The Best Weekend of my life.- Rome!

El Maestro! Nino Soprano.  Pianist at St. Peter's Crowne Plaza Hotel.

 

The Concierge at the  St. Peter's Crowne Plaza Hotel. Made a new friend.

Sculptures everywhere you look.

A city of History.

Can you point me the way to the  best Pizza place please?

Dancing in the streets of Rome!

A Rainy Day at the Colosseum.

Where the Gladiators Reigned!

In the inner sanctum.

Awesome! Is the only word that came to mind. A privilege and honor to be standing in this hall of antiquity. 

When in Rome! Smile!

It felt good to meet your Archetypes.

It is not my intention to promote any particular religion o the world, albeit Islam, Christianity, Hinduism Taoism or Buddhism, (even if it may not be considered a religion, more like a way of living.) I am addressing spiritual issues that has bugged me for most of my life ever since I was confronted by my schoolmates and friends in a negative way about my faith as a child. I have been grappling with the issue through out my life looking for answers that i can truly  believe to be my own truth of the matter. Even to this day at the age of seventy I find myself still time and again being thrown in the dark as to the meaning of it all; it is insane. However it also a baggage that I had allowed to accumulate across my like a crucifix carried by Jesus. I believe most of mankind do this, some worse than others. I have the tendency to blame it on my mind for this conundrum, but this is getting to become an escape and in dealing with the mind one gets trapped into a game of dual thinking, right and wrong, good or bad, a never ending game that leads me to nowhere, like a vicious circle. 

Yesterday evening before I went to bed I sat and as I sat after reciting the few verses of the Quran for safety reasons, I found myself transforming into Lord Shiva with a hooded serpent coiled around my neck and in my left hand I held a trident. I felt my body erect and solid in form like a young warrior radiant with youthful vigor and on top of my heard curled a mountain of hair. I was disturbed initially as i was committing the first of the mortal sin as a Muslim, which is having a second to God. But I did not give in to this 'fear' and continued to observe my state and to justify to myself i decided that this too is God's will, as all is His creation. I felt a smile of understanding happening and continued the feeling of this transformation into this Adi Yogi as I sat across from the Mountains of the Himalayas enjoying the cool breeze. This is perhaps what happens when you watch and listen to too much religious teachings on You Tube.

A thought crossed my mind after a while and it whispered, "If you can sit like the Lord a Shiva you can also sit like the Buddha or the Prophet of Allah in His little cave before He had his revelations, or Jesus as He sat in the desert seeking answers. In other words I can sit and meditate as who I choose to be for as long as I do not attach myself that this is who I am but just manifestations of the highest of spiritual which carries within each and every one their own spiritual identities and wisdom teachings. None of these personages uttered a word nor did I felt like I was a Hindu, a Christian, a Muslim or a Buddhist; I was what i chose to experience while sitting. Their wisdom came through as a feeling more than as knowledge and this wisdom I felt was from  all my years of studying and understanding of the teachings of each and every one of these great Beings from the past. All that I truly felt as each one manifest was that I was being told, "It was alright, that All Is One and One Is All."

I felt sad when it was all over and went to sleep dreaming beautiful dreams of meeting great minds and having meaningful conversations about spirituality. I had decided not to write about it when I woke up this morning, but at the same time I felt compelled to as it is time to share the deeper aspects of what is happening in my practice and for those on the same journey as I am, I hope that this will help to further encourage their perseverance towards getting to know they truly are. All the quotes and saying of the ancient are not empty words but handed down but keys that unlock the treasure trove of your subconscious, just as a hashtag does to the workings of the Internet; C.G. Jung  named them the Archetypes.
#Archetypes,#Jung,# Lord Shiva, #Muhammad, #Jesus. 

       



  

Read at your own peril.

Woke up this morning feeling like my old friend, depression, creeping into my consciousness. I felt all the symptoms of anger, despair, low self esteem and the works seeping into my aching body wondering if I could survive this morning attacks. So I sat. I sat and watched and asked all the pertinent questions as to why I felt so low in form and energy and what was making me feel like I have arrived at an impasse. I watched as the mind slipped from one thought to another often avoiding the real issues or answering to the immediate questions and I had to draw it back towards what was at hand. I kept an 'open mind' or detached from making any judgment calls as thoughts arises and slipped away, taking note of the relevant answers closely related to what I had intentionally asked of myself. Yes my mind likes to play the denial games of avoidance and I have to keep on being aware of gathering it back into focus on the issues ta hand like making a child pay attention to his teacher.

