Did the previous picture of children parading in terrorist style depress you?

Are you just going through a 'depressive patch' in your life at this time?

Got that,'why do I bother feeling?'.

Well,hey,just think about grass (no not the smoking kind). It's summer and we keep cutting it...what if the grass said 'Oh,heck,why do I bother?'

If this comment doesn't inspire you then go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbUcfL9BQhk&NR=1

and watch this

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.

.

Lovingness is our natural state.

Hate,prejudice,intolerance....these are things that result

from conditioning or from a questionable "well-intentioned"

and misguided teaching.

.

.

The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the
utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer
and richer experience.

Eleanor Roosevelt

"Jimmy taught us all to let anger and hate go, look deep
in your heart and the love will flow".

Sometimes somebody says something that hits right into our hearts.
The power of these words is hugely magnified,however,when you
consider that the family of 16 year old Jimmy Mizen say these words
at Jimmy's funeral.Jimmy was murdered just 500 metres from his home
and was an exceptional light of lovingness in his short life.

The above words have a power beyond death.

You can see more about this here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7464972.stm
.
.

There are those for whom LOVE is the expectation that another
will bring them happiness.For these LOVE is reduced to a need.

There are others for whom LOVE is the sharing of their own
happiness. For these LOVE has become an ectstasy.

gg

"Here, the past always buries the future, not the other way "

Thomas L Friedman, New York Times columnist
An article observing the unprogressive attitudes in Middle Easterncountries.

It's so easy to 'rest in our past' than accept the challenge and
excitement of every new day. It's a trap we can all fall into!

.

The clarity of One-ness
Worship is a wonderful thing for many people. It is uplifting.
It is inspiring.
Generally speaking, the more we put into worship - the
sincerity with which we pray, the enthusiasm with
which we sing, the studied concentration with which we
listen - the more we receive from it.

That's a basic law of life - the more we put into it, the more
we receive from it.

But I cannot help thinking that worship can be a self-rewarding
scenario and has little to do with pleasing, honouring, a
perception of God. Or it can be a ritualistic rhythm of conformity
in religio-politico societies.

Would it not be more 'self rewarding' to do an action of
kindness or display an ernestness of compassion without
placing upon another the 'burden of gratitude'?

Would this not be a truly worthy offering to any
perception of Divinity?

In other words, worship can be a 'strength builder', a
means of focusing. Yet worship in and of itself is not
a substitute. For a moment of kindliness,compassion,
unconditional lovingness is a melody of worship of
the highest calibre.

"If you do it to the least of my brethren,you do it unto me"

Islam re-orientating?
Since this blog started 7 years ago,I have on many occasions
protested the distortion of spiritual insights by so called 'religious
leaders/scholars/preachers/Immams'. I have particulary and specifically
tried to show that 'fatwas' and 'jihads' are,generally, socio-political
tools derived from highly questionable 'interpretations' of ancient
texts/quotations. This campaign for 'religious accuracy' has nothing
to do with a specific religion (see also my blogs on,for example,
The Vatican's distortions). It has to do with TRUTH. Spiritual TRUTH.

Today, here, appears an interesting report documenting efforts within
Islam by moderates to reclaim the beauty of Islam and transform it
from the religion of terror and oppression which Jihadists and power
hungry Immams have created into it's original concepts of lovingness.

Here are some excerpts from the well-worth-reading article:

"Back in the mid-1990s, Osama bin Laden had a problem, and it was Islam. He
wanted to say the Qur'an gave his followers license to kill innocents—and
themselves—in the cause of "jihad." That was how he could justify his global
campaign of terror. But that's not what the Muslim holy book says,
and that's not the way it was interpreted by any of the great
scholars and preachers of the faith.(see this blog as recently
as 22 April on this subject)
Once sympathetic publics in the Middle East and South Asia are growing
disillusioned
Momentum is building within the Muslim world to re-examine what had
seemed immutable tenets of the faith, to challenge what had been taken
as literal truths and to open wide the doors of interpretation (ijtihad)
that some schools of Islam tried to close centuries ago".

Differing cultures,differing traditions,differing languages are all used by
the One God to disseminate spiritual truths that speak to the individual's heart
in a comprehensible manner. Conformity is not an option if you truly believe
in the awesome power of lovingness.Nor is any proclamation that does
not speak of love.

