- MODEL-POOR / EXAMPLE-POOR ENVIRONMENT. Imagine a near perfect community as probably existed in certain American Indian tribes and among the early Christians. Someone in such a tribe would require much, much imagination to Err / Sin.
- TEMPTATION-RICH ENVIRONMENTS. Western, free-market, consumer capitalism INTENDS TO BE THE MOST TEMPTATION-RICH ENVIRONMENT EVER CONCEIVED!!!!!!!!!!
- PERVERSION / POLUTION / DISGUISE / DISTORTION / MUTILATION OF JESUS "GOSPEL" AS SUCCESSFULLY AND TOTALLY ACHIEVED BY THE "CHURCH" FOR 1800 YEARS!!!!!!!
- LACK OF PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE.
5.29.2007
Obstructions to "paying the price" for Heaven on Earth
Darfur Vigil Goal: Post-it Note Darfuries to the Hearts
I think that is an almost perfect example of what the life of a Disciple does: Works to connect "the least of these my family" to the Hearts of all people - to "Save" them from thinking about themselves and "their family."
In front of the Sudan Embassy I am trying to live my life in such a way as to post-it note Darfuries to the Hearts of those that pass by every day. I have no doubt that to some degree this is happening.
The "Our Father" saved me again, and again...
No, I do not mean "reciting" the Our Father for some "magic" effect. I mean having the "OUR FATHER..." work my nervous system for hours, to hammer me back into shape, back into a Follower, a Disciple.
Walking the path: weed or cultivate? WEED BARRIER
- WEED: Do I spend my time finding my Errors and working on them?
- CULTIVATE: Do I spend my time growing within myself Love-in-Action for "the least of these my family?"
Gandhi seemed to say, WEED. Gandhi was obsessed with finding the errors in his life and weeding them out.
Gandhi seemed to say, CULTIVATE. TRUTH IS GOD. Gandhi relentlessly pursued Truth.
Jesus said CULTIVATE! No? The religion He replaced was Judaism which was obsessed with "laws" that were for the minute dealing with weeds. Jesus said No! CULTIVATE. "Follow me." Just Do It!
Both Weeding and Cultivation are necessary, but the emphasis, the strong emphasis needs to be on CULTIVATE, in my experience and practice. Weeding is too much of a "Brain," "Thinking" function. We need to stop "Thinking" and Start Loving. The Heart is the only thing strong enough, wise enough, and visionary enough to get us to Heaven.
The best defense is a good offense: "Love thy neighbor as thyself." "Do unto others ALL that you would have them do unto you.? "As you do unto the least of these my family you do unto me."
JESUS' TWO SOLUTIONS ARE "CULTIVATE:"
- "Love [the Almighty - Truth, Love, Life] with your whole Heart, your whole soul, and your whole mind."
- "You shall love your neighbor ["the least of these my family"] as yourself."
Or, WEED BARRIER!!?!??!!!!!!!!
5.28.2007
Leo Tolstoy Quotations
All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
All surrounding interests, such as the peace and safety of my family, my property, and myself were based on the law that was rejected by Christ – on the law of a ‘tooth for a tooth.’
All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love.
All His first disciples obeyed the same law of the non-resistance of evil [to not return evil for evil], and passed their lives in disability and persecution.
And all people live, Not by reason of any care they have for themselves, But by the love for them that is in other people.
And I understood from where my error arose. It arose from my professing Christ in words and denying Him in deed.
Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.
Art is a human activity having for its purpose the transmission to others of the highest and best feelings to which men have risen.
Boredom: the desire for desires.
But the peasants - how do the peasants die?
Christ does not require us to turn the other cheek, and to give away our cloak, in order to make us suffer; but He teaches us not to resist evil [to not return evil for evil], and warns us that doing so may involve personal suffering. Does a father, on seeing his son set out on a long journey, tell him to pass sleepless nights, to eat little, to get wet through, or to freeze? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Go, and if on the road you are cold or hungry, do not be discouraged but go on’?
‘Do not resist evil’ means never to resist evil, i.e., never offer violence to anyone. If a man reviles you, do not revile him in return; suffer, but do no violence.
Ecclesiastical teachers told me that the doctrine of Christ was divine, but that its observance was impossible on account of the weakness of human nature.
Even in the valley of the shadow of death, two and two do not make six.
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
Faith is the sense of life, that sense by virtue of which man does not destroy himself, but continues to live on. It is the force whereby we live.
Government is an association of men who do violence to the rest of us.
He never chooses an opinion; he just wears whatever happens to be in style.
Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them.
Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be disguised.
I did not carry out that teaching in deed [to not return evil for evil], for I admitted and respected the unchristian institutions that surrounded me.
