and growth, the Nautilus Book Awards are given out annually to the authors of books that encompass social and environmental justice. Previous recipients include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, American novelist, essayist and poet Barbara Kingsolver, American journalist Amy Goodman, Britain’s Charles, Prince of Wales and South African cleric Desmond Tutu.
In The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now, Thich Nhat Hanh, explores seven mindfulness trainings encompassing the Buddhist view on life, relationships, and interconnection, that were taken from his last full talks before his recent stroke.
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Some people come to happiness much easier, and some people have to work at it.
- Maria Shriver
- Maria Shriver
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When Dr. Stephanie Cheng conducts health exams with older adult patients, she often goes beyond reviewing their medications and determining treatment plans. Cheng incorporates meditation exercises into the visits. "If I notice they are overwhelmed or have emotional distress, I may do a brief meditation exercise with them, just so they can be exposed to it as a tool to feel a greater sense of well-being," says Cheng, a palliative care physician in the division of geriatrics at the University of California—San Francisco.
Cheng's approach isn't unconventional. Meditation is a well-studied practice shown to have many health benefits. It's commonly prescribed as a way to help treat chronic disease and mood disorders. That makes meditation a natural fit, Cheng says, when older age brings physical, mental and emotional changes.
Meditation is associated with many psychological and physical benefits. "In general, it's been shown to decrease blood pressure and inflammation. And there's some data around improving coronary artery disease outcomes and helping with post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain and headaches," Cheng says.
Cheng has noticed that some of her patients who meditate are able to reduce medications (such as antihypertensives and antidepressants) as their blood pressure, stress and depression decrease. She also observes that they experience greater well-being, increased peace and quality of life. "One thing I see commonly is people noticing the blessings and abundance in their lives. It increases gratitude for what they have," she says.
(source: www.health.usnews.com)
Cheng's approach isn't unconventional. Meditation is a well-studied practice shown to have many health benefits. It's commonly prescribed as a way to help treat chronic disease and mood disorders. That makes meditation a natural fit, Cheng says, when older age brings physical, mental and emotional changes.
Meditation is associated with many psychological and physical benefits. "In general, it's been shown to decrease blood pressure and inflammation. And there's some data around improving coronary artery disease outcomes and helping with post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain and headaches," Cheng says.
Cheng has noticed that some of her patients who meditate are able to reduce medications (such as antihypertensives and antidepressants) as their blood pressure, stress and depression decrease. She also observes that they experience greater well-being, increased peace and quality of life. "One thing I see commonly is people noticing the blessings and abundance in their lives. It increases gratitude for what they have," she says.
(source: www.health.usnews.com)
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To be one’s own mainstay is to be one’s own self-help. Teaching us to do that is the Buddha’s ultimate gift. - Mary Talbot