Realm of the Keeper's Heart

Celebration!

2009-12-14T17:17:00.009-05:00

Folk worldwide observe many seasonal days of celebration during the month of December. Most are religious holy days, and are linked in some way to the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. On that day, due to the earth's tilt on its axis, the daytime hours are at a minimum in the Northern hemisphere, and night time is at a maximum. (In the southern hemisphere, the summer solstice is celebrated in December, when the night time is at a minimum and the daytime is at a maximum.

Some people value the range of December celebrations, because it is evidence of diversity of belief within our common humanity. They respect both their own religious traditions and those of other faiths for their ability to inspire people to lead more ethical lives. Diversity is to them a positive influence, so here is a little Kool aid, to help it along.

A passage in Leviticus (18:3) which reads: “You shall not copy the practices of the land of Egypt where you dwelt, or of the land of Canaan to which I am taking you; nor shall you follow their laws.” Some scholars believe Winter Solstice violates this rule, while others do not. The issue that divides them is generally whether or not they see Winter Solstice as honoring other gods, rather than a celebration of creation, and the divine gift of life. I see no reason to shrink the Master Creator of all; down to any single religious camp. This should be a time of universal Love, we miss the boat when we fail to see that God in being both our Mother and Father, has no limitations in His, or Her love for us all.

Festival of lights, Feast of Dedication, Winter Solstice also known as Yule, Christmas, and Saturnalia, occurs in mid December. It celebrates the birth of the new Solar year and the beginning of Winter. The Creator manifests as the Great Mother to some, as well as the many other Holy Names of the Great Spirit. We also enjoy harmless myths like Santa Claus and Old Man Winter.
This is a time, and festival of inner renewal.

For it strengthen bonds with family and friends by visiting and/or exchanging gifts and greetings. Decorate your home with lights, greens, and holiday colors. Bless your home with a menorah or hang a Yule wreath on your front door and sprigs of mistletoe inside. If you are part of a group, you can take up a collection of food and/or clothing at your gathering and give to a social service agency to distribute to the needy. One can give thanks by placing seeds outside for wild birds to feast upon. Greet the Sun at dawn on Solstice morning with joy by singing praises to the Most High,or just make a joyful noise unto the Lord with bells horns or whatever. And as you do pray for greater understanding and love for all mankind, and a more peaceful planet.

Your thought advocates Judaism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. In my thought there is only one universal religion, whose varied paths are but the fingers of the loving hand of the Supreme Being. In your thought there are the rich, the poor, and the beggared. My thought holds that there are no riches but... life; that we are all beggars, and no benefactor exists save life herself.

Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth. I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit.
Kahlil Gibran

DNA Editorial

2009-12-06T15:01:00.003-05:00

Of Mice and Men: Friday, December 4, 2009 1:06 IST

"It's been a question which has intrigued humankind since we started thinking: why do women live so long and why do they live longer than men? Evolutionary biologists have their own explanations but researchers in Japan have found a practical explanation: women have no sperm. This essential in reproduction apparently helps men have bigger bodies than women but what men gain in girth they apparently lose in longevity. The culprit is one gene which is active only in men. The research was done on mice, but in research what works for mice works for men."

"In popular culture, the long life of old crones has been variously credited to their ability to suck the life out of men, to behave like tarantula spiders and to generally develop some supernatural witch-like qualities against which poor men are hapless. Since the vast panorama of human history is littered with incontrovertible evidence of suppression of the female of the species, it can safely be assumed that collectively, men can find the idea of old, wise women threatening."

"Strangely, that coincides with the thinking that some evolutionary biologists have come up with to explain why women live so long. On the face of it, women should die soon after they reach menopause since once they cannot procreate they serve no purpose. Men can procreate till they die. But scientists feel that since women have plenty to offer society in the form of their cumulative and collective wisdom, nature keeps them going. So, like the sexless ants are vital to the wellbeing of the community, so are old women. The ancients perhaps instinctively understood this, so the importance of grandmothers' tales."

"But the Japanese research also raises a few more intriguing questions, to do with the psychology of human kind. Sigmund Freud felt that all women suffered from penis envy and wanted what they could not have. But if it is sperm which cuts down your lifespan, perhaps nature has balanced out matters pretty well -- we all want what we cannot have."

"Other geneticists have tilted the balance in favour of women claiming that the Y chromosome -- which gives men their manliness --is facing extinction and all nature is intrinsically female."

"Meanwhile medical science continues to push the envelope and women are giving birth whenever they like, people are changing genders, babies are born in laboratories and yes, men are also quite wise. Whatever the world throws at us, we have the ability to twist it to suit us. That is, perhaps, the most enduring human success story."

I would like to thank my friend Peter Dan Reyes, and the Diligent Media Corporation, for making this available for me to re-post.

"Diligent Media Corporation, which owns DNA (Daily News & Analysis), is a joint venture between two industry majors – the Dainik Bhaskar Group and Zee Group. With a reach of more than 120 countries and access to more than 250 million viewers globally, Zee TV has created a strong brand equity and is the largest media franchise serving the South Asian diaspora with presence in major global markets, including Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, the UK, the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Africa. The Group has transformed itself into an integrated media conglomerate with operations spanning the entire media spectrum."

Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth. I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit.
Kahlil Gibran

Violence Against Women

2009-11-30T18:32:00.009-05:00

Nov 28, 2009
New reports out of the Philippines reveal that most, if not all, of the women killed in a brutal massacre earlier this week were also sexually mutilated and possibly raped.

"International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women"
"25 November 2009" (Too little too late.)

"In 1999, the UN General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime - with the abuser usually someone known to her.

The resolution passed in 1999 offers a list of reasons why the international community is and should be concerned about violence against women as an obstacle to the achievement of equality, development, and peace:

•Some groups of women, such as women belonging to minority groups, indigenous women, refugee women, migrant women, women living in rural or remote communities, destitute women, women in institutions or in detention, the girl child, women with disabilities, elderly women and women in situations of armed conflict, are especially vulnerable to violence.

•To recognize that violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of their full advancement, and that violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into subordinate positions, compared with men.

•To recognizing also that the human rights of women and of the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights, and recognizing further the need to promote and protect all human rights of women and girls.

•To raise alarm that women do not fully enjoy their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and concerned about the long-standing failure to protect and promote those rights and freedoms in relation to violence against women.

•To recognizing with satisfaction the cooperation provided by the relevant agencies, bodies, funds and organs of the United Nations system to different countries in the fight to eradicate violence against women, in fulfillment of their respective mandates.

•To recognize the efforts made by civil society and non-governmental organizations that have contributed to creating a worldwide social conscience of the negative impact, both on social and on economic life, of violence against women.

•To reiterate that, according to article 1 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the term "violence against women" means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

Women's activists have marked 25 November as a day against violence since 1981. The date commemorates the brutal assassination of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, in 1960 on orders of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961)."
© WHO 2009

Indeed what a low and vile creature we have become, to torture rape and murder God's greatest gift, a woman. A treasure intended to be our true love and lifelong companion, and the giver of life. Do we kill because we are men? We even have the effrontery to do so in the holy name of God Himself, under the veil of corrupt religious dogmas that are apposed to the true spirit of Godliness.

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"Women play a critical role in the family. The family is the basic unit of society and as such should be strengthened. It is entitled to receive comprehensive protection and support. In different cultural, political and social systems, various forms of the family exist. The rights, capabilities and responsibilities of family members must be respected. Women make a great contribution to the welfare of the family and to the development of society, which is still not recognized or considered in its full importance. The social significance of maternity, motherhood and the role of parents in the family and in the upbringing of children should be acknowledged. The upbringing of children requires shared responsibility of parents, women and men and society as a whole. Maternity, motherhood, parenting and the role of women in procreation must not be a basis for discrimination nor restrict the full participation of women in society. Recognition should also be given to the important role often played by women in many countries in caring for other members of their family."

"The girl child of today is the woman of tomorrow. The skills, ideas and energy of the girl child are vital for full attainment of the goals of equality, development and peace. For the girl child to develop her full potential she needs to be nurtured in an enabling environment, where her spiritual, intellectual and material needs for survival, protection and development are met and her equal rights safeguarded. If women are to be equal partners with men, in every aspect of life and development, now is the time to recognize the human dignity and worth of the girl child and to ensure the full enjoyment of her human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rights assured by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, [11] universal ratification of which is strongly urged. Yet there exists world-wide evidence that discrimination and violence against girls begin at the earliest stages of life and continue unabated throughout their lives. They often have less access to nutrition, physical and mental health care and education and enjoy fewer rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than do boys. They are often subjected to various forms of sexual and economic exploitation, paedophilia, forced prostitution and possibly the sale of their organs and tissues, violence and harmful practices such as female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, incest, female genital mutilation and early marriage, including child marriage."
Beijing, China - September 1995
"Action for Equality, Development and Peace"

Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth. I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit. I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here; and I shall exist till the end of time, for my being has no end.
Kahlil Gibran

The Destruction of Native Culture

2009-11-21T12:10:00.003-05:00

By Henry Niese

CONFLICT AND RECONCILIATION

Imagine a society or culture in which most conflict was reconciled by the innate structure of the society. Imagine at the same time a culture in which personal freedom was absolute, yet every member lived within a strict cultural set of laws, or moral code. Imagine a society in which nobody was boss. Or had the power to order people around, and yet every need, every task was accomplished. Imagine a people or culture without prisons, poorhouses, orphanages, insane asylums, banks and bankruptcy, locks on doors, or a ponderous government bureaucracy. This is only part of what was lost when so many Native American cultures were destroyed.

In her book, The Lost Universe, [1] the anthropologist Gene Weltfish wrote about this. George Catlin, the 19th Century artist who lived with Indian tribes along the Missouri, witnessed this, as did others.

From the beginning of European contact with Indian tribes, the Europeans deliberately set out to destroy Indian society and the Indian way of life through the use of several strategies: 1. Devalue and destroy the religion; 2. Destroy the language; 3. Impose Christianity; 4. Destroy the culture. In Central America, great libraries were put to the torch, the Conquistadors saving a few books to be sent back to the Vatican to be deciphered and translated by scholars for the purpose of ensuring greater efficiency of the Conquest.

The libertarian, democratic Indian cultures were doomed for the most part in the face of unbounded greed and technology, although many of them still hang on, barely, to their language, religion and culture.

In this country, at least one of these cultures, The Iroquois Confederacy, has a constitution, called Gayanerokowa, the Law of the Great Peace,[2] which became in part the basis of the United States Constitution. Benjamin Franklin acknowledged this debt, one of the few such acknowledgments ever made. Americans are too busy with the ongoing destruction of the Indian way of life to reflect on how much Native Americans have contributed to their way of life, from chewing gum to many medicinal substances.

The Sacred Hoop was broken. The cultural structures which effected order and reconciliation all but destroyed. Can you imagine the rage and despair many people of all nations feel?

Indian languages - more than 200 of them - continue to disappear slowly, and with them the culture and religions. Language has been lost to all but a few of the Eastern tribes. Most of the tribes East of the Mississippi now have English as their only language. When the language disappears, the culture is gone. All the subtleties of meaning and culture are embedded in language.

Today among Indian peoples, alienation, racism, and divisiveness are commonly seen as the inheritance received from the dominant culture. Alcohol, drugs, and diabetes, another part of the inheritance, contribute to the very high death rate.

In this darkness, the light of traditional wisdom, reconciliation and culture is kept alive by a very few spiritual and political leaders - the medicine men and women. One of these leaders, a man I called Uncle Bill - Chief William Eagle Feather - Sundance chief and medicine man of the Rosebud Sioux, taught me a great deal.

He used to talk about the Sacred Hoop, that reconciliation of hatred was essential to preserving the Sacred Hoop of all people. He told the story of his own personal enlightenment and reconciliation with white people. He used to be a racist, he said. Hated whites. Then one day he had a vision. He saw that if you cut a white person he bled red just like an Indian. Same for black people and yellow people. THIS, he said , was the true Red Power, the gift of life that came from Above. It was then that he began to understand the meaning of Mitakuye oyasin - that we were all relations, & it didn't matter what color we were.

Uncle Bill's personal reconciliation with all his relations led to the development of his personality as one of the kindest, wisest men I have ever known. Kindness and wisdom can never grow from hatred & anger. Hatred and anger can literally blind a person. Here's a story illustrating this.