I did not see that it was impossible to admit the Godhead of Christ – the basis of whose teaching is non-resistance of evil – and, at the same time, to work consciously and calmly for the institutions of property, courts of law, kingdoms, the army, and so on.
I imbibed such a notion of the practical impossibility of following the divine doctrine gradually and almost imperceptibly. I was so accustomed to it, it coincided so well with all my animal feelings, that I had never observed the contradiction in which I lived.
I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back.
I was taught from my childhood that Christ is God and that His teaching is divine and authoritative; while, on the other hand, I was also told to respect those institutions that, by means of violence, secured my safety from evil; I was taught to honor those institutions as being sacred. I was taught to resist evil; and it was instilled into me that it was humiliating and dishonorable to submit to evil and to suffer from it; and that it was praiseworthy to resist evil. I was taught to condemn and to execute. I was taught to make war, i.e., to resist evil by murder. The army, a member of which I was, was called a ‘Christ-loving’[1] army, and the Church consecrated its mission. I was taught to resist an offender by violence and to avenge a private insult, or one against my native land, by violence. All this was never regarded as wrong, but, on the contrary, I was told that it was perfectly right and in no way contrary to Christ’s doctrine.
If a man were to set all the faculties of his mind to the annulling of a given law, what more forcible argument could he use for its suppression than that it was an impracticable law, and that the legislator’s own opinion of it was that it could not be kept without supernatural aid? And yet, this was exactly what I had thought about the commandment ‘not to resist evil.’ I tried to remember when and how the strange idea had first come into my mind, that the doctrine of Christ was divine in authority but impossible in practice. On reviewing my past life, I discovered that this idea had never been transmitted to me in all its nakedness, for then it would have repelled me; but that I had imperceptibly imbibed it from my earliest childhood, and that the associations of my life had confirmed some strange error.
If so many men, so many minds, certainly so many hearts, so many kinds of love.
If there existed no external means for dimming their consciences, one-half of the men would at once shoot themselves, because to live contrary to one's reason is a most intolerable state, and all men of our time are in such a state.
If you want to be happy, be.
If you deal carelessly with bees you will injure them,and will yourself be injured. And so with men. It cannot be otherwise, because natural love is the fundamental law of human life.
In all history there is no war which was not hatched by the governments, the governments alone, independent of the interests of the people, to whom war is always pernicious even when successful.
In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.
It did not then occur to me, as it does now, that it would be much simpler to regulate our lives according to the doctrine of Christ; and then, if courts of law, executions, and war were found to be indispensably necessary for our welfare, we might pray to have them too.
It was only after losing all faith in the explanations of learned theology and criticism, and after laying them all aside in obedience to the words of Christ (Mark 10:15), that I began to understand what had until then seemed incomprehensible to me. It was not by deep thought, or by skillfully comparing or commenting on the texts of the gospel, that I came to understand the doctrine. On the contrary, all grew clear to me for the very reason that I had ceased to rest on mere interpretations.
Judgment sins by punishing for crime, and all judgment is annihilated by the law of God – mercy.
Love is invincible.
Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love. Everything is united by it alone. Love is God, and to die means that I, a particle of love, shall return to the general and eternal source.
Love is the unity of souls
Man lives consciously for himself, but is an unconscious instrument in the attainment of the historic, universal, aims of humanity.
Music is the shorthand of emotion.
My faith in these ‘toga,’ in these empty idols, hid the truth from my eyes. In my way to Him these ‘toga,’ which I did not have the strength to renounce, stood before me, obscuring His light.
One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken.
Our body is a machine for living. It is organized for that, it is its nature. Let life go on in it unhindered and let it defend itself.
The changes in our life must come from the impossibility to live otherwise than according to the demands of our conscience not from our mental resolution to try a new form of life.
The chief difference between words and deeds is that words are always intended for men for their approbation, but deeds can be done only for God.
The greater the state, the more wrong and cruel its patriotism, and the greater is the sum of suffering upon which its power is founded.
The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people.
The law condemns and punishes only actions within certain definite and narrow limits; it thereby justifies, in a way, all similar actions that lie outside those limits.
The law of God - mercy.
The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God; and this can be done only by means of the acknowledgment and profession of the truth by each one of us.
The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.
The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.
The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people.
There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.
To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind of food that it is very good but that most people can't eat it.
True life is lived when tiny changes occur.
Truth is communicated to men only by deeds of truth.
Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.
War is so unjust and ugly that all who wage it must try to stifle the voice of conscience within themselves.
War on the other hand is such a terrible thing, that no man, especially a Christian man, has the right to assume the responsibility of starting it.
We lost because we told ourselves we lost.
