Like a true Easter miracle, behold the splendor of a Jesus-shaped Cheeto!
Seriously.
This Texas minister says he stumbled across this divine symbol inside of a bag of cheesy eats.
Mmm...I always did wonder if Jesus would be of the Flamin' Hot Crunchy flavor variety or more of a pure and uplifting Natural White Cheddar Puffs kinda guy. Guess we now have that answer! Praise Cheesus!
Happy Easter y'all...I love each of you more than a big bag o Peeps!
Vivlish
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, died Tuesday at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, a spokesman said. He was thought to be 91 years old.
"He died peacefully at about 7 p.m.," said Bob Roth, a spokesman for the Transcendental Meditation movement that Maharishi founded. He said his death appeared to be due to "natural causes, his age."
Once dismissed as hippie mysticism, the Hindu practice of mind control known as transcendental meditation gradually gained medical respectability.
He began teaching TM in 1955 and brought the technique to the United States in 1959. But the movement really took off after the Beatles attended one of his lectures in 1967.
Maharishi retreated last month into silence at his home on the grounds of a former Franciscan monastery, saying he wanted to dedicate his remaining days to studying the ancient Indian texts that underpin his movement.
"He had been saying he had done what he set out to do," Roth said late Tuesday.
With the help of celebrity endorsements, Maharishi — a Hindi-language title for Great Seer — parlayed his interpretations of ancient scripture into a multi-million-dollar global empire. His roster of famous meditators ran from Mike Love of the Beach Boys to Clint Eastwood and Deepak Chopra, a new age preacher.
After 50 years of teaching, Maharishi turned to larger themes, with grand designs to harness the power of group meditation to create world peace and to mobilize his devotees to banish poverty from the earth.
His rise to fame came with his association with the Beatles, who first attended one of his lectures in August 1967 in Wales as they looked for a way of attaining higher consciousness in the aftermath of that year's Summer of Love.
The Beatles were so charmed by the self-effacing guru that they agreed to stay with at his India compound, starting in February 1968, an astonishing choice for what was then the world's most celebrated music group.
But once there, Maharishi had a falling out with the rock stars after rumors emerged that he was making inappropriate advances on attendee Mia Farrow. John Lennon was so angry he wrote a bitter satire, "Sexy Sadie," in which he vowed that Maharishi would "get yours yet."
Maharishi insisted he had done nothing wrong and years later McCartney agreed with him. Deepak Chopra, a disciple of Maharishi's and a friend of George Harrison's, has disputed the Farrow story, saying instead that Maharishi had become unhappy with the Beatles because they were using drugs.
Director David Lynch, creator of dark and violent films, lectured at college campuses about the "ocean of tranquility" he found in more than 30 years of practicing TM.
In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Lynch said it has aided him "in every aspect of life."
He said he believed Maharishi has laid the groundwork for world peace, even if that was not immediately apparent from world affairs.
"The world appears in bad shape on the surface, but I compare it to a tree: there are yellow sickly leaves dropping off but Maharishi has brought nourishment to the roots. Hang on for a little while longer, it's coming."
His followers say that some 5 million people devoted 20 minutes every morning and evening reciting a simple sound, or mantra, and delving into their consciousness.
"Don't fight darkness. Bring the light, and darkness will disappear," Maharishi said in a 2006 interview, repeating one of his own mantras.
Donations and the $2,500 fee to learn TM financed the construction of Peace Palaces, or meditation centers, in dozens of cities around the world. It paid for hundreds of new schools in India.
In 1974, Maharishi founded a university in Fairfield, Iowa, that taught meditation alongside the arts and sciences to 700 students and served organic vegetarian food in its cafeterias.
In 2001, his followers founded Maharishi Vedic City, a town of about 200 people a few miles north of Fairfield. The city requires the construction of buildings according to design principles set by Maharishi for harmony with nature.
Ed Malloy, a TM practitioner and mayor of Fairfield, said Maharishi's followers in Iowa were spending Tuesday evening meditating and holding a "celebration of gratitude for everything he's given."
Supporters pointed to hundreds of scientific studies showing that meditation reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, improves concentration and raises results for students and businessmen.
Skeptics ridiculed his plan to raise $10 trillion to end poverty by sponsoring organic farming in the world's poorest countries. They scoffed at his notion that meditation groups, acting like psychic shock troops, can end conflict.
"To resolve problems through negotiation is a very childish approach," he said.
In 1986, two groups founded by his organization were sued in the U.S. by former disciples who accused it of fraud, negligence and intentionally inflicting emotional damage. A jury, however, refused to award punitive damages.
Over the years, Maharishi also was accused of fraud by former pupils who claim he failed to teach them to fly. "Yogic flying," showcased as the ultimate level of transcendence, was never witnessed as anything more than TM followers sitting in the cross-legged lotus position and bouncing across spongy mats.
Maharishi was born Mahesh Srivastava in central India, reportedly on Jan. 12, 1917 — though he refused to confirm the date or discuss his early life.
He studied physics at Allahabad University before becoming secretary to a well known Hindu holy man.
After the death of his teacher, Maharishi brought his message to the West in a language that mixed the occult and science that became the buzz of college campuses.
Maharishi's trademark flowing beard and long, graying hair appeared on the cover of the leading news magazines of the day. But aides say Maharishi became disillusioned that TM had become identified with the counterculture.
In 1990 he moved onto the wooded grounds of a monastery in Vlodrop, about 125 miles southeast of Amsterdam.
Concerned about his fragile health, he secluded himself in two rooms of the wooden pavilion he built on the compound, speaking only by video to aides around the world and even to his closest advisers in the same building.
