Carpe Diem #1011 happiness

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the first episode of a new month of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. This month I love to challenge your inspiration through fanmous (and not that famous) quotes by known and unknown people, but to start this month with I have chosen a wonderful quote by one of my heroes, Mahatma Gandhi (1882-1948).

Gandhi was murdered in 1948 because he fought against the British oppressor in India without violence only through his deeds and words. Gandhi was a very strong personality and also a very spiritual leader.

Mahatma Gandhi (1882-1948)

Here is the quote for your inspiration:

[...] "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." [...] Mahatma Gandhi

A very strong quote I think with a great spiritual layer and I think it will be "easy" to create a haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired on this quote.

Here is my attempt:

gurgling stream
birds praising their Creator
symphony of nature

© Chèvrefeuille

Hmm ... not as strong as I had hoped, but well for starters ... I think it's okay. I hope you did like this episode. I don't have the prompt-list ready, so I can't tell you or next prompt. For now ... have fun!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 5th at noon (CET).

Carpe Diem #1010 Fairies

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First this I had planned to create a new Utabukuro episode, but during lack of time I will skip that episode this week, as I did earlier with the Tan Renga Challenge last Friday. My excuses for that.

Today we have the final episode of our Mysterious Nature month in which we explored the mysteries of nature through the Ogham and the Celtic culture. Today our last episode is fairies 
A fairy (also fay, fae, fair folk; from faery, faerie, "realm of the fays") is a type of mythical being or legendary creature in European folklore, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.

I love the idea of fairies, but I couldn't write a post about it. So I love to challenge you to create a haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form on fairies inspired by the following image.

Mysterious Nature

A kind of Carpe Diem Imagination so to say. Have fun!

I don't have the prompt-list for August ready, but I can tell you that August will be full of excitement and wonderful quotes, because I have chosen to challenge you to create a haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired on quotes. Maybe you remember our special feature "Use That Quote". August will be a month full of "Use That Quote" challenges.

To conclude this episode: I have a question for you all. As you all know next October we will celebrate our fourth (4th) anniversary and I love to hear from you which of the prompts we have used in the past four years you would love to see again. I love to create a festive 4th anniversary month with your ideas. You can tell your favorite prompts in the comments field.
A last thing: The judging for our kukai is closed. I will count the points and than I will publish the results.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 4th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem #1009 druids

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

This is the penultimate episode of this month in which we discovered / explored the mysteries of nature through the Ogham alphabet. Yesterday I told you a little bit more about the Ogham alphabet and today I love to tell you a little bit more about druids and druidism. 

Druids occur in many mystical tales. In one, a Druid, Figol, threatened to bring fire to rage on his enemies and prevent the men and their steeds from going to the toilet! Their bodies would fill with urine! Of course, from our knowledge of the world today we know that this is impossible, but so many accounts of druids are riddled with mysticism, magic and possible exaggeration.

The origin of the word ‘Druid’’ is unclear, but the most popular view is that it comes from ‘doire’, an Irish-Gaelic word for oak tree (often a symbol of knowledge), also meaning ‘wisdom’. Druids were concerned with the natural world and its powers, and considered trees sacred, particularly the oak.

Druidism can be described as a shamanic religion, as it relied on a combination of contact with the spirit world and holistic medicines to treat (and sometimes cause) illnesses. They were said to have induced insanity in people and been accurate fortune tellers. Some of their knowledge of the earth and space may have come from megalithic times.

druid

There is a lot of mystery shrouding the actual history of the Druids, as our knowledge is based on limited records. Druidism is thought to have been a part of Celtic and Gaulish culture and to have originated in Britain, with the first classical reference to them in the 2nd century BC.

