Meditation Focus #199

Preparing the Ground for Ascension


Hello!

What follows is the 199th Meditation Focus suggested for the next 4 (FOUR) weeks beginning Sunday, May 17, 2009.

PREPARING THE GROUND FOR ASCENSION

1. Summary
2. Meditation times
3. More information related to this Meditation Focus
4. Humanitarian and Peace Vigil for Sri Lanka and Pakistan

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE IN PASSING THIS ON TO OTHERS

Also recommended to your attention...

The Big Scoop Series #23: Hidden Truths Staring Us All in The Face (April 22, 2009)
http://www.earthrainbownetwork.com/Archives2009/BigScoop23.htm

SPECIAL RED FLAG ALERT (April 25, 2009)
http://www.earthrainbownetwork.com/Archives2009/RedFlagAlert.htm

Eye of The Storm Series #6: Shaking Out Things a Bit (April 28, 2009)
http://www.earthrainbownetwork.com/Archives2009/EyeStorm6.htm

There is ALWAYS Hope Series #5: Time to Bliss! (May 8, 2009)
http://www.earthrainbownetwork.com/Archives2009/AlwaysHope5.htm



1) SUMMARY

The talk of a coming Golden Age on Earth has become quite common in spiritual circles over the past few years and there is a growing interest for the theme of a major global shift of ages around the end of the year 2012, even if this vision is tainted in the mainstream media with the fear of some major catastrophic events. Beyond the hype surrounding this topic, there is an incontrovertible fact: the world as we've known it in the past century is coming to an end as it is highly unsustainable and must inevitably change if there is to be a livable future for the vast majority of life forms on Earth, especially for its dominant species, Homo sapiens sapiens. The thought of such a new era of peace and global harmony is still a bit fuzzy for most people as it is hard to fathom that such a new reality could emerge despite the vast, overwhelming challenges humanity faces right now and the difficulties in agreeing on a proper course correction when political expediency and the detracting influence of powerful lobbies are still so prevalent. What is needed is not only a clear vision of the bright future we would hope to leave to our descendants, but more importantly the ability to wholeheartedly surrender to the guiding influence of Divine Light and Love now pervading our globe as a result both of the request for assistance expressed by so many in their prayers and meditations, and of the concomitant Divine Will expressed through a carefully laid Plan to usher in just such a Golden Age, part of what many sources describe as the Ascension of our planet into a higher dimension of existence.

Now, what could possibly make a crucial difference and tip the balance towards the full manifestation of what is already existent as a pregnant potentiality just ahead of Now in the space-time Continuum? Faith in the power of Light and Love to overcome darkness and heal the divide between our true divine nature and our limited perception of it in the hearts of man is definitely a key factor. The innate ability all souls inherently have to open the floodgates of emotions in their purest form to empower such a faith and trigger the activation process to transform the human caterpillar back into its angelic form is the other key factor. Examples of such quasi miraculous transformations abound around us, especially at this time of the year in the Northern hemisphere where nature, after a long winter in a dormant state, springs back to life in all its glorious splendor. It is entirely possible and perfectly reasonable to believe that after a long winter of spiritual dormancy, life on Earth is on the verge of being transmuted back into its radiant pristine original state of divine grace and perfect harmony. In fact, just such a vision has been seen and felt as imminent by countless souls who respond to the inner call of Life, knowing that the time is now to cocreate in their life and around themselves what they came here to co-manifest. Like a vast invisible army of conspirators, they have been preparing the ground for this emerging Golden Age and the synergistic effect of their seemingly uncoordinated efforts and initiatives has shifted the whole reality that billions of people experience every day.

As any shrewd observer can see, a powerful groundswell of changes has swept the world and made possible things that only a few decades ago seemed like an out-of-reach utopian dream. Although many parts of the world still lag behind in applying the new standards that now make it possibly for ever more people to live a dignified life while ever better preserving the integrity of the balance of Life on Earth, the trend is clearly pointing towards a realistically possible Golden Age in the near future. All that remains to be activated to unleash the great surge forward that will put us all above and beyond that last barrier separating us from this new dimension of existence is the expression in all its magnificence of the single, most potent Force that exists in this universe: Love... a Love so pure, so unconditional and so profound that it will open the doors of heaven in front of our very eyes and enable the realization of the prophetic visions about this blisstic state of being that such a Divine Love can breed. This is what we are invited to co-manifest in the coming weeks during our collective and personal moments of meditation... Surrendering to the Power of Love, preparing the ground for Ascension and sowing the seeds of this nascent Golden Age, for the Highest Good of all, as One.


This whole Meditation Focus has been archived for your convenience at
http://www.EarthRainbowNetwork.com/FocusArchives/MeditationFocus199.htm

"Earth and all life within her Being is a flexible, flowing body of intentions. We are moving through a sea of transformation as she connects to her Soul's deeper conversations of Light. I support this beautiful sphere of life with my love, compassion, and healing energies as she purges all discords from her system. From the strength of her new connection to Source I will be launched into a personal era of love, joy, acceptance and passion. And so it goes - as one benefits, the many gain. What a blessing to share all that I AM in the process of ascension. I live in joyous participation at this present moment. And so it is."

- Taken from Healing Earth


"We see clearly a world of harmony and peace amongst nations, races, genders, ideologies and religions.
We see acceptance by all of the many paths available for the human spirit to realize its highest potential through art, music, culture, education, science, religion, adventure and joyous living. We see all life on Planet Earth living in balance, harmony and respect. We see perfect health, well being, infinite abundance and profound inner peace as the norm amongst our brothers and sisters of Planet Earth. We see science and technology maturing to serve the planet in wholesome, productive and abundant ways that feeds, clothes, houses and nourishes the body and spirit of the world’s populations, while nurturing Planet Earth’s pristine nature. We see sustainable communities linked together by worthy causes bringing intelligence, wisdom, compassion, sustenance, spirit, and a sense of belonging and unity to everyone. We see effective government that abides by the principles of Divine Harmony and that operates from a vision of humanity’s greater purpose. We see the people of Planet Earth acting as a single being with vision, intent and conscious creativity while simultaneously honoring and nurturing the Divine Individuality of each member from birth through wholesome education and a vision-oriented social and economic structure. We see the life on Planet Earth joining in a single song of praise and gratitude and reaching out to the heavens for exploration and adventure."

- Taken from Be it Now! Vision - A vision of our world that we can all believe in!


"The negativity that is the root of fear, greed, dishonor and violence will be gone in the Golden Age, and the vibrations of Earth's entirety will be LOVE. Love, which is the same energy as LIGHT but simply expressed differently, is the pure essence of Creator, the ultimate power in the cosmos. This energy is the composition of souls and the key to opening hearts and illumining minds, and it is flowing more abundantly on Earth than ever before. As the darkness continues to fade, love will replace conflict and tyranny with peace and cooperation; love will eliminate the superficial superiority of one group over another; love will enlighten those who regard others as possessions or dispensable and uplift those who have been subjected to living in those conditions. In short, LOVE is the power that is transforming your world."

- Matthew -- Taken from Essay on 2012 below. NOTE: One of the best ways to facilitate the emergence of a New Reality, the Golden Age for the Earth that already exists in the Continuum as part of God's Plan for all Life on Earth, is to focalize our attention on what this New Life, this new Heaven on Earth reality will be. Matthew provides us with a visionary description of what life on Earth will soon look like as seen from a human perspective and in our everyday life and reality. His description of this coming New Reality is so crisp and so tangible that it is easy to wrap our minds around this vision, hold it firmly in the focus of our attention and thus plant the seed of it in humanity's collective consciousness so as to facilitate its emergence. If we can all focus on a clear vision of our common future, on the ultimate result of all the positive changes now taking place — knowing where we are all going based on the current field of potentials' main trends — this is where our creative energies will be applied. We can have a far more constructive and positive influence through nurturing and empowering such a clear vision rather than through resisting what we don't want in our current world. Of course, this is not about us human beings single-handedly deciding what the future will be, but it is all about aligning our creative juices with God's Will and being Its instruments for accomplishing what already is in the Continuum.


"Where we need to go and what we need to shift? Time to apply all we have been learning for this greatest of great shifts! What one resists, persists. In practical terms, this can be resumed to few words: focus all energy on the solutions, not on the problems. Who we are, our true identity can create anything at all. So let us teach everyone that they too are creators, that this is what is meant by having been created by God in His image. We Are ONE, meaning that no one should ever be allowed to fall into the illusion of separation and exclusion. All people are connected and therefore we are all for each other our brothers' keeper. The solution to all of humanity's problems lies in seeing ourselves and all others as divine beings, deserving all divine gifts. This way no one would ever be left out and there would be no more excuses or fake labels."

- Anonymous



2. MEDITATION TIMES

i) Global Meditation Day: Sunday at 16:00 Universal Time (GMT) or at noon local time. Suggested duration: 30 minutes. Please dedicate the last few minutes of your Sunday meditation to the healing of the Earth as a whole. See the Earth as healthy and vibrant with life, and experience the healing of all relations as we awaken globally to the sacredness of all Life and to our underlying unity with All That Is.

ii) Golden Moment of At-Onement: Daily, at the top of any hour, or whenever it better suits you.

