An Adventure by Carolyn Jackson

There is an adventure, greater than any other, which takes no plane, no ship, and requires no ticket to enter.

There is a place, my friends, to fly with no wings, to rest without sleeping and to journey without walking. Having only one requirement, which is to enjoy, I ask you, " Do you remember having the heart of a child?"

Do you remember the delight of a swing as we strove to pump oursleves higher and higher, jumping through the air and laughing with glee to fly weightless and free for only one brief second?

Do you remember twirls, dances without music and swirls of somersaults down grassy hills tumbling end over end ?

Do you remember the delight of being awake, early rising with no alarm clock, awakened by excitement, to see what a day would bring?

Do you remember straining to keep our eyes open because there was so much to discover, living without plans, with no agenda, unaware of any schedule and time simply unfolding ?

Do you remember the secret gardens we discovered, the sweet tastes of icicles and rain water ? Do you remember the baking warmth of the sun and the crunch of frozen snow under our boots ?

Do you remember the magic of a ball bouncing, a skipping rope, the experise in tree climbing, sitting among the leaves and peering down on the world ?

Do you remember the curiosity of watching bugs crawl, the wonderful chase of butterflies and the capture of fireflies ?

Do you remember your wide eyed innocence, your endless curiosity, your unlimited capacity to feel and to enjoy ?

There is still another adventure, greater than any other, a place waiting to be discovered, whose only requirement is that you remember....your free pass to enter, is the heart of a child ?

The Beggar and the Rich Man
by Carolyn Jackson   I once met a man who told me that it is impossible to find spirituality without first having material wealth. This story was inspired by him.

Once upon a time, in the ancient city of Calcutta there lived two men.  These men had never formally met, but saw each other on the street almost everyday.  One was a very rich man named Ababa.  The other was a beggar named Saoel.  The rich man was dressed in the finest silk and his cloak was embroidered with the finest gold thread.  The beggar wore only rags and his feet were calloused and tough from having walked many miles with no shoes.  On the face of Ababa were lines of worry and stress mixed with the look of importance and prominence.  On the face of Saoel there was a look of innocence and joy.

One day, as Ababa passed by the street where Saoel sat begging, he noticed the strange look of joy on the beggar’s face.  Saoel sat with a beautifully carved bowl beside him and was surrounded by children and dozens of pigeons, that pecked at the scraps he always seemed to have near him to feed them.  His face was not lined and his eyes held the wonder of a child.  Ababa was mystified.  How could a beggar look so content?  Saoel noticed the gaze of the rich man also and wondered at the same time at the lines surrounding his eyes and mouth.  How could someone who had so much, be so worried?  In India, in those days the rich and poor did not speak to each other and took great care usually not to notice each other.  

The people of those days believed that God gave each man his destiny and to interfere in that destiny would be an affront to God’s design.  Ababa knew this, but the joy in Saoel’s face could not be ignored and he felt drawn to approach him.  He reached into his purse and self-consciously dropped a few rupees in the beggar’s bowl.  Saoel looked up at Ababa with such a look of deep gratitude that Ababa became terribly confused, dropped a few more rupees and quickly scurried away.

Now Ababa considered himself a self made man.  He believed that what was his, he had created.  He took care to provide for himself and his family and he took pride in these responsibilities.  He liked the challenge of provision.  His wife and children loved him for it and were never in lack or in need, but to maintain this world for his family sometimes caused Ababa some concern.  It wasn't always easy to make the money, that they had become accustomed to, but Ababa always found a way.  In truth, he would have had it no other way.  The challenge of this, is what made him feel important and that caused the lines that were on his face.  Although Ababa led a respectable life by any man's standards, he could not quite say that he was entirely happy.  This is what intrigued him about the beggar.  Good men would say that the beggar's life was no life.  Ababa felt pity for the beggars in the streets of Calcutta and always took care to set aside a few rupees for them.  It made him feel even wealthier and even more important.  Saoel was the very first one in whose eyes he had seen such joy.

