perseverance and obstinacy

The difference between perseverance and

obstinacy is that one often comes from a

strong will, and the other from a strong won't.

Henry Ward Beecher

 

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Better do a good deed near at home than go far...

Better do a good deed near at home

than go far away to burn incense.

chinese proverb

 

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Kiran Bedi

If you want to know more about Kiran Bedi you can visit the website at:

www.kiranbedi.com

 

You will be amazed at the activities of this most remarkable and effective

modern Indian crusader

 

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Now here's an interesting film about a very very special woman - Kiran Bedi.  

Our lives are not determined by what happens t...

"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results".  Anon

 

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Will to Live unity

"I am life which wills to live, in the midst of life which wills to live. As in my own will-to-live there is a longing for wider life and pleasure, with dread of annihilation and pain; so is it also in the will-to-live all around me, whether it can express itself before me or remains dumb. The will-to-live is everywhere present, even as in me. If I am a thinking being, I must regard life other than my own with equal reverence, for I shall know that it longs for fullness and development as deeply as I do myself. Therefore, I see that evil is what annihilates, hampers, or hinders life. And this holds true whether I regard it physically or spiritually. Goodness, by the same token, is the saving or helping of life, the enabling of whatever life I can to attain its highest development. 

 

In me the will-to-live has come to know about other wills-to-live. There is in it a yearning to arrive at unity with itself, to become universal. I can do nothing but hold to the fact that the will-to-live in me manifests itself as will-to-live which desires to become one with other will-to-live. "

 

Albert Schweitzer 

 

 

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By any other name

All actions have reactions, interactions.

 

All non-actions create reactions, interactions.

 

We are on the verge of a 'critical mass point' in human progress: the time is very near when we commit ourselves fully to the celebration of unconditional lovingness. Loving not simply our neighbour, but also finding ways to love our 'perceived' enemy, as ourself... unconditionally.

 

(As Gandhi once said "the only devils are those running around in our own heads".).

 

The more we progress towards the acceptance of 'what is', the acceptance of who we truly are in spiritual terms, the closer we come to materialising the fullest Paradise here on earth, expressing our lovingness in the abundance of health, peace and compassion.

 

The human race, thanks to the instancy of modern life, is wearying of the old polarised and
unloving concepts, religions and philosophies.

 

We stand on the very edge of an amazing and truly wonderful age in the history of humankind.
To be true to our destiny, we must be true to our name....kind humans :)

 

 

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Playtime is over

What we appear to need in this modern world,is a mechanism for celebrating our differences.

We have already created more than enough methods for condemning our differences.

The question to ask of ourselves, is which of these attitudes holds the highest probability for peace, harmony, and self fulfillment ( the expression of lovingness)

It is time for us to come into the consciousness of unconditional love, for the 'toys with which science has gifted us' are far too dangerous for us to 'play at being purposeful' any longer.

 

 

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Love's Logic

I've always believed in numbers and the equations and logics that lead to reason.

But after a lifetime of such pursuits, I ask,

"What truly is logic?"

"Who decides reason?"

My quest has taken me through the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional -- and back.

And I have made the most important discovery of my career, the most important discovery of my life: It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reasons can be found.

 

John Nash: 1994 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences Acceptance Address

 

 

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Potential Virus?

During this past week I have been receiving many

SUSPECT emails.

Suspect?  Well,take a look -

1.The subject says pdf file, the content is a PIF file

2. The subject says Photo,the content is a BHX file

3. The subject says 'Real Show', the contect is a UUE file

4. The subject says jpg, the content is a PLF file.

 

All of the ACTUAL attachment files are known or

possible carriers of virus, particularly the MyWife

virus, according to www.filext.com and other sources

 

The emails come from a Norwegian email address but

appear,unless its forged, according to the data I have

been given to originate in the Phillipines.

 

Never, never, NEVER open an email containing attachments

(in this case they are all over 100kb) if:

5. it comes from a person you do not know

6. you have not checked the 'file header' (you can do this

on most webmail systems without opening the attachment)

to make sure the file type that is ACTUALLY enclosed

poses no risk to your computer.

 

AND be very sure your protection measures (anti-virus,

anti-spyware, anti-phishing,etc) are absolutely up to date.

 

Interesting that people have the need to perform such

strange actions in the first place, huh?

 

 

 

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The art of......

In a quote usually attributed to Otto Von Bismarck, we are often

told that 'politics is the art of the possible".

 

Faith, we are told, reminds us that through belief all things are possible.

 

One-ness is the awareness that the impossible already is, it is simply

for us to draw it into our consciousness and translate it into our actions.