I wish all, who seek to speak with loving and compassionate hearts about a
perception of LOVE and healing as an active force in society,every success in
their endeavours to celebrate the differences that are the expressions of
uniqueness.

If one man gains spiritually, the whole world gains with him.

Mahatma Gandhi

(photo courtesy:http://www.themothersunion.org/worship.aspx)

Spring Flowers

slide show HERE

Today the country with the largest population in the world stopped for a 3 minute silence

in memory of all the

victims of the earthquake.

.

.

"Our tears are the jewels with which we adorn the memories of those

we have loved and have lost.

Our heartache is the pulse of unfulfilled loving in this life's walk:

and one day

we will know the beauty of the tears

and the infinite joy of the heartache

for in that moment

we shall behold the indestructibility of Love.

.

But for now,

let us weep together"

gg

In these moments the politics of a nation are irrelevant. Devastation

and bereavement on such a scale evoke compassion that transcends

all,all,barriers. Deepest condolences and heartfelt empathy to the

peoples of China who have been affected by this catastrophe.

A student aiding a classmate still in the ruins of a high school in Beichuan County.
Photo: Chen Xie/Xinhua, via Associated Press

if you haven't seen/heard this...you should,hehehehe. Go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJEacTZmd7I

THE ABOVE LINK HAS NOW BEEN REMOVED

so try this one instead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t-TC-PfDFY

(post updated 5th Nov 2008)

UN-prejudice
I am not sure that I understand all the intricacies of sex-change operation
needs.But then, I am only challenged to accept another person's character
and self-requirements.To be willing to accept the person as they are and as
they seek to be.

It seems as if humanity is really making some progress on the issues of
intolerance and prejudice.As evidence take a look at the truly wonderful
support these young people are giving to another young person:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354426,00.html

Ah, what we can achieve when we set the needs of others as a priority -
even above our own misconceptions, misunderstandings, or simply
lack of awareness.

The Reign of Confusion causes death

Last week, British teacher Daud Hassan Ali, 64, was shot dead in Somalia. His widow, Margaret Ali, said her husband was targeted by Islamists who "believe it is ok to kill any man who was born into Islam and left the faith".

" I was staggered to learn that the Quran does not say anything about punishing apostates and that its proponents use two hadiths instead to support their view. Hadiths are the recorded traditions and sayings of the Prophet which, in addition to the Quran, provide an additional source of Islamic law.
The hadiths which relate to apostasy are linguistically ambiguous and open to interpretation. Distinguished scholars told me that the hadiths actually speak about a death penalty for treason, not apostasy. And even then, they stressed the punishment is discretionary. "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7355515.stm

Oh with what ease we take words and twist,distort or disorientate them to suit our own purposes.In case you misread, I show again:
The Quran does NOT SAY ANYTHING about punishing apostates
??????????????

SALES DRIVE?

In the face of falling revenues, membership, new-priest sign-ups, the VATPRC did what all sales organisations do - they organised a sales drive (otherwise called a Papal visit).

photo Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Newsweek

Speeches to the UN, at Yankee Stadium, to clerics about child Sex Abuse - all,of course, played to the tune of Vaticanus Harmonius Humilitatus.I,however, would be better able to contemplate the concept of 'sinners becoming saints'. or in this case cardinals becoming popes, if apologies were adequately made for ......Crimen Sollicationus (the present pope was in charge of thee department responsible for the issuance of this)

In the absence of adequate and suitable attention to this 'minor' (as in child) detail, the rest is simply a marketing road show (see duck rolling).

The church still has a very long way to go to catch up to the higher standard of morality currently shown by and in secular society. I doubt it can ever catch up

Duck-rolling,Rick-rolling, God-rolling


IT began with a duck. A while ago contributors to an anarchic internet message board called 4chan started fooling others by luring them to click on interesting-sounding links. The clickers thought they were going to get the latest video game news or pictures of hot babes or celebrity gossip; what they actually got was a picture of a duck on wheels. They had been “duck-rolled”.