These times below correspond (for most countries) to 16:00 Universal Time/GMT:

Honolulu 6:00 AM -- Anchorage * 8:00 AM -- Los Angeles * 9:00 AM -- Mexico City, San Salvador & Denver * 10:00 AM -- Houston * & Chicago * 11:00 AM -- Santo Domingo, La Paz, Caracas, New York *, Toronto *. Montreal *, Asuncion & Santiago 12:00 PM -- Halifax *, Rio de Janeiro & Montevideo 1:00 PM -- Reykjavik & Casablanca 4 PM -- Lagos, Algiers, London *, Dublin * & Lisbon * 4:00 PM -- Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Geneva *, Rome *, Berlin *, Paris * & Madrid * 6:00 PM -- Ankara *, Athens *, Helsinki * & Istanbul * & Nairobi 7:00 PM -- Baghdad *, Moscow * 8:00 PM -- Tehran * 8:30 PM -- Islamabad 9:00 PM -- Calcutta & New Delhi 9:30 PM -- Dhaka 10:00 PM -- Rangoon 10:30 PM -- Hanoi, Bangkok & Jakarta 11:00 PM -- Perth, Hong Kong, Beijing & Kuala Lumpur +12:00 AM -- Seoul & Tokyo +1:00 AM -- Brisbane, Canberra & Melbourne +2:00 AM -- Wellington +4:00 AM

You may also check at http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?day=17&month=05&year=2009&hour=16&min=0&sec=0&p1=0amp;p1=0 to find your corresponding local time if a nearby city is not listed above.



3. MORE INFORMATION RELATED TO THIS MEDITATION FOCUS

The following is provided as a complement to further the process of inspirational understanding of what, in truth, cannot be grasped from a purely intellectual perspective, for the True Key to unlock the vault of your spiritual knowledge lies within you... and nowhere else.
CONTENTS

1. Let's Create a New Vibe!
2. There is a tremendous power in quiet...
3. Message From Spirit
4. Message from SaLuSa
5. Essay on 2012 by Matthew

Also recommended...

Earthmind Center
http://www.earthdancenetwork.com/page/earthmind-center
Using the power of coherent consciousness to co-create the peaceful, sustainable civilization we envision. The Earthmind Center is a central calendar and collaboration nexus for the monthly Earthdance Global Meditations as well as various group meditation and prayer events organized by other groups including the Gaiafield Center for Subtle Activism at the California Institute of Integral Studies and the Club of Budapest. Visit the Earthmind blog -- Round the Clock Peace -- Daily Peace Meditations -- Each day the Earthdance Peace Clock sets two times for our shared peace meditation, indicated by the green dot. It automatically adjusts for time zones so everyone around the world is meditating at the same time. The times are shifting forward one hour each day. Monthly Global Meditations -- Each month we have a Global Peace Meditation on a different theme, hosted by a different Earthdance Producer, with a live program from their location beamed out on the Earthdance Network. See the EARTHMIND EVENT CALENDAR below for the monthly event times and other group meditation event listings. Annual Prayer for Peace - Since 1996, the annual Prayer for Peace has united hundreds of Earthdance events around the world – and a growing online community – in a shared moment of global intention and group prayer at 12 midnight GMT. The 2009 date is September 26. See the Earthdance International site for complete information.

EARTHDANCE PRAYER FOR PEACE POSTER AVAILABLE NOW!!
http://www.earthdance.org/
THE GLOBAL FESTIVAL FOR PEACE 300+ locations in 60 countries!
Synchronized Prayer for Peace on September 26, 2009 at 4pm PST Earthdance events around the world united in the Global Prayer for Peace.



1.

From: http://infinityaffinity.org/vibe.htm

Let's Create a New Vibe!

by Flesymi

Have you ever walked into a room where some people were talking about you, and they were not talking about you with the highest of regard? Do you remember the palpable negative air that greeted you before you noticed anything else? It wasn’t very comfortable for any one in the room, let alone for you.

Now imagine walking into a room where another group of folks are extolling your finer virtues…and remarking on how good you make them feel…and how happy they are that you are in their lives. Surely that would be a much better "vibe" to walk into and would probably inspire you to a higher, happier, healthier, more resourceful experience with your friends.

This good "vibe" is that unmistakable feeling that we all want, no matter what we’re trying to get it through. However, as the above examples illustrate, this vibe can be positive or negative. The source of these vibes is a very real, but currently immeasurable, field of mental and emotional energies that strongly influences what we think and how we feel.

Just as our individual selves have mental and emotional bodies - subtle fields that are comprised of our collection of thoughts and feelings as individuals - there is a planetary mental-emotional body that is comprised of the thoughts and emotions of every person on Earth. This planetary mental-emotional body affects each one of us individually whether we know it or not. In other words, how we think and feel influences our words and actions that in turn affect others around us, which in turn influences how they think and feel, and so on. We live our lives within these subtle, invisible mental-emotional energies that have a profound impact on the nature and character of our worldly experience.

Admittedly we may be mostly unconscious that we are under the spell of these influences. It is imperative, however, that we wake up to this fact for the sake of our personal and collective evolution. To advance individually and as a species we must become aware that we can actually choose which thoughts and feelings to tune into. By consciously tuning into ones that are aligned with a stirring vision of a positive future, we can alter the character of these fields and, thus, present a new energetic background that is more likely to express that vision and the "good" vibes. And those vibes, like walking into the room with your loving friends, will naturally yield higher, happier, healthier, more resourceful worldly experiences.

It can be difficult to understand how our private thoughts and feelings can affect others, but it is this very understanding that is required to move on to a more fulfilling destiny . To grasp this powerful truth realize that we live in a vibratory reality. Modern science tells us that everything in the universe vibrates, from electrons to stars, from human cells to your whole body. Even a rock is vibrating: its subatomic elements are vibrating and spinning at unimaginable speeds. These vibrations are like music. But at the human level, some of us are vibrating to acid rock while others have Vivaldi playing inside. The interesting thing about vibrating systems, whether it be a throbbing star or a human orchestra, is that they influence each other through a phenomenon called rhythm entrainment.

Suppose we go out on a balmy summer evening and notice some fireflies settling in a bush, blinking on and off. At first we see random blinking but fairly soon we notice that an order is slowly developing. It starts with just a few fireflies blinking in unison, then a few more, then more. Suddenly, after a critical number join in the synchronized light show, we see that all the fireflies in the whole bush are blinking on and off in unison. Any stray firefly that later happens by this coherent group will be strongly influenced to also blink in unison. The greater the number of fireflies blinking in unison, the greater the influence is on other fireflies to also blink in unison with the group.

This is rhythm entrainment. It seems that nature finds it more economical to have vibrations that are close enough in frequency to occur in step with each other. Furthermore, a coherent group of vibrating units, say fireflies or humans, has a greater power of influence than an incoherent group . In other words, the first few fireflies that blink in unison (the beginning of coherence for the group) influences other fireflies to blink in unison. This continues until the coherent group is strong enough, i.e. has reached a critical mass, to cause all of the fireflies to flicker in unison, "in the blink of an eye." This natural phenomenon shows nature's perennial movement toward higher forms of intelligence and organization...the opposite of entropy. It also points the way to the next stage in human evolution.

This firefly analogy relates perfectly to our human condition. The existing mental-emotional field for the human race, which is imbued with the fears and wounded emotions of all humans, is quite strong but it is also incredibly incoherent. It is incoherent because everyone is looking out for "number one" and flails about quite randomly with their thoughts and rampant emotions. Not only is everyone thinking and feeling differently, but the very character of these inner states is rooted in a fear-based perspective of reality. This fear leads to separatism, which intrinsically inspires chaos, irrationality, greed and violence…the epitome of societal incoherence.

Until recently there was not much that could be done about this mental-emotional incoherence on a collective level. Fortunately, evolution has seen to it that the human nervous system is extended through technology to encompass the globe. Through the World Wide Web, we can now electronically communicate with virtually any person, anywhere, at nearly the speed of light. Through this vast global communications network we can view events around the world while they are happening, corroborate on design projects, work from our homes, transact business on opposites sides of the world from our partners and from our bank accounts, and be entertained by a ceaseless electronic stream of human imagination and trivia.

But there is also a higher purpose for this amazing technology. We can use it to create an extremely powerful, coherent prototype of a mental-emotional body for Planet Earth. Although it starts with just a few "firefly" humans, thinking and feeling in unison with a higher vision , it will invariably grow in size and strength. We don’t need fifty percent of the Earth’s population to harmonize with us to achieve results, nor even forty percent, because the coherent mental-emotional field of our prototype is proportionately stronger, by orders of magnitude, than the existing incoherent one. Once a critical mass is achieved, the force of coherence and harmony will be so great that everyone will begin living from love instead of fear…"in the blink of an eye." In this instant, Earth's population will be rhythmically entrained to the vibration of our original prototype whose essential character is social convergence and unity. This is the high road to our personal and global evolution. The low road we know all too well as is evidenced by some bleak and dark epochs in our history.

