Most people try too hard at love. Love is not difficult.

Marriage is not a ball and chain. My husband is my best friend. We have years together without major fights, with many wonderful memories, and many more years of those wonderful memories to come. Spend some time finding a friend who can also be your lover, and you have it made. I’m only 20 – I was lucky to find my husband so early in life. It may take you longer, it may not. Just remember that marriage doesn’t have to be the misery it is said to be, and that you can create your own happiness.

(Unknown)

I couldn’t sleep for anything last night. My kids have been sick for what feels like forever, and I think it’s finally caught up with me.

I’ve been giving my oldest child a hard time because she’s always complaining of a tummy ache. I figured it was just her being mellow dramatic and not really all that icky feeling.

I think I misjudged that.

My stomach kept me up most the night with ouchies and ickies. Finally got up and took some pepto. That allowed me some minor sleep.

But then my youngest child started the day at 430 this morning.

Parenting can be soooo much fun! Ugh.
And lacking better judgement, I still put on a pot of coffee. I don’t see how it’s going to make my tummy feel better, but hopefully it will wake this old lady up!

And Cyber Monday? Sounds dirty to me… think I’ll skip the shopping spree.
But then again, with me and my trust issues, I pretty much think the online world is out to scam people today.

Enjoy!

As of later today (because I need to figure everything out about the program) I will be writing for another blog. This does not mean that I will abandon this blog, as I will continue to write for it, but there there will be another place to look for my posts. This is another gaming blog, but it has evolved further than mine and has multiple writers. I will link my posts from that website to here, or rather just post them here as well. The gaming posts are what I will mainly post on the new website (I don’t say the name because I can’t hyperlink on my iTouch. I’ll make another post later telling the name and giving a link.) as I doubt the intended audience of that website would be very interested in my personal life. That is my big news for today, and I will post updates on how this goes. Who knows, this could get huge or just give me a hit or two, regardless I plan on sticking with it.

So, today’s, like, Black Friday. Everyone is, like, so crazy about all the sales and stuff. I kind of wanted to, like, go to Old Navy ’cause if you, like, buy at least, like, twenty dollars worth of stuff you can get, like, Lego Rock Band. I wanted the game but, like, the store opened at, like, 3 AM and by, like, 4 there wouldn’t be anymore games and I’m not, like, waking up earlier than 9 on a day that I don’t have any, like, school. I was like searching the web for, like, inexpensive handbags and I, like, saw this site where this girl made handbags out of, like, duct tape. It was pretty cool and stuff. She had really pretty colors. I might get one but I’m not sure if she’d ship it. If anybody wants to, like, check this out it’s http://www.creativeclutches.kk5.org/. I really don’t think this helps this girl ’cause nobody really, like, reads my blog but whatever. The bags are, like, $0.50 or $1.00 so I could, like, afford it in less than a week’s allowance and stuff. Oh Emfrea Kingjee!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

‘Shameful Flight’ relates the history of the final years of the British Raj in India, including the partition of India into both Pakistan (West and East) and India, and the early hostility of the two new nations destined for perpetual warfare in such regions as the Kashmir.The history of this era of political instability on the subcontinent includes all the main players from Great Britain, India and Pakistan.These main players include Winston Churchill, Viceroy Louis Mountbatten, Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru and Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah. There is not a single figure in this history of India’s partition who comes out of it in a good light, though several seem to have had very well-intentioned aims and motivations. It is the true story of lost opportunity and the devastating consequences of human pride and selfishness that have reverberated down through the decades to the present day and remain visible in the continuing clashes between India and Pakistan, as well as in the extremism expressed in both the Islamic and Hindu communities throughout the sub-continent. It is a story of perpetual tragedy and human suffering with no end in sight.

This book is extremely easy to read, passes on a wealth of historical information and whets the appetite for further research on the India/Pakistan situation. It provides enlightenment, by bringing understanding to the current political instability in both India and Pakistan, by clearly revealing the root of the problem – the manner of the birth of both nations out of British imperialism and that nation’s final haphazard departure aptly described as a ‘Shameful Flight.’ This is a great book for understanding the sub-continent and the wounds it still carries to this day.

This book was provided to me for review by Oxford University Press – www.oup.com

Favorite holiday. Early. Food. Family. Cornbread dressing. Sarita. Football. Fun. Naps.

Origins of Democracy in Paleolithic Hunter-Gatherer Groups

A paper by Doron Shultziner, PhD, referenced in Part I of this essay and entitled, “Evolution and Liberal Democracy,”  highlights the shortcomings of definitions of democracy in the 20th century that ignore and obscure the evolutionary nature of democratic ideals.  The discussion is found in a section labeled, “Setting Democracy in a Larger Evolutionary Context,” 

Democracy at the beginning of the 21st century is a term that denotes a variety of regimes that share similar main characteristics. Democracy has a thin procedural definition and thicker definitions. The thin definition of democracy is a political system with universal suffrage and “whose leaders are elected in competitive multi-party and multi-candidate processes in which opposition parties have a legitimate chance of attaining power or participating in power” [citation in original]….Thicker definitions of democracy require effective and enlightened participation as well as human rights and freedoms beyond what is necessary for a democratic process [citations in original]. Thicker standards of democracy usually relate to liberal-democracies, namely democratic countries which are free and respectable to human rights. The two categories, however, are not necessarily synonymous [citation in original].

Defined by these criteria, however, democracy is a very recent invention that appeared only in the 20th century after women gained voting rights. The merits of these definitions have been recognized by political scientists for providing a useful analytical tool and for distinguishing democracies from other types of regimes, at least since the 20th century [citation in original]. 

Unfortunately, 20th century definitions of democracy, useful as they may be to distinguish democracies from nondemocracies at present, are not applicable to democracies prior to the 20th century [citations in original].  The famous democracy of Athens (and other Greek cities) about 2500 years ago is not a democracy by today’s definitions because not all men, women or slaves were allowed to vote or have any say about matters that influenced their lives. For similar reasons, the American democracy was lacking significant characteristics prior to the 20th century. In Switzerland, men gained suffrage as early as 1848; women in Switzerland, however, began gaining suffrage only in 1971 and the Swiss canton Appenzell Innerrhoden was forced by the Supreme Court to give women voting rights as late as 1990.  Still, it would not make much sense to argue that Switzerland became a democracy only in 1971 or 1990. 20th century definitions of democracy detach democracy from its historical roots for reasons of analytical clarity. It is not that these historical roots are not unacknowledged; rather, they are perceived to be irrelevant for the purpose of analyzing the unprecedented number of democratic transitions in the 20th century. This logic, as I intend to show in the following pages, is flawed because it fails to recognize seminal historical democracies as forerunners of a much deeper and profound phenomenon….

Egalitarian Social Structures in the Paleolithic Era

I believe that much of our ability to understand the transition to democracy is impaired by the focus on 20th century standards of democracy. I argue that shared features exist between 20th century democracies, democracies prior to the 20th century, and ancient forms of human egalitarian societies.

Estimates for Homo sapiens appearance are between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago [citation in original].  We know that all human beings lived throughout this period, known as the Paleolithic era (2 million -10,000 B.C.E), in small nomadic societies of hunters and gatherers (i.e. foragers) who were usually of an average group size of 25 people, although at times of festivals group size could reach over one hundred [citations in original].  Human beings in the Paleolithic era have [sic] had the same physiological and psychological capabilities as us (“biologically they were us” [citation in original], although their cultures and ways of life were obviously different.  These forager bands sustained their ways of life and social structures into the 20th century. Forager bands, albeit influenced to different degrees by external factors, were extensively studied around the world by anthropologists, and these studies provide valuable information regarding behavior and social structures in the Paleolithic era. 

An important characteristic of forager bands, which has become a topic of interest especially since the 1990’s, is their egalitarian social structures.  Wide agreement exists that the social structure of small nomadic societies in the Paleolithic era was egalitarian [citations in original]. Even at the present, after a long period of environmental influences, only a few examples of nonegalitarian foraging societies exist, and these too are affected by high population density and large group size, sedentary life, and other specific characteristics [citation in original]. As Boehm [citation in original] puts it, “Indeed, this egalitarian approach appears to be universal for foragers who live in small bands that remain nomadic, suggesting considerable antiquity for political egalitarianism.”  No strict hierarchical structure existed in foraging bands: decisions had to be reached through consensus, leaders usually had little, if any, substantial power over other group members, and people could come and go as they pleased [Emphasis added].

The Linkage Between Technology and Democracy

As Shultziner points out:

The Paleolithic era, however, ended with the invention of agriculture 10,000 years ago, human beings began to settle permanently in one place and to grow plants and animals for their subsistence. This period in human history is known as the Neolithic era. Gradually, sedentary agriculture became the dominant mode of life in most areas of the world inhabited by humans (but not in all areas). The invention of agriculture revolutionized the environmental conditions human beings once lived under, and consequently remarkably changed social structures. Small egalitarian foraging societies were replaced by larger scale sedentary settlements, some of which later became empires. As these sedentary settlements developed and grew, central authoritative power of large scale societies came into being. Put differently, the invention of agriculture resulted in far-reaching consequences on the social structures of human beings.

Shultziner aids understanding by putting the “entire time-span of human history, into an intriguing, one-day, temporal scale.

In order to put the emergence of democracy, and the transitions to democracy, in the right context, then, it would be helpful to compare the scope of this phenomenon to the entire time-span of human history, namely at least 102,000 years (if not 200,000) since Homo sapience began to dwell on the earth. A helpful perceptual scale and illustration would be to compare the relative portion of historical periods to their equivalent in a one-day scale. For more than 21.5 hours of the day (more than 90% of human history), human beings lived in small egalitarian societies of foragers. The emergence of agriculture and the beginning of the Neolithic era occurred in the last 2.5 hours of the day. The Athenian democracy briefly emerged and disappeared 36 minutes before midnight. The modern territorial sovereign state system that began to crystallize after the Peace of Westphalia (1648) was created in the last 8 seconds of that day. Democracy, as a type of regime that qualifies to 20th century definitions, emerged barely 2 seconds ago! In this context, and by 20th century standards of the term, democracy is a very recent development in human history [Emphasis added].

Shultziner goes on to state:

Although democracy by 20th century definition may be a very new phenomenon, I argue that its historical roots and causes lie in ancient times, long before the Athenian democracy came into being [citation in original].  In order to gain a better understanding of why we witness a fast rate of transitions to democracy in recent history we are required to look more closely at the egalitarian social structures under which human beings lived through the Paleolithic era.

In Part III of this essay, I shall discuss the development of these egalitarian social structures as they relate to the culture of early man and their linkage with what is known about social behavior in other species.