Then an idle inspired prankster changed tack and replaced the duck with a video of Rick Astley singing his 1987 classic 'never going to give you up' creating the (so far) largest viral video on the net (You tube hits of 7m last month) - hence Rickrolling.

The whole principle of the prank is to take you somewhere you had not expected to go - whether this is a pleasant or unpleasant experience is entirely subjective.

This kind of reminded me of the track record of so many 'religions'. You 'click on God' and the network ends up taking you somewhere else entirely.

LOVE ROLLING, in the spiritual sense, is absolutely different. The whole purpose is to go where you had not expected to go, do what you had not self-wished to do, be what you had not thought yourself to be (thought being the operative word here).

UNCONDITIONAL LOVINGNESS is the biggest,best,most invigorating trip you'll ever take....when you 'clicked on the life url' you started the networking.

"That which we cannot change, we ignore" Gail Collins, New York Times columnist.

"When you meet a life circumstance that you feel you cannot change,
change your perception of it, change the way you view it. Then,the
'unchangeable life circumstance' has lost it's power over you, it's ability to
frustrate your spirit's pathway by clouding you with emotion.
A good way of achieving this perceptive mechanism is to seek out the
blessing in the life circumstance. Believe it,there always is one hiding
there somewhere. A blessing that reveals more of who you really are,
spiritually, than your consciousness had manifest to you". (gg.gallnas)

One cannot ignore 'earthquakes'. Events which shake the foundations of
one's existence/belief system/concepts.

Aeschylus wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God

Quoted by Robert F Kennedy during a speech in Indianapolis in which he broke the news to the unknowing crowd of the assasination of Martin Luther King.

Nearly all peoples,everywhere, dream of a good future for their own children.

Some dream of a fair and just future for everyone,seeing all as brothers and sisters, children of the 'One God'.

In respectful memory of a man with a loving message.

The message lives on.

“Self-discipline is a form of freedom.

Freedom from laziness and lethargy,

freedom from expectations and demands of others,

freedom from weakness and fear — and doubt.”

H.A.Dorfman in "The Mental ABCs of Pitching"

Sometimes, most times, unconditional lovingness creates miracles.
Check out this story.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/03/27/heroes.andersen/index.html

I wish them both well.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?'
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,
'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

“Whenever you have truth it must be given with love, or the message and the messenger will be rejected”

M.K.Gandhi

shadows of Divinity

Knowledge is not necessarily understanding.
Understanding is not necessarily wisdom.
Wisdom is not necessarily Love.
For even a small child may be lacking in knowledge, understanding and wisdom...
but exudes such unconditional love
as to render these other things a poor reflection of Divinity.

gg

The ABUSE of understanding - Fitna

As I have commented before on this blog, the 'beauty' of ancient manuscripts is the lack of real understanding of what the language actually meant in the culture of the time. This allows for all sorts of 'misinterpretations and kaleidoscopic conclusions' - giving rise to sectarianism, schism,
dysfunction.


There is no greater threat to the established 'religions' than the proclamations of one of influence who claims to have discovered THE truth about God (as opposed to A truth about God), and then proceeds to 'justify this declaration' with all sorts of ancient texts interpreted to suit the argument.

FITNA is a case in point! 'Anonymous' responded to my blog thursday post on Sat, Mar 22, 2008 at 8:16 AM with :"Fitna doesnt mean "oppression", it means "opposition". The same way a dictator would outlaw and squash any political opposition This is totalitarian theocracy imposed by the sword and it is why Geert Wilders title his movie "Fitna". Muslims try to twist the meaning of fitna to make them sound like victims when actually it is quite the opposite. " (I will post comments that are signed with something more precise than anon and reserve the right to edit any comments I deem especially offensive)

So I thought I better google and check out other meanings of the word FITNA to those I had already assembled: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitna_%28word%29 and this article starts "Arabic word, generally regarded as very difficult to translate", difficult to translate is a euphanism for 'it can mean almost anything".



