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The Temple of Mary, Our Lady of the Dove
Newsletter
July 2012
Sri Hettienne Bhaktymayi Ma
http://bookofmarysacredheart.blogspot.com
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Welcome to the second newsletter from the Temple of Mary, Our Lady of the Dove.
The Temple of Mary offers a temenos for communion in Bridal Mysticism, the Divine Marriage or the Yoga of Tantra.
Kundalini, Tantra the sacred weaving, the ‘Divine Marriage’ and the role of the ‘Divine Feminine’.
Tantrica, Tantra or Sacred Tantric Practice, in its purest form, describes both the process and methodologies for the resolution of all conflicts of opposites.From earliest times, the symbology used has been based on the interpenetration of what is, metaphorically, referred to as male – female. In modern terms, it is the search for non-duality.
This is the source of the corruption of the teachings because, if you read further, the metaphor covers the concept (in evolution) of the conjugate metamorphosis of Ishtar-Tamuz (Babylonian), Prajna-Vajra (Buddhist), Sophia Christos (Christianity), Isis Osiris (Egyptian), Shekinah – Ruach (Kaballistic).
The origins of Sacred Tantric practice and doctrine can be traced back at least to the “Indus Valley” civilization that was contemporary with the Sumerian and the beginnings of the Egyptian Old kingdom. The records and doctrines and practices found in archaeological digs finds parallels in ancient Hittite worship.
Tantra, as currently and popularly defined and interpreted within the concept of sacred sexual practices can be considered as a defilement of the essence of Tantra.
In Sanskrit ‘Alla’ means mother.
Throughout the annals of mythology and spirituality, the devi – Kunti – (the Yin/Shakti opposite Yang/Shiva) has taken many forms and faces; some of these are translated accurately, others are not. Many have become owned (over time) by some cannonisation, doctrine .. or set of dogmatic rules.
At the deepest and most primordial, Yin and Yang .. deva and devi are the first separation but, they are never separate. In Hindi, she is Shakti, he is Shiva
deva : d’e’v’a is the primordial masculine principle; an essence or principle, originally; ‘a bright or shining one’ from *div- to shine; the “sign” or “omen” of the energy which pervades; bestowing, producing or imparting; as with hot fire or passion from “above” (as in Heavenly); sometimes seen as a “gift” with the concept of going inward, within or in; the life in-breath; as an aspect of Brahma
devi : dh’e’v’i is the primordial feminine principle; placement or holding; potential to go beyond or transcend; consciousness potential as in “hidden” or “the inner self” with wonder, awe; the energy which pervades ; bestowing, producing or imparting; as with cold fire or passion of receptivity; that which has the potential to ‘learn’ or evolve as the essence of compassion with the power to obtain or become something else
Yoga, itself, is the UNION of the deva and the devi — masculine and feminine — Yin and Yang — Shiva and Shakti
The Tibetans go one step further; they call it Tantra – describing it as the warp and weft of the cloth as in the “sacred” weaving akin to Christianity’s “Divine Marriage” of the Heavenly Bride (Yin, the devi) and Bridegroom (Yang, the deva) .. for it is written:
Tao gave birth to One;
One gave birth to Two;
Two gave birth to Three;
Three gave birth to the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things carry Yin and embrace Yang
The two primordial breaths blend and produce harmony.
The Tao or “The Way of All Things” is a flow, an inter-penetration, an omniscience and an omnipotence and a homeostasis of both masculine and feminine, positive and negative principles
The function of the guide (teacher/guru) on the path of Self-Realisation
A teacher is one who lives free from the idea or image of being somebody. There is only function; there’s no one who functions. It’s a loving relationship; the teacher is like a friend.
A true teacher doesn’t take him or herself for a teacher, and she doesn’t take her pupil for a pupil. When neither one takes himself to be something, there is a coming together, a oneness. And in this oneness, transmission takes place. Otherwise the teacher will remain a teacher through the pupil, and the pupil will always remain a pupil. When the image of being something is absent, one is completely in the world but not of the world; completely in society, but at the same time free from society. We are truly a creative element when we can be in society in this way – Jean Klein
If you marry a belief system, then you are bound by its contracts and laws. So choose wisely. If you choose to marry Spirit, you are bound by the laws of miracles.
