Inspiring Stories of Love, Healing, & Empowerment

Inspirations

March 2008
Issue Number 40

Welcome to Inspirations! Global Community For All sends out this e-zine filled with short, inspiring stories of love, healing, and empowerment once every three months. We share these wonderfully inspiring stories to encourage and inspire each other to be the best we can be each day of our lives. Thanks for joining us, and may these words inspire us to ever deepen our commitment to love, heal, and empower; to open to divine guidance; and to choose what's best for all.

The four inspiring stories for this issue are:

Eighth wonder of the world? – Daily Mail
What Is It All About? – Swami Beyondanda
Love is in the Moment – Annie
A Fable of Planetary Transformation – Fred Burks & Transformation Team Friends

Eighth wonder of the world? – Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/world...

Nestling in the foothills of the Alps in northern Italy, 30 miles from the ancient city of Turin, lies the valley of Valchiusella. Peppered with medieval villages, the hillside scenery is certainly picturesque. But it is deep underground, buried into the ancient rock, that the region's greatest wonders are concealed.

Here, 100ft down and hidden from public view, lies an astonishing secret - one that has drawn comparisons with the fabled city of Atlantis and has been dubbed 'the Eighth Wonder of the World' by the Italian government. For weaving their way underneath the hillside are nine ornate temples, on five levels, whose scale and opulence take the breath away.

Constructed like a three-dimensional book, narrating the history of humanity, they are linked by hundreds of metres of richly decorated tunnels and occupy almost 300,000 cubic feet - Big Ben is 15,000 cubic feet.

Few have been granted permission to see these marvels. Indeed, the Italian government was not even aware of their existence until a few years ago. But the 'Temples of Damanhur' are not the great legacy of some long-lost civilisation, they are the work of a 57-year-old former insurance broker from northern Italy who, inspired by a childhood vision, began digging into the rock.

It all began in the early Sixties when Oberto Airaudi was aged ten. From an early age, he claims to have experienced visions of what he believed to be a past life, in which there were amazing temples. Around these he dreamed there lived a highly evolved community who enjoyed an idyllic existence in which all the people worked for the common good. More bizarrely still, Oberto appeared to have had a supernatural ability: the gift of "remote viewing" - the ability to travel in his mind's eye to describe in detail the contents of any building.

"My goal was to recreate the temples from my visions," he says. Oberto - who prefers to use the name 'Falco' - began by digging a trial hole under his parent's home to more fully understand the principals of excavation. But it was only as he began a successful career as an insurance broker that he began to search for his perfect site.

In 1977, he selected a remote hillside where he felt the hard rock would sustain the structures he had in mind. A house was built on the hillside and Falco moved in with several friends who shared his vision. Using hammers and picks, they began their dig to create the temples of Damanhur - named after the ancient subterranean Egyptian temple meaning City of Light - in August 1978.

As no planning permission had been granted, they decided to share their scheme only with like-minded people. Volunteers, who flocked from around the world, worked in four-hour shifts for the next 16 years with no formal plans other than Falco's sketches and visions, funding their scheme by setting up small businesses to serve the local community.

By 1991, several of the nine chambers were almost complete with stunning murals, mosaics, statues, secret doors and stained glass windows. But time was running out on the secret. The first time the police came it was over alleged tax evasion and still the temples lay undiscovered. But a year later the police swooped on the community demanding: "Show us these temples or we will dynamite the entire hillside." Falco and his colleagues duly complied and opened the secret door to reveal what lay beneath.

Three policemen and the public prosecutor hesitantly entered, but as they stooped down to enter the first temple - named the Hall of the Earth - their jaws dropped. Inside was a circular chamber measuring 8m in diameter. A central sculpted column, depicting a three dimensional man and woman, supported a ceiling of intricately painted glass. The astonished group walked on to find sculpted columns covered with gold leaf, more than 8m high. Stunned by what they had found, the authorities decided to seize the temples on behalf of the government.