Ne ho bevute un paio di troppo stasera nella disperazione preesami… ormai è così.
Nella infinita sapienza telematica del tubo ho riscovato dopo un po’ questo bel videino dei bei tempi andati a farsi friggere insieme agli hamburger vegan e ho pensato di farvi riflettere sul senso della vita.

Ve la immaginate una roba del genere sulla tsi???!!!! rai, mediashit, cazzonesò??!!!
Ancora 20 anni dopo gli avvenimenti di puro chaos di quel tempo, faccio fatica a capacitarmi di cosa sia realmente successo in un paese dove vige ancora la monarchia! Ma com’è possibile che in democrazia si vedano solo tette, culi, Polanski e Matteo Pellino, quando a fine Ottanta, sotto il dominio di una regina bisbetica e già morta si mandavano in onda ste cose in prima serata? Giudicate voi… Prima però godetevi la suite di archi in arpeggio!

Ci vediamo prestissimo!

Se non siete soci da merda comprate sto cazzo di 7pollicino folkloristico e spezzate la catena che vi tiene legati ai vadavial’vüc! Se siete dei soci da merda e non l’avete ancora acquistato siete veramente dei soci!

ATB con amore agronomico e timore alcoolemico

Not the stuff in our wallets but the grain based substance that is available in virtually every society on Earth. Whether made from maize, rice, teff or rye, it is a common element of humanity to eat bread.

In the UK, most of our bread is made from wheat. We can get it in the supermarket or down the corner shop in polythene packets or we can head to the high street chain baker where they stock their baked goods fresh from the industrial estate. Occasionally however, there are still some bakeries that actually bake their own bread, within their premises. Early morning, as I am (often) coming home, these bakeries are open. The friend of all night shift workers, they are open at hours to suit us and so we can always pop in for a cup of tea and a bun and on the way home, get some bread.

Of course, by the time I actually have some of this bread for ‘my’ breakfast, you would have already finished your lunch…

Major work to waterproof and resurface the northbound M5 is set to finish ahead of schedule and under budget…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: mediterranean ocean. The blog is also related to: sea ice.

Previously, Zest Air would send promos and airline updates via email. I noticed that they haven’t sent me one for the past few months. You would really have to visit their website for promo updates. Fortunately I was able to see some of their refreshing new ideas. They have posted the selling and travel dates for their promos. Moreover, they now offer packages for travelers like me! Check out some of the latest happenings from Zest Air!

Important Zest Air promo sell and travel dates to remember for 2010:

Zest Air New Year Sale

Selling period is from January 3 to 5, 2010

Travel period is from June 15 to November 15, 2010

The Love Seats Sale

Selling period is from February 12 to 14, 2010

Travel period is from June 15 to November 15, 2010

Summer Madness Sale

Selling period is April 1 to 7, 2010

Travel period is from June 15 to November 15, 2010

Mid-year Sale

Selling period is from June 1 to 7, 2010

Travel period is from July 1 to November 15, 2010

Zest Air Annual Sale

Selling Period is August 1 to 3, 2010

Travel Period is September 1 to 30, 2010

Halloween Sale

Selling period is  October 27 to November 2, 2010

Travel period is from November 1 to December 10, 2010

Early Christmas Sale

Selling Period is  November 23 to 30, 2010

Travel Period is from January 15 to March 15, 2011

IMPORTANT NOTICE: For all booking made and finalized before October 16, 2009, kindly click the image for the new flight numbers. It is important that you reconfirm your flight bookings through their hotline or ticket offices within 24 hours prior to the day of your flight to avoid inconveniences.

For those who want to travel stress-free, you simply have to book the package offerings from Zest Air. I believe the package rates are valid until March 30, 2010 and it already includes round-trip airfares, 3 days and 2 nights accommodations, daily set breakfasts and the 12% VAT.  It resembles the packages of PAL called PALakbayan and I guess that’s how Zest Air came up with their new product. So check them out!!!

To book your flights or for more details you may log-on to Zest Air’s website at anytime. You may also call their hotline at +632-855-3333 or email through leadagent@zestair.com.ph.

For inquiries and feedbacks you may email Customer Service Center at customerrelations@zestair.com.ph.

Biyahe na!!!

today was filled with all kinds of excitement.

red shoes

peppermint mocha

christmas portraits and

santa!  babycakes bowed out at the last minute, but we have to go back to the mall at least 2x more before christmas, so there’s still time.  or like babycakes said “maybe next year, when i’m 4.”

(I found this picture on http://extremeeclubpenguincheats.wordpress.com/, so all credit goes to him)

Isn’t this interesting?!? In this picture, there are 3 players. They have some new cards, they are all wearing ninja masks (why don’t they do that in the Ninja Hideout too?) and they are on stones floating in lava, with the pictures of fire, water and snow on them!

Do you think Card-Jitsu: Fire has been released EARLY, or is this on a Spanish server or something? Hmmm….

Comment your opinion!

-Mac Storm

And it has returned on this mild Monday morning. After an experiance this weekend I have realized how important it is to know how to operate both Command Prompt in Windows and Terminal in Apple. That knowledge has decreased in importance as computers have become more mainstream. There is no longer a need to type in lines of code to start a computer, or to launch a simple program. With computers of today we do that with a simple push or a single click. The language used in both Command Prompt and Terminal seems to be dieing out, or rather, the knowledge of how to use the language. With a new generation of computer nerds coming up the older people, those who have the knowledge of how to type code, are being replaced. The new generation does not learn how to operate Command Prompt or Terminal, but it is still incredibly important to know. Those are simply my views on the topic posted from a 20 minute bus ride. I could be wrong, or I could be unfortunately be correct. If I am correct then there would need to be a changed interface. But for now there is no real problem, only the start of one.

felt the need to blog.

then the feeling disappeared.

evaporated into thin air.

just like a ninja.

yeah.

a ninja.

my brain is in a weird state.

don’t know what it thinks it is doing.

I only took a 15 minute break at work the other day.

then I showed up half an hour early the next.

and then I was in bed and asleep by midnight.

yeah.

crazy.

i’m okay with this though.

maybe it will become permanent.

time can only tell.

back to my ninja brain.

it just realized Simon Pegg is Scotty in Star Trek.

awesome.

my ninja brain feels like it got in a fight with another ninja.

ugh.

stupid ninjas.

i think i am ready for bed.

but i have to finish my ice cream instead.

and my movie.

i love Star Trek.

i also loved watching Up.

I cried.

in the first 5 minutes too.

it was awesome though.

not the crying part.

the movie.

haha.

hoping tomorrow is a good day.

it’s a monday.

let’s hope it’s a good monday.

i think this is it for today.

…lata days

Is the world a big rubber band ball with everything connected to everything? Maybe. When you look for common threads among people, history, science…relationships start to surface. At the very least, you and I are connected right now through the Internet. So with this in mind, let’s play a game (not the Kevin Bacon game).

Question: What do “The Secret” (the Law of Attraction philosophy featured on Oprah), jazz artists Eddie Harris and Pharaoh Sanders (best known for their work in the ‘60s and ‘70s) and the year 1983 have in common?

Answer: Georgia Anne Muldrow.

Many of the universe’s funkiest wavelengths have converged recently to create the neo-soul hip-hopstress, Georgia Ann Muldrow (jahjahmuldrow on Twitter).

Born in 1983, Muldrow was raised in a musical home in Los Angeles. Her mom, Rickie Byars Beckwith, sang with avant-garde jazz saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders among others. Muldrow’s late father, Ronald Muldrow, was a jazz guitarist who played with artists such as soul-jazz pioneer Eddie Harris.

With this foundation, Georgia naturally gravitated toward music, and also appears to have incorporated her mother’s spirituality. Beckwith is the musical director of Agape Spiritual Center, a “New Thought” church founded by Muldrow’s stepdad, Dr. Michael Beckwith. The reverend was featured in the 2006 movie, “The Secret.”

Here’s an excerpt of the lyrics:

“My prayer is to be better, and to live a life of love
An honest human being, whose light heart can soar with the doves.
It’s hard to keep your head up, when life’s smoke obscures your gaze
I pray to see the beauty, even in that smoke’s dark haze
And when, I feel worthy to receive, the universe opens up to me
I’m a wide open vessel, true love expressin’,
I’ll never live a day in vain”

Another 1983 Connection
Steven Ellison (Flying Lotus), with whom Muldrow and her partner, Dudley Perkins have recorded and performed, called his debut album, “1983.” (I can all but confirm that this was the year he was born.)

Here’s a video of Perkins (a.k.a. Declaime) and Muldrow (a.k.a. Patti Blingh) performing to Flying Lotus’ beats.

Ellison’s background was similar to Muldrow’s in that he grew up in L.A. in a musical family. He is the great nephew of Alice Coltrane, the late free-jazz singer/mystic and John Coltrane, the late jazz god.

Now follow me here. Pharaoh Sanders, who played with Muldrow’s mom, also recorded and played with the Coltranes, who were big influences of Muldrow’s and just about all serious musicians out there.

And so our story comes full circle.

So check out Georgia Anne Muldrow’s song, “Never a Day in Vain,” on the album “Early.” Muldrow’s web sites include http://www.myspace.com/georgiaannemuldrow and www.myspace.com/theworthnothingskrew . She has a fan page on Facebook.

Sources: http://www.stonesthrow.com/georgia, http://www.billboard.com/artist/georgia-anne-muldrow, http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2008/12/01/081201crmu_music_frerejones, http://www.rickiebyars.com/bio.html, www.myspace.com/flyinglotus and http://exclaim.ca/articles/points.aspx?csid1=135 .

#  #  #

For people visiting this site to read Children Of Light, please continue to right hand side menu scroll, where the  Children  Of Light categories can be found – one to five.

♫♥♫♪♥

I’ve kept this talk on my computer for some time but hesitated to reproduce it here on my blog. I have done so for the occasion of Sai Baba’s Birthday, and for the benefit of all those now elderly devotees who enjoyed close darshans  and a personal relationship with Sai Baba, way back in the 1980s-1990’s. What an exciting time it was for them.  Here in this talk, Mr. Tigrett talks about “The Secret Life of Plants,” (a book which is  one of my favourites), his young life , The Hard Rock Cafe, how he came to meet  Sathya Sai Baba and the S.S. hospital.

