we owe them so much…

Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky,
We fell them down and turn them into paper,
That we may record our emptiness.
~Kahlil Gibran

 

The felled tree was the inspiration for the tapestry "Statement" by Ragnhild Monsen

Revelations – or Mark

"Pope Appoints Panel To Investigate Child Abuse In Irish Catholic Institutions"  via  says the headline.

 

Too little, Too late, says this blog!

"For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light". Mark 4:22, Matthew 10:26, Luke 8:17

A staggeringly amazing century

In our striving for perfection we often overlook the massive humanitarian advances of this past 100 years. Taking a look at http://www.healthofnations.com/ratings/indicators/inputs/idpt was a reminder to me.

It is remarkable to see the exceptionally high levels of vaccination, worldwide, against such former killers as Measles or Diptheria. Go to the 'healthcare inputs' tag and select from the category indicator window. There is some amazing healthcare standards information on the website.

Also, today, is announced a blood test for discovering the presence of cancer cells in individuals, up to 5 years before any tumour is visible.

All this amazingly beneficial work proceeds relatively quietly in the 'background' of our societies.

But then, there are always some who will look for some other, more pessimistic, perception of the world. Fortunately I am not one of them :)

beautiful spring morning

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LiveJournal Tags: Bengtsfors,Dalsland,Vestre Silen,Sweden,Ragnhild Monsen

simple religion

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.

Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

the virtues of tolerance

"Have we become so intolerant that we refuse and fight differences, which are to humanity what seasons are to life?" 

the official Le Matin newspaper, considered the mouthpiece for the royal palace (Morocco)

Is it really someone else's fault….?

 

"Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes."
Eleanor Roosevelt

"In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility".
Eleanor Roosevelt

oh, by the way, that Pollen Path….

“Oh, beauty before me, beauty behind me, beauty to the right of me, beauty to the left of me, beauty above me, beauty below me, I'm on the pollen path”   Navaho Indian traditional saying

more here

"when you reach that point of self-knowledge when all you can see, all around and within, is the magnificence, the awe-inspiring wonderment of the endless flow of beauty into your brain and senses – when you reach that point, Behold….. you touch the God within"   gg

(with acknowledgement to The Upanishads)

Kahlil Gibran…on Death

VIA

Respectfulness….

"To lose a friend through life circumstances that cause seperation, this is the way of life.

To lose a friend through sickness and death, this is a sadness only comforted by the memories of     the shared joys.

To lose a friend through debt, that is a 'greek tragedy'.

 Therefore, treasure the wonder of friendship whilst you may,

take the days of friendship as divine gifts, replete with untold blessings,

and if you would help your friend do not place upon them the heavy weight of gratitude, help     because it is your joy to help.

Yet in all these things, be sure to value and honour the greatest component of friendship which is not the lovingness, nor the generosity, nor the helping hand, nor the inspiring spirit…..the greatest component of friendship is respect"

gg

artificial cells

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.
Mohandas Gandhi

colour prejudice

"clearly, nature is prejudiced towards the creation of beauty in limitless permutations of colour and form"

gg

sand grains are mountains

"I tell everybody a little parable about the 'teaspoon brigades.' Imagine a big seesaw. One end of the seesaw is on the ground because it has a big basket half full of rocks in it. The other end of the seesaw is up in the air because it's got a basket one-quarter full of sand. Some of us have teaspoons, and we are trying to fill it up.

Most people are scoffing at us.

They say, 'People like you have been trying for thousands of years, but it is leaking out of that basket as fast as you are putting it in.' Our answer is that we are getting more people with teaspoons every day. And we believe that one of these days or years -- who knows -- that basket of sand is going to be so full that you are going to see that whole seesaw going zoop! in the other direction.

Then people are going to say, 'How did it happen so suddenly?'

And we answer, 'Us and our little teaspoons over thousands of years.'"   Pete Seeger

via

also from Pete Seeger

"Here's hoping enough of your dreams come true to keep you optimistic about the rest. We've got a big world to learn how to tie together. We've all got a lot to learn. And don't let your studies interfere with your education."

No celibacy law in Church

Hey Guys and gals – there is NO ban on Catholic Priests and Nuns getting married!

You don't believe me, huh?

Well, ok, today "The Vatican is expected to assert that bishops aren't its employees because they aren't paid by Rome, don't act on Rome's behalf and aren't controlled day-to-day by the pope". (via)

So if Bishops aren't 'employees' then I guess priests and nuns are not 'employees' either. Celibacy is, therefore, not a contractual term of employment since, the Vat states, there is no employment!.