Along this high road, when our brothers and sisters of Planet Earth awaken every morning, it will be like walking into our friends’ room with the "good vibes." The only difference is that it will be the entire planet that is bathed in this new, loving, abundant vibe. We will have consciously cocreated a new mental-emotional body for Planet Earth that harmonizes with a higher vision for ourselves and humankind.

But it starts with each of us individually. It is we who add the dimension of meaning and purpose to our world...to our future.

"It is we who make wine drunk."

Rumi

If you share this affinity for the infinite possibilities inherent within our nature, then we invite you to take our Affinity Tour and join us. Help us create a new vibe!

NOTE: infinityaffinity.org has been founded by Joseph R. Giove - details about him HERE

Here is also the founder of CommonPassion - http://www.commonpassion.org/ - a global social collaborative of individual and communities who share compassion as a common passion. Their mission is to create social and environmental harmony through science-based applications of collective consciousness. They welcome people and organizations from all walks of life to help them realize our common vision. -- LOTS to discover there! Check HERE to see all those who participate around the world.



2.

From: http://compassionateselfcare.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/quiet/

There is a tremendous power in quiet...

...and more often than not we do not allow ourselves the time to be still and to notice ourselves. And so tonight, let us dedicate the next few hours, with the sounds of the city around us, to a quietness which is utterly respectful, has no dimension of coercion and no particular philosophical precepts that we must live up to.

We’re going to look at our lives right now, in this quiet and private space with the eyes closed, as if nothing is wrong. And the only way that we can look at our lives in that way is to allow the narrative spokesman, the voice that is constantly babbling inside the head, to rest. Let us turn our attention to the body, and particularly to the heart and the area around the heart.

If we choose to participate in tonight’s journey, the wisest way to do so is not by listening from the intellectual sphere, the informational mechanism of the mind, but to come down into the heart, into that quiet deep space where all things can be embraced, and where all things can be understood.

If our participation is going to be complete, then we must add to our experience of the heart an observation of ourselves. We observe our reactions to these words, or we follow the words in such a way that they lead us to understandings about ourselves. These understandings are not a new kind of information that we carry away from this circle and then put aside for some other day. These are living experiences.

The work that we do tonight in the circle consists of being with the body and observing ourselves from that internal space. It is necessary for the body to cooperate in order for learning to take place. We enhance this cooperation by noticing our breathing. Be aware of the breathing. . .

If the breathing is unrestricted, easy and relaxed, then we can see that giving and receiving are natural processes, an undeniable part of what it means to be alive. I take into myself, and I give away. I am always doing this. It is an endless process. Those who have come before me have done this, and those who will come after me, will do this. They will be breathing beings on this planet, taking in the gift and offering the gift, taking in the gift and offering the gift. . .

To come to ourselves in a new way is crucial. It’s vital. To come to ourselves in a new way is part of what it means to turn toward that radiant life which is transcendent of this life of form. To turn towards ourselves in a new way requires that, from time to time, we give up our thoughts, because our thoughts only carry the past. We come to the heart, our feeling life, and we engage in a kind of participation with our feelings that is very difficult to do when thoughts reign. . .

We can also notice that there is sometimes a confusion between feelings and thoughts. Let us see if, together, we can disentangle ourselves from that confusion by recognizing that a thought is not a feeling. Sometimes thoughts are so clustered around a feeling that it seems as if the definition is the feeling.

In the end the feeling is different from the thought. From this comes a beautiful awareness about ourselves and about our possibilities here. The body feels. The body feels. When it feels loneliness, it is unmistakably in the body. When it feels love, it is in the body. When it feels anger, that too is felt in the body.

A prayer is felt as a yearning to be released. and when that release comes, at least while we are on this earth, when we do feel love, when we do feel beyond the limits that we have set for ourselves, when we do feel outside of our dense earthly concerns, that release will also be felt in the body. Bliss comes to the body. Loneliness comes to the body, and the mind comments, and comments, and explains.

It is very easy to misunderstand our lives. It is very easy to assume, for instance, that communication is a thought process, one mind speaking to another across a gap of space, and not a feeling process. . .

The body is a visible portion of an invisible energy field. This room is filled with that energy. It is filled with energies which pulsate from the heart, the solar plexus and the front of the body in general. These energetic emanations represent our friendships, our loves, our understanding, our compassion, our purification and our peace.

Whenever a human being attempts, out of fear, to hold back these emanations, to restrict them, to confine them, to not let them get near someone else, we encounter loneliness, pain, and the agony of emptiness. Our fear increases.

More than anything else we want to know that we are not alone. This wanting is understandable and real. We want to know, as a feeling, not as a philosophical idea, but as a feeling, that we are not alone.

- Stephen Robbins Schwartz

More from him in The Prayer of the Body: Compassionate Self-Care and Reclaiming the Sacred Presence, a compilation from the work of Stephen Robbins Schwartz created by Ray Minkler (styraco@blomand.net) and also through http://compassionateselfcare.wordpress.com/



3.

From: http://lightworkers.org/channeling/74034/the-world-puja-network-message-from-spirit

Message From Spirit

Ascended Masters -- Channeler: Maureen Moss -- 18 April 2009

Beloved Hearts,

Have you heard me tell you today, that I love you? I do. There has never been a human like you, not once and not ever on your Planet of Earth. What a blessing you are.

You have often said you are spirit having a human experience and I am telling you that that former identity no longer suits you. You are spirit having a spiritual experience in the form of a human being. And as such, I Am about to experience the time on your Earth that I have waited a very long time for, and so are you.

I know that many of you are tentative as you watch the familiar fade from sight. Fear not my children, the fruit of your earthly experience was always meant to emerge at the end of your journey with your human nature, much like the end of the journey for a caterpillar, before it mutates and turns into a butterfly. Many of you are about to change irrevocably, including changing your DNA (because you are able) and to scale what once seemed insurmountable to your former selves. Many of you are in for the surprises and gifts of your life, if you are willing to listen deeply to the promptings of your Soul and take action.

During this time of great change Beloveds, place with intention into my hands any fears you may have and then gently surrender. Ask me to help you transform your fear into confidence, and then follow my lead as I usher you forward. Follow my lead as I help you re-mind your mind, and inflame your heart. Don't forget we are partners in your awakening. As you awaken, you awaken more parts of Me in you. You will feel My stirrings in your heart. Sit with me awhile. Talk with me awhile, and I will talk with you. We will talk Truth you and I.

Many of you have questioned when you will awaken fully, or if you will awaken fully. Let me tell you Beloveds when awakening occurs. It occurs when your soul has become satiated with material living and is prompted, by a deep inner urge, to discover deeper truths about your identity.

It occurs when you become bold enough to run away from your thoughts about how you should live and choose, from your heart, how you will live moment by moment.

It occurs when you become fascinated with the mystery of life once again, undaunted by the logical mind, much like a child fascinated with a polka-dotted ladybug crawling up its arm.

It comes when the Light of your Soul begins to penetrate your personality, and its egoic needs. Your Soul has no interest in the dramas and illusions of your worldly plane. It is your Soul that is toppling whatever illusions are still in your life, and running your life. It is doing so to make room for itself to fully enter the temple of your being that houses your life and Me.

There is nothing happening to you from outside of you, believe it, Beloveds. You are not a victim of anything. Everything concerning your life is being initiated from within you, and on purpose. Please pay attention. You are being led to a glorious place.

Remember I Am here with you, as One with you. Close your eyes, tap on your heart and feel my stirrings. Talk to Me and listen to Me as We beckon your Soul back to where it belongs.

Your Soul has waited a long time to take its rightful place inside of your Life. It needs nothing from the world external. It uses the world external only as a place to play out passion, to give and receive love and to be in service.

The very purpose of your human existence Beloveds is the evolution of your Soul. Daily, your soul literally fights on your behalf and against your lower natures to establish itself inside of you.

When you feel internal agitation it is your Soul rubbing up against your personality and mortal mind committed to outshining both; not so far different than the pearl in the oyster that is agitated by grains of sand to emerge as a beautiful jewel.

While this phenomena is taking place in this very moment it requests your support. Your Soul asks that you deny poverty consciousness, regardless of external appearances. You are not the world economy so please don't claim it as your burden or identify yourself with it. You are rich beyond measure. Seek your riches and they will flourish.

Your Soul asks that you embrace yourself once and for all with a full heart. It asks that you no longer deny your wholeness, because of what you perceive are your imperfections. You have no imperfections. You are a masterpiece in process, much like a piece of fine art. Allow the process Beloveds don't judge each stroke of the brush.

You are made in the image and Likeness of Me. Perfect. There is nothing wrong with you that a strong dose of Self-love will not correct.

Your Soul asks that you practice peaceful action, not reaction. Further yet, practice noticing, just noticing, and then make your peaceful moves from there. Your Soul thrives in a state of stability and balance.

It asks that whenever you are afraid, that you face the thoughts that created your fears and ask yourself if that is the truth that just visited you. And if it's not, and you will know, because you will feel it in your body, surrender your wrong mindedness to Me and I will bring you Truth. Listen.

If you are wondering where to put your next foot, don't wonder. Instead wander into the Mystery with Me. Let us play on this path of fascination and wonder that spirals you upward leaving the mundane and predictable behind.

