Sunday, October 4, 2009

Life of Pee

I liked that book The Life of Pi but I found a disturbing mistake in it. In the survival manual he finds on the life boat, Pi reads that one should never drink pee in survival conditions. The truth is that in most survival manuals, military or civilian, it is mentioned that if you don’t have any water to drink you can survive for 40 days just by drinking pee; that is recycling.

When I first came across the idea of doing anything with pee my first reaction was disgust. I thought "these freaks take it too far with healthy extremes, and I hope she's not drinking it out of my cups." Then I took a lecture in India and it took me almost a year to put everything I heard into test in many different ways. Since then I have been talking about this and giving people the inspiration to discover something they can make use of. For me the most striking thing about the qualities of pee is that it is so readily available yet its use has become almost a taboo.

Before we go into the subject in detail, I want you to ask yourself a few questions and check out how much you really know about your pee, and how much of this knowledge is reasonable. What is urine? What does it consist of? Is it dirty? Does it contain microbes, bacteria, other bad organisms? Where did you learn about these things? Is there anything else that you have contact with so often yet you know so little about?

Urine mostly consists of water, minerals and other things which are filtered from blood by the kidneys. It is later stored in the bladder which is just a kind of hollow muscle and is discharged through the small intestines. It’s mostly water but also contains urea, minerals, hormones, antibody building blocks, and other stuff that is in excess in our blood circulation. It does not contain any microorganisms or such nasty stuff (unless there is a kidney or urinary track infection (UTI) or typhus). Bladder itself is a sterile environment, therefore urine is also usually cleaner than the cleanest water you can find to sterilize things. That’s why it was used as injection liquid until less than a hundred years ago (yes, you can mix medicine with pee and inject it with no side effects or risks). The mineral content of urine changes with our diet and other factors but in a healthy individual it is pretty similar to that of a bottle of mineral soda.

One common mistake we make while thinking of pee is to compare it with shit. We think “they are refuses of the body so they must be dirty” (and we know shit is dirty). Here is the difference. When we eat, our stomach starts the digestion and the process goes on in the guts and the excess or useless stuff turns into shit, which is like the pulp of fruit juice. The nutrition in the food goes into our bloodstream and is carried to various parts of our body. Blood carries all sorts of things and is regularly filtered by the kidneys. What is in excess or is no more needed in the bloodstream is filtered out in the kidneys. So if you can lick your blood when you cut your finger, you are already halfway to tasting your urine; since urine is blood minus some other elements in the blood.


Another thing is about the smell and the looks. Doesn’t the offensive smell of urine mean that it is not to be touched? Of course all organic things are subject to decay and with urine also the oxidation process starts as soon as urine contacts with air. If you pee in a plate or a toilet bowl and let it stay for a long time it starts to stink as more ammonia is produced as it contacts with oxygen. This is the smell that you remember from public toilets. When you pee on a surface which dries quickly, there is still some smell but it is rather different. You may test this and see for yourself. And also most of the repulsiveness of the smell of pee comes from conditioning we received as a child during our toilet education (“when you feel it you have to say it because pee is d-i-r-t-y, you do it in the potty”)

Nature has given us many tools but some of them we are more and more alienated with. This was not always like it is now. Just like we knew more about natural medicine, we also knew more about urine before. Perhaps you have heard the use of or even used pee after a bee sting. This is because the astringency of pee helps the tissues to contract and keep the poison local rather than sending it into the blood stream. This can be utilized in all sorts of stings including scorpion, mosquito and jellyfish stings. But there are many other traditional uses of pee. For example, did you ever wonder how the ancient Romans kept their white clothes so white. They had pee containers on the streets where the pee from households and public toilets would be gathered. The laundry people would gather everyone’s clothes, soak them in that stinky pee for some time and than rinse them in the river. This is because the same mineral salts in the urine helps the cloth fibers to expand. It is the same principle as the detergent salts and it can also be used for dyeing fabric (instead of alum salt). Another use of pee was as yeast. Although I haven’t tested this myself, couple of sources mention that it was used in certain bread and cheese recipes in Europe. In some tribal cultures which has the tradition of using hallucinogens, sometimes it was only the shaman who ate the mushroom. S/he neutralized the poison in his/her body and the tribe drank his/her pee to get only the good effects of the mushrooms (documented in Siberian tribes and the use of Amanita Muscaria mushrooms).

