Saturday March 24th 10:00-4:00pm

         Namaste,

Rev. Kyle Hutchinson says that this is a community event for the community by the community. Our vision is to create a fun and welcoming environment for the public to experience the magic and love that comes from people coming together to co-create, support, and heal. Come browse and shop, network, experience the healing of holistic modalities,expand your spiritual horizons, or simply just come hangout and socialize! Inside: Light workers offer healing sessions throughout the day. Skills & Gifts offered range from massage & reflexology, medium & psychic readings, reiki and aura cleansing, and much, much more. Outside: An abundance of vendors, food, live music, drumming, belly dancing Admission is free. This event is open to everyone & all ages.

Most vendors and Light workers will only be accepting cash.

As a Lightrunner I will be running the Light by doing my readings from 1:00-4:00pm on Saturday the 24th. 

Hope to see you there. Find Rev. Susan Stockton @www.earthspiritcenter.org 

25251 Power Rd. Queen Creek, AZ 85142

Susan

Namaste,

Simple Karma

  I have been thinking about the idea of Karma lately and wanted to share my thoughts with you. Karma for me is a profound and complex subject. My renewed interest wants to think of it in simpler terms. Simple, so that I do not overwhelm you the reader or myself. 

The Sanskrit word Karma (or kammi in Pali) literally means “action” or “deed.” In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism Karma it is the sum of one’s good and evil actions, carried over from one life to the next, determining whether that life is better or worse than the previous life? Thus, Karma is the concept of cause and effect. Karma is action, and Vipaka, is the fruit or result, it is the reaction.

Buddha specifically used the term Karma in reference to one’s intention or motivation while doing the action.

In Western science, Karma sometimes equates with Isaac Newton’s third law of Motion which states: “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” However, Newton’s laws of motion refer only to the physical forces, matter and motion. Whereas Karma includes life, consciousness and motive as well as physical force and matter.

The idea of Karma is also in Christianity, it is conveyed in the Bible although God is the medium that links actions to the results.

          Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A person reaps what he sows.

          (Epistle to the Galatians 6:7)

In the Kabbalah Judaism holds comparisons to Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism concepts. Kabbalah in Hebrew means “received tradition”, reflecting the belief that it continues an ancient line of thought.

The Hebrew term tikum has the root word meaning, “To rectify,” ‘to make whole,” or “to redeem.” In essence the Kabbalah teaches us that every human soul created by God has a unique role to play in the divine plan, an idea that resonates with the Hindi concept of dharma. Kabbalist also believe that one single lifetime is insufficient for the soul to complete its mission on earth. Personal Karma is bandied around our everyday conversations with common sayings “what goes around comes around.” Alternatively, “You get what you give.”

What does Karma mean for the average person? The four laws of karma say it all.

Results are similar to cause, meaning that when I cause harm  to another person the action is negative and the action leads to suffering, thus not only the other person suffers from my doing, but I also suffer as a result of my action.

There are no results without a cause the laws of science require both.

Once an action is done, the result is permanent. It does not disappear.
The

The expansion of Karma arises due to the imprint of an action in our mind. It tends to be habit forming.

These laws of Karma are ripened by the

• Previous action or karmic potential,
• The circumstances or conditions must be available before one can undergo a specific result (vipaka).
• A deluded mind is necessary for without delusions we will never experience the results of previous actions.

What decides when a causal effect will occur as Karma?

• His Holiness the Dalai Lama was asked the following;

Question: “Could your holiness please explain why the results of Karma are sometimes instant and why on other occasions we have to wait lifetimes before the causal effect occurs?”

     Answer:  “One factor would be the intensity of the karmic action itself. Another factor is the extreme to which the various conditions that are necessary for that karma to ripen are complete, and this is dependent in turn, on other karmic actions. Vasubandhu addressed this in the Abhidharmakosha, in which he states’ that the karmic actions which are the most forceful tend to produce their effects first. If the intensity of a karmic action is equal to that of another karmic action, then the result of the action with which the individual is most familiar tend to ripen first. However, if two karmic actions are equally forceful and equally familiar, then the one that is committed earlier tends to produce its results first.”  