We must not only cease our present desire for the growth of the state, but we must desire its decrease, its weakening.
We were taught that it was possible to be a Christian without fulfilling His law not to resist evil.
What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness.What an immense mass of evil must result... from allowing men to assume the right of anticipating what may happen.
Why should Christ have given to us such clear and good precepts, applicable to us all, if He knew beforehand that the keeping of them was impossible by man in his own unaided strength?
5.27.2007
May 23: 22 Priests go on Hunger Strike
UCAN: Priests go on hunger strike to protest naval base plan
5/23/2007
UCANews (www.ucanews.com)
SEOUL, South Korea (UCAN) – After the governor of Jeju agreed to accept a controversial naval base on the island province, local priests went on a hunger strike and their bishop wrote an open letter to South Korea's president urging a referendum on the plan.
On May 21, about 40 priests of Cheju Diocese organized a Mass for peace on the island off the Korean peninsula's southern coast. Afterward, 18 of them joined four colleagues on the third day of a hunger strike against the base. Cheju is the former spelling of Jeju. [click link above for full article.]
5.24.2007
THE "NARROW GATE" = "SEEING" THE "PEARL" / "TREASURE"
- What we want - Heaven
- What to do - Good
- The Pearl / Treasure - totally dedicating ourselves the least of these
The point of the just mentioned post is that we know what we want, but we will not face the "Price!"
But, why will we not face the price?
- We are DISTRACTED, DISASSOCIATED, SEPARATED from "the least of these our family," PHYSICALLY, VISUALLY,. SPATIALLY, PSYCHOLOGICALLY, EXPERIENTIALLY, FINANCIALLY....
- "If you know, and you do not do, you do not know"
- We are drowning in mis-direction; away from the Kingdom, toward the Hell of non-family, non-brotherly
- We are drowning in a culture, we are drowning in role models that prize distance from "the lest of these my family."
- We are devoid of an environment rich in Serving, from the Soul, in Solidarity
THE "NARROW GATE" = "PAYING THE PRICE!!!!!!!!!"
[FINDING / KNOWING THE PEARL - THE TREAURE - THE EASY PART!] 12 6 "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets. " And, Mark Chapter 12 30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
[DECIDING TO PAY THE PRICE - THE NARROW GATE - THE HARD PART!] 13 7 8 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. 14 How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few. "
Oh my goodness. What am imbicile I am. Finding and Living "Life" all comes down to this - PAYING THE PRICE!. I spend most of my time in the mistaken confusion that it comes down to:
* Knowing WHERE the path is...
* What the path LOOKS LIKE...
* How to walk the path...
* Etc...
* Etc...
Well, all of those things matter. But the fundamental problem is, WE DO NOT THINK THAT WE WANT TO "PAY THE PRICE!" We know WHAT to do. We don't have the WISDOM, COURAGE, CONVICTION, KNOWLEGED, TRUTH, LIFE, LOVE... to PAY THE PRICE.
MatthewChapter 13 44 23 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, 24 which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it." I have always thought that the focus of this was FINDING the Pearl or the Treasure. It is helpful for me to realize that it is about the wisdom, courage, FAITH... to "PAY THE PRICE."
IF YOU WERE ONE "CELL," WHERE WOULD YOU FOCUS YOUR BODY?
- The body of Christ.
- "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools," Martin Luther King, Jr.
- "All men are brothers," Gandhi.
- "In reality, of course, we are all cells in the body of humanity," Peace Pilgrim
- Etc.
Well, let's not blow them off for a second. Time out.
So if we in the whole world are all one body, and you were one "cell," where would you want the body's attention?
- Your "family? Probably not. You are a high achiever, wealthy beyond all world standards.
- Your "neighborhood?" Probably not. Same as above.
- Darfur? Congo? Palestine? Guatamala? Etc? GOOD CHANCE! Huge death rates. Terrible suffering.
- The U.S.? GOOD CHANCE! CANCER, MESTASTASIZING AROUND THE WORLD, SPREADING ITSELF - SPREADING FREE MARKET, CONSUMER, CAPITALISM.
DARFURIES & JESUS WONDER: "ARE YOU OUR FAMILY?"
Think of this, not for the "guilt" value [horrible waste - guilt] but for the potential insight and "wake up" value!
Jesus must be wondering, "who is my family?" He said, "As you do unto the least of these MY FAMILY."
WHO IS TAKING CARE OF "JESUS" DARFUR FAMILY? No one? The Jesus TOO has no family?
Jesus follower? WOULD BE LEADER.
Lead us all not into temptation
Deliver us all from evil!!!!!
Who is to do the "Leading?" Who is to do the "Deliver"ing? YOU AND ME.
