Gaia Community: Atalanta's Blog

Affirmation of the Disciple

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 02:52:42 -0000

I am a point of light within a greater Light.
I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine.
I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focussed within the fiery Will of God.

And thus I stand

I am a way by which men may achieve.
I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand.
I am a beam of light, shining upon their way.

And thus I stand.

And standing thus, revolve
And tread this way the ways of men,
And know the ways of God.

And thus I stand.

This affirmation "and thus I stand" is a declaration of a goal. Few there be who now stand as here stated. The Masters in the Hierarchy so stand and we all, if we so choose, can some day thus stand. Meanwhile, we can all legitimately use it as the affirmation of our goal. Its right use opens the door through which we can pass, surprisingly soon, to partial achievement. Its right use requires due humility. Its inspiring call gives wings to our feet and brings in the magic of Mercury. Holding it in our consciousness brings joy in our goal of world discipleship and speeds us on our way.

The first part is the declaration of our soul. The second part is a statement of the program of every world server. The third part is eloquent of being in this world but not of it, evidencing the combined knowledge of the soul and the personality. It reminds us that the personality is not to be crushed but to be used. At the fourth initiation the personality completely surrenders to the soul with no reservations whatsoever.

Those who dare to face the consequences can rightly use this first ray mantram. And thus I stand.

The Great Invocation

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 02:50:59 -0000

This is a slightly adapted wording of the great invocation. Men and women of goodwill throughout the world are using this invocation in their own language. Will you join them in using the invocation every day - with thought and dedication?

From the point of Light within the mind of God
Let light stream forth into human minds
Let Light descend on Earth.

From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into human hearts
May the Coming One return to Earth.

From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide all little human wills
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.

From the centre which we call the human race
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.

Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.

A PRAYER FOR POWER AND LIGHT

The Great Invocation is a prayer of ancient origin--it is a mantric formula of tremendous potency that is helping to bring about changes and readjustments within all aspects of our planetary life. It is a world prayer, used by people of all faiths and spiritual inclinations, to aid our planet during this difficult transition period.

On the surface, the beauty and strength of this Invocation lies in its simplicity, and in its expression of certain central truths that most people, innately and normally, accept -- the truth of the existence of a basic Intelligence to Whom we vaguely give the name of God; the truth that, behind all outer seeming, the motivating power of the universe is Love; the truth that great Individuals have cyclically come to Earth and embodied that love so that we could understand; the truth that both love and intelligence are effects of what is called the Will of God, and finally the self-evident truth that only through Humanity itself can the divine Plan work out.

It is natural, at times, to feel powerless when faced with the enormity of the pain and suffering upon our planet; we sense the need yet often feel our attempts to contribute in any truly constructive manner are futile. In the past, individuals generally turned to prayer for protection and for the alleviation of suffering in their personal lives. Today, as we enter into a new age, humanity is collectively demonstrating a deepened understanding of the power of group prayer and invocation for the benefit of humanity and the planet as a whole. The focused and dynamic use of the Great Invocation gives all people everywhere a potent means of contacting and distributing powerful spiritual energies, thereby contributing to the upliftment and transformation of planet Earth. Through its collective use we bring light and love and power to bear upon all aspects of our planetary life, irradiating and uplifting human consciousness -- contributing towards the transformation of the largely material focus of our world into one that is more truly spiritual.

The focused use of the Great Invocation causes powerful changes in one's life -- one's attitudes, intentions, character and goals will be changed and made spiritually useful. "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he" is a basic law in nature; the constant turning of the mind to the need for light and the prospect of illumination cannot and will not be ineffectual.

The Invocation is now translated into over 70 languages and is used by countless individuals. Will you join them in using it every day-with thought and dedication? By using the Invocation and encouraging others to use it, no particular group or organisation is sponsored. It belongs to all humanity.

Creation Song

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 05:01:20 -0000

Behold behold behold the beauty of Creation
Listen listen listen to Creation's Song
Speak speak speak the Truth of God
Feel feel feel the Love of God
Be be be the Peace of God
Walk walk walk in the LIght of God
Live live live in the Heart of God
Be Free
Be a Blessing
Be Blessed
Forgive
Be forgiven
Be Free be free be free in the Way

Blessings for the season you find yourself in

Wool needed for Afghani Knitters in Brisbane

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 22:33:22 -0000

This was sent to me - little acts of kindness change the world.

Blessings

Atalanta

Dear Friends,

Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries on earth with the highest proportion of orphans and widows in the world!

Mahboba's Promise is an Australian non-profit organistion dedicated to helping the women and children of Afghanistan.

After decades of turmoil and conflict, the challenges remain formidable. Health statistics are harrowing, poverty and insecurity are deeply entrenched.   Half the children in Afghanistan still do not go to school and the literacy rate today is one of the lowest among developing countries.