Their practices were similar to those of priests today, connecting the people with the gods, but their role was also varied and wide-ranging, acting as teachers, scientists, judges and philosophers. They were incredibly powerful and respected, able to banish people from society for breaking the sacred laws, and even able to come between two opposing armies and prevent warfare! They did not have to pay taxes or serve in battle. Druid women were also considered equal to men in many respects, unusual for an ancient community. (source: UK History)

ancient wisdom
comes alive again
healing nature

© Chèvrefeuille

Druidism is very similar with shamanism and with haiku. All are one with nature and that makes us, haiku poets, in  a way ... druids too.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 3rd at noon (CET). I will try to post our last episode of this month, fairies, later on.

Carpe Diem #1008 Ogham

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

This month runs towards its end and we have only three (3) days left in this month. In this month we explored the mysterious nature through the trees of the Celtic Ogham alphabet. I referred several times to the Ogham, but I never really told you something about it. So ... today I love to tell you a little bit about the Ogham alphabet.

In the above gif you can see all the letters of the Ogham alphabet as used by the Celtic people and especially their druids. The Ogham was not a script for the people, but for the druids and their direct assistants.
With the Ogham alphabet the druids carved secret messages on sticks of Yew, as we could read earlier. It was important that those messages wwere only seen and read by those it concerned. The Ogham by the way wasn't written somewhere, but the druids used the flat of the hand to memorize the Ogham as you can see in the following image.

A little bit background to share here:

Ogham is sometimes called the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", based on a High Medieval Bríatharogam tradition ascribing names of trees to the individual letters. The earliest example of Ogham comes from the 4th cent AD, although it is generally accepted that the Ogham alphabet script was modeled  on an already existing script. (Source: Wikipedia)

In Early Irish literature a Bríatharogam is a two word combination which explains the meanings of the names of the letters of the Ogham alphabet. Later Medieval scholars believed that all of the letter names were those of trees, and attempted to explain the bríatharogam in that light. However, modern scholarship has shown that only eight at most of the letter names are those of trees, and that the word-oghams or kennings themselves support this.

Each stroke of the Ogham corresponds to a letter of the alphabet, which is in turn associated with a tree. It is most commonly read from bottom to top. Although we know the letters that each stroke represents, and can translate the ancient Ogham inscriptions accordingly, we cannot be so confident when we come to associate the trees with particular months. There has been much controversy as to whether the Ogham really was used as a calendar by the Druids, linking each tree and letter of the alphabet to a moon month. (Source)

ancient secrets
revealed through nature
mystery gone

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope you enjoyed this episode and that I have inspired you.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 2nd at noon (CET). I will (try to) publiush our next episode, druids, later on. Have fun!

Carpe Diem #1007 Yew

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

This wonderful month full of the mysteries of nature is running towards its end and with the tree we will explore today that end is coming in sight. Today we will explore the Yew (the last used tree in the sacred Ogham alphabet). Yew is a gorgeous, ever green, tree / bush, but beware ... it's very poisonous, even the sawdust.

Yew tree

The Yew is considered to be the most potent tree for protection against evil, a means of connecting to your ancestors, a bringer of dreams and otherworld journeys and a symbol of the old magic. In hot weather it gives off a resinous vapor which shamans inhaled to gain visions. Yew wood was regarded as especially magical to the Celts, due to its connection with the dead and the ancestors which were deeply respected. 

inhaling Yew
the shaman flies away
visions returned

© Chèvrefeuille

The Yew tree is the last of the 20 trees in the Tree Ogham, a Celtic system in which the Druids encoded their wisdom. Each spiritual insight is represented by a tree, the first letter of which creates an alphabet system. Each letter is written as a line on, or crossing, a central stem line. These symbols can be found on the edges of some standing stones in Ireland and Wales, but they were probably, for magical and communication purposes, carved on sticks of Yew. It was used as a silent communication system by the Druids.

