Spirituality

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Psychotherapy/Massage Office Share (millbrae) $150 260sqft

Beautiful 260 Sq. ft office space in Millbrae available every Thursday and every Saturday. Also available 3 Sundays, and 3 Wednesdays a month. Office is suitable for individual psychotherapy, groups, and/or massage. Currently being used for psychotherapy, hypnotherapy and spirituality classes. There is an additional large waiting room. The office is nicely furnished and in a secure building with parking. It is one block from BART, Millbrae Train Station, and the bus on El Camino. $150 a month for every Thursday or for every Saturday. Every Wednesday available after 5pm for $100. Please phone (415) 927-3332 for more information on Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday availability and cost. It is available two consecutive Mondays a month and two consecutive Tuesdays a month.

Shoppers are 'selling their souls' monk warns

Shoppers are selling their souls to companies as greed replaces spirituality it is claimed.

BEAUTIFUL ARTSY HOME (emeryville) $525

Hello, we are three housemates, two females and one male, (and one cool cat) seeking a fourth male to fit into our sweet home by DEC.1ST. Our nice housemate is sadly leaving us to pursue his music career in L.a so we would love to find another cool, creative and communicative male to fill the room. We are one sound engeneer, one administrator at the Academy of Art / GRE student , and one full time student in multi-media arts in video, film and classical art. ATT: PLEASE READ ENTIRE POST PRIOR TO RESPONDING,thanks. The room haS wooden floors, windows, creative paint job with possibility to being repainted by you (except black) if yu prefer a different look. The space is a medium size with a bed loft. The house is spacious, has washer/dryer, a backyard, lg kitchen and lots of lighting. We are busy and responsible, we like to hang out when we can and enjoy eachother's company when we're around. Rent is $525 payed by the 5th of every month, plus $500 deposit, and share of utility bills. You would be sharing a bathroom with the girls who by the way are on the clean side, sarcastic and opinionated so if you don't have a sense of confidense or humor do not bother to reply. SO, HERE ARE SOME HUMBLE REQUIREMENTS FOR YOU TO READ PRIOR TO RESPONDING THIS POST; You must be willing to: Communicate openly, Be open minded to art, music, spirituality, Be willing to wash your dishes after use, with no exceptions, Be willing to take turns at cleaning common areas such as the bathroom you share with the girls, Be willing to also take turns at puchasing common areas needs (TP, dishsoap, or occasional 2buck chuck wine if you drink someone elses'), Be willing to have a sense of humor that is open to blunt foreign humor (Italian/french ei), Be 420 ok but not excessive, Be a Cat Lover. Be willing to be caring and respectful of the house and the tenants. If this sounds attractive to you and you see yourself here, then please send an email about YOU, what your plans in this crazy town are and why you want to live here (besides the reasonable rent) . thanks and till soon. ps. sorry, no more pets

Very Large 1 BDR Apt Available From 11/21 - 12/1 - Great Location (berkeley) $450 1bd

Fully-furnished, tastefully-decorated, spacious 1-bedroom apartment available for 11 nights - November 21st through December 1st. At $41/night it's a great deal for the space. $450 total including gas/electric/wireless. Excellent location - a stone's throw from Berkeley Bowl/Great Restaurants and Ashby Bart - ample parking as well. Great neighborhood; walking/biking distance everywhere. Ideally looking for someone mellow and responsible - some one who has a practice rooted in eastern spirituality - or at least awareness and respect of such things - would be ideal. But I am open to any decent, "non-partying" human. I am open to subletting for the whole 11 days or partial - but prefer to sublet the place for the whole time. Please email me with your phone number for more info. Thanks! Additionally, there is a piano!

Global survey: youths see spiritual dimension to life

In the most ambitious such review to date, young people in 17 countries most often defined spirituality as belief that life has a purpose, belief in God, and being true to one's inner self.

