May 9, 2008 

"To walk through life armored against all fear, peril and disaster,
only two things are needed, two that go always together -
the Grace of the Divine Mother
and on your side an inner state made up of faith, sincerity and surrender. "

— Mother Mirra Alfassa

Welcome to the HeartStream Pulse Newsletter!
The HeartStream Pulse is sent as a service to our HeartStream Sufi Community as a communications forum. The Pulse will include: notices whenever a personal need arises, services to offer, housing availability, items for sale, notices about interest/discussion groups, and community-related information to share.

Dedication of This Month's HeartStream Pulse by George Chipman
We dedicate the HeartStream Pulse this month to honoring the sacred feminine, Nature, and our bodies. In doing so, we invite a deepening sacred sense of receptivity to our own divine nature - within and around us. This receptivity is the action of the divine feminine as it arises in us, in the sacred space of our being in the world, and is the voice of the Beloved calling us back home.

We honor and acknowledge the creating of real peace in our world as a direct expression of choosing to live in inner peace which comes from honoring the sacredness of our bodies and our true nature, as we are - one with the Beloved. We also honor our letting go of everything that does not align with this receptivity to our true intimate and universal Nature - the embodiment of the Divine in all beings as our very Self.

This month's HeartStream Pulse may have events not yet posted on the current HeartStream Local Events Calendar.

Sunday Night Dances at the Palomar Ballroom
Sunday Night Dances of Universal Peace

Join the caravan of love traveling to the Palomar to sweep out the chambers of our heart and to remember the beloved in dance, song and prayer!

Come meet with your Sufi community beloveds on Sunday Evenings at 7 to 9 pm at the Palomar Ballroom for Dances of Universal Peace. We are making our vision of an expanding Dance circle a reality.

		The Palomar dates back to the 1930's, and is located at 1344 Pacific Ave. in Santa Cruz on the 2nd floor (Mezzanine) above El Palomar Restaurant. You can enter the building from the parking area on Front St. or from Pacific Ave. Once inside the Palomar Inn, take the stairs or the elevator to the second floor. The ballroom will be on your left (down a couple of steps and through the doors). For more info, click here. For map and directions, click here.

In the Mezzanine area you can meet and chat before and after the dances. Nearby there are coffee and tea shops, ice cream parlors, cookie stores and bookstores. You can even go to dinner and then dance.

For easy local parking, see http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/pw/trafeng/parking/1.html. Next to the Palomar is the garage at the corner of Soquel and Front St. ($1.50 for 3 hrs). Directions from the garage to the ballroom are at http://www.palomarballroom.com/ballroom.php. Also, there is a free garage a block away (#10 on the map) between River St. and Front St. next to the Galleria Office Complex. On Sundays, all levels of the garage are free and open 24 hours a day.

Wesak at the Garden
by Dr. Lewis Keizer

Traditional Wesak
Traditional Buddhist Wesak is the festival celebrating the birth and death day of Buddha. It is celebrated world-wide at the time of the full moon with Sun in Taurus and Moon in Scorpio. Like Hindus, Buddhists use a sidereal (true astronomical) zodiac—not the western tropical zodiac. Wesak usually occurs in May.

However, Wesak is celebrated among esoteric Full-Moon meditation groups as the Shamballa Moon—the most powerful spiritual meditation event of the solar year. What is more, this year’s Shamballa Full Moon is the most unique and powerful Wesak alignment to occur for many decades. It is a remarkable group meditation opportunity. Search YouTube for “Wesak 2008” for a two-part presentation about this powerful coming Wesak Moon.

The Legend of Shamballa
There have been many versions of the Tibetan Buddhist legends of Shamballa first revealed to westerners through Blavatsky. Lamas, theosophists, and even Nazis sent explorers to find this hidden planetary center of spiritual power, which is said to be located somewhere between the high Himalayas and the Gobi Desert.

In Kalachakra teachings, four hundred more years of incarnation and spiritual development will produce a critical mass of powerful saints and ascended masters. This is why the Dalai Lama gives Kalachakra Initiation with Six-Session Guru Yoga to Westerners, preparing them to undertake true Generation and Completion stage practices in future incarnations.
In the 24th or 25th century, these saints and masters will go forth from Shamballa to defeat the Dark Forces that enslave humanity. Meanwhile this invisible spiritual center of the planet will continue to gather the awakened and ascended souls of humanity, who telepathically transmit guidance to those on the Path.

