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These images, and thousands like them, embody the wisdom of ancient mystics, they represent an archetypal dynamic around the world. The love motherhood requires is beyond our ability to fully comprehend. Within this relationship is the potential to given and received love, as well as the capacity to release and surrender that same love. Find someone to be tender with… today,
peace be with all of you, think love its the only thing that will sustain us.

The serenity prayer  says,  “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change and the courage to change the things I can.” It states we will be given the wisdom to know the difference between the things that are under your control and the things that are beyond your control.

The prayer is asking for the grace to accept the things in our life over which you have no control. The Lilly’s of the field are provided for. To live a spiritual life without an agenda, accept the abundance offered and be at peace with all that surrounds us.

The second part of the prayer encourages us to have the courage to change what we can. We must be available and resilient to a new spirituality which allows change, one lived without fear. We often need courage to storm a new behavior that changes our consciousness and heals us spiritually.

The Serenity prayer helps us to remember our true calm self within and helps to reconnect our piece of mind amid life’s varied chaotic situations. The ocean of conciousness is vast and at time turbulent where we see no assurance of a coast line for security. Prayer is a way of navigating our will towards a higher power, one that is connected to all things. The Serenity prayer is a prayer which is used by all to remember the balance between control and being in  control.

Music has a close connection with spirituality. Spiritual music has the capacity to enlighten our minds and inspires us to dive deep within. The most profound spirituality involves peace and silence. But to enter this realm of peace and silence it is quite practical to take the benefit of spiritual, soulful music.

Music that helps us spiritually is music that elevates and uplifts our consciousness. It is music that makes rather than breaks. Some music embodies a restless, aggressive quality. Spiritual music energies our inner being, but it does this without creating restlessness and vital excitement. Spiritual music can be a great aid to meditation. If we listen to music with our heart it awakens the inner aspiration to dwell in the higher realms of consciousness. The great composer Beethoven said of music

“Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. Although the spirit be not master of that which it creates through music, yet it is blessed in this creation, which, like every creation of art, is mightier than the artist.”

A popular form of spiritual music is bhajans. Bhajans are simple devotional songs, which are sung many times to invoke a quality of God , The Supreme. Many spiritual teachers have noted the power of devotional music to help seekers spiritually. To sit in silent meditation may be difficult for many seekers, but to enter into the spirit of devotional music is to get the fruits of meditation in an easy and accessible way. For some aspirants devotional music alone is a way to reach the goal. The great Indian Saint Sri Chaitanya sung endlessly devotional bhajans to Sri Krishna. His infectious singing, inspired many in India to follow the path of Bhakti yoga. His bhajans to Krishna are still sung today.

Spirituality and music can never be separated. If music awakens our inner aspiration we will be inspired to dive deep within. Sri Chinmoy says of music:

“When we play soulful music, we elevate our consciousness most rapidly. Soulful music is a form of aspiration, a form of meditation.”

From the outer music we will become in touch with the inner silence. In our deepest meditation great seekers say that we can hear the divine music in the depths of our own heart.

Music also has the capacity to bring people together. It is something that unites rather than divides. Speaking at the legendary Woodstock festival of 1969 the spiritual Guru Swami Satchidananda offered a welcoming address to nearly half a million spectators.

“I am overwhelmed with joy to see the youth of America gathered here in the name of the fine art of music. In fact through music we can work wonders”

Richard became interested in meditation and spirituality whilst studying at University. He now practises meditation on a regular basis. He also has an interest in spiritual music, which has been fostered by his meditation teacher Sri Chinmoy. Sri Chinmoy has composed numerous spiritual songs http://www.srichinmoysongs.com/

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When we consider the possibility that life exists on other planets in the entire universe, we count the exoplanetary environmental conditions, and other factors known to have caused the emergence of life in this world. As we cannot yet prove that life does in fact exist on other planets, the search for those life forms is driven with similar faith as those who seek God and spirituality within themselves. And in this kind of line of reasoning, we begin to perceive the wisdom of agnosticism, the faith of an open mind towards possibilities that we have not encountered.

Agnostic faith is different than atheism in that atheism is as much a conviction to believe that God does not exist, as it is a conviction to say that God does indeed exist. An agnostic is far less probable to become a person of persecuting those who believe in God in the name of science, who through their own acts become as guilty as those who persecuted scientists in the history of the church. An agnostic will not ridicule a person who does not have faith that God does not exist, nor will an agnostic turn against those who do believe in God’s existence, but is able in understanding these parallel realisms to listen and support the exploration of existence on both sides.

