thecyberkid

[thecyberkid]

“You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.

–Alan Watts (my favorite philosopher)

[thecyberkid]

Love it! <3

#NoFearFriday

12 Life Lessons You Need To Know

1. Hurt people hurt people. All of us will experience pain, but some don’t know how to deal with theirs and choose to pass it on to others.

2. Be yourself. Being authentic allows us to live in a way that serves and fulfils us above all else, people pleasing with the intention of gaining the validation of others will never bring true happiness.

3. Hard work works. If we want something we must be prepared to work for it because anything that comes easy isn’t worth having and anything worth having doesn’t come easy.

4. Positive mind, positive life. The reality we experience is based on the way we view the world, if we do not show gratitude for what we have we will only experience lack and negativity.

5. Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. Eating processed foods & consuming toxic substances such as alcohol will result in poor health - prevention is better than cure.

6. Your vibe attracts your tribe. Everyone we encounter on our journeys each reflect something about who we are - it’s important to acknowledge what is being reflected back to us when we are working on ourselves.

7. Love yourself. Once we learn to love and accept ourselves we can experience true love with others because we know that regardless of how the relationship goes we will always have ourselves.

8. Nature is a healer. There might not be any wifi, but we will find a better connection - we can use this connection to understand ourselves & receive messages from the universe.

9. You can’t take any of it with you. Hoarding material possessions will never bring fulfilment because money can never buy love or happiness - this must come from within.

10. We are all one. There is no other, separation is the illusion - there is no enemy, friend, lover, terrorist, butcher, banker, painter, plumber - we are all part of the same universal consciousness experiencing itself in human form.

We are both the masterpiece and the work in progress.

Peace & positive vibes.

[thecyberkid]

https://www.instagram.com/purplebuddha.quotes/

[thecyberkid]

#SuccessfulSaturdays

Knowing This Will Help You Create Success

There has been no better time in the history of humanity for us to chase our dreams. The technology we have access to, the information at the tips of our fingers and the lack of severe overt oppression such as slavery means that all of us can achieve whatever we want.

20 years ago there was no SoundCloud or YouTube and people making music in their bedrooms would have no chance of getting discovered by record labels - all of that has changed. There are no more gatekeepers to success, the advent of modern technology has put the power in our hands.

We need to encourage each other to chase our dreams, find success buddies and team up to achieve our goals. Of course, there will be haters along the way who want to stop others from trying because they’ve already given up, but they’re a necessary part of all of our journeys.

There’s no need to just settle for a job, relationship or life we hate - we can create a future we’re proud to live in - the power lies within us, all we have to do is claim it. Let’s take back our power from the TV, school system, the news, friends, family or parents by looking within and asking ourselves the question “what do I want the rest of my life to look like?”

Let’s take responsibility for where we are right now by understanding that we are where we are because of the decisions we have made. Indeed, others may have influenced us, but ultimately we are the ones who chose to act. Now we can make the decision to act in a way that serves our highest good.

There’s nothing holding us back from our success except ourselves, “they” know this and try to distract us from looking within with everything society has to offer - drugs, TV, food etc - prioritising our success above all else will ensure we achieve it.

There’s no time like the present, so go for it.

Peace & positive vibes.

[thecyberkid]

[thecyberkid]

[thecyberkid]

[thecyberkid]

[thecyberkid]

bleh

#cute #bae

[thecyberkid]

We Are In The Planetary Birth Canal Of A New Order

“We are in the planetary birth canal of a new order, and the best advice anyone can be given at this point, I think, is hang on Hannah—because there is no going back now.

Ahead of us lies an unimaginable world characterized by varieties of freedom and opportunity that it would be proposterous for us to attempt to conceive of, except through the glimmering scintillas of anticipation that come to us through eternity, through dreams, through prophecy, through the psychedelic experience.

And if we trust in what we know and communicate this empowering vision and act as though it all depended on our acts of collective caring and attention to toward each other and the earth, if we act that way…then I think instead of hopelessness, anxiety, division, fear and loathing, there is instead a replacement with hope, a sense of community, a sense of transcendental adventure.

The real empowering adventure lies through responsibility to each other, and to love, and to ascetic anticipation of the transcendental realm, and when these things are put in place the powers of the naysayers, and the frightened, the materialists, the control freaks, and the business-as-usual crowd, will be broken—they cannot maintain this.