secrets hidden
on a stick of Yew wood
sacred wisdom

© Chèvrefeuille

The Yew tree, or Yew wood, the Tree ogham Idho , is the link to spiritual guidance through your ancestors, guides and guardians in the Otherworld. The Yew is here to remind us that there are other levels of existence beyond this material plane. By understanding the illusionary nature of the life we have created for ourselves, we can live our lives more consciously. Often death is fraught with a sense of loss, but the Yew can teach us to see death as a form of transformation and that it is never final.

fragile wings
pointing the way to transformation -
the summerbreeze

© Chèvrefeuille

Yew tree (2)

The knowledge we gain from the Yew makes it an extremely important tree for healing. It can help us overcome our fear of our own death and, by freeing us from this fear, bring us a greater stillness in our lives. Death heralds the ending of something. It may be a physical death, or the death of our old selves, an old way of life or an old way of looking at things. Each end, each death, is a new beginning, hope, future and transformation. Sometimes things need to end or die before the new can begin, and understanding rebirth always requires seeing beyond our limitations.

In recent years it has been found that taxol, a chemical found in the bark of the Yew, inhibits cell growth and cell division, and may have some promise in the fight against cancer. The biggest problem is that such a huge amount of bark is needed to produce even small amounts of taxol.

Our ancestors preferred the Yew above all other trees. It has always been held sacred and understood as a link with death and rebirth. It was used by early man for making weapons, tools of death, and now thousands of years later it is providing a possibility of averting death for cancer patients. It is a powerful reconnection to humankind for this tree when you consider that each person with cancer has to face their own death, whether they are cured or not. 

One of the most valuable abilities of the Yew is to provide the opportunity for people to turn and face death, to progress beyond fear to a communication with what is beyond our reality, which will bring understanding, clear insight, enriched by a deeper experience of life.

For closure of this episode about Yew I love to share a "pi-ku" which I found in my archives and fits this episode in my opinion.

the sun rises
the heat
already tangible
mist
spirals above the stream
another day starts in mysterious ways 

© Chèvrefeuille  

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 1st at noon (CET). I wil (try to) publish our new episode, Ogham, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #89 Back In Time with "Spiritual Ways"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at this week's Tokubetsudesu episode. As you all know this month we will "revisit" special features I created for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. And this week I love to share an episode of Carpe Diem's special feature "Spiritual Ways". I have taken the easy way this time and have redone the first episode of this special feature that was launched on January 14th 2014.

As you (maybe) know, haiku has a strong connection with Buddhism. A lot of haiku have a Buddhist layer and for example Basho, Issa and Chiyo-Ni (a female haiku-poet) were Buddhist, Chiyo-Ni was a Buddhist monk.

Several years ago I wrote a short essay about haiku for WonderHaiku Worlds in which I stated that haiku can be read (seen) as a 'Koan', the impossible question which can give Enlightenment. I think that (all) haiku can really be seen as such a koan, but that's just my idea, my vision.

If you're a loyal 'follower' of our Carpe Diem weblogs than you know that we have had a journey to Shikoku in 2014 which started with all daily prompts about the Trans Siberian Railroad straight through the Soviet Union. That journey brought us along the 88 shrines on the Island Shikoku and I told more about the shrines.

I named this special feature "Spiritual Ways" and the goal was to write a haiku, senryu, tanka or kyoka with a spiritual layer in it. With this new feature I hoped to promote the Spiritual Way of haiku and to made you all aware of that 'classical rule'  in haiku. I knew that it wouldn't be easy, but that was the challenge. As I re-read my haiku than I wrote a lot of haiku with that Spiritual Way hidden in it. Sometimes even clear in my haiku, but mostly hidden beneath the surface of the haiku.

