Morals: the one thing markets don't make

No amount of regulation will restore our sense of honour and shame. Economics needs ethics

Markets need morals, and morals are not made by markets.

They are made by schools, the media, custom, tradition, religious leaders, moral role models and the influence of people. But when religion loses its voice and the media worship success, when right and wrong become relativised and morality is condemned as “judgmental”, when people lose all sense of honour and shame and there is nothing they won't do if they can get away with it, no regulation will save us. People will outwit the regulators, as they did by the securitisation of risk so no one knew who owed what to whom.

The big question is: how do we learn to be moral again? Markets were made to serve us; we were not made to serve markets. Economics needs ethics. Markets do not survive by market forces alone. They depend on respect for the people affected by our decisions. Lose that and we lose not just money and jobs but something more significant still: freedom, trust and decency, the things that have a value, not a price.

FULL Timesonline article

Sir Jonathan Sacks is the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth

50 years - and still no condemnation

Happy Holi - colourful smiles

Holi - the Indian Hindu festival of colour

The power of self

"One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don't invest any energy in them, because I know who I am."

Michelle Obama

(seen here serving in a food kitchen for the homeless,courtesy of HuffingtonPost.com)

Sun worship.......?

In 2002, the sun gave to the earth more energy in one hour than the world used in one year http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy

This,apparently, is the statistic (much quoted at this time) that highlights another aspect of One-ness.  As the 'one-ness reality' keeps demonstrating, it's all around us all the time. We are always and in all ways surrounded by unconditional lovingness that is expressed within this 'process of the pathway reality' in thoroughly practical terms.

As we begin to fully understand/grasp this, so we 'fall in love' with the lovingness and realise that it's not what we have that matters (or is matter?), it is how we utilise what we have that articulates who we are at any moment in existing.

gg

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Dancing, Loving, Islam

"Islam came to this part of the world (Pakistan)through Sufism," says Ayeda Naqvi, a teacher of Islamic mysticism who's taking part in the chanting.

"It was Sufis who came and spread the religious message of love and harmony and beauty, there were no swords, it was very different from the sharp edged Islam of the Middle East.

"And you can't separate it from our culture, it's in our music, it's in our folklore, it's in our architecture. We are a Sufi country, and yet there's a struggle in Pakistan right now for the soul of Islam."

Sufism is a mixture of music, chanting and meditation

That struggle is between Sufism and hard-line Wahabism, the religion of the Taleban and al-Qaeda.

"Wahabism is a tribal form of Islam coming from the desert sands of Saudi Arabia," he says. "This may be very attractive to the tribes in the frontier, but it will never find resonance in the established societies of Pakistan." Full article can be found HERE.

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del.icio.us Tags: Sufi,Wahabi,Taleban,Islam

Gardening is a generally peaceful and 'soul-refreshing' activity. Indeed,recent reports indicate clearly beneficial aspects through 'contact with nature activities'. It's so specialised today that you can be 95% certain of the description.quality,and attributes of the seeds available to plant. Clearly, what you sow is what you reap!

It seems also to be the case with religions,though most would prefer that we ignored the 'original seed bank' from which their own religion,sect,group,sprouted

An interesting development this week in the Swat area of Pakistan, insurgency and jihadist terrorist action over many years has now delivered what the terrorists say they were fighting for : the institution of Islamic Sharia Law. Huh? You kill,maim,behead,throw acid at schoolgirls,burn schools, bomb....and this so you can have a rule of Sharia law? From these seeds shall grow....what??

Over the weekend I watched another interesting scenario, the film 'September Dawn' is the account of the massacre of 120 men,women and children on a wagon train travelling through Utah to California . Nothing new in that - until you go HERE - or watch the film and find that it was the Mormons who carried out the massacre of inncocent men women and children

Watching the film 'The Mission' does not exactly inspire one with trust in the Roman Catholic/Christian church.

Indeed one can go back through all of history and find that religions have been used continuously to justify actions that were,and are,far from any reasonable,normal,healthy,adult (or perhaps better,childlike), compassionate or loving concepts of God.

Well it is said,' by their fruits you will know them'.