No one is in charge at this moment, and this is good news!” —Terence McKenna

[thecyberkid]

[thecyberkid]

Be present. Make love. Make tea. Avoid small talk. Embrace conversation. Buy a plant, water it. Make your bed. Make someone else’s bed. Have a smart mouth, and quick wit. Run. Make art. Create. Swim in the ocean. Swim in the rain. Take chances. Ask questions. Make mistakes. Learn. Know your worth. Love fiercely. Forgive quickly. Let go of what doesn’t make you happy. Grow.

Paulo Coelho (via worldwideexplorers)

[thecyberkid]

How to Meditate

Assume a comfortable position with your body. The most recommended posture for meditation is seated cross-legged. This is because it balances support for the body and wakefulness for the mind. However, you can lie down, be seated in a chair, or adopt another similar posture. The main emphasis for meditation posture is that it allows you to focus your attention on the meditation without getting distracted by the body.

Close your eyes and breathe naturally. 

Focus your attention on the space directly ahead of you as the spot between your eyebrows. In sanskrit, the word for meditation is ‘dhyana’ and it essentially means ‘to pay attention to.’ There are many meditation techniques around but what they all depend on is the application of attention. Here, you want to be gentle with your attention. Do not strain your eyes but be relaxed and attentive. If looking between your eyebrows is a strain, try aiming toward the tip of your nose instead.

Do not deliberately imagine or think about anything. Remain composed, relaxed, and attentive to the space between your eyebrows. The purpose of meditation is silence and stillness. However, there is a difference between actively thinking and “having” thoughts. Here the instruction is to refrain from actively thinking. This does not mean thoughts should be suppressed from arising. In meditation, your attention might be focused and relaxed and without thought. Then a thought might arise out of nowhere. This doesn’t mean something bad or wrong happened. You do not need to push the thought away in order to “preserve” or “get to” inner silence. If you do not follow the thought by thinking about it, then it will leave the way it came. If you do follow the thought and find yourself engaged in a train of thoughts, gently bring your attention back to the spot between your eyes and refocus with a calm breath. In this way, you free your mind from the compulsion to chew needlessly on phenomena appearing in your consciousness. 

Set a timer. Do not get up until the timer sounds. Along with thoughts, many feelings may get churned up during meditation. Some of those feelings may be angry, anxious, energetic, or restless. Do not allow them to control you. If you simply remain seated and attentive with eyes closed, you will be victorious over any thought or feeling that arises. It takes more doing to quit a meditation than to see it through to its end.

Common Issues:

My thoughts just don’t stop. They can even get more out of control. What am I doing wrong? For your whole life, perhaps also others before it, your mind has acquired many habits and imprints. When you sit for meditation, those mental phenomena begin to enter your conscious awareness. That is how they “leave” or are “dissolved.” This doesn’t mean you forget important things or knowledge but rather the limits you have unknowingly placed on your perceptions are being released. At first, this can be overwhelming. It is not a sign of something wrong, it just requires you to apply sustained effort in the meditation practice.

How can I stop my thoughts? All you can do is rest your attention and refrain from deliberate thinking. Be patient with your mind and reign in your attention as often as necessary when you find yourself lost in thought. Once rested and focused, your attention simply witnesses whatever thoughts appear. They will settle into silence in their own time. Moments of silence and contentment will occur and deepen. 

When meditating, I keep having an emotional experience of pain, sadness, obsession, anger, jealousy, etc. How can I make it go away? Like thoughts, these emotions are also imprints in consciousness that you have been carrying with you unknowingly. Your body is physically activating pathways associated with experiences that are not actually happening. In meditation, those pathways are allowed to burn themselves out. You cannot push them away or escape from them. All you can do is give them the space to be there. Like watching a thief, you bear witness to them so as to no longer lose perspective to them. They too will dissipate in time.

My body parts go numb when I sit for so long. What can I do? It’s fine to stretch out and massage your limbs if necessary during meditation. Try to keep your eyes closed and attention focused when you do. 

