Charter for Compassion

You can sign the charter HERE  if you wish

fire in the hold…..flame 2

via

belief is in the eye of the beholder…

It would be nice to believe that the 'terrorist jihad movement' was, at last, starting to be rejected by the innumerable 'leaders' within Islam on moral or religious grounds.

Take, for example, the following:

"three of Saudi Arabia’s most influential radical clerics — Nasir bin Hamad al-Fahd, Ali al-Khudair and Ahmed al-Khalidi (once described by Osama bin Laden as “our most prominent supporter”) — have disowned Mr. bin Laden. Another, Salman al-Awda, has excoriated him, asking, “How many innocents have you killed?”

Abu Basir al-Tartusi, an influential Jordan-born cleric living in London, now uses the Islamic concept of “covenant” between Muslims and their hosts to condemn jihadist bombings in Britain. In Qatar, the high-profile televangelist Yusuf al-Qaradhawi has advanced a “jurisprudence of jihad” that forbids the killing of most civilians. And from his prison cell in Egypt, Sayyed Imam al-Sharif — the founder of the Egyptian insurgent group that produced Osama bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri — has declared that the jihad against the West must be abandoned."

from HERE

This seems to be enlightened progress. It seems to be a more thorough understanding of the original words of the Koran.

It would be nice to believe that.

However, what is far more believable is that the revulsion felt by the overwhelming mass of moderate, temperate, loving and compassionate muslims throughout the world is beginning to have an effect upon the extremists.

Furthermore, the jihadist, one caliphate, insurgence within the muslim world has done more harm to Islam by simply illuminating the lack of a basic, unmodified, unadulterated ' doctrinal code of Islam' .  It's one of those 'where you stand dictates what you see' relativity issues. In one islamic country, this way: in another, that way.

Islam is not a unified faith and the schisms of moral revulsion rising to expression within the mass of decent law-abiding muslims, these schisms

are becoming tradition shattering tsunamis of tolerance.

We learn slowly…..

If we can only love those we agree with we are emotionally and intellectually dyslexic in our understanding of what love means

gg.

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Matthew Shepard  and James Byrd Jr paid an appalling price to help our hearts read the meaning correctly…

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self-appraisal

"Ninety-four percent of college professors believe they are above average teachers, and 90 percent of drivers believe they are above average behind the wheel. Researchers Paul J.H. Schoemaker and J. Edward Russo gave computer executives quizzes on their industry. Afterward, the executives estimated that they had gotten 5 percent of the answers wrong. In fact, they had gotten 80 percent of the answers wrong"  David Brooks, NYT

It seems that the old saying  "to thine own self be true" has undergone a hyper-transformation.

Maybe it's good to simply ask oneself, occasionally, 'what if everything I believed was wrong and the opposite was true".

Often it is only when we meet the opposite of something that we can really define the something…

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Mehdi Karroubi – "fire in the hold"

Readers of this blog will often note my lack of conciliation on the subject of politicised religion. I have a fundamentalist, simplistic view about this: when politics and religion mix, the innocent suffer and the 'religious org' clearly distances itself from concepts of higher morality, ethics and, yes, even it's own oft stated dogmas about the nature of God.

I have often bemoaned the absence of the 'voice of moderation and tolerance' in the Islamic world in the face of fundamentalist jihadist atrocities, often dismayed by the hijacking of a 'noble religion' by a fringe of power-hungry individuals.

It is, therefore, with great respect and admiration that I read today of the continued principled stand of the 72 year old mid-level Iranian cleric, Mehdi Karroubi.

When threatened with an 'inquisition style' inquiry he stated “It will be a good opportunity for me to talk again about crimes that would make the shah look good,”

More recently he stated “If only I were not alive and had not seen the day that in the Islamic republic, a citizen would come to me and complain that every variety of appalling and unnatural act would be done in unknown buildings and by less-known people: stripping people and making them face each other and subjecting them to vile insults and urinating in their faces,” he wrote in his letter to the nation. “I said to myself, ‘Where indeed have we arrived 30 years after the revolution?’ ”

( above quote VIA).

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I am not Muslim, but that does not stop me recognising the courage and determination of a man for whom his faith means more than his life.

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I am reminded that it was Gandhi who said "even if you are the minority of one – the truth is still the truth"

The measure of the truth of Islam in Iran shall be seen in the manner in which this 'Islamic Revolution' handles the accusations of improper behaviour , human rights abuses, rape, sodomy, murder ,levelled against it by one of it's formerly highly respected own…

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are you 14 years old?

Well check out what happened to 8 other 14 year olds on this day less than 100 years ago. Not so long ago in human history we did not have the choices, freedoms and economic security that most of us can now enjoy, at least in Europe.

In memory of Senghenydd

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consciousness demoted

"The work demonstrates that we are awash in social signals, and any social science that treats individuals as discrete decision-making creatures is nonsense. But it also suggests that even though most of our reactions are fast and automatic, we still have free will and control.

