"If the only prayer you say in your life is "thank you," that would suffice."
~ Meister Eckhart

"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
~ T S Eliot

Dear fellow Questors,

Welcome to the new issue of the UQ Newsletter and as we round off the American festival of Thanksgiving, I thought it appropriate to dedicate this issue to Gratitude and Pilgrimage. Gratitude is the recognition of one's connection with universal abundance and everything around us. To be grateful is to recognize the sacrifices others have to make for us to have a good life. People that practice gratitude on a regular basis are generally happier, healthier and more optimistic about life. Pilgrimage, on the other hand, requires one to give up everything that one is accustomed to and pursue a journey of spiritual awakening. A pilgrimage is a journey, sometimes physical, sometime psychological and always spiritual, that awakens one's soul to deeper truths and more spiritual freedom. By following the path taken by mystics of the past or by visiting sacred places where spiritual energy is high due to natural or mystical forces, a questor can become energized in their own personal spiritual quest. A spiritual place does not discriminate against faith, ethnicity or gender. It rewards all comers as long as their heart yearns for a deeper truth and their souls are open to the natural resonance of the universe. A pilgrimage is not a holiday, it is a quest for awakening. So if we are grateful more often and take quests or pilgrimages of awakening from time to time, our lives will become richer, happier and we might even see the universe with new eyes.

Enjoy this season of gratitude and pilgrimage. Happy questing!

Raja Choudhury
Founder

The First Thanksgiving

"We set last spring some twenty acres of Indian corn, and sowed some six acres of barley and peas. According to the manner of the Indians we manured our ground with herrings (alewives) which we have in great abundance and take with great ease at our doors. Our corn did prove well, and God be praised, we had a good increase in Indian corn. Our barley did indifferent good, but our peas not worth the gathering. We feared they were too late sown. They came up very well and blossomed, but the sun parched them in the blossom. Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might, after a special manner, rejoice together, after we had gathered in the fruits of our labors. They four in one day killed as many fowl as with little help besides, served the Company for almost a week, at which time, amongst our recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their great king the Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted. They went out and killed five deer, which they brought in to the Plantation, and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. Although it not always be so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty. -- We have found the Indians very faithful in their Covenant of Peace with us; very loving and ready to pleasure us. Some of us have been fifty miles into the country by land with them. -- There is now great peace amongst us; and we, for our parts, walk as peaceably and safely in the woods here as in the highways in England. - I never in my life remember a more seasonable year than we have enjoyed. -- If we have but once kine, horses and sheep, I make no question but men might live as contented here, as in any part of the world. -- The country wanteth only industrious men to employ, for it would grieve your hearts to see so many miles together with goodly rivers uninhabited, and withall to consider those parts of the world wherein you live to be seven greatly burdened with abundance of people."

~ This original account of the first Pilgrim Thanksgiving was written in a letter from Edward Winslow, a Pilgrim Father in Plymouth, dated December 21st, 1621 to George Morton in England. It was printed in Mourt's Relation , London, in 1662.

The Fruit of Heaven

There was once a woman who had heard of the Fruit of Heaven.

She coveted it. She asked a certain dervish, whom we shall call Sabar: 'How can I find this fruit, so that I may attain to immediate knowledge?'

'You would best be advised to study with me', said the dervish. 'But if you will not do so, you will have to travel resolutely and at times restlessly throughout the world.'

She left him and sought another, Arif the Wise One, and then found Hakim, the Sage, then Majzup the Mad, then Alim the Scientist, and many more...... She passed thirty years in her search.

Finally she came to a garden. There stood the Tree of Heaven, and from its branches hung the bright Fruit of Heaven. Standing beside the Tree was Sabar, the First Dervish.

'Why did you no tell me when we first met that you were the Custodian of the Fruit of Heaven?' she asked him.

'Because you would not then have believed me. Besides, the Tree produces fruit only once in thirty years and thirty days'.

~ From the' Wisdom of Idiots ' by Idris Shah
You can buy this book Wisdom of the Idiots and other Idris Shah books at the Amazon.com Website

As militant Islam does its level best to dominate this ancient religion, it is important to remember that there are other voices within the faith, those of the Sufis, the Islamic mystics who live Islam (submission), Iman (faith) and Ishan (awareness of God - "to act beautifully").

The illustration in the middle is a computer generated image created by LightSource, a software company that generates sacred geometries for meditation. The Geometry of seven interconnected circles (shown here) - the Seed of Life is considered to be the basic unit of information necessary for the formation of all material substance. In this rendition, the Seed of Life is superimposed over the geometry of an Ankh or Ansate cross, an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph signifying life, health and happiness.

See more images like this at the LightSource site.

