• Site about Yoga, Pranayama, relaxation, meditation, the Maha Mantra, Krishna & Bhakti August 4 - 10:16 pm

To be, to be human, to be love, these are the
images of the human soul. To be or not to be?
Why not be who we are?

By Kimberly Elsifor on Wednesday, November 10,
1999 - 09:03 pm:
Now as we step into the new birth it will be felt;
chaos. It will be up to each individual to either
learn from their chaos or continue in infinite
ignorance which breeds only the negative.

By Anonymous on Tuesday, December 14, 1999 - 01:02
pm:
Who are we? There is an answer.

We are human beings placed here on the planet
Earth. We have communication skills, yet we do not
communicate. Nor, do we want to. Why? Because of
greed and self-gratification. Learn all you want
to learn, be the best you can be. But until you
have helped someone other than yourself, deep down
inside, are you really human(e)?

By michelle ikonomides on Saturday, January 29,
2000 - 04:18 pm:
we are as one another.

Communicate the need to help others. Is that
really a silly thing to do? Teaching the poor to
not be poor? Teaching the lonely to find a friend?
Teaching people to become communicators? By doing
that you will have indeeded helped yourself.
Knowing -how- to help others is the key toward
knowing how to communicate as a human being; and
to know who you are.

By Anonymous on Saturday, December 25, 1999 -
10:49 am:
LOVE LIFE

"Give all you can from love. Take all you can
from love. It is the most important thing while
you live in this life."

--Roberto Salvi, Roma.it (1917-1999)

--------------------------------

11 Apr 1999


Once upon a time, there was an island where all
the feelings lived:
Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the
others including Love.
One day it was announced to the feelings that the
island would sink, so
all prepared their boats and left the island. Love
was the only one who
stayed behind. You see, Love wanted to wait until
the last possible
moment before leaving. The island was almost sunk,
and Love decided to
ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a
grand boat. Love said,
"Richness, can you take me with you?"
Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of
gold and silver in my
boat. There is no place here for you."
Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by
in a beautiful
vessel, "Vanity, please help me!"
"I can't help you Love. You are all wet and might
damage my boat,"
Vanity answered.
Sadness was close by so Love asked for help,
"Sadness, let me go with
you."
"Oh...Love, I am so sad that I need to be by
myself!" Happiness passed
by Love too; Happiness did not hear the cry for
help; for Happiness was
so happy. Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come Love,
I will take you." It
was an elder.
Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that Love
forgot to ask the elder's
name. When they arrived at dry land, the elder
went on its way. Love,
realizing how much it owed the elder, asked
Knowledge, another elder,
"Who helped me?" "It was Time," Knowledge
answered. "Time?" asked Love,
"But why did Time help me?" Knowledge smiled with
deep Wisdom and
answered, "Because only Time is capable of
understanding how great love is."
(received thru e-mail, anonymous)

------------------------------------------------

11 Apr 1999


Nada Brahma - Sound is God. -Ravi Shankar
To visit the Ravi Shankar Foundation, please go
to:
http://www.ravishankar.org/

24 Dec 1998

How can we look into another human heart, without
color, or race or origin or religion, and validate
that being as a gift with our love and
understanding? --anon.fireside, costa mesa, USA
12/23/98.

---------------------------------------------
06 Jan 1999
Ê
Papal Humor:
About a century or two ago, the Pope decided that
all the Jews had to leave Rome. Naturally there
was a big uproar from the Jewish community. So the
Pope made a deal. He would have a religious debate
with a member of the Jewish community. If the Jew
won, the Jews could stay. If the Pope won, the
Jews would leave. The Jews realized that they had
no choice. So they picked a middle-aged man named
Moshe to represent them. Moshe asked for one
addition to the debate. To make it more
interesting, neither side would be allowed to
talk. The Pope agreed. The day of the great debate
came. Moshe and the Pope sat opposite each other
for a full minute before the Pope raised his hand
and showed three fingers. Moshe looked back at him
and raised one finger. The Pope waved his fingers
in a circle around his head. Moshe pointed to the
ground where he sat. The Pope pulled out a wafer
and a glass of wine. Moshe pulled pulled out an
apple. The Pope stood up and said, "I give up.
This man is too good. The Jews can stay." An hour
later, the cardinals were all around the Pope
asking him what had happened. The Pope said,
"First I held up three fingers to represent the
Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to
remind me that there was still one God common to
both our religions. Then I waved my finger around
me to show him the God was all around us. He
responded by pointing to the ground and showing
that God was also right here with us. I pulled out
the wine and the wafer to show that God absolves
us from our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind
me of original sin. He had an answer for
everything. What could I do?" Meanwhile, the
Jewish community had crowded around Moshe. "What
happened?" they asked. "Well," said Moshe, "First
he said to me that the Jews had three days to get
out of here. I told him that not one of us was
leaving. Then he told me that this whole city
would be cleared of Jews. I let him know that we
were staying right here." "Yes, yes,... and
then???" asked the crowd. "I don't know," said
Moshe. "He took out his lunch, and I took out
mine."
As told to Ray Zimmerman
<RBZIMMER@uci.edu>


