Talk To Me About Your Faith, But…

There’s an abundance of ideas that people have about the Creator. I don’t knock any of them unless they try to hard sell me that theirs are undoubtedly right and that I have to give up mine and take on the ones they have. I, on the other hand, probably have nothing to teach them since they’ve positively made up their own minds, case closed, about the nature of reality. They probably won’t be that interested in what I have to say, anyway. I’m of the opinion that if God intended to plainly reveal his plan of salvation He would have done so in such a way that there would be no doubt about who He is and what one must do to obtain deliverance.  Everywhere and at every moment there would be a complete agreement as to how the universe was created,  the plan for humankind, God’s intervention in the workings of the world and the nature of redemption. Someone may say, “Well, it’s in the Bible plain as day and quote John 3:16 but there are many different notions about the meaning of that verse among various Christian groups. The Catholic Church, for example, teaches that one must become a Catholic for one to truly understand God and that includes following the teachings of the Church. It is interesting though, that the Church teaches that one does not have to be a Catholic to be saved while many evangelical sects require adherence to their dogma to be.  So what about other faiths? Judaism does not recognize that Jesus was the promised Messiah and has very good arguments for that and its views on the nature of salvation. Hindus and Muslims have their own ideas about Jesus that seem equally valid as well. Now I believe that there is a basis for belief in some intelligent creative power that under girds all existence. I think most do but there are some that are staunch atheists that can find no evidence for it. I don’t try to argue with them about it and just state my beliefs and that’s it and they usually don’t try to impose their disbelief on me, either. Certain theists, on the other hand, having placed such an importance on the correctness of their teachings are often inclined to making a big deal out of their big God and turn off others in doing so. They actually seem to imprint their biases onto their deity with the requirement that others in turn must follow what they have uncompromisingly posited as  The Truth.

Often when I think about Jesus’ sayings, it seems like many of those that profess to follow him look amazingly like the very souls that Jesus berated in the gospels. They are self-assured, pushy, argumentative, hypocritical, self-righteous and oblivious to the haughty way they come across to those they’re preaching to and most often minimize the parts of his sermons that stress mercy, understanding and tolerance in favor of those sayings that promise an eternity in hell for those who don’t believe as they do. Besides Jews, only Hindus and Buddhists appear to have envisioned enough room in heaven for those other than themselves and though each may think their religion better, they seem to have the capacity to stress agreement over difference.

We live in a complex world where political, economic and social forces are impacting believers and non-believers alike and there may be a time coming soon when it will be risky to lay claim to faith in any one of the world religions. Society has developed a tradition of tolerance over the last few centuries in which there is a healthy degree of distance between State and Church but this may not last if we lose a large part of the civilization we have come to enjoy. Many, both in and out of religious circles have noticed a quiet consolidation of power by elites who have blatantly lied to us about many things including the real reasons for going to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 9/11 attacks, the Tonkin Gulf Incident, the overthrow of democratic republics such as Mohammed Mossadegh’s Iran and many more going all the way back to World War I and beyond. What palpable silence from the pulpits of so many different faiths when their priests, rabbis, imams and pastors could have taken a prophetic stance and alerted their flock to the deception that was and is plainly evident and pervasive in high places within government and banking. Why are they still holding back now as we are being robbed before our eyes by highly placed rip-off artists in Armani suits?  Could it be that they afraid of losing their precious 501C3 tax-exempt status or some other state-sanctioned benefit?

So I’m more than glad to talk to you about your faith, just don’t pass judgement on those like me who happen to have a different point of view than your own. More often than not one can find a greater abundance of truth telling among those who choose to keep their religious beliefs to themselves than those who are most ardently trying to push the wayward sheep hurriedly into the Kingdom. As Jesus himself said, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. (Matt. 7:15)  Have you looked inside yourself to root out your own waywardness? Are you really sure you can distinguish between a sheep and a wolf just because of what you have absorbed from your spiritual leader? Rather than obsessing so as to how to convert me, wouldn’t it be better to first take out the log from your own eye before taking out the speck in mine? Then we can sit as equals and leave the saving to the will of whose Kingdom we all hope to have a share in.

Sister Peace, Brother War

From what can be observed from all we have learned about history and our own lives, all that exists is locked in tension between two unrelenting forces, death and life and the thrust of all our effort toward satisfaction in our daily undertakings is to promote one over the other. We live in a world of dualities, good and bad, sweet and sour, strong and weak, big and small, war and peace, etc. As each morning breaks, we wake with an increasing awareness of the challenges we must face that day. Some days start out well, others do not and from one moment to the next there are continual adjustments each of us must make to maintain a sense of balance. As babies we have little control over our environment and are dependent upon those that care for us but as we grow we learn the mechanics of how to survive so that in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in at any particular moment we are able to rebalance body, mind and soul. As adults we care for others who benefit from the knowledge, wisdom and experience we have gained over the course of years and into our senior years, there is an even greater ability to tease out meaning from the good, the bad and all that lies in-between.

There are many aspirations people develop as they interact with their environment. Some think very big and are highly motivated with an ability to focus on whatever inspires them to achieve while others are more passive whether it be a result of nature or nurture. Some have physical or mental limitations that impose certain obstacles in their ability to exert control over their environment. Scientists, economists, politicians, auto mechanics, tool and die makers, janitors, etc. all have one thing in common. They all must live and struggle in a world of duality and come to terms with the vagaries of chance occurrence.

Expanding out from the individual there is another dynamic at play, the interaction of the group with other groups. People tend to affiliate with other like-minded individuals to obtain certain advantages they would not have access to on their own. Those affiliations become increasingly more complex as we go from the center to the periphery, from the smaller to the larger in size. Rules are created by groups to provide stability and strength to deal with the variability in human behavior so that all the components of the group benefit more or less equally. Of course, it is very human to try to get around rules since individuals tend to feel dissatisfied with their particular circumstances and decide to break the rules in order to gain some perceived advantage over others. Why is it so human to do so? It is because we live in an imperfect world of dualities where life is really not very fair.

On this planet we are bathed in a medium of both order and chaos, peace and war. When order prevails, people I think tend to fight less since they experience a lesser degree of deprivation. They find ways to cooperate. When chaos increases, social bonds tend to weaken, people become more fearful and will go out and wildly try to grab things which they think will help them survive. This is the state of war. It is a natural condition caused by factors that are both inside and outside of human control. To avoid war, people need to accept certain limits on what they can do – they need to follow rules for civilization to flourish.

So it seems that there will always be times of both peace and war. Everything and everyone is in a moment by moment fight for survival. Utopia can only exist by divine decree since heaven is by definition without duality. Heaven is in itself unity and in that state there can be none of the contrary conditions we find in the world as we know it. Every individual however, according to all the holy writings, has some of the divine nature within so it is therefore logical to assume that we can overcome the warring that exists both inside and outside persons and groups. It is impossible to do away with conflict altogether since we are imperfect beings living in an imperfect world, but we can choose to recognize that part within each of us that is unity and seek to nurture it with the help of God who is by nature, One. There really is no choice but to accept what we cannot change in our lives and so it is necessary to learn live in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. It is in the acceptance that we look to that which is completely whole, perfect and beautiful in each of us. This is something all must learn to do from moment to moment. Within that reality all must resolve themselves to live between two rivaling siblings, Sister Peace and Brother War.

“We all just seeds in god’s hands, we start the same but where we land is sometimes fertile soil and sometimes sand. We’re all just seeds in god’s hands.”

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‘Seeds’ written by Pat Alger and Ralph Murphy and performed by Kathy Mattea on the album, ‘Lonesome Standard Time.’

 http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/k/kathy_mattea/seeds.html

Why the Stimungulous?