At the 1976 Sundance on the Rosebud Reservation, I was one of over 100 dancers. I was dancing next to a Navajo guy - maybe 6'4", 250 lbs. Because I looked white the guy hated my guts. You are out there to pray, to put all your strength and focus on your prayer. We dance for 4 days, no food or water from Wednesday evening to Sunday afternoon. It is very difficult -. "Wiwanyankwacipi - Staring at the Sun they dance." Sometimes I was so focused I didn't see that it was time to move, and this Navajo would take the opportunity to poke me in the ribs as hard as he could.

The second afternoon, we were dancing facing South. The big Navajo really got into praying while staring at the sun. When we broke to rest he was blind and had to be led to the sweat lodge, where Uncle Bill, the Sundance leader, restored his sight. We resumed dancing.

That evening we came out of the dance arbor and went into the sweat lodges. By chance the Navajo and I were sitting side by side. Uncle Bill asked each of us to pray. The Navajo suddenly broke down sobbing, begging the Great Spirit for forgiveness for his acts of anger committed during the sacred dance. He turned to me, tears running down his face, took my hand, asking forgiveness, saying he didn't know what he was doing, and that now he understood why God had made him blind, so that he would understand how blind his hatred was. The reconciliation was accomplished. Harmony was restored. "Was blind but now I see", as in the song Amazing Grace.

This making and restoring of relations is critical to the development of harmonious life for all. The traditional ceremony of making relations, as well as the ceremony called "Give-away" is one of the great expressions of generosity, one of the four Lakota Sioux virtues. These two ceremonies came about through the resolution of an ancient conflict between two powerful Plains tribes - the Sioux and the Omaha.

The reconciliation of these two warring tribes came about when, tired of killing and stealing from each other, they met in council. They exchanged gifts and adopted each other as relatives. So, Wihpeyapi and Hunkapi - Give-away and The Making of Relatives ceremonies have been an integral part of life ever since. These ceremonies always involve the giving of gifts and food. A good feast, where everyone has a full belly, is a great way to promote peace.

In today's world, just as in older times, there has to be a reconciliation of old conflicts so that we can once again establish a living harmony. For years after WWII, I hated anything Japanese, but I no longer have anger in me. Too many Japanese people have shown me their kindness and generosity for me to be angry at a whole nation.

Conflict will always exist among people, not only on a national level but on a personal level, the kind of conflict and hatred you carry in your heart. The resolution or reconciliation of that conflict on a national level leads to the prospering of that nation. Reconciliation of old hatreds and wounds on a personal level leads to a similar prosperity, a psychological and emotional prosperity resulting in a clear and peaceful mind.

Mitakuye Oyasin -All my Relations!

Prayer for Generosity (Cebu City, Philippines)

Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth. I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit. I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here; and I shall exist till the end of time, for my being has no end.
Kahlil Gibran

PAULA's ABC OF FRIENDSHIP

2009-11-20T19:44:00.005-05:00

"WE, THE RAKYAT (PEOPLE) ARE BEHIND YOU, PAULA KHOO"

Paula Khoo is my greatly admired friend on the Internet. Half of Malaysia and I would feel lost without her. She is a brave soul dedicated to freedom and liberty for her country. We think so much alike, that sometimes we steal each other thoughts. Every time I think of something to post; I had better check with Paula first. So here is what Paula posted, while I was still thinking of how to write it up!

"THE ABC OF FRIENDSHIP"

"This post is dedicated to all my blog readers and friends who have been with me in this blog. Thank you for showing me the meaning of friendship. You'll always be in my heart."

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(A)ccepts you as you are
(B)elieves in "you"
(C)alls you just to say "HI"
(D)oesn't give up on you
(E)nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts)
(F)orgives your mistakes
(G)ives unconditionally
(H)elps you
(I)nvites you over
(J)ust "be" with you
(K)eeps you close at heart
(L)oves you for who you are
(M)akes a difference in your life
(N)ever Judges
(O)ffer support
(P)icks you up
(Q)uiets your fears
(R)aises your spirits
(S)ays nice things about you
(T)ells you the truth when you need to hear it
(U)nderstands you
(V)alues you
(W)alks beside you
(X)-plains thing you don't understand
(Y)ells when you won't listen and
(Z)aps you back to reality

So there you are! I think she did a good job with my thoughts. : )

Loving-Kindness
CHESED
Do justice, love loving-kindness, walk humbly with God. Micah 6:8:
The cornerstone of Rabbi Nosson Zvi's service of God was chesed. This to him, meant being careful of anothers honor and dignity, helping others, having one's heart overflow with love and kindness, utilizing every opportunity to benefit others. It neant that older students shoud learn with younger ones... Above all, it meant that one should greet his fellow with a pleasant countence, because it makes the other feel good and binds people together in friendship.

Alan Morinis:

Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth. I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit. I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here; and I shall exist till the end of time, for my being has no end.
Kahlil Gibran

For The Love of Usen.

2009-11-08T12:55:00.011-05:00

I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us. There is one God looking down on us all. We are all the children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say. When a child, my mother taught me to kneel and pray to Usen for strength, health, wisdom and protection. Sometimes we prayed in silence, sometimes each one prayed aloud; sometimes an aged person prayed for all of us... and to Usen.
(Geronimo)

Geronimo {jur-ahn'-i-moh}, or Goyathlay ("one who yawns"), was born in 1829 in what is today western New Mexico, but was then still Mexican territory. He was a Bedonkohe Apache (grandson of Mahko) by birth and a Net'na during his youth and early manhood. His wife, Juh, Geronimo's cousin Ishton, and Asa Daklugie were members of the Nednhi band of the Chiricahua Apache.

He was reportedly given the name Geronimo by Mexican soldiers, although few agree as to why. As leader of the Apaches at Arispe in Sonora, he performed such daring feats that the Mexicans singled him out with the sobriquet Geronimo (Spanish for "Jerome"). Some attributed his numerous raiding successes to powers conferred by supernatural beings, including a reputed invulnerability to bullets.

("Usen is the Apache word for God")

Before I continue, let me assure you that indeed your God loves you, no matter who or what you are. You are His child, His divine creation. I ask you not to abandon your faith, but to understand it for what it is, and to free yourselves from the fetters and chains of man's vain dogma, and traditions, as you seek the true face of the Most High God. Religion is not all bad, indeed philosophies of our many religions where both a great help, and hindrance in my walk with God. Every religion has the potential for goodness, as well as great evil: And it is to this end that we have long been fooled into committing the most profane of all acts. To kill in the name of God, as if the most powerful entity in the universe was incapable of defend Himself. Using God to make war is one of our oldest deceptions, alas it has worked all to well. We even kill our brothers and sisters. Christians killing Christians, Muslims killing Muslims. How dare we take it on ourselves to play Almighty God, as if we were defending some lifeless pagan idol. If we could only see that every soul belongs to, and is of God; maybe we could stop the madness.

For as I see it there are no false religions, God is not religious. all religions have been born of our primitive attempts to fathom the true nature of the supernatural. Mankind has always had a fear of the unknown, and in his attempts to define the undefinable, man created religion. Unfortunately religion has superseded the Creator to become a god in its self, and has became the greatest industry ever known.The power and wealth of the combined religions cannot be matched by any nation. Do you think the religious industrial complex wants you to know how your God really works? Kingdoms and governments have always manipulated religion as a means to control the hearts and minds of the people. God has no need of religion, He IS GOD!!! And he deals directly with your soul, it matters not to Him what faith you subscribe to. I know that many of you are in morbid fear of the tyrannical power your religions has over your lives, my friends this is how religion gets its power by playing on your devotion and fears, thus building a wall of dogma between you and the Creator, only they have the key to the narrow gate; all others are doomed to damnation.
I only ask you to love God as the Father of all things, and all people. Let us strive to be humble; to open up our hearts, that we may learn to appreciate and love one another, as He loves us.

Tao 59th Verse

Living by Thrift and Moderation

· People whose lives are run by rules, dogma, and fear can only do what they’ve been told to do….nothing more.

· Children raised in families where that blind obedience is demanded have the highest levels of prejudice when they become adults. Why? Because they’ve been taught to “prejudge” what’s acceptable, according to someone in a position to lead them. That’s why it’s so vital to give your kids an example of leadership that encourages them to make choices based on higher standards.

· “if nothing is impossible, then there are no limits.” So practice living without limits by gathering virtue and modeling it.

· Gather as much virtue as you possibly can.

· Practice moderating your ego.

· When you moderate your demands and use only what you and your family require, you’ll gather virtue points by serving rather than accumulating…..this is “the secret of long life and lasting vision.”

"Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth. I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit. I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here; and I shall exist till the end of time, for my being has no end."
Kahlil Gibran

Carry Allah in your heart wherever you go. Follow an evil deed with a good one to abolish it. And treat people kindly."
Azizah Mirasa.

"What's Good in Your Life?"

When you open yourself to experience the trait of gratitude, you discover with clarity and accuracy how much good there is in your life. Whatever you are lacking will still be missing, of course, and in reaching for gratitude no one is saying you ought to put on rose-colored glasses to obscure those shortcomings. The obstacles to appreciating good can be so very real, especially when life is riven by suffering. But it is worth the effort to practice gratitude,especially since the one who benefits most is the one who is suffering. Recognizing the good affirms life, and more, because when you see good in the world it sets your heart free to soar, to shout, and to sing a song of life. Most of us tend to focus so heavily on the deficiencies in our lives that we barely perceive the good that counterbalances them. This tendency is bolstered by advertisers who attempt to convince us of just how inadequate and lacking we really are, in the hope we will try to plug our wants and needs by buying some product or other. There is no limit to what we don't have, and if that is where we focus, then our lives are inevitably filled with endless dissatisfaction. It is also true thay even if we are aware of our gifts, we tend to grow callous to those fine things that pepper our lives, so that after a while we no longer even see that they are there. We come to take the good for granted. When gratitude is a living reality well established in our hearts, however, we constantly refresh our vision so that we make accurate note of the good that surrounds us. This is the ethos that lies behind the ancient proverb, which ask, "Who is rich?" and then answers, "He who rejoices in his own lot." Live like that and you will suddenly discover that you want to give thanks for anything or anyone who has benefited you, whether they meant it or not. Imagine a prayer of thanks springing to your lips when the driver in the next car lets you merge without protest, or when there is electricity to light your room, or the food is adequate. Giving thanks can become a flow that waters the field of life. When gratitude is well established and flowing, it is a sign of a heart that has been made right and whole. Gratitude can't coexist with arrogance, resentment, and selfishness. As it is written, "Gratitude rejoices with her sister joy and is always ready to light a candele and have a party. Gratitude doesn't much like the old cronies of boredom, despair, and taking life for granted."

By Alan Morinis.

The Soul of Kahlil Gibran

2009-11-05T22:59:00.008-05:00

A most remarkable sage; has he been living inside of me for all of these years?

Khalil Gibran (1883-1931)

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
Kahlil Gibran

Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children.

I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.

Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.

The highest act of generosity is not giving me that which I need more than you do, but it is giving me that which you need more than I do.

Let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit. Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight

The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind. Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself.

When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth. Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself. He threshes you to make you naked. He sifts you to free you from your husks. He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are pliant; And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God." And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Time has been transformed, and we have changed; it has advanced and set us in motion; it has unveiled its face, inspiring us with bewilderment and exhilaration. Your daily life is your temple and your religion. When you enter into it take with you your all.
Kahlil Gibran

I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit. I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here; and I shall exist till the end of time, for my being has no end.
Kahlil Gibran

Wise Robin

2009-11-04T09:59:00.005-05:00

“The Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzŭ stated that true empathy requires listening with the whole being: it demands the emptiness of all the faculties. And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. There is then a direct grasp of what is right there before you that can never be heard with the ear or understood with the mind.

The sage in harmony with Tao needs no words nor truths, for she accepts emptiness and embraces silence. Like a child in paradise, the enlightened sage in harmony with Tao sees the world untainted by thoughts and concepts, an undefined effervescent kaleidoscope of transient color and form, with herself an inseparable part, indistinguishable from the sentient beings roaming about. Her unity is one of awe and joy.’”

To dive deep into a grieving soul, is a place where only the power of Divine Love fears not to tread. My dear friend Robin Easton has just published a very insightful post about the need for empathy and compassion. I know that some of you sweetfarts do not always fallow the links that I post. So this time I have decided to make sure you cannot avoid the opportunity to read her touching post with a very deep message for all.

"The Silent but Deadly…agreement."

"Most of us have joked about SBDs (Silent but Deadly) when referring to farts, but today I refer to another another type of SBD, which I’ll share through two true stories. The first story is about a woman friend who at sixty lost her husband to a sudden heart attack. I had been traveling prior to her husband’s death and returned several weeks after. When I heard about his death I thought, “Well, at least she’s had a lot of people to help her through the grief. In my mind I pictured her friends and church group gathered around her while she cried, shared stories and slowly adjusted to her loss."