Stories of loss and love from families of army's fallen

'I think about the families, and a life torn apart'The locals line up pints of bitter at the Kings Head bar in Droylsden, Greater Manchester. Behind the till Ronnie Downes, 60, reads his son's last letter home. Outside the pub hangs a huge picture of Tony and the words: 'Tony: Our son, Everyone's Hero'.Guardsman Neil 'Tony' Downes, aged 20, was travelling with the Afghan National Army close to the town of Sangin in Helmand province when their vehicle was hit by an explosion. Before going out to Afghanistan, Tony wrote his family a letter to be opened in the event of his death. Standing in their pub, Ronnie recites passages: 'I love you all from the bottom of my heart. Please don't be mad at what has happened. I did what I had to do, and serving the British army was it. Don't be sad - celebrate my life, because I love you and I will see you all again.' As he finishes, Ronnie falters and breaks down in tears.'What amazed me most was that my mum and dad were really strong. That really brought us together as a family,' says Ronnie's eldest daughter, Katie, 21. 'My mum campaigned for the soldiers, for the job they were and are doing out there in Afghanistan and Iraq, and inspired us all. Everyone expected her to be the other way. She urged the government not to bring troops home - because it would mean Tony died in vain. 'Tony loved serving with the 1st Battalion of the Grenadier Guards. He died doing something he loved. It doesn't stop our pain, but it comforts us to know how fulfilled he was in his career and life as a soldier. My brother had only been in Afghanistan for 12 weeks and was due to return home on 28 June 2007. That date became the date of his funeral.'Katie says the hardest thing was listening to her brother's letter: 'I think about what must have gone through his head when he was writing that, knowing that he could die.'Before he left for good, and I remember this vividly, he was packing up one of his huge rucksacks and out popped two letters, from the top of his bag. They both said: "Not to be opened unless deceased." I remember catching my breath as I saw the writing on the envelope.'My brother was the 60th member of the armed forces to die in Afghanistan since the start of operations in November, 2001, and for the first time it really made me think about what all those other families have gone through and all the families since - each death of a child, a brother, a husband, a boyfriend or a father, a life torn apart.' The soldier's younger sister, Jodie, 17, describes how she now visits her brother's grave more than ever. 'I talk to him in the cemetery. Sometimes I stand, other times I kneel down and talk to him like he is there,' she says. 'Some days I cry; other days I just pass the time of day. I feel silly and self-conscious speaking to a grave, but whenever I look around, nobody is paying the slightest bit of attention. There are other people there at the gravesides, crying and mourning in their own way, talking to their loved ones and praying. It is definitely therapeutic.' She adds: 'What has helped me above everything is knowing he is in a better place, a happy place, in heaven. It may sound daft, but I believe angels are looking after him up there, and he is looking down on me and probably laughing at me crying. If he could speak he would probably just laugh and tell me not to be so daft. 'Losing my big brother has definitely brought me closer to all my siblings and to mum and dad. In some ways it makes you special having a brother as a war hero; people look at you and feel sorry for you, but also admire what you have gone through. 'I am only young, but what I do know is I never want to feel pain like this again. I have cried enough now.''I couldn't bear to see his coffin in the flag'St George flags hang limp in the suburban gardens of Eltham in south-east London. Inside her family home, Ruth Rayment, left, sits in front of an electric fire, her knees scrunched up around her neck. She is surrounded by army memorabilia that belonged to her brother, Christopher.'I was 16 when he died,' says the nursing student, now 20. 'When the men in uniform came knocking on my door, we knew what it was straight away. I remember my mother screaming and collapsing in the front room, I will never forget the wailing.'Christopher Rayment, a private with the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, died aged 22 when a security barrier fell on him while he was manning a checkpoint. He had been in Iraq for more than five months and died just 10 days before he was due to return home to his parents, Pamela and Gordon. Four years on his room remains virtually untouched.'Everyone expected it to hit me hardest, but I didn't mourn for a year,' says Ruth. 'I started crying on the anniversary of Chris's death - that's when the trauma hit me. It came like a black cloud; it consumed me, and I realised I was depressed. I kept hearing my brother's voice. His presence wasn't frightening, just permanent.'Ruth thinks her decision not to go to Brize Norton to watch her brother's body arrive back in the UK contributed to what she calls 'suspended reality'.'For me he was still out there, in Afghanistan, patrolling as a soldier,' she says. 'That's what I convinced myself of, anyway, that he wasn't coming back because he was still out there.'I think this feeling was because I couldn't bear to see him come back, to see his coffin in the flag. When the realisation he was gone finally hit me, a year later, it felt like I'd been hit by a huge black wave, like a tsunami, and the water was pouring into my ears and nose, suffocating me. It was the most terrifying experience of my life.'Ruth's sister, Mandy, 29, says her experience of Chris's death was different. She went to Brize Norton to see his body arrive. 