Before I start to tell about the traditional medicinal uses of pee I want to remind you about the exceptions. If you have any sort of infection in your kidneys, bladder or small intestines (UTI), if you have typhus (which is the only disease that can be passed through urine) or diabetes, or if you cannot take your urine in its purity (i.e. if you are menstruating) then you better not attempt to use it internally. Also you have to be careful what you eat. You shouldn’t use it if you are taking chemical medicines because the excess of chemicals are also filtered in the urine and you can overdose yourself by recycling it. This applies to other chemicals that are around us, additives in food, alcohol, pollution and even meats. So if you intend to use urine internally it is a very good idea to keep a simple controlled diet which is mostly vegetarian and take no chemicals (and you will see that once you start to observe your pee everyday, you will want to keep a healthy diet).
The most important known use of urine is its medicinal use. The earliest text we find about this is an early Indian sacred book called Shivambu Kalpa in Damar Tantra. Shivambu is the Sanskrit name for urine and it means the Water of Transformation (or, as some like to put it, “nectar of immortality”). According to this source, one has to drink a cup of his/her own midstream urine every morning. Midstream means that you do not take the first part of the urine (which just rinses the intestine) and the last part which may have some more solid residues from the bottom of the bladder. You only take the middle part of the first pee in the morning. And drink it. I know it won’t be easy at first. If it’s too hard you can mix it with some water or for a few days you can just keep it in your mouth and spit it out. Do not try to swallow anything that nauseates you. It is better to familiarize yourself with it first.

I found out that one of the best things about using pee is observing what is going on inside. You pee in a glass and look at it. Is it clear or blurred (which can be just too much urea, too much meat products or UTI)? Is it dark or like water? If it is very salty it means that you should drink some more water (this is the case in hot climates when you loose much water through sweating). Sometimes there is a strange color to it which may be the artificial coloring of that ice cream you had the day before. You can even taste the additives of a chewing gum in your pee. If there is even a little bit sweetness in your urine, it means your body cannot metabolize sugars and this is the easiest way to diagnose diabetes. In fact, before the modern tests were invented, doctors usually would just taste a little bit of the patient’s urine to see if s/he has diabetes. Certain herbs and vegetables change urine. Asparagus gives a very strong smell and beetroot makes it darker. When I started to use it first time, I discovered that drinking nutmeg before bed added a delicious aroma to my morning urine and made it very appealing. You can find your favorite flavoring through testing or just mixing a spoon of honey in it (although on the long run it’s better to have it plain).

The Damar Tantra goes on to state that if you do this for a year your immune system is greatly improved. If you do this everyday for longer you become immune to most diseases and poisons. And at the end of a long list it says if you do it for over 12 years you become immortal (almost)! At one time India had the world’s oldest elected prime minister, Morarji Desai, who was 94 years old when he took office. When he was asked how he can keep his mind so active being so old he said that his secret is drinking his pee every morning since he was a little kid.

Mannekin Pis in Brussels
Indian medicine Ayurveda states that the best pee for
medicinal use is the one taken from a very young boy.


There are some western doctors who successfully used urine for the treatment of life threatening conditions such as tuberclosis and cancer. In J.W. Armstrong’s book Water of Life: A treatise on Urine Therapy he describes a technique which consists of putting the patient into a complete fast and making him/her drink all the urine, day and night, while also massaging the body with urine.

There is not a completely scientific explanation to how it works. We know that urine contains excesses and recycling them can help. For example, when you eat an orange most of the vitamin C gets filtered into the urine after less then 3 hours. If you drink that urine you make the protection of the vitamin longer. Same applies for other things like antibodies. When you are sick, drink your urine and some of your body’s soldiers will go back to fighting while your body can create only a certain amount of soldiers in a certain time. Some people argue that antibodies would not survive the digestion process, but at least their building blocks do. Some tribes in Siberia have the tradition of mixing their urine and drinking together to share everyone’s immunity as a tribe. When you get a sample of the antibody of someone who is sick, your body will be prepared before the actual sickness reaches it. Excess hormones also go into pee and that’s why you should observe yourself better if you drink it while you are having PMS. This is also the reason why you should cut down on animal products while drinking urine.