18 Jan 1999

A contrarian view of "There's No Place Like Home"
"Home is so Sad"... by Philip Larken.
Home is so sad, It stays as it was left,
Shaped to the comfort of the last to go
As if to win them back. Instead, bereft
Of anyone to please, it withers so,
Having no heart to put aside the theft.
And turn again to what it started as,
A joyous shot at how things ought to be,
Long fallen wide. You can see how it was:
Look at the pictures and the cutlery.
The music in the piano stool. That vase. Philip
Larken, 31 December 1958 TWW
...submitted for discussion by Ted Sarhanis

19 Jan 1999

Love is what I feel when it's gone. Sex was grand
and life passed quickly. Now only the memory
remains.
It too will pass fertilizer for the soul. Mark.
Jan 1999

---------------------------------------------

21 Jan 1999

The writers hands must follow the writers mind
that sees into the souls heart. Words flow from
the mind paint the
picture of like and kind to the beholder of
imagination a vision of eternity.

------------------------------------------

22 Jan 1999

Lo scopo di tutta la scienza è, in ultima analisi,
di elevare il valore dell'esistenza dell'umana
personalità. Chi non
coltiva la scienza con questo fine, lavora
soltanto perchè ha visto il suo maestro fare
altrettanto; "investiga" perchè
per caso ha imparato appunto questo, ma non può
venire chiamato un "pensatore libero". (Rudolf
Steiner da "Verità
e Scienza") Complimenti per le tua opera, è
veramente un ulteriore contributo che hai dato
all'umanità pensante.
Orazio Viscuso dalla Sicilia (ITALY)

--------------------------------------------------

27 Mar 1999

ART IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE SOUL.
L'ART EST LE LANGAGE DE L'ÂME.
L' ARTE È IL LINGUAGGIO DELL' ANIMA.
KUNST IST DIE SPRACHE DER SEELE.
A ARTE É A LÍNGUA DA ALMA.
EL ARTE ES EL LENGUAJE DEL ALMA.
ART YE SLOVO DUSHI.

This is true in all languages, in all cultures,
and for all the People of the World. It is what we
have in common,
even though we may all be different. Art is what
can bring us together as a Human-Being on our
first step towards Panetary-Peace.
http://babelfish.altavista.com/cgi-bin/translate?(
to
translate)
Here are some artistic works for your viewing.
Please add more of those you love.
http://space.tin.it/arte/oviscuso/
http://members.it.tripod.de/Celsia/index.html
http://www.cea.edu/%7Echas/cohen/
http://www.msstate.edu/Fineart_Online/Gallery/Trop
hies/or
duno.htm
http://www.repubblica.it/online/cinema/oscar99/ben
igni/be
nigni.html
http://translator.go.com/search_trans?url=http%3A/
/www.ideaeng.com/sb.html&lk=noframes
PEACE. -ida/califo

04 May 1999

"Live or die...
We're all the same people.
We're dying together.
We need to embrace."
D.H.

14 May 1999

THE LAND WHERE SOULS PLAY.
An awakening to dawn mist on the water,
flowing Spirit's streams to God's alter,
purifying essence whistles through the trees,
images of the sacred blowing in the breeze.
Flights of fancy from birds up high,
feathers of many colors filtering through the sky,
sun, moon and stars envelops Earth's dome,
we're all birds of a feather, finding our way
home.
Spectacle of mesmerizing movements flashing in the
mind,
melting pots of humans, secrets hard to find,
love all embracing whispers on the wind,
no physical presence, ecstasy from a light dimmed.
Gifts of joy enmeshed in music and dance,
visualizing images filtering in a trance,
warriors in a drumbeat at journeys end,
back to the womb of creation enmeshed in a
substance blend.
Wondrous dreams in the stillness of the dark,
journey on uplifting voyages in paradise park,
thunder and lightening points the way,
a prelude to the land where Soul's play. M.L.
http://www.pointoflife.com

10 Jun 1999

"The greatest discovery is that a human being can
alter his life (her life) by altering his
attitudes of mind."
(A computer generated line from a corporate daily
bulletin distributed to the staff of our office)
J.G.

