"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)
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
."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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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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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.
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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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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.EBay Winners Tell Struggling Atlanta Family: Take the $20G, Keep Your Stuff
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486128,00.html
"Man does not live by bread alone....."
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)
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
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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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
.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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When you understand the relationship
of subject and object
thinker and thought
and how they create each other
you recognise that these are not two,but one
Sosan
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Following the entry about confused and/or conflicting moral and ethical
standards (Dignitas Personae etc.) I endeavour to attempt to be fair
by now showing this item of news:
It appears that the Saudi court - enforcing Shia law - does not have the right to protect the child either!
Oh dear.You would think that any major religion would by now have realised
the universal repulsion of ordinary people at such activities.
(source:Daily Mail)
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Clearing the record about things like donkeys and wise men doesn’t show us the real truth of Christmas. The power of the Christmas story has little to do with who did what and when. It doesn’t matter if Jesus was born on December 25 or on Flag Day. What matters is that he came into the world as a fragile human being, a baby boy in the care of a teenage girl with a skittish husband. God showed us that humility and grace mean so much more than power and glory. Once we clear away the decorations and the subterfuge, we see God revealed in an impoverished infant. I don’t know the mind of God, but it seems like he was making a point.
from an article by Stephen W Simpson
Love that phrase 'humility and Grace mean so much more than power and glory'
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."DIGNITAS PERSONAE" or Dignity of the Person
Well, it must be getting near Christmas I guess. How do I know? Not the snow on the ground,that's melted. Not the upsurge in 'help your neighbour' scenarios,that's digitalised. I know because the Vat has come out with a 'pro-life'(translated-extra members::translated - more money) document this last week with the above title.
SUPER grandiose
quote"the Vatican yields to no one in its pro-life commitments. In effect, “Dignitas Personae” is a reminder that there will be no “truce,” no strategic silence, about the defense of human life from the moment of conception.
end quote: source-http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/opinion/19allen.html?hp
NOW THERE'S AN INTERESTING CONCEPT
So, for the benefit of those with short memories excuse me for reminding you of.........
as 'Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ' aka inquisition,, Ratzinger's 2001 letter “Crimen Sollicitationis” which clarified the confidentiality of internal Church investigations into accusations made against priests of certain crimes, including sexual abuse, became a target of controversy during the sex abuse scandal
Cardinal Ratzinger is better known as Pope Benedict XVI - the present pope.If you want to read about excommunication for Bishops,et.al, who disclose details of clergy/child sexual abuse to the Police, read it here
http://ito.blogspot.com/2006/05/crimen-sollicationis.html
Now what was that about specks in eyes?
And what was that about millstones around the neck of those who abuse 'my little ones'?
Truly, I tell you, as a business the Vat may have some time left - but in a spiritual guidance
function,the Vat is drowning!
My answer to the terrorists.......with special empathy for all those affected
by the atrocities at Mumbai.
"Your eyes are brown,
mine are blue,
his are green
You have good vision, young and fresh,
mine is ageing, blurred a mite,
his is like yours, sharp and true.
You have precise colour seperation sight,
mine is confused on brown and blue hues,
his is genetically perfect.
Behold, the tree.
What do you see?
Do you see differently than me?
If so, is it any less a tree
or greater, maybe?
Behold, your God.
Does it matter how you see?
If you see differently than me?
Does it change the fact of sight
or lessen God's omnipotence that we differentiate?
Ah, but we can philosophise and speculate,
intellectualise and humanise,
from such activity we can grow to love or hate,
We can, ego-driven, minimise or maximise.
It all depends upon our eyes.
Or does it?
Is God any less God
for all our discourse, all our debate?
Is the fact of God
affected by our genetic code
or even indoctrinated load
Is not the fact that we can see
enough of a fact for you and me?
Shall you tell me
I cannot see
because I see differently?
Better, rather, you tell me what you see
for the beauty of your vision
when added to my own
gives extra dimension
depth, colour, form
to that which I have known.
The fact that you can see
does not take anything away from me
but adds to my perception
if you will care
enough to share
and I with you
that which we see as true."
gg
"a problem is a solution awaiting it's time of birth" gg
"It is time to change and our problems can facilitate our solutions"
Neil YoungFor those of you who have an insatiable appetite for BAD NEWS and a
pessimistic outlook for the human race----read no further.
"If your image of a philanthropist is a stout, gray geezer, then meet Talia Leman, an eighth grader in Iowa who loves soccer and swimming, and whose favorite subject is science. I’m supporting her for president in 2044.
When Talia was 10 years old, she saw television clips of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and decided to help. She galvanized other kids and started a movement to trick-or-treat at Halloween for coins for hurricane victims.
The movement caught the public imagination, Talia made it on the “Today” show, and the campaign raised more than $10 million. With that success behind her, Talia organized a program called RandomKid to help other young social entrepreneurs organize and raise money.
At randomkid.org, young people can link up with others to participate in various philanthropic ventures. On the Web site, Talia has organized a campaign to build a school in rural Cambodia, backed by children in 48 states and 19 countries.