Let the Mystery of your new reality shape itself without your control and free you from survivalist mentality. Give yourself a chance to thrive not merely survive. You are able to do so without a dime spent. You will breathe a breath of Creation like you never have before when you find yourselves no longer tethered to survival, never again having to control and maneuver and manipulate your every turn in your life.

Your key is to learn to rest in silence for more than a moment so you are able to hear Me speak and feel the Truth that you are not alone and you are being guided every step of your way.

Every one of your Souls, in all of its glory is anxiously waiting to play spiritual human with you. Put down your books, let your intellect rest, refrain from knowing anything and just open your hearts and go play with your Souls.

Let your Soul in. Let your lower human nature expire. You are safe. I will never forsake you. I cannot. You and I can never be parted. Remember, I am the only umbilical cord that has ever been attached to you that has never been severed. Remember. And remember what that means to you.

I love you and I need you to love you right now. It is your love for Self, Soul and Me that will get you through the eye of the needle, from one world to the next, intact.

You are the One you have been waiting for Beloveds. You've heard this before, please hear it deeply and don't negotiate with it's meaning. Let your true Self in and let's play on purpose.



4.

From: http://www.treeofthegoldenlight.com/First_Contact/mike_quinsey/channeled%20messages/May%202009/salusa__8may2009.htm

Message from SaLuSa -- 8 May 2009

Can you believe how time is passing by more quickly than ever? It is an indication that clearly tells you the Light is becoming more powerful than ever. You play your part in bringing it down into the Earth, and we and others from the higher dimensions continue to beam those energies to you. It is a controlled process that reaches out from the Universe and even beyond. Energy is sent out from the Central Sun, and comes down through various levels of vibration until it can be directed to Earth without overpowering you. You could not survive in energy that was too powerful, and it is this factor that conveniently and necessarily ensures that you can only move within a certain vibration, that is compatible to your own. There are powerful souls who are charged with the responsibility of directing specific energies to you through themselves, and St. Germain with his violet ray is one such Master. All that you see and is around you is about energy, and away from your physicality and in the realms of Light you will learn much about them.

First and foremost you are Light Beings, and the dimensions of Light are your true home. Now you are on that path that leads back to them through the process of Ascension. Some Dear Ones are frightened at the thought of change, without understanding that as you rise up you will naturally accept the beauty, peace and harmony that exists everywhere. The harshness and difficulties of living in your present dimension will be but memories that will gradually fade away, as there is no place for them in the higher levels of Light. You have come to realize that you are not your physical body, yet is it not wonderful that with Ascension you will raise it up in vibration, so that it is acceptable in the 5th dimension where most of you shall be. You will ascend fully conscious and shall move quickly from one dimension to another.

There is a way to go yet before you are ready to ascend, but once we can be with you and those of the dark cannot interfere, your progress will be astonishing. The clearing out upon Earth of all the clutter, and that which belongs to the bygone Dark Ages will be replaced by all that is of beauty, and fitting for the higher dimensions. The greatest change will be in the energy that embraces you all of the time, and is pure and uplifting. Have you not heard about some souls who have been allowed to visit such realms? The one experience that they find overwhelming and do not want to leave behind, is of energy that radiates love and enfolds all within it. It is the energy from the Source that everything lives within, and that applies to you now except that you have largely separated yourself from it. That is to be expected as you have undertaken to experience such conditions as part of your evolution. Duality on Earth is now ending, and with it comes the opportunity to leave it completely behind.

If you take the view that what is happening now is part of the cleansing that has already commenced, it will come a lot easier to step outside of it and concentrate on your future. There is inevitably chaos as the old systems are collapsing and you are in the middle of it, but it does not have to tear you apart if you keep your eyes firmly on your destiny. It will take time before you clearly see what is to replace it, but we have outlined what is to come and it will bring joy and happiness to your heart. We are with you all of the time whether you are aware of it or not, although many more now see our craft and that is of course our intention. The truth of our presence can hardly be hidden or denied after all of this time, as our visits to your planet are clearly documented not just for the last century, but also in your ancient chronicles going back thousands of years. It will be a great day of celebration when disclosure can become official, and it edges ever nearer to that time.

We might well ask the dark ones what is it that they fear because of our presence. Nothing would please us more if they accepted us as the benign Beings that we are, and turned to the Light and put their past behind them. We harbor no ill feelings against them, as each soul that has lost touch with the Light is one to be returned at some time in the future. Unfortunately they have a stubborn streak that prevents them from admitting defeat, and sadly they would rather destroy what they cannot control. Have no fear Dear Ones, it is decreed that no such ending shall be allowed this time, unlike previous cycles. You will ascend if that is your desire, and you will go forward with the intent and purpose to reach that goal. Everything is planned to that end which is why you can look forward to a happy conclusion to this cycle.

Meantime, attend to your daily needs and provide for the future as you see it. We know some of you feel danger in the areas you live in, and you are wise to heed your feelings. We can do a lot to control major events on Earth, but some cleansing of the surface of your world is essential to the future. We hold many areas in balance that are prone to earthquake activity, but we cannot always intervene as karmic responsibilities are being worked out. You may already know that many souls choose to leave through natural catastrophes, and be assured that they are cared for and no real harm is experienced. There are what you would term hospitals on the “other side” where loving volunteers greet the new arrivals and ensure their comfort and release from any trauma. In reality there are no injuries or such carried over to the astral regions, and “patients” are quickly healed from any emotional memories.

Your Dear Ones long departed from Earth wait for their opportunity to join you in Ascension, as they also prepare for the occasion. Those of you that have wondered about their fate should be relieved to know that they await their re-union with you. The Creator has allowed you to experience duality, but at the same time has not abandoned you and has planned your release that now approaches. You have your every being in that great energy of Love and Light, and are never separated from it although it may seem otherwise to you whilst on Earth.

I am SaLuSa from Sirius, and the Galactic Federation and so pleased to make contact with you. It all goes towards making these last years of your journey a lot easier, and you will be comforted by our presence. We are your assurance that this cycle will end as planned, and before then we will have come to Earth and joined forces with you. Know that our love travels with you all of the time.

Thank you SaLuSa

Mike Quinsey

More such messages through http://www.treeofthegoldenlight.com/First_Contact/Channeled_Messages_by_Mike_Quinsey.htm



5.

From: http://www.matthewbooks.com/mm/anmviewer.asp?a=83

Essay on 2012

by Matthew

Those who have interpreted the year 2012 as the beginning of the end of darkness-never mind the total end of the world!-have misinterpreted its significance. Most simply stated, 2012 heralds Earth's entry into the Golden Age, and between now and then is a time of transition from life as you have known it into life totally in harmony with all of Nature.

Everything in the universe is energy vibrating at one frequency or another, and when Earth was in prime health, in times you know but don't remember, all of her life forms were vibrating harmoniously. When she was near death more than six decades back, there was no harmony whatsoever, no balance of Nature-there was hardly sufficient light to sustain any kind of life, including Earth's own. What is happening now, with the help of stabilizing forces, is the transformation of your world-Earth's rejuvenation and return to balance-reaching completion in 2012.

But that year no longer has the “time absoluteness” it once held in prophecies, and your calendar cannot accurately convey when the major transitional changes will be completed because linear time is disappearing. What you perceive as time passing faster and faster is the effect of the higher energy planes in which you are living now, where everything is accelerating as Earth makes her way into the continuum-or, more accurately, as your consciousness grasps the actuality of timelessness, the reality of eternity and infinity. The faster, or more intensely, the light infuses Earth, the more swiftly your “time” passes as she moves still higher into fourth density vibrations. So, just as in this moment your calendar week is passing in less than half the time of a calendar week a dozen or so years ago, 2012 will be coming increasingly more rapidly than your current calendar can indicate.

Now then, why does that year have historic significance universally? It involves celestial orbiting cycles and their influences on your planet as well as life designs made in total clarity by highly evolved beings who planned Higher Universal-MAN with attributes of spirituality and intelligence that far exceed that in today's Earth population. Opportunities to return to higher densities have been offered in prior cycles and missed, and this time when the energetic alignment is again optimal, advanced civilizations are assisting so Earth's desire to rise to her former vibratory level is assured. What happens on Earth affects the universe, so it is of utmost significance to those advanced civilizations that the dark ages on your home planet be reconciled within the light and you knowledgeably take your rightful place among your universal family.

Along the way there will be many profound changes, changes you can't even imagine, that will transform life as you have known it into life in total harmony with all of Nature worldwide and thusly flow out into the universe. Very little of the wondrous world on your horizon will be rooted in your systems to date—that is precisely WHY you are creating your new world! The goddess vibrations that already are showing effects will continue to bless you as individuals and as a civilization. The negativity that is the root of fear, greed, dishonor and violence will be gone in the Golden Age, and the vibrations of Earth's entirety will be LOVE. Love, which is the same energy as LIGHT but simply expressed differently, is the pure essence of Creator, the ultimate power in the cosmos. This energy is the composition of souls and the key to opening hearts and illumining minds, and it is flowing more abundantly on Earth than ever before. As the darkness continues to fade, love will replace conflict and tyranny with peace and cooperation; love will eliminate the superficial superiority of one group over another; love will enlighten those who regard others as possessions or dispensable and uplift those who have been subjected to living in those conditions. In short, LOVE is the power that is transforming your world.