Honestly I do not drink my pee all the time because I am not that much of a master of my diet when I travel and I sometimes forget to do it in the sleepiness of the morning. But there are other medicinal uses of pee that you can test and see for yourself. Here are some I have personal experience with.

- For the eyes: I don’t think there is a better medicine for the dryness or the inflammation of the eyes. My eyes are very sensitive to inflammation and conjunctivitis (the itchy white eruptions on the side of the eyelid) and I have tried all sorts of things from garlic to modern creams. Nothing helps better than pee. Take some clean pee (not necessarily morning pee) in your hand or in a spoon and give your eyes a good wash with it few times a day. This way conjunctivitis just grows and explodes very quickly and there is usually no further infection. I have helped many people successfully use it this way and it seems to work each time. Pee and tears have similar amounts of minerals and when your eyes are dry you can wet them with pee. You may need to dilute it if it is too salty. It can be used as contact lens liquid but after a few days the salts in pee can damage your lenses.

- Use it on all wounds. When you cut yourself or are bitten, stung, etc. just cover the wound with pee and let it dry there. It will not only disinfect it, it will also help it to heal faster. I have survived some nasty injuries in India without getting infected just by using urine. But once it is infected you may need to use other things. You can also turn it into a fine antiseptic cream by evaporating its water. You have do it quickly but do not let it boil. It makes a nice golden cream and only a little quantity is enough.

- It is great on the skin. Wash your face with it, let it dry and stretch your skin, letting all the black holes pop out and clean the pores. The first time I did this, I was afraid that people would realize it but when they did they just said “wow, what happened to you? You look younger today.” It’s true, it does make you look younger and it’s cheaper and healthier than botox.

- Use it on your hair. They say you can keep it for a few days in a closed container and it will make a better shampoo but the smell can be too intense. Either way it makes the hair very silky and helps dissolve all the dirt without using any shampoo.

- If your respiratory system is clogged you can gurgle with it and take some into your nose. Even just keeping some in your mouth will help you discharge all the mucus you do not need.

- For receding gums and sores inside the mouth (e.g. herpes) rinse your mouth with urine few times a day (not necessarily morning urine) and let it stay for sometime before you wash it with water. This will harden the loosened tissues.

And you know that in emergencies when you don’t have any water to drink, just recycle the whole thing, do not waste a drop of your pee. After all, that’s what they do in space, it's astronauts' drink :)

Do not believe in anything I say. Try it and see for yourself. You do not have to apply it right now but you may need it one day. And please share this knowledge with your friends and family.

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I'd be happy to answer any questions on this issue. Just leave a comment with your name.

Here are some resources if you want to learn more about using urine.
Here is a free e-book by Dr G.K.Thakkar, Shivambu Gita (PDF file). He seems to have many books in circulation about this subject. One book I found particuarly simple and useful is the Golden Fountain by Coen van der Kroon. And here are some websites: A complete guide to urine therapy, miracles of urine therapy, healing with urine therapy (this one lists other sources and books).

Friday, December 5, 2008

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

In fact, I am Yellow/Violet

After I wrote the last post about Violet, I was reminded that I was also equally Yellow. So I went and reread the part in the book and saw I am indeed quite Yellow, perhaps almost equal to being Violet (see below). So here are the parts from the book on Yellow that fit me well.


Yellows believe life is meant to be enjoyed. They do not like to take life seriously, nor do they like to work.

They enjoy giving gifts such as flowers and candy.


Yellows are everybody's friends; they are some of the most considerate people on the planet. Yellows tend to be shy with people they do not know. Once they are in familiar surroundings with people they know, however, they can become the life of the party.


Yellows in their power have abundant energy as if it's flowing from an unlimited source. With all this energy flowing through their bodies, Yellows have a hard time sitting still. While they are listening to someone, they will tap their feet, fidget or squirm... It is imperative for them to stay physically active on a regular basis in order to be happy, healthy and centered.

Yellows can also be creative writers. Both physical and creative projects are therapeutic for Yellows.
Yellows do not enjoy becoming involved with heavy, intense emotional problems.

It is difficult to convince Yellows to stay away from negative addictions because they enjoy the substances and they do not like being told what to do. If someone tells a Yellow what to do, he will likely do the opposite. They are natural rebels. It has to be their choice.