There are 24 Afgan women in Brisbane who are a knitting group, knitting all kinds of things for the children but they have run out of wool. Believe it or not, it does get freezing in Afghanistan and it is getting that way. If you know of anyone who might be able to supply wool could you please contact Carole Ann King who can get them to the knitters and have finished product sent to Hope House. I have known Carole Ann for at least 15 years. She is the President and founder of the Luncheon Club AIDS Support Group and winner of many community awares. If you can help please contact Carole Ann at lunch1@bigpond.net.au.   There is some information below on Hope House if you are interest.

Many thanks

Claude Mostowik msc

Carole Ann King

ISSUE 2 SEPTEMBER 2007 | Visit our website | How you can help

	CONTENTS: Hope House and Peace House Community Centre Taekwondo champions – Sport takes hold at Hope House! Education, the key to a better life. Helping Schools Star Pupil - Future President? Panjshir Valley Girls’ shine News of the Orphans Sabit School The Sydney Office	ISSUES: Issue 1 - Feb 07 Issue 2 - Sept 07

	Hope House and Peace House Community Centre After many months of hard work, fundraising and organisation by Mahboba and her widespread team, we are delighted to announce that Hope House – our new training & community centre in Kabul – is fully operational! Designed by Michal Tomaszewski of ‘Architects without Frontiers’, Hope House was officially opened in April this year. Celebrating this milestone, Hope House is featured in an exhibition being held by Architects without Frontiers – at Customs House Library in Sydney during the month of September. Make sure you get there to see it. In addition to the main building, we have added an extension known as Peace House. This has been made possible through a generous donation and a commitment of ongoing support by Tents4Peace. The priority for Peace House is to offer support to refugees returning from Peshawar following the 2005 earthquake. Established within Peace House is a vocational training centre containing two rooms designed for specialized training. One – lined with mirrors, cabinets and revolving chairs – looks very elegant and is for our beautician course. Beauticians are in great demand in Afghanistan for weddings and engagement parties. So far, the widows that have taken up this option are thoroughly enjoying their training, and once they have their certificates, will be helped to set up to work from home, or to find jobs. The other training room has been set up for sewing and tailoring with a small grant made directly in Kabul through the Australian Government’s Direct Aid Program. This grant will enable us to purchase new machines, including an overlocker - allowing us to update the very old machines we have now! The older girls and widows will learn to sew and there are some interesting opportunities already presenting themselves for sewing commissions. Older orphan boys without extended family support have a very difficult time getting accommodation in Kabul. Part of Peace House has been set aside to offer just that. Most of the boys here are starting to work, and do apprenticeships and training. This is similar to a half-way house where they can find their feet – still able to get some emotional support – but able to contribute to their accommodation once they start to earn money. The garden and recreational areas around Hope House and Peace House have now been well established. A small grant from the IMF through Permaculture Across Borders was given to celebrate Global Youth Service Day 2007 and the older boys used the money to build compost bins for the community. The gardens are being used to teach vegetable gardening – simple skills that are easily lost when children are uprooted from their traditional homes and culture. Already the garden is very productive. When Mahboba was there on her recent trip, the older boys came in with baskets of fresh tomatoes, eggplants, chilis and corn on the cob. A boost to the furnishing of Hope House and Peace House came when S3 AG, a member of the Sefinor Group, which has been clearing Afghanistan of land mines, donated goods in kind. William Sudell, the Manager for Afghanistan said “We had surplus equipment which we thought might be useful to Mahboba’s Promise and were delighted that they could use the furniture in Hope House.”

	Taekwondo champions – Sport takes hold at Hope House! Encouraging our orphans to participate in individual and team sports is a priority for Mahboba’s Promise. “Most of the children have never participated in organised sport & recreation before, but they love it once given the chance, it’s incredible to watch their enthusiasm”, says Mahboba. The soccer team has been together now for three years. We have recently started Taekwondo classes at Hope House Community Centre. Sidiq, our Executive Director in Afghanistan, is also introducing netball for the girls now that there is a wall around the area for them to play in privacy. In the recent Taekwondo Competitions held at Ghazi stadium in Kabul, 25 teams competed, including a team of orphans sponsored by Mahboba’s Promise who won 3rd prize overall and brought home three trophies. Two girls who have only been attending classes for a few weeks came second in their competition and another 8 children received certificates. This was a tremendous achievement. Participation in sport and competition has been a tremendous boost to the confidence of the children. Sidiq says “All the orphans were so excited by the competition. Not only did our team win prizes, but they were the best behaved team in the completion and the judges commented on their good attitude and behaviour.”	*" Most of the children have never participated in organised sport & recreation before, but they love it once given the chance, it’s incredible to watch their enthusiasm."*

	Education, the key to a better life. Mahboba’s Promise is working to assist extended families send orphans to school. Access to education can often be lost due to the cost. Fees, school uniforms and transport are all expenses that many families simply cannot afford – especially when the child could be working and contributing to the family by earning money. Mahboba’s Promise tries to address all the hurdles that prevent the orphans from not only attending but excelling at school. As well as ensuring that all the economic costs are covered, another factor is catching up years of lost schooling. Supplementary teachers teach the school curriculum every day at Hope House and at Hazrat Ail Orphanage, helping the children catch up and understand their lessons. A recent report from a major charity highlighted hunger as one of the biggest obstacles to education. Often children do not eat all day and are too hungry to absorb their lessons. We encourage schools to provide school lunches and where possible, we ensure the children have breakfast. We also recognize that sport and recreation are an important element in improving grades at school, as children are more relaxed, learn through sport and develop a positive outlook.