The stimulus package is funded by the money-center banks who own the Federal Reserve and other central banks. The Fed then loans money to the Government that taxpayers must repay with interest back to the Fed.

Jobs must be created for people so they can survive to pay taxes. Those taxes include the interest on the money the Fed creates. No jobs and people become discontented and question their government's ability to manage the country.

The reason jobs are flying away is due to a transfer of wealth from responsible individuals and businesses to those in the highest levels of power. New financial instruments that were of supposedly low-risk were created to maximize profits for large investors. Those instruments were so complicated and inscrutable that not even the most highly regarded economists could understand them. Their creators of these and their investors assumed that assets would always appreciate but if by chance they didn't, the risk incurred by the falling values of these packaged investments would be diluted enough that investors who lost some of their money would still stay in the game. What the whiz-kid creators didn't count on was that people would actually have some backbone and get supremely ticked-off and not jump off roofs when the going got bad. They were so enamored with their self-perceived brilliance that they became over-confident with the computer models that THEY invented. As Greenspan admitted, the models were “flawed” and buggy. They did not factor in the worst-case scenario, that all the bad loans were created would come back to bite them hard.

So the Fed in concert with the government comes up with a 'Stimulus Package' designed to inject capital back into the system so that people would invest again. Trouble is, people don't have much confidence in the experts anymore after 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, Katrina, the TARP bank bailouts and are questioning whether markets are really free. People are recognizing that the system is a rigged game and are rightfully upset and they know that new taxes for green energy projects are just around the corner. Al Gore will see to that.

So the government in collusion with the Fed fires up the printing presses and creates a stimulus package that doesn't help the average person but does enrich those who benefit from the political structure and in turn, benefit it with campaign contributions. So it is no wonder that the Stimulus will provide oodles of noodles to the well connected, such as those in the Defense Department who lobbied the government last month to provide multi billions of dollars for armored vehicles.[1] But why would the government so vigorously fund the MIC of all things? Because without a potent military to protect vital natural energy and other resources around the world, other countries and competing entities would jettison the dollar in favor of another currency with better backing. The dollar has value only if inspires confidence. If a competitor country like China concludes that it can run the world better than we can, they will no longer buy our Treasuries, in effect, calling in the loans they’ve made to us. That is precisely why the MIC will receive, either directly or indirectly a large share of the Stimulus money in the name of producing jobs. It is to ensure that we maintain control over the world’s natural resources that serve to collateralize the dollar. The military guards the dollar’s collateral by projecting its power throughout the world.

Now, our creditors with their growing militaries will naturally try and take advantage of the many mistakes the United States has made in the recent past. It may take fifteen or twenty years, but eventually the centers of power will relocate and we will most likely become a vassal nation. The heart of the nut here though, is that governments are not power-centers and don’t really run anything but are only the machinery by which the world’s money masters execute policy and programs.

Money-elites and their governments only have power if their peoples allow them to have it. If disenfranchised people become enraged like a stirred-up hive of wasps and rebel against what they see as blatant and pervasive corruption, they will fight back by boycotting the system in an underground economy or by deciding to cast off their masters and free themselves from them through revolt. The powers that be will use every trick and lie in the book to maintain their hold over the minds of the people. They will propagandize 24/7 though big media, they will try to cajole, intimidate and ridicule their critics. They will use divide and conquer strategies so that competing interests fight over limited resources and become unable to form coalitions and organize a resistance. Ultimately the winner of a fight is the one who has the most resolve and access to the best equipment and tactics so unless resistance movements learn to work together to accomplish specific tasks, the money masters will always beset them and have the upper hand. Historically, it has always been that exceptional individuals whether they be ethical or not, rise to the top of the food chain. I hope that the up and coming leaders of justice movements are exceptional, inspiring and wise but it is up to the people to be exceptional as well because if we choose those who only appear to be superficially ethical and are not in actuality, we will be in for many detours on the road to a better America and a saner world.

Picture Credit: http://allaboutadvocacy.com/


[1] http://www.leaderpost.com/Business/Army+idea+stimulus+package+includes+armoured+vehicle/1203524/story.html

The Fall of the U.S.A and Mr. Celente

From Russia Today - video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nJ7LM3iyNg

My thoughts on Celente's prediction of immanent doom for the U.S.

Sure, Mr. Super-Doom Celente could be right in his dire forecast of the “greatest depression” but don't forget, the US dollar is backed by the biggest freakin' military the world has ever known. The creditor-nations can't really call in our debt while they are paying the U.S. cop on the beat to guard their sources of energy, food and raw materials so they have no choice but to buy our Treasuries. In a short span of, let's say, 20 years, though, while the dollar is still worth something, China will continue to use the money they’ve accumulated to build up a military equal or better than our own and they could do it alone or in an alliance with other creditor-nations.

At some point in the future then, China, with its own dominant currency, will be able to do its own world policing and won't need our dollars anymore. This is precisely why I think the U.S. maintains such a strong military presence in the around the world, especially in the Middle East and Central Asia. It is to protect the resources that back the dollar. At some point in the future there could be a military impasse resulting in an 'O.K Corral' type shootout for dominance but I don't see nation-states choosing this option unless there's a devolvement into total insanity. They would look for another alternative other than the Big Fire.

So no, Celente, in my opinion is probably not on the mark in his forecast of a near term cascading super-depression and does not make a strong case for his fear mongering. We will continue to have a global downturn of significant magnitude resulting in untold misery for billions of people. If, however, things get so out of control that the world economy begins to slide over the edge of a cliff, the creditor nations and bank holding companies will come to some sort of agreement to form a semi-dictatorial world government with a common currency. The U.S. and other debtor nations will then go into survival mode and become vassal states to that World Union.

Celente is a smart guy but I don't agree with his ultra-alarmist, immanent, econo-catastrophic scenario. He does accurately explain that economics can't be separated from party politcs, geopolitics and social movements. I also like that he views himself as a "political atheist" and views the world from a 'logical' perspective but we'll have to see if his logic is rooted in solid ground. Time will tell. In the meantime, don't panic - yet and check out Peter Schiff, head of Euro-Pacific Capital. He's not quite as upsetting.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6vxM-YBlHw

Viagranomics and the Stimulus Package

Allowing the feds to goose the money supply to keep the economy from going over the edge is like playing Russian roulette, and this is what the bank holding companies have done with the consent of Congress and the other branches of the government they are in collusion with. It can be likened to a man who is sick from a lifetime of bad habits who can't get an erection but is so intent on getting himself and his partner satisfied that he takes the blue ovals even though he's well aware that he's also taking nitrates for heart failure. The interaction of these two medications is known to cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure but the man chooses to use a short-term fix anyway in order to hop up the sack action for a few moments at the risk of incurring a coronary event that could prevent him from working ever again. Of course, anyone at any time could suffer a heart attack from a variety of causes, even if one tries to stay healthy but the chances of living a long life are strongly in one’s favor if moderate lifestyle choices are made. Of course, one can be totally healthy and still need that extra push in bed that a Viagra sometimes makes happen but that is not really the issue here. (pun unintended)

Politicians have cried 'wolf' so many times, over the past eight years or so that no one on the street believes them anymore. They say that if taxpayers don't cough up another trillion in borrowed money that the economy is going to fall off a cliff and so they scare us into believing that without their indispensable help we are surely doomed to a repeat of the '30's with its bread lines and huddled masses of unemployed warming themselves by trash-can fires. Yes, there is reason to conclude that pouring vast amounts of money in the short term could revive American jobs and free up credit to businesses but what would be its effects in the long term?

