the 'signs' of the times

It would appear that, to date, no evidence concerning the sacrificing of the present Pope's 'moral authority' is more clear and damning than that of the Priest,reported directly to Cardinal Ratzinger, for his lifelong  sex abuse of deaf boys. Reports that were made even by Archbishops!

"But it is only one of thousands of cases forwarded over decades by bishops to the Vatican office called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, led from 1981 to 2005 by Cardinal Ratzinger"(Laurie Godstein, NYT, see link below), who counselled secrecy on threat of excommunication

 

Recommended reading:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/world/europe/25vatican.html?pagewanted=1&hp

 

Now there are many, many beautiful believers who may feel that a justifiable prosecution of 'church officials' for their part in conspiring to pervert the course of justice (both spiritual and temporal) is an attack upon their faith. I implore such believers not to confuse their faith in God with a 'potential belief' in an institution.

uberrimae fidei

.

I believe this is a latin terminology, most generally used in law, which simply means 'utmost good faith'.

The Catholic Church appears now to be learning what this actually means. It is learning the lesson the hard way: dramatically falling attendances, disastrously declining income, failure to enrol for the priesthood at anything like an adequate standard, in short – the Church is in a deepening crisis. The moral authority of the Papacy has been sacrificed upon the altar of 'protected abuse'. I cannot see a time when this authority will be regained. The axe has been laid to the root of this tree.

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But lets not be sectarian about this, other major religious institutions are also falling foul of the increased knowledge and 'self-determination' aspirations of the world population.

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Judaism has become severely incapacitated by the less than reasonable behaviour of the Jewish State, Israel. The saying 'do unto others as you wish they would do to you' has been replaced by 'do unto others as was done to us'. The parallels between the politics of the Jewish State and the Nazis of World War 2 have become a despicable irony.

.

Iran's government does Islam no favours with it's reprehensible behaviour utilising religion as it's shield. Sharia law is generally perceived as being barbaric and not human. Nor do it's extremes speak to many people (with a choice to listen or ignore) of anything resembling a 'higher aspiration of the human spirit'. The Jihad movement's attempts to hijack Islam seem to be failing, yet there appears to be an undercurrent of progress and modernisation within Muslim populations that Islam has not yet grasped or seems incapable of responding to effectively. Alarmingly,for Islam, too many modern concepts of 'goodness' reveal the dysfunction of out-dated traditions.

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Utmost faith; blind, unquestioning addiction to the institution is irrevocably being eroded by that other word in the title – good.

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Mankind is progressing more rapidly in it's understandings and applicable definitions of 'good' than the religions. The moral high standards of the world society are applying judgements, theoretical and practical, to the behaviour of the high-powered and formerly unquestionably influential tenets of the religions.

If these religions are to survive the 21st century, they have to embrace a much larger definition of the word 'good'.

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As for me, I have faith in the utmost good which is erupting from the mass of humanity. I happen to believe that the One God is responsible for it. In that I have utmost good faith.

knockout words

“Impossible is not a fact; it’s an opinion,”

"If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it - then I can achieve it."
— Muhammad Ali (The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey)

good words stir the heart…….

Happiness keeps you Sweet, 
Trials keep you Strong,
Sorrows keep you Human,
Failures keep you Humble,
Success keeps you Glowing ,
But Only Friends Keep You Going!

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Someone has sent me an email with a lovely story in it about a little girl whose dog died….maybe I will put it on this blog. Anyway, on the email were also the above words…I don't know who wrote them, but maybe the words themselves are more important than the source.

happy holi :)

little lights in the darkness

as previously reported in this blog (Jan 17th) a very respected Islamic scholar has thoroughly researched and clearly shown that:

.

Jihadist terrorism is simply that….and is unislamic and criminal…

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.True muslims know this, but it is time to make their voices heard –loudly – if they seek to save Islam from self-destruction.

to a deeply treasured friend in his hour of need

Often in life it is when the darkness of despair engulfs us, when hopelessness tsunami-like would sweep us away,it is in that moment when the smallest,dimmest light of truth starts to shine in our hearts.

