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Monday, May 16, 2016

The Light Shall Return

The Light Shall Return


Mother of Consolation
help me to let myself be consoled.
I hold it all together, Blessed One.
I have convinced myself that it is up to me
to keep the airplane aloft with my own breath,
that I am the only one capable
of baking bread and scrubbing floors,
that it is my responsibility alone
to alleviate the sorrow
in the heart of every single person I know.
But I have forgotten how to weep, Tender One.
Teach me to reach out to the ones I comfort 
and ask for their comfort
Let me feel the tender touch of the Holy One
on my cheek when I wake in the night,
weary and frightened
Help me to be vulnerable and soft now,
broken open and free

                      - Mirabai Starr


Mary's Gold



We are midway in Thirty Days with Mary and
here in the Southern Hemisphere the light rises
later and later, leaving us in the dark for longer every day.

As the light rises, we are simultaneously drawn to turn within
and without and a subtle tension gently opens the heart,
day after day.

Mary's Halo

Can you bear the opening of the heart?

Can you stand the creaking of the bones as the
ribcage opens?

Can you be with the Light that pours from the
inner darkness?

Can you be with It All?


blessings

Hettienne Ma


Saturday, May 7, 2016

Thirty Days with Mary Surya Yoga


Mary, the Sun

Surya Yoga or Sun Yoga, also kown as Sun Gazing, is a powerful
healing and enlightening practice of devotion and worship.
Sun gazing leads to healing of mind and body.

Omraam Mikhail Aivanhov wrote :'Surya yoga includes them all :
adoration, wisdom, power as well as purity, activity
and dedication, light and the sacred fire of divine love.
By the practice of Surya yoga you establish a link between yourself
and the power that governs and gives life to the whole
Universe: the sun.'
By 'sun' Omraam is referring to the spiritual sun
which the physical sun is but a reflection.

Sun gazing is still practised as a daily rituall called
Surya Namaskar by Hindus
and it used to be a daily practice of many peoples
throughout the world.

It is important to be barefoot whilst sun gazing and to
have the feet firmly on the ground or grass.
After the thirty days practice you may continue
to do the sun gazing or and then you can extend it into
the more advanced meditation techniques of employing
a rosary or thumb movements on the palms of the hands.
More about this later.

In the beginning it is best to keep it as simple as possible
and to stay open and  receptive to the spiritual sun's, which is 'behind;
our physical sun, energies.

The sun yogi Hira Ratan Manek taught the world everything
that he discovered about sun yoga and he also created a cd
and dvd which is available to purchse on line.
It is best to follow his instructions.

When you start to do sun gazing, do not combine it with
meditiation, prayer or any other spiritual techniques.
The best times to do sun gazing is for the first hour before sunset
and the first hour after sunrise.  The energies differ during these times.
Omraam claimed that prana is most intense twenty minutes before
and twenty minutes after sunrise.  Sunset is also a time
that is charged with energy and is conducive to meditation.
This has to do with the angle of the sun's rays impinging on the
earth's magnetic field at sunrise and sunset, charging the magnetic
field and affecting the magnetite in your pineal gland.

You merely gaze into the sun whilst sitting or standing barefoot,
with feet touching the earth.  You can use a UV meter to measure
the UV - it is best to do sungazing when the UV is very low.
You can also time your sungazing with a digital timer - it is best
to start off with twenty minutes per day.
Drink a glass of water before and after sun gazing because sun gazing
can be very cleansing and the water helps remove toxins.
If you wear glasses, remove them. It is okay to leave contact lenses in.
Gaze at the sun in a relaxed manner; dont strain.  It's okay to blink the eyes.
If your eyes tear, dont rub them.  Sessions start at ten-second lengths, increase by ten seconds
a day.  If you find that too difficult at first, then gaze only five seconds
and increase by five.  If cloudy, then sun gaze but dont increase the time.
When cold, gaze indoors through a window or glass door.
It is important in the time of sun gazing to be passive and receptive
and to allow the sun to heal your mind.
Just be.

When you reach fifteen minutes a day you can sun gaze with
your arms outstretched to the sun, hands spread out
and facing the sun.
As you breathe in deeply, visualise healing rays of light coming
from the sun and entering your left palm and travelling to
areas of your body that require healing or
strengthening.
Visualise the light going to your heart.  Mentally affirm
that the light is healing or strengthening you on a cellular level.
Then as you breathe out, visualise the light returning to the sun
through your right hand.  Express love and gratitude
for your healing.  Establish a continuous flow of energy.
If arms get tired, lower them with elbows at sides and hands still
facing out.