Congress is debating how and where to spend those multi-billions so that they do the most good and is just now hammering out a compromise package that will assuredly have a combination of a good helping of swine fat along with a small helping of lean meat to please the more conservative and fiscally health-minded among us. We are used to putting up with those kinds of things from Washington. The problem is that we are not in a run-of-the-mill recession. We are really in a soft depression and the economy with all its dynamic energy can’t seem to ‘get it up’ this time despite all the rabbits Bernanke and Paulson (enter Geithner) through slight of hand have and are now pulling out of their top-hats. The process remains secretive with little accountablity as to where all the money is going that there is a palpable lack of confidence that there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. With the exception of good folks such as Peter Orszag from GAO, lying prophets abound who continue to confuse and confound the American people by telling them only what they want to hear. We oh so want to believe that government largesse can fix anything but when we look at what stares back at us, the loss of jobs, the decline in personal wealth, the mounting state and local deficits, etc. our hopes turn to fear and there is trepidation when we think back on how good many of us felt listening to Obama’s inspiring pre-election “Yes, we can” rallies. So, the American ‘heart’ is in crisis and is not so young and strong as it was in its youth. Too much rich food and a lack of an economic exercise program has drained us of strength and we seek short-term economic solutions so that we can “fire it up” one more time regardless of the long-term consequences.

The great experiment of imprudent banking practices has done much damage and if we continue to allow our ‘leaders’ to reach into that same old bag of quick fixes we are likely to see our worst fears realized as the real condition of the economy becomes nakedly apparent.

No one will admit to having a magic bullet that will extricate us from what is likely to befall us but there are pebbles on the road we’ve walked that can (and must) lead us back to a sounder, healthier condition. That road back will be painful and will require the fiscal common sense the Founders had as their guide. They had pebbles of their own to follow, a sense of conscience which moved them to spend, tax and govern judiciously and that which guided them kept the ship of the nation on an even keel. Back then they made their ships strong because they knew they would have to be solid enough to withstand the storms that would inevitably follow.

Obama, I believe is right when he asks everyone to be a part of the solution and that is the very challenge that John Kennedy asked us to take on and it is incumbent for all to pitch in to get the country back on its feet. What will not work, however, is the status quo where elected and appointed bureaucrats fashion legislation that only ends up enriching the political class. Be wary of them. They will be the ones who will create and run the new civilian service programs, mostly top-down affairs and bright gems of socialistic central planning to help those who supposedly can’t help themselves. When the initiative finally launches, they will tell us where to go to work, how the job will be done, when to wake up and when to sleep. We will, in essence be their servants since they have a vested interest in staying in power and we will have no choice but to trust them to get it right, just one more time. We must insist however that they serve us. We must gather up our energy and create some of our own solutions, not as loyal party members, but as patriots who care deeply about our families, neighbors and fellow citizens, not in knee-jerk fashion where we follow legislative dictates, but where we recognize that each individual has the ability to harness their unique abilities to get the country back up and running well.

Government programs run by Viagra-crats offer us only ad-hoc solutions and a temporary relief of symptoms. Only people can help people. Cure the underlying cause of our ills with heavy doses of healthy competition, personal responsibility, courage, and liberty, where people are free to develop their own solutions with minimal government interference and we will ramp up our productivity and begin to thrive as a nation again, working together to solve its many problems.

CIRCLES OF PERCEPTION

THE MEDIA

Without a valid and sensible starting point from which to deliver and communicate information relating to world affairs, the exercise of evaluating all media and especially popular media devolves into a journey into a black vortex from which little truth can enter or escape. The major outlets furnish the contextual framework so that what is disseminated coalesces into meaning for the reader, listener or viewer and creates a paradigm of what is real and unreal from thread woven in a machine that has as its power source a pureness of purpose from a gospel of wealth. It is what inhabits this paradigm that remains mostly secret, arcane and inaccessible to the typical consumer. Consumers of media must therefore maintain their own frame of reference for everything that is made known to them as news for without the correct context it is nearly impossible to accurately select and dissect the information that is delivered to us. The wealthy and powerful wield the tools of their trade in such an exacting way that unless one has begun an initiation into the rarefied atmosphere of cultic media, there can be no real understanding of the purposes that these illusionists aspire to.

I'm a habitual news viewer that unfortunately grants me no more access to truth aside from occasional novel factoids that are available to anyone else. The experience is somewhat like observing some bad-natured corner-sitting animal that requires my perfunctory ministrations to keep it in physical balance as it sends me back information. It morphs from one day to the next, changing little. I just passively let it do its dulling work on me and I feel worn from watching it. From one day to the next I consume these displays of want and fear that are generated and packaged to catch my attention like angry teeth set in a jaw whenever I approach them and all from confident, attractive faces and voices. At once there is the tensing of nerves and muscles from disquiet as things appear to evolve from terrible to horrible with the only saving grace possibly emanating from a new Leader who promises somehow to make things better for me and the other Mr. and Ms. Averages out there. The flow is from cold to hot, hopeful to hopeless and I experience a palpable feeling of being suckered into THE intended mindset – the Network’s.

OTHER CIRCLES WE LIVE IN

The Earth is, as so many other objects and concepts in the universe are circular or at least elliptical or cylindrical like so many other shapes that have their beginnings as end points. We have circles of friends that intersect other circles of other friends and associates. Materials are recycled or “recircled” as we go about disposing and re-accumulating the things we need or those we think we need. The grocer waits for the supplier's truck to stock his or her shelves and another truck lies in wait to dispose of things that are past date which are then re-boxed with the same cardboard that served the former supply function. Planets have revolved around their suns and those suns around galaxies and in their interstellar dance have created cosmic events that ultimately caused life to appear on earth. On the microcosmic level, energy makes a transfer to particles, then back to energy and that interplay gives weight and bulk to all that is and we are aware of these transactions only to the extent that our minds allow. Existence, therefore, can be understood as being dimensionally circular.

As we observe our world through the lens of corporate-controlled media, we are invited to make assumptions about social issues, the economy, politics and other ideas that exert their gravitational forces upon us. Primetime network news, for example, usually provides the barest essentials from which to make assessments about the events of the day and each time the earth makes another spin in its circle around the sun, an infinity of causes create another infinity of effects of which we are blissfully unaware (though the propagandists would have us think otherwise.) Unless we have alternative sources of information from books or other forms that remain on the outskirts of popular culture, there remains a scant amount of clay to form the pot and the mind dwells in inertia from a lack of salient input. Metaphorically, we live apart in infinitesimally small towns with mile-high walls that let in little sunlight or most any other kind of light for that matter. Outside the town walls, very far away, lie the institutional machines within huge cities that manufacture reality for us through technology and let it be said that there will probably be no shortage of technology at least for the foreseeable future. We have little if any opportunity to input anything critical back into the system in order to make any real changes to it and due to structural factors, we are forced to accept a scant role in influencing the goings-on in the smaller, highly insulated circles of power. In essence there exists an order of circles within circles. If viewed side-on, a cone-shaped structure can be seen with the smaller, more powerful circles moving upward to its apex. This model can also be compared to the pyramidal shape with the floating eye of providence that appears on the dollar bill. The eye on the detached capstone also emanates light-rays that allude to the power at the highest levels of the social structure. There are two inscriptions: Annuit Coeptis (Approve Our Undertakings) and Novus Ordo Seclorum (A New Order of the Ages). The question I ask is, what is supposed to be the nature of that providence? Is it God, Man or the Devil or some combination of the three? Anyway, it seems logical that the base of the structure, the supporting entity, should be formed from the Intent and Will of the People, rather than the opposite where the elites control the masses.