As can clearly be seen by the mountains of commentaries and interpretations of 'ancient texts,books,writings', mankind clearly possesses a staggering ability to construct concept upon concept.

As these concept 'house of cards' structures evolve,pyramid-like in their organisation (usually with a poor-little-rich-man at the top who knows best in every circumstance) we begin to see a more refined and sophisticated ability to not only construct concepts, but to have concepts that by all reasonable standards actually contradict the original text/writings. This feat of intellectual gymnastics would normally be called 'lying' except for the very sad aspect that those involved have so totally convinced themselves it is a truth that retreat from this position is akin to total mental collapse/exhaustion.

To challenge the misrepresentations or misinterpretations is only to invoke a storm of indignant,often violent and certainly unjustified anger. Even allowing a margin that perceptions of truth can often be somewhat subjective, there are certain standards of truth which command respect. For example, it was Gandhi who once said "even if you are the minority of one, the truth is still the truth".Yet the context of this statement was a clearly demonstrable wrong that was being challenged in a lovingly peaceful non-violent way.

It is only to wait. Be patient.

Falsehood is a tree that grows which blossoms very quickly and whose fruits soon become a very heavy burden.

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del.icio.us Tags: Tree,hypocrisy,manipulation

Fragmented conceptualisation

It's an amazing age in which we live. You can travel the world and certain standard 'constants' are visible.A universal desire for peace, food, shelter, health is clearly visible

Also visible and audible are the sounds and sights of modern technological communications that give rise to what is euphemistically called 'multi-tasking'

Mobile phones,portable PC's,MP3 player,personal 'soundcentres' all are clearly apparent.

So an interesting article in Newsweek discusses the effect of these 'interruptive' episodes upon brain and cognitive function. You can read it here:http://www.newsweek.com/id/183719/page/1

Perhaps this is why meditation techniques have grown in popularity and useage. Creative,inventive thought patterns require some 'quality time' for concentration.

Perhaps one reason that some people declare themselves unable to enter a state of One-ness is explained by the fact of a lack of a 'concentration centre' in their life.

Focusing on the wonders of One-ness is NOT to be removed from reality but rather it is to allow reality to absorb the self - uninterrupted.

Need of a picture

This blog is in desperate need of a picture right now

This one is part of a series I call 'Frostflowers' taken within 200 metres of my home. If you want you can view the rest of the series HERE  as part of a MONSTER gallery of 840 pictures.

I have never seen Frostflowers before,nor since.

All this beauty that surrounds us,all the time,always changing........

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longevity

People like you and I, though mortal of course like everyone else, do not grow old no matter how long we live... [We] never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born. letter to Otto Juliusburger

Albert Einstein

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del.icio.us Tags: einstein

the gates to practical compassion

This blog comes to you courtesy of an incredible human tool,an advancement in human progress that I believe is without parallel in human history.

The internet

This also functions for many people with the aid of Microsoft products,which also produce amazing love/hate reactions with some people. Not me I hasten to add.

So a thought to bear in mind about the monolithic Microsoft org is that it's joint founder,Bill Gates and his wife,who run the Gates Foundation, not only made a lot of money from their business endeavours but are now in a scenario that causes them to share their wealth.

Despite the world economic downturn the Gates Foundation is budgeted to spend/allocate $3.8 Billion in this current year in fighting such diseases as malaria.

They are not the only wealthy philanthropists to share their good or well-made fortunes in helping humanity.

We don't have to be rich to share what we have and it's an interesting observation that we all have a compulsion to help others.

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del.icio.us Tags: Bill_Gates,Microsoft,Malaria

the dilemna of good works

EBay Winners Tell Struggling Atlanta Family: Take the $20G, Keep Your Stuff

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486128,00.html

Miracles every moment

"Man does not live by bread alone....."

Famous words.Or at least one time they were.They were meant to suggest a spiritual dimension to our existence but would more likely suggest extra sauces,spices and additives to our food nowadays.

Most people know more about a 'religion' or their  favorite sports team or their favorite celebrity than they do about how their own body works.

You could reasonably expect that everyone would at least study their own physical existence - as a direct means of understanding any definitions of God,superconsciousness,etc.etc. I mean, where better to find the answers or experience the 'so called truths' than in our own individual scenario?

