cloud walking

A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes;

a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs;

an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them.

Leonard Louis Levinson

The world rejoices

Joseph Olupot in Arua, Uganda, writes:

"It is thrilling to see the valuable lives of people being rescued after such a long time of hopelessness and desolation. I could not contain my happiness. I am delighted. I join the Chileans in celebrating."  via

Dan Lundmark from Long Beach, US tweets:

"Awesome watching Chilean miners rescued and reunited with family, after months trapped 700m underground, on my birthday! What a gift." via

 

erhem!  Maybe the world wide rejoicing at this incredible rescue where a nation has illuminated the importance of 1 human life…. may help others to come to a similar comprehension……

being motivated as a motif

“So go about life condemning none, but looking kindly and with love upon all; hold no harsh thought even about a so-called enemy.

In truth, no man can really be your enemy, all are your teachers; and when you are tempted to feel injured or resentful because of some apparent injustice, look first within yourself and ask, "What has this to show me, what have I to learn from this?" In time truth will reveal itself, so that instead of thinking antagonistically you will be able to say, "Thank you, brother, for you have taught me much, and helped me".

The other person's motive is not your business”

White Eagle

 

Rays of Love

Mundaka Upanishad  2.2.10-11

Love Light

 

"Love cannot endure indifference. It needs to be wanted. Like a lamp, it needs to be fed out of the oil of another's heart, or its flame burns low".

Henry Ward Beecher

Ayodhya- the new word for SHAME

A secular court has now made a judgement about this disputed 'holy' site.

In essence the three protagonist parties will share the site.

Once again we see secular society teaching ethics and morality to 'old religions'.

If only these 'religious' participants could have embraced 'One-ness' and come to the decision to share the site themselves.

What difference would it have made?

2,000 lives difference!

There is nothing 'holy' about a 'religious' site that has claimed 2,000 lives upon the altar of hate!

Here is what was said on this blog on 5th March 2002……. read Afsana's story, a 15 year old. Read it and marvel, as I do, at such lovingness from a child.

It were better if all three of the protagonists 'religions'  in this case agreed to utilise the disputed land to erect a memorial to all those who died – and spent the rest of their lives praying daily there for the souls of the murdered innocents.

 

Ayodhya is the Indian word for 'shame'….if it wasn't before, it is now!

human observation

"the way Sir Willoughby continues to speak through the answers of other characters, returning to notice their replies only when his own vein of thought is exhausted" is a "wonderful observation of human speech"

Angus Wilson commenting upon George Meredith's tragicomical novel, The Egoist.

Carpe Diem - 02

It doesn't really matter what religion you are – or if you have no religious beliefs at all.

Whether we meditate or pray

But in these coming hours let us all set aside some moments to send out our loving and peaceful thoughts/prayers/meditations  for a resolution of this desperate problem

It is time for LOVE and PEACE to begin to resolve this Middle East wound which has stubbornly refused to be healed for so very, very, very long.

We, the world, sincerely request and desire that all parties involved will find an honourable, respectful and peaceful method….

to save the children of the future.

(Carpe Diem 1 can be found here)

we are climbing…

"There are in all religions essentially only 3 types of persons:

1. Those who always look to others to tell them the words. Studying the words themselves
implies too much effort. For these any 'confrontation with a Godly presence is emotionally satisfying but is often regarded as a mere coincidence'.

2. Those who study and know the words.  Intellectually. They are 'libraries of knowledge' able, at any moment, to recite an appropriate verse or text. For them such studies are emotionally rewarding and intellectually appealing, whilst hiding in the thoughts of others they have no need to deal with real spiritual  life situations or with themselves. They are exceptionally skilled at steering group 1.

3. Those who have gone beyond the words, the metaphors, the traditions and whose hearts have welcomed the deepest meaning of the words. For these 'the word has become flesh' These are easily recognisable, for they speak little with words. Their loving eyes shout their awareness of one-ness. Their compassionate actions (without requiring 3rd party recognition or reward) manifest a living faith and a loving religion. Their example, once observed, does not seek to lead others, yet in the beauty of it's lovingness others  awaken to their own beauty.

Yet all have their unique and precious place within the totality of one-ness. Each 'group' helps  us  to 'know and love ourselves and thus know and love all others'...and those 'steps of understanding' are the stairway to heaven".

gg

unheard Prophecy – 38 years ago!!

"In 1972 Pope Paul VI said, 'Satan's smoke has made its way into the temple of God...'  Now, as we enter the third millennium, it is no longer 'smoke' but a raging fire. Catholicism is in the throes of the worst crisis in its entire history." - Fr. John Hardon, S.J., Introduction to The Marian Catechist

What crisis?   Ah, you can get a glimpse if you Google Cardinal Sodano who, according to CatholicHerald.co.uk is " a catastrophe waiting to happen"

And all this time you were thinking I was anti-catholic, huh?  Read again what Pope Paul VI says……

I am 'anti'  any religion or persons in 'positions of religious authority' who seek to abuse the peoples of the world, the 'children of the One God', with lies, hypocrisy, manipulation, fraud, embezzlement, murder, rape, mutilation…or anything else that does not respect the individualism created by the One God or honour the sanctity of life..