Dont aspire or push or results will be delayed.
Be as a little child and just enjoy the beauty of the sun
without expectations or demands only with
love and gratitude.

If you wish to continue with this practise after the
thirty days, you can read up about the practise
in the works of yogi Hira Ratan Manek as well as
in the book The Splendour of Tiphareth by
Omraam Mikael Aivanhov for more information
on the power, the mudras and the advanced spiritual
practice of surya yoga.


- Extracted from a blog post by Wayne Purdin, with gratitude

Thirty Days with Mary - Week 2

Mary as the Tree of Life

During the first seven days of Thirty Days with Mary, we focused on the imagery of Mary as the Tree, the grove of trees or the Tree of Life. 

During the Thirty Days with Mary we immerse ourselves in the spiritual practise and discipline of meditation, chanting, visualisation and sun gazing. All these practises are designed to help clear the mind, sooth the nervous sytem and create new neural pathways in the brain. As spiritual initiates our subtle senses are awakened through spiritual practise and we become aware of our etheric body and very importantly, we become more and more aware of consciousness. 

 The brain has neural pathways which developed through the span of your life.  Your brain was shaped and formed by those around you, your parents, your caretakers, your society and culture.  And of course certain experiences, both positive and negative, shaped your brain and created patterns.  Patterns which to a large extent, create your belief systems and mental constructs and according to which you live your life.  Becoming a spiritual initiate means that you have decided to become open to inspiration and new ways of seeing and sensing life and letting go of fearful belief systems.  

The etheric body carries the nadi, or spiritual veins and then very importantly the ida and pingala energies and the kundalini which flows through the shushumna. 

During the first seven days we focused on the image of Mary as the Tree.  There are many myths which include the story of the Tree and many which appertain to Mary specifically.



When we hold the image of the Divine or a deity or any object or idea in our mind's eye, we are entraining the brain to the energy of that image.  An image is more than just an idea or a picture.  An image is filled with consciousness and also specifically with the consciousness of the deity or divine archetype.  We have come to understand that there are forces which act which in ourselves, our religion, our culture and our family, which is beyond our personal control.  At times they act in accordance with our conscious desire, but at other times we are subject to ill health and difficult experiences which seem to indicate that we heartily participated in events which brought us to the painful place.  Or we seem to live the same cycle of victimhood over and over.  

The more we clear our minds of our repetitive conscious thinking through meditation and visualisation, the easier it is for inspiration to reach us.  Inspiration means inspired thinking which implies that we receive thoughts and ideas from the place of spirit, beyond our own limited mind.

Mary The Cosmic Tree of Life


For the next three weeks we will enter into a deep relationship with Mary the Great Mother, through our daily practise and especially through our contemplation.

If possible, do one of your daily meditations outside or near a window where you have a view of the outside world and especially a tree.  You can take a daily meditative walk in a field or forest near you.



We start the day at dawn, your time.  We do sun gazing - you can find the full post and instructions here :
http://bookofmarysacredheart.blogspot.co.za/2015/04/surya-yoga-or-sun-gazing-and-sun-bathing.html
This is followed by chanting the AUM for ten to fifteen minutes and then our daily prayer.
You may use the prayers from last year's Thirty Days with Mary - the link is here :
http://bookofmarysacredheart.blogspot.co.za/2015/04/rosaries-for-thirty-days-with-mary-part.html



Then we enter into contemplation and meditation and we focus on the imagery of the tree, the holy rood, the forest and the sacred grove of trees and what these images and symbols are trying to tell us.

If you have any questions or anything you would like to discuss or share, you can email me
at hettiennema@gmail.com.


Blessings on your thirty days

Hettienne BhaktyMaria Ma



Sunday, May 1, 2016

Thirty days with Mary - annual May devotion


Rose of the World - shrine at Temple of Mary

Since the ancient times, the month of May always
had a special significance for the celebration of the divine feminine
and the goddess.
In the Northern hemisphere May is the month of spring, so the Romans and Greeks
dedicated this month to Flora
and Artemis.

In the Southern Hemisphere it is Autumn and we
prepare for the transition of the winter months and to
deeper travels into the inner worlds.