21 Jun 1999

The following passages are taken from a sermon Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. preached on February 4th,
1968. Two months before his tragic death, Dr. King
gave this prophetic and highly personal sermon
from the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church in
Atlanta. Excerpts from it were played at his
nationally televised funeral service held on April
9th, 1968.
"... [T]here is, deep down within all of us, an
instinct. It's a kind of drum major instinct--a
desire to be first.... [T]his quest for
recognition, this desire for attention, this
desire for distinction is the basic impulse, the
basic drive of human life-this drum major
instinct.
... Jesus [in Mark, 10:35-45] gave us a new norm
of greatness. If you want to be
important--wonderful. If you want to be
recognized--wonderful. If you want to be
great--wonderful. But recognize that he who is
great among you shall be your servant. That's your
new definition of greatness.... [B]y giving that
definition of greatness, it means that everybody
can be great. Because everybody can serve. You
don't have to have a college degree to serve....
You don't have to know Einstein's theory of
relativity to serve.... You only need a heart full
of grace. A soul generated by love. And you can be
that servant.
... [E]very now and then I think about my own
death, and I think about my own funeral.... Every
now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I
would want said?"...
I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin
Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving
others. I'd like for somebody to say that Martin
Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want
you to say that day, that I tried to be right on
the war question. I want you to say that day, that
I did try to feed the hungry. And I want you to be
able to say that day, that I did try in my life to
clothe those who were naked. I want you to say on
that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit
those who were in prison. I want you to say that I
tried to love and serve humanity.
Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major,
say that I was a drum major for justice; say that
I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major
for righteousness.
...[T]hen my living will not be in vain."
(From _I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches that
Changed the World_, edited by James M. Washington,
Harper Collins, 1992.)
Submitted by Ray Zimmerman
<RBZIMMER@uci.edu>


07 Jul 1999

FILM SCRIPT: "Dream of the Worlds"
This is a pre-release copy of screenplay soon to
be added to HumanCafe. It is a film about the end
of our world's Quarantine, in a contact, as seen
from their point of view. Please click below to
access.
http://members.aol.com/humancafe/index.html/Frame1
3.html#Dream%20of%20the%20Worlds

Enjoy!

24 Jul 1999

piu` valori+ dignita e lavoro + piu` senso comune
per la donna e =doveri per la famiglia +++amore
per il prossimo - consumismo

05 Aug 1999

ALBERT EINSTEIN: "A human being is part of a whole
called by us the 'Universe', a part limited in
time and space. He (sic) experiences himself, his
thoughts and feelings, as something separate from
the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his
consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison
for us, restricting us to our personal desires and
to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our
task must be to free ourselves from this prison by
widening our circle of compassion to embrace all
living creatures and the whole of nature in its
beauty." (AE's quote found in: "Forgiveness and
Other Acts of Love" by Stephanie Dowrick, chapter
on Tolerance)


03 Sep 1999

~~Sometimes in everyday life I can see art__++'''*


05 Sep 1999

CALIFORNIA SUN, June 1997 issue: "Hydrogenated
Oils: Dropping the Hydrogen Bomb on our Food
Supply" by Janet Lynn Allen.
"...In his book 'Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill'
(1993, Alive Books) renowed nutritional expert Udo
Erasmus remembers overhearing a conversation as a
teenager whereby it was proclaimed that cancer was
incurable. Outraged at the idea, he protested...
"Self healing is not a difficult concept! Our body
heals bruises, scratches, cuts, wounds, burns, and
broken bones quite masterfully." So why not
cancer? ... Whatever definitions and philosophies
we may bat around, there's no question anymore
that a strong, resilient immune system is
bolstered and maintained by a well-balanced,
nutritionally superior diet."
Related Links, Cancer Research & Prevention:
http://www.cancerresearchfdn.org/crf/ http://
www.neorx.com http://www.ca.aecom.yu.edu/
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/prevention/index.
html http:// www.cancer-fund.com.cn/e-index.htm
http://www.cancerprev.org/
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/sister/SelfExams.html
http://www.uicc.ch/ http://home.onestop.net/ervin/
http://www.5aday.com/