Great Expectations

One of the great journeys in life is the experience of pregnancy and childbirth. In fact, in many spiritual traditions, women are considered to be already enlightened because they understand the principles of the universe embodied in the pain, suffering and bliss of motherhood. The World Health Organization (WHO) is running a wonderful project called "Great Expectations" that tracks the lives of six mothers-to-be in six very different communities around the world. In the lead up to World Health Day on 7 April next year, these six mothers-to-be are sharing their experiences of pregnancy and childbirth. Today, Damiana, Samah, Hiwot, Renu, Bounlid and Claire are seven months pregnant and have only a few weeks left before their big day. This site will return to their stories again at the birth of their babies, at one week after birth, and finally when their babies are six weeks old. Every mother-to-be is filled with hopes and fears. Will the baby be healthy? Will labor be short or long? Will she have a girl or a boy? How will the new baby change her life; her day-to-day work; her relationship with her partner and family? This is the pilgrimage of motherhood.

You can follow their amazing journey at the WHO Site.

The Kalachakra Tantra Teachings and Shambhala
By A. T. Mann

According to traditional sacred Buddhist history, the Kalachakra Tantra teachings were revealed by the Shakyamunni Buddha in South India at the request of King Suchandra of the mythic kingdom of Shambhala. Over thousands of years the teachings have been modified, condensed and spread quickly by subsequent dharma kings or "kulika" who bear the Kalachakra lineage. Shambhala symbolizes the realization of an enlightened society through an appreciation of the senses and bringing the sacred dimension into everyday life. The Dalai Lama gives the Kalachakra Initiation in modern times as part of a decision to make these powerful teachings available in the West.

Read A T Mann's full article at the UQ Website by clicking on this link Kalachakra.
To buy the forthcoming Video series on the Kalachakra, visit the Mystic Fire Video Website.

Guru Nanak

"There is neither a Hindu, nor a Muslim, only man"

"Saints like Guru Nanak make their presence in this weary world in order to show the right path to the suffering humanity by their personal sacrifice and example. The message of Guru Nanak was a great blessing at a time when India was facing a great crisis."
~ Dalai Lama

This week thousands of Sikhs will travel, for the first time in many years, to the birthplace of their founding Saint, Guru Nanak, in the heart of Pakistan. This journey of pilgrimage and devotion is symbolic for many reasons, the most fascinating being the hope of a peaceful reconciliation between India and Pakistan. Organizers say they are preparing for the arrival of up to 17,000 pilgrims from around the world, 5,000 of them from India. The festivities are scheduled to last 10 days. Thousands of Indian pilgrims have been crossing into Pakistan from Amritsar for the start of festivities marking the 535th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak. They will be ferried in special trains to the Guru's birthplace at Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Punjab and several other temples in the province. Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, was a philosopher with ties to an older tradition called the Sant tradition. He was influenced by the legendary mystic Kabir. The Sant movement dates back to the 13th century in Southern India, spreading to the north two hundred years later. It reached its zenith during Nanak's time. The movement is analogous to the Protestant Reformation with its concern for the layperson and its diverse pockets of teachers (sants) all articulating a very similar message. Nanak taught that God was without specific form (nirguna), an ineffable transcendental reality, and through mysticism and meditation one can experience this mystery firsthand. Sikhism is a living vibrant religion and is practiced today by millions of people in India and all over the world.

Gratitude

"Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot."
~ The Hausa of Nigeria

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
~ Marcel Proust

"A thankful person is thankful under all circumstances. A complaining soul complains even if he lives in paradise."
~ Baha'u'llah

"There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy."
~ Ralph H. Blum

The Sun enters Sagittarius, and the month (Nov 22) of the Archer begins. Now that the harvest is gathered and secured, the time of looking farther ahead commences in the drawing of strategic plans. As Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, matters of mundane government and law, and also higher laws of metaphysics are emphasized now. The identity and role of Sagittarius hinge on the question of what he has on the point of the arrow he's so obviously aiming at the Scorpion's heart. If it's a poison, then the Archer threatens to kill the Scorpion. But as the Archer is actually the celebrated healer Chiron, placed in the sky by Zeus to honor his wisdom and compassion, the Archer is in fact firing a medicine arrow that can deliver the Scorpion from the sting of its own self-biting energy of excess, sexual flameout, death and transformation.

~ Courtesy of Dan Furst

For anyone starting on a spiritual pilgrimage this book by our contributing editor Tad Mann is essential reading. Ever since the cave dwellers, we have honored and acknowledged our spiritual roots in stone, wood, and iron, constructing sacred places that reflect our faith and wonder. Provided in this reference are the world's most spectacular examples of sacred architecture, on display in hundreds of color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations.

Click on the cover or Sacred Architecture to buy this book from Amazon.com

You do not have to travel to the Himalayas or follow the Cathedral routes in France to have a spiritual experience. America has its share of spiritual places to satisfy the Pilgrim Soul in you. This comprehensive travel guide examines North America's most sacred sites for spiritually attuned explorers. Important archaeological, geological, and historical destinations from coast to coast are exhaustively examined, from the weathered pueblos of the American Southwest and the medicine wheels of western Canada to Graceland and the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr. Histories and cultural contexts are objectively surveyed, along with the latest academic theories and insightful metaphysical ruminations. Detailed maps, drawings, and travel directions are also included.

Click on the cover or Sacred Places North America: 108 Destinations to buy this book from Amazon.com.