Tag: <span>Harmony</span>

Balance and Harmony Education of World Citizenships.

A Day of Balance and Harmony.

Featured Picture: Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash.

              Our earth is a small star in the great universe
            Yet of it we can make, if we choose, a planet
Unvexed by war, untroubled by hunger or fear,
Undivided by senseless distinctions of race, color, or theory.
                  Stephen Vincent Bennet.

The 21st of June;  the Summer Solstice;  is in many cultures the cosmic symbol of balance and harmony: balance between light and dark, between the universal and the local, between giving and receiving, between women and men, and between our inner and outer worlds. History records humanity’s preoccupation with the sun’s annual cycle.  Sites such as Stonehenge in England;  are thought to have been erected specifically to trace the path of the sun through the heavens.

The Ancient Egypt.

The sun has always had symbolic meaning.  As that most ancient Sanskrit prayer;  the Gayatri tells us;  the sun is a disc of golden light giving sustenance to the universe;  and Plato used the image of the sun to represent the idea of the One;  the Good. In the age of the Old Kingdom in ancient Egypt;  the concept of harmony, order, and balance were personified by the goddess Ma’at;  the winged woman;  who replicated on earth, the celestial balance of order and beauty.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash.

Yin and Yang.

In Chinese culture; the principle of harmony and balance is represented by the Taoist elements of Yin and Yang.  If one element becomes too strong, imbalance results.  Therefore; it is necessary to strengthen the weaker element so that harmony can be restored.  There must be a skilled understanding of energy flows to understand the appropriate balance.  Understanding the conscious restoration of the balance of Yin/Yang energies owes much to the Tao Te Ching attributed to the 6th century BCE Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu.

philosopher Lao Tzu. Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Ying and Yang Picture. By Klem, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

 Heraclitus (cira 504 BCE).

At the same period, Greek philosophers concentrated in the Ionian cities also stressed the  need to understand the techniques of the redistribution of energies in order to achieve balance.  Heraclitus (cira 504 BCE) of the city of Ephesus is probably the best known of these  thinkers.  He too stressed that harmony is created by a balance of opposite forces.

The efforts to restore harmony by a balance of energies can often be long as there are structures and institutions which, although lifeless, take a long time to crumble.  One needs patience.  Yet, there are also times when unexpected  shifts are possible. One must always be sensitive to the flow of energy currents.

Bust of an unknown philosopher. This one is in the Capitoline Museum in Rome. One suggestion is that it is Heraclitus, but the museum makes no such assumption. By RoyFokker, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Harmony and Balance.

21 June is a day of recognition of the world-wide increase of light; which destroys ignorance.  It is a day in which we celebrate illumination as it dispels darkness.  It is a day during which we can all recognize the growth of greater consciousness; and concern for the common good. Therefore; the Association of World Citizens stresses cooperation; and visions of a better future. Harmony and balance include tolerance, acceptance, equality and forgiveness of past pains and conflicts.

Photo by Sean Stratton on Unsplash.

Due to the efforts of those with a world vision, people throughout the world are recognizing their responsibility to each other are are attempting to revolve ancient and entrenched global problems. Today, we see a new spirit of cooperation as we move toward a cosmopolitan, humanist world society.  We see a growing spirit of forgiveness, reconciliation, and dialogue.  We are one human race, and we inhabit one world. Therefore, we must see the world with global eyes, understand the world with a global mind, and love the world with a global heart.

 Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens.

Here are other publications that may be of interest to you.

Kuan Yin Appeals

Kuan Yin : She who harkens to the cries…

Photo by xiaochi1989 in Pixabay 

By Rene Wadlow.

May all living beings recognise others as part of the same family;  and so develop kindness towards all. May we contribute to peace in the world. May peace-loving people, East and West;  accomplish their goals of joy and harmony in the world.

February 19 is the day;  especially in Chinese culture to honour Kuan Yin: the Goddess of Mercy for the Taoists and the Bodhisattva of Compassion for the Buddhists. In Buddhism;  a Bodhisattva is a person who has achieved enlightenment;  but who does not enter Nirvana;  but who returns to give guidence and protection to struggling humanity.

