“We won’t achieve Dharma until we become honorable stewards of the universe, elevating our existence above human weaknesses and tendencies, and aligning ourselves with the divine order of God.
This is an intimidating task for most people. But we can only discover our Dharma by actively working to peel away the layers of our own human imperfections first. For this reason, I believe that achieving one’s Dharma is the ultimate of all personal and spiritual achievements.
Realizing Dharma is in effect reaching one’s cosmic truth which applies to all religions and spiritual beliefs because it is not religion. Dharma is a universal truth. Pursuing one’s Dharma, you get to choose your own God.” – Kevy Michaels
One of several reasons why I don’t listen to current popular music, in addition to just being older, and not quite understanding its messages, is that there is such adventure in exploring music that I may have never heard before, whether new or old. There’s just too much music out there to waste time.
Good music is timeless to me. With music streaming services, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube Music & Videos, coupled with AI, I am exploring and enjoying new music all the time. Some of the new music is not so new, but it doesn’t matter.
In a prior post, I mentioned the analogy of our personal lives being like a movie, and that each of us is certainly the star of that movie. Everyone else is extras. By the way, I got that from watching a YT video.
Taking this analogy a bit further, the music that I listen to and discover becomes the theme music and soundtrack to my movie. My life is filled with music every day. I listen to music constantly, all kinds. I especially love international music that moves me. Often, I do not understand the language or dialects, but I can feel the rhythms and emotions.
I have shared music through my blog before, including gospel, reggae, South African, Senegalese, and even Depeche Mode. These are the sounds of my life. I also listen to jazz, especially Coltrane, and Miles. I even recently discovered Shirley Bassey!
I am fortunate to have been introduced to the Indian culture over 20 years ago. Indians are very dominant in the IT Systems field. This is where I spent most of my career. They are exceptionally brilliant people. We worked well together on many projects in some of the world’s largest corporations. I still keep in touch with several Indian friends that I’ve worked with within the United States, and abroad.
But what attracts me most to Indian culture is greater than their intelligence. It is their peacefulness and inner light that draws me to them. Their vibration is immensely powerful especially to those like me who have meditated for over 20 years, and who is curious and open to all cultures and faiths.
I have attended Indian weddings, baby rituals, and have been invited to dinner in the homes of Indian families, which was all a great honor. Every event and venue was full of love and joy and was quite colorful. I love colors. I see them as a reflection of God’s light in a myriad of God-created hues. Light is energy; therefore, colors have a power that can influence our spirit. The Indian culture knows this well, as I do.
Today Indians around the world celebrate the festival known as Diwali, the festival of lights. It is a festival that is based on an Indian god who defeated evil. Diwali is a celebration of good over evil. If there were ever an appropriate time to celebrate good over evil, now is that time considering the state of world affairs, politically, economically, and socially. We should all celebrate Diwali today and every day.
Just last week, I celebrated my mother’s 103rd birthday! You may find from prior posts about my mother, that she is ‘my favorite girl in the world’. We were always ultra-close from childhood until her ascension.
Perhaps it was because I was her last child and because my father died 8 months after I was born. I don’t know, but our connection was strong, ride-or-die-strong’, and everyone in my immediate family knew it. She made it clearer than I did.
Caring for my mother for several years was a tumultuous experience emotionally, spiritually, physically, and logistically. We moved together across 3 states, dismantling and reassembling what we would call home, until our final destination in Denver, Colorado. She transitioned several months after our arrival, succumbing to cancer.
I was born in Delhi, India while my parents were in exile, working as anti-Apartheid activists for the African National Congress. I subsequently traveled wherever my parents’ work took them. I feel I still haven’t stopped traveling.
I live and work in Johannesburg, South Africa. I’m 39 years old and particularly appreciate good literature, be it prose or verse. I share my literary musings with my most strident critic: my 12-year-old at. Read More
I apologize to Dr. Bob Rich (Bob) for the delay in posting this article. It was submitted to me weeks ago, and outside of a busy schedule, my spirit has been a bit fragile.
Like many I would suppose, I have been emotionally and spiritually impacted by the whirlwind of challenges and changes that planet Earth and civilization have been catapulted into enduring over the past year. I have been significantly enlightened by how your challenges have separated us along many fronts including racially, politically, spiritually, and “vaccine vs. no vaccine”.