Although no major strongholds of the darkness will cease abruptly, the transition will be like lightning in comparison to the long ages that violence, inequities, abuses and deceit prevailed. If you could see in parallel motion the pace of the past many centuries, when only intermittent flickers of light broke through the dominant darkness, and the pace of the past few decades of growing light intensity, you would marvel at the swiftness of the changes.

CLIP - Please read the missing part at http://www.matthewbooks.com/mm/anmviewer.asp?a=83

Those are some of the most significant changes underway and ahead, and all will have trickle-down effects that will permeate and uplift every facet of life on Earth. The Golden Age-the “second edition” of the Garden of Eden-will radiate the love, harmony, serenity and beauty of spirit that you, in your remembered awareness of being god and goddess selves, ARE.  

Now I shall tell you some of the more “down-to-Earth” features that you can anticipate in that beauteous world. City life will be much more fulfilling for the spirit than it is today due to the demolishing of substandard buildings and restoration of once fine buildings that fell into decay; the addition of many small parks and colorful playgrounds, vegetable and flower gardens, and neighborhood libraries, concerts, museums, and galleries with locally produced art forms; entertainment and recreational centers for all ages and interests; and animals, even those you now consider wild, roaming freely. Also, new transportation modes and a much fairer distribution of wealth will enable city dwellers to frequent the countryside, where a booming business will be “bed-and-breakfast” inns to accommodate the growing desire for those oases of respite from routine activity, and to travel to distant places as well. Still, millions now living in cities may prefer to move to the solitude and restorative energy of familiar rural, forested areas. And, like a new wave of pioneers, some of you will be motivated to relocate to currently uninhabitable places when those start flourishing and beckon the adventuresome, while other souls will choose to live in houseboats on the calm, restful seas.

Architecture will be limited only by imagination and choices, but no building will be ugly or inadequate for its purpose. Geodesic domes will be popular as will fanciful building designs that reflect the light-heartedness that so long has been denied the majority of Earth's peoples. Current and new technologies will produce construction materials similar in strength and appearance to today's concrete, steel, rigid and flexible plastics, and those along with natural products and quality simulations of fine woods will be widely used. So will glass, which will be altered from its present composition, because you will desire to live closer with Nature even when you are indoors.

By unified intent, no litter or eyesore of any kind will exist anywhere. Wherever you live or travel, you will not want the vista marred by the utility poles that now are necessary blights on landscapes. The poles will be removed and where conduits are required, they will be underground; and other energy sources will be direct, without any need for connecting wires. Although telepathy will become a common form of communication, voice-to-voice communion across the miles will be as important as now, but the harmful aspects of the wireless methods you are using will be gone. Expanses of concrete gradually will be removed too, as new transportation modes will change the need for current fuels and highways. 

All unjust laws and policies will be struck down and education worldwide will accurately reflect the universal truths. The writing, printing and distribution of textbooks will be done expeditiously in conjunction with computerized lessons, and the souls who are innately prepared to teach will step up to this mission they had chosen.

These and other marvelous lifestyle differences awaiting you are indeed gargantuan changes from life in this moment, yet the greatest transformation you will experience is in humankind, where love and higher consciousness are REcreating “miracles.” Like souls on Earth and in Nirvana once again going back and forth between these physical and spirit worlds, travel that was commonplace until third density limitations closed minds to this possibility. Like your transcendence from believing you are lone individuals to knowing your inseparability from all life in this universe, and embracing each other as well as members of extraterrestrial civilizations as the brothers and sisters you all are. Like life without anxiety or conflict as people of all countries and cultures are harmonious, cooperative, helpful, kind, high-spirited and delightfully good-natured.  

Now I must tell you as well that the transition from this day to that world will continue to present challenges. To say otherwise would be neither truthful nor prudent as your expectations would not be met, and instead of successfully dealing with challenges-which you are well prepared to do with wisdom and strength of spirit and character or you wouldn't have chosen and been selected to participate!-you could become discouraged as Earth continues apace on her ascension journey. 

Wars and other violence, injustices, deception and corruption will continue until that energy set in motion is played out. Although the dark forces, the vast force field of negative thought forms, has left this part of the galaxy, tentacles of that energetic influence remain and are making last ditch efforts to control the most vulnerable souls as well as attack those with the brightest light. Further, the higher frequencies now on the planet are magnifying all human characteristics, and those that are darkly-inclined are showing that intensification through increasing hostility, greed, violence and apathy toward those who are suffering and in desperate need. So, while not all of the dark skirmishes are past, we urge you to be encouraged by each that arises-it means that the vanquishing of the darkness is that much nearer. Rejoice in knowing that its momentum is close to the point of exhaustion because all of you who are living your light are helping to speed it to conclusion.

Controlling the flow of money is the last mundane tool the dark ones have and they will keep it within their grasp as long as they can. The “rotten tap root,” so to say, has been loosened and the tendrils are breaking, but until all have been eliminated, economic difficulties will affect many lives. Remember, you have the power to create your own abundance through the law of attraction, and sharing your resources is the best way to bring even more abundance into your life.    

Prior to peace and harmony prevailing throughout Earth, many, many souls will leave due to the same causes as now-disease, starvation, injuries in wars and other types of violence, geophysical events-so the population will continue to decrease from those means. As sorrowful as these deaths may seem, the adversity that the souls experience beyond their pre-birth agreements gives them leaps forward in soul growth. They will greet their return to Nirvana knowing that if they choose another Earth lifetime, it will be in the splendor and glory of a revitalized world and the abiding love among its inhabitants.

Geophysical events will continue as Earth's natural and necessary cleansing process. The blatant disregard for human and animal life for millennia past-and still happening on a lamentable scale-caused a massive amount of negativity to accumulate. Although this has been greatly reduced via geophysical events, its remnants, plus what is being generated anew, must be released. It matters not whether this is by natural or manmade occurrences-the ridding of that negativity is what is important. The effects of these events, which will lessen in frequency and severity as Earth keeps ascending, are being diminished to the greatest extent possible by members of your universal family. Their technology cannot prevent all deaths and damage, but it is limiting the death toll and property destruction by leveling out over a wide area the energy releases via earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and is steering the strongest storms to less populated areas.

The record high and low temperatures, droughts and flooding that are part of Earth's transition to her original moderate climate globally will present hardships for a while longer. Gradually some sea level coastlines will become submerged; this need not present anxiety as there will be protective and compensatory measures for any inhabitants of those areas. We are aware of the speculation that Atlantis and Lemuria may rise, but this will not happen. Those large land masses served their civilizations during that era on Earth, but their return is not needed; however, some souls living then have come back to assist in the ongoing consciousness-raising and spiritual renewal within today's populace.

That religions are teaching the “word of God” will be shown in the fullness of the deception that spawned that falsehood, and among the challenges you will encounter are the many individuals who will not believe the truths that will be revealed. Some will do battle, convinced that it is their divine right and duty to defeat the Anti-Christ or the infidels through bloodshed. You will witness the shock, confusion, anger, disillusionment, and yes, very likely fear-the deceivers who made a vengeful God have been masterful for eons-of people whose minds are not totally closed to the revelations. Provide a compassionate safe haven for their questioning and rely on your intuition for the best responses-they will be there when you need them. However, it is not your responsibility to convince them that the foundation of their beliefs-maybe even their very life purpose-is a lie. Rejoice, just as we shall, when your efforts succeed, but please do not feel despondent when they don't. The resistant souls, like all others in the universe, will continue their evolutionary pathways wherever their needs shall best be served, and the eternal and infinite love of Source will undergird their way.

In summary we say to you, our beloved Earth family, know with your entire being that the world of love, peace and harmony you have been co-creating is close at hand. Remembering that you chose to be exactly where you are right now so you could participate in this unprecedented time in the universe will let your hearts be light-filled and your journey a triumphant adventure. Myriad light beings are with you every instant, enfolding you with the love and protection of the Christed light as you usher in Earth's long awaited “2012” Golden Age.



4. HUMANITARIAN AND PEACE VIGIL FOR SRI LANKA AND PAKISTAN

Please keep the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka and Pakistan in mind during your meditations as the mounting crises in those 2 countries have created extremely difficult conditions for the civilian populations in both cases caught in the middle of a violent conflict. Envision a swift resolution to the conflict, the restoration of peace and swift delivery of humanitarion assistance to the afflicted populations.

