Memorial Reception for the Great East Japan Eathquake

 The Consul-General of Japan, Mr. Ikuhiko Ono

Yesterday evening on March 13th, Reimi and I attended the private Memorial Reception for the Great East Japan Eathquake hosted by the Consulate General of Japan in Denver.

We were invited officially by the Consul-General of Japan and Mrs. Ikuhiko Ono.

As we all know that March 11th was the one year memorial day for this disaster in Tohoku area of Japan.

We were both honored that the Consulate General of Japan had selected the Mitchell Hall of the Denver Botanic Gardens for this reception, for the interior of the great hall has been graced by the photography of late-William Corey (late-husband of Reimi Corey).  William would have been very pleased for this honor, for he had loved the people and the beauty of Japan. Two of the 6 images displayed are from Yamagata prefecture, and fortunately Yamagata was spared of the disaster even though it is located in the Northeastern part of the main island.
http://www.williamcorey.com/

You can see two of William's photos on the wall.

The State of Colorado and the various organizations within the state (especially of Denver) have been actively raising the funds and donating the large sums of money to the victims in the affected areas. This reception was held to express gratitude towards the people in America (especially of Colorado) for their kind hearts and the generosity.

One of the highlights of the event was the Taiko (traditional Japanese drumming) performance given by the world-renowned Kyogaku Drummers, The Matsukawa Kyogaku Taiko Drummers. The group had come all the way from Japan to express gratitude for the American people through their US Arigatou "Thank you" tour. It was very impressive performances. 
The terrific sound, precise rhythms, and the vibration along with the "heat" generated by the concentration and the passion welling up from each performer were, in the way, echoing the nature's tremble via earthquake. Yet, it was much more than that. It was showing of the vitality of another nature, the Human Nature, to overcome the difficulty and to rise up like the sacred Phoenix from its ashes!

http://www.nippon-kan.org/TaikoDrummers/

It is needless to say that we must always respect, honor, and serve the nature, for there could have been no human civilization without the patient support extended by the Mother Nature.

On the lighter note, the guests were given the souvenirs from Aizu-Wakamatsu of Fukushima prefecture. 

It is a self-righting Aizu Hariko doll (会津張り子). 
The self righting doll keeps standing up when it is pushed and/or falls. It is a symbolic representation of the spirits of people in Fukushima. 

Furthermore, as I have written before in my blog, the radiation is the byproduct of the "self-righting (stabilizing)" nature inherit within the nucleus of an atom. 

May the self-stabilizing nature of atoms in us correct us not in the way of emitting the devastating radiation but by radiating our inner light towards the world around us.

artma 2012

Reimi at artma

My partner, Reimi, and I went to "artma", the fundraising event to benefit "The Morgan Adams Foundation" and pediatric oncology research, in Denver last evening.

Reimi has donated her late husband, William Corey's work. William was a wonderful photographer who had fallen in love with the beautiful gardens in Japan... especially in Kyoto, and during the 90s, his work was selected as the official gift from the State of Colorado to the Emperor and the Empress of Japan during their visits here.

Consequently, William was granted, as the first foreigner, an official permission to photograph the Imperial Gardens of Kyoto.

William had courageously faught cancer, but regretfully, he had succumbed to the illness back in 2008.

Reimi herself had battled cancer before but has overcome the illness without taking the allopathic medical intervention.

Reimi and Jen (of  Photocraft)in front of William's work

Each year, many artists and the volunteers have been donating their works and time for artma, and Reimi (and William when he was alive) has been contributing to this wonderful event as well. 

I, too, have gladly helped by donating my painting in the past.

The Morgan Adams Foundation was founded honoring the memory of Morgan (July 30, 1992 – November 7, 1998), the daughter of Joan Slaughter and Steve Adams, who as a child, courageously fought the battle (3 surgeries/many rounds of high-dose chemotherapy/ many blood transfusions...) with cancer. Although, she is no longer with us, because of her and her parents, this foundation was created and had enabled to fund the important researches at The Children's Hospital Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and other partnering research institutions.