The answers I got after an hour of sitting was nothing worth bragging about except that I realized that I had at least become free from the depressive and negative sway that i had woke up with. I looked at the house plants and     they told me they should be watered and I looked at my two cats and they told me to check if their food and water were made available and I checked my tummy and felt hunger. I found no mind blowing answers but I found that I need no answers other than just taking care of what needed to be done in the here and now. I needed no justifications except to allow for comes next to happen effortlessly: I needed to take a long cold shower.

Yes, I also found out that I need to change the situation that I am in right now but I also learn as from the past that it too will happen and has to happen effortlessly when the time is ripe. This morning I will continue to keep doing my chores and enjoy the quiet and solitary space that i have created for myself and not feel like something is lacking in my life. I learned as i have often learned in the past that there is no escape from these rise and fall of negative thoughts and feelings and that all I have to do is watch them like I would watch clouds come and go in a clear and empty blue sky. In short i have to learn to let go. I learned that i have to make the best of this peace and quiet and allow myself to further explore deep into my inner being, my subconscious. I may not be able to stop the rise and fall of negative or positive thoughts but I can watch and learn and perhaps gain a better insight into the nature of my feelings and perhaps curb my depressive moods in the bud. It is said that we live and learn and sometimes you have to keep on learning over and over till there is nothing left to learn; letting go is never easy once you have attached to the idea that you are who you think you are.

Between me and God.

When you give God a name you have lost a third of humanity in faith and when you give God an image you loose yet another third, when you give God a personal character the whole of humanity is lost. Only in absolute silence can you hear God speak, so the wisdom of age has said and to be in absolute silence you have to make room for silence to happen which simply put empty you heart and mind from all thoughts. God may not speak in words and He may not make you feel of Himself or His presence, but when He does it will be in the sound of silence itself; like the Universal Sound of Om,(I say like). Like an electrical energy vibration the permeates all through your consciousness moving every single subatomic particle within and without in synchronicity shifting your entire spiritual state into a higher level of consciousness like you are being hit by a lightning bolt  and if you survive this experience, some say you have become enlightened, while others may say you have been touched by Divinity and yet others may send you to the lunatic asylum, if you do not survive the experience.

When you are capable of attaining absolute silence and peace of mind, God speaks to you from every corner of the galaxies and every form of sound, and His presence you will feel in taste and touch in all its pure entirety as though you are no more present to the experience, you become the experience itself, you become like God. You become one with God, you return to God. In the flash of a lightning you are God and there is not much difference as being who you truly are. The difference is only you being who you are trying to capture the moment and describe the experience, you are attached to the experience and want to remain so while trapped in this physical reality. Your mind is the next most powerful entity that you worship after God or the Divine. This is your Demigod, the deity in you that governs the reality that you live in. In this state of being, you worship yourself, In this state you strive to become God; herein lies your hubris.

This hubristic pride is man's downfall from his state of grace, it is the ultimate desire of desires. As the Buddha is said to have said, "The very desire to become a Buddha is a desire and desire is the ultimate cause of suffering." Man's hunger for immortality has kept him chained to this cycle of life, death and rebirth and for so long as he clings to this desire, man will never taste immortality or Enlightenment. An immortal is desire-less free from clinging and attachment to the very idea of what is a desire; he is empty, he has shed his mortal soul and free of his spiritual claims: "I, am no more." Even the Vedantic claim of 'Tat vam Asi' or I am that, I am, or I am Brahman, is invalid as only as the Divine claims, I Am That, which is the Tao, the Unborn. In the words of the Buddha, "Suffering Is, none who suffers. Enlightenment is, but none who attains it."  In the teachings of the Buddha, the 'self' does not exist. In Islam man has to attain the state of 'Fana' or absolute annihilation of the self before he can be one with God, for as long as he is identified with a personal being he will remain two, man and God. In essence God is One in the Abrahamic religions, but for so long as man believes that he is an entity separate from God, he will remain as such, a deity worshiping himself while striving to become one with God; this is 'shirk'.