I feel sleepy when I try to meditate. Why does this happen? When the mind is not being actively engaged, it can be in the habit of going to sleep. Whenever you feel sleepy during meditation, get up and splash some water on your face and go back to the meditation. If you haven’t been getting enough sleep then forget the meditation and take a nap. 

Can I focus on my breath or something else instead of the space between my eyebrows? Meditation’s key is application of attention. Attention can be applied to the flow of breath, an image, or a mantra. However, as you practice, your awareness will settle down into increasing silence and stillness. Using the space between your eyes is a silent and still point of focus. Whereas using the breath is a moving point of focus. This has its own benefits and use too. Having practiced several forms of meditation, I like to recommend this way since it worked for me best. That said, feel free to explore in order to find what works for you. Whatever you decide, I would suggest practicing that technique for six weeks before assessing its value to you. 

Namaste

[thecyberkid]

Isn’t it beautiful? This is an illustrated logarithmic scale conception of the observable Universe with the Solar System at the centre.

Encircling the Solar System are the inner and outer planets, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, Alpha Centauri star, Perseus Arm, Milky Way galaxy, Andromeda galaxy, other nearby galaxies, the cosmic web, cosmic microwave radiation, andinvisible plasma produced by the Big Bang at the very edges. See below for uncropped and zoomable versions.

Created by musician and artist Pablo Carlos Budassi, the image is based on logarithmic maps of the Universe put together by Princeton University researchers, as well as images produced by NASA based on observations made by their telescopes and roving spacecraft.

#universe #NASA #Love #solar system #beautiful #spirit #God #MilkyWay #galaxy #galaxies #alpha #oort cloud #University #Pablo #carlos #Budassi

[thecyberkid]

Natural fireworks.

#nature

[thecyberkid]

The Hinduism of [murderous mobs] is not a Hinduism that we recognize or embrace. Our bhakti teaches us that we are all one regardless of race, religion, caste or gender. Our belief that the whole world including cows and all species are interconnected and divine should guide us to treat the whole planet with love and compassion; it should not lead us to perpetrate such acts of brutality. We vehemently denounce all terrorism perpetrated in the name of our religion. I have faith that the majority of Hindus do not condone such acts of brutality, but it is very important that we speak up as Hindus and show these extremists that they do not represent us. Let us speak up for the Hinduism that we know and love: the faith that we are all one, and that violence to one is violence to all.

Sunita Viswanath, Calling All Peace-Loving Hindus

Please sign this petition asking for justice for Mohammed Akhlaq.

(via brahmaanda)

[thecyberkid]

Hinduism Week!

Brahma  Cambodia (890-910) [Source]

Stone figure of Brahma India, Chola Empire (1110-1150) [Source]

Brahma on Hamsa India (c. 1700) [Source]

Brahma [Source]

All hail Brahma, Lord of Creation!

Brahma is the creator of the universe and of all beings, as depicted in the Hindu cosmology. The Vedas, the oldest and the holiest of Hindu scriptures, are attributed to Brahma, and thus Brahma is regarded as the father of dharma. He is not to be confused with Brahman which is a general term for the Supreme Being or Almighty God…

According to the Puranas, Brahma is the son of God, and often referred to as Prajapati. The Shatapatha Brahman says that Brahma was born of the Supreme Being Brahman and the female energy known as Maya.

Brahma’s Golden Egg [Source]

Wishing to create the universe, Brahman first created the water, in which he placed his seed. This seed transformed into a golden egg, from which Brahma appeared. For this reason Brahma is also known as ‘Hiranyagarbha’. 

According to another legend, Brahma is self-born out of a lotus flower which grew from the navel of Vishnu.

Brahmā emerging from a lotus risen from Vishnu’s navel while he rests on the serpent Shesha [Source]

In the Hindu pantheon, Brahma is commonly represented as having four heads, four arms, and red skin. Unlike all the other Hindu gods, Brahma carries no weapon in his hands. He holds a water-pot, a spoon, a book of prayers or the Vedas, a rosary and sometimes a lotus. He sits on a lotus in the lotus pose and moves around on a white swan, possessing the magical ability to separate milk from a mixture of water and milk. Brahma is often depicted as having long white beard, with each of his heads reciting the four Vedas.