'I can honestly say it was the proudest, and in a strange way the happiest, moment of my life,' she says. 'I sent Chris a little charm to take to Afghanistan, a little St Christopher, and it was returned with his body. I keep it with me at all times now.' Both sisters share a strong sense of spirituality and, like many relatives of the 'Fallen', Mandy has started seeing a clairvoyant. The medium, she claims, brings her closer to her brother's spirit. That is why she finds it hard to visit his grave; she thinks his soul is elsewhere: 'Since Chris died I've been going to church, and last week I was finally baptised. People might think I could be angry with God for what has happened to my family, but my belief in God helps me to come to terms with what has happened. It is his plan and my brother, in the middle of all of this, is in a happier place and is smiling down on us.''Daddy is happy in heaven eating crispy duck'In her small room in the family semi in Wythenshawe, Manchester, seven-year-old Courtney Ellis, above, strums her guitar, singing a song she has written about her father, Private Lee Ellis. To the tune of 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star', she sings 'I love daddy in the sky'.Later she flicks through the album of photographs she keeps under her bed, images of her last holiday with her 23-year-old dad. Her favourite picture shows her father looking on as she opened her presents on Christmas Day. A Para from 2nd Battalion, Ellis died on attachment to the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards in Al Amarah, Maysaan province, when he was killed by a roadside bomb on 28 February 2006. 'This is a picture of our last holiday together,' says Courtney. 'Daddy is in heaven now, and although he is dead, he is happy. When someone dies and they are naughty, they go to hell. My mum says that my daddy is eating a lot of crispy duck in heaven. It was his favourite food, and he wouldn't share it, even though he is in heaven.''He brought us here. And now we are alone'Saturday night television blares in the background as a crescendo of game show applause drowns out Camari Babakobau's faint voice. In mid-sentence she breaks down in tears and walks, head bowed, towards the front windows of her cramped barracks home. At her feet, her two young sons fight over the remote control, increasing the volume further as they clamour for her attention.Outside, the rain is pounding the glass. 'The weather is the hardest thing about living in England,' says Camari. 'He brought us here from the islands - my man - to give us a future, and now he has left us. We are alone. This is an army house. We will lose it in two years and have to go elsewhere.'On the wall of her lounge is an oversized portrait of her dead husband, Trooper Ratu Sakeasi Babakobau, in his Household Cavalry uniform. In the hallway, next to a calendar of the Pacific islands, is another photograph of the guardsman in desert fatigues; behind him, the scrubland of Afghanistan's Shomali Plain. It is the last picture taken of him before he died.Next Sunday, Camari, 28, who lives on a bleak housing estate on the outskirts of Windsor, will be one of thousands laying wreaths at memorials around the country. Her husband was killed on 2 May 2008 in the Nowzad area of northern Helmand, the victim of a Taliban landmine.Ratu's journey began in an MoD recruiting interview in Suva, Fiji's port capital. He was one of a growing foreign legion fighting for someone else's queen and country. He arrived in the UK in May 2004, and his first deployment overseas came four years later. But within a month of arriving in Afghanistan, the 29-year-old Fijian was dead. On the other side of the world, uniformed officers and a Household Cavalry chaplain were dispatched to Windsor to knock on Camari's door.'Other wives and mothers tell me they knew when they opened the door and saw the uniformed officers standing on the doorstep,' she says. 'I didn't know. I didn't expect it, because I probably didn't understand how dangerous my husband's job was. I thought they had come to see me about my son's British citizenship. I couldn't stop crying.'He returned six days later in a coffin with a foreign flag over his body,' says Camari. 'All I could think about was that my boys would never know their father; they would never play rugby with him, or be scolded for not doing their homework. To them, their father would be a photograph - not even a memory. 'The band played at Brize Norton and I stood there weeping, clutching my children's hands. The aircraft looked terrifying as it came in to land. I kept thinking, "Why is he in there, not breathing, his useless body coming back to me - for what?"'Young Fijians join the British army for financial reasons, for citizenship, for an escape from poverty and island life. My husband made this choice. For what? We Fijians don't understand anything about foreign affairs. Sure, the money is good for us, but you only have one life. My children will be told their father was a hero, but maybe he was foolish. Maybe others who follow him from Fiji are foolish.'? The Fallen is a three-hour film in which families and friends of the soldiers who have died talk about their feelings and grief. It will be broadcast at 8pm on Saturday 15 November on BBC2.1MilitaryAfghanistanIraqForeign policyFamilyDocumentaryTelevisionguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Sexuality and Spirituality: Perspectives for Living Wisely in the 21st Century