	Helping Schools Schools are key to the success of education. While we focus on the children and encourage their attendance at school, we also try to assist various schools throughout Afghanistan to ensure they can give the students what they need to get a good education. With the help of Australian schools, donations and sponsorship programs, Mahboba’s Promise continues to improve the facilities at the schools we support. Blackboards and stationery are highly sought after, but we also help to improve infrastructure. We recently repaired the pumps and tanks at the water well of a large school in Kabul and installed piping and taps so the children now have easy access to something as simple as drinking water. Panjshir Valley school was recently delighted with finger puppets received in April from Asquith Girls High School in Sydney and have also received funds to go towards a Library. New steps have been built up to the school and the surrounding wall has been completed at the Abdara Girls’ School in the Panjshir Valley.

	Star Pupil – Future President? One of the orphans at the Hazrat Ali Home which is run by Mahboba’s Uncle, Haji Fazal Ahmad Sabit, was recently nominated as a Future President of Afghanistan after he won a competition run by the Ministry of Cultural and Youth Affairs of Afghanistan. The competition was open to orphans and asked them to choose from five categories what they would like to be in the future. Mohammad Khalid chose to become President. After many rounds of the competition, he was voted the winner. He was given a coat and a hat like those worn by President Karzai. The children and helpers at the Hazrat Ali Home were delighted! Khalid is the youngest of seven children. His father died in an accident. His older brother works in the fields as he never had the opportunity to go to school. Khalid says “Here they encourage us to study and everybody here wants to study. I thank God that He has given us this opportunity and I feel very happy and want to thank all those people who are helping with this great project.” Khalid is also very well mannered and polite.	" Here they encourage us to study and everybody here wants to study. I thank God that He has given us this opportunity and I feel very happy and want to thank all those people who are helping with this great project."

	Panjshir Valley Girls’ Shine The girls at the Abdara School in Panshir Valley were in the headlines too when their work was featured in an exhibition run in the NSW Parliament called ‘Big Ones Little Ones – Together’. The exhibition was presented by Gallery Amichi & St Lucy’s School and was officially opened by NSW Governor Professor Marie Bashir. This is an annual exhibition giving young indigenous artists from Australia and overseas a chance to shine. The girls in Abdara have no access to art teaching, but with donated coloured pencils they have produced some simple drawings which reach out with a spontaneity that touched us all.

	News of the orphans For all the wonderful achievements that Mahboba’s Promise can be proud of, life continues to be very difficult for some of those we assist. One of our widows recently lost her only daughter in a flood, while working in the fields. Her grief is compounded by the fact that her daughter was her main source of income. We are helping her through this difficult period, Sadly, one of our orphans died from a brain tumor. She has two surviving sisters and we are now organizing medical examinations for both of them, as they too are complaining of headaches. In the last few months we have started to assist orphans who have had life threatening conditions. Some overseas medical teams are visiting Kabul regularly to operate on difficult cases. Although they operate for free, there are incidental costs and the chances of making a good recovery are often lost in the after care. We step in to make sure that the patients have good food and rest after the operation in the hope that their chance of recovery is much improved. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission has recently been directing orphans to Mahboba’s Promise. Sidiq says “There are now many agencies that want us to take the orphans as the opportunities for them in our community are truly unique in Kabul. I have to look at each case. First I take those with no mother or father.”

	Sabit School Sabit School in Peshawar was closed in July after the Pakistan Government announced the closing of the Jalozai Refugee Camp in August 2007. This school was built by Mahboba’s Promise in 2001 and has educated hundreds of Afghani children. Uncle went from Kabul for the final graduation ceremony.

	The Sydney Office Zuli has been working in our Sydney garage office for nearly two years. Soon she will be leaving us to go to Canada to live. We thank Zuli for her continued efforts throughout her time with us and wish her the best for the future.

	Mahboba Rawi Mahboba’s Promise Inc ABN 85 254 682 685; PO Box 6234 North Ryde, NSW 2113 Mahboba’s Promise is a non-profit organisation that brings hope to orphans and widows ravaged by war OUR THANKS TO ALL OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS AND DONORS WHO HELP MAHBOBA'S PROMISE TO CONTINUE ITS RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT WORK	Contact Us Tel: (02) 9887 1665 or Email Us. Mail PO Box 6234 North Ryde NSW 2113

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