Poverty for Sale - We are not Dogs!!!

Recently, protests erupted in India over the screenings of the hit movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. Slumdog is the Academy-Award Nominated film by Director Danny Boyle and showcases a cast of relative newcomers against the backdrop of modern-day India.

Gritty, realistic, and visceral, Slumdog traces the adventures of Jamal Malik as he attempts to find the love of his life and solve the final question to India’s version of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’. A Dickensian tale, Slumdog is a rags-to-riches story that includes historical accounts and dramatized scenes of life in India’s slums.

I very much liked Slumdog Millionaire. I thought the Cinematography was excellent, along with the performances of the actors. Danny Boyle did an outstanding job of bringing to the screen the difficult life in India’s slums. Boyle is also well-known for other hits including Trainspotting and Millions.

With regard to the protests, I think we should be sensitive to other cultures, particularly the suffering of other individuals. However, I also think that art should be provocative. By definition, art should stir and motivate the soul. If a piece of art cannot elicit a response from a viewer, then it fails. The art is now nothing more than a convocation of materials.
I don’t think the Producers or the Director of Slumdog meant any harm to anyone by its depiction of life in India. I think the scenes help to establish the milieu and are device for the storyteller (the Director) to get the point across.

That being said, we acknowledge the protestors’ viewpoints, but we posit that Slumdog is not meant to disrespect India, but is a celebration of life and potentialities.

S/F,
- Omar W. Rosales

Marine Air - One call Does it All

By: Omar W. Rosales

I’ve taken several weeks off the blog, catching up with work and finishing a Trailer. Recently, I came across a stunning photo of a V-22 Osprey. Wow! What a cool shot.

The V-22 is a medium lift tiltrotor aircraft that’s designed to replace the aging fleet of CH-46 helicopters. The V-22, or Osprey, has the unique ability to take off like a helicopter, then tilt its rotors and fly like a plane. This gives the Osprey increased range and higher altitude capabilities.

Flying in Marine helicopters was always fun. I never felt safer in the air, than with Marine pilots and Marine aircrew, flying in Marine aircraft. As safe as it is, its also very dangerous. My good friend Jerry died in a helicopter crash, while flying a combat mission in Iraq.

This demonstrates that war is indiscriminate, taking precious lives of both young and old, feeble and strong, brave and the not-so-brave. Ultimately, war is perhaps humankind’s most terrible and destructive invention.

Yet peace comes from within. If our leaders have inner peace, they are less likely to find conflict with those around them and then exacerbate fragile situations. Without inner peace, there is constant turmoil. War within, leads to war without.

Next week, we’ll look at the Final Realization of Buddhism – that we are more connected than we believe and that the Buddha-mind is the ultimate transcendant point of consciousness.

S/F,
- Omar W. Rosales

Afternoon with the Dalai Lama

By: Omar W. Rosales

So anyways - the day of the meeting. We arrive at about 11AM. The morning teaching program has just ended, so we wander past the crowds from the monastery, until we reach the reception center.

Once inside, I tell the guards of our appointment, and they call Tenzin Takla (the Dalai Lama's Nephew and scheduler). As we're waiting, a girl comes in followed by her boyfriend. She appears hysterical and is making all sorts of weird singing noises, like she's in some sort of ecstatic trance. Bill gives her some water, and she collapses into her boyfriend's arms.

The day before, in the reception area, was a woman claiming to be a French Diplomat, and wanting to see His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. She was dressed in a tight t-shirt, spandex, and crocs. Yeah right. Note to self, if you claim to be a diplomat, don't show up at the Embassy in Spandex and Crocs. So, the Spandex woman shoves her passport and business card into the guard's face. "Look - diplomat! See my card?". Note to self numero 2, if you are a diplomat, the office should already be expecting you. No way, you're just going to show up and demand to see His Holiness.

So back to the day of our interview, we're waiting in the office with the hysterical girl, then the guards motion us in. After several searches, we're cleared to enter the compound. No cellphones.

We walk a short path up to the Treaty House. I call it the Treaty House, because it looks like Peace Accords are signed here. Three rooms, a big conference room, and a small kitchen. The guards (Indian-trained Tibetan commandos) have already brought our cameras and sound gear up. Inside the conference room are two of the biggest monks I've ever seen. One is 6'3" 220lbs and the other is 6'1" 210 lbs, solid. The big monks ask if we need to rearrange furniture. The bigger one (probably nicknamed "Tiny") manhandles a solid wood table, without even breaking a sweat . . . and after a few moments of rearranging, the room is ready. Cameras are set up. Roll film, roll sound.

