Dear Cathy:

HAPPY 19th ANNIVERSARY!

Carat Rose with 19 Petals
Florists Rose (1989)
Breeder: Mathias Tantau

In celebration of the 19th anniversary
of our meeting at Foothill College
Middlefield Lab on May 8, 2000,
Truman's and your Dad's birthday,
a Carat Rose with 19 petals greets you
with Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, Verse 19,
and postage stamps with 19 denominations.

Lao Tzu (604 B.C.-517 B.C.) Chinese silk painting from British Museum

Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, Verse 19: Throw away holiness and wisdom, people will be a hundred times happier. Throw away morality and justice, and people will do the right thing. Throw away industry and profit and there won't be any thieves. If these three aren't enough, just stay at the center of the circle and let all things take their course. — translated by Stephen Mitchell      Harper Perennial, New York (1994)

Postage Stamps with 19 Denomination—

U.S. 2479: Fawn 19¢ (issued 3-11-1991)

Wallis & Futuns 299: Native Hut 19 francs (issued 1-20-1983)

Belgium 2986: Northern Shrike 0.19 euro (issued 3-26-2001)

Metonic Cycle of 19 Years—

Heliocentrism: Andreas Cellarius's Harmonia Macrocosmica (1660)

19-years Metonic Cycle as Wheel 9th-century manuscript (St. Emmeram's Abbey)

In astronomy and calendar studies, the Metonic cycle or Enneadecaeteris (Greek words for "19 years") is a period of very close to 19 years which is remarkable for being very nearly a common multiple of the tropical year and the synodic (lunar) month. The Greek astronomer Meton of Athens observed that a period of 19 tropical years is almost exactly equal to 235 synodic months, and rounded to full days counts 6940 days. The difference between the two periods (of 19 tropical years and 235 synodic months) is only 2 hours. Taking a year to be 1/19th of this 6940-day cycle gives a year length of 365 + 1/4 + 1/76 days (unrounded cycle is much more accurate), which is slightly more than 12 synodic months. To keep a 12-month lunar year in pace with the solar year, an intercalary 13th month would have to be added on seven occasions during the nineteen-year period. Meton introduced a formula for intercalation around 432 BC. As an astrologer, you may be interested in Metonic cycle & astrology. Dane Rudhyar & Metonic cycle.

Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) Day By Day With Bhagavan (1968), p. iii

Dialogues with Ramana Maharshi on May 8, 1946— In the afternoon there was the following talk with a young Sadhu from North India: Sadhu: I want to find out who I am. How can I find out? Ramana: Keep all other thoughts away and try to find out in what place in your body the "I" arises. Sadhu: Am I to keep on repeating "Who am I?" so as to make a mantra of it? Ramana: No. "Who am I?" is not a mantra. It means that you must find out where in you arises the I-thought which is the source of all other thoughts. But if you find this vichara marga too hard for you, you can go on repeating "I, I" & that will lead you to the same goal. There is no harm in using "I" as a mantra. It is the first name of God.     God is everywhere, but it is difficult to conceive Him in that aspect; so the books have said: "You are Brahman." So remind yourself: "I am Brahman." The repetition of "I" will eventually lead you to realize "I am Brahman."

May you enjoy this page, this day, and every day!

With well wishes,

Peter
5-8-2019