"By the time they had seen all of the chambers, we were told to continue with the artwork, but to cease further building, as we had not been granted planning permission," says Esperide Ananas, who has written a new book called Damanhur, Temples Of Humankind. Retrospective permission was eventually granted and today the 'Damanhurians' even have their own university, schools, organic supermarkets, vineyards, farms, bakeries and award-winning eco homes.

They do not worship a spiritual leader, though their temples have become the focus for group meditation. 'They are to remind people that we are all capable of much more than we realise and that hidden treasures can be found within every one of us once you know how to access them,' says Falco.

Note: Don't miss the stunning photos of this amazing community at the link above this article. There is much more here than meets the eye!

What Is It All About? – Swami Beyondanda
http://www.wakeuplaughing.com

In this dogma-eat-dogma world where fear is fueled by terrorism -- not to mention anti-terrorism -- I say it’s time to declare all out peace. Those of us who’ve been developing inner peace all these years, time to let it all out. Time to affirm everyone’s right to bear arms -- provided those arms are used for hugging. Instead of giving in to “fear gnomes” – those little gnomes of gnawing fear that have been injected into the body politic-- let’s get right to the heart of the matter.

Let's declare an emerge 'n see. Time to emerge from beliefs that no longer serve us and see how we humans have been tricked into behaving foolishly. Time to emerge 'n see beyond the dueling dualities to find solutions bigger than the problem. Time to emerge n' see there's no escape. God has us surrounded. Might as well surrender. We are all part of the inescapable Oneness.

One Spirit, many paths. One Planet, great diversity. One humanity, each of us totally unique ... just like everyone else.

I have often said that if we keep doing what we've always done, we will only get what we've always gotten. It stands to reason that if we try doing something new, we increase our chances of getting different results. So while it makes no sense to take up arms against warfare, it makes all the sense in the world to lift up arms and embrace anything that nourishes peace.

Now in this shrinking world that could definitely use a good shrink, it is understandable to look upward in hopes of the Messiah. But I say, we need to look at each other instead, and face the truth that we are looking the Messiah in the face. We have met the Savior and he is us! Here are all these children of God praying for Jesus to intervene, but we cannot expect to be fed intervenously forever. Time for children of God to grow up, for Goodness sake, and become adults of God instead. It turns out both the creationists and the evolutionists are right. The Creator created us to evolve in consciousness. Otherwise Jesus would have said, "Now, don't do a thing until I return."

I have a dream, so allow me to tell a vision. Each year at Passover, the Jewish people affirm the possibility of the Messiah: "Next year in Jerusalem." Next year always comes, and the Messiah never seems to come with it. Maybe it's time to make a break with the past and actually act as if the Messiah is already here. You know, fake it till you make it. So put it on your calendars. Next year let's celebrate Past Over in Jerusalem, and declare that the past is over and a new day has begun.

Hold this vision with me please: Leaders of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths together in celebration -- doing the Hokey Pokey. They put their whole selves in ... that is commitment. They pull their whole selves out ... that is detachment. They turn themselves around ... that is transformation. And that's what it's all about!

Note: To sign up for Swami Beyondananda's hilarious, yet poignant emails, click here.

Love is in the Moment–Annie
http://www.metarev.com/client/lovemysearch

It was early morning, yet already it had been a stupendously bad day. One thing after another. The downward spiral continued when a large pitcher of orange juice slid from my hands and smashed to the floor. Glass and sticky juice spewed to the farthest corners of the kitchen, slithering down cabinets and appliances, puddling at my feet.

Stunned, I looked at the mess. Then I dropped dejectedly down to the floor, my eyes filling with overdue tears. The tears came from begrudging and angry acceptance that "today is just not my day."

Bad day or not, errands had to be done. Filled with angst and negative mental baggage, I got in my car to drive into town. In the few minutes it took to travel to the bank I made a decision. I would be careful not to pass my bad day off to anyone else. I would be cordial and polite. And I would NOT retaliate when that harried driver pulled quickly and rudely in front of me causing me to slam on my breaks, dumping the contents of my drink onto the front car seat!