Several  years ago I re-bought the book, The Secret Life of Plants. I intended to keep it. I had no idea that the book rights   had  belonged to Mr.Tigrett way back in the 1970s. However, once I read this talk, I decided on my next visit to Prashanti, to give the book to Mr. Tigrett. On my visit last year, I did indeed, take the book, Secret Life of Plants with me to Puttaparthi.   Being shy, I decided to leave the book with the Puttaparthi swimming pool attendant, for him to pass  on to Mr. Tigrett. I hoped the book would be signed by him and given to the  Shanti Library, located in the heart of Puttaparthi.  I understand the book was passed on to Isaac, but have no idea what happened to it. I wanted as I’ve already stated, to ask Isaac to donate the book to the library,but never had enough courage to do so and he was hardly ever out in the crowd.

Finally I would like to thank the person who transcribed the talk. I do not have the name nor the link anymore. I am very thankful that whomever it was, was honest and sincere.

Namaste. SathyaSaiMemories

Details about the talk below.

At times you may find this talk slightly difficult to follow. That is

because I have , as much as possible , used the exact words spoken by Mr.
Tigrett, in order to keep it as accurate as possible. Please remember that
this is a relaxed talk (there is a lot of laughter from the audience !) given
by Mr. Tigrett …..this is not something that he would have intended to be
transcribed word for word. Also, the spoken language has lot of other signals
such as tone, speed, facial expressions , hand movements, etc that cannot be
conveyed by a text document , as is presented here. Therefore , please do not
ascribe errors of language to Mr. Tigrett …. that would be grossly unfair to
him.
“( )” indicate where I’ve guessed the words. “??” indicate where it was
impossible to understand the word (s).

· IMPORTANT! Since this page is quite long, it may occasionally not load
completely. To ensure that you have loaded the complete page, this transcript
ends with the words (END OF TRANSCRIPT).

The Talk begins:

It was a fabulous conference . It went on for about a week . There were two
thousand delegates from around the world .. these were all the spiritual
leaders from around the world …. . all of the parliamentarians from around
the world …. Senator Albert Gore spoke there …. the prime minister
of Norway …. . the …. all kinds of wonderful wonderful speakers.

…. and Sai Baba in fact told me …. he said ” Now I don ‘ t want you
running around doing what you usually do , trying to organise everybody ….
so I want you to stay in your room and be ready to speak “. The only way I could
interpret this is that I would probably meet someone there at the conference
….. .

…. and this is very important because I think this is the way Sai wants us
to speak to everyone …. to wait and look and be available to let him speak
through you to someone …. so I went to my room and I was …. just sort
of meditated and I didn’t go out and scurry about like I usually do ….

The conference went on for a week . It was dynamic …. some of the greatest
speakers in the world and at the closing ceremonies .. the head of the
organisation came up to me and said, ” We want you to speak , Isaac”. ….
so …. I was terrified , like I am now …. and …. except for few
little notes …. I just stood up in front of this massive group with a
global audience …. it was being transmitted by satellite …. and asked
Swami to speak through me …. and He gave a miraculous speech …. all about
love

It was really funny …. about a year later I was blessed to be in His
presence …. and there was some other gentleman there …. . and He spoke
about the conference …. . and told everybody about the conference and how He
gave this discourse on love through me and how nervous I was at the beginning ,
but better towards the end …. so hopefully I would do the same today.

I want to thank Michael Hollander . I have to tell you , I’ve never been more
terrified than the first time I met Michael Hollander . I was wearing black
and I do wear black on occasion , obviously this was the wrong occasion . he
came right up to me and scared the daylights out of me …. and that was back
in 1975 …. I guess …. something like that . he is a very wonderful man
.. he’s a great Sai devotee …. as we all knew …. . who worked with him
….. and I feel blessed to know him.

Ceilings of desires is sort of funny because I’ve got all of them and there’s
no ceiling at all! …. . I guess …. what I thought I would do today
….. is to talk about …. I guess ..the only subject I know fairly well
….. which is myself and sort of tell you my story.

I’m from Jackson Tennessee , which is a small country town between Nashville and
Memphis Tennessee . I was raised there till about the age of fifteen and then I
went to England . my mother and father were separated …. he went to England
…. he had businesses there and I was blessed to go there.

Sai Baba with Sai Gita

I started a business when I was nineteen which I called the Hard Rock Cafe . I
was a devout devotee of Jimmy Hendrix and ???? and Zed Zeppelin and several
other fellows …. . which I still am actually …. I think they are
fantastic …. and I started this businesses . The Lord blessed me with
phenomenal success …. beyond my wildest dreams ….

…. In fact there are many people who …. later as I became a Sai
devotee .. I worried constantly …. I wasn’t very popular in groups such as
this …. mainly because people felt like that …. you …. know …. a
bunch of rock and roll …. and drugs …. and crazy stuff …. and it was
…. but you know …. Sai is not going to be in a place like that (? and
he’s not going to be using someone like that) …. and I worried about it a
great deal for many many years . I can only tell you that subsequent to Sai
being so wonderful and calling me in and now spending so much time with me
….. which I am blessed to be able to do …. …. he’s told me that the
Hard Rock Cafe was his …. which I knew …. . which I knew. you may know
that there is a picture of Sai Baba in every Hard Rock Cafe and it’s very
interesting , he said that it was an “oasis of light in a sea of darkness”
….. and I feel that that is really what all of us are …. and should be
….. in this Kali Yuga …. . a beacon for him .

It was a fabulous time for me .

…. Eventually I was blessed to buy the rights to a book . I’ve been
receiving metaphysical sort of visitations since I was about thirteen years old
and I got one of these visitations which said , ” Buy the Secret Life of
Plants.” I didn’t know what this was . I was about 23 years old …. . I
think …. at the time. Newsweek magazine, at about two three weeks later,
here in the book section ,which I avidly read , there was a book that had come
out about parapsychology and psychic phenomenon , whose name was the “Secret
Life of Plants” by Christopher Bird and Peter Tompkins . This was 1973. I
immediately called up the authors and said , “I would like to buy the
theatrical rights to your book because it’s a subject that’s very near and dear
to me.”

I had been receiving sort of psychic experiences from about thirteen years old
….. . and was terrified at the beginning …. didn’t understand it …. it
was actually a preacher named Norman Vincent P ???? of New York City, who’s a
friend of my family’s , who put me on the path originally and explained to my
parents (and to me ) that I wasn’t insane , because I certainly felt that I was
going insane at that time when things not of your own making come into your
consciousness …. it’s difficult . Now I know that that’s exactly where we
all should really be !

It was very interesting . I bought the rights to this book (Secret Life of
Plants). I called these authors and the guys said , “Oh Mr. Tigrett …. I
can’t believe that you want this …. this is a complete failure.” this book
…. Harpers and Row had published this …. it had been their big Christmas
book …. it had been received very poorly …. in fact the article that I
had read was very down on the whole subject of phenomenon ..and I said , ” I
don’t care …. I know I am supposed to buy that theatrical rights from you.”
….. and I did for practically no money whatsoever …. over the telephone.
six weeks later it hit the New York Times bestseller list. it stayed there for
fifty seven weeks …. and the next thing I knew, I was one of the most
popular guys in Hollywood for a very short period of time …. and a …. it
was really quite fantastic …. it took me to California ..and Warner Brothers
…. I made a distribution deal with …. and I was blessed to then go out
with …. Steve Wonder became my partner ..and production of it …. he is a
very spiritual gentleman and ..was very blessed …. he did the sound track to
the …. film which is an album …. relatively unknown album that he did
called the “Secret Life of Plants” …. and we went on a journey around the
world for about a year nine months …. as we were writing the screenplay
….. to research all the phenomenon on the planet which this book had been
written about …. we went to places like the ????? institute , Virginia Beach
…. we went the University of California, in Southern California …. where
they had parapsychology department …. John Hopkins …. Duke …. I
remember going down to Mexico, they had a gentleman there who actually was an
indigent street gentleman who could take Polaroid film and put it up on his
forehead and make any type of photograph appear . If you wanted a picture of
the New York City skyline with J.F.K. silhouette over the top ..he would do it
for you …. in fact he would do it primarily for alcohol ..and I remember
distinctly that later on in the day , the buildings would start to slant a
little bit …. he was pretty exciting ….

But this journey eventually took me to the mother ship of phenomenon,  India.
I was, in fact, in a hotel in a place called
Aurangabhad …. which is in the North …. and something started coming
into my consciousness …. and said ” I’ve been waiting for you … you come
!” …. I am looking around this hotel lobby …. and there was no one there
except people scurrying about …. I heard this voice again …. I realised
that it was my inner voice speaking to me quite loudly and I looked up and there
was a photograph of Sri Sathya Sai Baba . I asked someone who this was ….
he ‘d not even been on my list of masters to visit in India , of course ….
and they told me that his was their national treasure . I knew that that was
the master that I had been searching for …. for many many years …. or
suspected it …. and got onto a plane and went down to …. Whitefield
actually .

There were …. it was a Sunday …. there were probably the usual thousand or
so people there and I sat back on the wall ….. if I didn’t sit , I stood
….. dressed in black of course and Sai Baba came out and he parted the crowd
and walked right up to the wall where I was standing …. and I had seen him
move his hand for a few people ..and they put their hands out …. so I
thought that that was what I was supposed to do . He made vibhuthi for me and
that began my association with Sathya Sai Baba …. that was 1973 ..in fact,
he said to me ,”eat it … very good ” so I did ….

…. . And I didn’t speak to him again from 1973, although I went there
every year . I would spend a couple of weeks …. sometimes a month ….
sometimes longer …. between 1973 and 1989 …. in fact , it’s sort of
interesting. I became sort of the ashram joke …. to a degree …. it’s so
funny, you go there …. and those of you who’ve been there know ..that
everyone is totally preoccupied with getting an interview …. their egos ….
I mean …. as they say it’s like doing your dirty laundry being at
Puttaparthi …. and it certainly is …. people are certainly regurgitating
all ceilings of desires …. if there’s such a thing there …. and it was
quite phenomenal whenever someone was going through a traumatic state ..which
seems to be a regular thing there …. they would wheel me out because I was
the guy who that hadn’t had an interview …. or a glance …. or a look ..or
a word … for 5 years …. 8 years …. 12 years …. and eventually 15 years
that I spent going there without a glance from Shri Sathya Sai Baba …. but I
knew who he was and that was all that was necessary . I still , to this day, am
mystified …. why it’s even necessary to talk to him …. or why he really
wants me to be there for him to talk to …. it’s totally unnecessary because
he is not what he appears to be at all . He is much more dynamic than a little
man with furry hair running around building hospitals and universities ….
and I mean that quite seriously …. it’s a …. I’ll never forget those
years …. it was so fantastic …. I guess …. it was in fact my dear
friend Michael Hollander , who kept saying ,” Hang in there Isaac! hang in
there! hang in there !” …. and it was always a great comfort to see him
there , as I did , many many times over the years ….

