~ The Rainbow Body & The Gentle Dove ~

For Buddhists, the rainbow is "the highest state achievable before attaining Nirvana, where individual desire & consciousness are extinguished."

The meaning of the 'Rainbow Body' is beyond that of a yogic attainment. It is ultimately a manifestation of Compassion, of a real bodhisattva's ability to show people that "the-path-is-worth-taking", that the (sacrifices are worth it), and that their endeavor has Universal Power to reach out beyond the confines of the body or time.

"You don't see the Rainbow Body with the eyes of the body but with the heart."



I met a lady on my travels who told me a story. She had a pet dove who had recently lost it's mate. One day she found an injured bird of another species in her back-yard. She decided to nurse it back to health & put it in the cage with her dove. When the bird had finally healed she took it outside and released it. It began to fly away and then circled back to fly around her and then proceeded to fly strait into a tree. Her presumption was that the bird & her dove, despite their differences had fallen in love, had filled missing holes for one another & could not bear to be separated. So this bird, for it's own need & the need of the other found a way to stay by re-injuring itself. They stayed together, this unusual pair, until the death of the dove. The next morning, the other bird had also died.




To be Healers we need to go beyond being victims or even survivors of whatever our own private hell might be. We are being called apon instead to become transformers of consciousness.
----Joan Borysenko, Fire in the Soul

~Catharsis, Transcendence, & Ecstatic Dance ~

What is suffering & how do we relieve it?



Catharsis
a: purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art
b: a cleansing that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension

Transcendence
a: Beyond the ordinary range of perception

If one suffers for the sake of Love is the suffering really so hard to bear? Is it in fact still considered "suffering"? Could it be considered as 'growing pains'? Would it be called suffering to see a flower blooming, or a baby learning? Is a tree losing it's leaves seen as suffering? Or a geiser erupting? All these things give us delight as we see them happening.

Is it really suffering then when we suffer for Love or to be Loved? Is a willing act of self-immolation for love seen as suffering? What about martyrs & willing sacrifices, like Jesus Christ & Martin Luther King Jr? If what we witness ultimately turns us from our 'worldly concerns' to being in loving-union with the 'Highest Love', is it suffering? in cases such as these it would seem all of humanity together makes a 'mutual sacrifice'. A suffering to end suffering.

Is there no beauty to be seen in the suffering? God's presence & participation in the Agony & the Glory of all things remains steadfast. When all oppositions: such as Pleasure & Pain are At One - definitions vanish.

Why then choose to focus on suffering?

If you want to be perfect - if you are a "Perfectionist"... learn to perfect your COMPASSION. It is thru self-less-ness that one is released from self. From the sweetness & bitterness of all of life's joy's & sorrows. From all the desire & fear that keep us perpetually suffering.



Purge your fears, sweat your emotions, release your terrors, find your FREEDOM, and Dance in the Fires of Purification! xo

~ In the Beginning...There were No-Words ~

They say to begin with a beginners mind. To start your quest for wisdom as plain & naive as an infant. It is understood that the mind of an infant is empty; it is fresh. It has no preconceived ideas; it sees things as they are. It is free from the habits of experience & therefore open to all possibilities. The infant has no thoughts of achievement, and makes no demands. it makes no judgements, no distinctions.The infant lives in the present. And because it does not put one before the other, the infant is equal with its Compassion.

The intellect can be an intruder on the Intuitive Experience. Intuition is a knowing or understanding Without Words.

Many times words stand to get in the way. They are used in battles of the intellect. They serve to fuel the fires of debates. In the end, the impasse remains untouched - altho one of the people involved feels victorious & ends up draining the power of the other. Even if the other is correct, words can serve as swords to slash & slay truth. It is a power struggle. A verbal/mental game of chess & the victor is not always the best man, but rather the more skilled & powerful at bashing, rejecting, convincing, collapsing, denying, or breaking down the other party's suggestions & ideas.

Language in the Intuitive Arena Is Futile

I do not belittle words or intellect.

Great teachers or parents know they should always be open to learning from students or children. Even if the only thing they are learning is how to be a better teacher or parent. Sometimes a way to be a better teacher is to listen. How can one even listen if one is intent on being the 'dominant talker' or know it all? The youth have a voice that needs to be respected & heard.