 

"If you want to fool the world...tell the truth" also Otto Von Bismarck

 

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Beyond Religion and Politics ?

U.S. President George W. Bush offered humanitarian aid Friday to the quake victims, while noting that relations between Iran and the United States are strained.

"I do want to offer my country's assistance to the people affected by the recent earthquakes in Iran," Bush told a news conference in Cancun, Mexico, where he was meeting with Canadian and Mexican leaders.

"We, obviously, have our differences with the Iranian government, but we do care about the suffering of the Iranian people."

I guess there are a lot of cynics out there who will simply say that such a gesture is simply

backdoor American Imperialism.......

"There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal, as human beings, to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death."  Russell-Einstein Appeal pub.1955

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The Defence of Truth?

The World Trade Centre atrocity has, more than anything else, concentrated thought and debate world-wide about Islam. I cannot remember any other event in my lifetime that has so 'thrust to public attention' the issues faced by modern Islam. Unfortunately the unbelievable horror of Beslan did not get the media coverage and was further confused by 'internal political overtones'. However, in both these cases Muslim terrorists killed...and killed innocent Muslims in outright contradiction to the teachings of The Prophet Mohammed and the Koran.

The latter half of the 20th century saw a Richter-scale shift in the dynamics of the Muslim faith. "Not all Muslims are terrorists,but unfortunately it seems all terrorists are Muslims" wrote one leading article in a Middle Eastern newspaper.The seperation of Church and State, the target not only of Sayyid Qutb's influential 'In the Shadow of the Koran' work + other works and it's subsequent inspiring effect upon the Jihad movement, is clearly delineated in the pressures for the institution and maintainance of Sharia Law in nation states.

For a non-Muslim (like myself) however, it is extremely difficult to comprehend the repeated contradictions inherent in many of the major religions, Islam included. I mean, is God all-powerful or not? If all powerful, what's all this talk about devils waging wars and devlish armies that could overturn the 'will of God'. Such talk is not a statement of belief, it is a statement of a lack of belief! What's all this talk about an individual who should be executed because they have chosen to worship the ONE God with a different dialect or through a different tradition? Is God so 'power-less' that we imagine we can take over the role of deciding upon life or death? How can terrorists, who betray the principles of their belief system, come to be regarded as 'martyrs?'

How is it possible, even allowing for intellectual gymnastics, to equate the threats and promises of punishment inherent in Sharia Law with this:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion; truth stands out clearly from error".
This is not from the Old Testament, nor the New Testament, nor the Sayings of the Bhudda, nor the
words of Christ.

"Compulsion" = force, threat, blackmail, constraint.

"Let there be no compulsion in religion; truth stands out clearly from error".
The Koran at sura (chapter) 2.256

Hey, and just be careful about being too judgemental if you belong to another religion,Christianity or Judaism for example. I am sure we can find unending reams of blog material by applying our insights and investigations to these areas also. The reason this blog is not currently doing so is that the confusion and contradiction of beliefs in Islam is 'stealing life'.
Life! Now is that God-given or what?

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PS. Broken Promise

In this blog Tuesday, March 21, 2006 I wrote about
The Broken Promise of a great religion in response to an

article quoting Dr Abdullah al-Amiri, a prominent member
of parliament in Sharjah emirate.

 

This gentleman was attempting to convince everyone that

'gay relationships' were not now,nor ever, a part of

Islamic society. My debate is not about sexuality, my

debate is about accuracy especially in respect of religion.

 

In favour of accuracy, may I respectfully refer the presumably

learned gentleman to historical record - try a visit to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pederasty#The_Islamic_lands

for a more accurate picture on this issue.

 

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The price of progress - £50

Yesterday my new printer arrived - an Epson D68, very nice and very

nice (low) price (from www.cheapink.com). Ordered and delivered

within 3 days by post.My 3 year old printer had been giving ink

cartridge problems. It got very frustrating.

 

In restrospect the frustration is a symptom of my/our incredible urge

for 'Great Expectations'. We often seem to forget just how amazing,

incredible,mind-blowing is the technology that is at our fingertips.

Hey, that is not to say we shouldn't keep expecting,for the drive of

human progress has done much to enhance the lives of so many and

inform the world where the lives of so many others was so
appalling,prompting international aid and response.

 

However, there is also nothing wrong - and maybe everything right -

with sometimes stepping back and viewing the amazing wonders with

which we surround our existence in this life's walk. We take so very

much for granted, huh?

 

Blogging,for example!  The power of mass communication extended to

every person with access to a pc and the internet. The opinions of the

individual circulated around the world and viewable by any who choose

to do so. This 'extended freedom' can be a counter-balance to

oppression/repression by 'greater' powers and systems - whether

governments, criminality or even religious organisations.