Standing in line at the bank, I was silently talking to myself. Actually, I was scolding myself. All of the events that had accumulated and contributed to my bad day were, in reality, so very minor and trivial. I was over-reacting. I was indulging in self-pity. I tried to imagine the innumerable, individual lives that had been effected by 9/11, by the war in Iraq, by the tsunami.

For the second time that day my eyes filled with tears as I realized how disconnected I felt from all those individuals who are trying to cope with truly traumatic events in their lives. They all seemed so distant and unknowable, and this justified and intensified my belief that I was being self-centered and selfish. I was sure that all my efforts to be a caring and loving person were for naught.

A voice broke through my mental distractions. Somehow I had mechanically finished my bank transaction and the teller was trying to get my attention. "Young lady," she was saying, "Young lady!"

I looked up and into the eyes of the bank teller, a silver-haired grandmother with a gentle beauty. Her keen eyes reflected concern as she leaned forward and softly said, "I don't know what is happening inside of you, but please, believe me when I tell you that - everything will be okay."

And then she did something quite marvelous. My hands were resting on the counter. She took her hands and placed them gently on top of mine. The touch was quick but electric. And in that moment my world shifted.

In the moment of her touch my self-doubt vanished. I found understanding and acceptance. I knew that love was being channeled through the heart of this beautiful woman directly into my heart. I was infused with a profound awareness - that I am loved. I was speechless. I smiled. It was my first smile of the day. But it would not be my last, as from that moment on my entire day was transformed.

Perhaps without even knowing it, the kind-hearted bank teller allowed herself to be a conduit of divine love. She was instrumental in transforming a day that seemed destined to be a day of tears into a day of smiles. The seemingly small gesture of a this gentle woman not only changed the course of my day, it became a powerful reminder in my life. The profound effect of that one simple, loving touch remains in my heart to this day.

More people than not scoff at the idea of world peace. Laugh if you wish. As for myself, I believe it is possible to transform our world ... one act of loving kindness at a time.

Remember: A simple smile. A warm handshake. A kind word. A gentle hug. Through these, we open the transformative power of love.

Note: See Annie's website and her book, Love: My Search for Truth:
http://www.metarev.com/client/lovemysearch

A Fable of Planetary Transformation–Fred Burks & Transformation Team
https://www.transformationteam.net

Once upon a time in a far away corner of the universe in the outer reaches of a medium-sized spiral galaxy, there was a beautiful blue-green planet whose inquisitive inhabitants named their world Earth. Many different peoples inhabited this planet teeming with abundant lifeforms. They had come to learn the many difficult, yet rewarding lessons of exploring in physical bodies what it is like to feel separate and disconnected from their own divine essence and from all around them.

The collective consciousness of all people on Earth greatly affected everything that happened on this revolving planet. Yet because of their explorations into separateness, the vast majority of these people – or humans as they called themselves – were unaware of how their collective will formed their world. In order to learn the deep wisdom of this Earth school or Univers-city, these humans had chosen to forget how in their deepest essence they were all interconnected and how every individual played an essential role in what happened on their planet and to their people as a whole.

Over the ages and through thousands upon thousands of revolutions of this jewel of a planet around its shining golden sun, the people of Earth explored, developed, and expanded their awareness through many rich, beautiful, and sometimes even painful experiences. Through the rich drama and challenging lessons of many ages and lifetimes, they several times grew close to the point of feeling again their deep interconnectedness with all beings. Yet each time they came close, that awareness then contracted and was eventually shut down by their collective fear of losing individuality and uniqueness.

After several cycles of this expansion and contraction, at one point in a new expansion phase, the collective mind grew so intelligent as to permit humankind for the first time to soar beyond the gravitational confines of Earth in shiny, metallic spaceships. The collective knowledge of the physical world in which they lived grew so deep that certain individuals began to see visions of a major transformation leading to physical paradise on Earth. At the same time, many others greatly feared that these new mental abilities and sophisticated technologies would be used by the militaries and greedy elite to destroy the very life and world in which they lived.