Typical expression of Sai Baba

I was really sort of in a state of shock when he did call me …. I think ….
the reason being is that I had a number of fabulous experiences over that
fifteen year period where he would …. I guess he was forced to reassure me
who he was …. I had a very wild life …. to say the least …. I remember
one time leaving the road terribly intoxicated at about five o’clock in the
morning in a Porsche doing about ninety miles an hour …. in California
…down a canyon …. this car flew off into the air …. about a three to
four hundred foot drop …. and I had actually fallen asleep while driving
home …. ( a little) inebriated …. and Sai Baba suddenly appeared next to
me in the car …. this was 1975 maybe or 1976 …. put his arm around me
….. and I just noticed him as the car started to spin in mid air ..it went
over probably about ten times …. there was nothing left of the car ….
there was no windshield …. there was no roll bar ..there were no doors
….. there was no engine …. there was nothing …. it was totally and
completely destroyed …. yet I got up and out …. I mean the pressure of
this arm around me …. I guess …. protected me completely and I got up and
walked out of this car without even a bruise …. much less a scratch . I
got on a plane immediately and went to India to thank him …. and of course
he ignored me the whole time ….

Again, in 1977, I had an epileptic fit due to an intense drug overdose in a
hotel room in Denver , Colorado about one o’clock in the morning . I went into
epilepsy . I lost all motor response . I fell to the floor. I swallowed my
tongue . I choked to death …. just like you read about , my spirit came out
of the top of my head …. I was in a different state of consciousness and I
was looking down at my body …. something in that state of consciousness
…which was one of total peace and wondrous …. I will never forget it ….
said to me,
“your time is not now …. call your gurus name ” …. I called Sai Baba’s
name and he appeared instantly in this room …. he picked me up and put me
on a bed ..he pulled my tongue out ..I am watching this from above …. he
places his hand on my chest and pushes on my chest and the spirit went right
back into my body …. I was back into the state of epilepsy at that point in
time …. and I don’t know how much time passed …. surely a number of
minutes …. and shortly afterwards I was released from hospital because it
was drug related …. not an actual mental malady. I left for India the next
day to thank Sai Baba and he ignored for several months on that occasion as
well ….

I have to tell you , that fifteen years later, while we are working on the
hospital …. he’s so wonderful …. timing of course is everything with
him …. it was quite wonderful that while we were …. I guess I’ve been
blessed to be with him for a number of hours with a number of distinguished
surgeons who had been gathered together at Whitefield in his home there to
discuss the hospital …. and he got everyone’s attention several hours into
this meeting …. and I was sitting next to him ..and he said , ” I saved
this mans life two times …. didn’t I?” This is fifteen years later. I must
also add that I said ,”Yes of course. ” He leaned over and whispered in my ear,
” And many other times too .” As you all know, Sai Baba is hilarious ….
absolutely …. he is quite a miracle to us all …. but his humour is
really something else.

I have to tell you a little bit about something that’s important to me . I told
some folks about this and they seemed to think that it was important to them ,
so I thought I would repeat it today .

I had a very unusual childhood and …. that …. not unlike many other people
…. have suffered greatly in this life, probably due to things in a past life
.. but I really had a wonderful childhood until I was about thirteen years old .
at that time, I was playing with a little brother …. and we got into a
little fight ..and part of this bank collapsed ..and he was suffocated …. I
dug him out and he died in my arms . my parents blamed me for this death and
they also blamed each other …. at the same time my parent never spoke again
..

My older brother who had an extreme IQ was affected by this . I blamed myself
for this actually at the time, and the next thing I knew …. he had become
mentally ill . He flipped out completely and I spent a number of years in
mental institutions with him . he wouldn’t talk to anyone else but me . these
were tortuous years for me because I was locked wars with many other people .
He eventually took his own life .

My mother and father never spoke again … and again, I blamed myself for this …
as well as my second brothers death .

My father sort of committed social and business suicide …. and then he
allowed his business , which employed everyone in our town of Jackson ,
Tennessee , to fail on purpose to punish himself . I also believed that this
was my fault . he eventually left Jackson Tennessee ..and left my mother and
ran off with a young lady to England.

It took me many many years to deal with this extreme sadness . It went on for so
long. It was so painful . Not anything different that many of you have
experienced, I am sure …. and I was preoccupied with all of these tragedies
for many many years …. and thought, “Oh ! what I terrible life I had surely
had.” …. and on one occasion not long ago with Sai Baba …. and I must
say that this occasion changed my life …. I asked him …. or rather
during a situation together …. he turned to me and said ,” Tigrett , do
you have any questions about anything which you would like to know about ….
I’ll answer any question ?”. And I said , “Yes …. I would like to know why
I was born into a family with so much tragedy and death and insanity and
violence and …. and all these things that went on for so many years ….
went on and on and on …. why was I born into a family like this ?”. And he
smiled and looked at me and he said ,”To soften your heart ” …. and I can
tell you now that suddenly I realised that I had been blessed to be born into
that family …. and to have experienced those experiences, because what
little I am today …. it has made me …. and God knows I have an massive ego
….. and if I hadn’t had those experiences ????? what I would be doing . It’s
important for each of us to realise that cards that we are dealt …. are
given with great love and compassion …. and it’s simply your karma …. we
are ..as Baba has said so many many times before , Past is past …. the
future is uncertain …. NOW is the time …. you are making your future
now …. whatever you put out …. comes back to you …. it’s a very simple
simple formula in the spiritual world just as it’s in the laws of physics .

I have to tell you about my first interview with Sathya Sai Baba because it was
quite fantastic . I think it was in 1974, the first time I went to Puttaparthi,
that on leaving the canteen …. and by the way, I think the food there is
fantastic despite rumours that it’s not so good, I noticed a little sign over
the door …. a little wooden sign …. in fact that sign is still there
….. it says ” love all , serve all. ” So I thought …. well …. he’s got
me in this amazing crazy world , in this crazy business , and it struck me so
strongly, that I said, “This surely is the only thing that’s important in
life and I am going to put this into my business .” So I went back . This one
little message changed my whole life . I went back and I started preaching to
my staff , it was in my heart anyway , I had always felt it , that “love all ,
serve all ” was the most …. it’s why we’re born …. it’s why we are here
….. there is no other thing to think about …. and I adopted this expression
for my business. In fact, in every Hard Rock Cafe throughout the world, you
will find a sign that says “love all , serve all.” In fact, we put it on
millions of T-shirts …. twenty million matches …. and buttons and this and
that …. and everything else …. and I would give a speech about it to my
staff once a month at some Hard Rock in the world …. and this is how I ran
my business . I knew that I had to bring in my spiritual life into my business
…that it was the only way to really survive successfully in creating what he
wants …. because that’s what he does want …. he wants us all to be
puppets for him …. if we can say the word puppets …. hard to deal for
the egos a little bit …. but that’s really what it’s all about. He wants us
to be instruments , and I tried to become this instrument for him . I am still
obviously trying very hard . I have to say that “love all, serve all” became
the motto of my staff and of all the people who admire what we were doing.

Old Darshan Area -probably from the 1970’s

Again, I always had this fear that I was doing something wrong ..I mean , it
seemed so crazy to be in such a crazy world ….that I was living in ..and had
this divine master plus psychic experiences all the time plus whatever …. it
wasn’t till my first interview that I really understood ..or got confirmation
from him that he was behind the Hard Rock. I’ll never forget when he said ,
“You come in”. I mean after fifteen years ..I looked at the guy behind me ….
(I was sure that’s he, he ) was talking about ..it can’t be me …. and it was
quite wonderful …. he called me and terrified the day lights out of me of
course by doing so, and he sat me right down in front of him, and there were
ten or twelve people there and he said ,” Where is God ?”. And I said ,”Well
he’s in my heart”. He said ,”No”. He said ,” God is everywhere …. it’s like
fish swimming through water …. the water is above the fish , around the
fish , below ,and inside . You are fish swimming through God .” This has been
one of the most wonderful moments of my life and I am sure for those that were
in the room, because we are swimming through God at this very moment. He is
everywhere and it’s that consciousness which we are all trying to reach ….
not just intellectually ..but to completely understand and merge with that
consciousness. He then asked me , ” How do you get to God ?”. I just missed
the first question so I wasn’t going to answer another one …. so I sat back
like this …. and he asked another fellow, “How do you get to God ?” ….
and he said nothing .. he asked, ” How do you get to God ?” and then he turned
to me, and he asked me again, ” How you get to God ?” …. and I just sort of
sat back …. and he winked at me and he said ,”Love all ,serve all “. It
really is what it’s all about.

I really want to tell you also about the hospital a little bit. I was very
blessed that Sai Baba brought me forward … and I had told my staff and my
folks …. my brothers and sisters at the Hard Rock …. in which there were
some three or four thousand of us altogether around the world …. from the day
that I started it back in 1971, ..that this was going to serve mankind in some
way … and one day …. no one would ever believe me …. I don’t think I
believed it myself …. one day, something that this incredible success that
we had had, will somehow serve mankind. I used to say this on a monthly basis
for many many years. Swami brought someone, just in the nick of time, because
I was near death and exhaustion from expanding my business all over the world,
who offered me too much money for it. And I consider it to be a sign from God
….. and sold the Hard Rock Cafe …. it was a public company … it was on the
London Stock Exchange and also the American Stock Exchange … and after ….
it was quite difficult to let it go .. but after a lot of meditation I kept
getting signs …. yes indeed , this is what I want you to do . I had already
set up a foundation called the “Rama Foundation” many years before and put half
of my stock into that foundation. That foundation received the benefits from
half the sale of the Hard Rock Cafe which sold for a miraculous hundred and
eight million dollars …. I might say …. oh goodness ! …. in fact I
will never forget ….

This reminds me of something else …. Swami …. there was this big chubby
lady came in one day and he was giving her a lecture about how to cook ..and
he gave her a whole lesson on how to cook …. and we sat there …. how to
boil water …. how to do the rice …. how to do everything …. went on
and on and on …. and then …. all of you know this …. he turned and he
said ,”Sai Baba weighs a perfect one hundred and eight pounds. I have (always)
since the age of fourteen , I have weighed a hundred and eight pounds. ” Which
is, I think quite wonderful. It’s very important in numerology too …. there
is so much mystery in this world …. so much more going on than that we are
aware of ….

I got to the point ..in fact ..and I am getting little bit off the subject
….. I got to the point where through meditation, I’d reached a certain state
of mind …. I realised that I was  detached from so many many things.
Also material things that I’ve never cared about particularly …. and I wrote to
him and said , ” Swami , because you have also graced me with this ability to
pull energy into my body through meditation …. do you want me to just go
off into a cave somewhere and do this meditation ?” And he said , ” In
another period of history that would have been correct “, he said ,” but not
now “, he said ,”I want you in the world , I want you with these things , but I
don’t want you to be attached to them , I want you to stand next to them , but
not be victimised by them I want beacons of light in the world , the world
must be purified in this age …. this wonderful age that we are blessed to
have been born into …. because the new age is upon us.