Brahma presides over ‘Brahmaloka,’ a universe that contains all the splendors of the earth and all other worlds. In Hindu cosmology the universe exists for a single day called the ‘Brahmakalpa’. This day is equivalent to four billion earth years, at the end of which the whole universe gets dissolved. This process is called ‘pralaya’, which repeats for such 100 years, a period that represents Brahma’s lifespan. After Brahma’s “death”, it is necessary that another 100 of his years pass until he is reborn and the whole creation begins anew.

Brahma [Source]

Awe-inspiring, isn’t it? And yet of the three gods of the Trimurti, Brahma is the least worshipped. 

I’ve heard of several reasons why not:

1. Having fulfilled his destiny as the Creator, he prefers eternal contemplation to worship. Fair enough.

2. It’s punishment for lying:

According to legends, once Brahma and Vishnu were overcome with the sense of self-importance. They began to argue as to who was the greater of the two. As the argument became heated, Lord Shiva had to intervene.

Shiva took the form of a gigantic linga (the phallic symbol of Shiva). The lingam was made of fire and it extended from the heaven to the underworld. The lingam told both Brahma and Vishnu that if any of them could find the end of the lingam, He will be declared as the greater of the two. Both Brahma and Vishnu agreed to the deal and set out in opposite directions of the lingam to find its end. But as they kept searching for years, they realized that the lingam had no end. Vishnu realized the fact that Shiva was the greatest among the Trinity. 

[Source]

But Brahma decided to trick Shiva. While he was on the search of the end, he passed the flower of Ketaki at the uppermost part of the lingam. [One version says the flower had been falling for thousands of years.]

He requested the Ketaki flower to testify before Shiva that Brahma had reached the uppermost part of the lingam and had seen the end. The Ketaki flower agreed. When brought before Shiva, the flower falsely testified that Brahma had seen the end. Lord Shiva became furious at this lie. He then cursed Brahma that He would never be worshipped by any human being. He also cursed the Ketaki flower that it would not be used in any Hindu ritual. Hence, Brahma was cursed not to be worshipped by anyone.

3. It’s punishment for lustfulness:

In Hindu mythology, when Brahma was creating the universe, he made a female deity known as Shatarupa (literally śata-rūpā, she of a hundred beautiful forms)… he was immediately infatuated and pursued her wherever she went. 

Shatarupā moved in various directions to avoid his gaze but wherever she went, Brahmā developed another head until he had four, one for each direction of the compass. Desperate, Shatarupa leaped over him to stay out of his gaze even for a moment. A fifth head, however, appeared above the others. Thus, Brahmā developed five heads. 

At this moment Shiva appeared, cut off the top head and determined that since Shatarupā was Brahma’s daughter (being created by him), it was wrong and incestuous of Brahma to become obsessed with her. He directed that there be no proper worship in India for the “unholy” Brahma.

[Source]

In a still creepier version:

Another version of the story describes how all of the animals of all kinds in today’s world were born. After Brahma had grown his fifth head Shatarupa had turned into a cow to avoid his lust. When Brahma found out he turned into a bull in order to continue to follow Shatarupa, eventually finding her. She hid in the form of another animal in order to quell his unnatural lust. But, alas, Brahma found out again and incarnated as the appropriate male animal. Again, she hid in the form of another animal. This continued until and Shiva finally ripped off one of Brahma’s five heads to put an end to his lust.

There’s a few other stories here - that he was inhospitable, that he was too distracted by music, or that he was worshipped by demons - but we need to move on to another subject: the fact that he is in fact still worshipped. 

There’s a Brahma temple in Pushkar, for example. Meanwhile, in Thailand, he’s named Phra Phrom, and he’s huge - his golden image at the Erawan Shrine is a landmark in Bangok:

Aey The Erawan Shrine, Bangkok Thailand [Source]

The Chinese diaspora has liked that shrine so much that they’ve made copies of it in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. They call Brahma  四面神 / Simianshen, meaning “Four-Faced God”.

A Chinese altar dedicated to Brahma in the Erawan style, in Kaohsiung. Taiwan [Source]

And of course, this is on top of the fact that he pops up - as almost all Hindu gods pop up - in Buddhism:

Brahma on Hamsa China [Source]

Sorry, Shiva - your curse was pretty darn effective, but you didn’t count on us foreigners getting involved.

More on Vishnu and Shiva later today!