CONTENT

1. Fears of mass suicide as Tamil Tigers face final defeat
2. U.N. Tells of ‘Bloodbath’ in Sri Lanka
3. Why don't we care about Sri Lanka?
4. Stop the bloodbath
5. UN calls for massive Pakistan aid

Latest developments:

Sri Lanka's long war in bloody final climax (May 17, 2009)
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE54D1GR20090517
(...) The military said it had rescued all the civilians being held by the LTTE as human shields, removing the last barrier to unleashing overwhelming firepower on the well-armed LTTE."All civilians from Vellimullivaikal have been rescued. The troops are still fighting the LTTE. Over 50,000 have been rescued since Thursday," military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said. (...) Nearly 37,000 people fled to army-held areas on Saturday, bringing the total since Thursday to more than 50,000. Before the exodus started, the United Nations had estimated there were 50,000-100,000 there. (...) Each side accuses the other of killing civilians, and diplomats say there is evidence both have done so. The U.N. rights chief on Friday said she backed an inquiry into potential war crimes and humanitarian violations by both sides. A mounting wave of diplomatic pressure from the United States, Britain, France and the United Nations last week appeared to come too late to stop the final fight. CLIP

Pakistani army closes in on Swat town (May 16, 2009)
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSISL461014._CH_.2400
(...) The offensive in the one-time tourist valley of Swat, northwest of Islamabad, has forced at least 1.17 million people from their homes, the U.N. refugee agency said, adding the world needed to respond "massively".A military spokesman said clashes had erupted in different parts of Swat and 47 militants had been killed in the past 24 hours. That would take the toll in the offensive to about 970 militants and 48 soldiers, according to the military.Reporters have left Swat and there was no independent confirmation of the casualties. About 15,000 members of the security forces face about 5,000 militants, the military says."The security forces are closing in from different directions and have been able to inflict many more casualties," military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas told a briefing."Security forces are getting close to Mingora city. The aim is to isolate and block the movement of fleeing terrorists." The Taliban hold Mingora, Swat's main town, and many civilians are believed to be still there. Most political parties and members of the public support the offensive, despite skepticism about an alliance with the United States in its campaign against militancy. But opposition will grow if many civilians are killed or if the displaced are seen to be enduring undue hardship.U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said the flood of people from Swat this month was one of the most dramatic displacement crises in the world in recent times. CLIP

Fears grow for safety of doctors who reported civilian slaughter (17 May 2009)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/17/tamil-tigers-sri-lanka-doctors
Fears are growing for the safety of the doctors who acted as the eyes and ears of the world during the Sri Lankan army's final assault on the Tamil Tigers's last stronghold in the north-east of the country. Doctors Thangamutha Sathiyamoorthy, Thurairaja Varatharajah and V Shanmugarajah, and London-trained administrative officer Vany Kumar, are understood to have been detained by Sri Lankan forces as they tried to escape the fighting on Friday. They have not been heard from since. The Sri Lankan army denies involvement in their disappearance. The medical staff had provided a running commentary on the slaughter of thousands of civilians trapped inside the so-called "no-fire zone" while the world's media has been shut out of it. But their reports - carried in the Guardian and the Observer, among other news outlets - have enraged the government in Colombo, which has dismissed them as pawns of the Tamil Tigers. CLIP



1.

From: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6301821.ece

Fears of mass suicide as Tamil Tigers face final defeat

Rebel leaders make historic offer to disarm as Sri Lankan troops close in to end 25 years of civil war and threaten more slaughter on the battlefield

Marie Colvin - May 17, 2009

THE satellite call came in the early hours of yesterday. The Tamil Tiger leader was desperate. For the first time in their decades-long struggle against the Sri Lankan government, the rebels were offering to lay down their weapons in return for a guarantee of safety.

“Don’t say surrender,” insisted the leader, speaking calmly, despite the obvious desperation of the few survivors of the once ferocious Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), now cornered in an area roughly the size of Hyde Park with tens of thousands of civilians.

It was the sound of defeat. After more than 25 years, the civil war in Sri Lanka was over. The only question was whether it would end in an ordered fashion or a bloodbath.

The Colombo government was already triumphant. Just hours later the Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, was claiming outright victory.

“I will be going back to a country that has been totally freed from the barbaric acts of the rebels,” he announced. “My government with the total commitment of our armed forces has finally defeated the rebels militarily.” Despite his claims, shelling continued last night.

So desperate have the Tamils become that they have threatened a mass suicide. Each fighter carries a cyanide pill for such circumstances. They also have a network of underground cells throughout the government-controlled parts of the country which they threatened to activate if their leadership is wiped out.

Yesterday, I was given a vivid insight of what may be the final hours of the rebel leadership as they desperately tried to get a message to Washington and London.

Heavy shelling in the area, which the Sri Lankan government designated as a no-fire zone, continued yesterday according to doctors and independent witnesses. The government in Colombo denied shelling the area.

A doctor in the enclave said yesterday that between 2,000 and 3,000 bodies were lying unburied there, including 100 killed yesterday morning. He said a “stench of death” hung over the area.

“We need a pause from the continued cannon and mortar fire to treat the wounded,” he said. “The seriously wounded are being allowed to die without medical attention.”

The doctor and others fleeing the zone said families had been trapped in bunkers for all of last week, unable to get food or water. “All the people are in bunkers and there are bodies lying in the streets,” said another witness reached by satellite telephone. “The wounded are lying without care.”

He said the Sri Lankan army had begun shelling at 4.30am yesterday, Sri Lankan time, and fierce bombardment continued throughout the day. Families were trapped in makeshift bunkers, little more than trenches scraped into the sand. “Please, we are saying to the world, please help us.”

Military officials in Sri Lanka also appeared to be anticipating a victory. “They [the LTTE] are slowly giving up. They are blowing up whatever arms and ammunition they have,” said Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman.

What appears to be an imminent defeat is unlikely to bring peace to Sri Lanka. The Tamil Tigers have sleeper cells throughout the country, and are likely to return to suicide bombings and guerrilla hit-and-run tactics that they have used to devastating effect in the past.

As the day went on, and evidence of a decisive government victory became clearer, the calls from Tamil leaders grew more and more desperate. In an apparently final message late yesterday, there was a sense of panic.

Balasingham Nadesan, the head of the Tigers’ political wing, spoke on one of the few satellite phones left to the crushed rebel army. “We are ready to lay down our arms if the Americans or British can guarantee our safety,” he said. “There will be a tragedy if no one helps us.”

Until earlier this year, the Tigers ran what was essentially a mini-state in the north of the country, with its own arsenal of tanks, small planes, ships and a civilian police force.

“They said to me if they don’t have an answer within 24 hours then they will not be able to go on fighting,” said Selvarasa Pathmanathan, who is based outside Sri Lanka and was given authority by the Tamil Tigers’ leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, to negotiate because of the difficulty of sending messages from the island.

“Then they have only one way - they will take cyanide pills. They will not surrender to torture by the Sri Lankan army. That is 10,000 people - the fighters, their wives and children. Please, ask the Americans and British, please try to stop this.”

Most of that weaponry, which once made the LTTE one of the most feared and disciplined insurgent groups in the world, is now gone, destroyed in the months since the breakdown of a ceasefire in January 2008.

Since then the Sri Lankan army has relentlessly pursued a massive offensive that has pushed the Tamil Tigers to their tiny last redoubt and, according to United Nations figures, killed 7,000 civilians and wounded 16,700.

In a pincer movement early yesterday, the 58th and 59th divisions of the Sri Lankan army battled their way from the north and south to meet at the village of Vellamullivaikkal on a beach of white sand, cutting off the Tamil Tigers from their last escape route across the Indian Ocean. It was the first time in decades - almost since the Tamil revolt began in 1983 - that the entire coast of the island, a former British colony, had been controlled by its government.

Nadesan offered clear terms for an end to the fighting, acknowledging that the Tigers were coming from a position of weakness, but he insisted to me his proposals would lead to a negotiated end to this carnage-filled phase of the war and would avoid a bloodbath.

The LTTE was offering to lay down its arms to a third party, possibly the United Nations, and wanted a guarantee from the Americans or British that its fighters would not be harmed. They wanted protection from the Sri Lankan army where they were, rather than seeking safe passage to another country.

Tamil sources said the LTTE wanted the guarantee to cover about 50 of its leaders and about 1,000 lower level cadres who were the last foot soldiers of the once feared Tigers.

Rumours flew yesterday that Prabhakaran had died or fled the country, but LTTE sources denied that, saying he was sheltering in a reinforced bunker. Later none of the top leadership could be reached, even by senior LTTE members outside the conflict zone.

In that final call, there was still a message of defiance. “Any agreement must be attached to a commitment to a political process that will guarantee the human and political rights of the Tamil people,” Nadesan said.

He was holed up in a bunker in the tiny corner of Mullaitivu, in the northeast of the Vanni, the LTTE’s last toehold. With the Tigers’ leaders and fighters were tens of thousands of trapped civilians - nobody yesterday knew the number, although the UN estimated civilians in the enclave numbered between 30,000 and 80,000.

The Sri Lankan army said the rebels were holding the civilians as human shields, which the LTTE denied. It was impossible to verify the situation on the battlefield because journalists and international observers have been banned from the conflict zone by the Sri Lankan army.

The offer to disarm was passed on to both the United States and Britain. But it may already have been too late. Vijay Nambiar, the chief of staff of the United Nations secretary-general, was in India yesterday en route to Colombo to try to stop the fighting. “My understanding is that there has already been large-scale carnage,” Nambiar said by telephone.

He said he had gone to try to get access for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to the trapped civilians, but he did not hold out much hope. “I think there is an unwillingness of the Sri Lankan government to accept a surrender,” Nambiar said.

