Country Primitive Flag

Why do we still have a military? Doesn't it seem so obsolete and primitive to you?

Why this stupid flags and anthems and nationalism still exists in this modern country? Who is there to fight? And even if there was someone to fight it would end in a few second with biological and nuclear missiles.
To all answerers , what you are referring to that fights the terrorists is the CIA not the military. We do not need millions of tanks, soldiers, and fighter jets(just maybe one laser guided stealth plane to eliminate some targets).

I agree with you to an extent that military is primitive. Personally, I do not understand why the nations elected leaders can't work out their differences over a cup of tea lol.
Oh wait, I can!
the lack of a military would never happen...there would always be radicals, and secret army's.....

One of these days humans will Evolve instead of playing human chess to prove a point.

Spirituality in Real-time [Part 1]

“C.C., you do remember that we are looking at things through our soul's eyes, ken? Yes?†Moriya asked without pausing. “Then, although these things are here – now, right in front of us, the notion of *eternity* means that everything has existed from time immemorial.

What happens is that when the moment is karmically ripe, we become suddenly aware of the existence of certain things, of certain thoughts and of certain symbols. Some call that a ‘ha-ha’ or a eureka moment, but really, it is not as if these symbolic things have only just now popped up out of nowhere. They have been there, right under our nose, from the moment of our birth.â€

Burleigh Heads - April 5 - 2008

The hoop pines on the esplanade, branches turned up like fingers towards the darkened afternoon sky, sway slowly through the sea wind.

The sounds I hear through the open windows of this rented beachfront apartment are those of the rain pelting down; those of the sea roaring in her pewter grey, pre-storm mode and those made by the sluicing of car tyres seven floors below. A butcher bird, feet gripped around the railing of the balcony, is all fluffed up. Beak lifted to the sky, she calls out a vehement and repetitive two-tone high-pitched warble. What is this bird saying? To whom is she calling out?

I do know that because of the black and white of her feathers, this bird is a messenger intended to remind me that, for what remains of this day and beyond - while my darling and I are holidaying in this beach resort - I need to make balance a priority.  Beyond this, I will never get to know what else this little butcher bird was calling out.

Well, actually, this is not quite true.

Seven floors above the esplanade = the elevated position of the 7th Chakra - looking from soul's eyes

A butcher bird = butcher = a person who sells meat - to kill = the need to curb my/our lower *animalistic* desires of the flesh

What is this bird saying? = “overcome your base instincts.â€

To whom is she calling out? = to me, of course, as spiritual messages are always intended for the one who perceives them. This message, like all others, will be repeated, albeit differently, more loudly, more painfully until I find a way to act on it.

The bottom line is that while I enjoy our long walks on the beach, a glass of chilled pinot gris at our favorite beach cafe and contemplate the pattern of waves rolling in,

I must also remember the priorities of one on The Path.

Not long ago, I wrote something to Moriya about a sunflower on our patio and how beautiful it was with its large open face fringed by bright yellow petals.

“So much more interesting to me than a rose all curled up on herself, even if her enduring glam status dates back to millions of years B.C.â€

“C.C., you have to be aware every minute of every day. Yes, the sunflower is beautiful,†Moriya replied by return mail, “but you forget the symbolism of this flower.

A sunflower is the motif of the sun shining large and round within our mind. It is the symbol of turning to follow the Light. It symbolizes our crown chakra.

You must remember to be aware that all you are attracted to - or repelled by - is a message brought to you by your soul.

Keep observing to catch each of her messages. Don’t fall back into sleep-walking mode. Take your diary with you on the vacation and write your thoughts, your emotions and experiences.

Bring back all that you notice and we will have a look at it together. Be awake.â€

v

The big deal is that all the messages, signs or symbols we do not see, little blind

mice that we are, amount to so many arrows pointing to the “Yellow Brick Road†we need to be on.

They are the emergency light pinpoints that line the central aisle of an airplane, the ones intended to guide us in the advent of a catastrophe.