Leading, successfully or not, is what we were created for - it is Heaven.
Leading, WHEN SUCCESSFUL, is the only thing that will "DELIVER US ALL FROM EVIL!"
START: "RECENTLY SELF PITTY, EGO, SELFISHNESS FILLED ME"
Within several days I got approximately back, but it was another week before I was fully back on firm footing, and back in Heaven. In the intervening days, the symptoms and penalty for being off of the path included the Fruits that filled/sickened me included:
SELF PITTY: Why didn't I have more support from people!
EGO: Oh, I was so angry at folks for not joining the campaign, and not being smart enough to follow me!
SELFISHNESS
SELF PITTY, EGO, SELFISHNESS are ONLY FOUND OFF OF THE PATH. Watch for and respond to these warning signs. This entire site is designed to help us back to the Path, but this post in particular can help: TOXIC WASTE TO THE SPIRIT: Selfishness? -or- NOT-BROTHERLY!!!
"CHRISTIAN" MARRIAGE? TOTAL SERVICE.
If you are open to considering the Truth of this post title, "CHRISTIAN" MARRIAGE? TOTAL SERVICE, then ponder this and you will see it:
Jesus called us each individually to TOTAL SERVICE to "the least of these my family." 'Pick up your cross and follow me' he told us. Well, if individually this is what we are to do, then except for violating this Solution to Life, in Marriage this is what we must do as TWO instead of ONE.
There is no other "Christian" Marriage. THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE.
Jesus called us to "Love," NOT "Justice." Careless mistake?
Why did Jesus NOT call us to "Justice?!!?" Because our Father's Kingdom, Heaven is in and through the Heart. Justice calls us to our Head, AWAY from our Father's House.
JESUS DISCOVERED LIFE. ADAM SMITH - CANCER.
Adam Smith gave us Cancer / Death: Do unto others, within Man's law, all that you can BEFORE they can do unto you.
Smith said, it is impossible to effectively look after your brother. Take care of yourself and let the Hand of God worry about the rest. Hmm. Adam Smith overrode Jesus, Son of God. Smith had no malice or mal intent. CANCER WOULD SEEM LIKE A BRILLIANT INVENTION. SERIOUSLY! TRULY!
DIVORCE / NEGLECT / NON-FAMILY: OUR UN-NAMED RELIGION
Our western culture is based on our ability to divorce ourselves from concern for others under the guise of rugged independence, free market capitalism, and "family" values.
WE SHOULD EXPECT TO SEE, as an early and immediate indicator of the "body's" death from this cancer, a skyrocketing "Marriage Divorce" rate. Divorce from others is what we train our children in from the earliest age.
CANCER WOULD SEEM LIKE A BRILLIANT INVENTION. SERIOUSLY! TRULY!
Quit thinking about them, and look out for yourself, and for "your family."
My gosh, without the "burden" [Life, Love, Truth - the Almighty] of thinking about others, wow, just think of the growth, the wealth of resources available to you! Why, you could do as well for yourself as you were willing to sacrifice and work for!
But then the body would die.
Thank you Adam Smith. Thank you wester, free market, consumer capitalism. The body, the masses, are rapidly dying. And the Almighty is not to be found among the Cancer Cells. They are already all but Dead.
TOXIC WASTE TO THE SPIRIT: Selfishness? -or- NOT-BROTHERLY!!!
For much of the last six weeks or so I've felt much more enlightened with the new insight that all Error, all Sin is Selfishness. Much has been written of this; THE WORDS THAT COULD SAVE THE WORLD, and see partial list below.
But now I think that Selfishness is the fruit of something deeper: the root of all evil - detachment / separation / distance / "divorce" from anyone; that is to say, the root of all evil is ANY VACUUM IN YOUR HEART, any space that is non-family, non-brotherhood-t0-ALL-of-the-least-of-these-MY-FAMILY. Is not this insight in line with Timothy 6:10 (King James Version): "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith [universal brotherliness], and pierced themselves through with many sorrows?" Yes. The love of money [Stuff, Superiority, Systems/Institutions] is the displacement of the LOVE OF "THE LEAST OF THESE MY FAMILY."
EVIL IS ANY MOMENTS OF ABSENCE OF LOVE OF EVERYONE - UNIVERSAL BROTHERLINESS / OTHERISHNESS / "FAMILY." SELFISHNESS IS THE RESULT / FRUIT. "GOOD" IS THE PREDOMINATION OF UNIVERSAL BROTHERLINESS... IN THE HEART.
The importance of this distinction? A FOCUS ON SELFISHNESS WILL ALLOW THE ROOT TO TAKE HOLD - NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM - A HEART JUST PARTLY FILLED WITH BROTHERLINESS WILL BECOME FILLED BY SELFISHNESS.