The mind of an agnostic is a paradox for those who believe that human mind is limited to sustain only one belief system. An agnostic mind is a mind of a parallel relativist par excellence, as it can wander through all religious belief systems, and those, that because of the mistake of perception, are perceived as opposing belief systems for them, not merely as parallel ones. The mind of an agnostic is not flat, and is only limited by the possibilities of knowledge that are universally the limits of human understanding. He or she will not say that the semantic content given to an independent object must be only one, but acknowledges that it has as much variation as there have been, are, and will be humans, having thus an understanding on how parallel perceptions are formed, and is able to count the variations given by timely valuations.

Like a parallel relativist is able to enjoy all the riches of all cultures without residing his or her existence to only one of them, such can be the life of an agnostic in relativity with religious systems from atheism to Hinduism to the law of attraction however great a paradox it might seem to be for those of one faith. As an end note it should added that a person of religious faith can embrace the diversity opened with parallel relativism by saying “In this I have faith, and these things I know”, without losing one’s faith.

Henry M. Piironen is a contemporary European author and philosopher of consciousness, cultures, religions and reality. To purchase his latest books, visit Amazon.com now.

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Modern Iconography Class    December 5 th to December 21 st

No artistic experience is necessary for the iconography classes in egg tempera. The class is taught as a meditation, watching the mind like a window to the divine. The end result is hopefully an image reflecting our thoughts of God and ourselves in the world. The process of icon painting moves us beyond the act of painting, eventually revealing a clearer vision of the god in who we place so much trust and the limits of self. The classes in iconograghy are Mondays  and Wednesdays, 9:30 to 11:30, 1,800 pesos, 6 week commitment, everyone begins the practice together. Please call to confirm ahead of time.

millericons@gmail.com

Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation

8:30 to 9:30 AM every Wednesday.

This is an invitation to “sit” for peace, peace of mind as well as peace on earth.

 All are welcome to sit with us in silent stillness for one hour a week.

We begin sitting and listening, no instruction offered.

Create time in our lives to quietly breath, to focus and pay attention.

Altarpiece – The Concept
Themed on religion, altarpiece refers to a piece of artwork, placed on or behind the altar of a Christian Church or any other related religious platform. It is suspended in a frame behind the altar, or can be placed on it.

The Details
Its centre shows Christ, Mary, or a Saint, while the sidepieces carry their life history background. An Altarpiece is made up of two or more panels adorned with panel painting. Panel painting refers to the artistry done on the panels made of a single or a number of wood pieces. An Altarpiece is known as diptych, triptych, or polyptych equating to two, three, and multiple panels, respectively. It can also be made up of the groups of statutory placed on altar. These pieces vary in size and conception. They may have small portable pictures to huge structures embracing art, architecture, sculpture, and painting.

The Artists and the Artworks
Several famous examples of altarpiece are:

o The Ghent Altarpiece – Also known as, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, it was completed in 1432 by the Flemish painters Hubert Van Eyck (1366-1426) and Jan Van Eyck (1395-1441). The beautiful Belgian masterpiece is a very large and complex Early Netherlands polyptych panel painting. The altarpiece consists of 24-compartmented scenes, which form two views upon opening and closing. The moving outer panels facilitate the view alteration.

o Pala d’ Oro Altarpiece – This high altar retable of the Basilica de San Marco (completed 1617) in Venice, Italy, is recognized as one of the most refined and accomplished works of Byzantine (330-1453) craftsmanship. Its both, front and rear, sides are decorated. The altarpiece consists of two parts. The lower part with enamels illustrates the story of Saint Mark, the doge’s portrait, and the Pantocrator Group.

o Isenhiem Altarpiece – A German artist Matthias Grunewald (1470-1528) painted it during 1512-16. It is the largest work ever painted in the Monastery of St. Anthony in Isenheim, Alsace, France. The altarpiece has two wing panels and one central, providing three units display. The first view is Crucifixion Scene, depicting the images of Saint Anthony and Saint Sebastian. The second scene is that of Annunciation, the original subject of Mary bathing Jesus to the accompaniment of an Angelic choir, and the Resurrection. The third view depicts the temptation of Saint Anthony and the meeting of Saint Anthony and Hermit Paul to the sides.

o Altarpiece of Veit Stoss – Also known as St. Mary’s altar, it is the world’s largest altarpiece in Gothic flavor. Located behind the main altar of St. Mary’s Basilica (completed 14th century) in Poland, it was created by German sculptor Veit Stoss (1450-1533) during 1477-89. Measuring 13m X 11m, this is an open triptych made of lime, oak, and larch woods. At the top, Mary’s coronation is shown. Saint Stanislaus and Saint Adalbert of Prague are present on her either side. The upper central part portrays the Assumption of the Madonna, while the bottom shows the death of Mary. The Twelve Apostles are also present.

Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. Please visit the website at http://www.Labedzki-Art.com It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited.

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