The spiritual signs of the sort we are going to explore in this file are as recognizable as the Nazca lines scarred into the Pampa Colorada of Peru. Assumed to be at least 1500 years old, they remain an enigma that can only be deconstructed from the air, which is symbolic of the *elevated* spiritual position our soul aspires for us to reach … one day.

v

When we are blind to the world of messages around us, we talk about coincidences, good luck or bad luck, good days and bad days and we scratch our head wondering why and how we have ended up in any one particular situation. Maybe we cry,

maybe we shrug, maybe laugh but, as sure as the moon never sets, we eventually move on and further into something akin to tunnel vision or selective blindness.

v

We do not see for looking.

We do not SEE the many flags waved at us and, sure enough, we soon get another opportunity to say, “What the ...†for it is only by looking through our soul’s eyes – from an elevated position - that we can create meaning out of our life’s landscape.

v

If the choice is between getting some sort of understanding as to why things *happen* to us as they do - even in the absence of total proof - or relying on holy water, crystals and tumble stones, Feng Shui water fountains, reciting of mantras while driving to work or having faith in our favorite talisman, pet rock, neighbourhood healer, hermit or quack - I have made my choice.

v

Messages - in the form of signs and symbols, names and thousands of words and images - swirl around each and every one of us, all of the time, in our wakeful moments and in our sleep.

Because these signs are not dramatic signs such as apparitions or strange

manifestations; because we, as a civilization, have lost the ability to recognize them, they remain unnoticed.

v

Our brain recognizes spectacular, hi-glam, hi-visibility meaningful moments, but our brain simply does not interpret the mundane and the minute signs embedded in the continuous string of moments that make up our days and our nights - year after year after year – from birth to death. Yet, like rain drops hanging precariously off our clothes line side by side, they are connected to each other; they are tangible and they carry meaning.

v

It is unhelpful to imagine a separation between work and play; between night and day; between our private life and our public life; between the many hats that we wear.

As Moriya says, “While we are standing with our physical body on stable ground in the physical world, our thoughts/feelings exist in Astral realm, and at the same time our higher spiritual attributes, specifically unconditional love, exist in much higher realms, from which comes down all the messages.

“We live at the same time in many worlds and the ability to switch between them in order to make good decisions, good deeds, good feelings, good Karma depends on our state of evolution.â€

When we are limited to seeing life through physical eyes, we can see only *gross matter*. Thus, the range of our interactions with our fellow human beings generally includes a degree of exploitation, competition, envy and greed. Even our *loved ones* we love mechanically for we seldom accept them – dynamically – as they are. The tender-loving care we give them is often conditional on their good behaviour. And even if we do keep loving the unlovable because we care or because we do not dare sever the link, we make that our cross to bear in this lifetime.

The compensation for our apparent selflessness is the warm display of sympathy and public kudos we get in return from our friends and social services who understand our plight - the next best thing after love.

v

We are unable to see others, *them*, as brothers and sisters, which is why inevitably we end up in the familiar game of Us vs Them while Me, I, Mine all come in at number 1.

v

We are unable to see strangers or even acquaintances as worthy of the same *good life* as we are - of being a part of our world. That is because we are indeed separate beings, held separate from each other by our skin, while on the higher realms, energetically, we are inseparable - just like the sun’s rays are inseparable, or the gusts and the breeze are inseparable from the air. Just like the waves are not separate. Just like there are no big drops and no little drops to be found inside the sea because there are no drops - all there is, is the sea.

v

Every moment, pleasant or not, is simply another stitch in the tapestry of our lives. Even when the thread gets knotted up, it’s only another stitch. And it, too, shall find its place in the weave of the tapestry.

v

It is also unhelpful to think that we live in a concrete world where all that matters is material; that all that is abstract is obscure; that all that is invisible to us does not exist.

v

Our human brain has been trained to derive meaning from all that comes within our awareness.

Grey clouds in the sky warn us of incoming rain.

A flag stands as pride of a country. At half-mast, it stands for mourning.