Fanaa (Arabic: فناء‎ fanāʾ ) in Sufism is the "passing away" or "annihilation" (of the self).^[1] Fana means "to die before one dies", a concept highlighted by famous notable Muslim saints such as Rumi and later by Sultan Bahoo.^[2] Fana represents a breaking down of the individual ego and a recognition of the fundamental unity of God, creation, and the individual self.^[1] Persons having entered this enlightened state obtain awareness of the intrinsic unity (Tawhid) between Allah and all that exists, including the individual's mind. It is coupled conceptually with baqaa, subsistence, which is the state of pure consciousness of and abidance in God.^[3]

In Islam, shirk (Arabic: شرك‎ širk) is the sin of practicing idolatry or polytheism, i.e., the deification or worship of anyone or anything besides God, i.e., Allah. Literally, it means ascribing or the establishment of partners placed beside God.   

This is purely my own speculation and am answerable to none others as it is my on going quest for the truth as my very soul depends on it and only God knows the truth. WallahuAllam.
  #fana,#Shirk,#enlightenment,# hubris, 

Beginning Self Discovery - 101

As I mentioned earlier in my post on Thursday entitled "Samadhi  the Movie", the key to know oneself is through the ability to remain in silence. This is easier said then done and there is no doubt about it as a busy mind is incapable of self discovery and our mind is naturally busy all the time mostly about things that has little to do with who we truly are. It is not east to wake up early in the morning much less waking up with a clear head not filled with aches and pains and wondering what to do the rest of the day. This is where one begin to develop some form of self discipline, the most basic of which is to wake up and take notice of the body. The aches and pains from the long sleep and become aware of the whole physical form inside out. Start with the breathing, start by getting rid of all the trapped 'bad' air in the abdomen and work through the whole body as you move from one part to another like you are unwinding the whole form releasing all the aching muscles and cramps one after another; realignment. 

As you go through this motion notice how your mind resists from the effort and work with it by removing gently all the intruding thoughts that stand in your way of doing this simple exercise. By letting go of your thoughts without any effort you will be able to clear your head from migraine headaches and various other physical vexations that you often wake up with; breath is the key. Consciously breathing sooner than later you will come to understand how your mind and body function as the day begins, it is not easy but it is possible and a must if you are truly keen on self healing towards self discovery. This rewinding and realignment of the body and mind will also help to prepare you to take on the rest of the day's activities with a clear head and an able body. The Muslims are fortunate in a sens they automatically wake up at the crack of dawn and perform the morning prayer, but unfortunately for most, they jump right back into bed to continue their slumber. The more diligent ones of them will continue to sit and meditate or do the Zikr or chant of one form or another, this is what the Sufi adepts do. To add to this, some will continue to do basic stretching exercises loosening up their body and minds before leaving the prayer mat. The morning prayer is the shortest of all the five daily prayers which consist of two rakaats or prostrations but the twice recitations of the short surah or verse of the AlFatihah is crucial to the mind as it involves the sense of gratefulness towards the Creator for being alive. Being grateful towards life is one of the key principles of the 'Law of Abundance' which the western mind expounds. When performing the solat or prayer, the mind is brought to a focus or standstill in the presence of the Divine and this is what most Yogic and other forms of meditation attempts to accomplish. The basic physical movements of the body during the prayer helps to regulate the flow of energy and blood throughout the body. Imagine what it is like for those who makes it an effort to travel to the nearby mosques to perform this early morning prayer, what benefits they get  in awakening their body, mind and Spirit, everyday very early in the morning. 

In order to silence the busy mind one has to undoubtedly take on one form or practice or another and it is a must for those who find themselves lost in incessant thoughts haunting their sleep and waking state. It is emphasized by all religions and spiritual practices that it is in the silence of the mind that one gets to discover one's true nature if not God. 
#self discovery, #meditation, #prayer, #Zikr 

My 3 cents worth - Madame Latifa Koya

As much as my heart and mind resists to make any comment or personal observation with regards to the the ongoing foot dragging trials of the 1MDB involving the former Prime Minister and a host of others along with, I feel like I am no better than those who are living in denial if not blind to the fact that billions of dollars have been siphoned from the country's coffers by the former ruling party members in one way or another. It would seem like those who perpetrated these scams are the untouchables simply because they were  in the seats of power elected there by the very people they rob. Forget the Billions but just watching suitcases filled with expensive items being carried out from the home of the former Prime Minister alone was enough to turn my stomach upside down; such is unjustifiable greed. When the very head of state commits such an act of wanton disregard for common decency, it is sad and it reflects upon the nation as a whole.

Thus when the head of the MACC made public the wiretaps of conversations carried out by the former PM with those who were involved in the scandal, I was both shocked and at same time felt a sense of hope for justice. Here at last is someone who dares to take the bull by the horns and face whatever consequences by revealing what needs to be heard by the public in general to wake us all up to the reality that we have been living in under the guise of rule of law. The public exposure of  these tapes will have repercussions in the court of law as I am sure the lawyers will have field day making sure that the drama will be kept on dragging into a never ending episodes as they still gets their salary paid and the perpetrators runs free while thumping their noses at the justice system and the ordinary people. 