When you are confident about who you are, you are also benevolent. Ego wont keep you from reaching out & lending a helping hand, or from being compassionate. You will 'feel' a natural inclination to be of assistance to others in need. To be beneficial to the 'greater good'.


note: no one - nobody & no thing is to blame for anything that ever occurs, because all is ~Mutually Arising~





"What I desire is a return to the Profundity of Experience. I want a society where everyday activity, however mundane, is centered around how Incredibly Profound everything is. I want that profundity to become so Immense that any mediations between us & it... become totally unnecessary: we are In The marvel. When I am in that awe, Words Are So Irrelevant, I don't really care if you call my experience "God" or not. All I know is it is the Greatest Pleasure Possible: to hug a tree, to jump up and down at a beautiful sunset, to climb a magnificent hill, to take awe in what surrounds us. I am a hedonist, & I will have these pleasures; neither the religionist nor the atheist shall lock them away from me!"

~ In Truth I Trust ~

What is the cause of the growth of a Sunflower seed? Why the Sunflower that is to come of course! The future is the cause of what is happening now! At the same time the Sunflower of the past that dropped the seed that took root - is also the cause. In this regard my loves... the past, present, & future are all together one.

And so... on we go...




...And so it was that Lucifer, meaning 'Light' was God's favorite Angel. God then created man & asked his beloved angel to bow before his new creation. Lucifer loving only God as thee greatest of all things' refused to bow before mankind. He told his Lord, "it is only you I will bow unto", and with that he was cast into isolation far away from his Beloved God.

-- You see as Sunny imagines it, the Ego of the Angel missed the (entirety) of the point. In his devotion to only love 'The One' he did not have the Revelation that all of Creation is 'The One'. To bow even unto something that appears 'less-than' is to truly Love & Worship the Divine Lover. In this way we are always in the presence of our Beloved in the many forms it does take.

Trust me on this one... because I Promise this... Is The Truth I Trust!

xoXXox Love You Family

~ A Collection of Joyful Sorrow & Sorrowful Joy ~

(A poem I wrote for my Favorite Poet & Beloved Teacher Hafiz)


Forever A Becoming...

This Life Consuming Life

Pushing Continually Forward

Beyond The Pain

Into The Mystic Bliss

Of The Dance

Humbly passing thru the monstrosity of finite existence

Into Infinite Delight


and now some thoughts:

Am I up to my own destiny?
Thru all this Sorrow & Joy?
Can I will myself into Light
Knowing I must come to it through - horrifying pain?
It must have been that I chose to Be.. Here.. Now
In this body - In this time - With this mind
I must not lose my nerve
I must push on thru
play my own game all the way
My Life is my Art
neither winning nor losing, gain nor loss can influence my right
To Live My Art
for that is what is...
Ultimate Revelation




Great words of Wisdom...
'The Fates lead him who will
Him who wont.... they drag!'
~Let me then choose to be led~

I have learned in life you do not necessarily get what you give - you get... what you live! One can give nothing but sincerity & kindness, compassion & consideration however there will still be those who long only to condemn & criticize, to belittle & patronize. They will mock & scorn & make one cry! Why?? Because Life...Is...Suffering. This is the monstrous nature of the human beast. This is just how it is, and it cannot & will not be changed. Society will not be corrected. One must learn to live in it. To navigate the heavens & hells and bow in Reverence Regardless. To Humbly pass thru this initiation into Sanctuary.
For Indeed... we all need... eventually -- To Rest In Peace.