Whatever else, to yourself be true and that small,dim light will start to shine brighter.Follow the light.

.

gg

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we are what we think

I've learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances.

Martha Washington

In Memoriam: Bertha

Loves knows no barriers, accepts no limitations. Love understands the infiniteness of it's nature and even when all else crumbles around us,Love remains constant.

.

.

Often in life we feel we may have lost someone, but this is only a reflection of our wait for fullest comprehension. After a while we begin to feel, to sense, that the person we thought we had lost is still present with us. When the time is right the shining treasures of our life interactions start to glisten in the darkness of our sadness. Before too long the shining is so powerful that our hearts are magnificently illuminated and we glimpse an understanding that love has no end. 

.

.

I know I shall not see again

that smile upon life's well worn face

instead the joy of YOU remains

within the heart's most secret place:

just now and then

when rainbows bend

or frostflakes glisten in the wind

I sense again your smile of caring

.

.                                                               copyright  gg

.

Thank YOU, thank YOU,Thank YOU…for treasures of lovingness that shall never,never fade…

.

.

Charlie's an angel – episode 4

7 year old Charlie (see reports below) continues upwards with his fund-raising efforts to help people in Haiti – it all started with a bike ride to raise £500

£242,723 

         $385,000  

            SeK  2,812,000

But sometimes it's not just about the money.Often such a loving spark lights a fire of lovingness,as you can see from these donation comments at Charlie's Just Giving webpage:

easy judgements….

A group of men came along the street; heavily armed soldiers leading a condemned man to the gallows.

"That man is no good," said a disciple to Nasrudin. "I once gave him a silver coin in order to help him start his life afresh, and he did nothing important."

"He may be no good, but perhaps he is now on his way to the gallows because of you," argued the master. "Perhaps he used the alms in order to buy a dagger, which he then used in committing his crime-because instead of helping him with love and care, you chose to give him alms in order to release yourself from your obligation."

.

.

an excerpt from Warrior of the Light

by Paulo Coelho

When you think you have everything…

Bill and Melinda Gates announced plans Friday to invest $10 billion in the fight against a number of illnesses including AIDS and said the record donation could save nearly nine million lives.

(via)

…………..you realise that you have nothing until you share

(ps. I LOVE Windows 7)

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Oh, and don't forget little 7 year old Charlie…who has now raised £230,000 to help in Haiti. From the 'largest' to the 'smallest' the message of sharing and caring is the same.

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In Memoriam:a dying religion

Iran has executed two men arrested during the period of widespread unrest that erupted after June's disputed presidential election, reports say.

They had been convicted of being "enemies of God", members of armed groups and trying to topple the Islamic establishment, Isna news agency said.

(via)

So the question is – is this a political or religious execution? Either way it is an indication of what happens if you resist Islam.  I wonder how that squares with the words of the Prophet

"Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error" Qur'an 2:256

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I was not aware that an all-powerful, ever-present,all-loving God could have enemies. Why, even Abe Lincoln declared "the best way to 'kill' your enemy is to make friends with them".

Oh, Islam, what wrongs are done in your name and without protest from those who truly love Islam

Angel Charlie - £202,000

that's around $328,000 as at 13-06 CET

Angel Charlie – it just keeps getting higher

Well, 7 year old Charlie has now topped £166,000 (including Gift Aid) and it's still coming in!  (that's around $270,00).

Charlie is reaching people in Thailand, USA, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, in fact…all over the place his willing heart is touching others.

If children are the future….what a wonderful world this is going to be

$2 Billion and counting

As at 02-45 CET  today, 26th Jan, CNN is reporting almost $2 billion raised for the Haiti Earthquake appeal worldwide – and it's still pouring in.This,remember, for a tragedy that occurred 13 days ago!

Very detailed information of progress and fundings can be seen at  reliefweb.int

The amounts above represent the figures so far for both private and government donations/pledges.

Sometimes some people get cynical or discouraged about the state of the world………………but when we witness actions such as these, there can be little doubt about the kind-heartedness that is deep in the human spirit.

