Poems for the Journey: A Call for Peace

By Anthony Megna

This is my attempt to explain the whole show;

With an attempt at Zen;

This is my attempt to write something beautiful.

This being my search for knowledge;

My search for truth;

My search for love.

The civilization of all mankind;

Have we led ourselves astray?

Have we gone mad?

Bring me a notepad;

And a good pen,

I will explain to you the game.

This is a call for liberation;

A call for the highest of all things;

The search for that eternal bliss

With an understanding of our true Nature;

We come realize that that Great spirit;

The very pulse of existence itself;

Is the force which unites all life.

This is my call for peace.

Om.

Ha detto di vincere.

Sollavetto per conquistare.

Qui per lamore.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503574762

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 by Anthony Megna.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Image on page 40 of Zoroaster accredited to Dinebehi

Image of Shiva on page 157 accredited to Kenneth Lu

Rev. date: 08/11/2015

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Contents

Part I

The Elephant

A Call for Peace

An Ode to those who have seen God

To Those Who Have Seen God

From the Holy Books

Part II

The Lotus

My Glass Bead Game

There Will Be Games

That Great Something

My assumption

Yin and Yang Theory: The Origin of Thought

She Blinded Me with Science

There Is No Spoon

Hesychasm: A Christian path to Transcendence

On Evil from Orthodox Christianity:

How We Think – The Chattering Brain

CG Jung on Accepting Oneself

We Too Were Once Savages

Part III

The Sun

(The Buddha)

On That Divine Poem

Reflections: Conversations with Myself

An Attempt at Zen — Haiku Practice

Poems from the Journey

Part IV

The Moon

Paths to Cosmic Consciousness

The Divina Commedia

Purgatorio – The Seven Terraces of Purgatory

Paradiso

The Hindu View — Bhavachakra Wheel

Who Guards the Guards?

Where did we get the Bible?

How can I pray if you keep talking, reverend…

Part V

The Light

The Abode of God

In Conclusion

Infinite You

Part VI

The Buddha

Methods for Increasing Human Energy Potential

The science of prayer – Raising the body’s energy potential

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Method #1 — Sungazing

Method #2 — Ishnaan – Cold Shower Application

Method # 3 — Fasting

Method #4: Body Awareness Meditation

Method #5: Pranayama Breathing

Method #6: Systema Breathing

Method #7: Taoist Internal Exercises

Method #8: Guided Mediations

Method # 9 – Concept Imprinting

Method #10: Ideas to Contemplate

Method #11 – Strength and Conditioning

Preface

Cover design by Emilie Villarreal

A picture is worth thousands of words

The cover of this book is a micro-representation of the book itself. Part I of the book is called The Elephant. The first chapters are about how words and ideas continue to separate and divide the world from itself. I begin here because this is fundamental in increasing our awareness about the present in which we live. Part II is called The Lotus. Here I attempt to explain the game. There are many avenues one can take to begin to understanding all of reality. How we have come to civilize ourselves is what has been shaped the world in which we live. These are the petals which individually make the whole flower. When we dive into the true nature of the world; we come to realize that it is beautiful. In true lotus fashion, understanding our true nature brings forth life; from the darkness of murk and mud; emerges the grace of truth and beauty. Part III is The Sun. These are thoughts from my source; writings from my heart. These sections are reflections on the nature of the world in which we live. Part IV is The Moon. The Buddha pointing to the Moon is a traditional symbol in Buddhism representing enlightenment. The Moon itself is what represents liberation; liberation from suffering. This section includes stories about journeys to just that; those paths to Cosmic Consciousness. Part V is The Light; the light which nourishes all life represents a beacon of hope which calls for realization of our True and Infinite Selves. The final section is The Buddha. This is a section which explains methods for raising the human potential. From meditation exercises, to breathing techniques, the human mind, body, and spirit can be nourished and expanded almost indefinitely. And finally in the conclusion I included selected quotes and a timeline of existence. From reflection upon the past, we gain insight about the present. With a shift in thinking towards truth and beauty, we will be able to manifest and create a future which is great!

Foreword

I dream of Illumination.

What that one far-off Divine event is;

I still do not know.

Am I Reaching for the Unreachable?

The God,

Sleeping beyond infinity;

Containing all that there is;

Patiently resting

Within the hearts of all life;

Won’t you show yourself to this mind?

Dedicated to those who search.

The words of poets and prophets have inspired me to search for God

That Divine Light which is said to be beyond this worldly plane;

Those cloud kept kingdoms;

Along my ongoing journey; I have used these words as my guide

For knowledge is all that I seek;

The scales of my sign attempt to promote that great balance

An idealist who strives for perfection

Forever falling short; my mind recalculates

Here we remain; manifesting all that there is!