When I arrived home I went to visit my friend. She was pleased to see me, but looked like thin glass about to shatter. I was compelled to open my arms and hold her. While she cried I said, “This has to be the hardest thing you’ve endured. Come sit and tell me about your loss. I’ll listen.” She slumped into a chair and between sobs said, “He has been dead a month and you are the first person to talk to me like this. No one asks what I feel or if I miss him. They even avoid mentioning his name.” Shocked, I stammered, `But what about your friends at the church, your family…someone?` Bewildered she said, "No, no one says anything other than to remind me that I had forty good years with him. Or they say they’re sorry for my loss and then change the subject.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I knew many of the people she knew and they were all good people, kind people, and most of them much closer to her than I was. She is such a kind soul, so why weren’t they inviting her to share her feelings? It hit me she’d gone a month without sharing what she felt. I reached out a hand and said, “I want to know what it’s like for you to lose him. What was it about him you love most? What kind of man was he? Let’s talk woman to woman.” And we did.

With each story she shared she became more animated. She laughed, cried, and then sobbed great gulping sobs until she calmed to a deep peace. She then told me one key thing, which I never forgot. She said, “Worse than losing my husband is that everyone tiptoes around me. All of a sudden I am more isolated than I’ve ever been in my life. I’ve wanted to go to church and scream at my friends, END THE SILENCE. I thought I’d die from losing my husband, but if no one can handle me talking about death, I will die.”

Story Two – The Party is Over

Another friend of mine whom I’d only met a couple of times when he lost his child (for privacy reasons I will not state how). Since I didn’t know this man well and had never met his child I didn’t attended the funeral. But over the days I was unable to get either of them out of my mind. Something begged me to call the dad. However another part of me said, “Who am I to call and see if he’s okay. He has tons of close friends. He is hardly going to need me, let alone want to talk with someone he doesn’t know.

Blessedly I called him…just because my heart told me to. This man was immediately open to me and seemed hugely relieved that I had called. When I asked how he was coping and did he have someone to talk to, he broke down and told me what it was like to lose his child. We talked and cried and I never forgot what he said when I asked about his friends and the people at his church. He said, “Once the funeral was over, that was it. The party was over and everyone went home. Business as usual. Nobody mentions it anymore. I’ve been so alone with my grief. Until you called I didn’t know if I’d make it.” Again, I was stunned. We remained lifelong friends.

What Did I Learn?

When we don’t speak of death we not only isolate the person who has suffered loss, but we isolate ourselves from Life. By asking both these people how they were holding up, by inviting then to share their memories, tears, joy, anger, and laughter, my life was made infinitely richer. In each case I touched the Divine. I was privileged to be part of the mystery of Life and Death. In the end I saw ONLY Life. By letting their experiences flow through me I touched something so profound that it became part of me and changed me forever. I was made more vast and learned to trust my intuition. I touched the great wellspring of human courage, and was brought closer to my own humanity, all of humanity. More surprisingly, I was brought closer to LIFE…not death.

To use her own words, our friend Robin is an author, speaker, environmentalist, musician, nature photographer and adventurer.
The Naked in Eden Blog - Robin Easton is a philosophical and social commentary blog with a touch of humor and a deep love of nature. Posts are drawn from my personal questions, insights and inspirations that arise in response to day-to-day life. I hope to hear from you. Robin. http://www.nakedineden.com/

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl G Jung

Arnold Fine

2009-11-01T19:21:00.006-05:00

I Remember When:
Posted Oct 24 2003

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could close our eyes for just a moment and think about all the things we had when we were kids, before today's generation became hypnotized with staring at computer screens, tv screens, and virtual arcade games?

I keep wondering what today's youngsters would do for fun if Con-Edison ever went out of business. Can't you see our grandchildren years from now asking, "Grandpa, what did you do when you were my age?"

And can't you hear sweet old Grandma's answer, "Oh, darling, Grandpa was a Super Nintendo champ!!"

Och un vay tzu meine yuren!

What ever happened to running around, climbing rocks, shooting marbles, and exploring dark alleyways?

Remember, when the summer came and there were practically no cars in the street? We would sit on the curb or on the stoop with our friends as it got dark outside.

In our day, we didn't have anything that ran on batteries or electricity. True, some rich kids had electric trains, but mostly, we used ingenuity for fun.

You all remember Hide and Seek. One kid was declared "it." He had to hide his eyes with his arm leaning against the wall and count to one hundred. The rest of the kids would run and hide. Then the kid who was "it" had to locate the other kids. If he spotted some kid sticking his head out from behind a garbage can or car, he would shout, "Howie behind the car ..."
and run back to "home base" and say, "Howie one-two-three!"

That meant Howie was out of the game. This went on until the kid who was "it" located all the other kids. Then another kid was chosen to be "it." A good game of Hide-and-Seek could go on for at least an hour - all without batteries! And look at the exercise we got! Who ever heard of fancy gym equipment to run and jump!

And speaking of exercise, I wonder how many can still remember the "Hula Hoop" craze? That was the time we all had waists that we could wiggle, remember? If we tried it today, we
would land up at the physiatrist's office!

I'll bet there are more than a dozen grandmothers out there who, when they were young, "Hula Hooped" with the best of them.

How about "Simon Says"? One kid stood out in front and he was called "Simon." He would say, "Simon says, touch your nose!" He would demonstrate touching his nose. And you had to
touch your nose. But if he simply said, "Touch your foot," and you leaned over to touch your foot without him saying "Simon Says," you were out! Again, it was a simple game. It taught you to listen.

We played so many wonderful games. Everyone remembers "Hop Scotch," "Ringaleeveo," and box ball. And remember how the girls were the champion "Jacks" players? I wrote about that a short time ago, and flooded with letters from readers who told me they still play "Jacks" with their grandchildren!

In our day, they had so many wonderful children's programs. Some of our readers wrote in and reminded me about some of the shows like the Mickey Mouse Club, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Kookla, Fran & Ollie. Do you know that for years my kids thought that "Kookla, Fran and Ollie" was a Jewish show. My son kept calling it "Kukla, Fran and Molly"!

Remember the sunflower seeds or Indian Nuts we used to take with us to the movies? We would sit through a double feature, three cartoons, a chapter, and a Charlie Chaplin
comedy - all for 10 cents!

My mother used to tell us when she went to the movies in her day, it was only five cents!

Look, how could you be so lucky?

Remember the standard equipment we had to take to school when we were kids? Remember those little rectangular lunch boxes that came complete with a thermos? During Passover, when Mama didn't want us to buy drinks in school, she would give us a thermos of seltzer. As we unscrewed the lid, it started to fire like a Howitzer, soaking the teacher, our books, and all the plants on the window sill!

Mama never bought chocolate milk for the house. But, shtiller heit (very secretly) we would buy chocolate milk in school. For us, that was forbidden fruit!

Remember when Bobby Pins were the big "cosmetic" item? By the way, you know who invented them? A policeman in London! London police are called Bobbys. Today, the only place you can find them for free is in a shul when somebody is having a Bar Mitzvah. We use them to hold our yarmulkes on our heads when it gets windy outside.

Oh, do you remember what gave us prestige when we were little kids - going to the candy store and standing in front of the display counter where the candy store lady kept all the one
cent candies.

When my sisters went to the candy store, you would swear they were buying real estate. All we had was a penny between the three of us. We stood in front of that counter while the candy store lady, dear Mrs. Berris, patiently waiting for my sister's big order. It was usually something she could share with the rest of us, like a piece of licorice.

Like I just said, we had so many wonderful games that worked without electricity and batteries. Instead of staring at screens, we talked to each other. Instead of running on treadmills, we ran around the block. Instead of exercising our fingers and getting eyestrain, we jumped around with all our might. And you know, with all those newfangled electronic games, those poor kids don't even have a chance to do what we used to do all day.... yell and laugh! Takeh, how can you give a good, healthy holler when you're silently scrunched over a
gameboy!

Listen, it's a new world!

More Articles By Arnold Fine

Arnold Fine, a fine American writer, much of his writing can still be found on the Internet where many of his best works have been floating around the world for years, often to be found as writer unknown; even in the United States, his name may well be unfamiliar to most Americans, though there are thousands of devoted fans to his many stories. He was the senior news editor of The Jewish Press for more than 50 years. At the same time he was coordinator of special education at a high school in Brooklyn, teaching handicapped and brain-injured children. Since his retirement from the city school system, he has worked as an adjunct professor at Kingsborough Community College. He was nominated twice as the "Teacher of the Year" in New York State. It seems, however, Arnold Fine will be remembered more as the excellent writer of nostalgia stories rather than the excellent teacher of special education. His short stories published in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series have been attracting some attention in several countries, including the U.S. In fact, I'm sure that many of the Chicken Soup readers have found his literary work quite interesting. three stories from the above-mentioned series: "The High School English Teacher" and "How David and Lily Got Together" from Chicken Soup for the Single's Soul (Florida: Health Communications, 1999) and "The Wallet" from Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul (1998).

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl G Jung

Jefferson And Henry

2009-11-01T00:19:00.003-04:00

I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy. I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs."
- Thomas Jefferson -

If we wish to be free -- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending -- if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, "Peace! Peace!" -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!

Patrick Henry - March 23, 1775

A Common Need For The Uncommon

2009-10-31T14:33:00.005-04:00

Hunger is my native place < Markings > 01/22 07:34:28

Hunger is my native place in the land of passions. Hunger for fellowship, hunger for righteousness--for a fellowship founded on righteousness, and a righteousness attained in fellowship.

Only life can satisfy the demands of life. And this hunger of mine can be satisfied for the simple reason that the nature of life is such that I can realize my individuality by becoming a bridge for others, a stone in the temple of righteousness.

Don't be afraid of yourself, live your individuality to the full--but for the good of others. Don't copy others in order to buy fellowship, or make convention your law instead of living the righteousness.

To become free and responsible. For this alone was man created, and he who fails to take the Way which could have been his shall be lost eternally.

Dag Hammarskjold

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Who Is Worthy of Honor?
There is a direct connection between the ego's insistent but unquenchable craving for honor and that critical mind state in which we stand ourselves in fierce judgment over others, even to the extent of the extent of shaming them. We judge and criticize other people in a mistaken expression of the desire we have for love and honor for ourselves. The wisdom of tradition tells us that when we act like this, we've got the whole thing backward. Ben Zoma ask: "Who is worthy of honor?" And he answers: "The one who treats others with honor." And elsewhere the rabbis caution: "those who endeavor to gain honor at the price of another person being degraded have no portion in the World-to-Come.

From Everyday Holiness: By Alan Morinis.

One Hundred Ways To Live A Better Life

2009-10-28T11:01:00.003-04:00

This came from Dragos Roua – The Choice of a Personal Path

He put a lot of work into this list, I'm sure it will be of help to someone.

1. Accept Your Mistakes
You’re human. We, humans, are making mistakes. Accept what you did wrong and try to do better next time. No need to punish yourself forever. In fact, accepting your mistakes is the only way to make them disappear.

2. Accept Your Friends Mistakes
Maybe you got hurt by somebody. Happens. Just accept it and deal with it. People are making mistakes and if you can accept that for yourself, accept it for your friends too. In the end, all you need from them is their love.

3. Create A New Habit
We’re doing a lot of stuff on autopilot. Try to integrate in this category new things you want to attract into your life. Habits are powerful. Harness their energy for your own good. Start by creating a habit in 15 days.

4. Build Self Discipline
Don’t wait for other people to impose discipline on you. Start early. Create your own discipline. Although it sounds a little bit harsh, self discipline is a facilitator for many things in your life. It’s hard to get but great to have.

5. Make New Friends
Reach out. Don’t be afraid. Establish new contacts. The worst thing that may happen to you is to be rejected. Well, if that’s the case, move on. The reward of having true, long-lasting friendship is worth all the potential rejection.

6. Get A New Job
Shaking your comfort zone will often create a lot of value in your life. If you’re not satisfied with your job, just get a new one. The pitfall of not having money for a limited period of time is temporary, get over it.

7. Start A New Diet
You are, in a vast proportion, what you eat. Trying a new diet would often be the only needed change for a dramatic boost of your health and energy. Don’t necessarily have to be raw food, or even vegetarian, whatever works for you.

8. Keep A Journal
Write down you feelings, your ideas, your goals, your activity. Journaling is by far one of the most useful things I’ve done to change my life for the best. It works in such a silent, yet effective way. All you need is pen and paper.