The fact that these tapes were made public, the MACC chief has rattled many cages and blown the case open to the public interest and scrutiny once again, as Malaysians not just Malays. mudah lupa. Even the men chatting in the coffee shops and barber shops now have an idea of what is possible when it comes to Greed and the abuse of power. Right or wrong what the MACC Chief did was a wake up call to All and how this revelation will play out in court will further reveal how reliable is our justice system, It is not just a matter if the former PM and his wife and all those who have their fingers in the pie are guilty of not, it is our justice system that is on trial. Let us all sit and watch as the drama unfolds and live and learn of how our very lives and future are being manipulated left and right by those who swore to uphold the law. 

My deepest respect to the Lady who dared to defy the norm and take the risk upon herself to expose the stench that would have otherwise remained hidden from the general public. What was to stop her from playing along and not jeopardize her career? As a Muslim, I feel she has acted from a higher call for to reveal the truth of our justice and judiciary system that has been plagued by corruption far too long. It is time to wake up and demand that justice be made clear and transparent beyond any reasonable doubt and no more foot dragging. otherwise the potential sacrifice made by the Lady at the MACC would be in vain. I call it a career sacrifice cause that is what she has committed and lawyers on both sides will jump up and down on this issue alone as this is what the Malaysian Judiciary System has amount to; lost in the grey areas, areas only lawyers understand. 
# Latifa Koya,#MACC,#1MDB, 

I miss my son.- Timo

When I look at them from a distance I wonder what their future would be like and I pray inside me that they too will find life as challenging and exciting as i have. A life full of ups and down making full of errors and achievements, a life that is never boring. 

My son Timo was born in Switzerland where his mother was from the country and i met her while i was a Zen student at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. I found out that i had a son when he was seventeen years of age and had discovered who his father is and wanted to know him better. I first met my son in person when I was staying with my first son who lives in Dubai then and still is. In essence we met half way between his father's and mother's country of origin.

I welcomed him to the family and told him that he has an older brother and younger one with a sister and from then on that he is a member four siblings, alone no more. He got along very well with the rest of his brothers and sister as thought they were meant to be.

On his first visit to Malaysia he met my sister, his Malaysian auntie and my family fell in love with him with no questions asked. Perhaps like me he was able to fit in wherever he was and adapt to whatever the circumstances life has to throw at him.

He met my eldest brother and they too got along as though they were meant to be, uncle and nephew.

I took him places where I hung out and met the friends that I have close to me. It was my intention that he experiences people and places that he would not otherwise had been able to touch in his life. it was also my intention to share with him how mush life has to offer in all its beauty.

We visited Awi's Yellow House on Pulau Duyong in Kuala Terengganu where I had spent allot of time with my friend Awi the owner. I had hope that the rustic lifestyle would impress upon him some form of aesthetic impression. 

We visited places and met people who were as friendly and welcoming from all walks of life and races doing their thing in life.

Our visit to the East Coast of the Peninsular was I hope would trigger in him a sense of  what is out there being away from the snow covered mountainous region of the Alps where he had grown up to the Stretches of beaches along the South China Sea.  

In Georgetown He was exposed to the multiracial society which I had hope would help to open his mind and consciousness towards understanding others who are not of his kind. To be at home and comfortable wherever he may be.

Timo is an artist perhaps more so then I am and he is more of a musician who plays the piano and the guitar. However he also draws and paints. Here he sits with his younger brother Karim with whom I feel he is closest to.

In a City that is predominantly Chinese I had hope that he would absorb the feast of cross cultural smorgasbord into his consciousness to broaden his perspective in life. 

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I took him to the Malay Fisherman's jetty, one of my favorite hangouts so that he has a taste  of the rustic environment  of the Malay fisherman's life.  

As Georgetown has been known as the food capital of the world practically, His brother and sister made sure that Timo did not miss out on as much cuisines available at the food stalls.

Making new friends was also one of the key factors that I try to make it happen for him and most of those people who he had time with were impressed of his open mindedness and easy going nature.

Most excited and impressed by him is his sister, Marissa made sure that her brother who was never bored or lack for anything while he was here. 

What lies ahead of them in the lives? Well the picture says it all while they sat in my twin brother's gazebo staring out at the South China Sea.