Charlie's an angel :)

Charlie said he had hoped to raise £500

A seven-year-old boy from west London has raised more than £65,000   £69,000 (+17K in Gift Aid) for the Haiti earthquake relief effort by organising a charity cycle ride.

Charlie Simpson, from Fulham, cycled five miles (8km) around South Park near his home to raise funds for Unicef's earthquake appeal.

The fundraising total outstripped his initial £500 goal, after he put an appeal on the JustGiving website.

Unicef thanked him "on behalf of the many children in Haiti".

 (via)

Haiti Hour

One of the things I love and admire about my chosen country of residence, Sweden, is a profound sense of fairness in the society – and an almost touchable sense of 'helping those less fortunate'.

Today in Sweden countless numbers gave an hour of their pay to help Haiti.

Some newspapers charged 1 krone extra  - and donated 2 kroner each paper to Haiti.

This in addition to all the monies that are flowing in to aid agencies, Unicef, Bankgiro and Postgiro donations.

You only have to look at Sweden's record of assisting refugees and re-settling them in Sweden to see just how amazingly generous Swedish people are.

I know this is also happening all around the world, in many countries. People are putting their money where their mouth is……and sharing what they have with others less fortunate.

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Thomas Paine + Haiti

I wanted to use a quote (Lead,follow or get out of the way) and to refer to it's source, which I did not know. Thanks to the wonder of search engines, I was able in seconds to access quotations from Thomas Paine – the source of the quote I wished to use.

As so often happens in life, the words I found on THIS WEBPAGE of Thomas Paine quotations seemed eerily appropriate to today and especially the situation in the greatly distressed country of Haiti.

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a sparkle of the brightness

Muslim group Minhaj-ul-Quran issues fatwa against terrorists

The fatwa, which was released in Pakistan last month, uses texts from the Koran and other Islamic writings to argue that attacks against innocent citizens are "absolutely against the teachings of Islam and that Islam does not permit such acts on any excuse, reason or pretext"

.

(via)

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Haiti grief

The world is also weeping

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del.icio.us Tags: Haiti

Flickr Tags: Haiti

LiveJournal Tags: Haiti

Helping IS what we do best!

There are times in our lives when – even against our better judgement – we simply cannot resist helping others.

"The injuries we saw were too grave for the few bottles of antiseptic, gauze and waterproof tape we had: skulls shattered, bones and tendons protruding from skin, chunks of bodies missing. Some will die in the coming days, but for the most part they are the lucky ones"

(via)

Let us save the sermonising, politicking, judgementalism for later…..

For NOW, let us help in whatever way we can with a thought of gratitude in our heart that this did not happen to us and our families and friends.

gg

Now is the time…………

"Words are the tools with which we demonstrate our interest.

Actions are the tools with which we demonstrate our LOVE"

gg.

There is no better time than now to show we care enough to be more than we normally are, yet always have the potential to be.

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Memory Lane

.

They said to me

. 
"GET A LIFE"
.

so I got one.
But it was faulty
so I took it back!
I was told
'The only thing that is faulty
is your perception....
Be who you are
not who everyone else wants you to be".

.

.
A rose is a rose, an oak tree an oak tree,
all have their unique place.
So do you
existence is incomplete
without YOU
being the special you that you are.

.

.originally posted here on 8th September 2001………what goes around, comes around…hehehehe

let your little light shine

gg

In Tsunami’s Wake, an Unexpected Second Chance

You can read the full article HERE

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"In Thantirayankuppam, a man named K. Manipalan told me he had wondered right after the tsunami if the village would recover. Now, he said, he had concluded that in a strange way the tsunami was a good thing.

.

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To mark the fifth anniversary of the disaster, he said, villagers would stand on the East Coast Road and light candles. The candles were as much to give thanks to the world as to remember the dead."

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Happy New Year

Tick.Tock sounds the clock.

Clang.Cling does the bell ring.

With such symbols we mark our journey

Through this walk of relativity

We have named living.