THE KINGDOM DEPENDS ON OUR VIGILANCE IN KEEPING CONNECTED TO ALL OTHERS / keeping from being diverted ["diversion" being worshiped in our western free market capitalist society.]
This puts Jesus focus on the "least of these my family" in new perspective for me.
This puts Gandhi's statement in a new perspective for me: "I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."
Caution! Mother Teresa's kind of LOVE - "Love [that] cannot remain inactive in the face of suffering." [paraphrase]
THE BOTTOM LINE!!! THE MOST TOXIC WASTE TO THE SPIRIT, THE GREATEST DANGER IS BEING NOT-ENTIRELY-BROTHERLY-TO-ALL-THE-LEAST-OF-THESE.
WHAT TO DO!?!?!?
- PRAY. "OUR FATHER..." PRAY. SELF-MONITOR. BE ACCUTELY AWARE OF WHAT IS ON YOUR HEART, AND IF IT IS NOT THE-LEAST-OF-THESE-MY-FAMILY, PRAY DELIBERATELY AND PRACTICALLY TO BRING THE-LEAST-OF-THESE-YOUR-FAMILY TO FILL, FILL, FILL YOUR HEART.
- BE VIGILANT, WATCHFUL FOR THE AVALANCHE OF "DIVERSIONS" AND DISTRACTIONS THAT OUR CULTURE THROWS AT YOU EVERY MINUTE.
- REMEMBER, YOU CANNOT ESCAPE LEADING THOSE DEAREST TO YOU WHERE YOU GO. LIFE OR PULSE? HEAVEN OR HELL? THE "GREAT" OR THE "GOOD?"
WHERE IS THE SELFISHNESS / SIN IN MY LIFE?
!!!!!!!!!! DEFINITION: "SAVED" !!!!!!!!!!
Exploitative U.S. "Family Values" will be its demise...
The Anti-Christ: American Capitalism and its Export
DEFINITION OF VIOLENCE - "Enemy," Non-Brotherly, Selfish, Not-as-you-would-have-them-do behavior
Take away Selfishness and Western Culture Vanishes
WE ARE IMMORTAL. THE ONLY DEATH IS SELFISHNESS
And many more posts. Search the blog with the tool a the top left of the site.
TOXIC WASTE OF THE SPIRIT: Selfishness? -or- NOT-BROTHERLY!!!
TOXIC WASTE TO THE SPIRIT: Selfishness? -or- NOT-BROTHERLY!!!
HEART: DOES NOT KNOW ITS OWN PAIN, SACRIFICE
WHEN YOUR HEART IS IN CHARGE THE FEEDBACK LOOP OF YOUR FLESH IS EXTREMELY ATTENUATED. (You are racing to the hospital with your child in your arms. How much are you "feeling" the pain in your body?")
This is why those who follow Jesus, serve the Almighty "LOOK LIKE" they are in misery, but actually "THEIR JOY IS COMPLETE."
No?
"Heart in the right place"
Why do I feel however that this concept is incomplete? IT IS A MATTER OF DEGREE, I see now!!!
But as Dr. King showed us, HOW MUCH SPIRIT MATTERS!!!! (See Dr. King's idea: JESUS TAUGHT US: SPIRIT IS EVERYTHING.)
Let's say your mistaken idea was to value material riches (you don't do you?). If you valued this, and pursued it a little you might say your "heart is in the right place." But it does not stop there. HOW MUCH IS YOUR "HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE!" HOW GREEDY ARE YOU!!!
It is really important to:
- Have your "heart in the right place."
- Be extremely greedy!
Why?
- Why Jesus came: Abundant Life; Complete Joy. PERIOD.
- We build the Kingdom, or it does not get built. Most of your family is in torment. "HURRY," the still, small voice within says.
Why Jesus came: Abundant Life; Complete Joy. PERIOD.
Was Jesus the most perfect of men, a genius by whatever name... or was he an imbecile in whose mouth we need to put words?
Jn 15:9-11 “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.”
John Chapter 10 I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
Guilt: Almost always a Sin / Error
"Did I suggest for you to be guilty? NO. I told you many things, but I did not tell you that. Why did you ignore what I told you:
- As you do unto the least of these my family...
- There is not greater love than to...
- Love God (the Almighty - Truth, Love, Life) with your whole...
- Love your brother...
- Love your enemies...
- Love your neighbor...
Do we think Jesus was careless in what He said?
JESUS; WE DO EVERYTHING BUT WHAT HE SAID
But wait a second. I've "known" this for all of my life. But reflect on this Eastern saying:
IF YOU KNOW, BUT YOU DO NOT DO, YOU DO NOT KNOW.