Part I

THE ELEPHANT

"Carrying body and soul and embracing the one,

Can you avoid separation?

Attending fully and becoming supple,

Can you be as a newborn babe?

Washing and cleansing the primal vision

Can you be without stain?

Loving all men and ruling the country,

Can you be without cleverness?

Opening and closing the gates of heaven,

Can you play the role of woman?

Understanding and being open to all things,

Are you able to do nothing?

Giving birth and nourishing,

Bearing yet not possessing,

Working yet not taking credit,

Leading yet not dominating,

This is the Primal Virtue"

—from the TAO TE CHING

Lao Tsu; 600BC

Introduction

Good overcomes all evil through creation, never destruction. The tensions we feel emerging within the world today can be felt in all nations from many different angles. How are we to reconcile the turmoil within the world? The wreckage spreads far and wide. These great tensions of the past cloud our relationships today because they have already been set in motion since the beginning of man. This is karma; our doing. We have created the world as it is today and have thus committed ourselves to the current conditions. Is the great anxiety which fuels our actions a desire for survival? That divine struggle with death itself? The neurosis of the world; the neurotic state of our being itself is what fuels our uncertainly and hostility; and our fear continues to grow as the clashes of nations rages on.

For what is the purpose of existence? Is the definition universal across all lands? Those philosophers and sages of the world who have gone mad searching for Truth; why is there no absolute answer? Why is there such misunderstanding of the world in which we live? Time presses stubbornly on into that great unknown of the future. Perhaps our neurosis grows with our ability to greater see ourselves within the world. Technology spreads its eyes to far the reaches of the global community and the world report is showing how violent and chaotic we truly are becoming. We are watching our world destroy itself and the mobilization of great evils have been able to come to power. Furthermore, history has shown us those outcomes of mass troops marching to the orders of single madmen.

In the year 2015 AD, that final battle of good and evil which all ancient scripture suggests seems to be upon the horizon of the next few generations. In reality, the creation of our future is happening now; event by event, conflict by conflict. Across the world we are able to see wars and conflicts emerge; uprisings and revolutions from the oppressed, the genocide of different cultures and religions, mass famine; and international threats add to the uncertainly of the world. For what is the source of our in-fighting? The primitive notion of one ruling the world has emerged leaders to ferociously strive for power. The hands of oppression over fellow brothers and sisters have been in the works for millennia. For this is the oldest of all worldly feuds.

Realize that the thousands years of global war began in a time when man’s knowledge was limited and isolated throughout the planet. It is the curiosity within the nature of man which prompted the exploration into foreign lands. For what motivation does an Empire need other than the sight of those heavenly horizons which stretch beyond the walls of the Kingdom? This investigation into those distant lands grew into a biased conquest. Those ancient civilizations of the world that all began their cultural journeys independently have crossed paths and have competed for expanded occupation and control of the world. This being the primitive territorialism of the early mind is what has set the global conflicts into motion. Cultural differences divide nations; and the styles of thought continue to separate man. These are but illusions; misunderstandings; for the lines and borders we honor is surpassed by that human spirit which is truly universal across all lands.

A Call for Peace

The worldly sufferings; our minds often sees nothing by atrocity and chaos. We are watching ourselves destroy and defile this Earth; our home.

Attempts have always been made by evil men to oppress and seek power only to be in turn slaughtered by those being oppressed. The paranoid king waits for that inevitable coup.

With both strong and weak having the capacity to slay their fellow man; both are able to bring about death and destruction.

Who is right? Can the noble man who rebels violently against a tyrant in order to rise from oppression be judged as being virtuous and just?

Isn’t the revolutionary man fighting with the same wrath as those ruthless dictators?

Both sides strive to accomplish their own agendas from the freedom of their own wills, the only difference being the revolutionary man the underdog; and if the cruel king had not tried to control his empire; the rebel would have missed out on being part of that good fight.

This world is exhausting itself through fear; for all aggression is just that.

A new journey must present itself; for if violence be a necessity for our society, then hell is where we shall live.

Apart, we find animosity and terror.

Together; Love.

An Ode to those who have seen God

Ancient scripture; those historical accounts of men who have seen the Divine; these words we worship are those which lead us to God. This has been man’s attempt to describe the Almighty. The sacred events in our known history have become the stories of those divine visions. These are events that did happen; events that perhaps set new processes in motion in the development of mankind. From these happenings the religions of the world have emerged as they are today.