Yes I miss my son and hope that I will se him again at least once before I kick the bucket and I wish that my eldest son too would one day be here to complete the picture as I miss him the most.

SAMADHI - The Movie -revisited.

"J, Krishnamurti said, "It is no measure of one's health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
"Identification with the egoic mind is the sickness and Samadhi is the cure...
The Saints, Sages and Awakened beings throughout history have all learned the wisdom of self surrender...
How is it possible to realize the true self?..
When you peer through the veil of Maya and let go of the illusory self, what is left?"

Part.2
Ramana Maharshi said. "The self is only one. If it is limited it is the ego, if unlimited it is infinite. and the great reality."...
"Be still and know that I Am God."...
:To realize the self is to be still," Raman Maharshi...
"It is in the silence of your heart that the Divine will speak to you and will guide you and will lead you to your goal."- Mirra Alfassa- The Mother.
"Empty yourself of everything and let your mind rest at peace, The ten thousand things rise and fall, while the self watches their return. They grow and flourish and then return to the source. Returning to the source is stillness which is the way of the Tao." - Lao Tzu.
" Compose yourself in stillness, draw your attention inward and devote your mind to the Self. The wisdom you seek lies within."  - Bhagavad Gita.
"Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. It is the I am that is deeper than name and form." - Eckhart Tolle. 
" Nothing in all Creation is so like God as stillness." - Meister Eckhart.
" In the stillness of the mind I saw myself as I am; unbound." - Nisargadatta Maharaj.
"Let silence take you to the core of life." - Rumi.
" You know of the how, but I know of the how-less." - Rabia Basri, (female Sufi Saint).
"The secret of the receptive must be sought in stillness." - Zhao Xuanjing.
" The complete stillness of the brain is an extraordinary thing. it is highly sensitive, vigorous, fully alive and aware of every outward movement. but utterly still." - -J. Krishnamurti.
"Ultimate truth is without words.
The Silence within the silence." - Pirke Avot.

These quotes were taken from the Movie "Samadhi" which came in two parts 


These were the few closing lines from the Movie, Samadhi Pt.1 on You Tube a two part videos that I had watched several times since I first saw it. It encapsulates answers to all that I have been asking of myself over the years of my so called the road towards self realization. The fact that the ending included a fatal quote from J. Krishnamurti arrested my mind to a halt when I first saw the video, how appropriate for me who have held the man and his thoughts as one of my guiding light.

I share these quotes with those who read my blog as they say what I cannot and for years have been trying to. I might even add that for those who have not already, please watch and listen to this very well done movie that is available free on You Tube as it will help you understand better what you too have been trying to put in words yourself of your journey. I hope this sharing will lead us all together toward a greater understanding of who we are and what we are capable of collectively and how we can put this knowledge to use in the face of the adversities the world is facing today. All we have to be aware is that we all have it and that we can all excess the collective power to manifest our intentions towards World Peace.
#SAMADHI The Movie, # World Peace,#Collective Intention

Good Bye to Johari Hamid -(Joe).

A Cousin on mine I found out had passed away three months ago and he was in the care of a rehab center having been a drug addict and mentally unstable. He was my late uncle's number three in a family of eight children and my uncle was the man who had adopted me upon being born and raised me as his own for twelve years of my life. He was a Buddhist all those twelve years and hence so was I raised as such and he converted to Islam upon marrying a Malay Muslim when in his forties and i was returned to my own family for religious reason, the rest of my family and relatives were Muslims. This story has been told off course time and again to justify why I am and who I turned out to be in terms of religious faith.
But the post is not about me but about my cousin who died quietly or possibly beaten to death by his caretakers as he was prone to violence which is why the rest of his siblings had practically had him sent away in another neighboring state and all but forgotten of his existence. His siblings found out of his death yesterday and he had died on the 10th of October 2019. I had watched him and three others of his siblings grew up as kids and he was a handsome child and lively. He was good in school and very athletic well known as a sprinter in sports among other things. Then something happened to him after he had gone fishing they said and came home 'possessed', it was said he was never the same. He later drifted into drugs and the rest was his fate. I was not around when all these was happening as I had left, migrated to the United States at the age of 25. I learned oh his sad downfall only after I had returned for a visit in the eighties. He was by then lost to the life of the dreamworld of drugs and delusions. His siblings feared him for his constant violence towards them and  he got from bad to worse, being in and out of jail.