06 Sep 1999

HUMANISM:
"Humanism is a rational philosophy informed by
science, inspired by art, and motivated by
compassion. Affirming the dignity of each human
being, it supports the maximization of individual
liberty and opportunity consonant with social and
planetary responsibility. It advocates the
extension of participatory democracy and the
expansion of the open society, standing for human
rights and social justice. Free of
supernaturalism, it recognizes human beings as a
part of nature and holds that values--be they
religious, ethical, social, or political--have
their source in human experience and culture.
Humanism thus derives the goals of life from human
need and interest rather than from theological or
ideological abstractions, and asserts that
humanity must take responsibility for its own
destiny."
http://www.humanist.net/ The American Humanist
Association
-----------------------------------------------
--
"I am a Humanist." --Bob Seeley, USA

22 Sep 1999

i keep dreaming of electricity under the sand in
mira mesa...there are these sewer bunkers we used
to go to when we were younger...i wandered around
the streets all night, because i had nowhere to
live...something feeding off of the electricity,
maybe? patterns are impinging, it would be easy to
call it a government thing, but it is older, i
suspect...there were voices in the sewer, i
swear...something happened to me when i was
younger, something about burning sand and roads
that lead to nowhere and things buried and the
static before a storm...i can feel all of it
coming back, and i am strangely afraid and excited
and i am once again alone, living for the moment
with a friend...but soon, i think, i will be
wandering about again, and this time...soured milk
and a bed in the sewer...jesus christ, it really
was there...i can feel static in my veins, my
brain is a greasy stew of self-negation, yet
somehow i am freer...i cannot sleep when it is
raining, and it is always raining somewhere...i am
drowning in a hissing sibilance of lightning...

25 Sep 1999

ADVANCED PEOPLE: Do they Marry?
George Bernard Shaw was to have said that
"advanced people have interesting and intense
friendships and relationships; but ordinary people
marry". Maybe this is so, especially for the
"artiste-fatal" who lives only for the moment. But
for most people there is a special part of
themselves, an inner part, that is nearly sacred
and secret, representing the deepest part of
themselves, the "who we are". So when we get close
to another person, in friendship or in love, we
allow that other person into that special part of
our personal being who is sacred for us, to share
in our joint intimacy. This special sharing is
then the bond that forms between us in our
friendship or intense relationship. Shaw may have
thought of all the same things when he made his
proclamation about "marriage", but did he consider
that this intimacy is more than simply an
agreement of intense feelings, but rather a
bonding and sharing of feelings that reaches into
our most private selves? If this bond is somehow
violated, it causes pain and loss and unhappiness,
such as results from infidelity. Could it be,
then, that to share in this bond is an expression
of our emotional intimacy, our love for one
another, which is further expressed in our love
making, the sharing of intimacy in our physical
bodies? If so, then when this bond of intimacy is
violated by lies, or emotional withdrawal or
infidelity, then a real event is taking place to
cause us our pain. Same as we do not give up our
most interior and intimate self casually, neither
can we separate from our most intimate bond
without feeling some form of violation. It is for
this reason that people, ordinary or not, get
married. When they marry, they pledge to each
other their most intimate selves in a bond of
love, one that is not shared with anyone else. The
bond of love may be ordinary, but the bond of
marriage may very well be the most advanced pledge
of fidelity possible to another human being.
--Bruno

25 Sep 1999

THANK YOU
Sometimes I just want to thank everyone who has
come into our lives, Cinzia and mine, from our
heart, for having touched us in some very special
way, or for just being you. We wish to say "thank
you!" to: Bennie & Elizabeth, Dennis, Rosalie &
Ernie, Ted & Doris, Alex, Wayne & Cindy, Arin,
Natalie & all her loving animals, Al King &
Ernest, Violet & Barbara, Jim, Mark, Massoud &
Fariba, Leon, Howard & Betty, Jose & Maria, Josie,
Adam & Krissy, Eddie & Ann, Alex & Todd, Monique,
Josepina & Salvatore, Giorgio & Rosalba, Barbara &
Yayo, Toby, Salvatore & Rosa, Matteo, Vanda,
Enrico, Roberta & Neno, Enrico & Barbara, Claudia,
Hildy, Tom, Brett & Hillary & Greg & Joe & Lordes
& ... To all of you who have brought your essence
into a magical web of our being.
Thank you! Ivan & Cinzia.
02 Oct 1999