Did you know there are approximately 60 to 100 trillion cells in the adult body? Every hour approximately 1 billion cells must be replaced.

So the body is in a constant state of change and renewal. Then how does that affect,influence, 'traditionalist thinking modes' or 'consciousness embedded spiritual concepts'.

Maybe peeps get emotional/intellectual indigestion leading to long term sickness when they reject change,progress,new understandings. An acceptance of change is the only real way to fully accept the miracle of life. I mean, exactly how many of us would want to eat food prepared as it was 2000 years ago with the hygiene standards that existed then,let alone the potentially infected foodstuffs themselves?????

(inspired by an article here)

del.icio.us Tags: diet,spiritual_food,traditionalism,human_cells

choices words

you don't get to choose how you're going to die, or when. You can only decide how you're going to live.

Now

Joan Baez

treasures hiding

Every soul has it's own agenda in life.It is a blessing for the self when we are able to simply accept that reality - and accept it with thankfulness no matter what.

This is the great wonder of love when it calls us to follow it's pathway.We do not cease to be who we thought we were,we just expand in a way that causes us to be almost unrecognisable to ourself. Once we have thus expanded,we can never return to what we were.Once we have experienced the enormous capacity of lovingness, which is the hidden life treasure within, we begin to become fully aware of the great mystery of life. I acknowledge a difference between 'lovingness' and what we may call 'the impulses of the body or the habit of living together'. For is it not a truism that sometimes we have to love enough to allow the other person to follow their own agenda? In truth, is that not what we want - that the other shall find self-fulfillment and happiness? Is that not the amazing phenomena of love?

This is what I mean when I talk of not allowing others to define who we are,how we express our lovingness. If we allow ourselves to surrender to a sense of self pity,rejection,depression because a dream of love has been shattered by a reality of needs - then we deny ourself! We deny the enormity of lovingness that is the universe of our true self.

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BuzzNet Tags: love,unconditional love,treasure

It ain't rocket science.....

Israel acts because the world won't defend it

The scenes from Gaza are heartbreaking. But the whole conflict could be avoided if the Palestinians said one small thing

Daniel Finkelstein

"Why, he asked, doesn't Israel offer to give back the West Bank and Gaza? Why doesn't it just let the Palestinians have a state there? If the Palestinians turned it down, he said, then at least liberal opinion would be on Israel's side and would rally to its assistance.

So I patiently explained to this kind, good man that Israel had, at Camp David in 2000, made precisely this offer and that it had been rejected out of hand by Yassir Arafat, not even used as the basis for negotiation. I told him that Israel was no longer in Gaza, having withdrawn unilaterally and taken the settlers with it. The Palestinians had greeted this movement with suicide bombs and rockets. Yet the teacher, with all his compassion, wasn't even aware of all this".

you can read the full article here

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del.icio.us Tags: Palestinian_state,Gaza,Hamas,Israel

Gaza:will there ever be...

Always the children pay......!

How can it be that once noble religions - having the same traceable genealogy - can still end up justifying the sacrifice of children?

Whether the story of Ibrahim and Ishmael, or Abraham and Isaac - depending upon your Middle East politics and tradition - the message of the story seems quite clear to any thinking,loving human being.

The One God does not require human sacrifice! Never did!

So,how do these kind of "justifications" relate to 'religion'?:

“They have legitimised the murder of their own children by killing the children of Palestine,” Mahmoud Zahar [Hamas leader] said in a televised broadcast recorded at a secret location. “They have legitimised the killing of their people all over the world by killing our people.”

Mr Zahar made his first appearance since Israel launched its offensive. Dressed in a dark suit, he declared: “Victory is coming, God willing.”

I am not debating here the rights or wrongs of the political scenario in the Middle East.

What I am debating is the 'right' of any person to justify 'wrongs' in the One God's name.

With such inhuman absurdities some individuals claim 'religious authority', against a tradition that has stood for thousands of years.

Who needs a God that punishes - when humanity does such an inconceivably brilliant job of it?

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del.icio.us Tags: Palestine.Jihad,Q'ran,Koran,Abraham,Ibrahim,Israel