Oh to abandon this absurd Human City
& go deep into the Cathedrals of the Wilderness
and rest there...
In-Harmony-With-Nature
~~~~
I do believe this is the CURE
for nearly everything that ails the Human Spirit
Especially mine!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.”

And he answered:

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart & you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, & you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” --The Prophet--



"The Sleep of Sorrow & The Dream of Joy' By Raffaelle Monti, London, 1862

~ I'm Your Huckleberry ~

If you like a tell it like it is kinda gal... I'm You're Huckleberry!

In one brief paragraph written by Mark Twain, I can give a reader deep insight as to precisely why I am no longer in co-hoots with the Bible, or it's clan of followers. Yes I was once a Bible-Beater! Believe that! Thank God I was saved from that absurdity! Thank God my innate reason over-rode the programming!

If you don't understand why I left the Bible & the Christian Church after reading this paragraph, rest assured, you surely never will. Simple as that.



"In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. i was not aware that there was anything wrong about it. The local papers said nothing against it; the local pulpits taught us that God approved it, that it was a holy thing, & that the doubter need only look in the Bible if he wished to settle his mind - & then the texts were read aloud to us to make the matter sure; if the slaves themselves had an aversion to slavery, they were wise & said nothing. "



Another revealing quote by Mr. Twain, if I may...

"I think we never become Really & Genuinely our Entire & Honest Selves until we are Dead - and not then until we have been dead years & years. People ought-to-start-dead & then they would be honest so much earlier!!"

and finally, my favorite, as I also resonate with it:

"Ah Well, I am a great & sublime fool. But then I am God's fool & all God's works must be contemplated with great respect."

From the Musical "Godspell"


Sunny-in-the-NY-Shelter-Bunny -- over & out. I'm sure you will be hearing it from me at least everyday though =D

~ The Inner Garden ~

Time to let go of the Ego & write something that benefits the Greater Good. The Greater Good being All who are One & One who are All. My Soul-mates, my In Lak'ech A'la Kin
- my other selves.

Let me not forget to give credit where credit is due. I would not want my Great Teachers to feel unappreciated. Even though they may be deceased their teachings are still thriving today. I would like to thank, in order of appearance upon this Planet: Buddha, Christ, & Joseph Campbell.

I first discovered Joseph Campbell in 2007, where I found his Mythology Lecture Series in the Florida School of Massage Library. Joseph Campbell, being a student of another of my Great Teachers, Carl Jung, helped unfold my consciousness. For that I shall be forever grateful.



Let us begin at the beginning. The word Eden in Hebrew signifies 'A place of delight'. In English, Paradise means 'A walled enclosure'. Eden may then mean 'A walled Garden of Delight'. If we view Eden, not as some external place but rather as a Landscape of the Soul then it would have to be (Within Us). It seems as if our consciousness has gotten so far from its center that we can only see in terms of black & white. Good or Evil. We do not in the current paradigm, see Eden or God as dwelling within.



Some 500 years before the birth of Christ was Siddhartha - a Royal Prince who left his 'walled garden of delight' in order to discover a path greater than being sheltered in privilege, and in turn, help the whole of the suffering world find the Light of their own Immortality. His story is great indeed & I first read about it in the book 'Siddhartha' by Hermann Hesse. This book was given to me as a present by a random person who ran out of gas on the highway. I stopped to assist & what I got in return for my help was a priceless gift of deep insight. In fact, many of my important realizations or remembrances have come from random people on the path of my travels. I did not stop reading Hesse after 'Siddhartha'. I went on to read all of his work, as his is the study of duality, and I, being bi-polar resonated with it from a very vast & soulful place.

Much different from the Christian tale of disobedience & the punishment of being kicked out of the Garden, (which yields of its believers an attitude of dependency & fear-based devotion, which might be appropriate for a child in relation to a parent - or a sheep in relation to a shepherd, as they say), comes the Teachings of the Buddha, the Awakened One. These teachings are for the self-aware, self-responsible Adults. They are wisdom based, and not for children. In fact if these teachings are learned by children, they serve to make them wise. Not living in fear of hell, not being trapped by the confines of guilt.

Both stories, that of The Buddha & The Christ alike, include trees & serpents. In the Christian saga, the serpent is the deceiver & is rejected & cursed. In the Buddhist tale it is accepted & becomes an assistant & helper. When the Buddha was meditating for a long time, a great storm arose in the world around him. A giant cobra came up from below & wrapped itself around the Buddha protectively - covering his head with its cobra-hood. You may see the images of a cobra on head-dressings of Ancient Egyptians. This symbolizes awakened kundalini. You see the roots of these myths are older than the old testament & the Buddhist teachings as well.