Lonely Flower

Let's give it a try to write, compose, a few haiku written with a spiritual layer. First I love to share a few oldies which I wrote in the years laying behind us.

lonely flower
my companion for a night -
I bow my head

© Chèvrefeuille

In this haiku the deeper layer is the 'loneliness' and the 'selflessness' of a Buddhist monk. I wrote this haiku as I was wandering through a big park outside the city where I live. I remember that it was a nice sunny late autumn day and I was completely alone in that park. My thoughts went to a moment back in time in which I felt completely alone. It was not long after that my only brother died of lung-cancer (1995). As my thoughts went on a run with me I saw a lonely flower between the bare branches. It was a, as we call it here in The Netherlands, a 'Hondsroos'  ('dog rose'). I plucked it and took it with me. As I arrived at my home there was nobody at home and I was completely alone, I had only that 'dog rose' and that comforted me.

Another one in which the 'Spiritual Way' was more clear I wrote in response to a photo of praying hands.

strong hands praying
at the corner of the street -
God be with you

© Chèvrefeuille

As you can read in both haiku there's a kind of spirituality in it and that was the goal of this special feature "Spiritual Ways" ... let me share another haiku.

deep silence
only whispered prayers -
the scent of incense

© Chèvrefeuille 

I hope you did like this Tokubetsudesu "Back In Time" episode about "Carpe Diem's Spiritual Ways".

This was the logo of CD Spiritual Ways

This Tokubetsudesu episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 31st at noon (CET). I will (try to) post our new episode, Yew, later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1006 Poplar

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Again a short episode, but I think it's long enough to inspire you. Today we are looking at the mysterious poplar. It is said that Christ's Cross was made from poplar wood and that's why the sound of the leaves sounds like crying, because the poplar remembers what his wood has done to Christ.

in the breeze
poplar leaves tremble in sadness -
Christ Consciousness

© Chèvrefeuille

Let us take a look at the spiritual meaning of the poplar:

The White Poplar flourishes beside rivers, in marshes and in other watery areas. The pith is star shaped. The upper leaves are green, the underside is silver. The wood was used in the making of shields. Leaves move with every puff of wind. It is commonly referred to as the talking, whispering and quivering tree. The Anglo-Saxon rune poem seems to refer to the poplar as being associated with the rune berkano. Heracles wore a crown of poplar leaves when he retrieved Cerberus from Hades, and the upper surface of the leaves was thus darkened from Hades' smokey fumes. 
In Christian lore, the quaking poplar (aspen) was used to construct Christ's cross, and the leaves of the tree quiver when they remember this fact. The Poplar's ability to resist and to shield, its association with speech, language and the Winds indicates an ability to endure and conquer.

Poplar Leaves - the messenger of the gods

It is said that through the leaves of the poplar the gods are talking to us and we just have to listen closely to that whispering, because the gods always have something to say to us.

whispering poplar
the gods of nature are talking
listen, just listen

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 30th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, a new Tokubetsudesu, back in time, episode, later on. For now ... go outside ... listen to the voice of the gods through the leaves of the poplar and let them inspire you.

Carpe Diem Special #216 Patircia Donegan's "lean into the wind"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Today, during circumstances, I have made it myself easy. I think you all expected an Utabukuro episode, and that's true, but because of circumstances I will not publish an Utabukuro episode. Sorry.

Today I have a nice CD Special for you with a few haiku created by a renown haiku poet, Patricia Donegan (she edited a special anthology about female haiku poets, but she is also a great haiku poetess), maybe you know her.

Patricia Donegan

These two haiku are created by her and were published in "Haiku Studio":

As rain drops diminish

I hear the tapping

of the monk's wooden bell.

Tonight

the cypress tree & I

lean into the wind.

© Patricia Donegan 

PS. As always I give credit to the haiku poet/ess,, but I couldn't retrieve an email-address to ask Patricia's permission. I hope she is okay with it.

The goal of the CD-Special is to create an all new haiku trying to catch the same feeling, tone and spirit as the given haiku. Here is my attempt:

the sound of a bell
from a far away place
echoes through the valley

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 29th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our new episode, Poplar, later on. Have fun!

Carpe Diem Theme Week (5) (7) The Eighth Ray, or the ultimate path to ascension.

