Character

9/11 Pieta

9/11

 

 

Remembered

with

sadness

eschatology…the last days

 

If you look back into the archives of this blog – which has now been blogging for 11 years (since certainly 6th September 2001) -  you will often find criticism of religious institutions. Understand please, these are not criticisms of faith in God (however or whoever you perceive him/her to be).

These are criticisms, observations of discernment,which seek only to cast light upon contradiction or hypocrisy and permit a light of truth to shine upon all that is hidden.

In the last decade we have witnessed the breakdown of the power of religious institutions of differing sects, denominations, creeds. This from within not as a result of some external force. Islam is involved in a civil war within itself, Judaism is stained by the behaviour of the State of Israel, Hinduism in practice continues the disgrace of the caste system decades after Gandhi wished it would die tomorrow if it did not discard the caste system. Christianity is tortured by contradictory doctrine and a deeply conflicted comprehension of what Christ actually said and did.

Yet, all of these share much that is good in common, reflecting what Jung called 'archetypes of the subconscious'. They also share much that is undesirable and downright disgustingly wicked.These institutions are, after all, in the 'spiritual business' and often have little regard for the instructions of the CEO.

Watch out for this documentary coming to your screens soon…but don't simply limit your understanding of it to the Vatican and the present Pope, please.You can find this atrocity in every religion to some degree or other, wherever men lose sight of faith and substitute habitual ritual.

clicking on the image will take you to the YouTube trailer for this documentary

the power of compassion

Sometimes, some folks get despondent about this world.Often pessimism can creep into our lives like a draught coming under the door. Well, If you sometimes doubt the innate goodness and lovingness that is the dominant factor in this world, check out this story. This will help restore your faith in humanity

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/01/automobile-community-come_n_1848266.html

spin doctor in training

via

just a beautiful song

 

Normally associated nowadays with Cat Stevens, Eleanor Farjoen actually wrote the words

Becoming

Dalai Lama – on compassion

in pursuit of the obvious

nota bene

expanding

I cannot explain it……but I feel a deep inner urge to send LOVE to everyone – and everything – in the world

Guess what? It's raining….again.

Going within

"It is the purpose of dogma, ritual and formalised 'worship' to create a 'socially approved' methodology of expressing belief.

In reality, true belief neither requires, nor desires, social approval – or any other kind of approval."

gkr

always remembered - 22711

C.M.Blow

 

Happy Birthday – and thanks for your presence

all is not as it seems

Sometimes being silent is a supremely strong statement.

It can often be that it is not the absence of action but the energised pre-cursor to manifested action

Priorities-001

the crumbling edifice

I prophecy this is the first of many,many such cases!

picture/article via Newser.com

Extract from the document "Crimens Sollicitationis" issued by the 'Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith', a department of which the present Pope was once the head.

"I do promise, vow and swear that I will maintain inviolate secrecy about each and every thing brought to my knowledge in the performance of my aforesaid function, excepting only what may happen to be lawfully published when this process is concluded and put into effect … and that I will never directly or indirectly, by gesture, word, writing or in any other way, and under any pretext, even that of a greater good or of a highly urgent and serious reason, do anything against this fidelity to secrecy, unless special permission or dispensation is expressly granted to me by the Supreme Pontiff."

So, perhaps it's better to be the 'fall guy' and go to prison…than to be excommunicated for telling the Police/civil authorities about crimes committed by the clergy! Oh, what a martyr to hypocrisy!

 

 

look inside first

multinational manoeuvres

Well, after already paying out in excess of $2.5 BILLION in America alone for legal fees, settlements and prevention programmes, one can understand a certain reticence.

It is worth reminding ourselves, however, that this is a self-inflicted wound to this institution and a wound made worse by it's own inability to self-medicate or to follow it's own rule-book!

 

full story here

questionable "Multinational" financial dealings

The Olympus scandal was precipitated on 14 October 2011 when British-born Michael Woodford was suddenly ousted as chief executive of international optical equipment manufacturer, Olympus Corporation. He had been company president for six months, and two weeks prior had been promoted to CEO, when he exposed "one of the biggest and longest-running loss-hiding arrangements in Japanese corporate history", according to the Wall Street Journal.^[4]

 

full story here

 

Spot the difference?

perceptions-1000

via

Joe Biden…on grief

 

 

 

“Folks, it can and will get better,” Biden said. “There will come a day – I promise you, and your parents as well – when the thought of your son or daughter, or your husband or wife, brings a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye. It will happen.”

Holy….porn????? Huh?

Vati Leaks

Catholic Church wholly owns German pornographic publishing house

 

"Controversy erupted in Germany … with revelations about the Catholic Church’s ownership of Weltbild, one of the world’s largest pornographic publishing groups. The Church originally purchased Weltbild during the early years of the papacy of John Paul II (1978-2005) and gradually transformed it into one of Germany’s largest media companies that every year sells hundreds of thousands of erotic books from its 2500 titles. ‘To arrive at such a level, millions and millions of offerings and money transfers by the church have gone up in smoke. As far as the German bishops are concerned,‘Weltbild‘ represents a kind of bank; over the years, they have invested nearly 182 million Euros in church dues‘ (The Independent, November 13th, 2011).

Bishops buy-up pornographic publishing houses
In 1998, and with the help of millions of dollars in a Church tax levied on believers, the company merged with five publishing houses of the ‘Georg von Holtzbrinck‘ group and became the ‘Droemer&Knaur‘ publishing corporation that specializes in producing pornographic material. ‘German bishops currently hold 50% of ‘Droemer&Knaur‘, which means that they are no longer just peddlers of erotic and pornographic material (through ‘Weltbild‘), they are now also producers‘ (The Independent). Another Catholic acquisition was Blue Panther Books, which was excluded from the list of participating publishers at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair allegedly because of the pornographic content of its titles"

Gibran – The Well

 

timing

"There is no wrong time to do the right thing"

CHARLES M. BLOW   NYT

the beauty of joy-001

absent authority.absent integrity.