FINDING (AND FIGHTING) OUR WAY BACK

Without an understanding of just who is who in government, industry and banking, we are relegated to taking our places in whatever circle within the many existent rings within the paradigm that has been fashioned for us and thus we are disabled by default in changing our reality. Yes, we can vote or promote any candidate we want to but it has taken a long time for the elites to build up the power structure as it now is and defeating those in the innermost circles (or at the top of the pyramid) is an extremely daunting task without the emergence of efficient and focused coalition-building. One can move further inside the circle to effect change but the deeper one goes the more vulnerable one also becomes to the corrupting influences of power.

Things are rarely what they appear to be at first glance. People look to those in authority to help them improve their lives materially. Often however, those in power are exactly those we don’t want to depend on for making our lives better. Many of our so-called leaders and elites are ripe and ready to pour out bile upon the earth in buckets. We may end up electing them, but to our last breath we must avoid cowering and acquiescing before them. In fact, we must see with clarity through all the magical tricks employed to distort our perceptions and learn to become ever more critical of what is said and done in the media. It is therefore incumbent upon all to combine forces in order to win as many battles as possible in the war against a mind-bending oligarchy by electing only ethical leaders to public office.

I believe that God is with us when we try our very best both individually and collectively. When things seem most hopeless often the fires of the human spirit burn the hottest. Ordinary people move to accept the challenge and become inspired to accomplish remarkable things. They begin to check up on those they elected and call them to task.

The meek, I believe, will ultimately inherit the earth home. Greed and depravity cannot and will not be allowed to prevail. Within the great spheres of human effort, destiny may even have fore-ordained a return to the likeness of an Eden, a place that exists simultaneously both at the beginning and at the end in our circles of perception.

Luke 18:14 …For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored."

Picture Credit: http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/3856/paradisosl6.jpg

Is the Middle East Ready to Explode?

With strife among Muslim militant factions increasing and the CIA in there to stir up the hornet's nest I believe we will witness an attack on Iran (and Syria possibly) very soon. High level administration officials will get the Sunni dictatorships to go along with it as it is their vested interests to do so and we may be seeing its start with the current military incursions into Shiite strongholds in Iraq targeting Muqtada Al Sadr and the Mahdi Army.
In the Palestinian Territories armed factions are in conflict despite the recent truce agreed to at Sharm El-Sheikh and it signals a gathering storm that may lead to a Shia-Sunni proxy war which the globalist puppeteers are carefully nurturing to bring about the "Clash of Civilizations." Right now in the territories Hamas and Fatah (The Palestinian Authority) are in a battle for control over Gaza which may spread to the West Bank and since the PA are recipients of U.S. money and arms there is likely to be a continuation and escalation of the internal conflicts there. Israel, recognizing the deep divisions among the competing organizations are taking advantage of the strife by conducting bombing raids over known Hamas rocket launching sites and capturing Hamas and Jihad Islami leaders.

In Lebanon there are several competing organizations among the Sunnis and most of them are funded by Syria. A new faction Fatah-Al-Islam is seeking to exploit the unstable situation there and is believed to be the perpetrators of the recent bombings in an upper-class Sunni district in Beirut and the Lebanese Army has been shelling their base of operations on their northern border with Syria. Hezbollah meanwhile, funded and trained by Iran is seeking to let these Sunni factions do the fighting for them while they re-arm and position themselves for political dominance in the Lebanese government for the coming September elections.

As far as Iraq goes, there are many groups who are vying for control of the provinces and though they are deeply divided, both the Sunni and Shia militants’ main goal is to get the coalition forces out so they can finish the battle as to how Iraq is to be governed. In this case too, the major players in the region are pulling the strings as to how to control Iraq’s future and how to divide up the country’s resources. With that, there are several major groups in Parliament who are not very willing to compromise to create a stable Iraq and are mainly there to push their own positions. Corruption is of course, rampant and much of the government’s largess is diverted to the politicians themselves and not directed to where it’s supposed to go, to those they are supposed to represent.

If there is a regional Sunni-Shia war, it will most likely be precipitated by an attack on Iran by coalition forces with the tacit support of repressive Sunni Arab states that have an interest in maintaining their power. This would forge an alliance among the fractious Muslim sub-groups who will side either with the oil sheikhs and Egypt or with Iran and Syria in a vastly wider conflict than we now see in the region. Any spark could set it ablaze with the possibility that WMD’s will be used by one side or the other, a very frightening proposition. Ron Paul, I believe is wise in advising that we disengage now from this possible scenario since it will tend to unite those militant groups now fighting amongst themselves throughout the Middle East. This is fundamentally a conflict between two rival Islamic sects and if we further inject ourselves into this fight there is no telling what we are in for. Certainly given our track record in occupying Iraq, we are likely to continue to lose more lives, treasure and respect which will pave the way for a global government and the ensuing diminution of our liberty here at home.

TV News Scoundrels

I have lots of time to kill so I watch more of my share of TV news: C-Span, PBS and 'The Big Three' for lack of getting the other cable offerings and even though I find them wanting at best, they're at least a notch better than the pap that passes for entertainment these days. Leno, of course gets a pass because he's always ready with a poignant monologue that pokes fun at the absurdity of mass culture and this usually morose Dave always cracks up, uncontrollably at times. Most network and cable news is neatly packaged and sanitized to smooth out the violent bumps for the stressed-out, snacking public so they don't lose their appetites and get up to change the channel. As for my tastes, I always go for a daily dose of ‘patriot’ internet talk shows that so often scare listeners into believing that the every day the world is at the brink of Armageddon. Alex Jones is a good example of 'over the top' commentary in that he seems to be often on the verge of a nervous breakdown at various points during the show, fretting over corporatist attempts to poison the food supply and ruin America’s health with genetically modified foods, aspartame, anti-depressants and fluoride in the water. I have no doubt about his passion and his sincerity, though. It’s just that a lot of people are wary of radio hosts that indulge in wild, way out theories and hyper-emotionalism and for good reason. After a few hours of listening many relegate them to the kook category. Still, you get a lot of good alternative information on Alex's show and on other netcasts that you definitely won't get anywhere on the radio or TV since those insipid mainline programs are hosted by highly-paid sycophantic scoundrels that seek to sell you on hating either the liberals' or neocons' well-entrenched ideological dogmas, both of which exist mainly to serve the interests of the moneyed elite. I just think it would be helpful if Alex would tamp down a little on his rants and concentrate more on issues that more disaffected listeners can relate to. Funny thing is, I really find some of those rants and information often quite entertaining, engaging and topically right on the money.

The other day I was watching Bill Moyers' excellent but maddening PBS show that dealt with media complicity in the lead-up to the Iraq War. It seems that back in '02 and early '03 all the major newspapers except those in the Knight-Ridder group, according to Moyers, felt it advantageous to parrot the disinformation the White House Iraq Group was plugging and were basically afraid to stand up and challenge them for fear of being labeled as ‘soft on terrorism,’ which their editors believed would result in a drop in ratings. There really wasn't much in the documentary most of us I think haven't heard already but it did do a good job in tying together examples where the TV media and the press continually caved in to the Bush administration due to the Prez's incredibly high approval ratings post 9/11. Sure, there was a lot of pressure to censor any stories that would go against the Rovian public relations juggernaut but it was clear that the major outlets such as the New York Times and the Washington Post defaulted in a big way as reputable bastions of veracity. The country was in desperate need of a big morale-boosting win after the horrible New York and D.C. attacks and in place of real reporting these papers just went along with the general mood which was to strike back at the evil Saddam Hussein since the military couldn’t for some reason find Osama Bin Laden. After watching Moyers' program, however, I was hit with the realization that there was nothing in the documentary about PBS’s own handling of the pre-war ‘intelligence,’ possibly because Moyers didn’t want to offend those globalist foundations that fund Public Broadcasting with anything remotely negative. Well, I guess we’re all supposed to pretend that PBS just hasn’t existed these past four years!