9. Create And Keep A Morning Phrase
Whatever you say to yourself in the morning, it will most likely come true during the day. Why not taking advantage of it? Create a simple morning phrase and say it to yourself first thing in the morning. Is that simple.

10. Travel Far Away From Your Home
Traveling long distance is incredibly rewarding. It’s so exciting and full with unknown events. I only recently started to travel really far away from my home, but I do wonder how could I ever made it until now without this.

11. Learn To Take Risks
Your life may be so boring and fade because… err, you made it like this? When was the last time your tried something really difficult? When was the last time you challenged the odds doing something risky? Do it now.

12. Start Your Own Business
Be your own boss. Work your own hours. I know, it sounds so shallow, for you, who hate your job but still have to stay there because of that mortgage. Well, unless you make the first step, nothing is going to change. That’s for sure.

13. Change Your Work Space
Clean up your desk. Re-arrange furniture. Add some color to that space. Make the place where you work really enjoyable. So enjoyable that work there won’t be perceived as work anymore. It will be something you love to do.

14. Learn A New Language
Challenge your mind. Constantly. If you’re going to do number 10, you’re going to learn some new languages too. From my experience, learning a new language is a fantastic mind opener. Sometimes you don’t even have to travel there.

15. Find Reasons To Agree
Rather than disagree. We have this mindset of competition which makes constantly arguing over things. Well, stop that. You don’t have to force yourself into agreement, if it’s not the case, just trying to find some reasons will be enough.

16. Pay Yourself First
You can’t give something if you don’t have it. You can’t spread light onto others if you don’t have light from within. You can’t give wealth to others if you don’t have it for yourself first. Make yourself a service and pay yourself first.

17. Wake Up Early
This is not a habit, this is a lifestyle. Don’t just wake up early without a purpose. Be early. Be there before others. Look for opportunities and embrace them. Waking up early means keeping your eye open to every available opportunity.

18. Train Your Focus
Your focus is in fact your reality. Use it wisely. Train it constantly for it will enhance your reality in ways you never imagined. Keep your focus sharp as a razor blade and be prepared to experience life in fantastic shapes and colors.

19. Start A Blog
On whatever topic you want. Not only it will give you the opportunity to create something new and valuable but it will also bring new people into your life. Blogging is far more than a hype, is a personal development tool. A very good one.

20. Write An Ebook
You may think you don’t have a talent, but that’s completely wrong. And the easiest way to prove it wrong is to start writing an ebook. Any ebook. You pick the topic. It might be something you know or want to learn about. Write it. It’s fun.

21. Be Better, Not Perfect
Striving too much for perfection will ruin your life. It will wipe out all those little imperfections which are making you… human. Being better, on the other side, is rewarding. Look back at the yesterday you and just say: I’m better!

22. Stop Self Sabotage
You’ll be surprised by how much of a burden you can be to yourself. You are literally self sabotaging. Most of the time, unconsciously. If you have a long history of failure behind, that could mean you’ve become your worst enemy. Stop it.

23. Find Reasons To Love Your Life
Maybe life wasn’t fair with you. Yes, I know, I’ve been there: life is never fair. But it’s fantastic. It’s unique, unrepeatable, one of a kind, beautiful, simple, challenging, sweet, hard… Just take a step back and find reasons to love your life.

24. Try Something New
Maybe you’re sad because you’re bored. Have you ever thought about that? Just reach out and try something completely new. Go for a challenge, learn a new sport, pick a different restaurant or go for a comedy movie (if you’re the drama type). Just try it.

25. Avoid Fighting
Fighting is the biggest energy leak of your being. Trying to prove another guy wrong is so against your true nature. You’re here to acknowledge life’s wonders, not to prove anybody’s wrong. They’re not wrong, just have different opinions. And that’s part of life.

26. Stop Wasting Your Power
Are you doing something that you think you shouldn’t be doing right now? Well, that’s wasted power. That’s meaningless stuff promoted to the honor of being a part of your life. How long are you going to approve this? Why wasting power?

27. Learn To Ignore
I think they should be teaching this one in schools. We’re so focused on so many topics and think we have to do so many stuff, that our life is literally clogged with stuff. It’s good to do stuff, but learning to ignore stuff is much better.

28. Experiment Gratitude
When was the last time you said “thank you”? With all your heart? Everybody knows that an attitude of gratitude is the key to success, but almost nobody practices it. Well, start by experience gratitude first, and take it from there.

29. Recycle Your Aggression
Don’t throw it away, recycle it! Use it for something you really want! Call out those wild forces inside of you and put them to work. Aggression is part of your being, so don’t try to reject it, because it will only grow stronger. Recycle your aggression.

30. Release Your Guardians
Don’t touch that! Don’t eat that! Don’t go for that opportunity! Those are the sentences you hear when going for something you really want. Those are your guardians, your mental constructs made to protect you. Release them, you’ll be much better off.

31. Clean Up Your House
It’s fun. And it’s good for you. Make a habit out of cleaning up your house with joy and happiness. What’s outside is a mirror of what’s inside. If your house is a mess, probably your internal life is a disaster. Neat that stuff, it’s easy.

32. Write A Personal Mission Statement
You’re here with a reason. No matter how small you feel now, how insignificant others may made you feel, you have a purpose. Take the time to write your personal mission statement. It will bring light and direction into your life.

33. Dissolve Negative Opinions About Yourself
Whatever you think you may do, it’s half of what you can really do. And that’s because you have so many negative opinions about yourself. You can solve them. Just accept the fact that you have them and then start working on them.

34. Build Different Skills
Don’t stop learning. Don’t remain stuck in a single career, it’s boring and limiting. Learn different skills, possibly from completely unrelated fields. You never know when life will ask you to use them. Besides, it’s a lot of fun.

35. Manage Your Time As You Manage Your Money
Have you ever thought what would be if you would manage your time the same way you manage your money? Just give it a try. See where you spend most of your time, what the return of investment is and how rich are you in time.

36. Exercise
You don’t have to break the world record, or something. Just make sure you exercise constantly. It will make your body healthier and your mind clearer. It’s also one of the simplest and most affordable ways to improve your life.

37. Be A Parent
Having kids doesn’t necessarily means you’re a parent, and I know that very well. Being a parent will surely change your life forever: filling it with unconditional, life lasting love, care and warm feelings. You’ll live in love. And learn.

38. Throw Away One Object A Day From Your House
Maybe your life is breathing so hard just because it’s suffocated by objects. Learn to let them go. You may donate them, give to charity or simply throw them away, but don’t let the clutter stay in your way. You’re not the objects you have.

39. Read A Book Per Week
Or, alternatively, a fine selection of blogs. That will keep your mind alert and your focus steady. Reading is like good food for your brain, without it, it will go lazy, obese and unresponsive. But with the proper food it can become your best friend.

40. Start A Monthly Challenge
Being it physical, mental or social. Intend to acquire something new in your life in 30 days. Improve your health using new methods, or your relationships by starting new things together. Make it count. And count on it.

41. Call An Old Friend
It’s enlightening to meet somebody you haven’t talk to in the last years. Go right now and call an old friend, or a relative. It will bring up memories and it will create new opportunities. Don’t let the dust settle on your relationships.

42. Follow A Coincidence
Well, there aren’t any coincidences, I lied. Everything has a purpose. If you witness something which may seem like a coincidence, then you’re very lucky, you just got a sign. Follow it with trust, it will lead you well.

43. Play A Game
Any game. Just play. Like a child. Allow yourself to do something just for fun, without any goals, pressures or deadlines. Will make you understand that everything is a game. Sometimes a little bit harder, but still a game..

44. Forgive Somebody Out Of The Blue
Don’t hold that grudge for that past insult. Grudges are heavy and tend to make the take off for a new life a little bit difficult. The longer you hold that grudge, the more difficult the take off will be. Forgiveness will lift you off.

45. Stop Solving The Wrong Problems
You are not here to witness the bad things in your life. Nor the performance in itself. You are here to enjoy a journey. To become aware, To grow. So, stop solving the wrong problem and focus on what really matters.

46. Make Peace With An Old Enemy
That’s more than forgiveness, that’s the actual process of reversing a situation. Make peace with somebody. Turn it into your friend. I’m not saying this is easy, I know it first hand. But I also know it works. Enemies count down, friends count up.

47. Make A Promise To A Close Person And Keep It
It doesn’t have to be something big. It doesn’t have to be for someone special. It doesn’t have to be difficult also. But it has to be a commitment to somebody. Just reach out, make a promise, keep it and then enjoy the feeling after.

48. Break Up With A Person You Don’t Really Like
Maybe you’re friend with somebody just by habit, chemistry being dead for a long time now. Just break it up. Tell him. Ok, let’s unfriend us, this will not work. It will bring up something you thought you lost it long ago: courage.

49. Get A Thing You Wanted For A Long Time
But you didn’t had time or money to get it. Just go out and get it. Not only it will boost your self-respect, but it will also free your desire channel, which may be a little bit clogged by having one and only one desire for such a long time.

50. Stop Being Judgemental
With others AND with you. Excessive criticism will kill your enthusiasm. And if you think this post is something you shouldn’t read in the first place, then, my friend, you really are judgemental. Lighten up. Accept life as it is.

51. Change Your Wardrobe
You don’t know how much are you tied to what you wear. If you’re on the gray loving side, put some color in your clothes. If you’re on the black and white, try some gradients. Of course, your clothes are not you. Hence, they’re so easy to change, right?

52. Smile At Least 10 Times A Day
And I mean it, start to count that. Smiling is a sign of honesty and power. Everybody can cry over a disaster but only the most powerful can take bitterness with a smile. Exercise that power. And then try to go for 20 times a day.

53. Burn Some Old Memories
Maybe the notebook from your 7th grade? Maybe the teenage dumb poetry you wrote? Whatever it might be, break up. It might be difficult, but it might also be a sign that you’re so attached to the past that you can’t advance in your life anymore.

54. Plant A Tree
Or take care of a flower. Do it for at least several months. It will give you a sense of potential. Seeing that tree or that flower growing will make your self-confidence go up. If a flower can make it, why can’t I? Of course you can, now do it!

55. Move To Another Town Or Country
Maybe it’s time to change the environment? Take the plunge, move over. Pick another town or even another country. Like all the good stuff, it might be pretty difficult in the beginning, but you can bet it would shake everything really good!

56. Join A New Group
Go to a bikers meeting. Or, if you’re not a biker, to a toastmaster meeting. Join a group and see how you fit in. It will help if the group will be focused on some of your passions, of course. It will reveal a lot about your social skills.

57. Stop Watching TV
Television evolved a lot from the balanced news provider it was in the beginning up to the current manipulating tool. Just stop watching it for a week. And then for a month. Meanwhile, assess your psychological progress. You may be amazed.

58. Start A Totally Unexpected Hobby
Start making trains out of matches. Raise cobras. Put tiny vessels into tiny bottles. Do whatever it takes to move your mind from your problems for a while. And if you can create something nice in the process, why not doing it?

59. Randomly Hug A Stranger On The Street
Ok, this might be a little bit dangerous, but only if you think at it. If you’re doing it, chances are that you’re going to get your hug back. It will also help raising your adrenaline up to levels you never had for a very long time.

60. Set Up A Surprise Party
For your or for a friend. It’s always good for your mood, even if – or especially if – you’re down. Do a thematic one, invite friends and tell them to bring their friends. And then expect to meet new, wonderful persons. And of course, have fun.

61. Go Hiking
Do it for at least one week-end. Nature is more powerful than our human created environment. We don’t know how to channel the energy into our artificial habitats. If you want to recharge, go outside and stay in connection with the wilderness.

62. Get A Pet
Whatever works for you, a bird, a guinea pig, a dog or a cat. It will keep you alert and it will cheer you up when you’re down. Taking care of a pet is also easier if you’re overwhelmed with human interaction. Even from a pet, love is still love.

63. Write A Thank You Letter
You can send it or not, the real catch is to write it. Pick someone who helped you in the past. Start writing the letter and say everything you want to say to that person. It will make you understand what are you really grateful for in your life.

64. Meditate Daily
It’s the easiest thing you can do. True mediation acts like a mind emptier, leaving you open to the whole flow of the sensations and experiences you would otherwise ignore. You don’t even need a complicated technique, meditate as you see fit.

65. Say Something Nice To Somebody
Just like that. Out of the blue. Pick an unknown person and say something nice. After the initial surprise you’ll be amazed by the unmasked joy and gratitude they’re expressing. Admit it: you would like that too, isn’t it?

