Samādhi (Pali and Sanskrit: समाधि), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivation of Samādhi through various meditation methods is essential for the attainment of spiritual liberation (known variously as nirvana, moksha).[1]
In the oldest Buddhist sutras, on which several contemporary western Theravada teachers rely, it refers to the development of an investigative and luminous mind which is equanimous and mindful. In the yogic traditions, and the Buddhist commentarial tradition on which the Burmese Vipassana movement and the Thai Forest tradition rely, it is interpreted as a meditative absorption or trance, attained by the practice of dhyāna.[5]
With so much now depending on what Christians, Jews and Muslims think and do and how they interact so poorly with each other and any one else and how their beliefs are based on old stories and not much else, this may be a good time to remind or inform anyone who wants to listen that there are much older and deeper traditions of the mind including how individuals should conduct themselves morally, ethically, spiritually. Samadhi states are but one aspect of ancient traditions that vastly predate Judaism and Christianity and also provide much deeper insights into the workings of the human mind and how to deal with the ever-changing conditions of life. The way the Abrahamic religions are behaving today is an embarrassment to all of humanity. ABN
UPDATE: The period this statue dates from and the area in which it was found was Gandhara, which was a major center of Buddhism. A great deal of Buddhism went to China from Gandhara. Chinese Buddhist nuns, to this day, take Sarvastivadan monastic vows which probably came from Gandhara. Buddhist statuary developed in this area under the strong influence of Greek statuary which became prevalent in that region due to the Greek presence brought by Alexander the Great. The earliest attested Buddhist teachings come to us from this area through Pyrrho, the Greek skeptic, who studied with Buddhist monks. Skepticism is clearly based on Buddhist core teachings. See Greek Buddha: Pyrrho’s Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia for more on this topic. I highly recommend that book. ABN
UPDATE: This is a worthy discussion, highly recommended. Doctor assisted dying, which is really doctors killing, is examined from many angles with the clear verdict that doctors killing is useful only in very rare circumstances. In all other cases, it’s a bad idea and once made into law presents a terrible slippery slope, as we have seen in Canada. A doctor’s office or medical facility is in itself a trance-inducing location, replete with numerous disturbing messages. To be offered an ‘easy’ death by a doctor is a hypnotic suggestion. Many who are not even psychologically vulnerable and with plenty of life left in them will agree to die under these conditions. Please share this video so more of us can appreciate the dangers of these new laws. ABN
I have not yet watched this but plan to do so. ABN
UPDATE: Due to what I have read and heard, I had expected to dislike this interview and to dislike Thiel himself. My biases were wrong. This interview is framed in Christian terms, primarily referencing Armageddon and the Antichrist. Thiel expressed an abundance of fear of the Antichrist, which he uses as a metaphor for One World Government, a totalitarian dead end. He also fears globalism because it likely will lead to One World Government. He criticizes the ‘cult of liberal academia’. He supports nation states. It was good to hear Thiel—whom many have cast as the Antichrist bringer of a Palantir panopticon—speak seriously about how much he fears precisely that. I do not think he is acting. It is hard to fake the religious and moral sensibilities he expressed. I hope he comes in contact with someone who can guide him into Buddhism so he can expand his horizons. I highly recommend this interview. Thiel is a major figure in our governing elite. I like what he said and am inclined trust him much more than I did before. ABN
Subject: email from Edgar for John Podesta (c/o Eryn): meeting request
Dear John,
Now that you are no longer serving in the White House, I write to you and Eryn requesting our face to face meeting to discuss zero point energy and Disclosure.
Our Quantrek science intuitive has provided us with a few facts about our nonviolent contiguous universe ETI who promote PACIFISM among humans and with whom we work:
1. All true ETI do not inhabit this universe.
2. So-called ETIs inhabit this universe and are in fact just celestials. They are higher in rank then discarnate spirits, even those who are evolved, HOWEVER, THEY JUST MIRROR VIOLENCE ON EARTH, FEELING THREATENED BY CONTAMINATION OF THEIR ABODE.
3. Extrauinversal ETIs on the other hand have long ago evolved past violence, relying on spiritual intelligence to avert destruction.
4. The Phoenix Lights and other sightings have provided ample evidence that Earth has been visited by beings whose intention is purely peace and who have nonviolently hovered over Phoenix and other sites, waiting to be asked to help, when they could most easily have destroyed the city with their uses of consciousness. These sightings have been witnessed by thousands of people in Phoenix alone, including my colleague Terri Mansfield, who will accompany me on our meeting with you.
Please let me now three dates and times that would work for your schedule.
I have been waiting for someone, anyone, to outline the reality of what the Dept of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is all about. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the history of the matter, it appears no one really “gets it.” So, with that in mind, and accepting that even the operators of DOGE may not have a fulsome comprehension of the dynamic, here is what it all means.
Few people realize the last Federal Budget that passed through “regular order” was for Fiscal Year 2008, signed by President George W Bush in September of 2007. Every budget since has been outside regular order; a series of continuing resolutions, omnibus spending packages and short-term funding mechanisms. {CITATION}
That is correct. In the past 17 years, all federal spending has been ‘short-term’ or ‘stop-gap’ spending measures, generally known as “Continuing Resolutions,” where the govt (House and Senate) continue to perpetually resolve to fund the government. The CRs as they are known, punt the spending debate by accepting a baseline of prior spending and tweaking around the edges.