Only now am I starting to do. I DID NOT KNOW.
START, YOU HAVE SO MANY ABSOLUTES!!!!
An elephant absolutely has sheet-like ears!
An elepahnt absolutely has tree-trunk-like legs!
Etc.
Etc.
If you get the Almighty / God (Life, Love, Truth) you get a whole bunch of things together - aways. It is important to understand each element. But you cannot get just the element.
Maslow wrote of this phenomena, admitting that he couldn't further explain it. In his study of self-actualizing humans he found that in highly self-actualized people, one in millions, if you get one of the following, you get them all in abundance:
Truth, goodness, beauty, wholeness dichotomy-transcendence, aliveness, uniqueness, perfection, completion, justice, simplicity, richness, effortlessness, playfulness, self-sufficiency - THE ALMIGHTY / UNITY / SINGULARITY... LIFE - The "Bread" of Life.
The movie "Rudy." SPIRIT IS THE ONLY SUCCESS.
So, what role is left for us? To be the dwelling place of the Almighty - Truth, Life, Love. This was RUDY. And look at how he was an instrument to build the Kindom.
King, Jesus, Teresa, Gandhi... all were ademant that EVERYONE can be great. "Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve," ML King.
There is no other service than than done by Rudy. "They Kingdom comes as thy will is done."
God calls us to be faithful, not successful.
BE FAMILY / BROTHER / SISTER FOR THE JOY OF IT
Jesus came "to give... life more abundantly," and "to make joy... complete.
Jesus gave us the SOLUTION TO LIFE:
- Do unto others all that you would have them do unto you.
- Love your brother as yourself.
- The Good Samaritan
- As you do unto the least of these MY FAMILY you do unto me.
- A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.
99% OF MY LIFE HAS BEEN ERROR. YAHOO!
Yahoo?!?!?!?
1. Shall I feel guilty for doing the best I knew?
2. Can feeling guilty or bad help me reclaim those decades?
3. Now that I recognize the error / the missing Joy, YAHOO I CAN AVOID THOSE ERRORS BETTER!
How much toxic waste for your mind / Soul per day?
How much toxic waste for your soul each day?
Start, what is all this Revelation, etc crap?
Pitirim Sorokin's notion of Supra Intelligence best captures what I experience and believe on the subject. Essentially Sorokin views that the terms I not above come from that portion of our brain that by far is the most powerful, but that is not directly accessible to us through conscious manipulation.
Maybe what Sorokin and E.O. Wilson in his book "Consillience" and I sense is some sort of portal to an external "God." I don't know. I don't care. It is AWESOME. IT IS ALMIGHTY.
CANCER: ADAM SMITH'S DISCOVERY - CAPITALISM
Jesus gave us the solution to Life: "Do unto others ALL that you would have them do unto you."
Smith gave us Cancer: Do unto others before they can do unto you. Forget the Golden Rule. Leave that to God. Hmmmmm; God left that to us.
Other posts here on the Revealed metaphor of CANCER:
Exploitative U.S. "Family Values" will be its demise...
CANCER IS ONE OF THE TWO POSSIBLE STATES OF ORGANIC STUFF
The most feared killer - cancer. Neglect by another name.
FROM A CANCER'S PERSPECTIVE, WHAT DOES HEALTH LOOK LIKE?
Cancer would "cure" the body of:
- Dying
- Seeing Cancer as other than the ideal to be supported
- Any attitudes other than delighted service and support
- Any and all unwillingness to be fully exploited
- Etc.
- Etc.
ALMIGHTY = LOVE, TRUTH, LIFE = GOD.
"ALMIGHTY:" this word has escaped my attention until now. Love, Life, Truth ARE Almighty. Of course they are God.
Woe to us that continue to side against the Almighty, as is our Western Religion to do so.
Over time I expect to find and add more quotes like this one, the first I've seen of its kind, today on 5/29:
Dr. King: "Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality. This Hindu-Muslim-Christian-Jewish-Buddhist belief about ultimate reality is beautifully summed up in the first epistle of Saint John: "Let us love one another, for love is God. And every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love." "If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us." Let us hope that this spirit will become the order of the day."
"Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love. Everything is united by it alone. Love is God, and to die means that I, a particle of love, shall return to the general and eternal source." "The understanding of Life is God." "“Life is God. Everything changes and moves and that movement is God….To love life is to love God.” Leo Tolstoy
Gandhi: "I claim to be a votary of truth from my childhood. It was themost natural thing to me. My prayerful search gave me the revealingmaxim Truth is God, instead of the usual one God is Truth. That maxim enables me to see God face to face as it were. I feel Him pervade every fibre of my being." And, "Ahimsa [unconditional Love for all] is my God, and Truth is my God. When I look for Ahimsa,Truth says, ''Find it through me.'' When I look for Truth, Ahimsasays, ''Find it out through me.'' 'Truth alone is eternal, everything else is momentary. It is more correct to say that Truth is God, than to say that God is Truth. ... All life (and truth) comes from the one universal source, call it Allah, God or Parmeshwara.'