After a couple of minutes, Tenzin Takla walks in. I speak with him for a moment. His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, is on the way.

Bill is changing something on one of the cameras last minute, when all of a sudden, the Dalai Lama walks in.

He's tall! He's about 5'9", but a bit hunched over a bit because of his back. We sit down. The Dalai Lama mikes himself, sound check and we're off.

I speak to His Holiness about my questions, about my dreams. I tell him about our program, and he nods. It was amazing.

It was amazing! After 40 minutes, all my questions were answered. We spoke about Global Warming and Cloning. The Buddha and Nirvana. And culture, why its important to preserve culture.

At the very end, he stands so that we may all take a picture with him. He then approaches me, close. The Lord Buddha clasped my hand, with his. "Holiness" I say. "Please don't leave us. We love you too much." He says, "Don't worry, I have no plans to leave. Not just yet." The Dalai Lama smiled. And the Lord Buddha's hand provided me comfort.

I presented him our gift. A new Swiss Army knife with Barometer, Altimeter, Temperature, Time, and an LED light. (His Holiness the Dalai Lama collects Swiss Army knives and timepieces). He thanked me, then put the gift in his monk's bag, underneath the folds to his robe. We said our goodbyes. Then he left.

For five years, I traveled the world to find Spiritual Masters. High and low, from deserts to oceans, I've risked my life to find Messages for Humanity. Inner Peace, the Environment, and the search for our immortal souls. And you know what? The final realization is that you don't have to go to India, or Central America, or anywhere else to find comfort. The secret to Heaven lies within. That's what the Buddha taught me . . .

And that was the second time I met His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.


S/F,
- Omar W. Rosales

From India, With Love

We're in India right now, completing the second half of "Heaven in Exile", our Feature about the Tibetan Issue, 50 years after the Chinese Invasion of 1959.

Dharamsala is amazing. Its unlike anyother place on Earth.

I'll post some pics soon . . . when I figure out how to use this large silver wafer, with a glowing apple on it.

The food is excellent - mutton (lamb), chicken, and lots of curry. Will post more soon . . .


S/F,
- Omar W. Rosales

Archaeology 201

Archaeologists today unearthed an unusual burial in Greece. A solid gold wreath, in addition to a set of human remains, was found in a clay pot, amongst other burials.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26455572/

Hmmmm . . . that’s interesting. This is where Archaeology is combined with detective work and logic. The typical burials in Greece, at about 500 B.C. were fairly elaborate. There was a ritual mourning period, funerary monument, and public burial.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm

Bodies were interred in a state of repose, never in jars or huddled down. The only culture that actually put bones into jars were the Tibetans. Even the Egyptians used canopic jars, but only to store body organs.

So, we have a jar, a gold wreath, and some remains. Typically, the gold wreath would symbolize rulership or a member of the royal family. The person burying the deceased had great reverence and respect for either folklore, customs, or the interred person (this is why the gold wreath was not plundered nor stolen by the caretaker). Radiocarbon dating would give us the relative date of the jar, and of the bones. In addition, the burial is fairly clandestine, since there were no similar burials nearby (no other remains in jars).

An educated wild guess would say that, this is a burial of a member of the royal lineage. Perhaps an heir, perhaps an illegitimate child. Perhaps there was fear that the decedent might be exhumed, this is why the burial was done in secret. It was someone important enough to place a gold wreath and hide the burial. But perhaps too provocative to bury openly, with the proper honors.

But again, this is just a guess. Why these remains were interred, along with a gold wreath . . . more than likely, we’ll never be sure . . .

S/F,
- Omar W. Rosales

Will the Real Bigfoot Please Stand Up?

So, there’s a hurricane in the Gulf, we leave to India next week, and I’m writing about Bigfoot. That sounds right about normal. We won’t mention my dreams of my friends the Lwa, but you get the idea.

It was revealed last week that the two gentlemen claiming to have captured Bigfoot and placed it in a large ice cooler were hucksters, propagating a less-than-compelling hoax upon the unsuspecting American public. Really? C’mon

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26298733/

So you mean to tell me two guys from the sticks didn’t manage to capture Bigfoot? That they failed to accomplish what no Explorer, Expedition Leader, Sherpa, Mountaineer, Sir Edmund Hillary, Backpacker, Hiker, Hunter, Soldier, Television Show, Reality Show, Journalist or other person has ever done? Duh!

