Power of prayer, power of intention

As some of you may be aware, Australia was recently staring down the barrel of a category 5 cyclone - one which was going to destroy major cities in the state of Queensland and be bigger than Hurricane Katrina.

But then it veered away from the path of major destruction and its rage was vented on a few smaller townships along the coast. Not that this didn't cause much terror and heartbreak for the residents of these towns, it certainly did. But it could have been a lot worse.

I pray a lot, and as the cyclone was bearing down on Queensland, looking the whole time like this was going to be our biggest ever natural disaster, I said a prayer. As you may also know, Queensland had also just suffered its worst ever floods, with a dozen people dead and thousands without a home. This had already caused such great suffering and sorrow that it seemed that Cyclone Yasi would just be too much for a state and a nation trying to rebuild.

So I said a prayer, and in the prayer I affirmed that the forces of nature have mercy on us, that the cyclone not create harm and instead dissipate harmlessly over the sea.

Now while Yasi did travel inland, it missed the bigger towns and within a couple of days was downgraded from category 5 to 3, from 3 to 2 and finally, 2 to 1.

I am definitely not saying that my prayer alone caused this! But I have a feeling that a LOT of people were praying, not least the people of Queensland who had already suffered so much. I think Australians are a people with a gruff exterior but also very heartfelt, and I have no doubt that faced with the terrifying prospect of this massive cyclone, many of us were praying to be spared.

In the end there was just one casualty of the storm, and sad though that is it is nothing to what could have been. At times like this I feel its so important to have empathy - I imagined what it would be like for me and my family to have to shelter in a shopping centre (mall) along with thousands of others unable to return home. I can barely imagine it but I can imagine the despair and the pain.

I am just thankful that our collective prayers were answered! My intution had said at the time that they would be, and that's what eventuated. I think we need to rediscover the power of prayer, at this time in history we need the help of the angels and the divine powers more than ever! Let's get their loving energies into our lives where they are needed. This kind of prayer need not even be denominational - just pray! And let the divine emissaries of heaven do the rest. That's all it takes!

Images from Bronte Beach, Sydney

I'd like to share some photos I took during a recent visit to beautiful Bronte Beach, an eastern suburb of Sydney.

Bronte is a place I visit now and then, I'm not really a surfer or even a swimmer to be honest. However it's a place I find uplifiting to visit, its got great natural beauty and fresh sea breezes, and it's nice to have a picnic lunch on the overlooks with my girlfriend.

I hope you enjoy these!

View from the high street at Bronte

Surfers at Bronte Beach

Bronte Beach (view from south end)

Wave splashes on rocks - Bronte Beach cliffs

View south from overlooking cliff

View north from same lookout

Whales at Bondi

Today was a red-letter day for me as far as wildlife spotting goes.

Not long after this photo was taken (about 3pm today), my girl and I trudged wearily over to the grassy hill overlooking Bondi Beach and sat down in the shade. We'd just done the Bronte-Bondi walk and there were major crowds so we were both feeling a little exhausted and irritable.

After a rest and a cool down, we were heading off when suddenly, way out to sea and near a yacht, I spotted a plume of white water spraying upwards in the air. I thought what was that? As Susan and I stayed to watch we could see the dark shapes of whales frolicking in the water. I was excited because our day hadn't been as nice as I'd hoped and this was a rare chance to see whales for the first time.

As we continued to watch, what looked a killer whale suddenly and gracefully propelled itself out of the water! We could see its whole body clearly despite it being way out to sea (about half way to the horizon). We could see another one slightly further out also occasionally leaping out of the water.

Several boats came as if from nowhere to gather round the whales and take a look. People sitting on the grass near us registered my excitement, and one guy with his girlfriend turned to me and said, "Good spot!" It was actually, all I initially saw was white water jetting out of it's blowhole.

We both felt considerably cheered up after seeing the whales. It's amazing how these beautiful creatures can have such as soothing and uplifting effect on the human spirit.

Take care and happy whale spotting!

Anthony