In the Bible legend, our First Parents are expelled from the garden, whereas in the Buddhist Tradition we are all invited in. In the Buddhist view the Fear of Death & Desire for Life keep us from the Immortal Garden of Our Soul. It is not the cheribum or the wrath of an angered Father God, but our own instinctive attachment stemming from our senses. We do not desire to relinquish the pleasures of the physical life. Yet, clinging to material, this keeping up with the Jones's, this continual striving for more & more is thee 'Great Barrier' keeping us from recognizing & identifying our own Immortal & Universal Consciousness.

Desire & fear must henceforth be over-come in order to return to the non-dual, perfectly balanced, many harmoniously co-existing shades of gray. We may find that by letting go of our desire for excessive material longing & the fear of not having what we need - that in fact, we become blessed with more. Of course we will have desires. It is our nature, I do not ask you to fight against your own nature, however let us shift our desires to be the fruits of the Spirit. Wisdom, Love, Family Bonds, Kindness, Servitude, Virtue. This is the same in Christianity & Buddhism. If we have Faith in Loving Kindness we will have no need for fear, for we are taken care of.



Please consider the paralel teachings of Christ & Buddha. It is interesting to note there have been no Holy-Wars fought in the name of the Buddha. Today even upon military weaponry there are etched Bible Verses. This is a fact.

The Buddha, unlike Christ in many ways, for he was born into great wealth. He was pampered. He was married & knew what it was like to be a husband & a father. He lived into maturity & managed in fact to save his life from those who wished to assassinate him. The Buddha left his comforts & all he knew at a young age. Most imprtantly my beloved family, he left his Ego. In turn not only did he gain Enlightenment & Inner Peace he gained the Right to be a Great Respected Teacher. He lived soul-ly for the purpose of being beneficial to others.

~ Flower-Feather ~

Onward & heavenward she grows, thee rare & precious 'Sacred-Flower' She is A living Sacrifice. She is... The Dance of all life. Both Mother & Lover of Quetzalcoatl, the 'Feathered or Winged Serpent'.


Xochiquetzal is Flower Feather, the ever young and pretty goddess of flowers, love, pleasure and beauty. She is a patron of artists.

Xochiquetzal represents the sexual power of young women.



I never want to 'Rest-In-Peace' Do not ever wish that upon any sky-dancer. I would rather continue the dance.... May she forever dance in Exstacy would be an appropriate phrase! xo

~ My Reflection, My Shadow, & Me ~

I SEE YOU--- In My Eyes!





My reflection, my shadow, and me.... my trinity. Well, one of them which are all striving for a bit of Truth, and the truth is I'm on the sidelines of the 'Game' I guess, because I wont participate in a rat-race. My 'programming' is not going to come from T.V. When Freud discovered our psychological workings & learned how to manipulate people with commercials & ads... (making certain people very rich)... by enticing & entrancing us with flashing lights, sounds, pretty pictures... Encouraging us to feel more complete if we were able to purchase 'certain things' that would be good for our Images. Presentation is everything! Goodness! To me... Real-ness is everything. We already ARE everything~~even NAKED. To have a bunch of 'stuff' makes some people happier, even if it pollutes the Earth, which in turn pollutes us, making us sick with dis-ease. Is that real happiness? (Insert your answer here) Yeah, my programming is coming from an ancient source.... LOVE.

~I'm less modern that way. I turn off the TV... unless it has something sincere to teach me.

I'll be there to support anyone who is interested in 'Shifting' their programmed consciousness. We know we've got to make the change. Truth & Health are more important than having things... creature comforts. Not that I don't like them. Air conditioning is fine, boy I sure love to be comfortable! but... I'm not going to be unhappy without it. I'm not interested in 'Slavery'. I'm not going to be a slave to the grind. I'm going to be a Servant to Love. I'm not going to be a slave to my addictions. Instead, I'm looking deep within to find that blessed wellspring of Freedom. I'm seeking. I'm seeing the Real Me. My own Inner Trinity....my Divinity.~~



It is said that when a soul finds its Truth, everything it needs comes to it. And... that soul genuinely Wants what it Needs. We get them both! When we have trust in our Divine Mother & Divine Father, we get Nurtured Wholly & Completely . We get soo many blessings, we can't even count them all.



Listen my Beloved Family, our Power is Purity. So have a little faith, a little trust. You are the Child of the One who Truly Loves you. You wont be forsaken if you let go of some control. Be your-self. Your True Wild Self. Let your Spirit taste Freedom. Do not be tethered & bound. You are All That Is-You! You are riding the spiral. You are Elemental... Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Metal. You are everything you see. Live, Love, Sing and Dance in your Power, before the whole of creation. You got IT... and no one can take it from you! You might be dark, or light, or a little Tiger Stripe, whatever you are, be that. Be all that is you. Go on, shake your tail-feather & spread some of that good Old-Fashioned Unconditional Love!




~For My Shadows~

I want to hold you. Hold you close... and shake you

and tell you it's okay.... to Love Yourself.

Stop standing in your own shadow.

Go..... Embrace the Light.

Be the Light.

~Unite~ with all of it.

Leave no part.... unaccepted.

Give in... surrender... rebel

You can still be free.... in fact freer still

If you will....

Love Yourself.

& I... being a piece... a peace.... of you.... Will be Loved.

For we are all inside... of the One... that is you... that is me... that is Love

~That is Love~

~ Moon-Flower & the Ecstatic Sadness~