Sai Baba with the devoted Professor Kasturi

Sai asked me to do the medical planning . We got the
Hospital Corporation of America , which is the leading hospital corporation in
the world. They’ve built thousands of hospitals around the world. They did the
medical planning for us. He brought in some of the brightest minds in India and
other countries …. also to take what the Hospital Corporation had done and
tear it all to bits …. and to start all over again …. and he made many
many changes himself as he told me …. he said , “This is a prototype ….
this is an absolute prototype . ” And I thought , ” Well gosh …. what does
that mean , I haven’t got a clue ? “

He sent me shortly afterwards to the World Health Organisation in Geneva. I
went there and I met with a group of about twelve of their leading doctors
there. When I put the plans out for them, they were outraged at the entire idea
of this hospital . They said it will never work … “How could you build a super
specialty hospital when we can’t even teach people in third world countries
proper hygiene or how to get inoculations ?” …. or whatever . They tore me
into little pieces ..which is pretty hard to do …. and …. I sat there
calmly listening to them , knowing that they were absolutely correct about what
they were saying , except that this was Shri Sathya Sai Baba’s hospital . There
was a doctor Singh , who was late to the meeting of these ten gentleman ….
one was from Japan …. one was from Ghana one was from ???? Dr. Singh came
just as they were taking the last bit of skin off my body …. and Dr. Singh
just took one look and said “Oh , Sai baba’s doing this ..if anyone can make
it happen , it will be Sai Baba .”

Kodaikanal -early days

In fact it’s incredible …. because …. Sai Baba does not give you faith .
I am sure that we have all been through this many many times before …. it’s
earned, it’s something that’s part of the whole destruction of the ego process
….. our ego wants to deny the existence of God …. period . But … I was
amazed ..even with my own doubts …. to now watch and see exactly how he has
performed …. the hospital. I say ” performed” because it has been a
performance and a half. It has been a start stop process …. first of all,
there is no other specialty hospital in the world , in the third world
situation free… in fact there is none free ..period , that I know of . As you
know that, the hospital is on an hundred acre site. It’s about forty buildings
there. It’s not only the hospital ..it’s all the backup buildings …. a whole
village has been built… it’s in the process of being completed now … which will
house three thousand five hundred staff and their families for that hospital .
It will be bigger than the ashram population . It’s also the Puttaparthi
hospital …. which I am really excited about …. because one thing I
learned ..I learnt a lot about the hospital business …. certainly in this
type of situation …. the Puttaparthi hospital has been almost tripled in
size …. they’ve being seeing on average, 350 – 400 people a day. In fact
for every two or three thousand people that they see in the General Hospital ,
only one needs to go to the Super Speciality Hospital .

The Super Speciality Hospital is a hospital where they do …. you know ….
heart transplants …. eventually . Right now they are doing open-heart
surgery . When I was there two months ago, they just completed their one
hundred and seventy fifth open-heart surgery …. in devastating conditions
there …. and the amazing thing was that all the laws of statistics said
that someone should have died of infection …. someone should have died
period. ..but many should have died of infection because it’s still an
construction site ..there is still dirt and dust and so forth . Not one patient
has been lost . It’s quite fantastic . The hospital is a four stage …. it’s
in four stages …. on his birthday this year, they’re going to open up the
next wing of the hospital …. right at the moment the heart wing …. he
wanted to start with the heart, which is apropos of our Lord…. the next will
be …. I think …. the urology department …. and that will be followed
by the other two departments over the next two years . In fact ,they want as a
birthday gift to Swami, to have the urology department going …. it will be
headed by Dr. Bhat , who is the father of urology in India. If you ever get a
chance to speak to him , he is a wonderful amazing doctor …. Swami has
called there…. Many people have said …. well …. what’s the story ….
can we work there ? …. can we do this ? I think ..yes, the answer is .. ….
in time that will happen …. he has given it to the Indian community to
start off …. and I think it’s absolutely the way it should be done as well
….. the way that he has done it , because the people at the World Health
Organisation said ,” You ‘d be overrun …. it will be crazy there”, is that
they will operate for two or three weeks and they stop …. he stops them
…and this gives them the chance to go back and see what they are not doing
right …. to get all their administration together. It’s a brilliant plan
….. and he’ll start up again …. and they will operate for a number of weeks
…and then he will stop them . The wards are packed …. twenty five percent
are children that have been operated on ..they have holes in their hearts or
whatever …. it’s truly a prototype as Sathya Sai Baba has said that it is.
He told me it was a thousand year project …. that’s very exciting …. it’s
a wonderful thing .. and I am sure in time, those who are qualified …. I am
sure there are some among here who are doctors, will be given an opportunity. I
know that he has just taken a gentleman from Chicago … is now going to be the
head of the blood bank …. and an Italian gentleman has been chosen to help
as the anaesthesiologists there ..so it’s only a matter of time and karma ….
I am sure …. when all of us can play a role there ..and when I say ,”play a
role” …. I think one of the great experiences I had with Michael Hollander
….. is the year 1976 ..it must’ve been …. when we built the stupa that was
there and there were about forty others there …. with the concrete …. I
mean it’s a …. it’s really the energy that’s the most important thing which
you do , not …. you know …. the importance in our minds …. and that
brings me to a subject that I am …. you’ll find very curious.
Darshan in the SaiRramesh Hall

Sai Baba is not that little furry haired creature that we all adore and love
….. that’s a delusion. He has said that many many times before …. to be
preoccupied with that form ..you’re deluding yourself …. to know him in his
true form is to know him as everything everywhere everyone. One of the things
I’ve practiced for many many years in my life …. in my business …. the
payoff is fantastic, because I don’t see personalities …. I see God in
every face …. and I try to practice but it does not come easy at times …. just like you practice meditation
…. you practice any of the spiritual exercises that can be given to you .
It’s essential that you get out of the ego conscious state. It’s important for
you to realise who you really are. You are not the mind. You are not the body.
You are all divine beings …. there is no self-realisation that’s given to
you …. you already have it. It’s just the matter of removing the veil …
the ego …. it’s there for the taking …. it’s available to you . I
say this with conviction because over the last several years Sai Baba has had
me, he’s shown me the other dimensions on a daily basis. He’s taken me into
every level and plane I assume that one can go into …. I am sure there are
a few more he could have (shown me too). It may sound bizarre and strange to you
, but you must become aware of the other dynamics that are happening ….
what Sai is really doing …. it’s all matter of your thoughts …. you
talk about ceilings on desires …. I will give you a ceiling that you MUST
be aware of …. and that’s your thoughts . The most powerful thing that you
could do in this dimension is think. Every single thought is pure energy. That
energy …. like the laws of physics , that energy does not die …. it
collects on something that Sai Baba has given us the name “the astral plane. “
This is where the trash is … this is where the thoughts are …. this is
where all the thought forms are …. this is where the ?????, the Aztecs ,
the other great civilisations …. when their priest class understood the
powers …. the ancient wisdom they create ??? spirits … they’re still
there ..the elementals are there …. there is a dimension that we interact
with and our thoughts are also on that d ….

Krishna’s statue and fountain in SS Hospital Grounds

…. lust , greed , anger, hatred have collected on these other dimensions.
It’s the same as the positive thoughts … your worship , your love of God , and
his many aspects …. all the Gods …. that’s collected into positive
thought forms on the “etheric dimension” , as Sai Baba has asked us to call it.
I can only tell you …. and give you an example of the thought form in something
that Sai Baba is up to … and I am sorry to sort of burden you with this craziness …. but …. that’s the way it is..

The thing that I am trying to make …. the point that I am trying to make
to you is that Sai Baba is God …. he is dynamic …. he is working on
many many dimensions simultaneously. He is doing everything to bring in the new
age . He has told me , ” I must … we must destroy the negativity on the other
dimensions as well as this one because we are so closely connected . It would
be useless to clean up the planet without cleaning up the other dimension (s)
….. because we are affected by these things ” ????? we get back to the same
shape all over again. He is absolutely amazing . He is cleaning up all the
dimensions at once. He is working everywhere. So incredible.

But he needs our help. Human beings and their thoughts created the mess that
we’re in today . We’ve all been reincarnated into this glorious age where an
Avatar walks among us …. a full (Poona) Avatar. He needs our help. We
are his beacons …. I mean it’s a blessing …. all of us have come in
contact with this divine being …. he is bringing us along …. in most
cases he is speeding up our karma. He needs our help. We created these
problems …. God cannot create negativity …. it’s impossible …. he is
pure love …. divine love ..not like human love …. human love is
contracting and grasping …. divine love is expanding it’s quite incredible.

He has blessed me … with showing me the feeling of … that in …. a particular
state of samadhi ….which he blessed me with for a short period of time . He
said , ” Tigrett , that’s what the goal is !” … just to sort of tantalise me
….. he gets a kick out of it too. But the point being …. don’t think of Sai
Baba as this marvellous marvellous incarnation that’s down in Puttaparthi ….
he is here …. he is in every one of you.

Again, I don’t want to confuse anybody with the metaphysical aspects which Sai
Baba has blessed me with …. ???? and just to clear that up when you say
,”Why this guy ?” …. because I’ve been saying that myself for a long time. He
has taken me back to a past life. He’s shown me that I was a (shaman) master in
an ancient culture and had the ancient wisdom, and then my ego got involved
….. it was so wonderful, I thought, well I ‘d just fix everything ….
I’ll just do this and do that …. and I misused this knowledge and this power
and in the process harmed many many people. This life is an opportunity to make
good that harm. Just as all of us are leading our own path, we have our own
karma …. just know that he is with you … because he is absolutely there
just waiting for you …. he does not interfere with your free will …. he
will not do that …. it’s his own law …. but he is there for you when you
reach out for him. We are all truly blessed to be with him.