As far as TV coverage pre and post ‘Shock and Awe’ it was appalling and depressing to watch, especially the Sunday ‘talkies’ that have continually put out the red carpet for the worst examples of highly ranking public officials, so much so that I'm often unable to watch them anymore. The banter is so skewed and scripted toward the party line that it’s absolutely unbearable. No wonder so many people hate these shows with the constant parade of top administration officials, congressmen and women as well as neocon pundits like Bill Kristol from the Weekly Standard and David Brooks from Washington Post. Even the utterly disgraced Tom Delay gets to go on to spout his opinions on the state of the world – how’s that for media arrogance! All in all I’m really very content that I don't get Fox, CNN and MSNBC’s mind-numbing valium-laced drivel. I know I would be literally driven out of my mind and tearing my thinning hair out! CBS, ABC, PBS and NBC are quite enough, thank you. Network news does have uses though. You really get to see how the propagandists of the world spin their web to catch their prey. Probably couldn’t do much worse by watching ‘TV Land’ or the ‘Cartoon Channel’ to get your news fix. Well all kidding aside, you do get the basics and a starting point from which to venture out on your quest. As it says in the Good Book, “In the presence of many counselors there is wisdom” and the same holds true for news content so don’t get snookered into just watching those patronizing agenda-laden government sanctioned news programs. With that I say, on with the infowar and go Alex Jones!

The Virginia Tech Tragedy

The campus of Virginia Tech has been shaken to it's foundations with the murder of at least 33 of our best and brightest from among the school's students and faculty and we are left aghast at why another student would snap the way he did and how someone could be filled with so much hate and anger. Most people lead fairly normal lives with their share of personal heartache and tragedy but we don't often enounter violence to this degree in our personal experience. We reel in the thought of what the V.T. community is going through, feeling a little of what they are feeling because we know that it happens every hour of every day to someone somewhere, not only here in America but also in Africa, Asia and in the Middle East on a much larger scale. Do we also need to be reminded as well about the way animals are treated in our meat processing plants and in the wild?

Decent people everywhere are impacted by those that hate. It's a darkness that settles like a shroud over all we do yet we go on with life doing our best to keep it from consciously impacting our lives. What we don't fully realize however, is that we are inundated and bombarded by images of murder whenever we turn on the television and thus have become mostly desensitized to it to the point of obsession. So why do we continue to feed on violence? After all, if people didn't tolerate these programs, they would get cancelled one after the other until there were but a few or none remaining. News coverage is another way we get an injection of numbing violence but instead of getting a two-hour tale we get it in small enough doses so that it becomes difficult to empathize with the victims or to question why governments are so quick to go to war. If we were able to spend two hours getting up and personal with war's impact on its victims, I believe we would respond in an altogether different manner and become truly sickened and revolted by the inhumanity of individuals, militant groups and armies toward innocents in the red zones of conflict. Unfortunately we only get the sanitized version in five minute increments and don't experience the horror of the many bombings and killings that occur while the horrifying shootings at Virginia Tech will be detailed and drawn out in the news for many months to come.

We are what we attend to and though our encounters with death are mostly felt vicariously, we continue to immerse our thoughts in negativity as entertainment and because of it are likely not to care too much about what happens to others in different regions of the world facing death on a routine basis. Seeking peace and the healing of the planet comes down to conscious individual choices we must make if we really want compassion and reconciliation to thrive. There are so many ways to make changes in how we spend our free time but we must first desire to understand just a little of what victims of violence have to endure and take part in some of the pain that they feel, that war is more than a passing headline or a TV drama. Thankfully we have the freedom to watch what we want, and are able to make choices in what we want to devote our leisure time to. I myself don't mind watching a war film or action movie once in awhile, but it's really hard to ignore how many really violent shows are on every day. Avoiding them may not be a cool thing to do in today's culture, but it is nevertheless necessary, I believe, if our kids are going to inherit a humane world. I think we're getting a loud and clear message from the Virginia campus shootings that things have gone very wrong and that tragedies such as this will continue to increase until we begin to internalize that 24/7 violence is not a culturally adaptive or acceptable form of diversion. I believe there's a need for an immediate awakening of the kind that turns us around 180 degrees and it needs to spread across the boundaries of nations and cultures like a great wave. It is possible for humanity to redirect its orientation from violence to peace because real satisfaction in life comes the pursuit of love and justice for others as well as in nurturing it in our own hearts which is the place where miracles are born and are multiplied.

Godliness and Guilt

Guilt is something we must live with in the human experience. Often it is justified and often it isn’t. We either carry it as a heavy burden in never-ending disconsolation or we can learn to deal with it in a logical, adaptive manner and go on with our lives. People who feel led to follow a spiritual path I think tend to be much harder on themselves with regard to guilt than those who do not emphasize it in their lives simply because they recognize the eternal significance of all they do, rather than just the earthly consequences of their actions. Different religious traditions emphasize different aspects of right and wrong in both thoughts and deeds. For example, In the Judeao-Christian system, individual and collective guilt is highlighted. In the Genesis account the first humans who were made conscious of personal responsibility were Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel but later in the chapter the concept of collective responsibility begins to take shape and thus the drama of Israel’s journey unfolds through time and space in the development of an ethical consciousness of duty to God. The rights and responsibilities of the nation to the individual and the individual to the collective are fleshed out as well and are contrasted with the beliefs and norms of other nations that were encountered on their journey into the Promised Land. In Eastern belief systems though, the emphasis is more toward the relationship of the individual to the spiritual world, that it is necessary to practice detachment from a deceptive, illusory world that causes those entranced by it to go astray in the acquisition of materiality, leading to misery and cynicism toward God and toward others.

So no matter what particular set of beliefs one adheres to there is always the injunction to change negative behaviors to positive ones in order to show that our faith in God is sincere but through the process of increasing one’s identification with God, our behaviors and attitudes can organically be changed as a result of that relationship. In that experience we don’t actually change ourselves. God changes us. Guilt assumes the role of a gauge to measure where we are on the path toward godliness and increases awareness of omissions and commissions that cause us to fall short of the standard set by the particular moral or ethical requirements of the belief system we follow. Guilt also highlights one’s internal motivations as well. When people of faith are aware of it they acknowledge a level of responsibility for their behavior and the amount of guilt experienced increases or decreases in proportion to the personal standards that they hold themselves to.

Too much guilt or too little can be a deal breaker between the seeker and God. When there is too much of it there is a feeling of always falling short of what is required. When there’s too little of it there is a tendency toward self-satisfaction, pride and arrogance. Now there are a lot of ‘suffering saints’ out there who can’t seem to stop beating themselves up for things they have done in the past or things they are still doing that they can’t seem to get a grip on and so every day becomes another opportunity for chest-pounding and regret for not being able to ‘cut it’ with God. In truth though, guilt should not be our primary motivator. Love should. Love is the hand of God in the world manifested by the Spirit through imperfect vessels. When folks dismiss themselves they dismiss the power of God as being inadequate to transform their lives. When going out for a walk or out in the car if you diverge from course and trail to the left or right of the lane or sidewalk you instinctively know to get back on the straight and narrow to avoid accidents. People don’t usually moan and grown about a slight turn that they made a mile back and don’t give themselves hell for it. They get back on track without even a thought and keep on going on toward their destination. Well then, why do people needlessly aggravate themselves when they sin and fall short? Not that people should never feel normal guilt since it’s an alarm system that’s hard-wired in to let us know when we’re veering off the path we want to be on, not in just moral choices, but in all the choices we make from moment to moment and from day to day. It seems wise then to chart a middle course with respect to self-judgement.
Often in the Old Testament (Tanach) God seems to alternate between doting devotion and thunderous rage against His people Israel but the silver thread within all of scripture is that the Hand of Mercy is eternally outstretched to all at all times. In Isaiah 40 the prophet speaks:

1.“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.”

