Introducing (however late it may be) the Praxis Mural

So this is far overdue, but I finally have a good picture of the mural to post. This is our Praxis Mural which we completed way back on February 10. Take a good look at it! -mike

Rasta and Babylon

Babylon is ‘polytricksters’ (political tricksters), ‘downpressors’ (oppressors), and ‘downgressors’ (aggressors). Babylon is imperial, colonial powers. The vampire. Suckin’ children and suckin’ the blood of the sufferers. Men eating men. Babylon the establishment. Governments, police agents, humans, systems, institutions, and empires against the ways of God, Jah. Rastafari. In the eyes of Rasta, Babylon is wicked, the worst of evils, identifiable sin, hell on earth, real and re-vealed.

“Come we go chant down Babylon one more time” sings the honerable, Robert Nesta Marley. Rasta are rebels, soul rebels, resisters against slavery, degradation, exploitation, and humiliation. This is why rasta unkeep their hair, and wear, “natty dred, natty dred locks”. Locks are like the hair of victorious biblical Solomon. Locks are the mane of the lion. Power, strength, and freedom, wandering through the wilderness on the path of righteousness, ranging, roaming, headed towards the promised land. Dred is a way. A way of resistance, expressing grievances, spreading peace and love with confidence, and holding self together in the face of societial forces which have been aimed at tearing self into pieces and shreds.

I-and-I. We. Are all ‘Lords of Creation’. Not commodities, and not units of labor for any slavery, or any profit in pockets. Rasta never seek to be accepted in wider society, and never conform to the standards or norms of Babylon. Smoking Ganja herb sacredly is not only a spiritual ritual, but a living practice of rebellious, societal, deviance. Ganga is the smokescreen that brings into consciousness Babylon’s trickery, the poverty, brutality, and inequality. Enlightened, awakened in mind and spirit, start come off, the brainwash.

Reggae, is the healer. Heart’ically and ear’tically. Babylon will end apocalyptically, and the present order will be transformed spiritually, supernaturally, a.k.a. divine intervention-ally. Salvation is a certainty, manifested through experientially and introspectively seeking, testing, reasoning, and discerning to realize the divine book within, and to discover what is true and what is false. Rasta path is about determining events rather than being determined by them, determining who self is, and determining how self is manifested and where exactly it is, that self is going.

The refusal to be defined by, along with the stripping ourselves of material possesions allows us to see, that we, are organic beings connected with eachother, living and non-living. “I-and-I” consciousness calls for a new responsibility for ones thoughts, words, and actions. To live naturally, ‘sitting in the dust’, in rhythm, in harmony, and closeness with the creatures and the nature of our loving mother, Mother Earth.

May lightening and thunder strike the downpressors, and may peace, wisdom, and good health be rewarded to all righteously planting, cultivating, respecting, protecting, dancing, chanting, and singing…

Jah Jah love,
is like a burnin’ fire,
that keeps on burnin’, burnin’ burnin’
down in my soul

Babylon burnin’,
Babylon bur-ur-nih-ih-in’,
Babylon burnin’, burnin’ burnin’…



...and we got no wahhh-ter'.

-anthony

Article: Shunning His Holiness

Another article written for Marist College's weekly The Circle. It should be out on campus March 26.

It saddens my heart to hear that the South African government will not allow the Dalai Lama to participate in a peace conference in Johannesburg. In a statement, the South African government wrote that they did not want to stress their relations with China, an important economic ally to the country. Although it is difficult for the country to rectify its role as a leader of the developing world, I would expect better from their government.

Although South Africa has only been a democracy for 15 years, they have demonstrated great pragmatism in the field of human rights and peace. As the spiritual leader of millions of conflict ridden people and one of the most respected peace advocates in the world, the Dalai Lama is the symbol of harmony and hope in the world; barring him from participating in the conference would be a distinct step back for South Africa.

This decision on the part of the South African government is being described by some solely as a “business” decision. This is quite clear as the South African government is engaging in a very poor attempt to please the Chinese government, one of South Africa’s largest trading allies. As a nation that has overcome so much oppression and segregation, South Africa should understand the importance of peace.