I want to tell you one story that always tickles me. There was a group in to see
him ..a Westerner group interview …. and he …. one fellow was from
California and had sort of a Navajo ring on … like a blue stone a turquoise
stone …. quite fantastic …. and Swami said ,” Can Swami have ring?”
The guy says ,”Sure!” … and there are about ten or fifteen people there ….
And he held the ring up and said, “What’s this ?”
“Swami …. that it is a Navajo ring made by Indians in Arizona I believe and
has a turquoise stone .”
” Very good “, he said , “very good ” …. next person …. “What is this?”
“Swami, that’s a silver ring with a blue stone “
“Very good” …. all the way around the room …. “What is this? … What is
this? … What is this ?” …. He then held it up and blew on the ring and it
turned into a big gold ring with a ruby on the top …. “What is this ?”
“Swami, that’s a big golden ring with a ruby on the top “
“Yes , very happy …. what is this ?”
“Swami … it’s a gold ring with a red stone “
“Very good” all the way around the room, very patiently as always, “what is
this? what is this ?” …. He stood up in front of the group and said , I
must get it verbatim, “Swami very powerful . Has the ability to change all the
elements of the universe at will …. but to change one of you Westerners ….
very difficult. “

Now there is something that I REALLY hate. Swami asked me to sing …. and I
don’t know how to sing …. in fact I sing off key ..but I am going to try.
This is a little song that’s very dear to me. One of my roommates sang it to me
in Puttaparthi … 1974 , …. and it has been going in my head ever since …. so
I will try …. forgive me …. I don’t know how to sing ;

” Oh make me like you …. Please make me like you …. You are a servant,
make me one too …. …. Oh lord , I am willing …. Please do what you
must do …. To make me like you Lord …. Make me like you. …. Sai Ram

Again …. thank ??? most of all …. for inviting me to come and be here with
you this afternoon . So many people said so many sweet things to me after the
chat …. really the only reason that I want to be here is to serve him … and
if he speaks through me to some of you …. it would make my whole year ..thank
you all for having me.

“However , someone said to me,” You’re really special.” This upsets me a great
deal because of a lesson Swami has given me over and over again. It’s really
the problem that mankind has suffered from the beginning, and that’s the
feeling of being special. We’re taught in today’s world that we are supposed to
be …. better than …. different …. the second that we fall victim to
feeling special we’ve lost the whole game completely” —-

… you know …. a  Christian says I’m special …. I ‘m a Christian …. I am better than a Jew or
a Hindu says …. well I’m special …. (I’m )better than a Parsi …. or a
rich man says I’m special …. I’m better than a poor person …. this is the
danger …. the danger in life in general …. we have this amazing
association of mankind …. which it seems in today’s world we are so competitive
with one another … wanting to beat the other guy out …. wanting to be more
powerful … have a stronger position. You see this typified at Sai Baba’s
ashram, where everyone is trying to get closer to the King and they’ll do
anything to get there …. say anything. I just can’t warn you enough about
feeling special . Someone came up and even offered me Sai Baba’s food that
they had in the canteen. I was so upset …. or they even made me break in
line to get my dinner… it’s just (a) reminder to me ..thank Swami for that
reminder …. that we are all …. we are Him. Feeling of being special …
being different …. being better than someone else …. someone came up to
me and said ,”Well I’m so worried about what people say about me …. Swami
gave me an object and people are jealous because of it and so they say naughty
things to me all the time. ” Worrying about what other people say …. again
….. the only lesson that I have learnt …. because I have had to ….
with great love …. deal with my little Hard Rock family around the world ….
every place in the world …. it’s been fantastic to practice looking beyond
the personality …. to really see God in everyone that you meet. If you
practice it …. (it’s) just like meditation …. and meditation is the way
to God …. I can’t tell you enough …. it’s just like the Bhajans …. for
years I thought …. well, in fact, I think I know three after seventeen
years …. you know …. I didn’t understand the importance of that ritual
….. how important it is …. it’s a form of meditation …. it’s a form of
union with God …. even if you don’t know the words …. just to be there
….. and be part of the music …. it’s so very very important …. but
meditation is everything …. again I would like to talk briefly just for a
minute or two …. and there are so many folks had questions about various
things I had said …. I have questions about some of the things I’ve said
….. is there anyone who would like to ask any questions …. because I am
not going to take too much of your time this afternoon ….

I’d like to talk just for a second about attitude . It’s an attitude that’s
important to understand. I was blessed to have money, and people have been
asking me about money this afternoon, blessed to have money that I wanted to
give Sai Baba and I didn’t know how to do it. It was such a strange thing ….
the idea of giving Sai Baba something …. wanting to give …. being attached to
the giving … and finally I realised that this money that I was giving could
not be accepted until it was given for all …. who maybe don’t have the cash
….. if they had it …. liked to have given. It’s when I adopted this
attitude that I approached him …. this was …. this gift …. that he ???
blessed ..in me in receiving …. was given in the spirit that it was given for
all of us ….

It was the same as the symbol of this bowl which he gave me at the birthday. I
was shocked …. they came and woke me up at five o’clock in the morning and said
,”Sai Baba wants you to sit up on the podium there with him.” …. and I did
so with his command. I was very embarrassed to be sitting up there …. and
then suddenly he brought out this magnificent bowl …. huge thing …. and
presented it to me. And I realised as I was sitting there …. that it was
just a symbol …. it represented his grace for the two thousand workers who
worked on this project twenty four hours a day …. it was a symbol of grace
for the two hundred draughtsmen which drafted day and night to create this
hospital …. everyone had told that it’s physically impossible to create this
hospital …. first of all it takes at least one years planning and it will
take at least three years to build. It was planned through his grace in six
weeks. It was built in one year. You know …. he announced …. first of
all, he said that he was going to do the hospital …. couple of weeks later
he says it’s going to open in a year from now …. he announces at the
birthday there …. and we all said ,” Oh my God …. what we’re going to do ?”
…. not one of us on the project believed it could be done …. talk about
being close to Baba and having no faith …. but indeed it was done ….
and …. and …. it’s an amazing achievement and I look forward to all of you
being able to go over there and certainly have a look at it.

It’s a beautiful thing that Sai has created for everybody. It’s amazing what
he’s done as he’s predicted ….( that he was would) …. was first going
to build a model for education and he announced this twenty years ago when he
inaugurated the university . He said ,”I am going to set up a model for the
Indian government …. of what free education could be all about …. this
school that I am setting up now will be the model .” With the opening of the
hospital , the prime minister , Mr. Rao came , and he gave a speech. In that
speech he said ,”We are now accepting the university as the model for the
Indian government of how free education can be given to the masses .” …. and I
have met several of the teams that he has sent down subsequently, to study
what service and education could be …. now Sai has announced that this
hospital will be a model to the world on how a hospital can run in a third
world environment …. as we all know what Andhra Pradesh is …. with fifty
five million people just in the state of Andhra Pradesh alone …. let this
hospital be a model of what free medical care to the masses can be …. I
believe that that ’s what we are …. people say , “Why isn’t everybody a Sai
Baba devotee?” …. I don’t know what karma that we have …. to receive this
blessing …. this small Sai family …. on the Earth …. of course Sai
has many many other names …. and many other cultures. I believe that we are
models …. models we must be as well, to the rest of the world . And it’s
so important that we get over our failings as quickly and fast as we can, to
become beacons for him .

Krishna’s birthday 1992- I was there

Now I like to …. if anyone has any questions ….

I’d love to answer if I can -

…. ….

” yes maam .”

“ …. when Baba asked you to get started on the hospital …. did he give a
sense of direction or did he just say …. “work on the hospital ?”
“ the question was …. when Sai Baba said to start the hospital … did he give
a sense of direction? ” …. I think about forty of us ran off in every
different direction there could possible be …. not knowing which direction
to go in. It became obvious real quickly that only with his grace would we be
able to come together and make it happen …. it was a …. I am a very
strong hard headed character and Sai Baba sort of put me in front of the entire
Indian culture …. and tried to …. you know …. bulldoze my way through
….. it’s very interesting because I learnt a great lesson from it …. he
allowed me to go full steam like a little steam engine …. “right up the
middle” as they say in football …. and then one day he said , ” Tigrett, I
don’t want you to talk anymore .” I said ,”Okay” …. later he explained to me
….. He said ,”Look …. from your background …. the way you were raised ,
there was no harmony in your family …. there was no family unit …. you
realised that the only way you ‘re going to get anything done in life was to go
out and do it yourself …. and you never had the teaching of what a family
unit is all about. ” He said , ” This hospital experience, for you personally,
is a learning experience of how to work as a team …. everybody has their part
to play .” …. so indeed …. we all ran off in different directions …. but
he …. absolutely …. we would have meetings for hours …. and he’d say
,”No …. little left …. no I want that there …. that should be green
….. this should be red …. this should be twelve feet tall …. this should be
six feet wide …. he knew exactly what every room and every specification
was going to be …. and he was actively involved with every aspect of
building of that hospital …. just as he is actively involved with the
running of the hospital as well. I mean , the fact that nobody has died there
defies medicine in general because it’s a construction site and you cannot have
an operating room with even a speck of dust , because when you open the body ….
if a speck of dust or dirt gets in …. you will have internal infection and
you will die. I think the fact that he comes over there a couple times a week,
while these operations are going on …. he visits the wards …. he goes to
the operating rooms …. obviously his vibration is cleansing …. so it’s a
divine hospital … that’s for sure …. with him over there all the time .

“Yes Sir ?”