Its always good to be a skeptic. You should always check your information. There’s a lot of gray areas when we deal with Social Sciences such as Humanities, Anthropology, and Archaeology. You should verify your sources. Some authors will actually appropriate cultural symbology and pass it off as their own. Worse, is when authors make up entire accounts of countries they’ve never been to, and fabricate the work of healers that don’t exist. Not only are they stealing another’s culture, they’re purposefully misleading. Its basically cultural theft combined with Plastic Shamanism.

There was no Walkabout in Australia, that yielded a Mutant Message. There’s no Sisterhood of the Shields, and there was no Don Juan. All these are invented shamans and fictional accounts. Which takes away from the real shamanic work and the sacrifice of real shamanic practitioners, who work to sustain indigenous culture and sacred religious traditions.

Please, do your research. Find out about shamans and indigenous healing traditions. Explore your world. But, don’t believe everything you see or hear . . .

- Omar W. Rosales

P.S. If you see Bigfoot, tell him I’ll meet him at that Fancy Restaurant called “I-HOP”

On Angels

A friend recently asked, “I'm studying angels, so what do you know?” Hmmmm, let’s see . . .

Angels are extremely powerful supernatural beings. On a day-to-day basis, and in your spiritual practice, one shouldn’t see angels nor want to see angels. Seeing angels usually symbolizes the presence of danger. And not all angels are holy.

The word ‘Angel’ comes from the Greek word ‘angelos’, which means messenger. In their communications with humanity, angels are usually messengers of God’s word – bringing important instructions, epiphanies, and messages. Physically, angels are said to be hermaphrodites, having both male and female sexual organs (non-functioning). Traditionally, angels don’t have eyes or souls. Some angels are also said to be resentful of human beings, because God placed humans above angels by giving the human beings a soul.

During the Middle Ages, scholars devoted years to figuring out Angels’ mysteries. Angels also are divided in Orders, which indicate their closeness to God. The orders are divided into spheres: First Sphere, Second Sphere, and Third Sphere. The First Sphere consists of Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones. In the Second Sphere, we find Dominions, Virtues, and Powers. In the Third Sphere are Principalities, Archangels, and Angels.

The most widely-known types of angels are the Archangels, which represent God’s primary messengers to humankind. The four Archangels are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. Archangel Michael is depicted with a flaming sword, and is said to be the commander of the Army of God. Michael (or Meek-e-el) means “Who is like God?” and was the war cry shouted as the War in Heaven began and the rebellious angels were cast down. According to legend, the Fifth Archangel grabbed Archangel Michael by the wings as Satanel was being cast out of heaven, but God intervened and saved Michael. The fallen angels became demons, destined to plague humanity until the End of Days, with the Morning Star as their terrible leader.

Archangel Michael is sometimes called ‘St. Michael’, but Archangel Michael was never a human being. Gabriel is the Angel of Death. Most biblical accounts refer to Gabriel as a fearful creature that would carry out the unmerciful will of God. To appease Gabriel, mystics would leave out food and say, “Upon him be Peace,” as Gabriel would appear, so as to subdue the angel. Gabriel is also said to be the final angel to blow his trumpet, in the End of Days, as the final plagues are unleashed upon humanity and the Earth. Accounts differ as to purpose and personalities of Raphael and Uriel.

Angels are said to have no Free Will or volition, but then this presents a dichotomy, because how do we explain the War in Heaven? Angels can appear as small sparks of light, but usually pass unseen by human beings, unless the angels allow themselves to be seen. Normally, you wouldn’t call upon angels for assistance in day-to-day life. They have very specific purposes, and usually don’t appear unless it’s a time of tribulation or danger.

The highest Angel is the Metatron. Metatron is the shortened Greek form of ‘meta thronons’ or ‘the one that sits behind the throne’. In Talamudic traditions, the Metatron is God’s scribe and the only other entity (besides God) that is allowed to sit down in heaven.

That’s basically about it. Personally, I’ve only seen an angel once in my lifetime. I was waking out of a deep sleep and saw one stand at the corner of my bedroom. It was amazing. I would say it was about 8 feet tall, enormous, glowing, in white robes, and with white-feathered wings. It was more incandescent, than fully physical and solid in form. I’m unsure if I was in danger, but I’m thankful for the being’s protection.


S/F,
- Omar W. Rosales