If I were a Beethoven song..... you might recognize Sunny in this ecstaticly sad Moonlight Sonata. So feminine, so mysteriously magical, so..... tragique. Certainly much more than Pathetique! My heart plays this haunting song every day.




A Rare & treasured Classique. Some can imitate emotion but few can sincerely feel it. Many can 'play' a song, but not-many can be thee song. Strike a chord that is not of 'this finite world'. Transcend the limitations of the ego... what a beautiful goal. Tell me is it Heaven you seek? Or the Illusion? Do you even know the difference? Intellect will not be able to define the mystery, for that is the void one needs to leap into.... to cross the casm to the land of IMMORTALITY. xo

‎"It seems a gate has opened, between the clouds forthright, & thru it passes pearl-white---- the lifeless queen of night"

~ Clear-cut ~

A picture is worth a thousand words. Unfortunately to those who cannot see the symbolism it says nothing....



Many of our tree's are less than 100 years old because they have all been clear-cut! That is what the ego does. It see's an opportunity for self-glorification & it clear cuts anything that stands in it's way. If they give us our breath, we're breathing in the young, whereas thee elders have so much more INSPIRATION to give! What is Inspiration... but a breath? It is thee first thing we do when we 'arrive' & the last thing we do when we 'depart'. Why is it not held Sacred? Our society would rather inhale toxins, like smoke, even 2-year-olds & monkeys smoke! Do you see what I am saying?

I know in my soul the best way to move forward is to bring back the old. The ancient voices still speak! The Eye-Of-Horus sees with VISION... Not sight. How can one see the inner-visions if one, will not let go of their sight. You think you see, but only the blind can truly see. Close your eyes to the illusion. It's bigger than you & me! Open your eyes to dream--close your eyes to see.

~ Pythia ~ Oracle at the Temple

The Pythia or Priestess was widely credited for her prophecies inspired by Apollo.

The inscription on the "Temple of Delphi" is the Maxim ~Know Thyself~ as well as ~Nothing In Excess~

Delphi is known as the center of worship for Apollo who embodied Moral Discipline & Spiritual Clarity.

In the ancient Aegean, the people worshipped a Great Goddess, the supreme deity who was creator and life-giver to all. This great goddess was known in ancient Greece as Gaia (land, earth), the founder of the gods of Olympus. Gaia is thought by some scholars to be the original goddess communicating with the Oracles of Delphi, and the site would have been originally dedicated to her.

Apollo is associated with the Oracle at Delphi. He had killed Gaia's female-serpent child, Python. Python was a protector of the Oracle at Delphi & of the navel of the earth. Apollo had thus taken over the chthonic power of Python. Apollo buried Python under the omphalos stone & became the possessor of Delphi. He cast the goddess behind superior male gods.

Women had no power at all, & the priests of Apollo could control a 'lucrative industry' she could be manipulated at times of men's choosing. Entering a trance the priestess could accurately predict the future.

~ Clytie ~ (the legacy of a lovesick girl)

Clytie



Clytie was a water-nymph & deeply in love with Apollo, who made her no
return. So she pined away, sitting all day long upon the cold
ground, with her unbound curls streaming over her shoulders.
Nine days she sat & tasted neither food nor drink, her own
tears & the chilly dew her only food. She gazed upon the sun
when he rose, & as he passed through his daily course to his
setting; -she saw no other object- her face turned constantly on
him. At last, they say, her limbs rooted in the ground, her face
became.... A Sunflower, which turns on its stem so as always to face
the sun throughout its daily course; for it retains to that
extent the feeling of the nymph from whom it sprang.

"The heart that has Truly Loved.... -never forgets-
But as truly, loves on, to-the-close
As the sunflower turns on her God when he sets
The same look-- that she turned-- when he rose."

'"Sunflower" is the name by which we know those flamboyant blossoms which follow the sun.
This is the story of Clytie, the nymph whose destruction came from a faithful, unrequited love. She was a water-nymph, a timid, gentle being who bathed where the blue dragon-flies dart across the white water-lilies in pellucid lakes. In the shade of the tall poplar trees and the silvery willows she took her midday rest.

Suddenly, into the dark pool by which she sat, Apollo the Conqueror looked down & mirrored his face in the water. At once he became the lord & master of her heart & soul. Such devotion might have touched the heart of the sun-god, but he had no wish to own a love for which he had not sought. The nymph's adoration irked him, nor did pity come as Love's pale substitute when he marked how, day by day, her face grew whiter & more white, and her lovely form wasted away. For nine days, without food or drink, she kept her shamed vigil. Only one word of love did she crave. Unexacting in the humility of her devotion, she would gratefully have nourished her hungry heart upon just one kindly glance, one utterance of appreciation. But Apollo, full of scorn & anger, for all that she represented, lashed up his fiery steeds & each day he drove past her, never once with any desire to make her his own.

Soon the nymph passed out of her human form, & took the form of a sunflower, & evermore--the emblem of constancy--does she gaze with fearless ardour on the face of her beloved. She forever remains the devout lover of a god.'

Tho' guilty Clytie thus the sun betray'd,
By too much passion she was guilty made.
Excess of love begot excess of grief,
Grief fondly bad her hence to hope relief.