66. Say Something Nice To You
Ok, but if nobody is telling you nice things, why not start this yourself? Do it in whatever form you think it’s appropriate: send yourself emails, write in your calendar or leave yourself nice postits on the desk. With something nice just for you.

67. When I Doubt, Improvise
Being so scared for not knowing the answer, so nervouse that you may screw thins up… I know the feeling, I’ve been there too. Just go with the flow. Improvise. It will be so good for your unconscious mind. The real answer will be surprising.

68. Don’t Argue, Win Or Lose
This goes hand in hand with avoiding the fight, but it’s a little bit different. If you get caught in an argument, just accept that you can have only two outcomes from it: win or lose. Settle with one and just move on.

69. Stop Faking Your Life
It’s so easy to get caught in a flow of fakes. Society wants us to politely lie and you need to lie sometimes. Just stop it. Being authentic is the best thing you can do. No need to hide your sorrow, nor your joy. They’re both part of life.

70. Define Goals
Again, that goes hand in hand with writing a personal mission but it’s more than that. It’s the habit of clearly deciding – and, subsequently, describing – where you want to go. Do you have a goal? A passion, maybe? Go for it! And be verbose.

71. Help Others
Reach out and try to see if you can help others. You don’t have to be a Samaritan, just go out there and support somebody. The biggest trick of helping is really surprising: although it seems you’re giving, you’re in fact receiving a lot more.

72. Go Social
Mingle, interact, go out. Get used to meet new people. Make this a habit and you’ll soon get used to do new things too. The goal is not to be the best networker in the world, but to be connected to as many energy sources as you can get.

73. Spend Some Time Alone
Subsequently, make sure you set aside enough time for your own. You don’t necessarily need to recharge, but you need this time in order to get a new perspective. Stop for a while and look around. Where are you? Where do you want to be?

74. Fix Something By Yourself
Go fix a broken window, or a scratch on your car. Don’t call for a specialist, get involved, see how you can have an impact on things around you. Work with your hands, prepare to sweat. It will instantly make you feel better.

75. Create Value
Make things that others need too. Make something useful. Don’t follow blind or outdated commitments, go for what really makes a change around you. Creating value is the core of your activity here and the only thing you really have to strive for.

76. Do A Random Act Of Kindness
Doesn’t have to be in the form of a nice compliment this time. You don’t even need to communicate it to the target person. Just do an incognito service to someone. See how this makes you feel. Think how many times you received that.

77. One More Second
Create the habit of looking at things for one more second. Spend one more second before taking an important decision. Delay something. Time will follow your intention and open some unexpected window for you. Slow it down a little.

78. Understand What People Want From You
What you can do is not always what people want from you. Clearing that confusion alone could bring an immense relief to your life. You don’t have to immediately provide what they’re wanting, but if you do, you may have some big surprises.

79. Break An Old Bad Habit
Breaking a bad habit is difficult. But breaking an old bad habit will free an incredible amount of time into your life. Quit smoking or stop talking on the phone for hours. Whatever you break, it will change your life for the best.

80. Stop Complaining
Complaining is like an open invitation for troubles. The more you complain about something, the more of that something you invite into your life. Cut it out. You don’t get any comfort out of complaining, only troubles.

81. Reject What You Don’t Want
It’s so simple, yet so underrated. Society wants us to complain even when we don’t really like stuff. Like forcing us to smile when we don’t find it funny. Allow yourself to walk away from something you don’t like. Just do it!

82. Being Is Better Than Having
Too much and too often we shape our life’s fulfillment degree to the amount we possess. The fundamental mistake. If you’re doing it, stop it right now. You’re not what you’re having. Being is so much better than having.

83. Listen To Your Critics
This one might be difficult in the beginning but once you get used to it it’s fantastic. You may find out a lot of stuff about yourself that you didn’t know about. You think you are one kind of person, but others may disagree.

84. Don’t Take It Personally
Never. Your world is shaped by your reaction to things, not by the things themselves. Don’t get upset, don’t think that somebody knows you enough to make right assumptions about you. Acknowledge and move on.

85. Laugh
This time is not about smiling. It’s about laughing. Don’t you ever miss another opportunity to laugh. Especially at yourself. The longer your laughing sessions, the shorter your misery ones. Looks like a nice deal, isn’t it?

86. Go With Passion
Don’t let your rational mind stand in the way of your passion. If you found – or at least felt, even occasionally – something that thrills you, you’re there. You don’t need a confirmation on this from anybody. Go with your passion.

87. Trust Your Emotions
Don’t underestimate your emotions. Or overestimate them. Your emotions are your feed-back system and for that they are very important. Trying to ignore your emotions is like depriving yourself from lights in a car running in the middle of the night.

88. Live It Like A Holiday
Ever observed how nice you feel during your holiday? How light, joyful and authentic? Everything is just wonderful. Well, you are on a continuous holiday here. It starts with your birth and end with your death. Live it like a holiday.

89. Make A Story Out Of It
Do you like a good story? I love it. Make everything in your life story-worthwhile. Make it as it would be a fantastic journey and you will be at all time the observer, the hero and the narrator. Create the story of your life.

90. Stop Being A Follower
Admiring is nice. But being admired is even better. Stop trying to fit in other people’s shoes. Find your own path. If that means breaking up completely your lifestyle, so be it. If you are “like” somebody else you can’t be “like” yourself anymore.

91. Watch Your Beliefs
Your beliefs are not you. But they are shaping your life constantly. You have the power to change them at any point in your existence. But in order to do that, you must first start to observe them, to isolate them, to accept them.

92. Stop Lying
To others and to yourself. Although it might ease a complicated situation, a lie is not good in the long run. The trick is that if you’re telling a lie you’re altering your reality. And a distorted reality will be impossible to handle.

93. Stop Reacting To Stuff
And start acting on stuff. Initiate things. Start projects. Predict situations and be there before the hurricane hits. Reacting to stuff is a victim paradigm. Stop being a victim and start acting. Create your life instead of being the creation of others.

94. Live Today
Not yesterday, not tomorrow. Go for what you can do today and leave yesterday behind for good. It’s not here anymore. And tomorrow doesn’t even exist yet, so why bother. All you have is today. Don’t waste it.

95. Expect The Unexpected
If there’s something unusual that happens to you, go for it. The unexpected is a signal of an opportunity. It will not always be nice, this unexpected, but whenever it’s around, magical things are happening. Wait for it. Praise for it.

96. Enjoy
Like being in joy. Like giving permission to yourself to extract joy from any situation you’re in. Even if it’s bad. Or especially if it’s bad. Joy is everywhere, you just have to let it manifest through you. Don’t resist joy. Don’t reject it.

97. Make Your Own Rules
And stick with them. Go for what works for you, not the others. Go for what you want, not the others. Including me. Make your own system and be proud of it. You may upset some people in the process, but hey, that’s life.

98. Love
Unconditionally. Totally. Constantly. Restlessly. Love is the only glue that keeps your life running. You were born out of love and you carry it deep down in your being. Love is never about the others, it’s about you.

99. Get Rid Of Labels
Things are what they are. Don’t use labels anymore, use directly the things. Your notion of “right” and “wrong” are nothing but labels. In a different country your “right” might be “wrong”. Don’t charge yourself with this unneeded burden.

100. No Regrets
Regretting something is another form of not accepting reality. What you can do about it now? It’s gone. It doesn’t exist anymore. Focus on what you can change: your present moment. Not yesterday, not tomorrow. Now. Live now.

About me
I am a citizen of the world, known by the name Dragos Florin Roua. I’m on a wonderful trip in which I discover, experience, share, seek and create many wonderful worlds. I was born in a country called Romania a while ago, and I don’t know yet when and where I will die. But from some social experience I know that this specific physical trip will end somehow and someday. Between my birth and my death this fantastic journey will spread.

Donate

For the sake of love.

2009-10-26T17:45:00.003-04:00

In future postings on this blog I will seek to recall various crucial facts, which people are led to disregard and even deny under the influence of the turmoil of the modern age. One of these basic facts is that of creation, that the universe, all living things and man, are not self-existing entities, but indeed are the artifacts of God, the Supreme Creator. We are all created by Him and to Him we will all return. Love, not knowledge (intellectual), is the bond between God and man. From God's love proceeds only what is good, and punishment is also inherently good. God's omnipotence is not merely infinite in time, but also in intensity.

I call out to everyone from every corner of the world, from whatever cultural, racial, ethnic or social background to realize this basic fact and think of his duties to his Creator. In this message lies the real redemption and happiness of mankind.

True holiness is not the exclusive possession of those who engage in detailed ritual observance, nor is it the preserve of those who devote their energies to the pursuit of spirituality. Real holiness is found in small actions that make a profound difference to the lives of the people around us and the world in which they live".

"Each one of us has to ensure that "Divine Love" is always associated with the highest levels of our intention and empathy, I pray that we always keep an open heart, so that our behavior always brings credit to our heritage and to our Creator.

Love is the New Religion

2009-10-21T14:42:00.004-04:00

(The Spiritual Conspiracy) -Brian Piergrossi

On the surface of the world right now there is war and violence and things seem dark
But calmly and quietly, at the same time, something else is happening underground
An inner revolution is taking place and certain individuals are being called to a higher light
It is a silent revolution
From the inside out
From the ground up

It is time for me to reveal myself
I am an embedded agent of a secret, undercover
Clandestine Global operation
A spiritual conspiracy
We have sleeper cells in every nation on the planet

You won't see us on the T.V.
You won't read about us in the newspaper
You won't hear about us on the radio

We don't seek any glory
We don't wear any uniform
We come in all shapes and sizes
Colors and styles

Most of us work anonymously
We are quietly working behind the scenes in every country and culture of the world
Cities big and small, mountains and valleys, in farms and villages, tribes and remote islands

You could pass by one of us on the street and not even notice
We go undercover
We remain behind the scenes
It is of no concern to us who takes the final credit
But simply that the work gets done

Occasionally we spot each other in the street
We give a quiet nod and continue on our way so no one will notice

During the day many of us pretend we have normal jobs
But behind the false storefront, at night is where the real work takes place

Some call us the 'Conscious Army'
We are slowly creating a new world with the power of our minds and hearts
We follow, with passion and joy
Our orders from the Central Command
The Spiritual Intelligence Agency

We are dropping soft, secret love bombs when no one is looking
Poems
Hugs
Music
Photography
Movies
Kind words
Smiles
Meditation and prayer
Dance
Social activism
Websites
Blogs
Random acts of kindness

We each express ourselves in our own unique ways with our own unique gifts and talents

'Be the change you want to see in the world'
That is the motto that fills our hearts
We know it is the only way real transformation takes place
We know that quietly and humbly we have the power of all the oceans combined

Our work is slow and meticulous
Like the formation of mountains
It is not even visible at first glance
And yet with it entire tectonic plates shall be moved in the centuries to come

Love is the new religion of the 21st century

You don't have to be a highly educated person
Or have any exceptional knowledge to understand it

It comes from the intelligence of the heart
Embedded in the timeless evolutionary pulse of all human beings

Be the change you want to see in the world
Nobody else can do it for you

We are now recruiting
Perhaps you will join us
Or already have....
All are welcome...
The door is open

Brian Piergrossi
(From the book 'The Big Glow')

Read This please ~ 'Today I woke up' !!!

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl G Jung

"The Unifying Power of Love"

2009-10-20T01:41:00.006-04:00

"The power of lovehasunitedhuman beings for centuries It has inspired masterpieces in poetry and the visual arts, yet still transcends our ability to explain. As mysterious as the Tao itself, love is more than the sum of its parts, connecting our souls ineffably, unforgettably, forever it takes us beyond our personal limits, expands the scope of individual consciousness. Illuminating a lonely and confusing world with the light of new awareness, love takes us in a quantum leap to a world beyond ego, providing a new way of knowing. Plato described love as the union of two souls with divinity itself, Dante's love for Beatrice led him to the gates of paradise where he sang of "the love that moves the sun and the stars." The ancient Taoist Chuang-Tzu taught that through love we experience the inherent connections between ourselves and others, seeing all creation as one."

Diane Dreher: "The Tao of Inner Peace"

Did you ever read someone's writings and find yourself looking into the depths of their soul? Or then perhaps in my mind's eye; it is only my own reflection that I see.

"Did'st Thou give me this inescapable loneliness so that it would be easier for me to give Thee all?"