Throughout all cultures, across all lands, there have been those who have said that they have seen God. What is that Great Vision? How have those attempted to describe that Great Being? The holy books of the world are man’s attempt to describe just that. Those roads to those divine heavens. This being man’s true search.

For thousands of years; cities have waged wars against neighbors;

Those great wars upon this Earth;

Some in the name conquest;

Some in the name of God;

Some in the name of Love¹.

Largely today, we still find ourselves waging war against those same neighbors in the name of God. Wars motivated by religion; that old fight; when will True God come down from those Heavens and declare a winner? These are but ideas of the mind; and know that the war of concepts can last forever; for the mind itself is infinite. The sight of God has been described in all religions. For those messiahs, prophets, buddhas, mystics; were mortal men who were given Divine realization that they are one with that Great Energy of the universe; those great minds who were graced with the presences of the Holy Spirit.

From the highest mountain of Tibet;

That immovable pebble of the Universe

Here we remain;

Dancing around the Sun

To Those Who Have Seen God

²

Noah – Mesopotamia; 2,500 BC

Abraham – Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Prophet; 2,000 BC

Moses— Christian, Jewish, Muslim Prophet; 1650 BC

Isaiah – Jewish, Muslim Prophet; 7th Century BC

Lao Tzu – Taoist Sage; founder of Taoism 604 BC

Gautama the Buddha³; -- Lumbini, Nepal; Founder of Buddhism – 560 BC

John the Baptist -- Herodian Kingdom of Israel; Baptized Jesus Christ – 1st Century BC

Jesus Christ –Nazareth; Founder of Christianity -- 35 AD

St. Paul the Apostle – South Central Turkey; 35 AD

Bodhidharma⁴ – China; Brought Buddhism to China from India – 5th Century AD

Prophet Mohammed – Arabia; Founder of Islam -- 570 AD

Omar Khyaham – Persian Poet; 1048 AD

Dante Alighieri – Tuscany, Italy; The Divine Comedy; 1308 AD

Guru Nanak – India; Founder of Sikhism; 1469 AD

St. Teresa of Avila – Spanish Mystic; Interior Castles; 1,515 AD

Paramahamsa Yogananda⁵ – India; 1893

The cultures of the world are limited by language. These different styles of communication continue to divide nations. An Almighty Being which is described in these Holy Books would never be able to be condensed into words; for the words upon pages are just that. The Being that is God; that Great Spirit; is beyond all thought, all concepts, all ideas. These concepts of God have been known to drive men into madness; for the return is often not understood. Here is where our thoughts have become idols; those from which emerge fear and hostility. The images within the mind are only that; for ideas of the Almighty Energy forever fall short; for those divine visions are said to be beyond the mind; that great experience where the minds of men have felt that union with that Divine grace; and for too long we have been saying that in the name of God I will protect these lands where man has seen God. Those holy wars, ancient crusades, what clashes of worldly might.

Thousands upon thousands have clashed and slain enemies across those invisible map lines; and it was through the wills of worldly leaders who decided to wage war and defile the Earth. And it seems that we continue to approach that final battle to which all ancient scripture suggest. Those great predictions are but reflections upon the nature of man himself. For it is not difficult to see and reflect upon the current state of the world; whether it be past of present; truth is truth. The war that is said to be coming; was initiated from the beginning; and we continue to carry on these tensions of the distant past; leaving us unaware of the present.

The world itself is home to us all.

The world is approaching anarchy.

What is the source of our In-Fighting?

Where are we to find universal beauty; and overcome such ancient hostility and hate?

We must find those beautiful things which seem to unite all life;

That panta rhei⁶ which moves through all things;

For sprinkled through those flames and explosions;

We will find that Divine understanding;

Bringing the civil war to end.

The worldly hope men set their hearts upon turns ashes; or it prospers, and anon, like snow upon the desert’s dusty face; lightning, a little hour or two is gone. – Omar Khyhamm (Muslim Poet)

From the Holy Books

Student: Master, aren’t the lines of the hills the true body of Buddha?

Guru: Yes, but it’s a pity to say so.

World Religions are man’s attempt to describe that Almighty Begin of God.⁷

Hinduism

Origin: 2,000 BC

Location: India

Founder: Unknown

Holy Books: Bhagavad Gita, Vedas, Yoga Sutras, Upanishads

(Excerpt from Bhagavad Gita⁸)

"The man who sees Me⁹ in everything,

and everything within Me

will not be lost to Me, nor

will I ever be lost to him.

He who