Sometime in April- May of 1990  I had returned to Malaysia for a short vacation from the United States and I was having dinner at one of my auntie's home where I was staying about two blocks from where my uncle's house was and a stranger came to the door and told me that my uncle had collapsed by his van at a junction and that  I should take a look. I piggy rode with the stranger to the van an found my uncle laying dead inside the van as someone had carried his body into it. I drove the van home to his house and carried his body into the house. Together with his wife we cleaned him up as he was covered with his own feces from the heart attack he had suffered and the next day had him buried; it was on the First of May, a day etched in my mind forever., a title of a song made famous by the Bee Gees which I could sing and play on the guitar as it reminds me of my uncle's last day.

Later upon my final return to Penang, I found out that my lat uncle's house was being sold for 400 thousand RM and the money split among the children equally and his wife had remarried and had more children. It with his share of the money that my deceased drug addict cousin was sent to the rehab place. In all these I felt hopeless to do much as my cousins had grown into adults and each had their own family to deal with, so I just watched and offered comfort when asked. I grieved for my lat uncle, the man who raised me as I watched his home and family fell apart. I had many doubts an suspicions with regard to how he had been bamboozled by his much younger wife and the man she later married but ti was beyond my place to do anything as I was not much around to count as much. Shit Happens! 

Good bye my unfortunate cousin Joe as we call him and may Allah keep you in a better place as you have suffered more than enough in this miserable life. I sorry than I was not there for you as I too had my own share of crap to carry. We each has our load to carry but yours was much heavier and i hope in the afterlife you will find it lighter. May Allah place you among the believers.

Keep on Rambling...

The very desire to end desire itself is a desire. I learned this saying of the Buddha sometime in 1979 when i was a student at the University of Wisconsin and happened to come by one of Alan Watts works on Buddhism. I think it was "The Way of Zen," if I am not mistaken and this thought stuck with me ever since. I never wanted to be converted into Buddhism or Islam or any of the religions of the world but I had an insatiable curious mind and perhaps still do about spirituality, I needed answers beyond what the ancient texts and holy scriptures talk about. I needed to hold the Buddha or God by the neck or they mine and demand the truth to life, at least mine, like how come it has been so fucked up! The answers are not forthcoming and nor am I anywhere near to finding enlightenment and there were times when i decided to throw in the towel and call it quit; enough is enough.

Then I come to realize that what am to do otherwise. If I stop asking and looking for answers where would that lead me to do with my free time at 70? Work in my garden? Don't have one. Clean my back yard? Don't have that either. My travelling days are limited now due to circumstances of my life situation and financial constraints. Hang out with friends like in the old days getting stoned now and then and chatting away about nonsense, I find this to be repetitive and most have not changed for any significant better. Posting my thoughts on a daily basis like writing my diary or notes to myself is the only thing that is worth doing for now, at the very least I am still on the road to find out keeping my mind busy and at bay from useless non productive and often negative thoughts. Perhaps I have become a story teller of my never ending story in an effort to justify my existence, knowing fully well that I can never convince, not even to myself.

As the world is spiraling down towards self destruction and my life is winding down towards the grave hole, at the very least i have made an effort in discovering who I truly am and that my life's journey is not that bad after all. Sure i made allot of errors and fell along the roadside many times but i got up and I took on the bull by the horns. Along the way I have proven myself that there is not much that I have tasted of what life has to offer and 
the show must go on...the story is never ending even when I am dead and gone. If and when my Maker ask me what I have done with all the years I have been alive I might just tell Him to read my Blog, but off course He has already as He helped me to write it all down; predestined.

Where have we gone wrong?- US-Iran Conflict.

The Red Flag of doom Unfurled.

For the first time in history, the "Red Flag" has been unfurled over the holy dome of the Jamkarān Mosque in Qom Iran.

The flag is a symbol of war. A symbol of a severe battle to come.

This flag was raised on top of one of the biggest and most important mosques in the holy city of Qom in Iran. This was done in honor of Shahid Qassem Suleimani who was killed by the American airstrikes.

While the bush fire is yet raging all over the Australian continent an even more catastrophic event is in the making that involves a potential threat to humanity and the planet and if this event takes its course the Australian fire would pale in comparison to what the outcome would be. Iran's ire has been awakened by the blatant act of the murder of one of her highest ranking government officer said to be the second most powerful man in the country. War is imminent as the push has come to shove by the Americans and its allies towards the Iranian and the Iraqi  people. It would take a miracle for this not to happen as the two Muslim Nations has for a long time now been shoved into a corner by the US led Saudi sponsored Western Allies. The Middle East will see yet another desert storm the like of which one could only imagine in its magnitude of death and destruction.The world would possibly be looking at the making of the Third World War and this time it is doubtful that there will be a winner.