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Readers may also wish to know that those oft quoted words "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive" was not the motto of Microsoft or Apple, nor were they words that originated with Glen Beck. It was actually "Sir Walter Scott , in Canto VI, Stanza 17 of "Marmion" (1808) an epic poem about the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513".(wiki. answers.com).

regression obsession

 

I have received an email notification for a program that 'records  your screen activities and plays them back like a movie to see what you did the whole day." It's a fair program and I can see it has uses when you have 'client-orientated work'.

But, you gotta admit, the general concept seems a little humorous.I mean, today is the 16th., so I can spend today looking at what I did yesterday 15th – and what I did yesterday (15th) was spend the day looking at what I did the day before (14th) – and what I did 14th was spend the day looking at what I did the day before (13th – no it wasn't a friday),…. and so on, ad infinitum!

Now, please forgive me for this, but my neurons and dendrites can't help relating the above to studies of the Bible, or The Koran, or The Ghita, or…. well, you get the idea. The main difference being, of course, that the majority of 'students' stick at the bits they like best and then keep 'replaying that program'.

Take, for example, the Judao/Christian obsession with sin and guilt. All of it premised upon the ancient story of Adam, Eve and that pesky snake. How many 'students' go beyond to the FIRST creation story in the Bible? You know, that one where the One God created everything (and condemned nothing)  and 'behold, it was very good'.

Still, who am I to question the record getting stuck on the gramophone player and repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating, repeating………..

I would rather be in the NOW listening to the voice of my heart. Since I am a part of the One God and can never, therefore, be apart from the One God – I'll listen for the whispers of lovingness that echo through me to the world around me.

Signs of the times…

'There will be signs and portents…..". Somehow I don't think religious texts like this quite meant this:

Yep! That's correct. This is a genuine sign in New Mexico,USA. (there are more such signs via

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doug-lansky/9-signs-that-prove-god-ha_b_576596.html)

Now the question is, is this advertising hype or a true statement of beliefs?.

It's pretty much the same in all sects and denominations and most religious institutions: most forcefully expressed belief systems are forcefully expressed because the expressers are trying to convince themselves.

Hey, if the sign was really – no, I mean really – an expression of true belief then Christ must have been turning a blind eye to a lot of the fraudulent and abusive activities of some institutions. But then it is perhaps unfair to try and truly discern matters of truth and faith within the actions of discredited religious institutions.

Now, what was it he said about 'you have turned my Father's house into a den for thieves and robbers…." or something like that, huh?

spiritual quest….

 

 

or if you want something 'heavier'….

 

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." -Aesop

Pathways…….

It used to be said "all roads lead to Rome", though I am not sure that this was a vatican reference or a purely political reference to the Roman empire.

Nowadays it would seem that most, if not all, jihadist terrorism and extreme fundamentalist Islamic  distortions all seem to have a common pathway…….and a common destination. Time after time after time researches into the 'influences that have affected  so called 'Islamic' terrorists and/or terrorist movements' trace the same route. It seems that  many of these pathways lead to 'The Shadow of the Koran' and other writings from , Sayyid Qut'b.

It is, perhaps, worth noting that  "The ulema of Al-Azhar University school took the unusual step following his death of putting Sayyid Qutb on their index of heresy, declaring him a "deviant" (Al-Azhar - the chief centre of Arabic literature and Sunni Islamic learning in the world) – source Wikipaedia. Perhaps it would be allowed to mention that Al Quaeda is predominantly Sunni and yet, for example,  there are very strong identifiable links between Qut'b's works  and Osama bin Laden's declared aims.

I have previously mentioned, in this blog, that  Islam is not a unified faith but, as with many religions (particularly Christianity) is troubled by schism, dissension and often violent disagreement.

I mention this, at this time, for two reasons:

1. To be fair to the majority of peace-loving, tolerant and caring Muslims who populate this world.

2. To draw attention to the aspects of this internal Islamic struggle to cope with the transitions of the 20th and 21st centuries, which are creating massive strains upon old and out-dated standards of morality (as we also see in Catholicism)..

The old-tactic of 'creating a common enemy to unite a cause' is nowhere more visible than in the modern struggles of Islam. Check out Iraq. Check out Iran. Check out Yemen.

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BUT – before we support, in the name of 'religious freedoms' any modifications to our higher humane standards such as those espoused by Al Quaeda , Taleban or promoted under  the more extreme variations of Sharia law, we need to be very certain which faction we support. It is hard to have respect for actions which deny or contradict the lovingness of the One God or demean moral and humane standards that have evolved over thousands of years.

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The defence of tradition, which in centuries past served society, is not a road to travel down where that tradition no longer meets the higher moral, ethical or humane standards expressed within a society.

nursery knowingness

"Six months old and he can tell good from evil

Scientists have discovered that babies can start to make moral judgments by the age of six months and may be born with the ability to tell good from bad hard-wired into their brains.