Likewise, she’s working with schools in seven states to provide clean water for rural African villages. She is a frequent guest speaker at other schools, although she acknowledges she’s just a bit intimidated when she visits a high school.
“I’m only in middle school, so I see high schoolers as the big kids,” she said. “When I go to high school to pass out Unicef boxes, I see them as the big, scary ones.”
At a dinner a few days ago in New York, Talia was honored by World of Children, an organization that encourages youth activism and calls its awards the “Nobel Prizes for children.” If kids like Talia can accomplish so much, without credit cards or driving licenses, just imagine what adults could achieve." (source:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/opinion/16kristof.html?hp
and if you want to watch a good film about youthful enthusiasm/innocence/determination in the face of life's trials.....
"Saint Ralph" with Adam Butcher is another superb film from Canada
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Nag Hamadi,1946 Those scrolls are found.
How many have found their way to the secret vaults of the Catholic Church?
How many of the Scrolls have been allowed to be studied by modern academics?
Does 'The Gospel of Thomas:the secret sayings of Jesus", and other such scrolls, really threaten the fundamentals of the church - or do such documents more adequately reflect the way in which Christianity has been manipulated from within?
Can the institutionalised Christian Church survive the open study of ALL the scrolls documents from Nag Hamadi or must these remain 'protected from public view?'
"Unless drastic measures are taken at once,the greatest and most valuable of all Hebrew and Aramaic manuscript discoveries
is likely to become the academic scandal par excellence of the twentieth century."
-- Geza Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls: Qumran in Perspective (Fortress, 1981), p. 24.
All that which is hidden shall be revealed (St.Mark's Gospel)
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........................................see post below......................................
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"They undermine the standards codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the keystone of the United Nations, by granting greater rights to religions than to individuals, including those who choose to hold no faith – or who would seek to convert.
Another stark irony hangs over the UN special session this week. Saudi Arabia is one of the world's worst abusers of religious freedom, a fact recognized by the Bush administration when it named it a "country of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act in 2004. The king couldn't hold such a conference at home, where conservative clerics no doubt would purge the guest list of Jews from Israel, Baha'is, and Ahmadis."
"The Saudis' dubious interfaith agenda at the UN" is the name of the article which discusses repressive and inhumane religious laws...and the rest of the article is here
It should be read regardless of what religion - or none - you hold.
But control-freak rules have always been the domain of insecure "faiths",and especially those sects,
religio-politico orgs that seek to control a state, a country....or a world
Personally,I think that religions should earn the loving respect of the world community. This they can do by upholding modern standards of human rights and by so demonstrating their LOVE for humanity as to be a catalyst for lovingness.
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Obama on his Faith - 1
"And so, the biggest challenge, I think, is always maintaining your moral compass. Those are the conversations I'm having internally. I'm measuring my actions against that inner voice that for me at least is audible, is active, it tells me where I think I'm on track and where I think I'm off track. ...
Looking for, ... It's interesting, the most powerful political moments for me come when I feel like my actions are aligned with a certain truth. I can feel it. When I'm talking to a group and I'm saying something truthful, I can feel a power that comes out of those statements that is different than when I'm just being glib or clever"
You can read part of this interview which originally appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times in 2004 herejust in case there are some folks smugly smiling the 'I told you so'
thing over my last posting,I thought I would update with another event
from yesterday
you can read more HERE
Researchers at Oxford University have compiled a list of the
top 10 most irritating phrases.
These are,apparently,as follows:
The top ten most irritating phrases:
1 - At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It's a nightmare
8 - Shouldn't of
9 - 24/7
10 - It's not rocket science
(this list as published in the Daily Telegraph ).
Personally, the one that irritates me the most is that one
which implies that one person or another (usually clerics
of whatever faith,but occasionally politicians) has some
'special relationship', elitist position, unique insight, into
God's will for humanity.I find it irritating because,more often
than not, their claim is refuted by their actions!
If it isn't loving,forgiving,compassionate,enduring,......it almost
certainly derives it's origin from a human source that is somewhat
disconnected from it's divine linkage.
'
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The other day I got an e-mail message saying simply this: Rosa Parks sat in 1955. Martin Luther King walked in 1963. Barack Obama ran in 2008. That our children might fly.
from an article by one of my favourites,Roger Cohen,NYT.HuffingtonPost.com had a fantastic election page also with various 'election data widgets' from other sources,like MSNBC,DailyKos,
Google,CNN,etc. So I was 'stuck' at HuffingtonPost.com for all my data. Here's their headline,up at 04-05 am Swedish time
for more of these pictures (from AP and Ghetty) of Obama in the rain
go to HuffingtonPost
I guess it's not hard to see who I support.
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His name is George Sampson, he's just 14...he didn't give up the previous year and won the contest his second year. He's a nice guy...and you should Google him to learn something of his life. Not such an easy life,but that didn't stop him.
There's inspiration all around, often in the most unlikely forms, for those who are willing to simply see.
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A student aiding a classmate still in the ruins of a high school in Beichuan County.
Photo: Chen Xie/Xinhua, via Associated Press
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