Now Saoel would have been surprised to know that Ababa had given his life a second thought.  He was beyond happy and didn’t question his existence.  It was a simple and profound joy to be alive.  His eyes were lit with an appreciation for all of life.  Although God had given him no family of his own, he loved each of the children that gathered near him.  He loved their chattering and games.  He loved the pigeons that flocked to him, not knowing that they were drawn to his joy and gentleness.  He saw the hand of God in everything.  He felt loved by the feeling of the air being drawn into his lungs.  He delighted in the strength of his feet and legs, which carried him through the streets of Calcutta.  He saw the face of love and generosity in the faces of all of the people who dropped money in his beautifully carved bowl.  He possessed this beautifully carved bowl because he considered it a privilege to receive any and everything and that was the secret of his joy.  

He was profoundly grateful to be alive and profoundly grateful to receive so freely everything that was given to him.  He never considered that he was not the wealthiest of men and in truth he was.  He noticed the lines and the discontent on the faces of the men who dropped rupees into his bowl and he knew that they did not know the secret of life.  So, he continued to consider himself the richest of all men.

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Months and years passed.  Ababa and Saoel continued to notice each other and each saw the changes in the face of the other that the years brought.  Ababa became a slightly stooped and the lines of discontent turned to lines of anger and disappointment.  The joy and innocence on the face of Saoel continued to grow also.  More and more people flocked to him to hear his secret.  Little by little, Saoel became wealthier and wealthier.  He was given a beautiful woman to marry and was blessed with children of his own.  Never did he forget the secret.  He continued to give thanks for everything that was given to him and to see the face and hand of God in everyone he met.  He kept the beautifully carved bowl beside him always to remind himself that being a beggar was his highest aspiration.

Eventually Ababa began to sicken and die.  His wife and his children came to visit his bed everyday.  They desperately asked him what they could do.  As Ababa lay back with his eyes closed and reviewed his life, he replied, ”I need to see the beggar.”

His children searched the city for Saoel, but could not find him on the streets.  He had moved to a beautiful house on the outskirts of Calcutta and continued to teach the secret of life.

Saoel heard about the rich man seeking to find him and from the compassion in his heart he traveled to Ababa’s home.  When he saw the tired old face of the man he had been curious about for years, he had only one thing to offer him.  He laid his beautifully carved bowl beside the dying man and said, “Remember your life with gratitude, for it is life’s greatest treasure to be a beggar.”

In the Beginning I Was Bored
by Robert Clyde Affolter

One night I was sitting in a small group and we were contemplating the universe and universal design. As I sat I became aware of a universe of energy. However, everything was gray, there were no forms, no thoughts, no emotions, no sensations just a Universe of gray. Everything was peaceful and it was interesting to stay there for a little while; but soon I was bored.

Could that have been the beginning? Some people think we live in a world of chance, that there is no Creator, and everything is random. However, the universe is not random. If it were there would be no cause and effect and our lives would be total chaos. Imagine drilling for oil randomly, or searching for gold randomly. Imagine never working expecting to be paid but thinking that a paycheck was just a random occurrence that happens once in awhile no matter what you do. No, none of us truly believes in a random universe.

If this is a universe of cause and effect, then there must be a first cause after which everything else is effect. That first cause would be the Creator. I have heard many people speculate as to why we were created. One person told me that we were put here to work. I never found that answer satisfactory. The creator of the magnificent world in which I live certainly doesn't need my help to continue it's job.

Others have said that we are here to learn and grow. Learn what and grow to what? Why would an all intelligent Creator build a creation which is designed to learn and grow? Again the answer seemed unsatisfactory and brought no fulfilment.

After experiencing the grayness of the universe and being a little bored I wondered, what if we are part of a giant game? Now many of you will hate that idea. You will think, “My life is serious. My life isn’t a game.” But wait!

If we are built in the image and likeness of our Creator, we can gain some understanding of our Creator by observing ourselves. What do we do when we are bored? We create entertainment. We created football, basketball, plays, movies, books, the list goes on and on. If we can create good games, what kind of game could our Creator create? The ultimate game–the Game of Life.