LIVING LIFE

Living Life
I'm reading more and dusting less.
I'm sitting in the yard and admiring the view
without fussing
about the weeds in the garden.
I'm spending more time with my family and friends
and less
time at work.
Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of
experiences
to savor, not to endure.
I'm trying to recognize these moments now and
cherish them.
I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china
and crystal for every special event such as losing
a pound,
getting the sink unstopped, or the first Amaryllis
blossom.
I wear my good blazer to the market. My theory is
if I look
prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small
bag of
groceries.
I'm not saving my good perfume for special
parties,
but wearing it for clerks in the hardware store
and tellers at
the bank.
"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their
grip on
my vocabulary.
If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want
to see and
hear and do it now.
I'm not sure what my cousins would've done had
they known that they wouldn't be here for the
tomorrow
that we all take for granted.
I think they would have called family members and
a few
close friends.
They might have called a few former friends to
apologize
and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to
think they
would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, or for
whatever
their favorite food was.
I'm guessing; I'll never know.
It's those little things left undone that would
make me angry if
I knew my hours were limited.
Angry because I hadn't written certain letters
that I intended to
write one of these days.
Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and
parents often
enough how much I truly love them.
I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or
save anything
that would add laughter and luster to our lives.
Every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself
that it is special.
Every day, every minute, every breath, life, truly
is a gift from God.
If you received this, it is because someone cares
for you. If you're too
busy to take the few minutes that it takes right
now to forward this,
would it be the first time you didn't do the
little thing that would make
a difference in your relationships? I can tell you
it certainly won't be the
last. Take a few minutes to send this to a few
people you care about, just to let
them know that you're thinking of them.
"People say true friends must always hold hands,
but true friends
don't need to hold hands because they know the
other hand will always
be there."
-----Original Message-----
From: Betty Daws [
mailto:msbetty@brazosn
et.com ]
Sent: Saturday, September 11, 1999 6:43 PM
To: G. David Atkins I

--------------------------------------------
04 Oct 1999

NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTE MUSIC: This is a really
lovely home page.
"Come to a happy place... a healing place... a
simple place."
http://www.littleleaf.com/ Littleleaf, Whispers
of Earth Medicine.

---------------------------------------------

08 Oct 1999

WHO/&/
From Great Consciousness/ª/ vision Harlem 1948
buildings standing in Eternity/?/ I/¡/ realize
entire Universe/º/ was manifestation of One
Mind/!=/--My teacher was William Blake--my life
work of Poesy/¶/, transmitting that spontaneous
awareness to Mankind/ª/.
February 3, 1973, Allen Ginsberg/&/

12 Oct 1999

TEMPLE TO THE UNIVERSE

If I were to build a temple, it would be of
gigantic steel and concrete ribs open to the sky,
like a giant upturned rib cage, so that the wind
through it would make it sing like an aeolian harp
with the sweet melody of the heavens. And at its
center would be a shrine of text and images, and
the sweet smell of incense, dedicated to love and
goodness, health and peace...
...I once had a dream, long ago... ida


15 Nov 1999

Comments
Si cada ser humano realiza un acto de amor y paz,
todos seríamos felices.

17 Nov 1999


Comments

EGYPT
By Ivan on Wednesday, November 17, 1999 - 03:34
am: Cinzia and I just got back from a trip to
Egypt, though she's still in Rome, where we
traveled down/up the Nile to visit various temples
and tombs, pyramids, etc. mostly to do with the
18th dynasty, about which I am planning to write a
novel set in that time period of ancient Egypt.
Quite a fabulous journey, but I sense that
religious tolerance and the values of human
freedom and compassion are being lost in today's
Moslem fundamentalist revival taking place there.
A pity, since at the same time the Egyptians are
very eager to join in the information age and
progressive developments of the West . We found a
very heavy military presence there, which makes
the streets safe to walk, even at night, but is a
bit oppressive to be around soldiers with loaded
sub-machine guns, even if they are very friendly.
We'll post pictures on the web at HumanCafe
/Author's gallery, when they are ready. Generally,
the people of Egypt are very friendly and
hospitable, especially the Nubians further south.
We had a wonderful time visiting with them, and
Cinzia even became pretty good at riding a camel
around the pyramids. We stopped at a couple of
internet cafes to check our mail, but the
computers were down. Progress comes slowly, I
guess. We did help out a very lovely young village
women near the Valley of the Kings who was very
pregnant and had fallen, losing a great deal of
blood. She was going into shock and was in danger
of losing her baby. The villagers were all in
alarm, since there was no transportation available
other than donkeys. Our taxi was the only other
transport for miles, so we commissioned our taxi
to take her to the local clinic, about three miles
away. The villagers got her into the car, with
much blood, and we all drove away to see a
doctor.
By then she was listless and faint. Her husband
held her hand all the way. Cinzia and I sat in the
rear, while the whole village, it seemed, was in
the front with our driver, Sahid. The doctor felt
he was not up to the situation and referred her to
the general hospital in Luxor, so we all packed
back into the bloody car and took off for the
bridge across the Nile and back to Luxor, about 20
miles away. We got her to the hospital and she was
still alive, where they gave her a massive
transfusion of blood. We found out the next day
that she was fine and her baby was saved, so we
were much relieved. God works in mysterious ways,
and we were sure that if we had not been there at
that time in that village visiting a lovely rural
family, this young woman would have died, with her
baby. Funny, but we never knew her name.