As their collective hopes and fears grew like never before, many humans dedicated to global transformation joined together in a deep prayer about their lives and world. So for the first time in the planet's history, a powerful collective call was sent out to the universe requesting help and guidance for the struggling planet and its people to move beyond separation, selfishness, and greed towards loving, empowering transformation and integration. For the first time, humanity as a whole opened to connection and help from the great universe beyond the physical confines of their world.

Their prayer was heard.

In the vast and varied collection of civilizations and species spread throughout the infinite universe, the call for help from this small, beautiful planet was heard. Unbeknownst to the people of Earth, there existed in the universe a special team made up of millions of caring souls from various planets, galaxies, and even dimensions. This loving team had dedicated themselves specifically to serve and support the inhabitants of developing planets who requested help in times of crisis and transition.

The vibrant souls of this intergalactic transformation team were committed to work together with the local transformation team of any planet that called for help in creating more nurturing, life-enhancing ways of living and growing. This loving team was activated by the collective call from Earth.

Feeling the call for help almost like a fireman on Earth responding to an alarm, the excited souls of the transformation team came together to focus their attention on this beautiful world in crisis. They opened their hearts and souls to the people there. They learned of the ways of humankind and became familiar with the challenges the people of Earth found themselves facing. While some agreed to observe and provide guidance from a distance, millions of these souls agreed to be born in human bodies and – like other humans – to forget where they came from, so that they might fully experience being human and more effectively provide help and guidance to humankind.

Being born into human bodies and human families without memory of their origin, almost all of these transformation team members felt the many pains and joys of growing up while often feeling separate and isolated from those around them. Some even chose to go through serious traumas with their human families in order to develop deeper compassion. Others simply felt alone and bewildered, unable to comprehend why those around them couldn't see that love interconnects us all. At times, all of them felt they didn't belong and sensed an inner calling to some greater purpose.

As these dedicated transformation team members grew spiritually and the crisis facing the planet intensified, magical things began to happen. Key writings, dreams, mystical experiences, and even inspiring fables began to awaken members of the transformation team to their deeper purpose.

For some the awakening was gradual, while for others a powerful, unexpected single event lifted the veil. Collectively, members of the transformation team began to remember why they came to Earth. They found themselves spontaneously connecting with other wise humans who were part of the transformation team and who further helped to awaken and inspire them. Their fears and feeling of separation gradually faded as they became increasingly excited to remember their deeper purpose, and to find themselves now playing an integral role in this empowering planetary transition.

Eventually, all members of the transformation team awoke. Upon awakening, a new, bright sparkle danced from their eyes. It was a sparkle of knowingness. Knowing that all of us are already interconnected in a divine cosmic dance. Knowing that the joy of love is always there inside when any soul truly opens to it. Knowing that the team's purpose is not to save anyone, but rather to simply be a loving invitation and inspiration to all around them. Knowing that uniqueness and individuality are welcome even in the interconnectedness of all beings. Knowing that when the people of a planet send out a collective call for help, the transformation team always answers. Knowing that the team never fails to give powerful, inspiring guidance to help make it through even the most daunting crisis.

Once upon a time, the transformation team came to Earth to remind humankind – and even to remind themselves – that we are not alone, that we are all equally important actors intimately interconnected in the divine unfolding of the universe. The team came to remind us that fear is but an invitation to growth, and that in the end, there is no end. There is only this sacred moment in which to open to all the richness that we are ready to receive. There is only the eternal here and now.

And so to bring this transformation fable to a close (or is it an opening?), the transformation team found and continues to find ever more joyful, meaningful ways to love, explore, play, and grow together with all people of Earth, as they live happily ever after in the ever present here and now.

To join in the fun and deeply meaningful work of the
planetary transformation team, enter here.
 

A grain of sand does not a beach make. A drop of water does not an ocean make. Yet when all of the many grains of sand come together, and when all of the billions of drops of water unite as one, a beautiful beach appears and a magnificent ocean is revealed.

Thanks for sharing in these inspiring stories with us. We wish you lots of love, inspiration, and all the very best in the months ahead.

Damanhur, Swami Beyondananda, More