.

Yet deep within us sounds the rhythm

Of a profounder pattern called infinity:

For in each life has been shown

The formula of lovingness

By which we have grown

Into a self-fulfilling awareness.

.

Behold the first time love

Embraced our walk

Toned our talk,

Honed our all too clumsy actions

Into an eternity-filled fraction

Of compassioned caring

And suddenly we awoke to sharing.

.

Behold that time when love

Encompassed our humanity

And the urges of the body

Surged into moments of ethereal ecstasy.

And where was time then?

Did the tick,the tock

The bell-ringing of the clock

Restrict the outward blossoming of our love.

.

Ah yes, the hours we mark

And in our secret silences

Know the truth of time’s remark

That all are special experiences

All are symbiotic melodies

That conspire to create a symphony

Of the lovingness that we are…

And always have been…

And always will be

.

So,come New Year

You hold no tears

For those whose love will shine.

So,come New Year

For you are but another sphere

In which we happily recline.

So,come New Year

And we with joyful hearts

Welcome all these special moments

When we may be truly who we are.

copyright Geoff Groom 2001

Fire in the hold - 5

Reinhold Niebuhr declared: “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”

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Hallelujah! We've seen the light……..

Today is a wonderful day. A day for all thinking,believing people to celebrate. Today the following happened:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Pope has said he is "deeply disturbed and distressed" by the sexual abuse of children by priests in Ireland.

The Vatican said the Pontiff shared the shame felt by so many in Ireland

He said he shared the betrayal and shame felt by Irish Catholics after meeting senior bishops in Rome.

He now plans to write a letter to the Catholics of Ireland.

In a statement issued by the Vatican, Pope Benedict said he discussed the harrowing detail and cover-up of allegations against priests in the Dublin Archdiocese as detailed in the inquiry report with Cardinal Sean Brady and Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.

"The Holy Father was deeply disturbed and distressed by its contents," it said.

via

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Which appears, at least appears, to indicate a total change of heart and purpose on behalf of the former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Josef Ratzinger.

Readers of this blog will remember that many times we have referred to the document

Crimen sollicitationis

issued by this Prefect on 24th January 2001, in which persons reporting child abuse to civil authorities faced ex-communication.

Regrettably, this present PR exercise is not exactly a meaningful 'mea culpe'. I do not read how Cardinal Ratzinger himself accepts the responsibility he has – if only by the document named above – in the 'cover-up' that is by far the worst aspect of the Church's role in all of this.

But hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe 'the light has shone'. But I am mindful that doctrine states a relationship between forgiveness and repentance……

gg

Nobel Peace Prize speech: December 2009

"So let us reach for the world that ought to be - that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls. Somewhere today, in the here and now, a soldier sees he's outgunned but stands firm to keep the peace. Somewhere today, in this world, a young protestor awaits the brutality of her government, but has the courage to march on. Somewhere today, a mother facing punishing poverty still takes the time to teach her child, who believes that a cruel world still has a place for his dreams.

Let us live by their example. We can acknowledge that oppression will always be with us, and still strive for justice. We can admit the intractability of depravation, and still strive for dignity. We can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace. We can do that - for that is the story of human progress; that is the hope of all the world; and at this moment of challenge, that must be our work here on Earth".

President Barack Obama: Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, 10 December 2009

Background noise…….

The problem with so many who claim to speak for God is simply that.

It has been my life experience that those who 'talk with God' in actual fact spend most of the time….listening.

gg

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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. Technorati Tags: Mehdi,Karroubi,Iranian,cleric,inquisition,Islamic,Muslim,Gandhi

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Blogger Labels: Mehdi,Karroubi,Iranian,cleric,inquisition,Islamic,Muslim,Gandhi .

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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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Technorati Tags: Einstein,science,universe,Mahatma,Gandhi,Time Magazine,runner,Person of the century

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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 

.

.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

rights and rongs

Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught.