--------------------------------------------

Comments
19 November 1999

Why not replace the multitude of quotations and
observations about life with our daily experiences
working towards being compassionate, conscientious
people? Learning from one another (even if
anonymously) is a way for each one of us to grow
and have a deeper connection. Talk about how you
deal with anger, grief, disappointment, love and
other daily emotions or frustrations. When we look
at our lives more closely and evaluate our
assumptions we begin to grow and develop the
quaities we aspire to have. OAL, New Yor

02 Dec 1999 (work in progress)

AEGYPTUS, Chief Architect of Pharaoh, the Living
God, and Builder of the Last Great Pyramid.

(As translated from the original hieratic
manuscripts by Dr. Edouard Bialek, Egyptologist.)
Author's Note: The story of "Aegyptus" is based on
hieratic manuscripts from the 18th Dynasty found
in the archives of the British Museum, London, by
Dr. Edouard Bialek, Czech Egyptologist. Based on
Dr. Bialek's translations, the story unfolds for
us with good continuity, though two of the papyrus
scrolls are missing. The author endeavored to
remain true to these translations. Nevertheless,
he took the liberty to add life to them with his
own dialogue. Therefore, these scrolls should be
treated entirely as works of fiction. (signed)
Ivan Alexander
* * * * * *
PAPYRUS 1, PHARAOH

I am Aegyptus. My rank is that of Chief Architect
for the living God, may He live forever, Pharaoh,
Son of the Sun Aton, King of the upper and lower
Nile, the great Prophet King Amen'Hoetep (IV,
AkhÕaanÕAten)*, son of Amen'Hoetep the elder (III,
also Amenhopis, or commonly Amen'het), most
beloved of Amen, whom we reverently adore and
honor in his eternal rest. He builder of great
temples, and of the Greatest of the Pyramids, King
of all Egypt and the lands of Byblos and CanÕaan,
and beyond the last cataracts, Kush and Nubia,
great grandson of Thut'moses (III) and his chief
wife, the powerful Hats'hepsut. Oh Great King,
Pharaoh Amen'Hoetep, devoted husband to your
beautiful queen Tiye, great King and Queen, may
you live forever. To you I, Aegyptus, your humble
servant, dedicate these scrolls.
May Maat and Ptah, gods of truth and scripture,
make me say only what is just as I dictate these
scrolls to my faithful young scribe, Mayat, for my
eyes are now dim, and I can see this script only
in the bright light of day. The tale I am about to
tell is of the unspeakable sacrilege and
destruction by the most High Priest, our Father
Aiye,(Ay), a great man fallen from grace, may the
tomb robbers and desert jackal scatter his
remains....