Barbed wire symbolizes loss of freedom, while a dove symbolizes love and freedom. We understand the tools represented by each of the icons on our desktop.

We know what a thumbs-up means, just as we understand the symbolism of a fist raised in defiance, which is different from a fist pumping the air in exhilaration.

A baby symbolizes life and softness as well as unconditional love and so does a puppy dog.

Strangely, diamonds evoke enduring love.

Feathers make us think of Native American Indians and the flight of our soul. Typically, a policeperson symbolizes protection.

A yellow rose symbolizes friendship. Interestingly, although a red rose has come to signify true love, red being the color of our lowest chakra - the one from which stem our primitive instincts and our knee-jerks - it is no wonder that true love tends to wither quickly.

The color green represents nature and wellbeing, as well as jealousy, while the little green person inside the traffic light tells us when it is safe for us, pedestrians, to cross the street.

v

In reality, everything and everyone who comes directly within our line of vision to connect with us, personally, is a message-carrier that, as clearly as any other semiotic code, has a meaning that is intended for us – personally. Whatever comes to our awareness wants us to be aware of it. If we are not aware, we are asleep at the wheel, and if we are asleep at the wheel, the question worth asking is What, then, is driving us?

v

Beyond guiding us towards our potential, symbolic signs and occurrences are sent to us to remind us, to encourage us, to confirm that, spiritually, we are on the right track. They are also sent to us to warn us when we are on the wrong track.

v

Before we begin looking specifically at dream deconstruction [intentionally set up as an appendix to this file and titled How We Need To See], it is important to get a general understanding of the symbols that appear in our mindful, wakeful moments. Until we do, we are no more evolved than the toddler roaming from room to room who only becomes aware of the dangers and traps, represented by the myriad of objects around her, once they have caused her pain.

The sooner she learns that the wiggling of her mother’s index finger means, “Noâ€; that the corners of the coffee table symbolize pain, along with buttons popped in her mouth; reaching for the iron cord, and exploring the content of the cabinet under the sink, the sooner she will experience less avoidable pain and more spontaneous rewards.

v

As a way to introduce the simple but pervasive nature of symbols in our day-to-day lives, I will recount a moment shared by Jayne, a cyber friend of mine.

Weeks and weeks earlier, I had recommended to this young woman that she find a copy of Elizabeth Haich’s book, “Initiationâ€. Unable to find a copy locally, she spotted the book’s listing on Amazon.com and, as she said, she could have ordered the book there and then. Because she was in the process of moving and could not be sure of the delivery date, she didn’t.

Then, many weeks later while out to meet with a real estate agent to view what would soon become her new house, Jayne arrived early and whiled the time away in a café. Opposite this café, she spotted an old second-hand bookstore, so she wandered across to have a look with, she said, “Elizabeth Haich’s book specifically in mindâ€.

As Jayne walked through the door, she found herself in a small room divided down the middle by a bookshelf. She looked at the books nearest her.

“Lo and behold, it was the spiritual section,†she said, “and I scanned the shelves for the white spine of the cover I had seen on Amazon and BAM - literally in under one minute after I had entered the shop, I was pulling a copy of “Initiation†from the shelves.†Perhaps tongue in cheek, Jayne added, “I took that as a sign that we had indeed found the right house in the right area etc.â€

This lovely story indicates how Karma works: nothing *timely* can move forward or be cracked open until we are ready to make a time and space for it.  We can only do that by being aware of our small and deceptively innocuous moments. If we blank out a second too long, we’ve missed out.

About the Author

By day, a teacher of Senior English and French in Brisbane, Australia, and, by night, first a writer of novels and now a writer of spiritual material, I am on a quest of sorts – I am searching for a connection to my soul, right here, right now.
Admittedly, I have an ulterior motive – quite a strong one at that: I am trying to edit some karma out of my energy field by altering its properties.
This, from me, who a couple of years ago thought about my soul as often as the molecular composition of my body, which was never.