When you enter the event center, the first thing one notice is the display of the faces of many children with cancer. Some have joined their angels, but others are still battling.

These children are the messengers from above enabling us to do good for the immediate society around us and to care for the children (...all the children!) who will be taking care of their generations and carrying the future.

Jen, Reimi, Brooks, Valerie, and William's patrons

I was also touched by the people who had spent their money generously to buy the artworks during the auction... especially in this economy. I felt the wonderful enthusiasm from the people and the atmosphere, and just by being there, my heart was uplifted!

I sincerely hope and pray that these events would keep helping and saving as many children's lives as possible.

I wish to conclude by sharing the words by Morgan.

"I love you to aleph infinity, bigger and wider than the whole universe!"

- Morgan Courtney Adams

Please visit:

artma :   http://artmaonline.org/artma/index.htm

The Morgan Adams Foundation:  http://www.morganadamsfoundation.org/

William Corey Gallery LLC: http://www.williamcorey.com/

"Ota Shrine" (2c-16)  in Kyoto, Japan  © by William Corey Gallery LLC

Rahu - Ketu and the year 2012

Today I would like to share a story concerning the invisible planets in the Vedic mythology and its possible relevance to the year 2012.
These invisible planets are called Rahu and Ketu. If you know about Jyotish and/or Vedic astrology, basically they are the North (Caput)and the South (Cauda) Nodes. Since my purpose here has not to do with the introduction of Vedic astrology nor Indian Mythology, I shall only make the brief introduction. If you are interested in learning about the subject, there are many websites and books you can access.
Some of you may already know that there are big differences between the Tropical, Western astrology and the Sidereal, Vedic astrology. While the Tropical one has a lot to do with basing its calculation on the vernal equinox, the Vedic one bases on the constant star called, Spica. Since the Vernal equinox falls short each year by approximately 50 seconds, the currently there is about 23.5 degree differences between the Tropical zodiac and Vedic, Sidereal one. It is called the Ayanamsha.
In other words, while I am a Sagittarian in Tropical astrology, in Vedic one, I am a Scorpio.
In Vedic astrology, Moon sign and the Lagna (ascendant) are more important than Sun sign. They also use 27 sub-houses called, Nakshatras. There are also dasha systems. The dasha systems are like examining the planetary eras of one's life... and beyond.  They also consider the strength of each planet from exaltation to debilitation depending on where the planets are located and so forth. There are at least 16 different charts to consider. 
I can keep pointing many other differences, but I shall not go into that now.


Let us go back to the story of Rahu and Ketu.
Long ago (in India) there was a great war between the demons and the gods, and there was a need for the gods to obtain Amrita, the nectar of immortality. According to Brahma, they had to churn the ocean (Samudra Manthan) to obtain it, yet the job was too great for the gods alone, so they asked the demons for help and promised demons that they will also receive the Amrita.
Vasuki, the great serpent, was used as a rope and the Mandrachal, the great hill, as the pivot, and Lord Vishnu turned himself into a great turtle called, Kurma, and became the base. The gods and demons eventually produced Amrita.
Now there was a problem. Vishnu prevented demons to have Amrita by tricking them, but one demon called, Swarbanu, was able to see through this trick and did sneak himself into the areas where the gods were and drank the portion of Amrita. Vishnu was told by the Sun and the Moon about this, and he threw the divine disk/wheel, Sudarshan Chakra, at Swarbanu, and he was decapitated. Even after this, Swarbanu did not die because he had already drunk the nectar of immortality.
To make the story short, the head became Rahu, and the body became Ketu.


In Vedic astrology, Rahu and Ketu play the big part. 
The attribution to these "planets" can be vast, but Rahu is intensely concerned with the worldly matters and the manifestation of them. Rahu can be taboo-breaker and so forth.
Ketu, on the other hand, is concerned with dissolution of the worldly matters and the final Moksha, the liberation. Having fanatical, obsessive nature, both are usually considered malefic, and yet both can be extremely benefic at the same time.
If one is obsessed with obtaining high position and luxury in this world without caring for others, he/she can be influenced by Rahu. If one is concerned too much with spiritual liberation and fanatically devoted to such practices and detached from the world, he/she maybe under the influence of Ketu. However, a bit of both qualities are needed. They can represent the extremes.