The Legend of Wesak
On the Wesak Full Moon, the masters who guide humanity assemble in Shamballa. The Christ places a crystal bowl of water from the Lake of Compassion upon a natural stone altar. At the exact time of the Full Moon, while all gathered meditate in group formation, the Buddha descends, enlivens the water with highest divine energies of wisdom and spiritual guidance, and re-ascends. Each master then comes forth to drink a portion of the Wesak Water, receiving into the chalice of the heart divine energies for the coming spiritual year. These they distribute to the striving spiritual disciples of humanity.
All those who attune themselves to their spiritual guides will receive these powerful nectars. Over the next few days and weeks those divine impulses—which are too subtle to sense consciously—will be stepped down into dreams, inspirations, omens, and other ways of spiritual knowing that give direction to incarnate spiritual disciples for the coming year.

What is Unique about Wesak 2008?

The Sun is always in sidereal Taurus at Wesak, but this year the Sun is conjunct with the Plaeides in Taurus, from which our planet is given evolutionary guidance.
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The Wesak Moon is always in Scorpio, but this year it is conjunct with the Galactic Center between Scorpio and Sagittarius, from which the New World emanates. This rare alignment will provide the most powerful Wesak meditation conditions we have had in a long time. It is also the exact alignment that occurred on April 25 of the year A.D. 31—the Passover Moon when the Master Jesus was crucified and raised.

How to Prepare?
For at least three days before Wesak, eat light vegetarian food, abstain from sex, and take a teaspoon of olive oil to raise your vibration and allow you to hold fiery energies. Keep silence as far as possible. Avoid conflict, and keep your emotions on an even keel. You have the opportunity to receive a very potent spiritual download at the exact time of the Wesak Full Moon if you prepare yourself.

How do I Participate?
We have only twenty-seven spaces available, so these must be reserved in advance by telephoning Dr. Keizer at 831-726-3192. You must wear white clothing and sox, and you must arrive before 6 P.M. to take your place in silence. We suggest no later than 5:45 P.M. The door will be closed promptly at 6 P.M. The Masters and the Moon operate on with exacting punctuality—not on Santa Cruz time! Be prepared to make a $5 donation to cover space rental and the droppered vial of Wesak Water you will be given at the end of the ceremony.

If you cannot be present at the Garden, make time and space to do the silent Wesak Meditation in your own home or other location. Gather with friends to keep the meditation, if possible. Put out a bowl of purified water and let it sit with you until the meditation is over—from about twenty minutes before to twenty minutes after the exact Full Moon at 7:11 P.M. Search Google for “legend of Wesak” to find a copy of the story. Go to the YouTube presentation mentioned above for more esoteric background.

How do I Assimilate What I will Receive?
At the time of Wesak, and for the first days after Wesak, you will probably feel or sense nothing unusual. This is a period of digestion and assimilation. The energies are so subtle and refined that they must slowly be stepped down into your unconscious and conscious minds. By the third day you may find yourself having inspirations, dreams, omens, and visions for the future. Take these very seriously and let your mind dwell upon them and develop them. You will start finding direction for the coming spiritual year, and much will begin to unfold for you.

Memorial for Shanti Sharma from Pir Shabda

We are all so sad about the loss of our dear friend and music maestro, Shanti Sharma.

We want to invite you to an informal Memorial Celebration in her honor and memory, Tuesday May 13th 7:30 PM at the Semahane, 781 Bolinas Rd., Fairfax Ca. (in Fairfax, take Bolinas Rd up the hill, take the 2nd left driveway after the Lake Lagunitas sign).

Our dear guru sister, Karunamayee Didiji will be joining us and will share some music, as well as Terry Riley and myself. I will play some short selections of Shantiji's music and leave some time for people to
share some words.

Please bring some sweets to share.

Reflections on Shanti Sharma from Tofah Eileen

Shanti Sharma graced our Sufi Camp this past August 2007 and offered us an amazing concert of her brilliant vocals. She passed away this past April into the arms of the beloved. I offer this story of a sweet moment that I shared with her that reflects Shanti’s preciousness and her delicate nature.

I met Shanti at lunch on Saturday of the South Bay Camp in Santa Cruz and after lunch we stood together near the main lodge as the community began to move into the redwood grove for the afternoon program. She seemed planted in her spot so I waited with her and finally she confided in me that she was frightened. Having grown up in Oregon amidst great pines and redwoods, I have come to take them for granted – loving their shade and their sweet smell on a warm day and especially lying beneath them and imagining being one of them and reaching for the heavens. And so when she said it was of them she was afraid, I was taken aback. For the first time I saw these majestic giants through new eyes – her eyes. I realized that they are enormous; they are powerful, and they are beings of great stature. She finally agreed, if I would stay with her, to go meet them. We walked slowly hand in hand into their presence and at a point she turned and smiled and said that she knew that they were very nice. Tears sprang to my eyes at the outpouring of love I felt coming from the redwoods to us both and at my blessing to see them in such a new light. And I was touched deeply by the sweetness of Shanti’s innocence and willingness to be vulnerable. Tofah Eileen

Our Mother - Our Body
by Tofah Eileen

Mothers’ Day is a holiday that offers us an opportunity to bring awareness to the great gifts of Motherhood. At this time we honor and revere all that is represented by Mother. This includes protecting the earth and all of nature and can certainly begin in our own bodies just as the beginning of peace is within self.