"Still a few years more, and then? The only value of a life is its content – for others. Apart from any value it may have for others, my life is worse than death. therefore, in my great lonelineliness, serve others. Therefore: how incredibly great is what I have been given, and how meaningless what I have to "sacrifice".
Hallowed be Thy Name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done-

"You wake from dreams of doom and-for a moment-you know: beyond all the noise and gestures, the only real thing. love's calm unwavering flame in the halflight of an early dawn.

"The fire of the body
burns away its dross and rising in flame of self-surrender, consumes its closed microcosm.

"The ultimate surrender to the creative act-it is the destiny of some to be brought to the threshold of this in the act of sacrifice rather tha the sexual act; and they experience a thunderclap of the same dazzling power."

DAG Hammarskjold: "Markings" 7.29.58

"It is not we who seek the Way,
but the Way which seeks us.
That is why you are faithful to it,
even while you stand waiting,
so long as you are prepared,
and act the moment you are
confronted by its demands."

Do no harm health workers join mandatory H1N1 vaccine resisters

2009-10-20T01:12:00.002-04:00

More American health workers are joining others across the nation and the world protesting the mandatory, experimental H1N1 vaccine that many health experts agree is far more dangerous than the flu and not needed.

Vaccinate or lose job: Mandatory swine flu vaccination for all NY health care workers.

A New York state rally will be held in Albany next week to protest state regulation mandating that they be vaccinated with the dangerous H1N1 flu vaccine or lose their jobs. Similar state laws related to pandemics exist in forty-four states.

Federal legislation can overide state laws and provide no choice in vaccination when a pandemic and national emergency have been declared such as now.

Mass vaccination with the live virus is likely to trigger a genuine pandemic according to medical experts with no vested interested in the campaign.

The H1N1 vaccination campaign resembles a military intelligence operation more each passing day. Military involvement with the operation remais relatively quiet, although Pentagon met late August to plan how many troops to deploy on U.S. soil and reports had been earlier released that military would be assisting with the vaccination operation.

The U.S. has had combat troops deployed in the country since October 2008 during the Bush Administration when draconian laws stripping Constitutional rights were instated.

Now that more of those fascist legislations are being applied in the U.S., Americans are tasting the same outrage that some Middle Easterner detainees with no rights experienced during the past eight years.

Threats, intimidation, control

As some other states have recently done, the New York State Department of Health issued an emergency regulation in August requiring all health care workers in hospitals, public health clinics, hospices and home health care be immunized with the H1N1 flu vaccine.

Health workers know that the fast tracked vaccine has not been fully tested. Doctors are saying "No" to this vaccine. UK health officials have been told they will lose their jobs if they discuss what they know about the vaccine.

The New York State Nurses Association representing 37,000 nurses oppose the mandatory vaccination as an matter of rights.

"We as an organization have not questioned the safety of the vaccine," said Nancy Webber, spokeswoman for the association according to a Newsday.com report published Monday. "We see this as an issue of workers' rights."

The Public Employees Federation representing 9,000 nurses statewide and 3,000 health care workers agrees with the nurses' group.

Stony Brook Hospital Nurses in New York say they were not consulted before officials wrote regulations according to Newsday. The same has occurred in California.

A Los Angeles area nurse told the writer last week that she was reported to and reprimanded by her supervisor for distributing H1N1 vaccine information to colleagues. Required vaccinations are to begin at the hospital where she works but staff have not yet been advised of the start date.

"This vaccine has not been clinically tested to the same degree as the regular flu vaccine," said Tara Accavallo, a registered nurse in Stony Brook's neonatal intensive care unit in which staff members protesting reports Newsday.. "If something happens to me, if I get seriously injured from this vaccine, who's going to help me?

Pharmaceutical companies are immune to H1N1 vaccination liability due to recent legislation passed by Congress.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts plus infectious disease specialists claim that the H1N1 vaccine is to be released early October, is safe, and produces a powerful immune response.

The Pentagon officials claim that the mystery flu vaccine injected into thousands of unwitting U.S. troops followed by severe adverse reactions, from pain to death, was "safe and effective." (Dave Wagner, Target 5: Secret Shots, WLWT TV, Cincinnati, Ohio, July 16, 2007)

The Pentagon's involvement in the H1N1 campaign is among many concerns enshrouding the H1N1 vaccine. Military is to "assist" in implementing. ( D. Dupre, H1N1 vaccine for profit and the U.S. martial law factor, August 7, 2009)

"The live vaccine absolutely spreads the disease," stated Dr. Viera Scheibner. (Sherry Beal, Healthy Planet, Healthy Me, KPFK Public Radio Interview cited in D. Dupre, H1N1 October Surprise Prevention, Examiner ,August 22, 2009)

A live virus is in the vaccine being developed for American use by mid-October according to the Washington Post. (Terri Rupar, MedImmune Ramps Up H1N1 Vaccine, Washington Post, Saturday, August 1, 2009)

MedImmune, part of global drugmaker AstraZeneca and one of five companies contracted to fast-track and sell an H1N1 vaccine to the federal government, is developing a nasal spray or drops (instead of injection) made of a live virus. (Rupar, August 1, 2009)

Health worker's deadline for H1N1 vaccine compliance is November 30 leaving little time for legal maneuvers. A growing number of health workers are so committed to the Hypocratic Oath, First Do No Harm, they are willing to lose their jobs if need be.

Acording to Newsday.com, Rob Kozik, another registered nurse in Stony Brook's neonatal intensive care unit, said he has deep concerns about being immunized against H1N1.

"I usually get vaccinated against the flu, but they are mandating an untested and unproven vaccine. The H1N1 vaccine already has a poor track record. Back in 1976 there was vaccine [to protect against swine flu] that caused death and Guillain-Barre syndrome," said Kozik, referring to a nerve-damaging disorder linked to the vaccine.

Kozik says he worries about the vaccine additive thimerosal, the mercury preservative in some doses of the vaccine.

Stony Brook began a "major communication initiative" to inform staff about the need for the vaccine, said Lauren Sheprow, hospital spokeswoman who explainedn, "We feel some of the anxiety may stem from confusion and lack of information about the nature of the H1N1 vaccine" eports Newsday.

Statements by entire groups of doctors in other countries such as the Australasian Society for Infectious Disease oppose the potentially dangerous vaccine. (D. Dupre', No H1N1 'urgency' exists and vaccine strategy ‘risky’ doctors say, Examiner, August 2009.)

Dr. Steven Walerstein, Nassau University Medical Center medical director reported that his institution's flu campaign late last week resulted in most workers being vaccinated and those who did not without explanation are "being referred to human resources and counseling." Walerstein said. If there is not a good reason for their refusal, health care providers can lose their jobs. (Newsday.com) (Emphasis added)

Makers of the vaccine are among those refusing to take it.

Participants at the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) international conference October 2-4 in Washington DC will be addressing the H1N1 vaccine issues and meeting with Congresspersons to pressure changes in the manadatory provisions now instated in the nation's Code Red National Emergency, equivalent to a terrorist attack.

“It’s time to demand that government officials and drug companies stop conducting national vaccine experiments on the American people,” asserts Barbara Loe Fisher, NVIC Director

More from Examiner.com

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl G Jung

The Brink of Disquiet

2009-10-19T19:28:00.009-04:00

"In the Kingdom of God--- ; ---all works are equal there, my smallest is my greatest, my greatest as my smallest. -About works in themselves there is something divisive which causes a division in the souls of men, and brings them to the brink of disquiet."
(Meister Eckhart)

"God does not die on the day when we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond all reason."

"In the faith which is "God's marriage to the soul," you are one in God, and God is wholly in you, just as, for you, God is wholly in all you meet."

"With this faith, in prayer you descend into yourself to meet the Other,in the steadfastness and light of this union, see that all things stand, like yourself, alone before God, and that each of your acts is an act of creation, conscious, because you are a human being with human responsibilities, but governed, nevertheless, by the power beyond human consciousness whichhas created us.

"You are liberated from things, but you encounter in them an experience which has the purity and clarity of revelation.

"In the faith which is "God's marriage to the soul," everything therefore, has a meaning. So live, then, that you may use what has been put into your hand. . . ."

"Only in man has the evolution of the creation reached the point where reality encounters itself in judgment and choice. Outside of man, the creation is neither good nor evil.
Only when you descend into yourself and encounter the Other, do you then experience goodness as the ultimate reality--united and living--in Him and through you."

Hammarskjold, MARKINGS, 4.10.58

Muhammad had to know

2009-10-14T12:55:00.006-04:00

Without a doubt no false prophet had a greater effect on world history than Muhammad.
On the other hand, one cannot call Jesus a false prophet, because he is the God-man who never was.

In his time Muhammad had to know of Constantine's clever evolution of his sun god worship into a mix of pagan beliefs and of his metamorphosing it into Roman Christianity. Copycat Islam came about much the same way, only with a bit more fear and terror.

Now did Josephus really write about Jesus? I think not.
It is universally agreed by historians and Biblical scholars that the language used in the Josephus writings are entirely different from that used in his proven writings such as "War." There is little doubt that the reference to Jesus was an addendum and that this document was doctored, probably early church priests.

The other references are not contemporary with the time of Jesus and can be discounted because they reflect later traditions, legends and religious tales.

The truth is that there is absolutely NO historic reference to Jesus apart from New Testament writings. The dream of the Christian world is to find a tangible reference but that has not happened. The ossary supposedly containing the bones of the brother of Jesus was proven to be a fraud. The later inscription speaking of the repairs done to the temple of Solomon was also a fraud. The relics held in the Slientum Museum of Constantinople such as the spear used to pierce the side of Jesus are obvious frauds. NO evidence of Jesus exists and in itself, that is suspicious since we have contemporary writings of Herod, Pontius Pilate and even external references to Joseph of Armithea and Nicodemus . . . . but NOTHING of Jesus.

The absence of reference does not, in any way, prove that he did not exist but it becomes perplexing that a man that after the jubilant entrance into Jerusalem on an ass was proclaimed in Scripture to be "known by all of Jerusalem."

Even the Scriptural references to Jesus are suspect. Jesus heals a blind man and orders him to say nothing of the miracle. Jesus has the transfiguration and tells the disciples to say nothing of what they have seen. How then, do these events appear in the Bible? If nothing was said, how were these events known?

One thing we do know . . . . the information contained in Scripture about Jesus matches very closely with Mithraic beliefs that were most popular in Rome after the destruction of Jerusalem in 72 A.D. To control the Hebrew slave population, Christianity proved to be a perfect mixing of the Jesus character and the widely held belief in Mithra.

Religion lends a form of identity.
Identity is defined more by what you 'cannot do' rather than what you 'can do' ..

So, religion is based on restrictions (don't eat this, restrictions on sexuality, on oppression of women's rights etc etc)

Much of which over the years has been built sometimes by force, with the fear of death and terror as primary tools. However one can see as in the story of Abraham, religion has nothing to do with your relationship with your Higher Power. The love of God will prevail no matter what religion you may find yourself entwined. At best religion is only a guide post and teaching tool. At worst it inspires the ultimate fears and evil corruption mankind has ever known. God is the lone actor who can play a part in anyone's religion, simply because he is too big to have a religion, and is free to deal with the soul of every man woman or child who seek Him. To be sure, I have seen God do wonderful things, by playing Jesus to those in need. It is time to give Him full credit.

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl G Jung

Religion From Hell. Virgin Girls Raped Before Execution

2009-10-10T12:32:00.011-04:00

If this is of God, then God must be Satan himself.

A highly influential Shi'a religious leader, with whom Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regularly consults, apparently told followers last month that coercion by means of rape, torture and drugs is acceptable against all opponents of the Islamic regime.

In the wake of a series of publications worldwide regarding the rape and torture of dissident prisoners in Iran's jails, supporters of Ahmadinejad gathered with him in Jamkaran, a popular pilgrimage site for Shi'ite Muslims on the outskirts of Qom, on August 11, 2009. According to Iranian pro-democracy sources, the gathered crowd heard from Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi and Ahmadinejad himself regarding the issue.

"Can an interrogator rape the prisoner in order to obtain a confession?" was the follow-up question posed to the Islamic cleric.

Mesbah-Yazdi answered: "The necessary precaution is for the interrogator to perform a ritual washing first and say prayers while raping the prisoner. If the prisoner is female, it is permissible to rape through the vagina or anus. It is better not to have a witness present. If it is a male prisoner, then it's acceptable for someone else to watch while the rape is committed."

This reply, and reports of the rape of teen male prisoners in Iranian jails, may have prompted the following question: "Is the rape of men and young boys considered sodomy?"

Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi: "No, because it is not consensual. Of course, if the prisoner is aroused and enjoys the rape, then caution must be taken not to repeat the rape."