We are witnessing the self-destruction of a major world religious institution.

Quotations from an article concerning the calls for the resignation of Cardinal Sean Brady, the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland

In a statement it (the Church) said that in 1975 “no State or church guidelines for responding to allegations of child abuse existed in Ireland.”

Church read here: Matthew 18 v 6 "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

What other guidelines did you need?

“The commentary in the program and much of the coverage of my role in this inquiry gives the impression that I was the only person who knew of the allegations against Brendan Smyth at that time and that because of the office I hold in the church today I somehow had the power to stop Brendan Smyth in 1975,” he  (Sean Brady) said. “I had absolutely no authority over Brendan Smyth.”

(note: it is implied in the Cardinal's statement that he was NOT the only one who knew)

Ergo, since there is no authority over a fellow priest, how can any priest claim any authority whatsoever? If you have not the authority of honesty, the authority of decency, the authority of knowing right from wrong, the authority of protecting children, the authority of the law….Ah. "I had no power to stop Brendan Smyth", it is said.

What, your arm was so weak you couldn't lift up the phone and report these crimes to the police?

This is not a case of the loss of the 'spiritual high ground', nor of the loss of the 'moral high ground'.

This is simply a case that the Catholic Church, in Ireland and elsewhere, has absolutely no ground upon which belief can be built. The shifting sand of dishonesty and betrayal of faith and doctrine is a quicksand that is swallowing the institution.

Little Blog Book 1

There is now a 'Little Blog Book 1' flipbook with selections from this blog

AVAILABLE HERE     Free

on loan

from a Neil Diamond song

Injustice affects the world

Trayvon Martin's Mother

It is when we read such as this that we can know the absolute marvellousness and lovingness of the human spirit.

Sybrina Fulton talking to Rabbi Schmuley Boteach full article here

" I have no time for anger. I do not want to grant it a place in my heart"

The problem of me

I am not more gifted than the average human being. If you know anything about history, you would know that is so--what hard times I had in studying and the fact that I do not have a memory like some other people do… I am just more curious than the average person and I will not give up on a problem until I have found the proper solution. This is one of my greatest satisfactions in life--solving problems--and the harder they are, the more satisfaction do I get out of them. Maybe you could consider me a bit more patient in continuing with my problem than is the average human being.

Now, if you understand what I have just told you, you see that it is not a matter of being more gifted but a matter of being more curious and maybe more patient until you solve a problem.

~ Albert Einstein

tides of awareness

Most times a tide of awareness will be disruptive, shattering the stillness of our pre-conceived ideas, sparkling with the radiance of it's truth

the language of beauty

we remember

The increasing awareness of One-ness

via

the thinnest of lines

"Some documents that have been exposed in recent weeks have also shown what appear to be moves to scupper efforts by Italy’s interim technocratic government under Mario Monti to get the church to pay property taxes. The Vatican owns an estimated 20 percent of all real estate in Italy, and its tax bill is estimated to be about $100 million annually. Property owned by the Catholic Church is exempt from property taxes as long as the properties serve a religious function. That means hotels, schools, and other church property need only contain a chapel to be exempt from taxes".

Simply because a law says it is legal does not in and of itself make actions moral, ethical or conducive to higher spiritual values

mandatory obligations……?

We all feel angry at times; it’s a natural response to threats and attacks, injustice and disappointment. Anger is a powerful emotion and releasing the pressure that builds inside you can be essential to deal with problems and move on. But if anger isn’t dealt with in a healthy way, it can have a significant effect on your daily life, relationships, achievements and mental well-being.

It is also a 'mandatory religious obligation' to LOVE.

So what did he write, this young tweeter?

Well, essentially he said that he would behave towards the Prophet as though he were a friend, he would not pray to the Prophet – rather,he implies, he would speak to him as a close friend.As though they were brothers,which,in faith, they are!

"Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks" 2:256

Oh, beautiful Islam, with what swords of hate they scar your truth.

Memories are beautiful

stay away

self-discipline….re-run

What we can achieve when we care enough to work together……

resting in one's self

whispers of lovingness

click for bigger picture

never growing up…

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.

Plato

ermm…did someone mention ONENESS?

Happy New Year

The audacity of memory

and the treasures of nostalgia

 

“Lost friend, lost child, lost parent, sister, brother, husband, wife, we will not so discard you!” he wrote. “You shall hold your cherished places in our Christmas hearts, and by our Christmas fires; and in the season of immortal hope, and on the birthday of immortal mercy, we will shut out Nothing!”

Charles Dickens

Merry Christmas 2011

Them Us It

No power in society, no hardship in your condition can depress you, keep you down, in knowledge, power, virtue, influence, but by your own consent.

William Ellery Channing

In Memoriam – Christopher Hitchens

to which should generally be added…."and do participate in private", or so it would seem from many 'religious leaders/concepts'.

Hence, for example, a woman in the Middle East can be 'gang-raped' in the name of religion – and then punished for it by being imprisoned and suffering 100 lashes.

In the 'hypocrisy Shoddy Globe Award' we should also not forget to dishonour the Catholic Church and the Vatican for it's en-darkened attitudes to children and truth..

Another shortlisted for the 'Shoddy Globe Award' is, of course, the State of Israel, which has managed to turn a magnificent faith into an apartheid look-a-like.

The Garden of the mind

Apartheid Israel?

via