This excerpt is taken from the Four Noble Truths by his Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Sometimes it is easier to use large scale examples that we can all relate to besides our individual issues.

 Since we just experienced the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 and the earlier killing of Osama bin Laden, I have chosen this example of Karma. What Karma did this action create? Are there  repercussions?

In alignment with the laws of science listed above;

In response to 9/11, the killing was provoked by a previous action that ripened the laws of potential Karma.

The conditions were available as our delusional separateness was reinforced by the American anger and hate we felt for such a barbaric act upon our soil and the loss of nearly 3,000 souls.

The circumstances of hiding in Pakistan created by Osama bin Laden himself allowed the Karmic effect. Finding his vulnerability for a strike the Navy Seals attacked his compound and killed him.

If you re-read the excerpt above from the Dali Lama, we see that the Karmic actions followed these rules regarding the intensity and the timeline of the events.

We are our nation, and our Karma is our nation’s Karma. I don’t think that too many of us would act differently. The moment the Seals knew he was in Pakistan and entered the compound it was too compelling. However, what is our and the goverment’s intention behind the killing? The Seals doing their job, hatred, revenge or the promise made by our leaders to get Osama? 

With awareness comes true compassion and the recognition of the oneness of all beings. It is hard to see that we are one with the terrorists as our belief system does not even fathom the killing of innocents in the name of Allah.

Pure compassion demands that we do not respond to hatred with hatred or fear and that we do not participate in creating suffering but eliminate it. However, we are only humans striving to be better.

The manner in which we choose to burn our Karmic forces and our intent in doing so as an individual and as a nation defines who we are at this moment in time.

Susan

Namaste,

Happy New Year 2011!

I wish you all a magnificent 2011 with good health and happy thoughts.

According to the ancient Maya the creation of the universe is effected by nine waves. We are feeling the shift into the consciousness of the 9th wave, on March 9, 2011.  The Conscious Convergence, on July 17-18 2010 was a time to set the intention for the next wave of the Mayan calendar system. The new consciousness generated by the 9th wave is Unity consciousness which will manifest itself as we set our intention and co–create this level of consciousness on our journey towards ascension. 

All change whether good or bad is stressful and it is time to let the old patterns and disappointments of 2010, and the past, flow from our heart chakra through a silver cord into the bowels of the earth and set us free for what is to come.

I set my intent on New Year’s Day, but is has taken me a few days to get it down on paper.

I wake up and choose to be joyful.

I meditate every morning as soon as I awake.

I enjoy my swim workout and my aerobics and my long walks and/or the treadmill.

I cook good food and collect nutritious recipes and I shop organically in order to cook healthy meals for myself.

I forfeit more consumer goods and services I do not need.

I read more literary books and continue my Book Club.

I give away everything that I am not using consistently; clothes, food, gadgets.

I finished my Memoir. It is sitting still, waiting for a re-write and another read.

I am a better friend.

I set my intention for the activation of Unity consciousness as I assist in the co-creation of these evolutionary waves.

These intentions are not much different from last year. My writers club disbanded and I did finish one of my books despite a challenging year for me.

My intention is now set.

                                                                  Susan

“This is when, for the first time, standing on the balance that the Galactic Underworld has brought, we will begin to sense the supramental consciousness that the Universal Underworld will bring. For all those seeking to become part of the new species of human beings endowed with an unlimited consciousness, this is a time to absorb the new energies of universality.”

—Dr. Carl Johan Calleman, author: The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness

Namaste,

          

Merry Christmas to all my friends, clients and those just passing by to read a bit of news.

This has been a year of change and loss.

Most of us have seen our assets shrink, while our waistbands have not. Some have lost their jobs and their homes.

Learning to live with less is more . . . as we connect with what is dear to us, our families and friends and embrace with gratitude all that we have in this present moment.

2011 holds hope in our hearts as we shift to renewed prosperity for everyone.

                                        Blessings!

                                            Susan

Namaste,

Long before Elizabeth Gilbert wrote her popular book “Eat, Pray, Love,” I had done just that in Italy, India and Bali. Unfortunately, I didn’t write a bestselling book. Kudos to Elizabeth for writing her book and sharing her remarkable journey.