1 Israeli Life worth 24.074 Palestinian Lives in '06
For Israel and the Occupied Territories, Amnesty says Israel killed more than 650 Palestinians last year, three times the number of Palestinians killed in 2005. Half of the Palestinians killed last year were unarmed civilians. The Palestinian death toll included 120 children. During the same period, Palestinian militants killed 27 Israelis – including 20 civilians and one child.
Sudan Embassy / Darfur Vigil PARTNER ELLEN THOMAS
Ellen is absolutely incredible. I don't know how she can continue another day with her heroic support of the vigil. No one else can even seem to imagine it, besides me, so far. I just came across this interview. It captures the Ellen I'm coming to know, wonderfully.
The following is an interview of Ellen Thomas by Marita McCloskey:
>How did you become so committed to issues of peace?
As a child I became aware through Life magazine photos about Hiroshima, Auschwitz, starving children in Africa, which launched me on a lifetime search "Why?" and "How can we stop this?" I couldn't understand why my kindergarten teacher taught us to dive under our desks during bomb drills in California in 1952; I remembered the photographs of Hiroshima, and wondered what good it would do me to curl up in a ball with my hands over the back of my neck if someone dropped a bomb on Palos Verdes, my home town.
It took me 37 years of testing society's shoulds and shouldn'ts to understand that my earliest reactions were correct. By the time MY children no longer needed me, I was convinced that I was paying huge taxes (the equivalent of working from January to May without pay) to a government which was not only inefficient and corrupt, but downright evil in its building, selling, developing, and using all sorts of horrible weapons. I decided to reduce my income below the poverty level so I would no longer fund the war machine. (I had twenty years' experience in the corporate and legal worlds.) But dropping out wasn't enough. Somebody had to DO something.
That was when I encountered the (then) three-year-old peace vigil outside the White House, where a few volunteers were braving nonsensical regulations, hostile police, irresponsible news reporters who interviewed only the police, and Washington Times editorial cartoonists painting the vigilers as lunatics, bums, and communists, none of which were true. (Ronald Reagan's favorite paper was the Washington Times. You can read more of this story by going to our website, http://prop1.org, then click on the buttons "Peace Park" and "Park and the Presidents."
I decided, since my kids didn't need me any more, and these people did need me, that a change in lifestyle was in order. I quit my cushy, redundant job, gave all my property to my grateful daughter (how else does a young adult get microwave, wok, tv, stereo, music collection, cookbooks, queen size bed, sofa, car, etc.?), and asked her if she was really sure she wanted the burden of things. (I felt guilty, knowing how relieved I was to be free of STUFF.)
>What was your family background?
Father a successful commercial artist living in California since 1949, loves to travel, fought in World War II in the Pacific, used to kill animals for food, now only shoots them with a camera (special gift to me). Says he's "a Marine till the day I die." Curious fellow, ultra sensitive, ultra macho hybrid, WW-II walking wounded who says "I know you're right in principle, but I can't believe it'll ever happen." My mother was a housewife, stabilizing influence. I was blessed (and, like most kids, didn't know it). As an only child I was able to travel with my folks to such exotic places as Tahiti, Bora Bora, Vancouver, and live outdoors in the redwoods, at the seashore, in mountains....
>religious training?
Catholic girl's school (Marymount) in California during early '60's; mother would drive me to different denominations on Sundays so we could check out different perspectives and styles. I was turned off by Christianity because of the collection plates and what seemed (to my skeptical eyes) hypocrisies. Kids went to church to see each other, I assumed grownups did the same thing. I saw advertisements for drug stores, liquor stores, etc. on the back of Sunday morning programs. I saw people dressing in fancy duds they only wore for each other. California's full of phony kissing, and churches seemed like cocktail parties or dungeons, depending on the denomination. I found myself fainting in Catholic services; getting sick to my stomach with the Baptists; having uncontrollable cramps with the Latter Day Saints. Finally I took all this to mean that I wasn't going to be comfortable or find God inside a church.
>political training?
None to speak of, on-the-job during the past 13+ years. California taught "The Constitution" (you couldn't move on from 8th grade without passing the test), which gave me a belief in and knowledge of our rights.