Now, what do Rahu and Ketu have to do with 2012?
I have mentioned about exaltation and debilitation of planets above, and Rahu and Ketu also have those Zodiacs that make them debilitated. For Rahu, it is Scorpius, and for Ketu, it is Taurus. Now both Rahu and Ketu being the nodes, they are always 180 degrees apart, and they are in retrograde motion.
Since last June, both Rahu and Ketu have been traveling in the Zodiacs of debilitation. When the planets are debilitated during the transit can cause problems even if they are healthy in the natal chart. Rahu and Ketu will only come out of this debilitation after December 23rd (or 24th) this year. It is interesting to note that one of the interpretation of the ending date of the Mayan calender falls on the 21st of December.


I have often wondered what do Rahu and Ketu really want. Perhaps they want to be reunited as one and be complete. Perhaps they want to become one of the immortals and remembered forever. Since they are cut in half, they are chasing each other, so to speak.
They want to be healed.


Then comes the interesting point. Rahu has been going through Scorpius, and since Rahu (and Ketu) travel in retro motion, he was in Sagittarius before. What lies between the two Zodiacs may hold the key, and it has to do with healing.


We are accustomed to seeing the 12 Zodiacs, but there is a glitch. The sun seems to travel a foot of a constellation near Scorpius (and near the Galactic Center). Because of this, some (including Nostradamus) have claimed that there are 13 Zodiacs although most of this constellation exists "above" the pathway of the sun.
In fact, depends on the view point, it shares the areas with Scorpius. By the way, according to some, Libra used to be part of Scorpius in the beginning but the gigantic chelas/claws were separated into the scale - Libra.


This constellation in question is Ophiuchus (Serpentarius), and he holds the gigantic serpents with his hands. Some have compared this being to Asclepius or even to Archangel Michael. When we see the various illustrations of Ophiuchus, we notice that although this serpent is coiling around Ophiuchus, he is not being attacked nor bitten. It almost appears as if this serpent is being "held" by Ophiuchus. As Asclepius, this serpent may be going through the healing process by being held/accepted/rescued and not feared nor attacked/subdued. It is interesting to note that this serpent is facing (or heading towards) the opposite direction compared to the direction of the path of sun. It is like Rahu (Ketu) in the retrograde motion. When the 2 extreme tendencies (Rahu-Ketu) are harmonized (scale-balance-Libra), the healing is attained. Before such healing to occur, one may need to experience the condition of debilitation (neecha). Neecha is like being drowned. Here the serpent could have drowned deep in the watery aspect of Scorpius, yet there is a way to overcome neecha through neecha bhanga, and perhaps, Ophiuchus symbolizes such helping hands lifting up the fallen one. (It is interesting to note that there is another bull constellation, Taurus Poniatowski/Poniatovii, next to Ophiuchus and above the "tail" of the serpent. Although this was "discovered" in 1777 and has nothing to do with the Zodiac, this reminds me of Taurus, the sign of Ketu's debilitation. Also, this constellation is no longer in use.)


Mayan civilization mysteriously disappeared like the bees of some colonies. They, in the end, may have realized that pursuing all of materiality (Rahu) are vanity and will be dissolved (Ketu). To fanatically wish for the everlasting (Amrit - like)civilization (as in Aztecs sacrificing thousands of lives attempting to attain immortality of its civilization) is against the natural law.


While I do not believe that the world would end this December, we all may need to reflect on our Rahu and Ketu story within. Perhaps this year the powerful water dragon may be the additional help to us, so that we can be pulled out of being drowned and welcome the year of Snake next year (2013). 
We all have the home-works to do in this life time, and one of them is to heal our wounds, and realize that we, as the spiritual being learning to live in this material sphere, are immortals already.