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at this final episode of our 5th Carpe Diem Theme Week in which we have explored the meaning and ideas of Ascension and the Ascended Masters. A controversial idea I think, but it was a joy to bring this Theme Week to you. I do understand that for several of you this Theme Week wasn't inspiring, but well ... you are all free to participate, no obligations ... It was really wonderful to step out of the box and I hope you did appreciate it.

Today we will look at the so called "Eight Ray", or the final path to Ascension. It's not a circumstance that there is an eight ray (or path), because eight (like the music scale) means resonating on a higher level and it is the number for the eight chakra, just above your head. Eight is the number of Christ Consciousness, because Christ overcame death and entered into the next dimension. Jesus is also known as Krishna, but also as one of the Ascended Masters.

The Chohan of the "Eight Ray" the path to Ascension is called Lord Maha Chohan and is the embodiment of the Holy Spirit.

Lord Maha Chohan

As the Representative of the Holy Spirit, the Maha Chohan embodies the white light of all the rays and teaches the sevenfold balance of the rays of the Seven Mighty Elohim, which in turn manifest upon the brow of the initiate as a crown of crystal light when that God-mastery of the seven rays is reached.

The Maha Chohan is a very present help to all who call to him. Because of his pledge to all mankind “I am keeping the flame for you until you are able,” this truly Great Lord is called the Keeper of the Flame. He is the endower of Christ-mastery through the disciplines of right choice and right action—patterned after the eightfold path of Lord Gautama Buddha, which parallels the path taught and demonstrated by Jesus Christ.

The Maha Chohan is the representative of the Holy Spirit. The one who holds this office in hierarchy represents the Holy Spirit of the Father-Mother God, of Alpha and Omega, to the evolutions of this planet and to the elemental kingdom. The retreat of the Maha Chohan, the Temple of Comfort, is located on the etheric plane with a focus in the physical at the island of Sri Lanka, where the flame of the Holy Spirit and the flame of Comfort are anchored. His twin flame is Pallas Athena, Goddess of Truth.

keeper of the flame
protects the world and its inhabitants
until they rise up

© Chèvrefeuille

Maha Chohan means “Great Lord,” and the Maha Chohan is the Great Lord of the seven chohans, the director of the seven chohans of the rays. He is an adept on each of the seven rays, which merge into the pure white light of the Holy Spirit. With the seven chohans, he initiates our souls in preparation to receive the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, spoken of in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

Since the Spirit of God infuses nature and man as the life-giving essence of the sacred fire, the representative of the Holy Spirit must be qualified to inter-penetrate all substance through the diffusion of his consciousness and also to draw forth the flame that sustains life in man and nature through the vocalization of his consciousness.

Christ Consciousness

Truly, the key to Christhood through loving obedience to Father and Son is fulfilled in the disciple’s acceptance of Jesus’ calling to be a mediator of the Word and Work of the Lord. Mirroring His consciousness that all might see His reflected image, the disciple is readying himself to receive the chakra initiations of the Holy Spirit given by the hand of the Maha Chohan through the Seven Chohans according to the degrees of the seven rays.

And for those who have the understanding of the Inner Light, we will say that the bestowal of the nine gifts is, by definition, the transfer of the initial matrix of the power of the three-times-three which the disciple must learn to wield, enhancing it through the balanced threefold flame and the science of the spoken Word.

The Seven Rays, the embodiment of Ascension and the Ascended Masters

As I created this episode I immediately thought back to our Tarot month, back in 2013, in that month we explored the divinity of the Tarot cards and we found that divinity. The same goes for this Theme Week "Ascension" ... the Ascended Masters are guiding us through our life, as the Holy Spirit does, and that ... brings the idea that the Ascended Masters are all creatures of our Creator to help us to bring our life goals to reality.

universal experience
walking on the path of wisdom
finding the truth

© Chèvrefeuille 

It was a tough week, not only through the heat here in The Netherlands, but to try to explain this Ascension idea to you without pushing ... it was a joy to create this Theme Week and I hope you all did like it.