Yellows often have a fear of commitment. In their eyes, commitment may take away choices or options; it means they will have to grow up and accept responsibilities. They have a hard time committing to one person or one career. Yellows prefer choices and freedom rather than restrictive responsibilities.
Often Yellows truly believe they want committed relationships. However, they should look at their patterns to see if they are facing the truth.

It is painful for them to feel they have caused anyone unhappiness, especially those they love. They want play mates, who can laugh with them, take care of them and at the same time not take away their freedom.

When in their power, Yellows are creative problem solvers. They can create unique, new and innovative solutions. Their solutions are usually designed to make life easier.

It does not take much money to make Yellows happy nor do they want to work that hard for it... If Yellows can imagine how something physically feels to them, it will usually manifest for them.

Yellows do not judge their success in terms of money. They judge their success by how much fun they are having, by how much freedom and flexibility they have and by how many people like them.

Monday, November 24, 2008

What am I?

If you are a little interested in finding clues to what the meaning of your life may be you come across all sorts of mysticism telling you who you are. Some are ancient traditions with well tested analysis of personality and some are new age stuff which has an all new jargon for these things. Well, astrologically I knew I was a proper Capricorn with Taurus rising, a Makara in Indian, and a devoted metal Dog of Chinese astrology. Ayurvedically, that is according to Indian medicine I have the constitution of Vata, which is Air, with a little Pitta, Fire and this makes me more of a visionary and thinker than an engineer or a manager. My numerology turned out to be 8, the number of periodic renewal, not a mystic but a secure number. I even took the earth angels challenge and I turned out to be a Starperson which explains why I feel like an alien sometimes:) Recently I was pretty amazed by the results of yet another test about life colors. This is about our auras, mostly coming from birth but also developing in life. I knew that I wouldn’t be one of those Indigo or Crystal kids but now I can be proud of my Violet/Yellow aura.

Yes, now I know I have a violet aura around my airy metallic doggy sea-goat self. I’m not purely violet though. The yellow explains why I don’t take things so seriously but rather playfully and some blue which explains other things. But I’m mostly violet (see below) and I think that counts for more.


Here are a few paragraphs on Violet, from the book Life Colors by Pamala Oslie. I just picked those lines which felt closest to mirroring who I actually am.

Violets are here to save the planet and save it for the better. Violets have an inner sense that they are here to do something important, that their destiny is greater than that of the average person. Because this is a Violet Age, any Violets who are not accomplishing what they came here to do are having an inner “push” –even an inner “earthquake”. These visionaries also love to travel. (Since Violets are here to save the planet, they have to see and understand what they need to save.) Violets’ careers and lifestyles must afford them the freedom to travel or they will become frustrated and feel limited and unfulfilled. They need to travel the world, explore other cultures and expand their horizons.

Violets believe that what they “see” is common sense. They do not understand why everyone can’t see what they see… Violets are often accused of being idealistic dreamers.

Violets want relationships, but their lives won’t be put on hold for them. They want partners who will live their vision with them, share a similar path and be an inspiration to them. They want mates who are willing to travel with them.

Violets judge their success by the quality of their performances, and by their ability to effectively reach their audience. Violets have a statement to make. They feel fulfilled when they know they have reached the world with their message and have inspired change. Violets need t know that they have done their part in making the planet a better place in which to live.


If you know me, you may join me in saying “wow, so correct”. If you don’t know me that well these words can help you. If you want to fıgure out what your color can be take the test here.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The Thin String

There are some moments in life when we see how easy it is to die. It can be a near death experience or seeing another person die. Although we may intellectually agree that we won’t be here in this body for long, it is always shocking to see how near we are.


Two days ago we went on a sightseeing/snorkeling boat trip with 6 other people we have just met (it’s cheaper and perhaps more fun this way). Our first stop was the Seven Islands which is much recommended for snorkeling. We put on our masks and some wore their life jackets and we plunged into the glassy green waters watching the colorful fish of this coral heaven. After some time we either got cold or felt it was time to move to another spot and made it towards the boat. We saw one of our company, one of the two woman professors from Manila, little far from the boat but she gave a signal to the other boat that she’s OK and perhaps would be coming soon. When I got on the boat I dried myself and looked at her drifting with her orange life jacket on. I took my binoculars (by this time she was over 100 meters away) and said to the others on the boat “she doesn’t seem to move”. They said “she just said she’s OK, she’ll be coming soon”. But she was not moving!