PAPYRUS 5, WAR

There are things, Mayat, that are difficult for us
mortals to bear. But they must be told. Please
write as I speak.
War drums were still be heard in the distance,
along with clarion calls to regroup formations.
Already the jackals had descended on the killing
fields to inspect the dead and dying. Faint calls
for help were heard from wounded men lying in the
distance where earlier had been a terrible battle.
We had won back Nubia, but at what a price, we
still did not know. I had watched the battle from
our positions in the rear, from far away, the
noise of battle easily reached our ears. The plain
of engagement stretched dry and desolate in a
great bowl below us. The keep of Amada was on the
river's edge beyond the valley. Smoke poured out
of the buildings still standing inside the
fortress. News reached us that our men who had
been captured were left by the retreating army,
impaled on long poles, some with their heads cut
off. This spurred our troops to fight even more
valiantly, knowing that this was their fate
awaiting if they failed. At the sound of horns
calling for formation, phalanx after phalanx of
soldiers advanced on the enemy, who formed a long
line of battle between our troops and the city
they had taken. The drums stopped. The Kushite
called their taunts in the distance, brandishing
their weapons and banners. Our troops now advanced
on them only to the sound of their marching
leather shod feet and their signal clarions with
shields raise, spears pointed ahead of them. Then,
as waves of arrows whistled through the air, they
split into formations that spread before the
gathered host, and advanced on them in groups of
thirty six men. When they reached a designated
point, the signal was heard to stop. Now, only the
cries from the enemy were heard, followed by a
long silence. Our men stood still. And then, as if
by an invisible signal, the two adversary armies
charged at each other. The cavalry held in reserve
now wheeled their chariots from around both flanks
of our advancing columns. A broad hoarse roar rose
from the valley as the men and weapons met,
followed by the clash of bronze against bronze.
Horses neighed, men shouted, and then screamed as
they fell. My rear guard watched as each phalanx
of men engaged the enemy, first by approaching
them, and then as they had trained, by retreating
at the center and letting them into the midst of
each formation. Thus they surrounded them. The
Kushite fought like wild beasts, with fierceness
and skill, whereas our soldiers fought with
stratagem. When each enemy party was isolated from
the rest and surrounded in the fighting, the men
closed in on them and finished them off. There
would be no prisoners. When done, by the signal of
their lieutenants, they regrouped and repeated the
formation again. This took place for more than two
hours, before the roar from the valley died down
to only the plaintive sounds of the wounded. The
signal was given for my men to go down and inspect
the damage, and bring back both the living and the
dead. I gave the orders. "Bring forth the Kushite
slaves and march them first down to retrieve the
dead." They were walked down in gangs of four
chained to each other, urged on by their whip
wielding overseers. "Men! Bring up the rear with
the litters. Priests, prepare more hospital
tents. It looks like we will need many of them." I
looked after my men descending from the slopes
where we were garrisoned. The light breeze from
below smelled of burning wood and roasted flesh,
and already the smell of death was in the air.
When our parties had all been dispatched, I
followed them down. When we got to the
battlefield, it was red with blood. In the
distance clarions called up the men who were still
standing and ordered them into formation to
advance on the city keep. Horses and chariots were
rounded up and collected in a single file. This
was already in progress when we arrived. All
around us were the bodies of what had once been
men, some missing arms or heads, some with long
spikes pierced through them, others lying dead
from fatal wounds to the soft parts of their
bodies. We saw men lying in a pool of their own
blood with their guts spread out before them. It
was a revolting sight, and the stench made us want
to retch. Men, weapons, and shields from both
sides lay scattered as if cast about by a violent
malevolent storm. But there were still living men,
badly damaged but alive. These are the ones we
tended to first, those who were ours. The others
were left to their own fate. We bandaged the
wounded with linens if we could, and gently placed
them on the litters, and then carried them back to
the hospital tents up on the bluffs behind us. The
Kushites, for whom this war was fought, looked
about the battlefield in silence, broken only by
the sound of their dragging chains. After we
inspected which of the men lying were dead, we
ordered them to carry the bodies, one to a man,
back up to the bluff. Priests were given the
solemn task of wrapping the bodies to prepare them
for transport back to our land, where they would
be buried. There is nothing more odious to our
people than to be left dead in a foreign land. We
progressed slowly, but finally made our way past
the dead or wounded horses to where the cavalry
fought. Oh, by Amen, what a terrible sight. Our
finest men, the sons of our best families, lay
about like dead wood on the desert sand. In
hindsight, we should have come to them first, but
they had already been tended to by the survivors
of their own squads. Those who could walk did so
of their own strength, and those who could not
were carried away. Only the dead lay still, and we
began the grim task of inspecting who they were. I
knew some of them by name. "Aguilla, son of Habu.
Senejem, son of Neben. Kha'bek, son of Khe'ruef.
You have all crossed on the ferry to the gods." I
wandered through the broken chariots and fallen
banners to see how many of these young men who
were not so different from me. There were many I
recognized and felt grief for their families who
were known to me. I would deliver them the tragic
news when the time came. One was still alive and
he could talk. "Father," he spoke to one of our
priests. "Tell my family that if I die, that I
love my father and mother more than my life. I
fought bravely, but the gods saw fit to have me
wounded. I am faint, and may not live through the
day." "Silence, my son," the priest responded.
"You will survive, by the will of Amen. We will
tend to you." "Oh, thank you Father." The young
died shortly after, and I ordered a slave to take
his body back along with the other three slaves
chained to him, whose arms were already full. As I
looked about, it was already late in the day, I
saw a tall warrior slumped over a rock. His helmet
was engulfed in a mass of red encrusted blood. I
came over to where he lay and gently moved back
the helmet from his head. My heart sank.