This last episode of our Theme Week is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 28th at noon (CET). Have fun!

PS. Do you have an idea for our next Theme Week? Share it with us through the comment field.

Carpe Diem #1005 Heather

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

This month is running towards its end and until now it was a wonderful month and I hope you all do like this discovery of the mysterious nature, our theme for life as haiku poets. Today I love to share more about Heather. A nice name, but even more beautiful as a plant ... Here in The Netherlands we have great plains of heather and I remember that we visited those plains very often when I was a young guy. I was always happy as I saw the shepherd with his sheep strolling over the heather plains it really was a joy to watch that scene.

I remember that I once spook to the shepherd and that he told me why he had chosen to be a shepherd. He had become a shepherd because of the bond with nature, the silence of the heather plains and the joy of working with the sheep. He also told me that he always enjoyed the spiritual experience of being one with nature, only him, his dog and his sheep ... awesome. There once was a time that I wished to be a shepherd too, but (as you all know) I became an oncology nurse, having my own "sheep" to care for ... The feeling the shepherd had on the heather plains I have too on the unit where I am working all day. My patients need my attention and they often open up to me ... with their questions about life and death and how they will cope with that ... yes in a way I am a shepherd ...

What is the deeper meaning of Heather? Does it fit the feeling of the shepherd? Let us take a look at the deeper meaning of Heather.

The symbolism of the heather plant is rich and steeped in history. Growing on the windy hills of Scotland, the white wild heather has come to symbolize protection. Early in the history of Scotland, there were many wars of competing factions. Throughout these battles of position and power, white heather was worn as an amulet of protection. It was thought that the red and pink heathers were stained with blood. Nobody wanted to invite bloodshed into their life, so these colors of heathers would not be carried into battle.  Scottish legend also says that no white heather will ever grow where blood has been shed. One of the sweetest legends of Scottish folklore is that white heather only grows where fairies have been.

The most well known legend of white heather is that in the 3rd century A.D., a young maiden named Malvina, daughter of the poet Ossian was to be married to her true love Oscar. Oscar, a warrior, never came home. Killed in battle, a messenger was sent to deliver the horrible news. The messenger delivered the horrible news with a spray of burgundy heather. Malvina was inconsolable upon hearing the news of her true love’s death. Wondering among moors and mossy hills, she shed futile tears. Legend says that as her tears fell upon the heather it turned the purple flowers into white ones. Instead of drowning in bitterness, Malvina decided right then and there that anyone who came across a white heather would be blessed with good fortune for all of their days.

Does this fit the idea of the shepherd I once spook to? Maybe ... he felt protected between his sheep on the heather and he protects his sheep. Was it good fortune he got? I don't know ... in a way I think he got good fortune, because he felt completely one with nature.

Of course there came another idea in mind ... Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, that awesome story about the maiden, Catherine, and Heathcliff. Maybe you know that song by Kate Bush

I liked that song very much and I listened to it very often. That whole sphere of this song caught me, really amazing. 

wuthering heights
patches of fog like ghosts
above the heath

patches of fog
crawling up and down the hills
wuthering heights  

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 28th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our next episode, a new CD Special, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Theme Week (5) (6) The Seventh Ray

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It is my pleasure to present to you our penultimate episode of our 5th Theme Week in which we are exploring "Ascension" and the idea of "Ascended Masters. Earlier this week I introduced to you the so called "Seven Rays" or "Seven Paths" to ascension. We have already looked at the first to sixth ray and today I love to bring the Seventh Ray to your attention.

The Chohan of the Seventh Ray, the Violet Ray, or the Ray of Transmutation, is Saint Germain:

Saint Germain

Saint Germain is the chohan of the seventh ray, sponsor of the United States of America, and master alchemist of the sacred fire who comes bearing the gift of the violet flame of freedom for world transmutation. Together with his twin flame, the ascended lady master Portia, the Goddess of Justice, he is the hierarch of the Aquarian age. He is the great sponsor of freedom’s flame, while Portia is the sponsor of the flame of justice. The name Saint Germain comes from the Latin Sanctus Germanus, meaning simply “Holy Brother.”