Spirituality is all-inclusive, expanding into every aspect of life, because spirituality is the infusion of spirit into living life. Spirit is always there for us and a part of us, so how can anything be separate from that? It is only our minds that create the separation, from the Infinite. Given this perspective, love and sexuality is the perfect topic to relate to the development of relationships and spiritual connection. We at Integrative Spirituality feel it is important to openly discuss and support the healthy integration of spirituality and sexuality. The value of sexual expression in relation to spiritual laws has been controversial for eons. However, we have been provided with the gifts of biologically designed bodies that can not only procreate life, but experience immense delight, enjoyment and energy in the process. There are many spiritually focused groups who do not recommend wasting life force energy in sexual activity, because if not practiced properly can drain the body of power and distract the mind, creating suffering and confusion. There are also many teachings, such as the Kama Sutra and Tantric traditions, who highly value sexuality and the practices of spiritual energy flow to increase the sacred connection with another person and the Infinite. From these traditions, sexuality is a spiritual path of transformation, as powerful a tool as any.  

A Great Room in the Hayward Hills (hayward / castro valley) $450

Looking for calm, accepting place that loves dogs, pets and people? Wanting a room in a home with a huge backyard and a playmate for your dog? I have a standard size Poodle named Orion who is known as "one of the coolest dogs ever." I live in the Hayward hills in a 1940's ranch style two bedroom one bathroom house with a large fenced backyard on a quiet cul-de-sac off Kelly Street. The house is newly insulated, has central heating, alarm system, and is nicely painted, has a big kitchen, living room and dining room open area, two medium sized bedrooms with a bathroom between the rooms. Your bedroom is newly painted, 10'X11' and faces the morning sun. The veranda like covered porch faces the Hayward Hills and you can see the sunrise easily. Many amenities: washer and dryer in the garage, large TV, DVD, Dish TV (lots of movie channels), fireplace (in the large living room area), wireless high speed internet through ATT, patio, can come furnished or semi-furnished (great for student). If you are looking for a place for yourself and your dog, I am an animal lover. I have two cats, and of course Orion. I've had conure parrot, a rescue rat, and a snake but now I am just down to the two cats and a dog. The dog door allows the animals to go into backyard at will. Your animal(s) must get along with mine, both dog and cats. If your dog sheds fur, you need to vacuum up dog hair since poodle's have only hair (not fur). I am in my early fifties, going to Hayward State to get a Masters in Speech Pathology after having received a BA degree in Liberal Studies with an option in Human Development ten years ago. I've been working in the computer field for last ten years and work to repair, and troubleshoot computer systems as well as manage the local office. My company custom builds computer systems for small and medium sized businesses. I've worked before: in aviation industry as an aircraft propeller repairman; taxi driver and dispatcher and in security while working my way through college. My friends say I can fix just about anything. I'm busy with school, my job, going to the Pacifica beach on weekends to hike. I love the ocean and would like more opportunities to go scuba diving or surfing. When I could get some friends to go. I go over to a friend's house in Berkeley on most weekends where I am the informal general-hold-the- house together-person for my friend who is in turn the informal den-mother of a home for twenty-something sensitive students. I like all ages and Katya, (who is the in-formal den-mother of the Delaware Street Gang) can vouch for me since she has known me for over thirty years and she and her son and I share the dog. I'm looking for a responsible, kind, straightforward, willing to help out, person with a sense of humor, tolerant and good hearted. This house is perfect for another student attending Hayward State (male or female any age) since we are 5 minutes to the freeway and 4 miles by car to Hayward State and close to Castro Valley. You will need a car since this is the suburbs after all. Trader Joe's is in the Neighborhood. My interests: people, animals, spirituality, hiking the beach, building things and working with my hands. I want no drama, no drugs, no smoking and very limited drinking (if at all).The House is one story and maybe the room is a little small for a couple, but I would consider it under the right circumstances. Price would be more for a couple. I'm out and about during the day and want someone who is also busy with school, work, friends, you kno.....generally has a life. E-mail katyahope@gmail.com and tell me somethings about yourself. Monthly rent is $450.00 a month. Plus Utilities $65.00. I am offering a 6 month lease with options. First and last month’s rent plus utilities and a security deposit of $450.00. Rent will increase to $500.00 because I add $50.00 for the dog. David

2bdrms in a killer SF place, with really great people (mission district) $1600

_The dream is alive_ ! A dear friend and I have found a house of jaw-dropping amazement… Understatement, you say? Read up on some of the raw details below (most of this comes from an agent’s post – but they know from whence they speak): · This is not in the Mission-proper, I know - it's just a few blocks away in Potrero (Cortland at 23rd)... but keep reading! It's still close, and a great bargain for all the goods~* · Restored home dating back from 1913, with four levels, nine rooms, two and a half baths (and it gets better…) · Fully remodeled kitchen – granite tops, brand-new stainless steel applications, cheery wood cabinets, yada yada… · Plant-filled breakfast room with a panoramic view, opening to a large sunny view deck. · Large formal dining room with built-in hutch. · Big living room with a kick-ass fireplace and marble hearth. · Aaand a garden paradiso out back (to tempt any Adam & Eve) with a brick patio, plants of herbs, roses, plants growing out of old beds, a water fountain, hummingbirds, and a kitchen sink (I’m sure it’s somewhere…) On to the two available rooms… (prepare: more agent-speak ahead) · $2,000: seven-hundred sq ft room (ok, apartment) that takes up the entire ground floor. Has its own private entrance, kitchenette, bathroom, massive cobblestone fireplace, and entrance to the garden. Everything you need in a private apartment – with an amazing house and community just a flight of stairs away~* · $1,600: Big bedroom (some would call it ‘master’) includes a white marble fireplace, lots of closet space and french doors that open on to a private deck with 180 degree views from the golden gate towers to waters of San Francisco Bay. You like the sunset? How about every night, overlooking one of the best views Potrero has to offer? · This bedroom and the two other rooms on the top floor share a giant bathroom with a killer tub (and jet streams that _will_ be put to the test), huge glass shower, and floor – all in white marble (can you spot the theme kids?) On to our vision for the house and roommates! P & I are two close friends. He’s an Italian entrepreneur/computer guy (early 30s), full of heart, passion, intellect, and great one-liners when you least expect it. I’m a freelance writer, California girl (almost 30), loves sincerity, spontaneity, creativity, and the random adjectives that come to mind at 12 in the morning… We are both into the arts, in a very large way, and are stoked to create a home where art is made, questioned, loved, and visited. :) We also don’t flinch when it comes to spirituality - or whatever name you give to the journey - and welcome meditators, yogis, and students on the path! Other thoughts… We are down to create a house that is as beautiful as it is warm and welcoming to all who cross our threshold – so cleanliness _has_ to be second-nature. This is a house for people who take initiative & run like Jackie Joyner, who are up on chores, and looking for ways to bring it all to the next level. Also, you know this climate crisis we’re in? It’s crap, but, hey! We live in the city of progress and innovation – so we’ll be doing our part with non-toxic products and reusing/recycling as much as possible. There is so much more that I could say! But you, poor reader, have already read a tome – and you need a break. Maybe also a cookie (that you have just pulled out of the oven? Reply now, good baker!) Hmmm… as for the rest – if this post rings many, many bells – we want to hear from you! And, maybe even your ex (we got to get our scoop somewhere..) Write back with your story, your ideal(s) (details: goood), and we’ll get back to the closest fits. I just met our landlord, and she is so old-school, straight-up, rock and roll that it hurts, in a very, very good way. Move-in is November 1. Not sure about the pets, and unless a couple would want to take both rooms, we couldn’t push it to five people (her rules). Bye lovely people! And best of luck in all your house hunts~* More pictures! http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/958-Carolina-St-94107/home/1944593