Today’s divisions seem to pale in comparison with historical ones. I have separated from many spirits vibes, and energies that no longer serve me, some in my family, some close friends. In today’s times, I find it necessary.
Gaining a better understanding of God, Life, and Myself is an undeniable blessing. But it is also a challenging responsibility. It can be draining at times and requires an escape from it all, as well as regular metaphysical practices. Kevy
Furthermore, while in this fragile state, I read Bob’s essay on God’s Puppets. It really threw me off track for weeks. I read it about four times. I used AI to convert it to Australian speech so that I could listen to it and pause it occasionally to reflect and absorb. By the way, Dr. Bob Rich is Australian.
I don’t celebrate Christmas in a very commercial way. Nonetheless, this past Christmas was one of my most special Christmases. I gave no material gifts. I could not afford to. But instead, I received and shared the love of my heart with others close to me, quite randomly.
This past Christmas made me feel proud also!
It made me feel that my mother, in heaven, was smiling down on me. One of my dearest friends, who I supported in the past, and who supported me, surprised me with money when I really needed it to catch up on bills.
He reminded me of times that I was there for him when he needed me. I was but without expectation. That is why it felt so special. This friend’s family is my family. They are lovingly spiritual. I am there for them if they ever need me. They poured their spirit, all the way from Costa Rica, into my Christmas, complete with pictures that exuded God’s spirit.
Then a highly intelligent and honorable friend from India sent me a gift unexpectedly. I haven’t seen him in about 20 years when we worked together on IT projects.
He reminded me of back then, when I supported him, believed in him. Now he is a success as a businessman, family man, in the spirit Knowledge, Happiness, and Krishna. He told me that he considers me as his brother. I feel the same way and am available to help him with his visions in whatever way I can.
My neighbor and I collaborate on video projects. We have conversations about videos, music, creativity, and life in general. He is a mentor to ‘his homies’, who are younger than him. I am like a mentor to him, because I am as many years older than he is, as he is older than his ‘homies’.
He and I sprang gifts on each other this Christmas. Not so much wrapped with bows. Rather impromptu gifts of appreciation, backed with conversations filled with true authenticity and gratitude.
The highlight of my Christmas was being spontaneously invited to dinner by someone in the media that I admire. I help him as much as I can because I feel really good vibes from him. …And it helps that he is really smart, with a humble peaceful spirit.
He invited to dinner with his family, mask-free. I am sure, because of his spiritual upbringing, that he realized that he shared the loving spirit of his family with me, in addition to the wonderful meal that each member of the family prepared. I felt love in his home, beyond what I have felt in support from him on media projects.
I offered my skills, talents, and time to him and his family sincerely. And I mean it. If there is a way that I can assist in the future, I’m on it!
Photo – PX Here – California Sacramento Crocker Kwanzaa
This is a beautiful time. Let me, Kevy Michaels, explain to you why I feel this way.
First of all, in this very moment every living creature on the planet, in the universe, and even the stars recognize that we are in a change of season.
This is not unusual, except for us. We don’t normally recognize seasons, in the air, our minds, and spirits, as the animals, trees, and plants do because we are distracted. Well, now we do.
Also, every last one of us is experiencing a certain degree of uncertainty about what the new season will bring.
Seasons As Our Teachers – This Is A Magnificent Season!
I am fortunate to have been introduced to the Indian culture over 20 years ago. Indians are very dominant in the IT Systems field. This is where I spent most of my career. They are exceptionally brilliant people. We worked well together on many projects in some of the world’s largest corporations. I still keep in touch with several Indian friends that I’ve worked with within the United States, and abroad.
But what attracts me most to Indian culture is greater than their intelligence. It is their peacefulness and inner light that draws me to them. Their vibration is immensely powerful especially to those like me who have meditated for over 20 years, and who is curious and open to all cultures and faiths.
I have attended Indian weddings, baby rituals, and have been invited to dinner in the homes of Indian families, which was all a great honor. Every event and venue were full of love and joy and was quite colorful. I love colors. I see them as a reflection of God’s light in a myriad of God-created hues. Light is energy; therefore, colors have a power that can influence our spirit. The Indian culture knows this well, as I do.