As chohan, or lord, of the seventh ray, Saint Germain initiates our souls in the science and ritual of transmutation through the violet flame. Saint Germain and Portia deliver to the people of God the dispensation for the seventh age and the seventh ray—the violet ray of freedom, justice, mercy, alchemy and sacred ritual—a new life wave, a new civilization, a new energy.

A clear description I would say. as you maybe know we are living in the age of Aquarius, an age of spiritual growth to enter a new world in which spirituality is stronger than ever. Saint Germain is one of the guides to help humankind through this transition to a new dimension.

rustling bamboo leaves

whispering my deeper thoughts -

the bright moonlight

© Chèvrefeuille

I hope you did like this episode of our Theme Week. Tomorrow we will look at the Chohan of the "Eighth Ray" ... and with that episode our fifth Theme Week will end.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 27th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem #1004 Gorse

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's a very "packed" time here at Carpe Diem, we have our regular episodes, our Tan Renga Challenge, our Theme Week and our first Summer Retreat is running. It's almost to much, but I enjoy it ... this episode will be a short one by the way as will our Theme Week episode for today. Just because of the weather, it is to hot to be in the house ... it's still around 30 degrees Celsius here in the Netherlands.

Today we are having an encounter with another tree / bush from the Ogham, which we use this month to explore the mysterious nature. That nature we are all in love with as haiku poets. Today our mysterious tree /bush is Gorse:

Gorse

There are several species of gorse that flower at different times of the year making it a much-loved plant for the bees and giving it the appearance of being in bloom all year long. There is an old saying that goes, “When the gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of season.”

Gorse is often associated with love and fertility. It was for this reason that a sprig of gorse was traditionally added to a bride’s bouquet and gorse torches were ritually burned around livestock to protect against sterility. However, one should never give gorse flowers to another as a gift for it is unlucky for both the giver and receiver.

Gorse wood was used as very effective tinder. It has a high oil content which means it burns at a similar high temperature to charcoal. The ashes of the burnt gorse were high in alkali and used to make soap when mixed with animal fat.

In Celtic tradition, gorse was one of the sacred woods burned on the Beltane bonfires, probably the one that got them started. It was a shrub associated with the spring equinox and the Celtic god of light, Lugh, doubtlessly because of its ever blooming vibrant yellow flowers.

In Brittany, the Celtic summer festival of Lughnastdagh, named after the god, was known as the Festival of Golden Gorse.

The flowers have a distinct vanilla-coconut aroma and are edible with an almond-like taste. They can be eaten raw on salads or pickled like capers. They have also been used to make wine and to add color and flavor to Irish whiskey. However, consuming the flowers in great numbers can cause an upset stomach due to the alkalis they contain.

The prickly nature of gorse gave it a protective reputation, specifically around livestock. As well as providing an effective hedgerow, gorse made an acceptable flea repellent and the plant was often milled to make animal fodder.

one golden sea
gorse blossom as far as I can see
bellowing cows

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 27th at noon (CET). I will post our next episode, Heather, later on.

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #108

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It is Friday again and that means ... Tan Renga Challenge. I have a nice haiku (hokku) for you and I have used a logo from our archives this time, just for change.

This week I have a nice haiku written by Jane Reichhold to start the Tan Renga with. Here is the first stanza, the hokku, of this Tan Renga Challenge:

the open window

screened with a web

leaf shadows

© Jane Reichhold

It's from her "A Dictionary of Haiku", a Saijiki with all modern kigo (seasonwords). Here at CDHK we have used her work earlier. I am grateful that Jane has granted me her permission to use all of her work here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. Thank you Jane.

the open window
screened with a web
leaf shadows                          (Jane Reichhold)

the buzzing of a fly stops
a spider's dinner                     (Chèvrefeuille)

And now it is up to you to complete this Tan Renga.