After 10 or 20 seconds she still didn’t seem to move and I managed to make the other guys on the boat worry. At this the captain waved at the little fisherman near her to go and see and two guys from our boat jumped into the sea and started swimming. We were stunned to see her motionless when the fisherman reached her first and tried to pull her up. Pulling the anchor and untying the boat from the buoy took time but when we arrived they were still trying to pull her on the boat. I jumped and helped the two men lift her up. The German guy who had swam the 200 meters was a first aid instructor and he knew all the classical life saving moves like CPR and mouth-to-mouth breathing but I think we were too late. We took her on our boat and went quickly back to the port, meanwhile two guys giving her CPR and breathing. We put them on a tricycle and I started shaking like I’m having a fit. Fortunately someone from the crowd came and offered me a cigarette to cool me down. When I arrived at the hospital she was already declared dead.

This was my closest encounter with dying. I’ve seen more than enough drowned people during the summers of my childhood and I’ve witnessed some car accidents where it would be a miracle if no one was dead. The nearest I’ve been to a dead person was my grandfather who was dead at the age of 97 and I knew I’d see him like this soon anyway. But this time it was different. I had never touched a dead person and never really tried to save a life.

She was with us that morning, alive. Her friend made a joke that she doesn’t swim well but if something happens to her, her students wouldn’t miss her much because she’s very tough with them. We were sitting on the same bench and while we were enjoying the colorful fish and corals her time came and she left us. And she left us with her dead body.

Have you seen bodies which doesn’t have life in them? Not nice. But after all we’ll all be leaving this bodies and our bodies won’t look very nice. What am I talking about; I’m sorry to get carried away like this but I have to let this out and cleanse myself from it.

So once again I realized life is short and can end any moment. We really have to make good use of each moment we live and give thanks. Last time I felt this was exactly one year ago in Sumatra, when I almost drowned while tubing on a river. Those few moment under the pressure of the rushing water which kept me trapped against a tree trunk, I thought “hmm, maybe this is the end, but I don’t feel like it’s supposed to finish like this, and where’s Maya anway” and with one last effort I managed to save myself from the tree and go for Maya.

This past one year, I had many moments I’m very happy to have fitted into this lifetime. But there are also things that I could do without as well as things I keep postponing. I remember to give thanks at least few times a day (despite some sarcasm). When I feel I can surrender to the flow of life with no resistance I feel this is what I must be doing right then, and I count that moment well spent. But sometimes I’m just lazy and spend a whole day in front of the computer or I feel blocked because I’m trying to fit everything I do to the likes and wishes of the people I’m sharing it with and, being the free spirit that I am, it feels like a waste of life. I’m glad that at least “most” of my recent life has been well spent.

In India when I was in my hermitage alone for a whole winter (ok, not %100 alone or that much of a hermitage but close to it), I got this message that one has to be ready to let go of this life. Since then I keep reminding myself that I’m ready, I say "I'm ready to die". I’m thankful for all that I have lived in this body and although I have some future plans I’m also ready to let go of everything. This makes me feel light and free. It has kept me doing all these things I want to do. And now being 37, at the age I always thought I’d die (until a couple of years ago when I changed it to a different kind of dying) I’m more into closing accounts and being ready. I don’t have any great projects for the future. I’m not in debt and I don’t have kids. And I know life is very valuable. Each moment is so priceless we have to really be flowing to let this lifetime do its job on our souls and be ready when the end credits start to roll.

Sunday, September 28, 2008


I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.


Robert Frost,
The Road Not Taken

Monday, September 1, 2008

The Story of Garlic

This is one of my favorite stories of the Hindu mythology. It is a part of the greater story commonly known as The Churning of the Ocean of Milk (Samudra Manthan) which is the main creation myth of Hinduism. As is the case with all Hindu stories, there are many versions and this one is inspired from the version in the book The Greatness of Saturn – A Therapeutic Mythic by Robert E. Svoboda (to be published in Turkish as soon as I’m back in Turkey).


