Welcome to the Universal Quest Newsletter #8

"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things."
~ Rene Descartes

Dear fellow Questors

Doubt all things. Question everything. Fear nothing. Immerse yourself in experience. Listen to all ideas but do not make any of them your own without questioning or doubting their validity. Only through questioning and personal experience will any truth ever be revealed to you. First, submit yourself to the possibility of the existence of a truth beyond your senses, your beliefs and the beliefs of others. Be open. Make no judgement. Then launch yourself on your own personal Quest.

I have been away for while, catching my breath, seeing a sunset, walking on a beach and thinking about where to take all this. I love what we have begun here. Explorations into myth, consciousness, new discoveries, art, the cosmos and our inner selves. Now, I think it is time to build upon this and do something extraordinary on the Internet. I can do it, but I do need your help. A plan is ready and those of you interested should read it and help us mould it and shape it and take it forward. Contact me and let us begin the conversation about where we can take all of this.

In the meanwhile, here is another newsletter for the Questor in you.

Raja Choudhury
Founder
Raja@universalquest.com

LEGEND
EXTRACTS FROM THE UNIVERSAL FESTIVAL CALENDAR by Dan Furst

[Dan Furst's Universal Festival Calendar is one of my favorite monthly reads as it truly demonstrates the interconnectedness of all cultures and religious traditions through time and space - RC]

10/12 - 16 (5 days) In the Zoroastrian faith, the festival of Ameretat, divine creator of nature and protector of vegetation.

10/13 - 21 (8 days) Sukkoth, the annual Feast of In-gathering in the Jewish Calendar. This was the rite of thanksgiving for the grape harvest, celebrated in a dance ceremony and wine offering.

10/15 (Sun) In the Roman Catholic Calendar, feast of the stigmata bearer and mystic St. Teresa of Avila.

Makahiki, the Hawaiian New Year Festival, commemorating the emergence from Po (Chaos) of Papa the Earth Mother and Wakea the Sky Father, whose union produced the Akua Gods and Goddesses.

10/16 (Mon) In the Baha'i calendar, this day honors the Deity as 'Ilm, Knowledge.

Among Mahayana Buddhists, this day is sacred to the Bodhisattva of compassion in female form, known variously as Tara (Tibetan), Kwan Yin (Chinese), Kannon (Japanese) and many others.

10/17 (Tue) One of the year's most important Shinto festivals, offering the first fruits of the rice harvest to the Kami, the divine principles immanent in nature.

10/19 (Thu) This is New Year’s Day in the Jain Calendar.

10/21 - 22 (2 days) In the Jewish calendar, Simhat Torah, the celebration of the Law, concludes the annual cycle of readings from the Torah.

10/22 (Sun) In the ancient Babylonian calendar, the Day of Willows, a festival of the lovers sacred to the god Bel and the love goddess Astarte.

10/23 (Mon) Sun enters Scorpio, symbolized in zodiac maps by the easily recognizable Scorpion, but also symbolized in the hermetic tradition by the Eagle, as in the quartet of Bull, Lion, Eagle and Angel that represents the four beasts of Ezekiel, the Christian evangelists, and many others.

As the Scorpion and its next neighbor on the wheel, the Chiron-like archer Sagittarius, are both designed by nature to deliver their most accurate sting while retreating, the energy of the time favors the protection of the harvest and other efforts that are now nearing completion. The teams begin to gather now and bring in the corn, rice and wheat.

In some Native American calendars, the Month of the Snake now begins.

Copyright 2000 Dan Furst.
Direct replies or comments please send to Dan Furst <hermes3@lava.net>
Read the Universal Festival Calendar online at http://www.hermes3.net/oct1.htm

MIND/PSYCHOLOGY
ALLOWING THE UNCONSCIOUS TO BE
~ AT Mann

Carl Jung accepted as a psychological axiom that attaining integration or individualization involved bringing unconscious material into the light of consciousness. In understanding and working with psychological symbolism, it is important to question this assumption.

SPACE/MYTH
A GUIDE TO THE CONSTELLATIONS

For thousands of years, cultures all over the world have attributed stories and myths to the patterns created from the fascinating points of light in the evening sky. Legendary tales of courage, beauty and evil surround the distant stars that cluster together creating fantastic creatures, grotesque monsters, heroes and heroines alike. Now the BBC has created a unique site that maps all the constellations online and lets you identify and study the different clusters through their names and myths.

See this site at the BBC Web Site

SCIENCE
CLONING EXTINCT SPECIES

In a farm near Sioux City, Iowa, a cow called Bessie, is about to make history by giving birth to a cloned ox. If she delivers the rare Asian gaur growing inside her, she will herald a stunning new way to save endangered, or even recently extinct, animals. The baby calf, symbolically called Noah, will herald in a new age of genetic cloning. The scientists do not believe that they will be able to resurrect long-extinct species, but this may change in the future. The debate regarding the ethics of this experiment continues.