This Tan Renga Challenge is open for your submissions at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Friday July 29th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Theme Week (5) (5) The Fifth and Sixth Ray

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at this new episode of our Theme Week on "Ascension". I find this whole idea of Ascension and Ascended Masters intriguing and I hope that feeling I can bring over to you. Just be open minded to this idea of Ascension and Ascended Masters. I think that the Ascended Masters are only part of our being and they work through the Cosmos and the consciousness of all people, but maybe they are really "real" people ... I don't know.

In this episode I love to introduce to you the Cohans of the fifth and sixth Ray. The first Chohan is Hilarion, Chohan of the 5th Ray:

Hilarion, Chohan of the fifth Ray, the Green Ray, the Ray of Truth

Hilarion is the chohan of the fifth ray of healing and truth. He is the hierarch of the Temple of Truth on the etheric plane near Crete, Greece.
Hilarion was high priest of the Temple of Truth on Atlantis, and he transported the flame of Truth together with the artifacts of the Temple to Greece a short time before the sinking of the continent.

The focus of Truth that he established became the focal point for the Oracles of Delphi, messengers of Truth who served under the direction of Pallas Athena for hundreds of years, until black priests penetrated the Delphic Order and perverted the Truth that had been brought forth. The Brotherhood then withdrew this service to embodied mankind, since people were unable to distinguish between Truth and error.

Hilarion sponsors teachers of Truth, servants of God, religious leaders and missionaries, as well as those practicing the healing arts, scientists and engineers in all fields, mathematicians, musicians, those specializing in computer and space technology and those who work with all forms of media and communications.

Together with fifth-ray masters and the Brotherhood of Crete, Hilarion works steadfastly to draw their consciousness into a greater and greater appreciation of the full spectrum of Truth, which most have experienced only in part. To take them from a partial knowledge of truth to self-awareness in the divine wholeness of Truth is the goal of these brothers.

the truth unveiled
ascended masters - our ancestors -
spirits rejoice

© Chèvrefeuille

The Chohan of the Sixth Ray is Lady Nada, the Sixth Ray is the Pink Ray of Peace, let me tell you a little bit more about Lady Nada:

Lady Master Nada

The ascended lady master Nada is the chohan of the sixth ray (purple and gold ray) of peace, ministration and service.

She is also a member of the Karmic Board, on which she serves as the representative of the third ray (pink ray) of divine love.

Nada is an initiate and master of the path of the ruby ray, and she teaches the unfolding of the rose of the heart, helping us to develop the sensitivity of the heart.

She is very much involved with the initiation and sponsorship of twin flames and the Aquarian age family. She also ministers to the world’s children with legions of angels who personally tend to the needs of the youth.

Nada says, “I give you my love, for all else I have already given away.”

Lady Nada is the ascended master of all those who are working in the healing arts, in this case the Lady Nada is also my ascended master, who leads me on my path as an oncology nurse. It is possible to find her strength through this special prayer:

I AM my Brother’s Keeper:

I AM my brother’s keeper.
O God, help me to be
All service and assistance,
Compassion just like Thee!

I AM my brother’s keeper.
O Jesus, by thy Flame
Of Resurrection’s blessing
Give Comfort in thy name!

I AM my brother’s keeper,
O Presence of God so near,
The fullness of thy blessing,
Pure Divinity appears!

I AM my brother’s keeper,
The guardian of his Flame;
In quiet power and knowing,
I love him in thy name!

With this prayer you can awaken your inner light to help change the world.

A wonderful set of Ascended Masters I would say. I think we can learn something from them. Be always open minded, seek for the truth and for peace ... than the world will become a better place 

silent devotion
monks sweeping the garden
coming to peace

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 36th at noon (CET) Have fun!