"Oh, Mosu. Why you?" I whispered, and then sat
down next to my fallen comrade, holding his blood
stained golden head in my hand. "Oh, my dear
friend. Why did Isis take you from me?" I sat a
long time holding him, weeping softly to myself,
rocking his crushed body, when I heard dragging
chains behind me. I looked up with tear stained
eyes only to see the gang that held Tahar standing
over me. "Why did you have to kill him?" I asked
to no one. "I am very sorry, my Lord," was all
Tahar said. He then began to bend down to take up
the body, when I stopped him. "No. I want this
different." I turned to the overseer and barked an
order at him. "Take off his chains! Now, I command
you!" The overseer looked shocked at my request,
but he reached into this blouse and pulled out the
key, with which he undid the neck ring around
Tahar's neck. Tahar stood straight and felt the
raw flesh on his neck. He then looked south
towards the horizon where his kingdom lay. He
moved his head as if he were smelling the wind
that came from there. Then he turned to me. "I can
run faster than the wind and gain my freedom," he
said calmly. "I know these hills, and the water in
them, and can hide for a long time." "I know," I
said. "But I can hunt you down like an animal, or
I can set your free." Tahar did not speak for a
moment, as the others watched him. I could see on
their faces they wished I would hunt him down.
Then he spoke. "I will do as you command, my
Lord." I breathed in my grief and gave him my
order. "Take up the body of my friend and carry
him gently." As Tahar reached down to Mosu, I
could see the scars on his back. He lifted him
gently as if he were his child, and carried his
lifeless body without pause all the way back to
the tents where the priests awaited us. As he did
so, and the sun sank into the west, Tahar sang a
slow and melancholy chant in his language to which
I did not know the words. But in my heart, I knew
what they meant.

(...to be continued, work in progress

Tiye's Letter to Aegyptus

My beloved, how I yearn to be in your arms again,
like we were on so many stolen nights, holding
each other tight in the glow of our love. I
remember the words of the poem we read to each
other.
"When I kiss your parted lips, I am happy, even
without drink,
For you are the water of my life...
How sweet to bathe in your presence.
In the water my dress of royal linen clings
wet to my skin,
So you may see my beauty, and I yours,
Rising like the moon on the swollen Nile..."
Do you remember our times together? When I would
sleep curled in your arms, your beautiful warmth
behind me? I was warmed then in my heart like
never before, or since. I miss you, my beautiful
Aggy. I miss you more than my words can say. But
the gods decreed that our love be apart. And now
that you are farther from me than ever before, I
feel my love for you has reached it greatest
heights. There is no fairer soul in all the land
of Egypt to take away my loneliness for you. For
that, I would have to venture far, to the far ends
of the four corners of the Earth, and even then I
am sure I would not find it. I thirst in the
desert of my soul, for I may never drink your love
again. In this, I make my solemn promise, that
should my eyes again be blessed with your
beautiful presence, I will come to you. No matter
how, no matter how difficult, I will find you. I
would endure all evils, walk through fire, endure
all pain, just to be with you for a moment. I
truly believe in my heart that your wife, being a
woman, would understand. By Amen, the lot of
women is hard in this life. But I know she would
understand. It grieves me so to see how you
suffered. In the same gravity, I ask that you
help me with your understanding of what I am about
to say. The one man who most stood between us,
who made our lives so difficult, has asked for my
hand in marriage. I am torn, Aggy, and do not
know how to reply. Should I accept Him? Should I
place conditions on our betrothal? It is a matter
of state, and by law, as Queen, I am obliged to
marry the High Priest, if it is asked of me. Oh,
help me my beautiful Man. There is none like you
under the Sun in the Universe. I know not what to
do and pray for God to deliver us.

I am always yours in my heart, for none can ever
come between us, as our Son is our witness. My
beloved, you are the love of my life. Amen.
(signed with Her Royal Cartouche) Tiye.

* * * * * * *

Authors note: This above letter was found with
the papyrus scrolls and is thus included as a
postscript to Aegyptus's tale. It had been
damaged, but readable. A corner of the letter had
been burned.

(18th Dynasty, Egypt, c. 1500 BC)

God is Love. We are God. We are Love.

Lao Tzu related that the killer cannot fulfill himself (read he cannot be his Self, aka Spiritual Consciousness, Reason of Being, Atman (individual facet of God).

The killer cannot be godlike until he stops killing. And he must be forgiven, for the sake of God in his fellow men.

To live for a thing is to die for it. I live to love and to speak of love, but should not be crucified for it as long as I "Live unknown".

It is not God's plan that any of us be known to anyone but those in our family and community; even then we can remain unknown. The known are slaves of their fellow men, and frequently killed for being known.

luxin
luxin729y@yahoo.ca
"Live unknown"