However, I did eat my way through Indonesia tasting the Balinese delicacies served throughout the island, starting with the Nusa Dua Hotel restaurant and moving on to Ubud’s many restaurants. We tried the Dirty Duck, Cafe Wayan, Cafe Luna, Ary’s Warung and Shandana Veggie Cafe. We drank mango lassi’s, so cool and refreshing as good as any I have had in Malaysia or India. We prayed daily at the numerous Temples we visited across Bali.

Delores at Nusa Dua Hotel

My first experience in Bali was life changing. The beauty and spiritual depth of the Balinese people captures one’s heart as no other culture. Each morning we observed the woman of the house preparing a food offering fringed with frangipani or orchids and placing it at the doorway of the house for the Spirits. It is so touching to witness this devotion as a morning ritual.  In the evenings the village men were seen rushing to temple from work, a tribute to their faith. Many homes had Spirit houses placed outside the doorways.

Buddies in Bali

Let me share with you my healing with a renowned Balinese Healer and the unique experience of a Hindi Cremation Ceremony as I traveled with friends on my own spiritual journey throughout Bali. Flying on Garuda Airlines to Denpasar after meeting up in Los Angeles with our little group Monica, Carol and Delores, for the long flight to Bali we began our new adventure. I was a presenter for “Power Places” of California and we knew that we had an additional group of spritual seekers awaiting us in Bali.

Balinese Healer, Susan and Translator

The tour company had set up the conference in the Nusa Dua Beach Hotel at Kawasan Partwisata in Nusa Dua, a luxury hotel on the Indian Ocean with a fantastic spa.

We spent spent several several days at the hotel meeting our traveling companions and enjoying the Metaphysical Workshops by different presenters. We arranged to meet with a Balinese Healer, called a Balian and a Psychic healer. The Balian was located in the village of Desa Singapadu Tengah near Ubud. We met individually with each healer speaking through a translator. The Physical Healer was amazing especially for me in retrospect. He told me that I had a serious condition on my right side above my stomach. I shrugged it off thinking it was some future female issue. The healer touched my right side a little above my waist and pressed his hand into the flesh below my rib cage. Unbeknownst to me I had  a rare pheochromocytoma tumor and a mass on my adrenal gland which was growing and eventually caused great havoc to my system. The Balinese healer saw this disease in May,1996 and told me that I would eventually need surgery. This tumor was discovered by chance in 2009 and its removal with the adrenal gland likely saved my life.

My oncologist found the tumor and the surgeon removed it as non malignant. My doctor informed me that the tumor had been growing slowly for years. The Balinese healer identified my condition thirteen years before the doctors found it in my body. The tumor spikes extremely high blood pressure and the symptoms mimic a heart attack and if misread can be fatal. I had known something was wrong and until I began to write down my symptoms over a long period of time no one could piece it together.

Susan being Healed

Remarkable in itself, I who usually pay attention to what I am told discounted the symptoms the healer described albeit, maybe because I had other acute health issue to deal with or I was having too much fun living life, and I had forgotten what he told me until I began to ready myself to blog about this trip and in looking over my notes taken at the time I was completely astounded at what he had foretold and how it had occurred.

I did not take notes myself on the information from the psychic healer as I was caught up in the moment with the translator and don’t remember what she said to me, However, I do recall what she told Monica and it too has come to pass.

That is however, Monica’s story to tell.

Balinese Psychic

Funeral Tower

We were privileged to attend a Balinese Cremation ceremony for an elderly village woman who had died. The ceremony was an assault on the senses. In the cremation, called a pengabenan, we saw traces of many religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, animism, magic, spirits and Christianity. The Balinese believe that the soul lives in the body as a temporary state and upon death the soul must be returned to the five elements, solid, liquid, energy, radiance and ether to become ready for reincarnation.

When I returned to Washington DC a friend looked at the pictures of the cremation ceremony and commented, “It looks like a movie set are you sure it was real.”I assured him that this was Bali and a real Hindi cremation that we had attended.