John Hagelin, a theoretical physicist who ran for the U.S. presidency three times on the Maharishi-backed Natural Law Party, said that from the Dutch location Maharishi had daylong access to followers in India, Europe and the Americas.
"He runs several shifts of us into the ground," said Hagelin, Maharishi's closest aid, speaking in Vlodrop about his then-89-year-old mentor. "He is a fountainhead of innovation and new ideas — far too many than you can ever follow up."
___
Amsterdam-based Associated Press writer Arthur Max and New York-based Associated Press writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report.
(if you want to see it all, final 3 parts of the above docu are also on youtube).
This item has been added to My eBay for Guests. As a guest, you can: Track up to 10 items on this computer in My eBay Receive an email reminder for this item a few hours before it ends
This is an original Lancaster, PA, Horse
drawn Carriage. This was made in 1984 and has always been shed kept and
used regularly. Rubber is excellent steering/axel hubs are tight. Paint
is fair, canvas has one repaired tear about 3 inches long. And the
front seat has a hole less than an inch across. Has turn signals, high
beams/lo beams, interior light, wiper, hydraulic brake, seats 2 adults
and 2 small children. its 81" high and 69" wide, rear wheels are 42"
fronts are 37" entire length is about 176". cab width is39' and the cab
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Today we headed out to the Norton Simon in Pasadena to take advantage of the LA county-wide free day.
Neither of us had ever been there and had no sense of expectation of what the collection would be like. All I knew, being a film type person was that Norton Simon was the art collector who married Hollywood legend & Selznick widow Jennifer Jones. Beyond that, nothing really. Well, I have to say, it really took my breath away. First of all, the Norton has a wonderful intimate feel and the interiors which were renovated by Frank Gehry from 1996-99 are perfect for the space.
From the museum site: The interior walls were reconfigured to better display the varied
masterpieces of the Norton Simon collections. The ceilings were raised
and the skylights opened, allowing filtered natural light into the
galleries. The original dark parquet floors were replaced with French
limestone. Two dramatic components were also added: the updated spiral
staircase and the stunning Asian galleries lined in red Indian
sandstone.
Some detail snaps I took...
this was Matt's favorite
marble frieze
The downstairs Indian collection was both of our favorite part of the entire museum. I felt like I had stepped back in time and across the oceans to India. I took a bunch of photos here b/c everything was just so enchanting.
Tara the goddess of compassion, 9th century India.
Siddhartha, Pakistan, 2nd Century.
I cannot express how massively big and impressive these pieces were. The detailing was so beautiful.
Doesn't this look straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark?!
The gardens were a pure dream in the late afternoon dimming sun.
The gardens, then the most extensive in Pasadena, were originally planted in the 1870's and the plants came from donors such as famed botanist John Muir. The 79,000-square-foot inspired by Monet’s Giverny garden has more than 180 species of trees,
shrubs, vines, ground cover and perennials. With a meandering
pond and a small waterfall, the garden is home to large sculptures integrated within the landscape.
Their collection contains such masters as Rembrandt, Matisse, Degas, Van Gogh, Picasso, Goya, Klee, Kandinsky and the largest collection of Indian art outside of India. The current temporary exhibition here for another month features more than 100 paintings and works by Russian Expressionist artist- one of the Blue Four- Alexei Jawlensky. His use of bold saturated color is really something to be inspired by. I thought of Kime and wanted her to see these so I took some more snaps.
Back to the permanent collection (before my battery died) this was just stunning and the scope of how vast this ceiling painting is cannot translate in a simple photo here. It was huuuuuge and so amazing of Virtue personified.
just some detail of the gorgeous Rococo Happy Lovers (The Bird Cage) by Fragonard.
Then my camera died. Poops- just before we got to all the works by Goya, Matisse, Picasso, Degas, Monet, Van Gogh...ah, guess that is a sign I will have to return.
All in all, a really lovely day and it's just 10 minutes from home.
I am a lover of the full moon as anyone who knows me knows. So, I was eager to look up the significance of tonight's moon FRIDAY MAY 12 (right now)
Full Moon at 23 Scorpio occurs May 12 at 11:51 p.m. PDT, and May 13 at 2:51 a.m. EDT. I was happy to discover that not only is it a full moon but also the holiest day of the year for Buddhists.
So, round midnight tonight, the moon is full and shining down on us and the Chinese name for this full moon is the Dragon Moon.
As the birth, enlightenment and Nirvana of Lord Buddha falls on the
same day of full moon of the month of May~which is called Vesak~ and
the moon being the Vesak Moon, Buddhists around the world, including
Nepal, observe Buddha Jayanti with respect and devotion to Buddha upon
the 2550th Birth Anniversary of Lord Gautam Buddha.
The United Nations has been observing the Anniversary of Lord Buddha as a public holiday since 2002.
The decision to agree to celebrate Vesak as the Buddhas birthday was
formalized at the first Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists
(W.F.B.) held in Sri Lanka in 1950, although festivals at this time in
the Buddhist world are a centuries-old tradition.
On Vesak Day, Buddhists all over the world commemorate three great
events: The birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Gautama Buddha.
This sacred day is purely a religious festival, and not a festive occasion.
On this day all Buddhists are expected to reaffirm their faith in the Buddha Dhamma and to lead a noble religious life.
It is a day for meditation and for radiating Loving-Kindness.
For it was on this day that the Buddha was born, and 35 years later
awoke to the unexcelled right self-awakening, and another 45 years
later passed away into total nirvana. In each case, these events took
place on the full-moon day in May.
Tonight is a an extra special full moon...do try to get outside & take it in if you can~
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