This is Islamist centrist intellectual Mohamed al-Amara who published a thought provoking, faith enlightening - and storm
surrounded book "Fitna al-Takfir" last year.
You can see some of the turmoil in The Islamic religion's propensity to accept innumerable interpretations of a sura/text/takfir here: http://abuaardvark.typepad.com/abuaardvark/2007/02/amaras_fitna_al.html
and one of the comments on that blog says as follows:

"He is focused on "fitna" - or in-fighting amongst Muslims. He is saying, basically, that it is brother with brother, and brother with cousin against the stranger, i.e. Muslims should not fight amongst themselves and hence weaken themselves vis a vis the West"

In short, there is not ONE Islamic religion,there are many - though there is but 'One God'. As I wrote on thursday:
"In the normal way of old-fashioned politics,if you seek to unite a people - or distract a population from what you are doing - the finest way is to' create a common enemy'. Where 'traditions and sectarian religious concepts are concerned' it is fairly easy to find targets".

Thus we see that the dysfunction of Islam, the 'civil war within Islam', gives rise to attacks upon 'kafir'(non-believers) not because of their non-belief, but because of Islam's inability to define what IT really believes in a universally agreed format.

But,hey, don't just point the finger at Islam here - almost every major religion has divided into warring sects. Even worse, most have claimed 'divine authority' for imposing torture and death upon their victims - like they have played the role of God, taking life (note, they are not so good at the other extreme of giving/creating life).Remember Beslan. Remember Islam Khardykov?

So who to believe? which to accept?
I have a very simple test - if it isn't loving, compassionate, merciful - it isn't from God!

Listen to your heart

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” - Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910)Tags: tolstoy, change

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Fitna

Qur'an 8:39 says, "And fight them until there is no more fitna [variously translated as tumult or oppression or persecution]Tags: Fitna, Geer Wilders, Qur'an, Koran, Jihad, love

It is not clear to me where this oppression and/or persecution originates. It seems  that there is far more of it in Islamic lands than is imported into those countries. In so many areas, muslim fight muslim for dominance of a particular sect,interpretation,tradition.

In the normal way of old-fashioned politics,if you seek to unite a people - or distract a population from what you are doing - the finest way is to' create a common enemy'. Where 'traditions and sectarian religious concepts are concerned' it is fairly easy to find targets.

Fitna, an Islamic/arabic word meaning 'things than can test the faith' is also the film, shortly to be released on the internet, from the Dutch politician Geer Wilders. It is reported to be not very flattering to Islam.

Beware, Islam, lest in the fury of your anger at this film you simply validate it's argument that Islam is a religion of violence. The muslim friends I have are far from this 'fundamentalist violence' and demonstrate their faith in actions of kindness and lovingness.

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Most,initially, come to God out of fear - and meet a concept of God that broadens until eventually many see the enormity of lovingness that called them to a higher awareness - and then come to God out of Love. When this happens, we meet the reality that is God. The metafor of the crucifixion is to remove our fear and open the pathways of love, tearing the veil until we see into the holy of holies, the holiest of truths: Love is all there is.

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The truth of experience

Katherine Anne Porter defined experience as "the truth that finally overtakes you" Tags: Porter, experience, truthTags: ito, oneness

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Lewis Hamilton winning the first GP of the 2008 season at Albert Park,Melbourne

Sportspersons, when 'in the zone', have a remarkable ability to remain focused on the challenge. I guess that's what's meant by 'being present', 'being in the NOW'. (picture and text: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ )

Spiritually speaking, there is only the now - for the past is usually a perception-modified memory and the future a concept-dominated expectation. It is reasonable to postulate,therefore, that if we wish to excel in lovingness it becomes an issue of focusing on now. There is no better time, whatever else is happening around us, to define ourselves by our unlimited capacity to love.

Have you noticed how easy it is to lose focus when a problem

is 'too close' to us and engenders a sense of fear?

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two “wolves” inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence,empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grand son thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed .”

"FREE" WILL

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said, as Einstein
paraphrased it, that “a human can very well do what he wants,
but cannot will what he wants.”
In short, the conscious brain was only playing catch-up to what the
unconscious brain was already doing.
The writer Isaac Bashevis Singer, once said in an interview with the
Paris Review, “The greatest gift which humanity has received is free
choice. It is true that we are limited in our use of free choice. But the
little free choice we have is such a great gift and is potentially worth
so much that for this itself, life is worthwhile living.”