The drumming, chanting, and flurry of noisy chatter could be heard before we saw the sight of the villagers dressed in multi-colored batik sarongs. The men stood about in swirling skirts some in black and white checks with black shirts and batik waistbands carrying the Pagoda like tower. Visible from every angle was the white shrouded body of the deceased as she was carried through the village to the site of the ceremony for the burning of the body.

Funeral Pyre

Following the procession along the brown dirt road full of potholes in the unbearable heat and humidity we traveled by foot to the cremation celebration. We stopped to watch the villagers gather food at Balinese homes and were invited in to see the huge array of cooking that was going on for the feast. The family walked in front of the colorful tower. The vision of that day stays with me current and vivid in my minds eye as the joy of life at death was evident during the funeral celebration of a Balinese elder.

We returned to our hotel in Nyuh Kuning walking the short trek from Ubud through Monkey Forest keeping the creatures at bay. We had moved from the luxurious Nusa Dua hotel and our inexpensive hotel was as lovely as one could imagine overlooking verdant rice paddies. Our room included breakfast with banana pancakes, coffee and fresh fruit for rates about $25.00 dollars a night for two. The pool was surrounded with bougainvillea vines. The rooms were high up on stilts with hand made Balinese teak wood furniture, nestled away from the hub of Ubud.

Monica at Temple (Pura)

Did I Say,

Eat, Pray , Love.

There were no cats on the island as evidenced by the rats of Ubud quite visible running up the bamboo rafters of the restaurants or scurrying through our room at night gnawing through our tupperware containers into our trail mix.  Our hotel in Saren Indah seemed exempt from rats,(as was the Nusa Dua hotel)  and I do mean rats, not mice, maybe that’s why the hotel was  built on stilts. I noticed Delores stopped ordering chicken after that. Cat indeed! We did not mention our unsavory thoughts to the others.

Carol and friends in Temple gear

Eat and Pray, that came easy for us. In every Temple we thanked God and all the joyous Spirits for our bountiful lives. It was easy to be grateful for the time, the money and health to enjoy such a marvelous adventure. We felt truly blessed and gratitude was ingrained in all of us as we traveled around the area seeing the simplicity of the worldly goods consumed around us. Praying at temple each day with our ceremonial sashes and sarongs covering us gave us time to reflect on our abundant lives. We all enjoyed high paying jobs and the luxury of traveling half way across the world. We knew that we were blessed.

But love, physical love, not one of us found in Bali. Some had left lovers at home but love was all around us in the family life of the Balinese we met, and the unique giving individual souls who crossed our path.

Not a personal soul mate like Elizabeth found, but many souls living lives of unconditional love. One such soul we met in the form and spirit of a woman named Ibu (mother) Robin Lim, a midwife, poet, author and remarkable woman. She was providing limited midwifery care with a few volunteers to the people who needed it in the area of Ubud out of her spacious Balinese home which was still being built at the time. We visited her home and donated what we could to her cause. Her enterprise was new when we met her but in the decade that we have been gone, I am happy to say her Foundation has flourished. She now does her work in Bali, Aceh Sumatra, Indonesia and Haiti. If you are drawn to her service for others please check out her Foundation and make a donation if you wish. It is called Yayasan Bumi Sehat (Healthy Mother Earth) Foundation and can be found atwww.bumisehatbali.org

Robin Lim in Aceh

Robin Lim is a mother, grandmother, author, poet, midwife and educator who lives in Bali with her husband and children. She is a certified midwife, with the North American Registry of Midwives and Ikatan Bidan Indonesia. She is founder and executive director for Yayasan Ibu Bumi Sehat Birth Center in Bali. Lim splits her time between the birth center and Tsunami Relief Clinic in Samatiga Aceh, Sumatra. Ibu Robin is an author. Many of her articles, stories, and poems have been published in Midwifery Today magazine and the Birthkit newsletter. Lim has been given the Alexander Langer International Peace Award.

(Taken from Robin Lim Bio from Midwifery Today, accessed on the web 9/16/2010)

                                    Susan  

All photopgraphs were taken by Susan Stockton in May 1996, except for the current picture of Robin Lim taken from web,mage, accessed September 16, 2010, The picture was taken in Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia and is taken from a field report by Heather Crawford May 13, 2008.