It is very difficult and almost impossible, to teach using words. Words are designed to identify and separate, to label and distinguish. Philosophers have written books on the power of words and have debated as to whether they are an empowering tool or a sword. The journey to at-one-ment, or unity consciousness, or simply realising that there is only One, is one of re-integration and dissolving the boundaries and borders, including those created by words! So it is a conundrum. Teachers and gurus so often say, just trust me till you understand, but the independent mind fear such a surrender.
And surrender is indeed the key.
Surrender is a very evocative word. Immediately the lower mind conjures images of dominancy or control or tyrannical mastership by Spirit; which ironically is the goal of the search! And awakening to the Self, only comes when the seeker, either willingly, or forced by circumstances beyond his or her control, completely subjugates personal will and give up the search and the efforts at attaining oneness.
Seeking implies that you are separate or that you have lost that which you are trying to find. If you accept and believe that there is no separation, why do you seek?
Who is doing the seeking?
Thus that which is so deeply feared, is the liberator or the lucifer. The goal of the search is for the material mind to be completely dominated by the spiritual mind. And the opposite is also true. The seeker tries to dominate and subjugate the lower mind with what he or she believes is the spiritual mind, but which in fact is only the Super Ego, or the idea of the idealised self!
The ideal is to have complete dominance of the spiritual mind. In other words, the material mind is swept away so far as its stubborn resistance and opposition to the promptings of the spiritual are concerned. It implies that the body will become the willing servant, or the assistant of spirit. And this is only achievable through surrender to Spirit.
In true surrender, there is absolute acceptance : acceptance of life as it is and not your idea of what life should be like.
In true surrender, there is no effort; there is nothing to gain, and nothing to lose.
The power of studying a method such as A Course In Miracles lies in its ability to confront your ‘lower’ mind. (I use the word ‘lower’ in context to the understanding that you have a Spiritual mind and a lower/material mind. )
To see, reason and judge of life and matter in the knowledge of an all-pervading Spirit, that is the Spiritual mind.
‘once the spiritual mind awakens, nothing can stop its blossoming forth and growing into a Tree of Life’
I would like to here also point out that you have your physical senses and your subtle senses. The physical senses are in a symbiotic relationship with the lower mind and the subtle senses with the spiritual mind. Hence the expression, you will see it when you believe it!
The lower mind does not like change. It loves a routine or a pattern – that pattern may be chaotic and self-destructive, but the lower mind can be hypnotised by rhythms and cycles. The lower mind, through the physical senses, are closely linked to the body and it identifies with the body. In fact, it believes that the body is its sole existence.
There is no separation between the senses, that is the physical and subtle senses, and what they perceive, but it is determined by the lens that you choose to look through.
‘spiritual mind teaches that this life is about joy, pleasure and enjoyment’
Because the lower mind does not like change and it does not like being challenged, it creates a wonderful cocoon of security and comfort for itself, with you as its number one prisoner. The lower mind is often compared to a spider creating its sticky web within which to contain its prisoner as food. The lower mind is ‘sticky’ in its attachments. It creates many rules and laws and by-laws and it projects these onto others and onto yourself.
The web is infinite and the mind infinitely creative. It continues to spin the stories in order to keep itself and its world view safe. When you engage with this sticky web, you become entangled and you become attached.
A tool such as A Course in Miracles, confront the ideas of the lower mind. It offers a marriage of the opposites and a collapse of the lower mind as it eventually turns on itself. It is important to remember that, in its own words, the Course deals with psychological principles and that psychology is really the lay of the land in the mind, so to speak. Spirit and the Real is beyond the mind.
While it seemingly provides a ‘path’, it simultaneously shows you the Real beyond time and space, and thus the premise that this is a pathless path.
Self-realisation is instantaneous (although the unfolding afterwards can take years) and therefore it would seem to be easiest just to practice surrender and detachment. However, there is merit in coaxing the mind to surrender bit by bit, until it is ready to let go of its grasping.