"faith is not just something you have,
it's something you do"

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama
2006 Global Summit on AIDS and the Church

"Often it is only in silence that you first hear the symphony of creativity
playing the melody of lovingness.

Once heard, it starts to become like the background music
to the film of your life.

Until one day you understand, you are the melody"
gg

When we can behold the wonder and beauty of a flower we have reached a place of lovingness in our being whereby we also have the possibility to behold the wonder and beauty of another human being - even if they do nor agree with us or share our views.........especially if they do not agree with us or share our views.

It is the incredible uniqueness of everything that creates such a stupendous range of experiencing within our life walk.

And for what purpose did you come to this 'realm of relativity' if not to experience that

which you knew as a concept?

The reality of lovingness is absolute: in the realm of the absolute and in the realm of the relative.

Indeed, when it comes to love and lovingness there is no seperation between absolute and relative.

All...all..is a manifestation of this reality

Universal love

"Three teenagers who robbed and vandalised a church in the US state of
Montana will get "love baskets" of electronic games by the congregation"
this was a report carried by the BBC ( here ).

Faith in positive and loving action.

It set me to thinking that similar loving and forgiving actions are always
happening, all the time, in many different religions.I guess it's even
happening in the sadly sectarian-brutalising country of Iraq where
'muslims' are murdering each other in the name of 'faith'. Love has a
way of winning through, despite all obstacles, so I guess that loving
actions are happening in Iraq.

Maybe the media will one day report these things.I hope for the sake
of Islam that they do.

Anyway, thankfully and wonderfully the report became public about
the SHEC (oh, and please remember I am not an american and actually
I live in Sweden).

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coded

TTWP

 

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Belated wisdom

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said: “We did not think, even 1 per cent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 . . . that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not.”

 

Ah, so many have such greater wisdom with the benefit of hindsight.

Loving religions speak of foresight...anticipation through lovingness.

 

 

 

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There is a beauty about truth that is beyond ideology and religion 

There is a truth about beauty that is beyond words.

orchid pictures courtesy of http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~nroberts/

would that all the idea/religion seeds which polulate the mind of man were so productive of beauty.Yet,soon it will be gone...just like those old idea/religion concepts

dandelion picture courtesy of mark@kyne.com.au

Death of Islam

Shamil Basayev

 

He sits in front of a banner proclaiming in Arabic: “There is no God

but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet"

 

Justifying his attacks on civilian targets, he states: “We are at war

and we look at the reality, and not at whether the population has

weapons in their hands"

 

So spoke the man who claimed responsibility for the atrocity at the

school in BESLAN.

This is one of the men responsible for the death of ISLAM, see blog entry

http://ito.blogspot.com/2005_03_20_ito_archive.html.

 

Shamil Basayev died yesterday.

"Shamil and other brothers of ours became martyrs by the will of Allah,” said

a statement on a website claiming to be associated with the Basayev terrorists.

 

What, I wonder,in this warped religious fantasy is the

description given to ISLAM KHADIKOV.

 

If only we could devote as much energy to loving as we

seem able to devote to...sport?...hating?......rituals?

 

 

 

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Deprived and oppressed?

In this past week the first anniversary of the London
Terrorist bombings took place. A video from one of
the 'bombers' was also aired in an attempt at
justification for mass murder. Perhaps it is fair to
ask a few questions:

1. How is it that in Afghanistan and Iraq more
Muslims have been and are slaughtered indiscriminately
by other Muslims, and this was happening with or
without the 'Allied forces presence' ?

2. Which country, prior to the second Iraq war, donated
most to Iraq in terms of food and medical aid? Be
surprised to learn that it was NOT a Muslim country.

3. Was Shezhad Tanweer (The bomber at Aldgate)
really deprived and underpriviledged in British Society
when he could leave in his will the sum of £121,000
(after tax)....and was only 22 years of age when he died?

Immams of the true Islam unite....and defend the truth
of the Prophet and the truth of events. For if tolerance
is surrendered to intolerance it is the end of the authority
of Islam in the hearts of most peoples.

Fear has never - and will never - triumph over love in the
long term.

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Brain chip

4 billion calculations/transactions per second!

 

IBM's Big Blu?

Intel's latest?

AMD's best?