Yet most of humanity is still oblivious to the looming catastrophe in the making despite the rapid deployment of news in this age of knowledge and technology especially via the Internet. The war mongers are practically dancing around the fire and crying for blood without recourse for hope or peace. It is said more than half a billion animal lives have been lost in the bush fires in Australia and as sad as it is, it seems it has not deterred man to create a more devastating scenario of hell on earth as the oil fields all over the Middle East will be targeted on both side of the divide. As had happened in the Iraqi invasion by the Allied troops over  a decade ago the desert skies will be lit up by flames and smoke and this time there will be very little that can be done to contain the damage if and when it happens. Mankind can only pray to all the Gods they worship that war does not break up between the nations that has no love lost between each other and all in the name of power and subjugation. 

Perhaps mankind is indeed fulfilling a prophecy as is written in the ancient texts of the world religions, that The End of Days is at hand and that the world is at its final countdown towards self destruction. Perhaps we are indeed the cancerous virus that has arrived at a stage where the termination line is about to be crossed for the host. If it is said that prevention is better than cure, there is hardly a window opening for this to happen. We are on the verge of entering the point of no return and when the shit hits the fan none on this planet will be spared the misery like it or not. It will matter no more what our belief system or where our faith lies in, we as a specie will inherit a life not worth living in the aftermath of another world war, that is if we survive the fall out.

Where have we gone wrong? Why are bound and determine to annihilate ourselves and the rest of the world along with? Is there no more conscience, or compassion left in our human hearts or are we not intelligent enough to deviate from this route towards self destruction? The human mind is indeed like the fire, it is a good servant but a poor master and we are n this day and age governed more by our minds than our hearts. We are led by Greed, Hate and Ignorance and too blind to see the abyss we are being led to. We have succumbed to our egotistical mind than our spiritual nature, we have totally lost our humanity and become much less than wild animals; we are capable of killing for no good reason other than the desire to kill because we can. The worth of a human life today is not much different from the cost of a bullet. Where have we gone wrong!
#Qassem Suleimani, #Iran, #The Red Flag of Doom. 

        

What is in Creating an Art work -

Creativity is my second nature, it is in my blood fora as long as I can remember. I have spent a good portion of my lifetime sketching, drawing, painting, print making and more and for every piece I have created it was a personal joy that submerge myself into  as art for art's sake. 

I am thankful to have been accorded this God given talent as it has filled the empty spaces in my life and at the same time has been shared with those with similar interest. Art is an act of self manifestation, it has also been a form of a meditation practice that happens naturally when each work is being carried out. It does not matter to me who or what I paint and draw, what matters is that it is a labor of love more than anything else.

I have no medium of choice as I would work with whatever is available at hand and I do not make it a habit of staying with any one style  when I work, I simply make it happen whatever it takes.   

Ideas, design, technique, impressions, they all come to me as I create and I do not mind adopted the works of others as a template for what I 

 choose to produce

I have tried to create optical illusions through manipulation of the medium and very often I would create images that would allow for my viewers to perceive more than I had portrayed through allowing for my subconscious to be involved in my creative actions.  

Minimalism and simplicity has also been my intention when I create something. I like others to wonder how a piece is created to attain such an effect. Exploring all possibilities makes art an interesting process that helps to keep my mind challenged.

Creating an art owrk must be out of fun for me and not pressured by market demands or to seek fame and fortune. A good work is a good work that triggers interest in the minds of those who view my work for one reason or another. I feel the satisfaction of having been creative enough to produce a piece that someone is willing to hang on their wall.

It always begin with a wonder, what if? then it usually moves to the next step, how to and then the execution with confidence that I can do it without much thought or planning.

More often than not I always end up giving away my works to whoever that my heart feels like deserves it. As such I do not know where or who owns my works and I really do not care less. It is not that I do not value my work but it is because I love them that i find it hard to sell them; this is Art for Art's sake.

The Boy Scout is still the Boy Scout.

The Journey into the heart of Darkness that every man dreams of but very few gets to undertake. My mind was fantasizing the journey taken by Joseph Conrad as I took this ride into the remote jungle area of the Muda Dam or Empangan Muda in Malay. The dam is locate in the Sik Area of Kedah and about a five to minutes drive from Belantik. 