A related issue, in the eyes of the questioners, was the rape of virgin female prisoners. In this instance, Mesbah-Yazdi went beyond the permissibility issue and described the Allah-sanctioned rewards accorded the rapist-in-the-name-of-Islam:

"If the judgment for the [female] prisoner is execution, then rape before execution brings the interrogator a spiritual reward equivalent to making the mandated Haj pilgrimage [to Mecca], but if there is no execution decreed, then the reward would be equivalent to making a pilgrimage to [the Shi'ite holy city of] Karbala."

By SABINA AMIDI:
In a shocking and unprecedented interview, directly exposing the inhumanity of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's religious regime in Iran, a serving member of the paramilitary Basiji militia has told this reporter of his role in suppressing opposition street protests in recent weeks.

He has also detailed aspects of his earlier service in the force, including his enforced participation in the rape of young Iranian girls prior to their execution.

The interview took place by telephone, and on condition of anonymity. It was arranged by a reliable source whose identity can also not be revealed.

Founded by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 as a "people's militia," the volunteer Basiji force is subordinate to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and intensely loyal to Khomeini's successor, Khamenei

The Basiji member, who is married with children, spoke soon after his release by the Iranian authorities from detention. He had been held for the "crime" of having set free two Iranian teenagers - a 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl - who had been arrested during the disturbances that have followed the disputed June presidential elections.

"There have been many other police and members of the security forces arrested because they have shown leniency toward the protesters out on the streets, or released them from custody without consulting our superiors," he said.

He pinned the blame for much of the most ruthless violence employed by the Iranian security apparatus against opposition protesters on what he called "imported security forces" - recruits, as young as 14 and 15, he said, who have been brought from small villages into the bigger cities where the protests have been centered.

"Fourteen and 15-year old boys are given so much power, which I am sorry to say they have abused," he said. "These kids do anything they please - forcing people to empty out their wallets, taking whatever they want from stores without paying, and touching young women inappropriately. The girls are so frightened that they remain quiet and let them do what they want."

These youngsters, and other "plainclothes vigilantes," were committing most of the crimes in the names of the regime, he said.

Asked about his own role in the brutal crackdowns on the protesters, whether he had been beaten demonstrators and whether he regretted his actions, he answered evasively.

"I did not attack any of the rioters - and even if I had, it is my duty to follow orders," he began. "I don't have any regrets," he went on, "except for when I worked as a prison guard during my adolescence."

Explaining how he had come to join the volunteer Basiji forces, he said his mother had taken him to them.

When he was 16, "my mother took me to a Basiji station and begged them to take me under their wing because I had no one and nothing foreseeable in my future. My father was martyred during the war in Iraq and she did not want me to get hooked on drugs and become a street thug. I had no choice," he said.

He said he had been a highly regarded member of the force, and had so "impressed my superiors" that, at 18, "I was given the 'honor' to temporarily marry young girls before they were sentenced to death."

In the Islamic Republic it is illegal to execute a young woman, regardless of her crime, if she is a virgin, he explained. Therefore a "wedding" ceremony is conducted the night before the execution: The young girl is forced to have sexual intercourse with a prison guard - essentially raped by her "husband."

"I regret that, even though the marriages were legal," he said.

Why the regret, if the marriages were "legal?"

"Because," he went on, "I could tell that the girls were more afraid of their 'wedding' night than of the execution that awaited them in the morning. And they would always fight back, so we would have to put sleeping pills in their food. By morning the girls would have an empty expression; it seemed like they were ready or wanted to die.

"I remember hearing them cry and scream after [the rape] was over," he said. "I will never forget how this one girl clawed at her own face and neck with her finger nails afterwards. She had deep scratches all over her."

Returning to the events of the last few weeks, and his decision to set free the two teenage detainees, he said he "honestly" did not know why he had released them, a decision that led to his own arrest, "but I think it was because they were so young. They looked like children and I knew what would happen to them if they weren't released."

He said that while a man is deemed "responsible for his own actions at 13, for a woman it is 9," and that it was freeing the 15-year-old girl that "really got me in trouble.

"I was not mistreated or really interrogated while being detained," he said. "I was put in a tiny room and left alone. It was hard being isolated, so I spent most of my time praying and thinking about my wife and kids."

This is incredibly inhumane, even by Middle Eastern standards. And it further demonstrates the suffering of women in places where Islamic fundamentalists hold sway. Maybe I'm naive, but I simply can't understand why "enlightened" Western nations would have ANY diplomatic ties to a country this barbaric. And the government we're leaving behind in Iraq isn't much better. All we succeeded in doing in Iraq is instituting a theocratic dictatorship. This has been known for some years, after they started making women wear veils again or die. Iraq *was* secular and women had equal rights and worked. All that is long gone. Of course, our government is such good friends with the Saudis, is it any surprise? Even Kuwait had more "religious freedom" under Saddam Hussein.

Life Under Occupation

"Kuwait was a land of religious freedom, and the idea of living under the banner of Iraq's extreme socialist Baathist ideology was terrifying for many. As a result, many imams left the country as soon as the Jordanian border opened up."

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl G Jung

A Libertarian Hero

2009-10-06T23:14:00.005-04:00

1834-1902

Lord Acton was born John Dalberg-Acton, in Naples, Italy on January 10, 1834. His family moved to Britain in 1840. With his cosmopolitan background and upbringing, Acton was equally at home in England or on the Continent, and grew up speaking English, German, French, and Italian.

Barred from attending Cambridge University because of his Catholicism, Acton studied at the University of Munich under the famous church historian, Ignaz von Döllinger. Acton learned to consider himself first and foremost a historian. Early in life, he nurtured a great fondness for Whig politicians such as Edmund Burke, but Acton soon became a Liberal. Through his studies and his own experience, Acton was made acutely aware of the danger posed to individual conscience by any kind of religious or political persecution.

Acton pursued electoral politics and entered the House of Commons in 1859 as a member for the Irish constituency of Carlow. In 1869, Gladstone rewarded Acton for his efforts on behalf of Liberal political causes by offering him a peerage.

In 1895, Lord Acton was appointed Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University. From this position, he deepened his view that the historian's search for truth entails the obligation to make moral judgments on history, even when those judgments challenge the historian's own deeply held opinions.

When he died in 1902, Lord Acton was considered one of the most learned people of his age. He has become famous to succeeding generations for his observation -- learned through many years of study and first-hand experience - that "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Fanaticism in religion is the alliance of the passions she condemns with the dogmas she professes. Lord Acton

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority.

Everything secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity. Lord Acton

There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it. Lord Acton

To be able to look back upon one's past life with satisfaction is to live twice. Lord Acton

A wise person does at once what a fool does at last. Both do the same thing; only at different times. Lord Acton

Opinions alter, manners change, creeds rise and fall, but the moral laws are written on the table of eternity. Lord Acton

The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern. Lord Acton

Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end...liberty is the only object which benefits all alike, and provokes no sincere opposition...Lord Acton

Acton took a great interest in America, considering its Federal structure the perfect guarantor of individual liberties. During the Northern War of Aggression, his sympathies lay entirely with the Confederacy, for their defense of States' Rights against a centralized government that, by all historical precedent, would inevitably turn tyrannical. His notes to Gladstone on the subject helped sway many in the British government to sympathize with the South. After the South's surrender, he wrote to Robert E. Lee that "I mourn for the stake which was lost at Richmond more deeply than I rejoice over that which was saved at Waterloo."

The Acton-Lee Correspondence

Separating God from Religion

2009-09-27T14:35:00.008-04:00

For nearly 6,000 years of recorded history, man has experienced war. Lasting peace and prosperity have seemed to elude him. Could their be a connection between man's religion and the mounting woes of the human race? Would more religion be the answer? Or is religion the cause? The use of God in war, or a holy war, is only a military convenience by those in power. For one to think that God is so weak He cannot do His will without our intervention, borders on ludicrous blasphemy.

With thousands of religious figures claiming their brand of Religion should be followed, the disillusioned, and confused millions ask, which message is correct? Rank religious confusion is everywhere! Could this confusion be part of God’s plan? Many blame today's organized religion for this worlds problems. Many say that religion has failed to answer the vital questions regarding the purpose for human life, who we are? Why we are?...and why are we here on earth?
Although our modern world has achieved awesome advancement in technology, science and knowledge, humanity is experiencing a rapid moral decline. The children of light, are ensnared into religions worldwide, with many to be enslaved and corrupted by religion. When you feel close to God, and I know that many of you do; it is not your religion that brings you nearer to the Father. No it is only the love you have in your heart, that brings you closer. God is much too large to tolerate just one religion, he tolerates them all.

Ever since the dawn of mankind, around 40,000 years ago, when God revealed the possibility of his existence to mankind by giving humans a powerful imagination, people have wondered about their origins. Where did we come from? Who created us? Over the centuries, to answer these very basic questions, our storytellers have invented many myths, stories and dogmas. Religions are simply the outgrowth of these ancient myths and dogmas handed down from generation to generation and formalized into faiths, rituals and traditions.

Human Imagination, mankind's "special sense", is the power that separates mankind from all the other animals on Earth - it is made possible by a powerful brain, capable of comprehending the wonders of nature and the world we live in. Mankind now had the power to begin to comprehend the beauty that surrounded it. Something must have created all this magnificent beauty. I can "see" for myself, through my imagination, the beauty of its creations - it is everywhere I look. In order to understand the true nature of God, the Creator of the universe, we must separate the myths of mankind from the physical evidence of God's existence.

It was the "Secular God", (God without the religious myths), that walked with Abraham. The creator of the universe and father of life is an infinitely powerful creative force who knows no bounds and exists everywhere. Nothing is impossible for this creative power, his power extends - even beyond the universe.

When we take away religion, with all its myths and stories, etc. from the realm of God what is left? Evidence of a "Secular God's" existence is all around us - the primary evidence of God's existence is the beauty of its creations that we can see and experience. Take away the fear and there is no need for religion. Just you and God is all that is needed. Let the Great Spirit build His temple in you heart, it is there, where you will find true peace and love.

God still works miracles with or without religion. The divine Creator of all things, is free to move in and around all religions to deal with your soul. So keep your religion if you must. Just remember we are all His children and that no soul is of greater or lesser importance in His eyes.

"It is best to love wisely, no doubt; but to love foolishly is better than not to be able to love at all."

The Dragon Kingdom - Bhutan

2009-09-25T19:15:00.009-04:00

Namaste, Shalom Aleichem!

Dear friends,
(if I may call you that without sounding like a politician.)

I have not posted much lately, I have been deep into my studies, we have a new friend, from a beautiful and mysterious country, that I knew nothing about. I will save the best for last, as I share with you some of what I have learned.

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a country best known for its fiercely protected environment, Shangri-La atmosphere and Buddhist underpinning. Seemingly untouched by modern civilization for centuries, it is a popular destination for a select number of travelers each year. But behind the tourist facade, Bhutan is being catapulted into the 21st century.

Although mostly a Buddhist country, a significant part of the population practice Hinduism and other religions are tolerated as well. Bhutan was established as a theocratic state with a secular government and the role of political parties. "The religious establishment is not only the fountainhead of religion but also the receptacle of Bhutanese culture and tradition.

Bhutan's traditional self-contained cultural system is intrinsically fragile in the face of ongoing modern developments. Indeed, the current situation is in no small part the consequence of delayed entry to the outside world and then only partial and controlled exposures. As the country becomes regionally and globally integrated, clear established boundaries are being both broken down and permeated. Increasing contact to powerful new ideas and the fundamental changes that these imply, threatens to undermine the very foundations of the preexisting system. The cultural dynamic that previously drew predominantly on domestic influences to generate a gradual and internally consistent succession has now been opened up to unfamiliar, persuasive, multidimensional, potentially contradictory and destabilizing external authorities. Bhutanese culture is experiencing a paradigm shift.
The goal of, and associated initiatives towards, development and modernization implies some fundamental alterations in traditional legacies. Previously stable social and economic systems are being transformed, generating major structural changes and a host of new opportunities. The relatively equal distribution of such opportunities requires significant alterations in the traditional distribution of power. Furthermore, an augmented emphasis on the material dimension naturally distracts attention from the spiritual, thereby diminishing the popular role of religion. Notions of both individual and national accomplishment are shifting - now valuing material progress and constant development - and are becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. The ongoing strength and unity of an inherently dynamic culture will require it to continue to collectively judge its performance a success.