“Will you talk a little bit about the meditations that you do …. how
frequently …. ?”
” The question is …. would I talk about the meditations and so forth?” ….
again …. I had no idea …. I’ve been aware of other dimensions and other
things going on. I didn’t know if I could ever play a role in it ….
obviously I now know that we each can …. through meditation …. learn a lot
about other dynamics and it humbles you greatly when you realise that there are
more dynamic things than yourself going on. It all started four years ago. He
asked me to work with Mrs. Phyllis Krystal …. and it happens probably ….
he brings us together for two or three weeks at a time …. we will meditate
for about 4 – 5 hours a day …. we had these sessions and then after two or
three weeks he’ll give us a break and I’ll go off and do some business …. she
will do her thing …. and then he brings us back again. This is the way it’s
been for four years. He asked us to record these journeys. We now have about
four hundred hours on tape of these amazing journeys into other dimensions
….. many discourses that he has given explaining how things work sort of and
it’s so interesting …. most interesting of all ..is that it’s just like
grass growing …. it’s so simple …. really really simple …. the
unknown always scares all of us …. it’s a natural phenomenon … but this
work …. primarily means to me that he is working on many levels at once. It’s
dynamic to see it …. again let me sort of tell you …. obviously there is
no way for me to share these things …. even the experiences I have had ….
I find difficult to believe …. but the effect is what’s important to
understand ….
Every time you think , you put out energy. Every single thought. Thought is
more powerful even than action. That’s why he says ,” Watch your thoughts. “
….. it’s so very important because it’s pure energy and it’s powerful energy
….. and it doesn’t just dissipate somewhere. It gathers together, in what Sai
Baba has called in our work ,”the astral plane ” …. which is where our
negative thought forms come together …. just like the Russian experience
which I told you about …. all this negativity …. this negative fear that
these Russians have had …. it created a thought form …. a living powerful
beast really, that was still holding them and suppressing them and keeping
them in that particular place. The same thing happens with lust , greed , anger
.. Over the yugas, all of this has collected into huge dynamic form (s) and what
happens is that when you get angry …. when you get lustful …. when you
get hateful …. when these thing occur …. you are put up like a tuning
fork …. these thing(s) are made of human energy …. and they feed off
human energy …. if you are not careful …. you can cross a line of
attraction to them …. and they will attach themselves to you …. and when
they do …. then they will keep you in that frame of mind …. they will
keep you lustful …. they will keep you angry … they will keep you in this
negative …. this is their food …. they are feeding off of you, as crazy as
this may sound. This is one of the purposes of Mrs. Krystal’s book …. is to
show you how to get away …. protect yourself from these things … it’s Sai Baba’s
book …. not Mrs. Krystal’s. It’s the most important work or word that I can
give you really today of my experience in this life is …. you must watch
your thoughts …. it’s so important. A lady came up to me this afternoon and
says ,” I am so bloody angry, I am furious, I am …. ” …. it has
consumed her …. anger …. I believe that she has contacted one of these
thought forms …. and that it has control over her. It is the way things are
…. it’s very difficult to understand …. but it’s the way things are ….
“Yes maam” …. “
???? how the thought form pattern over the United States compared to the
thought form pattern …. “
…. well …. you know …. it’s the Shiva energy that’s at work right now.
There has to be death to be birth. It’s just like flowers dying in the
wintertime so that there can be rebirth. It’s just like our lifetimes ….
there is death and there is birth. It’s part of the wheel. It is part of the
whole process for a new age to begin an old age has to be swept aside. Look
what’s happening to the planet right now. The planet itself is being destroyed
by mankind. The biosphere is in danger of collapsing …. totally collapsing.
This awareness is slowly seeping in to not just America …. or one country
….. but the whole world is becoming aware that we have fouled our own nest
….. and by being so …. they’ve connecting themselves to nature because they
realise that nature and ourselves are one the same …. we are a part of
nature …. nature is God …. God is everything …. so suddenly we are
being …. really …. (it would seems )like a total disaster …. we’re all
tuning in to our higher nature through this awareness that the biosphere is
collapsing around our heads. I worked with the environmental groups , in fact
I started an environmental group in the UK called “Ark, ” …. and got very
much into it after I sold my business …. and became very concerned. I’ve
spent a lot of time with NASA and several other organisations and saw …. in
fact, part of the global forum …. the scientific community was the leading
scientists around the world …. it was headed by Carl Sagan, the famous
scientist …. at the Moscow conference …. all they could say was that
we’re doomed. I got so concerned that I went to Sai Baba and asked him
,”What’s going to happen to the biosphere ?” And he said to me ,”God is
allowing mankind to destroy the Earth …. only when man is brought to his
knees will he turn toward God. ” It’s the same thing that’s happening to all
the oppressed nations that have been around the world …. look what has
happened …. who would’ve believed that he would have broken up Russia and
Eastern Europe …. and some of the South American governments …. and some
of these oppressive countries …. I mean, in a short period of time ….
look what he has done to the world economy …. we are all marching in the
wrong direction …. we think materialism is going to bring happiness ….
so let’s just stomp out materialism around the world …. and he has brought
the economy of the world almost to its knees …. there has to be death to be
birth . There is a new age upon us …. a new age of consciousness …. I
think we are all blessed to be here.
“Yes Sir.”
“We know so little about life after death …. you said that Baba saved you
when you swallowed your tongue ?”
“Yes.”
“Could you expand on that …. what exactly did it feel …. what did you
experience …. ?”
“Life after death …. you mean life after delusion …. don’t you !?” I
can only tell you , that as far as my personal experience was concerned, it’s
really two fold. I had this experience …. yes …. he wanted to know
what life after death was like or you know … what’s going on . Not that I am
an expert , but I had a small glimpse …. and I have had others through
meditation. It was a state of total bliss …. there are no five senses ….
you are ???? (not) bound to anything …. I was in a state of pure …. its
like to be described just as electricity …. but it was totally peaceful
….. it was wonderful …. I didn’t really want to go back. In fact if you
recall, Mr. Cowan , who Baba brought back to life …. I think there was a
group that interviewed him at one time …. ” What’s it like to return back
to earth ?” He said it was like returning to a sewer …. I don’t really care
about being in the etheric plane or this plane …. I just like to be merged
with Sai Baba permanently. I have had visitations from my own brothers and I
have constant visitations , in fact, from people on the other side. They’re in
a continuous state of learning. It’s still a learning process , but the action
is down here. Everybody is waiting to get down here, because this is where you
burn the karma off. This is where the action is …. in this dimension ….

“Yes Sir “

” I heard that you are incorporating these management practises …. that you
used in the Hard Rock Cafe …. is there some sort of book or lecture series
….. .”
“This is it ! The question was …. putting the practises of Sai Baba into
your business …. and no I am not writing a book about it and I hope Swami
doesn’t ask me to …. but , what I am doing is practising …. and I think any
person who has a business …. it doesn’t make any difference what it is
….. people say , “Hey ! that guy is not a Sai devotee ..he runs a bar ” ….
another devotee may say , ” He’s just a street sweeper” …. you know …. or
this guy …. “he’s just a carpenter …. how can he do big things ?” It’s
nonsense. It doesn’t make any difference what anyone does. It’s how you do it.
Work is worship …. as long as you do it “dharmically” , “right thinking ” ,
“right acting. ” I thought I’ve retired from a business that just about ran me
into the ground. Sai Baba now has me doing it again, and he has just blessed a
project …. and I’m opening something called the “House of Blues ” …. which
is a series of rhythm and blues places …. three of them will open very
shortly …. before the end of this year …. and I can’t believe it …. he
has me doing it again ….enough is enough you know …. but he has told me that
it must be done “dharmically. ” “The Hard Rock was a high school …. you
passed …. just barely, Tigrett “, he said,” now it’s time to go to
college.” …. I don’t have to learn a whole new scene but …. the point
being is that now I am doing it totally different from the last time …. the
last time it was done with the heart and probably less mind …. it’s so very
important ….
…. and there’s a meditation , in fact, there are two meditations I’d like to
give you today …. because …. he’s told me just recently that …. he is
everything …. he is all action …. he is the Kundalini power. The Kundalini
power …. the action of God …. this incredible creative force …. is like
a freight train. Unless it is balanced between the male and female aspects
….. it will run off into a (cull de sac) …..”This is what causes wars ,” he
told me …. you know …. too much of the male thinking …. It’s a
combination of the head and heart . It has to be balanced …. it must be
balanced …. all of us are out of balance …. usually in one form or another
….. we all have a male and a female aspect …. ying and the yang …. it’s as
ancient as the day is long and we have to be guarded at all times to balance
this. There is a meditation which he gave to Mrs. Krystal and myself several
years ago. He has now reiterated that this is the most important meditation you
can do . It’s called the TREE MEDITATION . In fact, in many other cultures, in
the mystical side of other cultures, starting with Christianity , this
meditation was a predominant one. It’s very simple. I’ll give it to you very
quickly.
You simply sit in a quiet spot … you imagine yourself …. you’re sitting in a
lotus position or whatever you can get …. as close to it …. as a tree
….. as a tree …. your favourite tree …. maybe it’s an oak tree. And
then you imagine that above you …. rising to the sky are the branches of
that tree …. bellow you …. going down into the Mother Earth …. is the root
system of that tree …. which is the duplicate of the branches, really ….
and then you must now pull in the energy …. the branches in the sky represent
the Male Father …. the roots in the Earth represent the Mother …. the Divine
Mother … and you must breath in this energy …. first you imagine pulling in
energy through the branch system into your body …. and you exhale ….
because when you pull in divine energy …. it replaces something …. this is an
very important meditation …. probably the most important for this age as well
…. and as you exhale …. you exhale all that is replaced …. the
unnecessary parts …. and you pull in …. and you exhale …. once you
feel that and you’ve got that going …. then you …. go to the root system ….
this is the Divine Mother …. this is the yin …. and you must pull in this
energy from those root systems …. this is starting to keep the balance
going …. you pull in this energy …. you exhale what is unnecessary ….
then you do both simultaneously …. you pull in from both sides at once
….. if you practise this …. you will be amazed at the actual power that
you’ll feel and the harmony within your own being . He told me that this is the
most important meditation that you can do ….
There is one other …. which is a matter that I do …. and have done since
he gave it to me. I do it everyday . I don’t know if it’s of interest to you,
but I feel I should tell it to you. I ask him for five things, he’s just given
me a sixth recently. First I ask him to “think through me” …. and as I ask
this, I breathe in. The breath …. the ( Pranayama) is so powerful …. I ask
him to “think through me” …. I ask him then to “feel through me” …. again
…. this is the head and the heart once again …. I ask him to “speak through
me” …. I ask him to “feel through me” …. I ask him to “act through me”
….. I ask him to “love through me” …. this is really …. one of the ….
this is the whole (ball) of wax really …. because it’s the yin and the yang
….. the head and the heart . Speaking …. that’s a result of the balance
between the two …. acting …. that is the action …. and loving ….
that’s the divine aspect which covers the whole (ball of wax) …. He just
recently asked me to add to that …. “breath through me” …. so it’s a very
very important meditation.
Those two, if there is anything I can give you today that has been meaningful
to me in my life …. and into hopefully getting a little bit further down
the path …. though I can’t confess getting very far …. those two meditations
will help in every way.
“Anyone else ? …. yes Sir “
” When you breath out …. do you breath out through the branches ?”
“ No, just breath out through your mouth” …. and what this is , really is
all the negativity, every energy that you bring in from the divine source
replaces something in your body and that must be expelled. Imagine breathing
out all the negative unnecessary things. Very important, concentration is
everything …. and I know we all have trouble with concentration …. we
meditate when we go home …. our mind goes here, there, everywhere. Keep at
it . I have trouble everyday …. but …. I just …. through these exercises
….. in time… it’s very simple …. it’s just like seeing God in every single
individual …. seeing beyond the personality …. soon you will see God
everywhere ….
“You breath out through the mouth ?”