Infants can even act as judge and jury in the nursery. Researchers who asked one-year-old babies to take away treats from a “naughty” puppet found they were sometimes also leaning over and smacking the figure on the head."

via

"The new research contradicts the theories of Freud and others that humans begin with a moral 'blank slate'"

Awareness, it would seem, is a permanent state of being.

the potentiality of 1

 

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Indeed, it is only when the individual joyfully surrenders that individuality for the benefit of humanity that his or her individuality can really be seen in it's true value. Offer not, upon the altar of humanity's needs, that which is of no value to yourself. For if you would love then love to your utmost, joyfully and willingly offering all that you are, as a celebration of all that you are.

gg

Spring is moving on…

 

I wonder, if we had to pay for all this beauty that surrounds our every day, in every way, what price would we put on it?

Imagine……..

All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.

T.E. Lawrence

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace                                                                    John Lennon

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Do as I say, not as I do

As I am very,very,very fond of saying in this blog  "when it comes to claims of spiritual motivation…… follow the money"

This applies whether it's the collections, the stipends, the guru donations, the Islamic 'charity' donations, etc. It particularly applies in the present crises over child abuse within religious institutions.

It is one thing for fine words and sermons about the shame and guilt, quite another thing when you 'follow the money trail'.

In New York it is quite amazing how the fine sermon words are lost within the maze of convoluted and contradictory action taken to immunise compensation claims from victims. You can see what I mean if you read this article HERE

It was well said by Christ "by their fruits you will know them".

How sad, how irreconcilably sad, to be seeing such self-destruction of a channel of faith on such a large scale.

the simplicity of love

“This is my simple religion.

There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy.

Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”

Dalai Lama quote

the confusion of discernment

"You see, this is what happens in our competitive and qualification-orientated society. We have to know where the other person is coming from, then we can form value-judgements about them. Not about the truths they may speak, write or show in their lives - but about them. Then we see that they are human too, maybe do things we don't approve of, so we dismiss the possible truths they speak simply because they are different from us or don't conform to our idea of correct behaviour"

gg

who? Us?

more 'petty gossip' ?????

For those of you who are not sure what it's all about:

 

more   HERE

NOTE: at 10 years of age the boy tried to KILL himself!!!

saved!!!

Sometimes, people care so much that their own lives don't seem to matter!

read more about this amazing story here

terminal sickness

so reads the headline in The Times (see more HERE)

For those not in the loop,"...if anyone offend against one of my little ones (children) it were better for him that a millstone be placed around his neck and he be cast into the sea". Jesus Christ (Luke 17). Note: this is not the judgement of the NYT or the media, nor of secular society.
I believe this includes errors of omission as well as commission.

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It is the end of the church as we have known it and it's end has come from the abuse of authority within itself.
God's justice is not the same as man's justice.In denying respect to children in it's care the Church, or any institution, also denies itself self-respect. It is already too late, whatever actions or 'mea culpas' now follow will always be a reaction to the pressure from secular society and not be the result of pressures from within.The 'moral heights' have been surrendered, if indeed they were ever occupied by any religious institution,

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This institution is mortally wounded and no priest,nun,deacon, or member who truly has faith in Christ can,in my opinion, remain within this divided house. The words of Christ must surely be of greater import than the words of any so-called 'servant of The Master'.

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The bottom line is simply this – would you wish your child to be educated by or within the control environments of any institution like this?

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It is the WAY we deal with crisis that speaks about who we really are!

supramundane transcendence

"Religion — all religion, not just Catholicism — is supposed to be good for the soul, but everything I’ve written about here pollutes mine. You can’t take lessons in morality from people who disgust you."

India Knight,Timesonline

"el momento de la verdad"

"The moment of TRUTH" – see blog entry below

gimme, gimme, gimme…The Truth!

Whether it is Iran or the Vatican, a synogogue or an evangelical telecast, the thing that most 'representatives of religious orgs' don't really seem to grasp is that in the "internet/knowledge shared openly" world…..

'

It is what you say and do NOW that is really defining who and what you are…

'

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What you, or someone in your religious tradition, did or said in the past belongs to that age.

Let your truth be clear and present in this moment. Let your lovingness illuminate this second. For truth is not a thought nor a belief system concept…

Truth is the reality in which we exist.

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

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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

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.                                                               copyright  gg

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

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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."

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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"

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(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

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They said to me

. 
"GET A LIFE"
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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".

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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.

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.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.

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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

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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

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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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are you 14 years old?

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

In memory of Senghenydd

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consciousness demoted

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

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

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

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

Peace is….

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

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

gg.

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

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

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

The voices of reason

 

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

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

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

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

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

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Indonesian earthquake

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

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longing for…..

The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate

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

C. S. Lewis

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