A long long time ago, before the universe as we know it came into being, there was the vast Ocean of Milk. The positive and negative forces of the universe, Devas (i.e. Gods or Demigods[1]) and Asuras (i.e. Demons[2]) were constantly at war (as they are to this day). As there is day and there is night, there were times when each would seem to be winning. But they were not yet immortal, and with each war their numbers were decreasing. Fearing that this might lead to the eventual destruction of all Devas, they decided to seek immortality.

After a very long quest, the Devas learned that the only way to create the elixir of immortality, Amrita (i.e. Ambrosia) was to churn the Ocean of Milk. But the ocean was so vast, the job so great that their numbers alone were not sufficient for this task. So they decided to seek the help of the Asuras. Together, they took the great mountain Mandara as the churning rod and brought down the snake Vasuki from heavens to spin it with. The earth could not support the weight and friction of the rotating mount Mandara, so the great god Vishnu incarnated as the enormous tortoise Kurma, and went under it. There was a dispute over who is going to hold which end of the snake and finally the Demons decided to hold the head, thinking that this will put them in a more privileged position at the end. But when they started churning by pulling Vasuki in either direction, the distressed snake started to breath flames and burnt many Asuras.


After many years of churning, the Ocean of milk started to turn into water and things started to emerge from it, such as the heavenly Parijata tree, which was placed in heaven, Kamadhenu, the wish fulfilling cow, and Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth and Abundance (about 14 in all). Just when all were getting impatient for the emergence of the potion of immortality, the ultimate Hala-Hala poison sprang out of the ocean. This poison was so strong that it could destroy whole life. Great Lord Shiva took all this poison in his mouth and held it in his throat, which turned it blue. From then on he’d be called Neelkanth, “the Blue Throated One” as the neutralizer of the ultimate poison [3]. Finally Dhanwantari, the Goddess of Medicine came out of the ocean holding a little clay pot containing Amrita.


When they saw the fruit of their hard labor, the key to their victory over death right in front of their eyes, the Asuras and Devas once again started to fight for it. It was an auspicious time for the Asuras ad in the end it was them who managed to carry it away, meanwhile dropping four drops on earth [4]. On seeing this, Great Vishnu transformed himself to Mohini, the most beautiful woman ever and went to negotiate with the Asuras. Blinded by her charms, they accepted to be fed the Amrita through her nipples and handed her the pot and in great grief saw Mohini transform back to Vishnu. But it was too late.


Delighted to finally be able to taste immortality, the Devas formed a line waiting for Lord Vishnu to serve them one drop each. All the divinities were there, including the planet deities. In their excitement they failed to see the demon Rahu disguised as a Deva sneak between the Sun and the Moon. After the Sun took his drop of Amrita, just when Vishnu dropped one in the mouth of Rahu, they realized he was in fact a demon and screamed in alarm. Vishnu quickly drew his discus and cut the throat of Rahu, thus separating his head and body. But Rahu had already tasted immortality and had become semi-immortal. The head which fell on the Sun became the Solar Eclipse (Rahu) and the body which fell on the Moon became the Lunar Eclipse (Ketu). To this day they keep these Devas under their curse but since they don’t have a full body, soon after they eat the Sun and the Moon they emerge on the other side [5].


Their blood fell on earth and wherever they fell, garlic grew. That’s why garlic creates eclipses in the hearts and souls of those who eat it [6].


Of course, all the elements in this story can be interpreted in many different ways and this has happened when this ancient story was carried and transformed between different cultures. One good interpretation I have found suggests the below explanation of each element:

- The story itself represents the spiritual endeavor of a person to achieve self-realization through concentration of mind, withdrawal of senses, control of desires and practice of austerities and asceticism.

- The Devas and Asuras represent the positives and negatives of one's personality. Their cooperation suggests that when one is on the spiritual path, one has to integrate and harmonize the positive and negative aspects and put both energies to work for the common goal or realization.

- The ocean of milk is the mind or the human consciousness.

- The Mandara mountain symbolizes concentration.

- The tortoise Kurma symbolizes the withdrawal of the senses into oneself.

- The snake Vasuki symbolizes desire.

- The Halahala poison symbolizes suffering and pain. This is also interpreted as cannabis and is the reason that smoking ganja is considered a spiritual practice for some Shivaite Hindus.

- Lord Shiva symbolizes the ascetic principle.

- The various precious objects that come out of the ocean symbolize the psychic or spiritual powers one gains along the way to spiritual realization.