Many Nobel peace laureates who were planning on attending the conference are now planning on not attending because of the absence of his holiness. Desmond Tutu, the former archbishop of Cape Town and a Nobel peace laureate, is one of the absentees who was quoted in saying that excluding the Dalai Lama is “disgraceful.”

One issue that is clearly not being addressed here is that peace is not something that a government can deny on the basis of business. Although the Dalai Lama advocates for a free Tibet, it doesn’t mean that he is going to slander the Chinese government during the conference nor does it mean that South Africa’s relationship with China is going to be jeopardized.

More than anything else in the world now, peace is something that we should all be striving for. Through all the turmoil of the global society, with the interconnectedness of the world becoming ever clearer, peace is becoming more of a necessity. Excluding his holiness from the proceedings at this conference is not going to achieve any additional positive outcome for the world.

We will only achieve peace if we all strive for its attainment, people and government.

-mike

Recap: Spiritual Circle Discussion

This past Tuesday (10 March 2009) the Praxivists hosted a spiritual circle discussion. At the discussion, the particpants discussed their personal spirtual experience along with what effects them spiritually. After, Mike and Anthony had another discussion with Evan Pritchard about the history of religion. During the discussion, Evan gave us a diagram about the history of religion which is attached below. You can click on the image to view it on a larer scale. I hope you enjoy it. -mike

Reflection: Hare Krishna wisdom gems for Praxis Journeying

Lord Krishna,
Supreme Being,
all-attractive one,
symbolic cow finder and herder of symbolic cows.

This soul-guider, destroyer of material, selfish, and divine sin, is a shedder of wisdom, providing several gems of divine insight for us to bathe in, and consider deeply in our Praxis approaches and paths of Praxis actions.

Krishna’s council to us as Praxis peoples goes a little something like this…

Do all Praxis without seeking reward, and seek never the fruit of your Praxis. Seeking fruit rewards means putting your ego, your false self, the selfish self into your Praxis. Ego into Praxis spoils Praxis. This blinds us, and impures us, corrupting, and infecting, even when Praxis appears as if outwardly good. Do the dance of Praxis, surf its wave in harmonious peace, so that you can, act spontaneously, rhythmically, perfectly, and naturally. Spiritual practice is a pure, fresh, and clean source of rest and renewal that is often necessary for such endeavors. Be free from those… selfish desires! They are disturbers that manifest disturbances. To wherever your Praxis path leads you, be unmoved by success, and be unmoved by failure. Enjoy your Praxis, but enjoy it with detachment to whether the fruit will be good or bad, for it will be neither, as it just “will be”. Do your Praxis with your whole heart and whole soul force. Wisdom and love into praxis. Skill in action. Love into our wisdom, love into our understanding arises insight, knowledge by love. The entire creation is understood through experiencing balanced, the unity between a female named “Action” a male named “Contemplation”.

May these words be the heat of self-guidance, self-control and self-discipline. Inner heat from an inner fire. Inner fire that is in all, every single, one of our hearts, the place that is the dwelling center of those little love-lights of ours, that we all let shine. Let them shine. Let them shine. Let them shine.

-anthony

Article: Common (Liberal) Sense

Here is another article I wrote for Marist College's newspaper The Circle. It's due out on campus Thursday March 5.

Considering all the hardships this country is facing, one of America’s greatest founding fathers is becoming progressively more notable. As the government is shifting gradually towards liberalism, Tom Paine is now one of the more important ancestral figures. Paine’s importance derives from his discussions on the necessity to embrace change and to break from unnecessary and cruel tenants.

In the introduction of his pamphlet, Paine writes, “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom.” I think this quote applies to the current debate in Washington over economic policy. For too many years now, we have been embracing “trickle down” economic policy while deregulating important governmental welfare functions. It is time for us to stop embracing a system that we perceive to be right, and begin to embrace a system that, at first, seems to be the enemy.

I know it is difficult to break from the status quo, but we are living thorough very trying times and there is a need to try new policies. Change must come now at the first realization of wrongs. The change will break from customs, and we cannot be afraid of it. For too long this government has been allowing for the suffering of the least fortunate; individuals who have been suffering at the hands of budgets designed to benefit the wealthy.