Of course, this is only one of the many interpretations upon pondering about the stars, but I would like to see the positive side of the scope (beyond the projection and the wishful optimism) and to have hopes in our future.


- Om Tat Sat ( हरी ओम् तत् सत्)

Emperor Akihito's 78th birthday on December 23rd, 2011

I have been absent for awhile from blogging, but I am compelled to write this one.
Thank you very much for your patience.

After recovering from mycoplasma infection and returning from the hospitalization, Emperor Akihito gave an inspiring and caring speech on his birthday.  As you can see on the news below, he is keeping the busy schedule.


Both the Emperor and the Empress had visited the earthquake / tsunami affected areas and showed the heartful support to the victims and the survivors of the disaster.


Although the Emperor do not have the active political power, the people of Japan still look up to him as the  highest symbol of Japan. To receive words/blessing from the Emperor is considered as a honorable gift , and even only to see him in public a few times a year can be comforting to the people.


I feel blessed to have the family (on my maternal side) directly and indirectly associated with the Imperial family.


Long live Emperor Akihito!!!


Here is the video clip of the news reporting the Emperor's birthday speech (abridged) followed by the very rough translation of mine in English.


(If you can read Japanese, please visit the following link to read the entire speech:
  http://sankei.jp.msn.com/life/news/111223/imp11122311110007-n1.htm )

The rough translation of Emperor Akihito's birthday speech in English.


"On this day of my birthday, I deeply appeciate your congratulatory wishes.

During this year, many lives were lost due to the massive Northeastern earthquake in Spring and the Typhoon related heavy rain in Autunm.

Whenever I think of the survivors and the disaster victims it hurts my heart.

I am sure that you all may have spent some heavy hearted days.

In the midst of it I was informed of the fact that the many people are putting their utmost effort for (helping) the disaster victims, and I felt extremely encouraged.

There are only few remaining days left for this tough (distressing) year.

We would like to continue to live while not forgetting about the disaster victims and wish for the happiness of all the citizens.

I pray that the coming year would be a good year for each and everyone of you."

Stirb und werde! (Die and to Become!)

As I was reflecting upon the themes introduced and dealt in the film, 'The Fountain', I was brought back to the common theme I did reflect some years back among the disappearing of the bees, the discovery of the hexagonal shape of the planet Saturn, and the Mayan Civilization and of 2012....etc...


In the film, there was a mention of the Mayan civilization....a dying culture honoring the dying stars - a galaxy within the Orion constellation. While 3 individuals Hugh Jackman had portrayed were trying to overcome and / or to defy Death (as a form of disease), the message of the Mayans were the acceptance of it....as Death(dissolution - letting go - sacrifice) led to the new Creation.


Many of us have heard about the end of the Mayan Calender and possible catastrophic events relating to it. While I do feel the possibility of Solar Wind affecting the global communication, etc., I do not feel the disaster to be equal to the ending of human civilization. ...even to take the recent natural disaster in Northern Japan into consideration.


With each ending, there is, and has been a new beginning. 
Even if our solar system is now traveling beneath the Galactic Equator, it is not the same as Andromeda galaxy colliding with our Milky Way...which may / most likely to happen 3 billion years from now.


It is interesting to note that it was about 4 years ago that the phenomenon of the disappearing of the bees and the discovery of the hexagonal image on the planet Saturn were reported....along with the premiere of the film 'The Fountain.' 
If my memory is correct, the disappearing of bees did happen about 50 years ago as well...along with the event of the high solar wind. 


The planet Saturn has been feared by many, bearing the 'bad' name, although, I feel the opposite about it, for Saturn is the just vice...a huge mirror which shows our unfinished Karma. It is not the Saturn that brings misery, but we do....karma is our own doing or un-doing...until we realize from our karma and learn from it, we are reminded of it. So, cosmically, Saturn may be reminding us of our collective karma.
While bees had left its colonies / hives, the hives were not destroyed....the building (hives) remained intact. This reminded me of how Mayans disappeared into the wilderness, leaving the buildings that represented the civilization. Perhaps they realized that no-thing is eternal...in fact, all the great civilizations of the past had not continued keeping and remaining the same (old) way...transformation is the part of the natural law. 


