Buddha and Padre Pio

Buddha was born on the full moon in May and Padre Pio on May 25th so I want to take some time and revere these great Masters.

Buddha was born into a royal family and it was foreseen that he would give up all material possessions and become a holy man. His father the king was appalled at the idea and once the young boy was born he build a fortress around his kingdom to shield his son from the "real" world. However after Siddhartha married he was able to leave the palace and met a sick man, an old man and a corpse, the signs that would lead him to seek his true nature and become enlightened. After numerous trials he eventually reached nirvana under a boddhi tree.

Padre Pio was born Francesco Forgione on May 27, 1887 in a small town in Italy called Pietrelcina and early in life at the tender age of 5 he felt the need to dedicate his life to God. At the age of 15 he became a Fra (padre / brother). He later became a spiritual director and his five rules were: weekly confession, daily Communion, spiritual reading, meditation and examination of conscience. (Wouldn't we all be better off with a few of these daily).

His theology can be summoned in his saying "Pray, Hope and Don't Worry".

What made Padre Pio very famous later was the appearance of stigmata. He also performed many miracles but throughout his life he suffered physically, emotionally and spiritually for many years and was only posthumously recognized for his hard work and made a saint in 2002.

Dreaming ... Waking life

It seems that once I hook on to some particular subject, the information starts coming in droves. Lately I have been seeing and reading a lot about the dream awake world.

With so many people now saying the same thing, will we have a shift in consciousness by the mere fact that so many are now "in tune" with this view of reality ? Or are we talking about the same things that Buddha, Jesus and so many other spoke of ions ago ?


1- Healing the Luminous Body - Medical anthropologist Alberto Villoldo describes the energy body as was thought to him by the Inka Shamans of the Andes. Great images by Alex Grey complement this documentary and allows us to visuallize the path to spiritual and physical healing.

2- Other Worlds - Trully fascinating account of director Jan Kounen's initiation into the Peruvian Shipibo Shamanic world. Not much different from Castaneda's account or even Shah's description of his own journey but the visual effects and interviews with many scientists give it an all around perspective.

3- The Voice of Knowledge - Don Miguel Ruiz shares the wisdom of the Toltec naguals. He really lays it all out about "our stories", familiar territory for all the forum alumni.

4- Living Luminaries - A slew of masters talk about the power of now, living in the moment, creating your own reality, meditation ... you name it. A great feast and treat to find so many of the masters in one place and drink of their nectar. I feel like a bee ... be ... being ... becoming !

5- Courageous Dreaming: How Shamans Dream the World into Being - Currently reading Villoldo's latest which I am tackling slowly.


5- Waking Life - What is real and what is unreal ? This movie takes you on a brainy walk through dreams and philosophical conversations that are a great mind stimulator. A must see and repeat. I could do away with the animated aspect of the movie which made me a bit dizzy but a small price to pay for the stimulation. It reminds me I need to revisit Mindwalk and My Dinner with Andre again

Tabua de Esmeralda

After the last post I decided not to comment on the movie 2001.

I have no better words to describe the movie then the ones I posted a link to BUT ... I think these words from my favorite Jorge Ben's album are quite appropriate.

HERMES TRISMEGISTOS e sua CELESTE TABUA de ESMERALDA

Hermes Trismegistos escreveu

com uma ponta de diamante em uma lamina de esmeralda

O que esta embaixo e como o que esta no alto,

e o que esta no alto e como o que esta embaixo.

E por essas coisas fazem-se os milagres de uma coisa so.

E como todas essas coisas sao e proveem de UM pela mediacao do UM,

assim TODAS as coisas sao nascidas desta unica coisa por adaptacao.

O SOL e seu PAI, a LUA e sua MAE.

O VENTO o trouxe em seu ventre.

A TERRA e sua nutriz e receptaculo.

O Pai de tudo, o Thelemeu do mundo universal esta aqui.

O Pai de tudo, o Thelemeu do mundo universal esta aqui.

Sua forca ou potencia esta inteira,

se ela e convertida em terra.

Tu separaras a terra do fogo e o sutil do espesso.

docemente, com grande desvelo.

Pois Ele ascende da terra e descende do ceu

e recebe a FORCA das coisas superiores

e das coisas inferiores.

Tu teras por esse meio a gloria do mundo,

e toda obscuridade fugira de ti.

e toda obscuridade fugira de ti.

E a forca de toda a forca,

pois ela vencera qualquer coisa sutil

e penetrara qualquer coisa solida.

Assim, o mundo foi criado.

Disso sairao admiraveis adaptacoes,

das quais aqui o meio e dado.

Por isso fui chamado Hermes Trismegisto,

Por isso fui chamado Hermes Trismegisto,

tendo as tres partes da FILOSOFIA UNIVERSAL.

O que disse da OBRA SOLAR esta completo.

O que disse da Obra Solar esta completo.

Hermes Trismegisto escreveu 

com uma ponta de diamante em uma lamina de esmeralda.

Hermes Trismegisto escreveu 

com uma ponta de diamante em uma lamina de esmeralda.