- Dhanvantari symbolizes health and signifies that immortality (i.e. longevity) or spiritual success can be achieved only when the body and the mind are in a perfect state of health.

- Mohini symbolizes delusion of the mind in the form of (or originating from) pride.

- Amrita symbolizes the ultimate achievement of the goal of self-realization.

May this story help you on your path.

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[1] The Sanskrit word Deva (Divinity, God) is possibly the origin of the word Devil.

[2] The Sanskrit word Asura (Demon) is possibly the origin of Ahura Mazda, the name of God in the first monotheistic religion of the west, Zoroastrianism.

[3] Some versions suggest that later he gave this poison to snakes, scorpions and mushrooms. Some also believe that, this transformation of poison to spiritual power is reflected in the ritual use of cannabis plant.

[4] These fell to Haridwar, Allahabad, Ujjain and Nasik, where the greatest spiritual gatherings of humankind, the Kumbha Mela is held every 12 years, where millions gather in search of the one drop of immortality.

[5] After this, they took their place among the 9 planets of the Hindu system, the Grahas, along with Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. They are the most malefic and the most feared planets after Saturn and they are semi-immortal as they appear only occasionally.

[6] One of the reasons why most yogis and some other religious people of India do not eat garlic.

Monday, August 18, 2008

WELCOME

Today I announced my first time ever blogs. I have been motivated to do this by Maya who has been blogging for some years and recently started a new blog with the purpose of letting off steam. So I thought I also can use some letting off steam. At first I thought “who’s going to read these anyway?” but then I realized I don’t need to care. It’s more like putting a message in a bottle and tossing it into the ocean of the internet. Someone will read it one day, someone with patience. I have a lot to share and I know I like to keep it as detailed as it gets (one could say “I have a problem with keeping it short” but I rather not see it as a problem). I hope you have the patience

So I started this blog and three others about a month ago. I’ve been updating it quite often ever since but this may not be sustained as I’m not this much online when I’m on the road. I’ve decided to make use of this period of temporarily settling in a ‘civilized’ place by sharing things.

I was waiting to be more satisfied with the first part of the content to invite you here but I realized that’s very hard. I’m not that happy with my blogging skills but it’s a new thing for me anyway. I feel like I’m writing an e-mail to a good, concerned friend who doesn’t have a face or a name. It’s like keeping a diary starting with “dear journal” and then letting the world see it. It’s weird. I just hope it’s not boring and that you have a little patience to see what I have to share.

I just learned that the order of blog posts go reverse. So what you see right below this one is the last post I sent and the first post I wrote is at the bottom of this page, or even on the ‘history’ part which can be reached through the side panel. I would really appreciate it if you can start with the couple of first entries rather than the last ones, so that the blog gains a little relevance.

I would really like to hear some comments about what I wrote so please click the ‘comment’ link right under the posts to give me some feedback. If you really like what I write and want to see what I write as soon as I put it online you can ‘subscribe’ to this blog using the ‘subscribe’ links on the side panel (RSS).

As I said I have 4 blogs now. This one is about my inner journey and I have one on traveling, one on relationship stories and one in Turkish.


Welcome to my little web.




But this is an old tale you tell – they say.

But surely this is a new tale you tell – some say.

Tell it once again – they say;

Or, do not tell it again – others say.

But I have heard all this before –say some;

Or, but this is not how it was told before – say the rest.

And these, these are our people, Dervish Baba, this is man.


Naqshibandi Recital

as quoted in The Way of The Sufi by Idries Shah



Being 37

I used to believe that I would die when I'm 37. The reason for this was a part of a greater dialogue I was having with God as a kid. I asked for a proof and God waited 20 years to give me that but about this age the signs came much earlier.


It's one of those numbers that keeps catching your eyes everywhere. Since I was not aware of the fact that my dad was 37 when I was born, the first one that caught my eye was my primary school number. Then when I was in high school suddenly all numbers were 37, my dormitory room, my dining table, my library card. I was excited when digital watches became so popular and I also had one but I couldn't carry it for long because 4 out of 5 times I'd l look at it in one day it would be 37 past something. I switched to analog. In university I was surprised to see the first girl I had a crash on had the number 037 but when within the first days of my relationship with my second girl friend in the university they had her dormitory room changed to number 37 I thought maybe it was contagious. And it was. It went on like this and although the frequency changes, this number is still with me.