“God is said to have written Scripture and Nature.” – Wic
Kevy’s Comment
I am very excited to feature fellow blogger Wic, and giving him a grand showcasing.
Photo Of Wic
A few weeks ago, I found fellow bloggers with whom I connected in several ways, namely in perspective on life, love, and spirituality, just by reading their posts. I posted comments to several of their posts and asked their permission to feature them on my site.
Wic gave me permission a week ago, but I have been so busy that I had become drained and had to get away from computers, blogging, television, and all things media. Do you ever get that way as a blogger? I hope that Wic appreciates that I was not going to force introducing him to my followers. I just can’t do things normally. My friends from New Orleans says that I always have to “add cayenne” to everything I do.
As I mentioned in a post comment, I no longer hold on to old relationships that don’t vibe with who I am today just because of history or tradition. Many of those relationships were simply held together by kinship, religion, race, or class, but not by spiritual connection. None of these things have anything to do with my true spirit, my true essence, today.
Therefore, in these crucial times, I have abandoned many relationships, including family ones, that do not elevate my spirit. Instead, I find adventure in meeting new kindred spirits randomly, such as Wic’s.
“My God is a wild untamed God, who throws stars into space and sits with me, relaxed, and communes in the forest. How about yours.” – Wic
This post was a lot of fun, for me. It digs into the controversy of why Whites are annoyed by Blacks and vice versa.
Most people avoid discussing such touchy topics; I live for those discussions. I tend to gravitate to most things that ‘normal people’ avoid, even Black people. It’s because I’m a wise and knowledgeable man that knows that the root of most problems, especially systemic ones, lies in the touchy areas that we avoid. …the areas that strike nerves. I aim to strike nerves with this post, and provide a prelude to you to better understanding issues and planning your strategy for resolving them.
Many Whites are also annoyed by my discussions and views, as evidenced by several White former friends who ‘drop-kicked’ me because I expressed pure emotions on racial discrimination. I have others who subtly avoid me because they fear I may talk about racism. They make nice as though I don’t realize that they are skating around all the while.
Photo – Glodi Miessi – Unsplash
In preparing this post about things that annoy White people about Blacks, and vice versa, as I always do, I will give you plenty of my opinions, but I will also provide the opinion of others. You are encouraged (as always) to discuss touchy topics like these. Don’t be like former friends who avoided discussing racism to the extent of ending friendships. If we are ever going to make significant progress, we must deal directly with any pressing humanitarian issues, especially with racism. …Okay Boomers, do you understand? I’m one too.
I’ve had enough of the superficial bullshit of pretending to resolve racial issues, but being overly careful to be politically correct. And, I won’t tolerate it for the good of humanity. That is total smoke and mirrors.
I am in a New Orleans mood today. It is kind of difficult to explain, but I will try.
As I’ve mentioned, New Orleans is a very magical city. In a way, it’s like The City of Oz. There are casinos, cruises docking, live jazz in the streets, enticing aromas of Creole food, and boiled seafood, and anything you can imagine to indulge, but only if you do it in excess.
New Orleans has a bar on nearly every corner in certain neighborhoods. They still call them barrooms. As single person, those barrooms are a savior because nearly every day of the week, they feature food. They may have fried chicken, red beans & rice, on Mondays, boiled crawfish (not crayfish) and crabs on Wednesday, and Fish Fry Fridays. A single person doesn’t really have to prepare dinner, because there is always a barroom that serves free food with a drink.
New Orleans is one of the few cities that allows 3 and 4-for-1 drink specials. When you purchase your first drink, additional plastic Dixie cups are placed top down on the bar for your next rounds.
New Orleans offers variety with excitement, ‘the best of’, in the most important categories: Food, Drink, Music, Dance, Gambling, Festivities, and Charm.
On top of all of that, because of its extreme humidity, no one ever really dresses up, except during the Mardi Gras ball season. You just come as you are. That’s why it’s the ‘Big Easy’.
But if you are not careful and disciplined, this Land of Oz, or Sodom and Gomorrah, as Pentecostal Baptists would refer to it, can get you in a lot of trouble.