It is interesting that Aztecs could not accept the death of civilization from greed, fear, and attachment, and they became obsessed with the longevity, sacrificing the fellow humans by hundreds each day to pray to the Sun to give them life force to continue....and they were, in the end, destroyed....forced to accept its death.


In Vedic astrology / Jyotish, Kurma (कुर्म ), a divine turtle, an avatar of Lord Vishnu is associated with Saturn (Shani/Sani). It was through the churning of the divine ocean on the back of this Kurma turtle that the extraction of the divine nectar (Amrita) was done....and the central section of the back of the turtles is in the shape of the hexagon. 
Then, this shape appearing on (or avail itself to be viewed by humans) Saturn... and the shape of the individual cell of the bee hive is hexagon....both the Hebraic Holy Seal and the ancient Japanese Kagome / 籠目（かごめ） shape (...and also in the I Ching) are intertwining 2 large equilateral triangles forming the hexagram and creating the 6 smaller equilateral triangles with hexagon at the center...and many more...
The water crystal is built on the hexagram(with the hexagon in the middle). 


Death symbolize not only the 'end' but the separation.
..but the separation is the illusion...we are one....not just among the humans but with the entire universe...
'As above, so below'


Perhaps these phenomenons remind us that the old way is coming to an end...perhaps very soon...only to have the new sprout out with its vitality.


"Stirb und werde! (Die and to Become!)" - Goethe 


Let us ponder about these reminders...and appreciate the gifts we are given.


http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/media/cassini-20070327.html

Mother Earth and our mission

I feel compelled to share a few observation I have made in regards to the element Earth. As we know, the humans have tried to understand and harness the forces of Earth and her cohabitants. What has been happening is that some humans have tried to rule the earth by force and tried to not only subjugate her but to even violate her (to the point of reaching very close to the point of no return...meaning that it is taking the toll on the ability of our Mother Earth to purify/regenerate herself 'in time'...)

This tendency to treat the Earth without high respect may have come from the misunderstanding of the first two chapters of Genesis. In Chapter 1:28, humans (plural -meaning both male and female) were told to 'subdue' Earth. The word for 'to subdue' in original Hebrew is 'Kabash/כבש', and it does have the meanings: to force, to subdue, to keep under, violate, dominate...etc. ...while the word used for the Earth is ('Ha)Erets/ ארץ'.

The many have used this verse as the backup to try to control the nature and the ecosystem and violated the Mother Earth for countless decades.

Yet, no one seem to realize that this commandment was given to "divine/un-fallen" Adam (humans) before the "FALL!" 

After the fall of humans, they/we have lost the divine connection to the divine Mother Earth. We also have lost the way to rule her properly and divinely. She has become an object of human greed, and the humans are no longer able to perceive her as divine gift from above - Elohim. Consequently, we no longer posses the right nor authority to rule the Mother Earth.

Now, when we read the Chapter 2:5, it is different. This section is usually translated as that "there is not a human to 'till' the 'ground'." When we research the word used as 'to till', it is 'abad / עבד' in Hebrew, and it has various meanings other than 'to till'. It means: to work, to till, to cultivate....and TO SERVE! [...and the word used for the ground is not 'Erets' but '(Ha)Adamah / אדמה'.]

On top of that, the word 'kabash' is not a popular word. It only appears once in the entire Torah section (the First 5 Books of Moses) of Tanakh (Old Testament)...and that one time appearance is in Gen. 1:28. Even to include all the different meanings in that word, this word appears only about 15 times in the entire OT.

On the other hand, the word, 'abad, is popular enough that it appears more than 300 times in the entire OT. ...of which only about 10 times is this word used as 'to till'. Amazingly, as the meaning 'to serve', this word appears over 160 times, and if I were to include the past tense of 'served' and the meaning, 'service' etc., it appears more than 230 times!