 

My new printer is amazing:colour,photo quality,high definition (5760 dpi),

low cost ink cartridges (now that's progress,hehehehe). It is just one of those

countless yet still truly incredible aspects of modern life.

 

Yet, if we listen to some and bury ourselves in ancient traditions or

un-progressed concepts/philosophies/religions we can have back the

 'good old days'. The answer to our fears for the future does not lie in

the false security of a dead past, rather it lies in setting aside our

fears in favour of full commitment to the adventure of life and life's

progress.

 

Hmmm... do you think I should print this out.........  :):)

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One-ness contentment

One-ness is the acceptance of what is, of what already exists.
It is not some idealised religion or philosophy of what might be,

of what could be.

 

When you come into this acceptance of One-ness, you arrive

at a vantage point that has a completely different view of the

meaning and relevance of life and all the interactions that occur

within it.

 

Your own thoughts and actions have a relevance previously

denied and an importance previously ignored.

 

When we realise that we are an integral component of each

other, it impacts upon our relationships in the most positive

of all ways.

 

Truthfully, what we do to another we also do to ourselves.

 

The old adage of 'Do unto others' holds the corollary of 'doing

unto yourself", for that which we do unto others is a statement

of who we perceive 'our self' to be.

 

It is a statement,an energy, we emit that states the kind of

experience we chose to feel at any given moment in time.

 

 

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Qumana and backups BLOGS

Hmmmm.. I must be getting nerdish :):)

 

This is a trial of an offline Blog editor which has many

very nice features to help us write our blogs...especially

offline.http://www.qumana.com

I also solved another little problem today with my blogging.

Over the 5 years I've been blogging I've had 2 harddisk

crashes...one caused by an (at the time) undetected virus

which finally managed to physically destroy a new 80 gig

HDD.

This gave me something of a headache or two, as a lot

of my blog backups also disappeared. Today I grabbed

a free opensource website copier that also copies BLOGS.

Beautifully :):)

http://www.httrack.com

 

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BORED?
While a lot of people,young and older,
complain of being 'bored', some folks
just get on with doing something....

"For years, scientists have been working
to find what can kill E. coli. Well, finally,
someone found it. It turns out there is a
good bacteria in yogurt that secretes a
protein that kills E. coli. We know this
now because a very smart, hard-working
researcher discovered it...........at the ripe
old age of 13". (CNN report)

I wonder what could happen in this world if
each one of us 'surrendered' just one hour
of 'boredom' to, for example, contributing
energy to solving the problem of clean
drinking water for everyone.

The dilemna of hypocrisy
"Afghanistan's constitution is based on Sharia law,
which is interpreted by many Muslims to require
that any Muslim who rejects Islam be sentenced
to death".

The key word in the above sentence is....
"interpreted"

Interpretation is the action of making understandable
a language ,tradition or doctrine to those who are
not part of that 'kultur".

Since Christianity,Judaism,Islam all hold the doctrine
that 'there is but ONE God', it is somewhat amazing
that such 'interpetrations of One-ness' can lead to
others being put to death...not simply in the name
of a society...but in the name of ONE God.

In the x-ray-like light of 'unconditional love', such
offensive actions are interpreted,understood, to be
nothing to do with God - but everything to do with
man-made manipulative doctrines.

The doctrine of 'One God' fails and falls when actions
such as those above are carried out. If the courts of
Afghanistan execute a man for becoming a Christian,
i.e. choosing to honour the 'One God' via a different
dialect/tradition, then that court denies the doctrine of
the 'One-ness' of God. The court harms Islam more than
anything this one man has done.

The Broken Promise of a great religion
"Brokeback Mountain is a film which has nothing positive
about it," said Dr Abdullah al-Amiri, a prominent member
of parliament in Sharjah emirate. "The portrayal of the
sexual behaviour of its main character [sic] is offensive
to eastern societies, particularly Muslims and the Arabs,
since Islam forbids abnormal behaviours like homosexuality
... The film will upset the people of this culture and tradition."
Qoted in the Guardian newspaper today.

The really interesting phrase for me is:
"Islam forbids abnormal behaviour"

Hmmmm... I guess beheadings, amputations
for theft, forced marriages, honour killings,
Sunni/Shia wars, female circumcision,
female rights repression, keeping the oil
money for yourself instead of using it in
society, absence of democratic rights,
the enslavement of whole generations/populations
........ am I really to believe that this i 'normal'
behaviour?
I think Islam is a much more loving and fair than
this!