In the New Testament (Covenant) we are presented with what I like to call the “ultimate metaphor of forgiveness.” It’s actually akin to a ‘come down from the sky’ visual aid so that the average, imperfect person is better able to understand God’s love in a way that’s easily recognizable. Jesus the crucified becomes the means by whom it is communicated to us that we are loved beyond measure so that we no longer have to worry about everything we think and do that might put us in divine disfavor. It is an object lesson that we should never ever give up on ourselves. If we are our own worst enemy then God is conversely our best friend, letting us know that it’s alright to be human and though we may fail many times each day, we are still open to blessing and forgiveness since we have been created sentient by divine volition with an assurance that we will always been viewed in the light of Love.

1 Peter 1:19-21

19. But with precious blood, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot, the blood of Christ;
20 Who was foreknown before the foundation of the world but has been manifested in the last of times for your sake
21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.

So we have never really been under the lash of an oppressive God. Rather, we are seen through all time as being of unlimited value, protected by a benevolent Shepherd and not by a violent, brutal taskmaster. We have enough problems living happily in a material plane by virtue of the temporal nature of existence, so when we pile up emotional troubles through our own doing we only increase our sense of misery and guilt. So how do we tamp down guilt and move on? We do it by finding and following the “narrow way’ as the Sages taught and sticking to that path by fixedly focusing our thoughts and actions in the direction of the spiritual. If we do wrong to someone and we have the opportunity to make it right, then we should do so, for in making what was askew straight we can gain forgiveness from the person we have done wrong to and gain forgiveness for ourselves as well. If we can’t do anything to change what we have done, then its important to actively put it out of mind and get our thoughts back to where they should be, on the never ending abundance from that Well of forgiveness, so we can find our way back into Light of the Spirit. Think of the inexhaustible sufficiency that’s available to us in God and not of our human weaknesses and our lack of strength. Chanting, meditation and prayer can be invoked in almost any situation and even if short they can still bring us through the rough spots we encounter throughout the day. Whenever a guilty feeling or thought begins to intrude in on us it is very easy to call up a song or prayer to block them as they come and it only takes a little practice for it to become natural for us to do. In many ways we become what we think and say both consciously and unconsciously to ourselves. To stay close to the Spirit we need to think God’s thoughts and as we continue in them we discover that walking with God is not really all that hard to do. Images that have tripped us up in the past lose their power to entice us into negativity and guilt simply because we are thinking of them less often and thinking more about what does us good and it is toward the good that we are beckoned.

Have a joyful Easter and Passover, everybody!

The Untouchables of Truth

Often people who stand for truth and justice are outcasts. They don’t fit into popular culture. They are the ones that pass out Jesus tracts, who serve up meals to the hungry, who protest against rulers and power brokers that make their fortunes on the backs of the needy. Even among them there are usually some who don’t quite fit in but don’t care anyway and inject themselves into a protest or other group with off-script grievances, because they have something inside that won’t let them keep still. It rumbles within and moves them out on the streets to stir people up. Truth is like a volcano, building up pressure until it explodes. First it begins to simmer deep within, then pressure and momentum builds, eventually giving way to an explosion.

9/11 Truthers, anti-new-world-order folks and Jesus people are outcasts. While most want to fit into the world system and don’t mind being cogs in a wheel as long as they can derive benefit from their cog-hood, there are others who don’t mind their own quirkiness because it gives meaning to their lives in what has become an insane, dysfunctional and often brutal world. Some will hold the front lines for religious groups that trend toward cultism and serve as pawns to fill the pockets of their conspicuously consuming leaders. A friend of mine, for example, complained to me about the Jehovah’s Witnesses the other day, how she disliked their manipulative tactics and I understood the revulsion she felt when even thinking about them. They are indeed a strange bunch, saying we’re all the minions of a devil system but don’t they have a right to say what they think? Surely they do. It’s still a free country. Religious fanatics tend to gain ground because there is usually an element of truth to what they are saying. It is therefore important that even fanatics retain their rights to free speech as long as they aren’t infringing upon other’s rights or crossing over into violence.

Movements develop because of dissatisfaction with what is and a longing for what isn’t and it has always been that way. These days we are confronted with new incarnations of injustice and inhumanity and the battle lines are slowly being drawn yet again. The brutality of Hitler, Stalin and the pre-Attaturk murderers of the Armenian holocausts have been more or less seared into our consciousness. Still clear in their minds, their fears aroused, revolutionaries and reformers seek to uncover and confront what is plainly evil out of moral conviction and to prevent what is perhaps unpreventable. Now to most of us, we live in a well-ordered, highly principled society, and see ourselves in a good light, doing great things in the pursuit of happiness but there also appears along side of the desire for material prosperity a gnawing perception that won’t cease in its desire to express itself. When the W.T.C. towers fell, everyone everywhere was reeling in shock at the immense horror of seeing three huge buildings collapse into their foundations but it wasn’t long before people grew weary of watching the repetitive coverage of it on the TV news. A few of them however, began to feel a sense that they weren’t being told the whole story as it was covered by big media since much of the account didn’t quite ring true for them. There was a palpable anti-climactic feel to the story as the months passed and wreckage was cleared from the sites and certain individuals, including some of the 9/11 families began speaking out about the holes in the official story, questioning the plausibility of the events as they were said to have happened. They began writing books, doing talk-radio shows, writing blogs and creating conspiracy websites and though six years have passed since September 11, 2001, it seems harder than ever for the powers that be to knock them down through intimidation. The ‘wacko fringe’ outwardly might look rather weak and shabby when compared to the appearance of those with power and money but I doubt whether society could find balance between oppression and justice without them since in many respects they are the ones in sackcloth standing before their rulers, prophesying against them, demanding that the peoples’ voice be heard. They’re the ones who don’t really care about going along to get along and don’t at all mind stirring up the soup.

After 2 years of college, I took a break, got a job and eventually moved in with one of the more colorful people in the town where I went to school. He called himself, Brother John, an old Russian man of limited means and a long beard who sold hand carved tasseled canes with ‘peace’ signs emblazoned on top. He would show up at anti-Vietnam war demonstrations in town and though his English was not the best, he was able to get his point across when talking and was genuinely fond of the kids and the kids felt likewise. John used to call them the “Children of God” in reference to the parable in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and although he wasn’t held in high regard by most people in his general age category (he did a few stretches at the Connecticut Valley Mental Hospital due to paranoid schizophrenia) he did manage however to gain quite a sizable following among the young people that used to hang around downtown. He also used to write many hundred page letters in Russian to Brezhnev and Nixon about how they were followers of the Devil and that the young people who were protesting the war were actually the ones on God’s side who would bring an era of peace to the earth and although he never received replies from his addressees, it never deterred him from writing long into the night. Once in awhile he would go on drinking binges which preceded his hospitalizations but when I think back on those days I realize that he had, even with his disability, somehow imprinted us kids with some glimmer of spiritual truth and although the vessel that brought the gift had a tarnished, rough, shepherd-like appearance, it was one that gave the town enough of a spiritual spark to help bring about an end to the War.