When I consider the above fact, I tend to want to understand the 'assignment' given to the humans in regards to the Earth is TO SERVE the Mother Earth and not to violate her. ... and we humans must shift our consciousness from this subconscious level (of wanting to subdue earth) and understand the true meaning of the commandment.

I was once told by an eminent Vedic Astrologer Guru of Gurus that one of my missions during this life is TO SERVE the "old" mothers of the world. I understood to include the legendary/mythical mothers...and of course, the ancient Mother Earth herself. This is my first step...to attempt to 'clear her name', and 'to give her back as much glory as possible'...

Blessings to all of you.

(LOHAS is possible!)

Inherent Goodness in Nature? - Lesson from the radioactivity

{Inherent Goodness in Nature? - Lesson from the radioactivity}



Today, on this Vernal Equinox Day, I am going to write about something that can be considered controversial. I hope you can read the entire article before you make the final decision. I thank you in advance for your patience.


We all know that the radioactive rays (via radiation) can be both beneficial or harmful to our health. Some of us may not realise how much radiation we are receiving naturally.
There are so many different rays and waves whether radioactive or not. The different waves with the unique frequency emitted via the radio stations, cell phones, Internet and much more are constantly bombarding and penetrating our bodies. We just don't realise that since we cannot "see" nor experience them. I remember watching one of Akira Kurosawa's movies called, the "Dream". It is based on the compilations of different dreams dreamt by Kurosawa himself , and each segment begins with the statement, "(I have) dreamt this sort of a dream..."
Well, one of them had to do with the nuclear holocaust/accident where people were trying to escape the horror of dying the horrible, painful death by committing a mass suicide (jumping off the cliff). In it there was a man in charge of the nuclear power plant explaining the differently colored gas-like radiations. Yes, each radioactive "rays" and particles had been tinted, so that one can identify them easily. 
We are in so called, "shiranu ga hotoke", condition, roughly meaning that we are "(pretending to) be happy go lucky because of lack of knowing what's really going on" ... in a way.

Perhaps it maybe is a good thing that we cannot know otherwise some people may start to panic. In the movies, "Nihon Chinbotsu (Japan Sinking)", and "2012", the people in the government had to make the difficult decisions whether to inform the people of eminent disaster or not.
It is always an issue for the government to whether to tell the truth and risk the mass hysteria and "destroy the country", or to not inform them until the very end and make it the mass hysteria proof for as long as possible. When we look back on "some" of the historic events, we can understand that the mass hysteria can be devastating as a natural disaster. ...think about "looting" and arson... so, in a way, I don't blame the officials not being able to trust the reaction of some of the people. It is a difficult task to achieve harmony in any situation. It is much easier to talk only of idealism. Of course, the reality in the stoic reactions of people in Japan are some of the exceptions, and it also needs to be considered. The reality is quite complex.


What is more complex is to know the possibly harmful byproduct coming out of trying to achieve the stability and balance... sort of a necessary evil.  The world/universe is not an "either or"/ "black and white" place.


The good example is the radioactivity.


"Atoms found in nature are either stable or unstable. An atom is stable if the forces among the particles that make up the nucleus are balanced. An atom is unstable (radioactive) if these forces are unbalanced--if the nucleus has an excess of internal energy. Unstable atoms are called radionuclides. The instability of a radionuclide's nucleus may result from an excess of either neutrons or protons. An unstable nucleus will continually vibrate and contort and, sooner or later, attempt to reach stability by some combination of means:


- ejecting neutrons, and protons
- converting one to the other with the ejection of a beta particle or positron
- the release of additional energy by photon (i.e., gamma ray) emission."


(citation: http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/understand/radiation.html#why_rad)


It is interesting to note in the statement above that "an unstable nucleus will ... attempt to reach stability..."  Emission of radiation is a byproduct of radioactive decay where nucleus is trying to achieve stability and balance, sort of.


There is an inherent condition or nature in this tiny universe called the atoms to seek stability whether the movement of each atom is predictable or not. If we are to equate the word, "stability", with the word, "goodness", can't we state that it is the inherent condition of nature/universe to be and to become "GOOD"?