Why I thought of it as my age of death and not something else is another story. I know it came pretty early, too early for a child to think of when he's going to die but I never really questioned it; it was like hearing a word of God or channeling some information that already is written somewhere else. When they asked me what I would be when I grew up, I would only think up to 37. When I was no more a kid and we would talk with friends about when we grow old, I wouldn’t fantasize about my 60s because I “knew” I’d live up to 37. I had plans until that age only, and it consisted mainly of living free and learning about life. This went on until a few years ago.

I know it sounds pretty stupid to get obsessed with a reoccurrence of a number and even more stupid to think of it as an age to leave this body, but, honestly, it gave me the freedom to live every day (or every decade) as if it’s my last. I managed to not be attached to anything. In fact, when I felt things getting too rigid in my life, I just quited them. I have addictions like anybody else but at least being a traveler I managed to be more committed to life itself than anything else.

The only problem about this is that I am 37 now and I don’t really feel I’m leaving soon. I honestly would like to have a fresh start but I wouldn’t like to start from age zero in another body. I’m very thankful for all the experience of this life and the little wisdom it brought me. I’d rather have a rebirth while I live. What I have to accept here is perhaps that I’m a bit too lazy to take the steps for this rebirth. Rumi’s words ring in my ears continuously:


Gamble everything for love,
if you’re a true human being.

If not, leave this gathering.

Half-heartedness doesn’t reach into majesty.
You set out to find God,
but you keep stopping for long periods
at mean spirited roadhouses.


So in short I can say that I feel, or I have always felt, that something is going to happen with me soon. I like to think of it as a positive rebirth, detox sort of thing but I know sometimes the best lessons in life come the hard way and we just have to be prepared for it. Just don’t be too surprised when it happens, I’ll try not to be and give thanks. I just can’t wait for it.


Birdsong brings relief
To my longing.
I am just as ecstatic as they are,
But with nothing to say!

Please, universal soul,
practice some song,

or something,
through me!


Maulana Jalal-ud-din Rumi


Sunday, August 10, 2008

The Wheel of Dependent Origination

Here is why there is so much suffering, why even when we feel whole and happy there is something in us which is not happy. This is the wheel of dependent arising from Buddhism. It is a chain of things which create a facit circle which we unconsciously follow and which lead to suffering. To be free from suffering we need to break this chain. Although basically it is very simple to do it (like “be here now”) it is also very hard since we are in a way ‘addicted’ to the way things go. This wheel and each of its elements are subject to years of studying. I will not attempt to explain them here but you can find material on the subject pretty easily (see links at the end). This is also usually one main subject of teaching in most meditation courses.


I hope the time we will break our chains and find our peaceful center comes without too much suffering.





Paticcasamuppada- The wheel of dependent origination


Ignorance leads to Contact

Contact leads to Feeling

Feeling leads to Craving

Craving leads to Attachment

Attachment leads to Becoming

Becoming leads to Birth

Birth leads to Suffering

Suffering leads to Ignorance




(On many wheels the path between Ignorance and Contact is also expanded to Ignorance leads to Concoction leads to Mind-Body leads to Six Sense Organs leads to Contact)



***


Buddhists seem to love numbering things and here is the Noble Eightfold Path:


1. Right Understanding,

2. Right Aim,

3. Right Speech,

4. Right Action,

5. Right Livelihood,

6. Right Effort,

7. Right Mindfulness,

8. Right Concentration




And here are the Ten Fetters tying us to the cycle of existence:


1. Personality belief,

2. Uncertainty about the path,

3. Belief in rites and rituals,

4. Sensuous greed,

5. Ill-will,

6. Greed for fine material existence,

7. Greed for immaterial existence,

8. Pride,

9. Agitation,

10. Ignorance.



May all beings be happy,

May all beings be healthy,

May all beings be holy,


May there be no disharmony of any kind anywhere.


_______________________________


Here are some links if you want to learn more about dependent origination and/or Buddhism in general.

http://www.vimokkha.com/paticcasamuppada.html

http://www.akshin.net/introduction/intro-causeofsuffering.htm

http://www.geocities.com/dependentorigination/

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/mogokcan.htm