Today there is a new and growing anti-war, anti-globalist tide of discontent similar to what occurred in the late 60’s and it’s slowly gaining in strength and poise. Although the message is still ridiculed and marginalized in the major media and its speakers still ranked as untouchables, they are nevertheless having a perceptible and effective ‘push back’ effect against those who seek unlimited power. This new breed of radicals loves to get in the face of those ranking high in the system, pointing out their lies and hypocrisy and alerting people to what could actually happen as a result of reduced civil liberties and increased political repression that could lead to a possible American (and World) dictatorship. It is no longer a left wing or right wing fight either since many are starting to understand that the bipolar paradigm they’ve been spoon-fed is just a manufactured illusion to keep them off track. This movement is actually quite conservative in its desire to see the nation return to the constitutional principles of individual rights, limited government, with just enough liberalism mixed in to allow for a just society and stands a much greater chance of gaining a voice than did the communist-leaning big-government radicals of the former era.

Whatever one believes, there is a very deep despair and skepticism in the direction our politicians and corporations are taking us. Something deep within is waking folks up and putting those in the system on notice that they won’t have their bestial way with them the next time around. People are starting to examine media spin and are beginning to realize that they are being propagandized to look the other way and not question authority and that they are likely being herded into the slaughterhouse of a Third World War. This new awareness is leading many out of the delusional dream world and is starting to bring the elites to their knees, and with that said, there’s a very good chance, I think, that truth in all its manifestations will not only survive but will continue to thrive regardless of its external appearance.

Living Between Earth and Sky

Much of the human strife that has existed from the beginning can be understood in terms of the struggle of individuals, groups and nations to obtain those things that are valued as scarce because we live in a world with physical limitations. There is never enough to go around it seems. Not enough money, food, land or natural resources and even if we subjectively feel we are doing very well, there is always a deep-in-the-gut sense that we are lacking something on both large and small-scale terms. Overarching all our needs is the knowledge that we have a limited life span that puts time limits in the pursuit of things. Religion and spiritual concepts in their purest forms are essentially unknowable in this context and one of the problems with the competing systems of belief is that each one claims to have the answers the others lack, which exerts pressure on each to dominate the other to a greater or lesser degree. In the Jewish tradition, one of the main tenets of the faith is the absolute holiness of God which allows no images of the Creator and from this idea comes the dictate to not worship other gods or idols, because to do so is to take the infinite and bottle it up within human thinking which leads to drawing doctrinal conclusions from faulty premises. Other traditions, however, see the One God manifested in different forms and is misunderstood by westerners as idolatry because it engenders a feeling of alienation in us when compared with the familiarity we have with our own. We are constantly reminded and immersed in physical reality. It plays at our emotions and dictates our drives, forcing us to look at it unquestioningly and to do its bidding in knee-jerk fashion. It hypnotizes us with its beauty, terrifies us in horror or just leaves us bewildered with a constant stream of stimuli, causing us to build up within ourselves a network of self-protection systems to help mediate the world for us, so that its bipolar nature is not impossible to bear. What we are accustomed to however, is not all we perceive, for there is another world that exists not outside the ability of us humans to know. It is the realm of the Spirit, which knows no earthly anchors and is not tied to the imperfect conceptual restraints of our minds and hearts. In our heads we somehow conceptualize that there is a missing piece to the puzzle of existence, that what we see is not all there is, as an astronomer knows that the universe we understand is not all there is due to the unchangeable laws of physics. There is yet an unknown quantity of matter which remains undiscovered, that even with all our science we have not been able unveil. No matter how deep we search into the infiniteness of the cosmos, or how small we examine matter and energy on the quantum level, there will probably always be unanswered questions that beckon us to move forward toward increased understanding.

Everything in the physical world is moving toward either creation or dissolution and though we may think that life here on earth has no strong relationship to the spiritual plane, it nevertheless does. In the molding together and breaking apart over and over again there is a constant understanding in all sentient beings that the destiny of the physical is the eternal. A tree grows from a sapling, puts out its branches and leaves and in its turning up and rising toward the sun it provides us a clue to the solution that humans have always been looking for. That tree reaches up toward the light, to the sun that seems to endlessly brighten up our world with its life-giving rays. The sun, our earthly parent, warms us sufficiently that life continues to thrive in the deep, dark, cold and vacuum-less ocean of space. God, in a similar way, as our Singular parent offers us a promise that if we seek the Divine with all the power and strength of our imagination and understanding we shall find that which does not fade or perish and although we may be still be subject to the rule of physical laws here, we are also walking through a veil that separates this plane from the next. We are learning to balance on a fence that separates the two since we need both realities to be able to exist here, but our longings and dreams reach out to the next level of spiritual evolution. As we see in 1John 2:15-18,

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.
17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

The Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 1 also counsels us the nature of this existential plane in its proclamation that the activity of the world in which we live is 'vanity' and to be seeking that which will not ultimately satisfy is a exercise in futility:

1:2 "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
1:3 What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun?
1:4 One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever
1:7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again.
1:8 All things are full of weariness beyond uttering. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.

So we ask ourselves why life 'sucks' and we have the answer clearly written down thousands of years ago. Other traditions with wisdom writings such as the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita also echo the same truths as do those from the Jewish tradition and though the story is told a bit differently, the lessons learned from it are equivalent to those of our own. Our journey from the mortal to the eternal state is one that starts in the world of chaotic dualism to that of a world of Oneness that is balanced in diversity. It is one in which we slowly let go of our stake in an imperfect system to that of the complete when we take our gaze off the temporal and see the eternal with the 'single eye,' a world with infinite possibilities. Although it may take a leap of faith at a time when we stand at a gaping precipice, there really is no way to avoid forward motion since there is no return path back to the safety of the familiar. All life is seeking redemption as it makes its way through the carnal plane to the spiritual and to be human is to be blessed with a sixth sense, the urge to seek knowledge about where we came from, why we are here and where we are headed in the great forward movement of creation. We all have an inclination to seek after God and inevitably we must all throw up our hands and submit to the Ineffable that created us. With the words of the Lord and the Holy Names ready on our tongues, we keep our connection to that reality, the One, in good working order and move ever closer to the next level of Being.

The Parable of the Ten Talents

KJV Matthew 25:14-30

(14) For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
(15) And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
(16) Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
(17) And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
(18) But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

During the Roman period, when Israel was under military occupation with its severe penalties for sedition against the State and a burdensome tax collection system, there was a deep longing for freedom which had been burned into the Jewish mind from their experiences of repression under the Syrian Greeks rulers and previous to that, by the Babylonians, Assyrians, and the Egyptians. Tensions had heated up to the boiling point, and many of Rome’s disenfranchised Jewish subjects were looking for a way to hasten the coming of a new military hero, the Messiah of God promised by the prophets, to release them from their bondage to Caesar whom they believed was a degenerate, unclean and godless overseer. During that roughly 100 year period, many Jewish writings spoke of this longing and there arose splinter groups that reflected different views in Israel as to how exactly to push things along to bring about his coming. One of these groups was the Essenes, who withdrew as completely could be possible from the mainstream of Jewish life so they might reach the level of ritual and moral purity necessary to move the hand of God in favor of Israel once, for all time and they left their imprint upon us with the discovery and translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among them is a scroll entitled “The War between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness” which envisioned a great apocalyptic battle and the coming of a god-man with extra-human powers who would lead them both against the Romans and also those apostates who benefited from a compromised Temple system and from collusion with the foreign occupation army. There were also a group of ‘freedom fighters’ known as the Zealots who believed that only by force and faith could they rid themselves of the Romans and their paranoid King and dictator, Herod the Great, who was in many ways strikingly similar to a modern-day Saddam Hussein who in parallel fashion constructed many lavish buildings and created an wealthy elite class who were loyal to him at the expense of the poor they oppressed.