In 1990 we incorporated Proposition One Committee, in 1993 brought the idea to the voters and won the election, and it's now a bill in Congress for the third time, the "Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act." (See http://prop1.org/prop1/prop1.htm)
>world events? personal contacts?
I'm not sure what you mean. Whom did I know who was important? (Nobody.) Or how was I affected by world events around me? Let's see. There were Vietnam, the folk musicians who raised our consciousness about it and war in general, Kennedys' and King's assassination, Joe McCarthy, Eugene McCarthy, starving children in Africa, "Dr. Strangelove," "Gandhi" (the movie). Will ponder this further if you elucidate further.
>How did your activism influence the everyday activities of your family life?
I didn't become an activist until after my children left home. My (now) husband of 13 years founded the vigil; I met him three years later. I married him because we think alike. Our family life is sporadic but loving. The kids and folks are very pleased I'm happy. We're getting closer as they get older. Probably true of most families. Neither of them are activists (yet, I keep thinking). I wonder about that. If I had been active when they were young, would they be now? I think maybe so, as I see the kids of activist friends grow up and join the demonstrations, keep open minds. I know now how pivotal those earlier years are in planting life-long seeds. Too late to change the past. Just got to keep setting a good example now and in the future, and maybe someday they'll have time to care about something other than what they've been taught.
>How did having a family/ being a parent, influence your activism?
I probably wouldn't have devoted myself to a round-the-clock vigil for the future generations if I hadn't felt the intense responsibilities of parenting.
-----
Ellen Thomas is working with the Proposition One Committee Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil in Washington -- http://prop1.org)
Ellen is the Chairperson of the Washington Peace Center.
Ellen maintians the world class anti nuclear site nucnews.net.
U.S. Justice? Sentences: Enron 24 yrs. Eco Activist 13 years
Oct. 23, 2006, 7:54PM
SKILLING GETS 24 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ENRON FRAUD; By TOM FOWLER
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling was sentenced today to 24 years in prison for his role in the energy company's 2001 collapse in what has become one of the nation's biggest corporate scandals.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake ordered Skilling to home confinement with an ankle bracelet to monitor his movements. He told the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to recommend when Skilling should report to prison and suggested he be sent to the federal facility in Butner, N.C.
"This is not an easy decision,'' Lake said. "Sentencing is the most difficult and least pleasant part of my job Mr. Skilling has a family who loves him.''
He added, however, "His crimes have imposed on hundreds if not thousands, a life sentence of poverty."
Lake's sentence, more precisely 292 months, also ordered Skilling to participate in alcohol and mental health programs. He also approved the forfeiture of $45 million to be distributed to Enron employees.
That money will be distributed via the civil shareholder case going on before U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon.
Defense attorney Daniel Petrocelli argued for a 10-month reduction, so that the 52-year-old Skilling could serve at a lower-security prison. Lake refused.
Skilling's sentencing marks vindication for some and a capstone to an era of corporate crime for others.
Victims of the company's downfall hope it will provide a satisfying coda to their search for justice and retribution.
"I want him to see life without parole, for all the lies he told us and others," said Charles Prestwood, a former Enron pipeline employee who lost his pension.
==========================
Headlines for May 24, 2007Democracy Now, NY - 19 minutes agoStanislaus Meyerhoff was arrested in 2005 and admitted to being a member of the Earth Liberation Front. Meyerhoff faced up to 30 years in prison, ...
5.20.2007
WHERE IS THE SELFISHNESS / SIN IN MY LIFE?
Germany was in agony after WWI and all we in the west could think to do was further exploit, "benignly" of course, through our U.S. corporations. In that most sacred of all essays by Rabbi Heschel in 1938: "Let modern dictatorship [Hitler pre WWII] not serve as an alibi for our conscience. We have failed to fight for right, for justice, for goodness; as a result we must fight against wrong, against injustice, against evil. We have failed to offer sacrifices on the altar of peace; thus we offered sacrifices on the altar of war."
Hmmm. What selfishnesses would we-the-people of the 1920's and 1930's needed to have sacrificed? What if, to avoid the carnage of WWII, and to avoid the heinous suffering of Germany post WWI it would have cost us almost every single one of our luxuries? Would it have been worth it?
Gandhi offers us these on the subject of finding the murderous selfishness in our lives:
"The golden rule is to steadfastly refuse to have what millions cannot have."
"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away." - One of the last notes left behind by Gandhi in 1948, expressing his deepest social thought.
Or... there is always simply turning a blind eye and allowing WWIII or its equivalent to continue to unfold unopposed. Hey, who will point the finger at me? NO ONE; except me. I do not want to view myself as impotent, incapable, insignificant, irrelevant, helpless.... And, I am not.
[to be continued. SL]