 

Nope!  That,according to the incredible film

 "What the 'bleep' do we know"

is the amount of transactions carried out by

the average human brain

 

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nailed in the foot

British scientists reacted angrily last night to the views of a senior Vatican official, who said Catholic researchers working on embryonic stem cells should be excommunicated.

 

Paul Embery, a Catholic priest in London, said that excommunication did not mean God had abandoned the transgressor. "It's not saying that somebody is not loved by God" he said

 

see also the Crimen Sollicationis  entry in this blog for other categories suitable for excommunication - like bishops who don't keep secret their paedophile priest investigations!!!

 

Oh Dear, you would think that by now the Vat would have realised.....huh?

 

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Islamic silence

Throughout history there has been a continuing
manifestation of the capacity for horror of which
mankind is capable.
In modern history, the Nazi concentration camps
(originated by the British in South Africa!), Israeli

atrocities, the Cambodian 'Killing Fields', the

obscenities of Vietnam, clearly illustrate this

'inhuman capacity'.

 

However, in ALL of these cases voices -
empowered by religious,moral or ethical energy
- were raised in opposition. And these voices
became broadcast the world over.

 

As we daily read of the appalling scenarios in Iraq,
it is reasonable to ponder...where are the Islamic
voices of peace, love,compassion?
Do we hear Iranian Immams, Saudi Princes, Iraqui
sect leaders...... protesting the kind of grotesque
inhumanity that was, for example, meted out to
the young Iraqui journalist Atwar Bahjat?  Is this

the 'Glory of the Arab world'?

 

The absence of such voices...whilst the voices
of extremists receive world-wide attention ...
seems to confirm the succesful hijacking of
the truth of Islam. Beware Islam.

 

Islam is becoming a pseudonym

for horror.

 

Will the real Islam please stand up and speak?

 

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In respectful memory of Atwar Bahjat
 

Crimen Sollicationis

Crimen Sollicationis - Latin for "the crime of solicitation" - issued in
1962 by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), an
office attached to the Vatican. Described as a "blueprint for
deception and concealment" by lawyers investigating the
worldwide sex-abuse scandals, Crimen Sollicationis contains
strict instructions for dealing with what the Vatican calls the
 "worst crimes" - such as allegations of paedophilia and bestiality.

 

Rather than report these offences to the civil authorities, the CDF
instructs bishops to investigate them "in the most secretive way"
or face the "penalty of excommunication".

 

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conspiracy in the Catholic church

The real conspiracy in the Catholic church has nothing to do with
the Da Vinci Code, says Patrick Wall - it's the cover-up of
paedophile priests.
Mark Honigsbaum meets the former monk who is leading a
crusade to hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice

Full article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,1766941,00.html

 

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perseverance and obstinacy

The difference between perseverance and

obstinacy is that one often comes from a

strong will, and the other from a strong won't.

Henry Ward Beecher

 

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Better do a good deed near at home than go far...

Better do a good deed near at home

than go far away to burn incense.

chinese proverb

 

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Kiran Bedi

If you want to know more about Kiran Bedi you can visit the website at:

www.kiranbedi.com

 

You will be amazed at the activities of this most remarkable and effective

modern Indian crusader

 

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Now here's an interesting film about a very very special woman - Kiran Bedi.  

Our lives are not determined by what happens t...

"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results".  Anon

 

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Will to Live unity

"I am life which wills to live, in the midst of life which wills to live. As in my own will-to-live there is a longing for wider life and pleasure, with dread of annihilation and pain; so is it also in the will-to-live all around me, whether it can express itself before me or remains dumb. The will-to-live is everywhere present, even as in me. If I am a thinking being, I must regard life other than my own with equal reverence, for I shall know that it longs for fullness and development as deeply as I do myself. Therefore, I see that evil is what annihilates, hampers, or hinders life. And this holds true whether I regard it physically or spiritually. Goodness, by the same token, is the saving or helping of life, the enabling of whatever life I can to attain its highest development. 

 

In me the will-to-live has come to know about other wills-to-live. There is in it a yearning to arrive at unity with itself, to become universal. I can do nothing but hold to the fact that the will-to-live in me manifests itself as will-to-live which desires to become one with other will-to-live. "

 

Albert Schweitzer 

 

 

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By any other name

All actions have reactions, interactions.