J.C. Watts

(ps. I am aware that wrongs is spelt incorrectly but placed it there for the benefit of those people who find such happiness in constantly correcting others. Who am I to deny their joy?)

self awareness

You know that truth which your spirit seeks to manifest to your consciousness at this time, all the rest is mind-games

gg

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Feeling pessimistic?

OK! Everyone has a bad day now and then….so it's good to look around at what is happening,quietly, in this world……it's amazing the caring,sharing,loving that is going on

Check out this story  HERE

OR

visit the website that has now been set up about this remarkable man and his family.

Talking about caring,loving, is easy. Doing it is tough – but uniquely rewarding.

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accurate confusion

According to Chip Cronkite, the son of the legendary and 'most trusted American'  of the age Walter Cronkite, his late Father had an ashtray on which was written the saying:

“Just give me the facts: I’ll mix ’em up when I quote you.”

A pretty good saying for people that work in the media……and a brilliant saying for those who 'work in religious orgs'……

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Life is……

The interplay of energies emanating from a common source,unstoppably expanding the permutations of possibilities of experiencing.Experiences so unique,so individual as to be totally valid in their own right.

Not a galaxy exists, nor a star, a person nor a single ant,not even a single blade of grass that is not equally and powerfully involved in the process of this pathway. It is not only,as Einstein Schweitzer et.al stated as a 'will to live' for expression of the life force is more,much more,than simply existence. This interplay of energies is in constant,ever constant creative mode. It applies to all things, for there is nothing that has been created that is not wholly and entirely unique and the presence of which has enriched beyond imaginings the potentiality of the process

.As quickly as one experience is created,so an infinite number of permutations arise from that one incidence.

gg

motorvation

Life musr be lived forward…can only be understood backward……rarely has the opportunity to be 'in park mode'….and is fairly meaningless when in neutral. (with acknowledgements to Kierkegaard)

 

linkage

EFFECT AND CAUSE?

(I no longer believe in coincidences)

Weak US dollar hits papal profits

The Vatican made a loss last year as the weaker dollar reduced the value of donations from the faithful in the United States.

Almost a quarter of the $79.8m (£40.4m) worth of offerings it received came from collections made in US churches.

But as the dollar lost 15% of its value against the euro, the Catholic Church's governing body made a loss of 9.1m euros (£7.3m: $14.3m) in 2007.

That was despite receiving a single anonymous donation of $14.3m.

Geoff's Eulogy

Oh, you seem so sad.

Why?

After all we have discussed I find you looking down upon the ground

as though it was me down there.

I am up here.Here! I am dancing with the dust specks in the air waiting for the Dougaldog to come and change our rhythm.

I had thought that by now you would have come to the realisation that energy,especially spirit energy and more especially the energy of lovingness, never dies. It travels on.It transforms.It transmutes. I am already in the process of another pathway plan,one that will allow me to return to this most pleasurable cycle of experiencing. This next time I will have my snowboard and will go swishing happily down white clad mountainsides. For it is the nature of unconditional lovingness to permit us all that is within our creative energy comprehension in any of our earth- life walks.

What you are looking at upon the ground is simply the clothing that I wore.No less,no more. Clothing that permitted me to be in this metaphor you call existence. Clothing that allowed your senses to perceive me and consequently generate our dialogue.

It was my label.It was not me for I,and you,are much much more than the dusted labels of relativity. For a while we wear the label so that we may experience that which we truly are,in as many potential permutations as we are able within the framework of our chosen life pathway. I am sure you have understood by now that knowing something is not the same as experiencing it.

Dear and treasured One, we will walk together again as we have have done for thousands of years.We will talk together again as we have done from the beginning of time. We are not parting we are simply re-inventing new methodologies of experiencing who we truly are.

There is nowhere for us to go,for we are the Oneness. We neither come from it,nor return to it.

Oneness is omnipresent.All,all is the Oneness. There is nothing beyond the Oneness for it is...for it is....it is.

Yet, the pain in your heart is counterpointed by the joy in mine. That you can have loved me so preciously is a bliss of self-realisation for us both as we have journeyed along this pathway together.

What a truly magnificent,wonderful paradise of experiencing this has all been.