“My sense is that they want to push all the way to the end. I feel persuading them to accept terms of surrender will be an uphill battle.”

CLIP - Read the rest at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6301821.ece



2.

From: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/world/asia/12lanka.html?_r=1&ref=asia

U.N. Tells of ‘Bloodbath’ in Sri Lanka

By MARK McDONALD and THOMAS FULLER

May 11, 2009

HONG KONG — As the United Nations said a “bloodbath” was taking place in Sri Lanka, a leading group of aid agencies said Monday that both the government and the Tamil rebels it is fighting had shown a “wanton disregard for human life.”

“The U.N. has consistently warned against the bloodbath scenario as we’ve watched the steady increase in civilian deaths over the last few months,” Gordon Weiss, the United

Nations spokesman in Sri Lanka, said Monday. “The large-scale killing of civilians over the weekend, including the deaths of more than 100 children, shows that that bloodbath has become a reality.”

A government doctor said at least 378 civilians — and perhaps as many as 1,000 — had been killed and more than 1,100 wounded on Saturday and Sunday during intensive shelling of the combat zone on Sri Lanka’s northeastern coast, a boggy sliver of beachfront where Sri Lankan troops have surrounded Tamil separatist fighters.

“There were many who died without medical attention,” the doctor, V. Shanmugarajah, told The Associated Press. “Seeing the number of wounded and from what the people tell me, I estimate the death toll to be around 1,000.”

Concern for civilians trapped in the zone has grown in recent weeks. The area of fighting, which at one time had been set aside by the government as a “no-fire zone,” has shrunk to about 2.5 square miles. About 50,000 civilians, mostly Tamils, are thought to be caught there, along with a holdout force of between 200 and 500 rebel fighters.

Some relief groups and the government have assailed the rebels, known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or L.T.T.E., for holding the civilians as human shields. Many of the same agencies and some foreign governments have accused the government of shelling the area — along with the civilians inside — despite pledges to no longer use heavy weapons, artillery or airstrikes. The government and the rebels have blamed each other for the deaths.

The statement from the group of aid agencies was sent by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group and the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.

Food, water and shelter are in short supply inside the battle zone, according to accounts from some of those who have escaped the fighting there. An official with a Catholic relief group said Monday that only one field hospital remained in operation, with doctors and other medical staff members fearful of leaving the bunkers where they live because of periodic shelling by the army.

On a pro-rebel Web site, the L.T.T.E. accused the Sri Lankan military of having killed more than 3,200 civilians Sunday and Monday using artillery, mortars and heavy machine-gun attacks.

The government, in a statement by the Defense Ministry, said Monday that the rebels were “bombarding their own civilians.” “Hopefully, in their calculation, this will attract the foreign countries to throw a lifeline to save their souls. L.T.T.E. is desperate with the security forces closing on them. Lives of the L.T.T.E. leadership are hanging on a thread. They know they are running out of time.”

Independent verification of various charges by the government and the rebels has been impossible because the military has banned journalists from the area around the war zone and from refugee camps.

Dr. Shanmugarajah said Sunday’s attacks resulted in the worst carnage he had witnessed in the military’s intensifying campaign to wipe out the rebels.

“We are doing the first aid and some surgeries as quickly as we can,” Dr. Shanmugarajah, who works from a field hospital in the combat zone, was quoted by The A.P. as saying. “We are doing what is possible. The situation is overwhelming; nothing is within our control.”

Mr. Weiss, the United Nations spokesman, said Monday, “To the best of our knowledge, the government doctors trapped with these civilians have proven consistently reliable.”

---

Related articles:

Trapped Civilians Now Able to Flee, Sri Lanka Says (May 14, 2009)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/world/asia/15lanka.html?ref=world
At least 3,000 civilians who had been trapped in Sri Lanka’s shrinking war zone managed to flee Thursday, the country’s military said, as its forces claimed to further squeeze the Tamil Tiger separatists in a drive to end the quarter-century-long conflict.Sri Lankan Army units advanced on the two-square-mile coastal strip from the south, north and west, forcing the rebels into an ever-smaller sliver of jungle, palms and sand, the military said. More than 1,000 civilians waded across a shallow lagoon under rebel fire, the military said in a statement, and hundreds more fled across land to the north.If the military’s assertion is true, it would be the first time in well over a week that such a large number of civilians had been able to leave the combat zone in Sri Lanka, where the civil war, Asia’s longest, appears to finally be reaching a close with a Tamil Tiger defeat despite rebel denials. It has been impossible for news agencies to independently assess the contradictory claims from the government and rebels because outside journalists have been banned.The International Committee of the Red Cross said heavy fighting on Thursday had prevented them for a third day from ferrying out wounded people and dropping off relief supplies. Most people are seeking protection in hand-dug bunkers, making access to scarce food and water even more difficult, and dozens are dying and being wounded each day, the organization said.“Our staff are witnessing an unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe,” the Red Cross’s director of operations, Pierre Krahenbuhl, said in a statement on Thursday. (...) The government has resisted pressure by human rights groups, the United Nations, the United States and other nations for a pause in the fighting to allow more civilians to flee the war zone. Washington appeared to be increasing that pressure when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters on Thursday that it is “not an appropriate time" for the International Monetary Fund to consider a $1.9 billion loan request by Sri Lanka. She suggested the U.S. would effectively block the loan “until there is a resolution of the conflict.” Meanwhile, the chief of staff to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was dispatched to Sri Lanka for talks with the government. Vijay Nambiar was due to meet with senior government officials beginning Friday in Colombo.

Sri Lanka: humanitarian assistance can no longer reach civilians (14-05-2009)
http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/sri-lanka-news-140509
Geneva (ICRC) – In north-eastern Sri Lanka, hundreds of seriously wounded or ill patients blocked in the conflict area have been waiting in vain for several days for desperately needed medical care. For the third consecutive day, a ferry chartered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and anchoring only a few kilometres away from the patients has been unable to evacuate them because of continuous heavy fighting."Our staff are witnessing an unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe," said the ICRC's director of operations, Pierre Krähenbühl, from the ICRC's headquarters in Geneva today. "Despite high-level assurances, the lack of security on the ground means that our sea operations continue to be stalled, and this is unacceptable," added Mr Krähenbühl. "No humanitarian organization can help them in the current circumstances. People are left to their own devices." Thousands of people remain trapped in a small area along the coast within the conflict zone. As fighting goes on unabated, civilians are forced to seek protection in hand-dug bunkers, making it even more difficult to fetch scarce drinking water and food.An ICRC ferry, the Green Ocean, is carrying 25 metric tonnes of urgently needed food. The last time the ICRC could offload food and medical supplies and evacuate patients was last Saturday, 9 May. In addition to the ferry, a cargo ship, the Oriental Princess, carrying another 500 metric tonnes of food from the World Food Programme, is waiting off the coast north of Mullaittivu, ready to deliver the food to civilians. "We need security and unimpeded access now in order to save hundreds of lives," said Mr Krähenbühl. "The ICRC stands ready to carry out its humanitarian work as soon as conditions permit."



3.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/srilanka/5324790/Why-dont-we-care-about-Sri-Lanka.html

Why don't we care about Sri Lanka?

Western governments and societies are always quick to condemn atrocities in the Middle East and Africa. But there's been a lack of comparable outrage over the events in Sri Lanka, says Dean Nelson.

By Dean Nelson, South Asia Editor

14 May 2009

Do we have favourites when it comes to civilian casualties? Do we care about some peoples’ suffering more than others?

The contrasting levels of public concern and protest over the killing of innocent civilians in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Gaza since the beginning of this year make the answer an emphatic ‘yes.’

When Israeli forces killed women and children in their assault on Gaza in January, there were was a public outcry in Britain, the liberal left and anti-Zionist movements staged protests, and Israeli writers too registered their public disgust.

But when allegations of civilians being killed in a so-called ‘no fire zone’ by the Sri Lankan army surfaced last month, the response of the world’s public was considerably more muted.

There were angry protests by Tamils in Paris and London, and government ministers voiced their shared concerns, but the terrible suffering of thousands of Tamil civilians trapped in the ‘no-fire zone’ has somehow failed to pluck the nation’s heart strings.

Is it heartlessness? The Tamils caught in this ‘safe zone’ must be the most wretched people on Earth right now. An estimated 50,000 are trapped inside a tiny strip of Sri Lanka’s north-east coast by rebel fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who will shoot them if they try to escape, and the army, which may shell them if they don’t.

They have been herded across the north of the island by the retreating Tigers who have used them as ‘human shields’ and conscripted their children as front-line canon fodder. They are trapped in bunkers they are too terrified to leave yet too hungry to stay in.

This should be enough for the world’s public to feel outraged, and yet something is missing.

It is partly the absence of first-person newspaper reports and independent television footage, which has stopped the world’s public from seeing the suffering with their own eyes.

Instead the reality of life inside the cruelly-named ‘no-fire zone’ is hidden behind a sealed Sri Lankan forces cordon. The government does now allow journalists inside the zone to see for themselves and so what we know about their conditions is filtered through the claims and counter-claims of the main protagonists, the admonishments of visiting western leaders, and occasional phone calls from doctors inside the zone.