So the “redistribution” of the nation’s wealth to benefit those who have been suffering – to provide them affordable healthcare, education, and services – is bad? Have you ever heard of the saying “we’re only as good as our weakest player?” This nation will continue to be weak if we do not help the weakest individuals in this nation. No longer should this country be the country of unregulated corporations, it is time for it to become the nation of the people.

To those who do not want to pay their share: you can afford to live comfortably while paying slightly higher taxes. It is much easier for an individual to pay more taxes if they are making a quarter of a million dollars than it is for someone who is making less than $35,000. For that, I applaud Mr. Obama. As Paine noted, “Those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it.” In an equal and just society, every individual who is well off should bear the responsibility of helping those who are unable to support themselves.


It is time for this country to stop believing in the mantra that capitalism is always right. People in this country are suffering at this very moment because of simple issues like malnutrition and improper health care. We must now seek alternative models that will, in the end, help those who are suffering the most. With this logic, our country will improve from the bottom up, not the top down.

-mike

Reflection: Kagyu Blizzard Iron Wind Trip

03.02.2008.

Today there were cancellations of both work and classes. I interpreted this as a signaling to embark in journey to Kagyu. Through blizzard-ing snows and iron winds, long strides I took, fast-paced, in admiration of extreme elements. SPIRIT WIND. Breath is strength today. White particle movement reveals before me air. Resembles the cosmos.. I experience gratitude. I experience suffering. There exists an Arjuna in nature, inner battle occurring inside of me. It is paralleling of external real situations.

Balancers of experience. We are all seekers of happiness. We are all avoiders of suffering and pain.

Scarf frozen attached to the grown, unkempt beard hairs of my face. I am indoors! I come for refuge! Meet-ed and greeted. Loose green tea defrosts, un-thaws my weathered bodily surfaces and regions.

Monastery is filled with monks and nuns pouring into lamps heated butter, in the liquid state, for an EMPOWERMENT retreat, as an offering to Buddha. How aromatic, merit-ous, peaceful of a practice. Thousands are filled for future ceremonial purposes. Placed within racked shelving, butter solidifies slowly at a temperature, considered “room.”

Cleaned up the messes. Then Lekshi, Orrin, and I all ate walnut and crystallized ginger cake. Taste sensual delicacy. Sharings of wisdom and laughter. When no more was left, Orrin and I left, for the barn house, for more tea warmth, and conversation deeply.

Small bedrooms promote intimacy. Insight upon insight. Consciousness expansion…

We cry heavily when born into this world. Every orifice development is abundant with pains. This is life essence. Enlightenment is sought for the transcending of “samsara”, the endless cycle of death and rebirth, a.k.a. suffering. This realized however, life experience is not strictly suffering, with many joys and meaningful growths are to be had, in this very lifetime.

We can emulate the way of the “bodhisattva” by renouncing our own peace vow to work for the liberation of all beings, eventually attaining ENLIGHTENMENT, but being so to speak, “the last to enter into its door.” We awaken our minds, and become rooted in solid ground. This way, when we attempt to help liberate others from their drowning into spiraling quick sands, we will better be able when not in spiraling quick sands ourselves.

In coexisting interdependently among others, all help in the fundamental understanding of “us” as individuals, and “us” as we are collective. Saints, lovers, healers… killers, rape-ers, drug junkies, material chasers, and being harmers. We are all the opportunity for us all to practice our practice with. Our PRAXIS with. All are vehicles. All are helping in the ELEVATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS. Helped by all we understand. INTER-CONECTEDNESS. Ego, BIG I dissolvent. One-ness. Bliss.

Suffering inevitable.
All beings
suffering on and off
inescape-ably.
We all ought to be understanding of all others,
of their suffering.

For being a sufferer myself,
I intend to practice
and intent to cultivate
patience,
understanding,
compassion,
and love onto others,
onto which
are in many various forms suffering,
spectrum-ing
from
radically differing,
to mirroring
similarly
alike.

-anthony