Living it…..

The interplay of energies emanating from a common source,unstoppably expanding the permutations of possibilities of experiencing.  Experiences so unique,so individual as to be totally valid in their own right.

.

Not a galaxy exists, nor a star, a person nor a single ant,not even a single blade of grass that is not equally and powerfully involved in the process of this pathway.

.

It is not only,as Einstein Schweitzer et.al stated  a 'will to live' for expression of the life force is more,much more,than simply existence. This interplay of energies is in constant,ever constant creative mode. It applies to all things, for there is nothing that has been created that is not wholly and entirely unique and the presence of which has enriched beyond imaginings the potentiality of the process.

As quickly as one experience is created,so an infinite number of permutations arise from that one incidence…   gg

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orchid persona

If you stare at it for long enough you will forget your worries,surrender your anxieties……. simply wander through the exquisite detail of it's structure, the subtlety of it's colouring……… it is not such a problem to take the next step into this extravagance of creativity…. you can start to imagine the infinite complexity of  a human structure.

Once our hearts open to the potentiality of beauty we begin to see it everywhere

Once we start to see the omnipresence of  beauty….we begin to touch the limitlessness of the lovingness that surrounds us…everywhere…all the time.   Our life blossoms into a celebration of beautiful lovingness…..

In this sense we and the orchid become as one

angelic voices

How wonderful it must be to speak the language of the angels, with no words for hate and a million words for love!

Eileen Elias Freeman…

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miracle flower

It's some kind of cactus and we've had the plant for some years now. Apparently it must be happy because for the first time ever it produced this amazing bloom

The flower opens and stays open for about 4 hours.

On this special day I dedicate this special event to….Bruno and Nicole

simple-minded me

"we do not achieve truth whenever we seek it, but only when it is forced on us"                         Dan Kloke     

An interesting comment to a Roger Cohen article in NYT. It provoked my thoughts. Perhaps there is a dimension in this that speaks of our seemingly unlimited ability to 'moderate a circumstance to suit our needs/desires.

The reality of a perceived truth often seems difficult to accept – either because of it's freeing effects upon our indoctrinated belief systems – or simply because it's too simple. 

To know that you are loved unconditionally is such a simple truth…..  is it really too simple to accept? 

"unless you become as a child you shall not enter the kingdom…………………"

The dawning of the age

For the pessimists amongst us, I have some good news

that should make you happy! Perhaps I should re-phrase

that: for the pessimists amongst us I have some bad news

that can make you even more unhappy!

I’m sure I cannot be the only one who has noticed an amazing

sequence of changes in the world.

Just look at a few events and consider what massive shift is

taking place.

1. A highly unexpected Presidential election result in the USA that is re-shaping world politics

2. A profound shift away from extremist-led politics

in Indonesia

3. A powerful movement to separate church and state in Iran

4. The recognition that warfare is not a means of solving problems

5.The rejection of terrorism as a means of achieving politico-religious ends

All these events within this past few months. It is as though

the world is waking up to a NEW ORDER. A period in the

history of humankind when the criteria of existence are being

redefined

Capitalism,communism,theocratic government are all being

shown to be inadequate as vehicles to express the

aspirations of the human soul.

This is the true dawning of the Age of One-ness. The age

in the history of humanity when we begin to recognize fully

our inter-dependence and act out the creed of love that

defines itself by mutual respect and co-operation.

Enlightenment is dawning on the horizon of history.

what a state we're in,huh???

as if it were some unseen scriptwriter, adding to my last post, Richard Cohen of NYT reported from Tehran on saturday as follows:

Errrmmm, is this a translation problem? An interpretation problem?  Ah, no, it's that usual problem of conflicting interests that occurs between the 'politics of religion' and the 'practice of faith'.

And to think that it is written in the Koran: "Let there be no compunction in religion".  I suppose the next thing we'll hear is that it's ok to 'kill these apostates".  Yet another thing that is strictly forbidden in the Koran and true Islam. 

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But hey, what's the truth got to do with it?