A claim of 2,000 civilian deaths by the Tamil Tigers earlier this week quickly fell in instalments before settling at several hundred. The government by contrast said no civilians were killed. The UN says it believes the Sri Lankans are shelling in breach of an earlier promise that the use of heavy weapons had ended. Earlier this week, President Obama said both sides must stop the killing of civilians.

The apparent cynicism of leaders like President Obama is another emotional barrier, leaving many questioning what they are being told: While he attacked both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government this week for causing “widespread suffering and the loss of hundreds if not thousands of lives,” his own national security advisor said aerial bombing would continue in Afghanistan despite the high numbers of civilian casualties.

General James Jones said while the United States would do more to reduce the number of civilian casualties, it would not stop air strikes because “we can't fight with one hand tied behind our back.” In this American calculus, Tamil civilians are worth more than Afghans.

We can’t see the impact of American bombing of civilians in Afghanistan, just as we cannot see the victims of LTTE shooting and army shelling in Sri Lanka. And because we can’t see it with our own eyes, our emotional reaction to it is weak.

Both sides in the Sri Lankan conflict know this, which is why the Tamil Tigers are mobilising their supporters around the world to ‘spread the truth’, while Colombo has stopped journalists from reporting independently in the north.

It’s a race against time: The Tamil Tigers need the world to be so moved that its leaders force Colombo to stop its assault, and the Sri Lankan government wants to keep out the media until the LTTE is finally crushed and it can tell the story on its own terms.

Seeing is not just believing, but the first step to caring. Out of sight and beyond our care, thousands of innocent Tamil civilians have been abandoned to their fate in the crossfire.

---
Related article:

International Appeals for LTTE Surrender, Army Cease-fire Ignored in Sri Lanka (14 May 2009)
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-05-14-voa38.cfm
Both sides in Sri Lanka's civil war are brushing off a non-binding statement of the U.N. Security Council demanding they protect the lives of tens of thousands of civilians trapped by the fighting. Medical and humanitarian workers say shelling in the tiny combat zone continues. Sri Lankan officials say thousands of Tamils are fleeing the area by wading across a lagoon despite rebels shooting at the civilians. The U.N. Security Council's appeal for both sides in the civil war to respect international humanitarian law is falling on deaf ears amid an apparent ceaseless barrage of gunfire and shelling. CLIP

Many more related news through http://news.google.com/news?ned=ca&ncl=dPbZEjEIK70jU-MavFeimZDCAtasM&topic=w



4.

Date: 12 May 2009
From: "Luis Morago - Avaaz.org" (avaaz@avaaz.org)
Subject: Stop the bloodbath

Dear friends,

A modern day bloodbath is unfolding on the small island of Sri Lanka, where a thousand civilians were reported killed over the weekend and tens of thousands of innocent people are literally at risk of being killed this week, as government and rebel forces battle it out over the last small patch of rebel held territory.

Now that the US has begun to increase its pressure, the solution to stopping this humanitarian disaster lies with Sri Lanka’s key donor and closest partner in the region -- Japan. It has powerful political and economic influence over the Sri Lankan government and a swing vote at the UN Security Council, which up until now has turned a blind eye to this mounting catastrophe.

Click here to send a message to the Japanese Foreign Minister, who is deciding his government's next steps. Japan cares about its international reputation and a flood of messages from abroad would encourage them to act. If Japan moves then the Sri Lankan government will be forced to immediately respond to protect civilians:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_bloodbath

As last weekend's carnage testifies, every minute counts for the estimated 50,000 civilians still trapped inside the shrinking conflict zone and for those 200,000 more who are barely surviving in overcrowded camps. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which rarely makes public comment, called this conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil rebels, 'nothing short of catastrophic'.

Until now, the divided UN Security Council has abdicated their responsibility to protect Sri Lankans from war crimes and other atrocities. But in this conflict Japan cannot be ignored – it's powerful voice could tip the balance and influence the conflict dynamics, saving lives in the short-term and promoting peace and development in the long run.

Asia's longest-running civil war is entering its final stage – the only question is how many will die before it ends. Let´s send a powerful message urging Foreign Minister Nakasone to act responsibly and lead international efforts to push the Tamil rebels to release the remaining civilians, stop the government bombing and bring sustainable peace to Sri Lanka. Japan's political and economic weight means that they cannot be ignored:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_bloodbath

As other donor nations increase the pressure behind the scenes this week, a truly global citizens' outcry can further turn the heat on the Japanese government to use its leverage and push for a robust and concerted international action that stops the bloodshed and protect the Sri Lankan civilian population at risk. Thank you for sending your message today.

With hope

Luis, Brett, Alice, Graziela, Pascal, Ben, Ricken, Paula, Iain, Paul, Raj and the rest of the Avaaz Team

Doctor reports hundreds of bodies being brought to hospital as UN says feared bloodbath has become reality - 11 May 2009 -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/11/sri-lanka-civilian-deaths

Four leading international organisations call on Japan to play a more active role in confronting the unfolding catastrophe in Sri Lanka. Press release:
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6097&l=1&m=1

Full text of the letter at:
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6096&l=1&m=1

The US accuses Sri Lanka of causing “untold suffering” among civilians, and calls on rebels to release civilians stuck in the conflict zone:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/world/asia/23lanka.html

For information about the UN Security Council discussions on Sri Lanka:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5817983.ece



5.

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8050649.stm

UN calls for massive Pakistan aid

14 May 2009

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has called for a massive aid operation to help those displaced in north-west Pakistan.

He said that in the past two weeks, the UN had registered more than 800,000 Pakistanis fleeing fighting between the army and the Taleban.

Without help, he warned, they could contribute to the instability.
Mr Guterres was speaking after visiting makeshift camps housing those displaced by the conflict in the Swat valley.

Antonio Guterres visited camps for the thousands of displaced people
He said many were living in harsh conditions in very hot weather, and urged a massive injection of emergency aid so their grievances would not spark further conflict.

He said: "If you are not able to cope with the challenges posed by such an overwhelming number of people displaced, in communities that have not the economic capacity to absorb them, and if the very serious humanitarian response is not organised, this population will become a huge factor of destabilisation."

Dramatic situation

Mr Guterres added that the authorities recognised that both the number of displaced and the speed with which they had fled, had created a situation as dramatic as the conflict.

Those in the makeshift camps are enduring harsh conditions in hot weather2
They join at least 500,000 people already uprooted by the army's battles against the Taleban, in a region that has hosted Afghan refugees for decades.

It was clear, said Mr Guterres, that the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan now had one of the most alarming patterns of displacement in the world.

Fighting has continued in the Swat region and the neighbouring district of Lower Dir. The military says 54 militants and nine soldiers have been killed over the last 24 hours. These figures cannot be independently confirmed.

The Taleban are waging an insurgency to impose Sharia law, and to expand the areas they control in Pakistan.

---

Related articles:

US House approves $ 2.3 billion for Pakistan (May 16, 2009 )
http://www.pakistantimes.net/pt/detail.php?newsId=664
WASHINGTON (US): The U.S. House of Representative has approved a $ 96.7 billion supplemental measure to fund Iraq and Afghanistan wars, with $ 2.3 billion flowing into Pakistan as economic and security assistance as well as financing for enhanced American diplomatic missions in the key anti-terror allied country.According to the House Appropriations Committee, the $2.3 billion for Pakistan include about $ one billion for socio-economic development, $ 400 million for strengthening counterinsurgency capability of Pakistani forces and some other expenditure like U.S. diplomatic operations, diplomatic security and a new secure embassy and consulates in the country.The economic assistance for Pakistan will be $ 997 “more than the Obama administration had requested and help address the economic crisis, including agriculture and food security, assist the displaced population, strengthen national and provincial governance, expand the rule of law, and to improve access and quality of education.”On the military side, $ 400 million have been allocated for the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund (PCCF) to help train and equip the Pakistani security forces for counterinsurgency operations. The funds for PCCF would be available on September 30, 2009.

Fear of Taliban influx in largest Pakistani city (17 May 2009)
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=&section=international&xfile=data/international/2009/May/international_May1169.xml
KARACHI, Pakistan – Taliban fighters seeking money, rest and refuge from U.S. missile strikes are turning up in increasing numbers in Pakistan’s largest city and economic hub, Karachi, according to militants, police officials and an intelligence memo.The Taliban presence in this southern port city, hundreds of miles away from the Islamist extremists’ strongholds in the northwest, shows how quickly their influence is spreading throughout the nuclear-armed nation.Karachi is especially important because it is the main entryway for supplies headed to U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, as well as the city most critical to Pakistani commerce. Few believe the Taliban could actually take over this diverse metropolis of more than 16 million, but there is fear that they could destabilize it through violence and rock the already shaky national economy. (...) On the outskirts of Karachi, large settlements of Afghan and Pakistani refugees have swelled over the past year by as many as 200,000 people. These refugees are mostly Pashtun, the ethnic group that dominates the militancy. An intelligence report obtained by the AP warns that such neighborhoods have become favored hideouts for militants linked to Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistan’s top Taliban commander. CLIP

Many more related news through http://news.google.com/news?ned=ca&hl=en&q=pakistan



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