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Many of the studies presented here concerned the way we divide people by in-group and out-group categories in as little as 170 milliseconds. The anterior cingulate cortices in American and Chinese brains activate when people see members of their own group endure pain, but they do so at much lower levels when they see members of another group enduring it. These effects may form the basis of prejudice.

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In other words, consciousness is too slow to see what happens inside, but it is possible to change the lenses through which we unconsciously construe the world"

Extracts from an article by David Brooks, NYT, about 'social cognitive neuroscience'. See the rest HERE

Peace is….

Peace is, first and foremost, an attitude of mind and emotion. In order for peace to be translated into a physical reality there has to be a willingness to recognise the formula of understanding of the needs of each other.

When we are willing to adopt an attitude of mind and emotion that celebrates the uniqueness of each individual, then we have the tools to progress to a physical enabling of peace.

gg.

This blog writer congratulates President Barack Obama on the award of the Nobel Peace prize.

It is a long time since an American President has 'set the world' on a pathway of hope in the possibility of truly peaceful co-existence and shared responsibility for that co-existence.

Not all 'actions of peaceful intent' produce immediate result. However, this writer feels that Obama's contribution and leadership in shaping attitudes and emotions that are conducive to future peace certainly warrants this Peace award.

The voices of reason

 

When He - Albert Einstein  (often regarded as the father of modern physics and an acknowledged massive contributor to the understanding of modern science and the universe in which we exist)   said this…..

"Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth

about this man – who was born 140 years ago today -

Then I take notice – and find out more about Mahatma Gandhi

(Time magazine named Gandhi the Man of the Year in 1930. He was also the runner-up to Albert Einstein as “Person of the Century” in 1999)…

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Indonesian earthquake

Searching the bodies at the morgue to try and find a relative. The pain and suffering is clear in the child's face. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to all who are enduring this tragedy.

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longing for…..

The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate

of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.

C. S. Lewis

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friends will be friends

Friendship isn't a big thing…..but a million little things 

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.images  VIA

A beautiful spirit

Last May this blog also reported the incredible story of a young teenager from Guatemala whose heart was failing – and the incredible story of all the hearts that opened to help this amazing young man.

Here is a beautiful tribute that has been made by stillchillin2 on you tube

On 26th June we lost the physical presence of Juan – but our hearts

will forever be touched by the story of his heart and courage.

R:I:P

backwards view

"Telling the future by looking at the past assumes that conditions remain constant. This is like driving a car by looking in the rear-view mirror"  anon.

To be fair and objective, interpreting your own spirituality/beliefs  by constant reference to the ancient experiencing/writings/traditions of someone else is a little bit the same as the above.

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On Grief 1

Be gentle with yourself,Precious One. Allow your heart time to weep -  for you, and we, have misplaced a great treasure and we must patiently wait for the floods of our feelings to subside before we shall see the shining of his/her presence in our hearts again.

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These days are precious days, let them move at their own pace and have no regard to how it may look to others. Try not to be angry and impatient with yourself but rather,if the burden becomes almost too heavy, decide to light a candle and as you light it concentrate,concentrate on one - just one - happy and joyful memory you have of that loved One…

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it will take you the rest of your lifetime and a lot of candles and even then you will not have exhausted the supply of wonderful memories that have been lovingly,magically woven into your being.

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It takes the joys of love to heal love's sorrows

.  gg

Lest we forget

Something else also happened this day as well as the 'official' start of WW2.

within 3 days 186 children had been starved, denied water and then

 

Beslan

It always seems to be so disastrous for humanity when politics gets all mixed up with religion – especially if the religion is pretty mixed up in the first place

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

To thine own self be true

It is a source of constant amazement and, yes, dismay to me as I get older to observe how often people simply cannot dare,or trust, to be themselves or to be fully open.
Fearing they will be used, abused or cheated in some way they so often compromise themselves.
I have even witnessed,regrettably many times, great spiritual principles or beliefs traded and sold for a pocketful of dust.      

No one can take your dignity if you do not give it to them.
No one can take your integrity if you do not sell it to them.
No one can steal your love, for in truth Love is only ours to possess in that moment that we give it away.Until that moment we are possessed by love.

gg

Windows 16

"...keep knocking, and the Joy inside will eventually open a window
and look out to see who's there."
- Rumi

http://flickr.com/photos/marioraffin/

The Power Of Love

I have always tried to believe in the POWER OF LOVE. I have tried to live my life within the reality of that belief.

Occasionally, life has tested that reality and tested it almost to the point of destruction – but never quite!

Always has come some incident,accident,event that has protected and defended the belief.

Today I finished participating in a singing course with angels – and the dancing melodies of their lovingness is as shimmering sunrays in the forests of my doubts.

I have always tried to believe in the POWER OF LOVE.

In almost 65 years it has never failed to triumph though the manner of it's victory may have,at that time,seemed to be the opposite.

LOVE does not concern itself with logic.

gg