The key takeaway to begin thinking about DOGE is to understand that REGULAR ORDERhas not been used since Fiscal Year 2008.
Title III of the Congressional Budget Act outlines a legal timeline that each President and Congress must follow {SEE HERE}. Prior to 2007, Continuing Resolutions were only used to resolve short term arguments about spending priorities.
♦ BACKGROUND – The President is required by law to submit his budget by the first Monday in February. Yes, even when an election takes place and a President doesn’t assume office until January 20th, the first Monday in February is still the legal requirement for the new White House budget proposal.
The Presidents’ budget is then submitted to The House of Representatives, where two weeks later the Congressional Budget Office, reviews the budget and issues an opinion as to the cost of the budget. No later than six weeks after the President submits his budget all House committees send the House Appropriations Committee their spending proposals [April 15].
Through May and June, each budgetary appropriations bill from the House is sent to the Senate. The Senate receives the House appropriations bills, then reviews through the Senate Appropriations Committee (Thune just picked Susan Collins as Chair). The Senate proposes their spending priorities based on the House bill because the House has constitutional authority to originate all spending [June 15]. The House and Senate budgets are “reconciled” using parliamentary procedures [June 30] and then sent to the President for signature.
The fiscal year begins October 1st.
That’s the regular order process.
Again, regular order has not been followed since Fiscal Year 2008, signed by George W Bush in September of 2007.
♦ The Problem – When congress doesn’t follow regular order they end up with a series of “continuing resolutions” (CRs) where spending is decided on a short-term basis because they don’t have an agreed budget. The problem with CRs is what’s called “baseline budgeting” where all prior spending is the baseline for the continuation of spending proposals. The baseline accepts all previous spending priorities, then adds to them with the new spending needs.
[This is a very clear, succinct, and valid overview of what is going on. I highly recommend reading the entire piece, which is not long. The more we understand, the more likely we are to support what is happening. ABN]
A study conducted by US Army Intelligence has suggested that reincarnation is real because consciousness ‘never dies.’
Entitled ‘Analysis and Assessment of The Gateway Process,’ the 29-page report was drafted by US Army Lieutenant Colonel Wayne M McDonnell in 1983 and declassified by the CIA in 2003.
The mind-bending official Pentagon study was commissioned to better understand what its Army intel colleagues were doing sending personnel to a small institute in Charlottesville, Virginia that was working on the ‘Gateway Experience.’
The then-secretive ‘Gateway’ project, based to McDonnell’s analysis, was ‘a training system designed to bring enhanced strength, focus and coherence… to alter consciousness.’
From there, Gateway’s ambitious goal was to shift the practitioner’s consciousness ‘outside the physical sphere so as to ultimately escape even the restrictions of time and space.’
At least according to McDonnell, the Monroe Institute’s discoveries that wound up bolstering the case for reincarnation were profound.
‘When consciousness returns to the Absolute [Monroe jargon for a realm outside spacetime] it brings with it all the memories it has accumulated through experience in reality,’ as he distilled the Institute’s finding that memories pass on from life to life via reincarnation.
The Buddhist term is rebirth rather than reincarnation. The study mentioned, which might be of interest to some, is here: Analysis and Assessment of Gateway Process. ABN
The nascent Sanhedrin in Jerusalem has made an official ruling, calling on Jews outside of Israel to come home.
“We are the beis din (rabbinic court) of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), and we have poskened (officially ruled) that all Jews around the world have an obligation and chiyuv (religious requirement) right now to do whatever is in your power, to come to Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel), and that is the mitzvah of Torah (Biblical requirement). And that is the mitzvah of today, especially because of what’s happening around the world and the dangers that all the Jews are in around the world. It’s necessary now more than ever to come to EretzYisrael, and we as a beis din have poskened that all the Jews have to come as soon as they can back to eretz Yisrael.”
Wander explained that the Sanhedrin makes this announcement every year, but this year, it is of special significance and is garnering more attention than in the past.
While many Jews do not recognize the authority of this current Sanhedrin, it is, in fact, expressly forbidden by Torah law for Jews to accept the authority of a system of law or a legal body that is not based in the Torah.
“It was about a decade before Hitler took power,” Wander said. “The rabbi wrote that because the Jews are making their Berlin into their Jerusalem, God will have to bring a huge storm, which will wipe out Europe. The rabbi stated that God does not allow the Jews to feel too comfortable in the exile. We’ve seen in history over and over again that when the Jews get too comfortable in exile, God needs to shake things up in order to make them a little less comfortable.”
I have watched about one-half of this and find it enjoyable; opens the mind to the many factors that went into the Bible and Abrahamic belief systems. ABN
UPDATE: Takes a little effort to get into this video, but it is well worth watching. I watched the entire thing and learned plenty. If you are at all interested in the first few centuries BCE and/or religious history, you will enjoy this talk. ABN
The skeletal remains of two bodies — and a trove of jewelry including a Rolex watch and diamond ring — were pulled from a submerged car that likely belonged to the Scarsdale couple who vanished 44 years ago, authorities and family said Wednesday.
The bombshell findings come as Georgia authorities were finally able to pull the vehicle from a pond after it was first discovered Friday near the Holiday Inn where Charles and Catherine Romer were staying before their disappearance in April 1980.
Human remains in the car “conclusively show the bodies of two people were in the vehicle,” a Glynn County, Ga., police spokesperson said in an email to The Post.
American Buddhist Net 