ACIM has been compared to Zen teachings, Advaita Hinduism, Tantra and Christian Mysticism.
What you are fundamentally is a natural giving up. The mind becomes clear, there is a giving up, a stillness, fulfilled with a current of love. As long as there is a meditator, there’s no meditation. When the meditator disappears, there is meditation.
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Miraculous thinking is not the same as
magical
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events.htm
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temple-training.htm
Full information is given below :
- A two-day SoulCollage® workshop – The Hero’s Journey
- Temple of Mary intensive retreats
- Initiation into The Temple of Mary path and receiving Nama Diksha
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Training in The Temple of Mary, Our Lady of the Dove
Training in the Sacred Marriage Within, will begin in September 2012. All initiations will take place during weekend retreats. Only a small number of students can be accepted and the training weekends will only be repeated after the course of one year. Each intensive is a pre-requisite for the next stage.
The first intensive will take place 7 – 9 September 2012 at Artemis, Franschhoek. Your 10% deposit will secure your place. Please book with me and request banking details for deposit. Group accommodation and transport is available. (See below for more details)
Students will receive a manual with notes, a copy of one of the recorded healing meditations (Shekinah Healing) and various diksha. Diksha is the sanskrit word that can roughly be translated as an energetic blessing. The path is one of Kundalini Yoga incorporating diksha, mantra and shaktipat.
The process of awakening can last years and even lifetimes and there is no focus on ‘enlightenment’, but rather on the direct experience and unfolding of the Divine Creatrix within the Self and the reflection in the personal life.
Group accommodation at Otters Bend, Franschhoek.
Otters Bend Lodge, Dassenberg Road, Franschhoek
tel:021-8763200
mobile:079-7474632 [email protected]
www.ottersbendlodge.co.za
Please contact Oliver at Otter’s Bend and mention that you are part of the ‘Artemis’ group. This is what is available and you can choose the type of accommodation that you want :
We have 3 double rooms available, 2 twin rooms, and 2 larger “family” rooms that have a double bed and bunk bed in each. We also have the dorm which has 8 beds and what we call the Hadida room which has a double bed and a single bed in it.
Prices are as follows:
Double and twins; R400 per room per night
Family rooms; R500 for a family or R400 for a couple
Hadida; R500 for 3, R400 for 2
Dorm; R125 per person
Camping; R100 per tent
If a person would like to have a single room (it would be one of the doubles or twins) then the price is R250 per night.
As we discussed, if you could send this info to all the participants. Also if they do end up booking individually please tell them to say that they are part of your conference. We will be asking for a 50% deposit on all bookings.
After the initial weekend in September, a Nama Diksha retreat (residential) (ashram style) will be held on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 October 2012. This is an opportunity for those who
want to commit to this path and to the guru-sisya relationship. Students will receive a spiritual name during a sacred ceremony.
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| This step is optional and not a pre-requisite for attending the rest of the initiations. |
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This event will take place at Blue Butterfly and the fee for the two days of initiations and meditations and ceremony will only be R1000. This will be the first group event of the initiates of the Temple and we will set up the altars and the temple together. We will all contribute and prepare all meals and other activities!Please let me know whether you intend attending as I do not assume anything.Please note if you have any financial difficulty with paying any of the trainings, please discuss with me. Not everyone has the same financial means and I do not want that to be an obstacle to your participation.The Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s Journey
Know that you are the Hero and Hera of your own journey.
Uncover your own myth; discover who you are, where you are going and who you are travelling with.
What is your story? By bringing the unconscious into the conscious, by gaining insight and understanding into your story,
an ordinary life becomes a sacred life.
Join me, as your Vision Keeper, in this workshop over two mornings in Durbanville, Cape Town. Wednesdays 8 and 15 August 2012. You will create your own cards and learn how to work with this amazing process on your own and how to continue creating cards for different aspects of your journey and your self. To learn more about SoulCollage visit www.soulcollage.com. I am a registered SoulCollage facilitator.
Space is limited. Book early. Only R650 for entire workshop, set of notes and all supplies.
The Mother of Good Counsel
Blessings, Hettienne Bhakty Ma