 

All non-actions create reactions, interactions.

 

We are on the verge of a 'critical mass point' in human progress: the time is very near when we commit ourselves fully to the celebration of unconditional lovingness. Loving not simply our neighbour, but also finding ways to love our 'perceived' enemy, as ourself... unconditionally.

 

(As Gandhi once said "the only devils are those running around in our own heads".).

 

The more we progress towards the acceptance of 'what is', the acceptance of who we truly are in spiritual terms, the closer we come to materialising the fullest Paradise here on earth, expressing our lovingness in the abundance of health, peace and compassion.

 

The human race, thanks to the instancy of modern life, is wearying of the old polarised and
unloving concepts, religions and philosophies.

 

We stand on the very edge of an amazing and truly wonderful age in the history of humankind.
To be true to our destiny, we must be true to our name....kind humans :)

 

 

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Playtime is over

What we appear to need in this modern world,is a mechanism for celebrating our differences.

We have already created more than enough methods for condemning our differences.

The question to ask of ourselves, is which of these attitudes holds the highest probability for peace, harmony, and self fulfillment ( the expression of lovingness)

It is time for us to come into the consciousness of unconditional love, for the 'toys with which science has gifted us' are far too dangerous for us to 'play at being purposeful' any longer.

 

 

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Love's Logic

I've always believed in numbers and the equations and logics that lead to reason.

But after a lifetime of such pursuits, I ask,

"What truly is logic?"

"Who decides reason?"

My quest has taken me through the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional -- and back.

And I have made the most important discovery of my career, the most important discovery of my life: It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reasons can be found.

 

John Nash: 1994 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences Acceptance Address

 

 

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Potential Virus?

During this past week I have been receiving many

SUSPECT emails.

Suspect?  Well,take a look -

1.The subject says pdf file, the content is a PIF file

2. The subject says Photo,the content is a BHX file

3. The subject says 'Real Show', the contect is a UUE file

4. The subject says jpg, the content is a PLF file.

 

All of the ACTUAL attachment files are known or

possible carriers of virus, particularly the MyWife

virus, according to www.filext.com and other sources

 

The emails come from a Norwegian email address but

appear,unless its forged, according to the data I have

been given to originate in the Phillipines.

 

Never, never, NEVER open an email containing attachments

(in this case they are all over 100kb) if:

5. it comes from a person you do not know

6. you have not checked the 'file header' (you can do this

on most webmail systems without opening the attachment)

to make sure the file type that is ACTUALLY enclosed

poses no risk to your computer.

 

AND be very sure your protection measures (anti-virus,

anti-spyware, anti-phishing,etc) are absolutely up to date.

 

Interesting that people have the need to perform such

strange actions in the first place, huh?

 

 

 

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The art of......

In a quote usually attributed to Otto Von Bismarck, we are often

told that 'politics is the art of the possible".

 

Faith, we are told, reminds us that through belief all things are possible.

 

One-ness is the awareness that the impossible already is, it is simply

for us to draw it into our consciousness and translate it into our actions.

 

"If you want to fool the world...tell the truth" also Otto Von Bismarck

 

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Beyond Religion and Politics ?

U.S. President George W. Bush offered humanitarian aid Friday to the quake victims, while noting that relations between Iran and the United States are strained.

"I do want to offer my country's assistance to the people affected by the recent earthquakes in Iran," Bush told a news conference in Cancun, Mexico, where he was meeting with Canadian and Mexican leaders.

"We, obviously, have our differences with the Iranian government, but we do care about the suffering of the Iranian people."

I guess there are a lot of cynics out there who will simply say that such a gesture is simply

backdoor American Imperialism.......

"There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal, as human beings, to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death."  Russell-Einstein Appeal pub.1955

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The Defence of Truth?

The World Trade Centre atrocity has, more than anything else, concentrated thought and debate world-wide about Islam. I cannot remember any other event in my lifetime that has so 'thrust to public attention' the issues faced by modern Islam. Unfortunately the unbelievable horror of Beslan did not get the media coverage and was further confused by 'internal political overtones'. However, in both these cases Muslim terrorists killed...and killed innocent Muslims in outright contradiction to the teachings of The Prophet Mohammed and the Koran.