You can find out more at http://www.advancedcell.com

SPIRITUALITY
ZEN THOUGHTS

But usually, without being aware of it, we try to change something other than ourselves, we try to order things outside us. But it is impossible to organize things if you yourself are not in order.
~ Suzuki Roshi

Zen means the freedom to be bound: we are bound by all within and without us.
~Frederick Franck, in Zen and Zen Classics

Some people put stress on oneness, but his is not our understanding. We do not emphasize any point in particular, even oneness. Oneness is valuable, but variety is also wonderful.
~Suzuki Roshi

Thirty spokes converge in a wheel’s hub . . .
It is the center whole
That allows them to turn.
~Joshu, Zen monk

A sword cannot cut itself;
Desire cannot overcome itself;
self cannot understand itself;
the Way cannot be followed by trying.
~Anon.

EARTH
OZONE HOLE STRETCHES TO RECORD SIZE

Scientists have said that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica has now stretched over a Chilean city when it ballooned to a record size last month, the first time it has reached a population center. Previously, the hole had only opened over Antarctica and the surrounding ocean. According to NASA reports the hole covered 11.4 million square miles -- an area more than three times the size of the United States -- on Sept. 9 and 10. For those two days, the hole extended over Punta Arenas, a southern Chile city of about 120,000 people, exposing residents to very high levels of ultraviolet radiation. Too much UV radiation can cause skin cancer and destroy tiny plants at the beginning of the food chain.

SPIRITUALITY
A HOPI ELDER SPEAKS

"You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour, and there are things to be considered . . . Where are you living? What are you doing?

What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.

It is time to speak your Truth. Create your community. Be good to each other.

And do not look outside yourself for the leader."

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, "This could be a good time!"

There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water.

And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally. Least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt, The time for the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for!

Oraibi, Arizona
Hopi Nation.

EVENTS
October 2000

Wed Oct 18 2000 (1 day): Returning the Blessing: An Evening with RAM DASS and Krishna Das - SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ORANGE COUNTY 14402 S Prospect Avenue Tustin CA 92780 - USA, California - Contact: school@unitytustin.org

October 20 - 22 2000(3 days): NEWLIFE EXPO at the Hotel New Yorker, New York, NY - This is the largest US fair for Holistic Health, Mind, Body and Spirit with 200 exhibitors and 150 lectures. Call (212) 787 1600 or visit http://www.newlifemag.com for more information.

Sun Oct 22 2000 (1 day): Sacred Techniques Of The Merkaba Meditation - Retrieving Our Soul Through The Activation Of Our Light Body - - GENEVA (Switzerland) (ask for details) - Contact: thelight999@span.ch

Thu Oct 26 2000 (13 days): Journey to Mount Everest - Nepal- Tyangboche Monastery, Mount Everest Basin, Annapurna Mountains, Kathmandu - Asia, Nepal. Perched among the highest peaks of the Himalayas, the Tyangboche Monastery serves as an interdimensional gateway for the sacred energies of Mount Everest. Our journey will take us to many holy sites in Nepal, however, "Sarganata" - Head of the Ocean, the Tibetan name for Mt. Everest, will be the highlight of our quest. Here in the refining energies of the highest pentacles in the world, Devra West will facilitate a meditation and initiatory retreat, joining together once again with our dear friend Kusang, head monk of the monastery. Our higher purpose for this trip will include the Cosmic Initiations through the illumination of the Great Himalayan Masters, Golden Tara, and the Ningmapa lineage of Milarepa and Naropa. See www.divine-unity.org or call 406-961-0007 for more information about this retreat, as well as many other intensives and sacred pilgrimages held worldwide. - Contact: mtanandra@hotmail.com

Oct 26 2000 (1 day): Empower Your Inner Goddess - The Learning Annex New York City - USA, New York - Spiritual teacher and author Staci Backauskas uses goddess myths and stories to help both men and women explore the terrain of their own psyche - contact: fifthgoddess@sprynet.com

Oct 27-29, 2000 (3 days): Creativity & Business Retreat for Women in Key Largo - Westin Resort, Key Largo - USA, Florida - CenterPeace proudly presents a weekend retreat expressly designed for women, focused on creativity and business, at the Westin, Key Largo. Presented by a team of highly qualified facilitators, including Miracle Journeys’ publisher Dr. Susan Dubitsky; award winning singer-songwriter, Amy Carol Webb and Miami Beach Acupuncture Physician/holistic health practitioner, Janet Galipo, AP, this empowering program offers new insights into managing stress, maintaining balance, enhancing communication skills and removing the blocks that keep us from manifesting our personal and professional goals. For further information contact CenterPeace, 305-672-7759 or email centerpeace@mindspring.com