The government response has been to both promote and strengthen a national culture, and - whilst reforming economic, social, political and cultural systems - to attempt, during transition, to maintain a balance between changes in these respective areas. Keenly aware that strength comes from unity, and that the nation's continued sovereignty and independence will be reliant on the preservation of a distinct national identity, there have been concerted moves towards forming a clear national culture within its distant and diverse communities. National unity coalesces around three key interrelated elements: common history, common religious belief and common leadership. Building on dominant Ngalop traditions, several national symbols have been either encouraged or introduced. These include a national language (Dzongkha), national dress, national religion and Driglam Namzha, a code of etiquette. All congregate around the central idea of the Tsa-Wa-Sum - the King, the Country and the People - a derivation of the Three Jewels in Buddhist thought.

The processes of integration and development are inherently uneven. Aspects of traditional cultures and their more tangible manifestations are both the first things to be affected and the last things to be completely transformed by ongoing modernization. Encounters with global capitalist culture tend to encourage consumerism well before associated political, social and economic transformations are effected that might enable the overall satisfaction of these new desires. Aiming to achieve a transition that is balanced and relatively stable, the government has placed an emphasis on cultural preservation (or at least avoiding immediate cultural corruption). Policies aim to both promote traditional practices and reduce immediate exposure to potentially disorienting external influences. Tight guidelines have been put in place regarding traditional dress and architectural styles. Programmes have been introduced to promote language and religion. Furthermore, a heavily controlled tourism policy, an erstwhile ban on television (which was only made legal in 1999) and tight regulations regarding external business ventures, all aim at limiting disproportionate cultural contacts.

Government interventions notwithstanding - which should be interpreted as pragmatic rather than reactionary - transformations are relentless, and are being generated from both within the evolving internal environment and more directly from outside. Processes of social and economic change are altering the parameters within which people exist. Whereas the lifestyles of the majority have been slowly shifting, a select very modern community has emerged, associated with high status and wealth, educational achievement, profession, travel and urban living. New hierarchies are forming based around connections with multiple aspects of modernity. With increased opportunities and new aspirations a modern business mentality has taken root that places an emphasis on the production of material wealth.

People are experiencing an expansion of life-world and a broadening of worldview. Bhutan battles substance abuse. With the processes of globalization few remain unaware of alternative ways of life, even if it is through overt symbols. Although television was banned, videos were available, along with books and magazines. A generation gap is emerging in Bhutanese culture, particularly within the urban communities. Although tradition remains - associated with family and broader social perforations - the more performative aspect of culture is promoting a host of modern values. Whereas the older generation considers that things are moving extremely fast, for the young they cannot happen quickly enough. Inevitable undercurrents of discontent are emerging, where some feel that their abilities and aspirations are becoming stifled. The traditional Bhutanese culture possessed the ability to reproduce the valuable elements from its past as it continually reformed itself to accommodate more current realities. To date something resembling such equilibrium has been sustained. However, if the Bhutanese culture maintains its overall coherence and retains its most valuable aspects amidst the ongoing cultural whirlwind, it will represent a major - possibly critical - achievement.

Working Women
Posted by Tshering Tobgay in Women on September 6, 2009 3:21 pm

"A good 52% of the participants in our last poll said that we do not discriminate against our women. But 44% said that our women do face discrimination. And the rest, that’s hardly 4%, said that they couldn’t tell.

A majority of us feel that our women do not suffer discrimination. That’s good. And that must be so. After all, our society is, more or less, matriarchal; inheritance favours daughters; men move in with their wives; wives don’t take their husbands’ names; widows and divorcees can remarry; and our laws protect women.

For these reasons, and many more, we pride ourselves in having the least amount of discrimination against women among all the countries in South Asia. Some of us even boast that our women are better off than those of many advanced nations."

Tshering Tobgay is a Member of Parliament representing Sombaykha Constitutency in Haa. He is the Leader of the Opposition Party in the National Assembly of Bhutan.

Wow, that is a lot to chew on, and there is so much more. Alas, I doubt most folks will share our enthusiasm. Ah so much to learn, and so little time.

Now to wait and see if this meets the approval of my gifted new friend.

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl G Jung

Autism and the Increased Incidence of Electromagnetic Radiation

2009-09-24T21:10:00.006-04:00

A Possible Association Between Fetal/neonatal Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation and the Increased Incidence Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
Robert C. Kane, Ph.D.

The Associated Bioelectromagnetics Technologists, P.O. Box 133, Blanchardville, Wisconsin 53516-0133USA. FAX: 1 608 523-6500; E-mail: rkane@tds.net
Key words: autism; radiofrequency; radiation; RF; microwave; fetus; embryo; neo-natal; blood-brain barrier; DNA; cognitive impairment.

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Summary

Recently disclosed epidemiological data indicate a dramatic increase in the incidence of autism spectrum disorders. Previously, the incidence of autism has been reported as 4-5 per 10,000 children. The most recent evidence indicates an increased incidence of about 1 per 500 children. However, the etiology of autism is yet to be determined. The recently disclosed data suggest a possible correlation between autism incidence and a previously unconsidered environmental toxin. It is generally accepted in the scientific community that radiofrequency radiation is a biologically active substance. It is also readily acknowledged that human exposures to radiofrequency radiation have become pervasive during the past twenty years, whereas such exposures were uncommon prior to that time. It is suggested that fetal or neo-natal exposures to radiofrequency radiation may be associated with an increased incidence of autism.

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Dangers of the wireless cell phone, wi-fi and emf age Part 1

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The Radiation Poisoning of America by Amy Worthington
By whiterose August 9, 2008
Prior to 1996, the wireless age was not coming online fast enough, primarily because communities had the authority to block the siting of cell towers. But the Federal Communications Act (1996) made it virtually impossible for communities to stop construction of cell towers —even if they pose threats to public health and the environment. Since the decision to enter the age of wireless convenience was politically determined for us, we have forgotten well-documented safety and environmental concerns and, with a devil-may-care zeal that is lethally short-sighted, we have incorporated into our lives every wireless toy that comes on the market as quickly as it becomes available. We behave as if we are addicted to radiation. Our addiction to cell phones has led to harder “drugs” like wireless Internet. And now we are bathing in the radiation that our wireless enthusiasm has financed. The addicted, uninformed, corporately biased and politically-influenced may dismiss our scientifically-sound concerns about the apocalyptic hazards of wireless radiation. But we must not. Instead, we must sound the alarm.

By Amy Worthington.

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EMFs, Pregnancy & Autism

New Study Puts Autism Prevalence at 1 in 91

Mobile phone towers a threat to honey bees: study

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl G Jung

It Feels So Odd

2009-09-19T00:49:00.008-04:00

I have good friends, from all over the globe. The avant-garde of writers, pragmatic thinkers, the compassionate and the brave. Yet I have not one soul from my old homeland of Ohio. But to my joy, from the far corners of this planet, I have just gained the friendship of two more fabulous people. Indeed my dance card is full, alas I can see that I really have no time for my fellow patriots. For I now belong to the world.

Ah ha, here I was trying my best to feel dejected and sorry for self, and I just now realized; that I exist, not for the folks back home, who have not, and may never receive me, but I have been placed here at this moment in time, to have a delightful fellowship with this special group.

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl G Jung

BUT A SHORT TIME TO LIVE

2009-09-15T21:36:00.003-04:00

"But a Short Time to Live" was written by Serg't Leslie Coulson, whose "little hour" came to an end at Arras, in France, October 7, 1916:

OUR little hour,—how swift it flies
When poppies flare and lilies smile;
How soon the fleeting minute dies,
Leaving us but a little while
To dream our dream, to sing our song, 5
To pick the fruit, to pluck the flower,
The Gods—They do not give us long,—
One little hour.

Our little hour,—how short it is
When Love with dew-eyed loveliness 10
Raises her lips for ours to kiss
And dies within our first caress.
Youth flickers out like wind-blown flame,
Sweets of to-day to-morrow sour,
For Time and Death, relentless, claim 15
Our little hour.

Our little hour,—how short a time
To wage our wars, to fan our hates,
To take our fill of armoured crime,
To troop our banners, storm the gates. 20
Blood on the sword, our eyes blood-red,
Blind in our puny reign of power,
Do we forget how soon is sped
Our little hour?

Our little hour,—how soon it dies: 25
How short a time to tell our beads,
To chant our feeble Litanies,
To think sweet thoughts, to do good deeds.
The altar lights grow pale and dim,
The bells hang silent in the tower— 30
So passes with the dying hymn
Our little hour.

Katherine Mansfield Murry" (14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923)

"Why am I troubled evrey single day of my life by the nearness of death and its inevitability? I am really diseased on that point.
"To-night, when the evening-star shone through the side-window and the mountains were so lovely, I sat there thinking of death. Of all there was to do - of Life, which is so lovely -- and of the fact that my body is a prison. But this state of mind is evil. It is only by acknowledging that I, being what I am, had to suffer this in order to do the work I am here to perform. It is only by acknowledging it, by being thankful that I shall recover."

"What if you had only a few days to live?"

"Suddenly everything comes into view and you are stabbed with the fear of leaving everything you’ve grown up with, people you’ve come to love along the way, an existence you were so fond off but now you cant think of anything else but silently listen to the rain. Surprisingly you find solace in the soothing beat and long to walk out of the house and stand in the rain and let the water wash away this disease that is hungrily taking your life."

"In this stage you choose to be happy. Desperately trying to believe that this state of mind will perhaps by a stroke of luck rid you off the pain and things will go back to normal, normal meaning the mundane life; the old grumpy office chair, the complaining parents, the silly friends, the life you got carried away by, that you took it for granted."

"You try to close your eyes for awhile, hoping that the diagnosis by the doctor was just a bad dream and feel that once you open your eyes you will wake up to feeling foolish, of suddenly being so philosophical and serious and flippantly joke about it with friends."

"Yes, this is a time when you desperately cling to all sorts of thoughts and scenarios, when you feel the need to remember every moment in your life, before you stop remembering. You remember your mom’s lovely garden of tulips, you see yourself being chased around the fish pond by your brother and clumsily falling down and scraping your knee. You remember the ghost stories your grandfather used to tell with such fervor and you can still feel the cold chill run down your spine. You remember the picnics with your family and clearly see your father casting his fishing rod in the river, where after a while you see a frantic trout caught on the hook …you are reminded of death and forget this memory instantly. You remember being the subject of complaint amongst teachers and see that annoyed look on your mom’s face after school…it’s a miracle how you turned to be an ace in college. You remember not belonging on either side of your parent’s family, and when growing up you always wondered why you spoke fluent English while your friends could speak fluent Dzongkha. You remember your first crush and blush at the sight of him catching you with a weak knee. You remember your crazy friends from school and the hilarious punishments you all got from the Biology teacher for bunking classes. You remember the first party you went to and the feeling of embarrassment, when your parents came to pick you up, when the party hadn’t even started. Memories are now rapturously flooding, and the streaming hot tears blurs remembering and slowly brings me to awareness, brings me to “now”.

"In death you find the reason to live, and until that fateful day comes you make sure you live the remaining days in happiness."
Khendum Gyabak
utopianangel@hotmail.com

"Ask yourself this: if you suddenly found out you only had 6 months to live (for whatever reason), would the thing in front of you matter to you?"

"Would those 20 emails waiting for a response matter? Would the paperwork waiting to be processed matter? Would the work you’re doing matter? Would the meetings you’re supposed to have matter? Would a big car and nice house and high-paying job and cool computer and mobile device and nice shoes and clothes matter?"

"I’m not saying they wouldn’t matter … but it’s important to ask yourself if they would."

"What would matter to you?

"For many of us, it’s the loved ones in our lives. If we don’t have loved ones … maybe it’s time we started figuring out why, and addressing that. Maybe we haven’t made time for others, for getting out and meeting others and helping others and being compassionate and passionate about others. Maybe we have shut ourselves in somehow. Or maybe we do have loved ones in our lives, but we don’t seem to have the time we want to spend with them."

When was the last time you told someone that you care, or loved them? Spent good quality time with them, being in the moment?

For many of us, doing deeds that matters … would matter. That might mean helping others, or making a vital contribution to society, or creating something brilliant and inspiring, or expressing ourselves somehow. It’s not recognition, prestige or the money that matters, but the impact of a good work. Are you doing work that matters?

For many of us, experiencing life would matter — really being in the moment, finding passion in our lives, seeing the world and traveling, or just seeing the world that’s around us right now, being with great people, doing amazing things, eating amazing food, playing.

These are just a few ideas … but what would matter to you?

I highly recommend that you spend at least a little time now, and regularly, thinking about this question … figuring out what really matters … and living a life that shows this.

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl G Jung