When you are cruising on a boat towards what is relatively unknown to you, perhaps simply because this was the first time you've been up this river you get the euphoric feeling of freedom and awe. Wow! Suddenly you are out of your elements and headed into the unknown territory like out of the conscious into the unconscious. However you still the sense of being safe as you sit inside the boat surrounded by water. 

. you

Only the boatman knows where you are headed as he has done this trip before
 with others like you. He is as relaxed as he could be, smoking his local joint. simply steering the boat towards the  final destination while listening to the sound of the motor for any trouble.

I have had the opportunity to make quite a few trips like this in the past throughout my life and each trip had always been very special in its own ways and no two trips were the same. but the experience itself had always been exhilarating to the mind body and spirit.It was always like making a pilgrimage into the wild.

It was the evening when we finally 

arrived and it was time to prepare dinner as soon as possible before it got too dark to see. You can sense the song of the forest around you as it changes its in tempo getting ready for nightfall. It was like the winding up of an orchestra crescendo before the finale. It was all in your mind as you mindfully clean the fish and feeling your whole body starting to settle down from the two hours boat ride.  

When you are surrounded by the jungle you really feel at home not matter how small or uncomfortable that home is, this is your space and you are safe so long as you are in that space. You are never more focused than while doing your chore surrounded by the wild, the periphery of your conscious mind. So long a the mind is kept in action of doing what it is that you are doing you will be safe for to let the mind stand idle would invite too much thinking and imaginations which not a healthy practice while in the jungle.

There is no greater feeling in relationship than male bonding while sharing an experience that demands total cooperation and respect for one another or face consequences otherwise. This  is where egotistical tendencies and personality conflicts are put to the test and best resolved for the benefit of the whole. Swallow your pride and do your part as best you can if not more for your very survival may depend on it.

Sharing an evening meal wraps up the evening and time to face the nightfall. Here in the jungle 'Be Prepared' as the Boys Scouts motto goes is most relevant, just make sure you have done all that needs to be done and place everything where you can find them. As night falls a new scenario opens before you, a whole new experience awaits you till the next morning and this begins often with tall tales of what had happened before to those who were there before you. Good night!

My two cents worth on the New Year -2020

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!
Welcome 2020 a year of vision and fulfillment, (lets hope), together form every corner of this Planet our home, let us bring together our collective spirit and help to heal what needs healing and grow what needs growing. Let us all become fully aware that each and every one of us counts as a member of the human race and should and must be treated as such. That we are One, interdependent and coexisting entity called the Human Race. It is time that we drop our conditioned perceptions of who we truly are and shed our self serving egotistical nature and manifest our Collective Consciousness to bring about a change in our lives and that of others. Let us reach out and touch those who need our Compassion and Love without fear or favor. Let us be free from Greed, hate and Ignorance that has created so much chaos and suffering to all sentient beings and the Planet itself.  

Let us sacrifice our crave for wealth, power and glory for the sake of charity, cherishing and servitude. We are the custodians of this Planet we live in, let us act as one and not the cancer virus that is the cause of our own demise and that of the Whole. Let us be able to say enough is enough and share what is no more needed that our fellow creatures can count on us for their survival. Lest we become the very evil that we are sworn to battle, let us wake up to our existing predicament and act accordingly for the time is way past our redemption. Unless we awaken to our inherent divine nature of Love and Compassion towards others we will be headed for our end of days in an inglorious darkness of our human history. 

Let us turn inwards and contemplate our true nature as the human specie and curb our thoughts and appetites of insatiable cravings to be greater, more powerful and affluent than our brothers and sisters, let us lend ahelping hand and not a judgment of character based upon race creed or religion. Let us truly believe in the credence of the fellowship of man as One indivisible entity in the service of this so called, our existence. Even the worse of fools knows fully well that you do not crap on the very plate that we eat, but this is in reality what we are doing and are in abject denial of this reality. Wake up we must or fall asleep we will, to wake up to the worse of our nightmares. Like a voice in the wilderness, I call out to those in power and those of wealth beyond their need, help us to lead humanity out of this our collective predicament. Help us heal ourselves and the Planet before it is too late to turn back. On the same note let our hearts and consciousness reach out for all the sentient beings, the flora and fauna and the Australian people with silent prayers that the disaster they are facing now will come to an end.

May the year 2020 see the brightness of collective wisdom and generosity put into action and bring about a positive change for the Whole.
#Happy New Year,#2020, Love and Compassion.