The latter half of the 20th century saw a Richter-scale shift in the dynamics of the Muslim faith. "Not all Muslims are terrorists,but unfortunately it seems all terrorists are Muslims" wrote one leading article in a Middle Eastern newspaper.The seperation of Church and State, the target not only of Sayyid Qutb's influential 'In the Shadow of the Koran' work + other works and it's subsequent inspiring effect upon the Jihad movement, is clearly delineated in the pressures for the institution and maintainance of Sharia Law in nation states.

For a non-Muslim (like myself) however, it is extremely difficult to comprehend the repeated contradictions inherent in many of the major religions, Islam included. I mean, is God all-powerful or not? If all powerful, what's all this talk about devils waging wars and devlish armies that could overturn the 'will of God'. Such talk is not a statement of belief, it is a statement of a lack of belief! What's all this talk about an individual who should be executed because they have chosen to worship the ONE God with a different dialect or through a different tradition? Is God so 'power-less' that we imagine we can take over the role of deciding upon life or death? How can terrorists, who betray the principles of their belief system, come to be regarded as 'martyrs?'

How is it possible, even allowing for intellectual gymnastics, to equate the threats and promises of punishment inherent in Sharia Law with this:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion; truth stands out clearly from error".
This is not from the Old Testament, nor the New Testament, nor the Sayings of the Bhudda, nor the
words of Christ.

"Compulsion" = force, threat, blackmail, constraint.

"Let there be no compulsion in religion; truth stands out clearly from error".
The Koran at sura (chapter) 2.256

Hey, and just be careful about being too judgemental if you belong to another religion,Christianity or Judaism for example. I am sure we can find unending reams of blog material by applying our insights and investigations to these areas also. The reason this blog is not currently doing so is that the confusion and contradiction of beliefs in Islam is 'stealing life'.
Life! Now is that God-given or what?

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PS. Broken Promise

In this blog Tuesday, March 21, 2006 I wrote about
The Broken Promise of a great religion in response to an

article quoting Dr Abdullah al-Amiri, a prominent member
of parliament in Sharjah emirate.

 

This gentleman was attempting to convince everyone that

'gay relationships' were not now,nor ever, a part of

Islamic society. My debate is not about sexuality, my

debate is about accuracy especially in respect of religion.

 

In favour of accuracy, may I respectfully refer the presumably

learned gentleman to historical record - try a visit to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pederasty#The_Islamic_lands

for a more accurate picture on this issue.

 

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The price of progress - £50

Yesterday my new printer arrived - an Epson D68, very nice and very

nice (low) price (from www.cheapink.com). Ordered and delivered

within 3 days by post.My 3 year old printer had been giving ink

cartridge problems. It got very frustrating.

 

In restrospect the frustration is a symptom of my/our incredible urge

for 'Great Expectations'. We often seem to forget just how amazing,

incredible,mind-blowing is the technology that is at our fingertips.

Hey, that is not to say we shouldn't keep expecting,for the drive of

human progress has done much to enhance the lives of so many and

inform the world where the lives of so many others was so
appalling,prompting international aid and response.

 

However, there is also nothing wrong - and maybe everything right -

with sometimes stepping back and viewing the amazing wonders with

which we surround our existence in this life's walk. We take so very

much for granted, huh?

 

Blogging,for example!  The power of mass communication extended to

every person with access to a pc and the internet. The opinions of the

individual circulated around the world and viewable by any who choose

to do so. This 'extended freedom' can be a counter-balance to

oppression/repression by 'greater' powers and systems - whether

governments, criminality or even religious organisations.

 

My new printer is amazing:colour,photo quality,high definition (5760 dpi),

low cost ink cartridges (now that's progress,hehehehe). It is just one of those

countless yet still truly incredible aspects of modern life.

 

Yet, if we listen to some and bury ourselves in ancient traditions or

un-progressed concepts/philosophies/religions we can have back the

 'good old days'. The answer to our fears for the future does not lie in

the false security of a dead past, rather it lies in setting aside our

fears in favour of full commitment to the adventure of life and life's

progress.

 

Hmmm... do you think I should print this out.........  :):)

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