To be 'anti' is not too hate, it is to love your brother/sister enough to help them see the log that is in your own eye, so that they may better find the speck that is in their eye.

margin notes____01

In this apparently PR dominated world it is often difficult to really know what persons in powerful positions are actually saying…and meaning.

I remember from my youth a film " The shoes of the Fisherman" where a fictionalised powerful man actually DID mean what he said…..

Anthony Quinn played the lead role…along with many, many top-rate actors/actresses at the time. Of course, a 1968 film may seem a little lacking in CGI or even violence/sex……but if you have any interest in 'non-marginalised religious/ethical actions' it's worth watching……especially if you are interested in moral actions that create scandal because they are so moral – as opposed to the opposite margin.

Courtesy of IMDB you may be able to watch a trailer HERE

it does not say what it says it says____002

"….adherents of a given religion, like everyone else, focus on things that confirm their attitudes and ignore things that don’t. And they carry that tunnel vision into their own scripture; if there is hatred in their hearts, they’ll fasten onto the hateful parts of scripture, but if there’s not, they won’t. That’s why American Muslims of good will can describe Islam simply as a religion of love. They see the good parts of scripture, and either don’t see the bad or have ways of minimizing it.

So too with people who see in the Bible a loving and infinitely good God. They can maintain that view only by ignoring or downplaying parts of their scripture.

For example, there are those passages where God hands out the death sentence to infidels. In Deuteronomy, the Israelites are told to commit genocide — to destroy nearby peoples who worship the wrong Gods, and to make sure to kill all men, women and children."

Robert Wright (amongst other things has taught philosophy at Princeton and religion at the University of Pennsylvania).

what is written in the margin…..

"religious bodies - including institutions linked to the Catholic Church - need to be free to act in accordance with their own principles and specific convictions based upon the faith and the official teaching of the Church" 

Pope Benedict XVI, speaking at Westminster Hall, London on 17 Sept 2010.

In an interesting, if somewhat intellectual, analysis of the roles between religion and State, the Pope bemoaned the 'marginalisation of religion" in modern societies. Within the speech were the above words.

Freedom of religion is a precious and deeply treasured aspect of most modern democracies – yet that freedom is moderated by the requirement to honour and uphold the moral and/or ethical standards within a society as manifest by laws that protect human rights.

'Marginalisation' is nothing more or less than the refusal of society, and the peoples that constitute society, to accept a lower standard of behaviour from religious organisations than is required, practised and manifest within secular society.

Freedom to act within a religion pre-supposes a basic fundamental of respect for others. This is integral in Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, etc.etc. Time after time in ancient writings of any and all of these religions the same message is found – behave towards others as you wish them to behave towards you.

As has been observed before on this blog, society is now teaching ethics and morality to the major religions. For as long as that continues – and the major religions continue to espouse outdated and immoral standards of human rights – for this long shall the major religions continue to be marginalised.

< the scientific approach>(l+c=u)

 

"She had a wonderful sense of humour. I learned from her that the highest forms of understanding we can achieve are laughter and human compassion."

Richard Feynman, Nobel Prizewinner 1965 in Physics (jointly with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga) talking about his mother.

getting grey…..

via

"Sincerity is the luxury allowed, like diadems and authority, only to the highest rank.

Every man alone is sincere.

At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

It kind of reminds me that as children we all have an innocence of faith/belief…. and then we fill ourselves with other people's experiences/ideas/concepts….so that by the time we are 30 years old, we have become fairly expert at making all the conceptual permutations that are necessary to allow us to do whatever we want, say whatever we want,….always claiming to be part of the 'peer group'.

it does not say what it says it says……..huh?

There is a general misunderstanding about 'old religious texts'. General simply because most people are busy getting on with their lives and have little time for in-depth study, Form Criticism or Higher Criticism researches occupy much time…so unless you are unemployed or long-term sick, you are unlikely to devote a lot of time to such researches.

For these reasons 'sound-byte religion' has become the norm at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century.

So, check out this article which looks at some of the 'mirror settings' that can take a sacred text and severely alter or obscure it's intended meaning:

check out the full article HERE

interchangeable wisdoms

He said, "To do unto all men as you would wish to have done unto you, and to reject for others what you would reject for yourself."

via

Change the name of the religion, it doesn't really matter……some beautiful truths are universal.

remembered

Love makes hearts sing

Not everyone is trying to get headlines and attention by extreme actions – like terrorist activities or Burning Korans or complaining about new religious building a few blocks away from 'ground zero'..

CLICK HERE to have the full story about this inter-faith community in Memphis.

In these true events you can actually begin to understand the concept of 'the ONE GOD'

Not forgotten

always it is the children who pay………..