Traditionally the month of May celebrates
the crowning of Mary and for the next thirty days
The Temple of Mary, Flamekeepers and
Initiates of the Order of the Dove
will celebrate the crowning of Mary in
devotion and celebration.
During these thirty days we will immerse
ourselves in daily ritual and meditation
and thus deepen our personal connection
with Her

We will be devoting the entire Month of May
to Blessed Mother Mary and her gifts of
peace, healing and enlightenment.
During these thirty days we celebrate, question, contemplate
and listen with awareness as we spend time in devotion
to the Blessed Mary and our own stories.


This is the second annual Thirty Days with Mary.
You can find the 2015 posts and daily
instructions on this blog by searching ‘thirtydays’
or by clicking on the page tab
Thirty Days with Mary - annual May devotion.
I will be posting the prayers and rituals for
2016 here as from today.  In the circular
and catholic nature of the feminine, you are
invited to weave and stitch together your
thirty days in a combination of the previous
thirty days' devotion and this year's thirty days of May.

You are invited to join in wherever you are,
at your own timezone,
by following these posts and instructions.

Today you can start
by creating an altar dedicated
specifically to these thirty days
of immersing yourself in the arms
and healing embrace of
Blessed Mary.
 So take the time, create
an altar and weave a crown of flowers for your Mary statue.
 Remember that your devotion and attention
invoke the holy Presence into the physical image and you can
 place water, oil and food on
your altar to be blessed by her presence.



"Who is she that rises forth like the dawn,
fair as the moon,
pure and bright as the sun,
and as terrible as a many-bannered army?"
- Song of Songs 6:10


On Day Two you can start by rising for dawn
say the prayer and chant AUM.

The first seven days are dedicated to
Mary, the Tree of Life.
For these seven days, starting tomorrow,
we start the morning with Lauds
or Morning Prayer at dawn your time
followed by saying a rosary or japa mala
and chanting the AMEN or Aum.
Aum is a name of God.


In the Egyptian tradition Amen was considered
a divinity.  It was the word that allows anything
to be realized.
There is a parallel between the Aum of India,
the Amon and Aton of the Egyptians and
the Amen of the Essenes and the Christians.
The sound AU, pronounced as EU, means eye
or the Being, the Supreme Godhead.
Pronounce EU in your head and whilst exhaling
and sounding the M, the primordial ocean which is Mary.
The M is also the Tree of Life which is Mary and
the N is the tree of knowledge of good and evil.



The divine used to be understood and worshiped
as both male and female :  a hieros gamos
between Creator and Beloved.
These sacred roles were also not limited
to rigid masculine and feminine, but
rather  more like the yin and yang
the one contained in the other;
inseparable and indivisible.

Asherah the beloved of Yahweh
became a holy rod, a holy tree and
a pillar.  She became a sacred grove
of trees where Her devotees worshipped
both the natural and cosmic
nature of Goddess.
She both gave birth to this world
and became this world.
As the holy rod she brought order
to the chaos.  As the sacred tree
she became the matter of this world,
the seed that contains all life and which
gives food and shelter.

As we contemplate the rays of the sun
we contemplate the unique nature of
each creature;  we contemplate that all are
born from one Godhead, one Source.
We contemplate that each one indispensable
to the whole and that it is our sacred duty
to become fully what we truly are.
In order to become your truest self you have
to work at dissolving the ego structures which
keep you locked into valueing and judging
your every action and feeling.
When the central organising principle of the ego
has broken up, you become free to act
freely, from Love, and not from conditioning
and fear.

Start and end the day with the following prayer :

On this day, O Beautiful Mother
On this day we give thee our love.
Near thee, Madonna, fondly we hover,
Trusting thy gentle care to prove.
On this day we ask to share
Dearest Mother, thy sweet care.
Aid us ere our feet astray
Wander from thy guiding way.
On this day, O Beautiful Mother
On this day we give thee our love.
Near thee, Madonna, fondly we hover,
Trusting thy gentle care to prove.
In the name of the Father,
and of the Mother, and of the Son,
and of the Daughter and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

As we walk these thirty days in
contemplation and celebration we allow
Divine Wisdom to show us where to become
more of our True Selves and together we will open up our spirit
to the healing Grace of the Virgin.

I invite you to spread the word, the inspiration and the Love.

blessings

Hettienne BhaktyMaria Ma