Inayat Khan speaks eloquently of the human body and its nature. He says

“Every substance in the earth is to be found in the body of the
human. Therefore, it is in a very true sense that we speak of Mother Earth, and the closer we live to nature, our great Mother, and the simpler we make our manner of living, the healthier shall we surely become. . . . People of less highly evolved civilization know how to keep themselves in health by simple nature remedies, such as herbs. It is said that the North-American Indian, when he comes home tired after a long day's hunting, will fling himself down upon the ground, relax every sinew and muscle, and draw into himself fresh stores of energy from the magnetic currents of the earth, so that after an hour's rest he is ready to rise up and to go forth again, if necessary, with renewed strength and vigor.”

Inayat Khan goes on to say: “At the back of every apparent cause there is lack of harmony. Some part of man's being is out of tune, and the note sets up vibrations, which affect the whole system...We in the West have lost the knowledge of the use of simple nature remedies, and there is scarcely one who really knows how to relax. We should do well to try to get back this lost knowledge, for health is more likely to be gained in this way than by use of drugs or the surgeon's knife”.

I recently discovered and have been studying the teachings of Ryke Geerd Hamer who is the founder of German New Medicine see www.germannewmedicine.ca. Dr. Hamer has shown through the use of CT scans that we are vibrational beings. When we have a trauma it can be seen in the brain as shock rings which are clearly identified in CT scans. At the same time a significant biological program is created by our bodies to assist us in coping with the biological emergency situation. At that point we can move toward healing by remaining calm and working with nature. (Fear actually becomes another trauma that must also be dealt with.) The healing comes when we work through the conflict that arose with the trauma, and take an action that resolves it and moves us forward in life.

Hamer offers a view of the human body that shows it is operating with innate wisdom, that it's processes are for healing and survival. If we are willing to listen and honor it – we can relax and heal illness. Hamer has over the past 30 years rediscovered and proved the existence of biological laws that govern disease and mapped the causes, healing pattern, and remedy for diseases, including cancers and even mental disorders.

As a psychotherapist I am especially interested in any system that has any form of remedy for personality disorders other than drug therapy. What I have come to see in German New Medicine is a most beautiful and succinct picture of Mother Nature in action. It is an important bridge to recovering trust in and honor for our body – her body.

Pir Zia Inayat Khan Introduces Green Hermeticism
by Willa Keizer

Pir Zia Inayat Khan, the grandson of Hazrat Inayat Khan, recently gave an introduction to Green Hermeticism which you can view on You Tube at the following link http://youtube.com/watch?v=N9f31UvcdFA.

According to Pir Zia, one tradition claims that the first Sufi was Agatha Daemon, who was the teacher of Hermes Trismegistus, the founder of Hermeticism.

Hermeticism, the tradition of occult arts and sciences, includes the ancient arts of alchemy and astrology. Its roots are in ancient Egypt and Greece. Hermeticism was passed on in various forms through Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, as well as Hinduism. The European Renaissance magi are examples of practicing Hermeticists in the European tradition. Hermeticism is neither a religion nor a science, but rather an art, based on the universal principle of correspondences:

It Is True!
It is Sure!
It is the FULL TRUTH!
As Above, so Below.
As Below, so Above.
The wonders of the ONE are enacted.


If you are interested in learning more about Hermeticism, you are invited to attend a free class at Gateways Books in Santa Cruz, CA on Tuesday June 17 at 7 PM. It is entitled Introduction to Vitalistic Healing. The class will give an overview of basic Hermetic principles including alchemy. You will also get to sample an alchemical preparation of Tulsi (Holy Basil.) A new series of classes in the Hermetic Sufi art of Vitalistic Healing will start in September at The Garden. Please visit www.vitalism.us for more information, or contact Willa at 831-726-3190.

Sharing Baraca - The Talking Stick
Do you have something to share? We want to hear what inspires you, fills your heart, and makes you go Ahhhhhla. Please submit your article or story or ideas for an upcoming issue to Tofah Eileen.

SUFI EVENTS