“Yes …. yes Sir “

(QUESTION NOT RECORDED CLEARLY) “You were speaking about the negative thought
forms and the positive thought forms …. is it accurate to say that ?????????
we are trying to focus on one at the expense of the other ????”
Well you hopefully are tuning into more positive things than negative things
….. the five senses …. you have to conquer …. …. and that is what
leads to lust, greed, anger, envy, hatefulness, and things like that. Prayer
….. meditation …. that is putting out energy in a positive sense …. that is
connecting yourself with your true nature ….
(QUESTION NOT RECORDED CLEARLY)
“By doing something positive …. you’re setting the negative aside ….
depends on how you spend your time …. “Yes sir “
(QUESTION NOT RECORDED CLEARLY) “????? do we have the time ?”
..of course …. you have thousands of lifetimes you’ve come from and
probably there will be a few more in the future. You got to realise that once
you become aware in reincarnation …. and I think you have to be …. to
intellectually understand how things work …. once you become aware that you’ve
been here before and you’re liable to be here again some other lifetimes ….
(????? this personality “Isaac” …. and the) totality of this experience is
just a blink …. it’s nothing …. it’s meaningless

“Yes Maam”

(TWO QUESTIONS NOT RECORDED CLEARLY)
He has, in a meditation about a year ago …. both …. Mrs. Krystal and I do
this together …. we do this because we were both naughty in a past life ….
and this is an opportunity …. we balance each others energy out for some
reason …. I don’t understand it …. but Sai says,” You don’t have to ….
just do it !” He brought us to an abyss …. it was like an abyss … it was a
cavern …. what can I tell you? …. and there was the other side ….
and he said ,”Turn around and look behind you .” We turned around and looked
and here were all of the lives of every human …. of every human experience
since the very beginning of time, and they were all connected with three
chains. One chain was the lineage of their father. One chain was the lineage of
their mother and one chain …. it was a karmic chain. He then said , “Look back
the other way. ” …. I know you all think it’s a fairy tale …. but it’s not
….. we looked back …. and he said ,”Over this crevasse …. that is the
new age “, he said , “none of this can come with us …. we must cut the
chains first …. before we can pass over to the other side. ” Now ….
it’s a process that I think he is doing with all his devotees …. I think we
are blessed …. and will be blessed to help others over …. and I think that
is one of the reasons that he has created the Sai family.

“Yes Maam”

“ I would like to know at what point do we merge with the Lord?”
Well , I can’t answer that for myself or anyone else …. but certainly when
you have reached a state of consciousness …. ????? when you merge with the
Lord …. there have been many many souls that have, and there are many souls
that he has said ,”This is your last life.” I don’t understand the true
dynamics of everything. I know that that’s my (gold or goal ?) . In fact, I
sort of hope that this isn’t my last life, because I’d like to come back and
help Prema Sai, if I can in any way.

“Yes Sir”

“Once you said that to do your work … and work is a worship …. but work
could be different kind … like a butcher …. you know the man who cuts the
cows …. cuts the meat and all those things …. does he think that is a
wrong thing …. change it or still go on doing the same thing ?”
It doesn’t make any difference what you do. The question was …. does it make
any difference if you’re cutting weeds or if you’re doing this or doing that
….. should you change your job …. or should you do something better or
something more important …. The only thing that’s important is the way you
do it . Doesn’t make any difference what you do …. totally unimportant. It’s
how you do it.

“Yes Sir”

(QUESTION NOT RECORDED CLEARLY)

Well, you should do things for him .You should give up your work to him. Work
is worship. Simply deliver the action to him …. it’s like I have slowly come
to understand …. through seventeen years of contemplation and meditation
…that’ it’s not important how the outcome …. what the outcome of my action
is …. think about two guys who …. .(CASSETTE TAPE ABRUPTLY ENDS)
(END OF TRANSCRIPT)

-thanks to Mr.Tigrett for allowing us to publish this inspiring talk.

So I got me a new Canon 7D just 10 days ago.. I couldnt test it or try it out immediatley cuz I had some major school work to do and needed to prepare for my A.C.E exam.. BUT today some friends of mine had a music video to shoot for a class project and I was appointed job cameraman #3 with my 7D.. and it was beeeeaauuutttiiiful! Here are some images.. downsized a little for web.. the video footage will be uploaded soon when their project is finished in less than 2 weeks.

6:00am. Too early. Can’t sleep. Bread. Grackles. Sing. City Lullabye. 8:30am.

wayyyy toooooo early to rise

My kids need to get over this “let’s start the day way too early”. I’ve had my fill of it and it just ruins my mood. Not to mention then they spend the day whiny and tired and difficult.

4:30am was the glorious time this morning for my youngest child.
The other two followed by half an hour which was probably a direct result of the screaming of the first riser.

Not even coffee can saturate the foul mood I’m in at such an early hour.

But then time goes by and I eventually wake up and life gets better.

So here I am now. In a much better mood trying to figure out how I’m going to spend my Saturday.

I’m thinking doing very little is a good idea.

But then again, people can’t seem to stop calling on my phone and no one can nap properly so I’m stuck dealing with cranky kids.

Cross-posted on iRevolution.

Lynda Gratton at the London Business School gave one of the best Keynote speeches that I’ve heard all year. Her talk was a tour de force on how to catalyze innovation and one of her core recommendations really hit home for me: “If you really want to be at the cutting edge of innovation, then you better make sure that 20% of your team is under the age of 27.” Lynda upholds this principle in all her business ventures.

I find this absolutely brilliant, which explains why I prefer teaching undergraduate seminars and why I always try to keep in touch with former students. Without fail, they continue to be an invaluable source of inspiration and innovative thinking.

A former student of mine, Adam White, recently introduced me to another undergraduate student at Tufts University, Rachel Brown. Rachel is a perfect example of why I value interacting with bright young minds. She wants to return to Kenya next year to identify and connect local peace initiatives in Nairobi in preparation for the 2012 elections.

Rachel was inspired by the story of Solo 7, a Kenyan graffiti artist in Kibera who drew messages of peace throughout the slum as a way to prevent violence from escalating shortly after the elections. “Imagine,” she said, “if we could identify all the Solo 7’s of Nairobi, all the individuals and local communities engaged in promoting peace.”

I understood at once why Adam recommended I meet with Rachel: Ushahidi.

I immediately told Rachel about Ushahidi, a free and open source platform that uses crowdsourcing to map crisis information. I suggested she consider using the platform to crowdsource and map local peace initiatives across Kenya, not just Nairobi. I’ve been so focused on crisis mapping that I’ve completely ignored my previous work in the field of conflict early warning. An integral part of this field is to monitor indicators of conflict and cooperation.

There are always pockets of cooperation no matter how dire a conflict is. Even in Nazi Germany and the Rwandan genocide we find numerous stories of people risking their lives to save others. The fact is that most people, most of the time in most places choose cooperation over conflict. If that weren’t the case, we’d be living in state of total war as described by Clausewitz.

If we only monitor indicators of war and violence, then that’s all we’ll see. Our crisis maps only depict a small part of reality. It is incredibly important that we also map indicators of peace and cooperation. By identifying the positive initiatives that exist before and during a crisis, we automatically identify multiple entry points for intervention and a host of options for conflict prevention. If we only map conflict, then we may well identify where most of the conflict is taking place, but we won’t necessarily know who in the area might be best placed to intervene.

Documenting peace and cooperation also has positive psychological effects. How often do we lament the fact that the only kind of news available in the media is bad news? We turn on CNN or BBC and there’s bad news—sometimes breaking news of bad news. It’s easy to get depressed and to assume that only bad things happen. But violence is actually very rare statistically speaking. The problem is that we don’t systematically document peace, which means that our perceptions are completely skewed.

Take the following anecdote, which occurred to me several years ago when I taught my first undergraduate course on conflict early warning systems. I was trying to describe the important psychological effects of documenting peace and cooperation by using the example of the London underground (subway).

If you’ve been to London, you’ve probably experienced the frequent problems and delays with the underground system. And like most other subway systems, announcements are made to inform passengers of annoying delays and whatnot. But unlike other subway systems I’ve used, the London underground also makes announcements to let passengers know that all lines are currently running on time.

Now lets take this principle and apply it to Rachel’s project proposal combined with Ushahidi. Imagine if she were to promote the crowdsourcing of local peace initiatives all across Kenya. She could work with national and local media to get the word out. Individuals could send text messages to report what kinds of peace activities they are involved in.

This would allow Rachel and others to follow up on select text messages to learn more about each activity. In fact, she could use Ushahidi’s customizable reporting forms to ask individuals texting in information to elaborate on their initiatives. Rachel wants to commit no less than a year to this project, which should give her and colleagues plenty of time to map hundreds of local peace initiatives across Kenya.

Just imagine a map covered with hundreds of doves or peace dots representing local peace initiatives? What a powerful image. The Peace Map would be public, so that anyone with Internet access could learn about the hundreds of different peace initiatives in Kenya. Kenyan peace activists themselves could make use of this map to learn about creative approaches to conflict prevention and conflict management. They could use Ushashidi’s subscription feature to receive automatic updates when a new peace project is reported in their neighborhood, town or province.

When peace activists (and anyone else, for that matter) find peace projects they like on Ushahidi’s Peace Map, they can “befriend” that project, much like the friend feature in Facebook. That way they can receive updates from a particular project via email, SMS or even Twitter. These updates could include information on how to get involved. When two projects (or two individuals) are connected this way, Ushahidi could depict the link on the map with a line connecting the two nodes.

Imagine if this Peace Map were then shown on national television in the lead up to the elections. Not only would there be hundreds of peace dots representing individual peace efforts, but many of these would be linked, depicting a densely connected peace network.

The map could also be printed in Kenya’s national and local newspapers. I think a Peace Map of Kenya would send a powerful message that Kenyans want peace and won’t stand for a repeat of the 2007 post-election violence. When the elections do happen, this Peace Map could be used operationally to quickly respond to any signs of escalating tensions.

Rachel could use the Peace Map to crowdsource reports of any election violence that might take place. Local peace activists could use Ushahidi’s subscription feature to receive alerts of violent events taking place in their immediate vicinity. They would receive these via email and/or SMS in near real-time.

This could allow peace activists to mobilize and quickly respond to escalating signs of violence, especially if preparedness measures and contingency plans already in place. This is what I call fourth generation conflict early warning and early response (4G). See this blog post for more on 4G systems. This is where The Third Side framework for conflict resolution meets the power of new technology platforms like Ushahidi.

It is when I meet inspiring students like Rachel that I wish I were rich so I could just write checks to turn innovative ideas into reality. The next best thing I can do is to work with Rachel and her undergraduate friends to write up a strong proposal. So if you want to get involved or you know a donor, foundation or a philanthropist who might be interested in funding Rachel’s project, please do email me so I can put you directly in touch with her: Patrick@iRevolution.net.

In the meantime, if you’re about to start a project, remember Lynda’s rule of thumb: make sure 20% of your team is under 27. You won’t regret it.

Patrick Philippe Meier