No game is worthwhile if you don't take it seriously. Who wants to watch two teams play football if neither team cares whether or not they win? Who wants to see a lopsided game where one team trounces the other? We want to see passion, drive, desire, and competition. One Olympic competitor said that he wanted to compete against athletes at their best so that when he won he knew he had beaten the best in the world.

So the best games we create, we take seriously. Take that up to infinity and you suddenly realize why you take your life so seriously. The Creator made this game life or death! Now you begin to get a small glimpse of the intelligence of the Creator.

Of course next, we will have someone who doesn't want to play. Life is too hard. The struggle is too much. The Creator should just let me have an easy life of luxury. Okay. But first you have to understand the game and how to play or stop playing.

I think it was before the experience of seeing the universe as gray that I had the idea for the game of life. One night I was watching one of my sons play a video game. He was actively BEING the character on the screen. His body would jump and jerk as his hands moved the joy stick, his eyes glued to the screen and his mind totally absorbed. What a game! He was no longer a human sitting on the floor in a house playing a game. He was a character in a video game and nce he had the game beaten he was tired of it and ready for another game. Of course, I was above all that, I was playing computer solitaire.

What makes good entertainment? Each of us is different and we like different things. Some of us like humerus movies. Some of us like love stories. Others may prefer some action, war drama. Still others may prefer to use their minds to solve a mystery. A good movie, book or any entertainment holds our attention and arouses some emotion within us.

What makes a good game? We like competition, winners and losers. Whether the competitor is a computer game, a mountain slope, or a human being, we enjoy the challenge and the thrill of victory when we overcome the competitor. If our Creator wanted to create a game which It could play, what would It have to do?

Is it possible that our current technology with virtual reality is very similar to our Creator’s game of life? Has this game been constructed so that the Creator can become each player in the creation and play all positions simultaneously? If so, then each of us is the Creator in disguise playing a game which we take quite seriously. How does It create the disguise and why do we forget who we are?

We are given a body which experiences sensations such as heat, sound, sight, touch, smell, taste, position sense, pain and sex. We are also given a thinking unit which stores memories and processes information. So far I have said nothing that you did not already know. You were also given awareness and an ability to choose. Ah! Have you thought about that?

You have an ability to choose what you want to do with your life. You can choose your experience. You can choose pleasure or pain. You can direct your thinking unit. You can also quit playing the game. The choice is yours.

Make the most of this opportunity. Don’t be bored. Have a wonderful experience. Have a beautiful life.

Prem Rawat
Words Of Peace

Internationally-Known Speaker on College Speaking Tour Makes Plea For Renewed Focus on Inner Life as Path to Personal, World Peace FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 20 /PRNewswire/

Prem Rawat, the internationally-known teacher who has addressed 4.5 million people around the world on achieving inner peace and contentment, recently brought his special insights and perception to Nova Southeastern University, a stop on a national collegiate tour that also included the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Colorado at Boulder. Speaking before a capacity audience of students, faculty, and guests, Prem Rawat - also known as Maharaji - questioned the modern obsession with external goals as the path to personal happiness and fulfillment.

"We do so much to fulfill ourselves on the outside," Prem Rawat said. "We create massive institutions as we seek to expand our outer horizons, yet overlook our inner horizons. It's perfectly fine to learn about the world, but we must also learn about the heart because true peace is not found outside. Within the heart of every human being lies the possibility for being fulfilled and discovering what is real in life."

In an address covering many aspects of the contemporary quest for a more fulfilled existence, he placed particular emphasis on "the importance of recognizing what it means to be alive" and the need to strengthen the search for peace within first. "Right now there are a thousand explanations for why we should have wars, but hardly any about why we should have peace. With all the research that is done to efficiently destroy one another, there should be some research done to understand how we can save each other."

Peace, he stated, "is not an impossible dream for the world." But he also stressed it is something that "begins with each of us. It does not begin with nations. It does not begin with giant institutions. Everyone waits for someone else will bring peace. But we can do this ourselves. We start to say, 'I need peace in my life and let it begin with me,' that is the day we are going to see profound change." He ended his remarks with an affirmation of the simple value of being alive:

"Try to live your life more consciously.
For every day, for every breath, be thankful."