Shrines to Kuan Yin stand in many places in China and in several neighboring countries as well.  Whenever possible;  these shrines are placed near running water or overlooking a lake.  She is often depicted by painters as seated on a rock gazining out across the water or standing on a floating lotus petel.

Kuan Yin is a symbol of motherly protection.

Kuan Yin is a symbol of motherly protection. Her role is to rescue beings from present woes by assisting them to rid themselves of the delusions which bind them.  One of the most persistent delusions is a sense of separateness;  of being unrelated to others and separate from Nature.  This sense of separateness from other humans creates fears that what we have will be taken from us;   and thus we must defend ourselves and what we own. A sense of separateness from Nature creates a feeling that we can use Nature only for our benefit.

However;  Kuan Yin has also a mischievous, freedom-loving side to her nature.  In her Mongolian and Tibetan form as Tara, she is close to the hearts of Tibetan, Mongolian, and Nepali Buddhists. Kuan Yin, under her name Kuannon-sama has achieved much the same popularity in Japan.

Kuan Yin is a feminine symbol;  an image which one can hold in mind – she who hears the crises of the world.  As a praise song states “Wise in using skillful means, in every cornor of the world, she mainfests her countless forms, extingishing the flames of woe.”

On 19 February;  offerings of incense are made along with tea for wisdom and fruit for prosperity.  The aim is to resemble the Taoist sages of old whom ice could not freeze nor sunbeams scorch.

 Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens.

Here are other publications that may be of interest to you.

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Mother Earth Education of World Citizenships.

The Day of Mother Earth: Living in Harmony with…

Photo by Ben Tarver on Unsplash

Basaseachi Waterfall, Cuauhtémoc City, Mexico.

International Mother Earth Day on 22 April each year was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009.  Its aim is to promote living in harmony with Nature and to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations.  The concept of living in harmony with Nature was seen by the U.N. delegates as a way “to improve the ethical basis of the relationship between humankind and our planet.” It is the biosphere we all belong to which is becoming the common heritage of mankind which we must defend.

Mother Earth

The term “Mother Earth” is an expression used in different cultures to symbolize the inseparable bonds between humans and Nature. Pachamama is the term used in the Andean cultures of South America. The Earth and the ecosystem is our home. We need to care for it as a mother is supposed to care for her children and the children to show love and gratitude in return. However, we know from all the folk tales of the evil stepmother as well as the records of psychoanalytic sessions that mother-children relations are not always relations of love, care and gratitude. Thus to really live in harmony with Nature requires deep shifts in values and attitudes, not just “sustainable development” projects.

The United Nations.

The United Nations began its focus on ecological issues with the preparations for the 1972 Conference in Stockholm and has continued with the 1992 Rio Declaration followed by the Rio plus 20 conference 20 years later.  However the concept of living in harmony with Nature is relatively new as a U.N. political concept. Yet it is likely to be increasingly a theme for both governmental policy making and individual action.

As Rodney Collin wrote in a letter “It is
extraordinary how the key-word of harmony occurs everywhere now, comes
intuitively to everyone’s lips when they wish to express  what they hope for.  But I feel that we have hardly yet begun to
study its real meaning. Harmony is not an emotion, an effect.  It is a whole elaborate science, which for
some reason has only been fully developed in the realm of sound.  Science, psychology and even religion are
barely touching it as yet.”  (1)

Resolutions in the U.N. General Assembly can give a sense of direction. They indicate that certain ideas and concepts are ready to be discussed at the level of governments. However, a resolution is not yet a program of action or even a detailed framework for discussion. “Living in harmony with Nature” is at that stage on the world agenda. As Citizens of the World, we strive to develop an integrated program of action.

   Notes

1) His letters have been assembled after his death by
his wife into a book:

     Rodney
Collin. The Theory of Conscious Harmony 
(Boulder, CO: Shambhala, 1958)

Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens