"Praying" by Alex Grey is a portrait that reveals a sun in both the heart and mind. From the inner Light in the center of the brain, a halo emanates and surrounds the head. This center in the human body is sometimes called the "single" or "third" eye. Jesus Christ spoke about this center when he said, "If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of Light." In the halo is inscribed the signs of contemplation from six different paths: the symbols of Yin and Yang from Taoism; a description of the magnitude of Brahman from Hinduism; the watchword of the Jewish faith, "Hear of Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One"; the Tibetan Buddhist mantra, "Om Mani Padme Hum--a prayer for the unfolding of the mind of enlightenment; Christ's word's of the "Lord's Prayer" in Latin; and a description of Allah along with the Islamic prayer, "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his messenger." I have attempted to present the spiritual core of light which transcends, unites and manifests in the various religious paths. Chapter 13- Artist as Spiritual Explorer Alex Grey--Visionary artist, spiritual seeker and author of Sacred Mirrors: The Visionary Art of Alex Grey. In the painting, Universal Mind Lattice, which was based on a mystical visionary experience, I was part of one vast luminescent, transparent lattice system of love energy. It was as if the veil of supposed 'reality' had been stripped from the material world to expose the bedrock reality, the scaffolding of spirit. I understood it as the intricate interconnectedness of the one and the many on a level of awareness that was infinite and eternal. This was the ethical ground of compassion, where all beings and things are known to be part of us. I knew death need not be feared because we would eventually return to the profound bliss of this realm. --Alex Grey, from Sacred Mirrors: The Visionary Art of Alex Grey Chapter 14- States of Consciousness--From Deep Sleep to Enlightenment H.H. the Dalai Lama of Tibet--Spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. The perfection of enlightenment is Buddhahood. Buddhas are reincarnated solely to help others, since they themselves have already achieved the highest of all levels. They are not reincarnated through any active volition of their own; such an active mental process has no place in nirvana. They are reincarnated, rather, as a result of this same innate wish to help others that allowed them to achieve Buddhahood. --The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet Chapter 15- The Soul's Need For God Sri Daya Mata--Foremost living disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, President of Self-Realization Fellowship and author of Finding the Joy Within You. What a vast world of love and joy is within the soul! We don't have to acquire it; it is already ours. --Sri Daya Mata Chapter 16- Experiencing the Soul in Meditation Sant Rajinder Singh--Spiritual leader, meditation master and author of Inner and Outer Peace Through Meditation.