Within this highly charged political atmosphere there also appeared several individuals with messianic aims who were able to collect enough followers to be viewed as a threat and sufficiently disruptive to the status quo and were turned over to the occupiers and summarily executed, ridding both the romanized Jewish upper-classes and their overlords of ‘extremists’ who had the ability to foment rebellion and further endanger their privileged status and the already fragile peace that held together that part of the Empire. Jesus of Nazareth was only one of these visionaries, but he managed to gain enough of a following so that the sayings and parables he is credited to have spoken have echoed down through the centuries to us in the books of the New Testament. One of these is known as the ‘Parable of The Ten Talents.’ In the context of the parable Jesus is answering the disciples in regard to the question of the nature of the Kingdom of God and those who would inherit it. Back then a ‘talent’ was equivalent to a sizeable amount of money, amounting to approximately several years’ work. Those servants who had invested what they were given received praise from their master but the one who buried his talent was derided for his lack of his shortsightedness as was the excuse the tentative servant gave in verses 24 and 25. What’s interesting to note here is that the master does not instruct them explicitly to bank the money. He just gives it to them to see what initiative they might show considering the status of the giver and value of the amount entrusted. This is how Jesus ends his discourse:

24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
26"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

This parable stands in stark contrast to other sayings of the usually mild-mannered Jesus known for meekness, forgiveness and forbearance. It is used I think mainly for emphasis although it can put a scare into you when you read it, especially about the part where the unprofitable servant is cast into the place where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The Kingdom of God is not to be taken lightly, according the lesson of the parable so if one is to take the path of the Master, it is incumbent upon the servant to take the journey seriously and to put to use what has been so richly given and the vivid imagery used by Jesus here only heightens its meaning. The Temple system in Jerusalem can be compared to the idea of the value of the ‘talent’. At that time, the Sadducees (of the line of Zadok,) had the duty of being the kings and priests of God, and were responsible for keeping the Temple system free from desecration as did their forebears but had supposedly compromised themselves by practicing corruption while at the same time preaching holiness. This is most likely the reason Jesus often called the Sadducees “hypocrites.” You may recall that he did not spare their counterparts, the Pharisees either, who taught of the existence of an afterlife as a reward for doing good deeds. The Pharisees were the great Rabbis of the time, those who were supposed to set an example for the common people to follow. Evidently Jesus thought otherwise, that things were not going all that well in Judea and that all of its inhabitants were in need of repentance and unlike the reclusive Essenes, Jesus felt it necessary to leave the wilderness and move among all the people of Israel to preach as well as to serve as an example of true righteousness.

Anyway, just a little historical background here to possibly help bring out some the meaning from this chapter of Matthew. What does its lesson hold for us today? It is necessary to adapt the original context to that of our own time, so it’s really up to us to use our own judgement. How do his words speak to you? You may see him as a great teacher or as God incarnate, but there is a reason why the words of Jesus have had lasting power aside from Christianity’s fortunes in being able to join with Rome’s state infrastructure and spread throughout the world. His magnificent sayings and parables have had universal significance and although some of them have also been used to rationalize virulent anti-semitism down through the centuries they must also be seen in the light of their true brilliance and in the life-changing influence they have as to where and how we should use our ‘talents.’

When the Gods Compete, You Win!

Wherever you look, competition is everywhere. Advertisers spend billions trying to capture your attention and imagination, prompting us to buy their latest gizmos to entertain you and satisfy your every desire. It seems that it's the way things have always been. Always something new with dubious benefits to top it off! Since childhood we've been conditioned to be prolific consumers in a get-get-get vulture-culture (you either get or get eaten) and so we run our little fannies off to make enough money so we can participate in the revels.

Religion has always been a business and has always followed a business model. Many different preachers have hawked it over the millennia in order to grab our attention to the quality of their wares. They form alliances by getting on the same page and organizing themselves into corporate structures that can both keep its customers satisfied and keep them continually putting cash into the till. If you've been around a few decades and have sampled their offerings (not the offering basket, of course) then you probably know what I'm talking about.

That reminds me, in Mel Brook's 'History of the World,' one of my favorite movies, you might have seen the part where Comicus, (Brooks) a 'stand-up philosopher' does a comedy routine for Caesar (Dom DeLuise) and gets rousing applause for his joke about how Romans have a god for everything and gets near the end of it with the line, "The only thing (we Romans) don't have is a god for is premature ejaculation - but I hear that that's coming quickly!" and gets Caesar to burst out in uproarious laughter. Comicus then says,"The little fag gets it," referring to the effeminate court spokesman's girly giggle." (I always get a laugh from gay humor.) Unfortunately, Comicus blows his sketch by making a reference to Caesar as being a "big, fat pig" and thus his career at 'Caesar's Palace' comes to an abrupt end with an order to his guards to "KILL HIM!!!!" Brooks was a master comedian to be sure and puts a funny edge on that period of history, which had as its backdrop a colorful and plentiful array of different competing beliefs. Rome in its golden age was blessed with an incredible variety of material as well as spiritual goodies and so a parallel can be drawn between their culture and ours. The only real difference between the two, in my opinion, is that Roman civilization was just a touch more on the brutal side than our own is currently. Our world is like the forum was back in the day with many different people and ideas mixing in a huge multi-cultural coliseum-like structure and is a perfect breeding ground for conflict between the top religious contenders, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism. New to the game but not without precedent are the new age varieties that are more Gnostic in origin. Organized religion hates Gnosticism because it's relatively anarchical but that could change if one of them ever really caught on fire. Some Gnostic based belief could actually turn out to be the One World Religion that the main line religionists fear and might engender some type of millennial conflict as laid out in the Muslim, Christian and Jewish traditions. With much to gain and lose in their competition for adherents the mainliners must highlight the immanent coming of an Anti-Messiah to ward off the increasing influence of the up and comers, that these new beliefs will lead to the destruction of the human race by defying their Gods' edicts to not worship 'other gods'.

Many people however, remain unswayed by this type of fear mongering and continue to ignore the mainline religions' apocalyptic warnings of doom and continue to stream into the faith marketplace to sample the merchandise to see which looks and tastes best to them. Now I listen to a lot of fundamentalist Christian radio and it tends to demonize certain tangents even within their own general sphere of belief. The Church Growth Movement led by Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, for example, is often spoken of derisively as being 'in error' and a tool of Satan to mislead the flock due to certain 'covenanting' requirements and to various 'mark of the beast' features that appear both in belief and in manner of worship. Among other noted 'false teachings' is the relatively recent spiritual sensation known as 'The Secret' which purportedly opens up a whole new world of prosperity, counseling its viewers and readers in practicing techniques that harness the power of the mind, in a cleverly wrapped package which also includes the realization and energizing of 'the God within' who actively wants us to have all our heart's desires come true. Right now I estimate it to be THE major threat to American Christian fundamentalism maybe even more so than is Warren's Church Growth Movement.

Religion is definitely supplanting other philosophies that have become popularized in recent times. Communism and Fascism vied for the lead for a while until the really nasty stuff manifested itself in horribly violent excesses and although these political and philosophical systems retain some of their former steam, neither is likely to displace the other-worldly aspects of religious idealism which have so much appeal to us fragile, finite beings. The Davidic injunction to "taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him." (Psalm 34:8) is still just as relevant today as it was the day it was penned, supposedly under the inspiration of the Almighty. The true nature of the 'Lord' that's mentioned in the Psalm is what remains in contention today as it has always been, but it is even more so today due to religion's influence upon governmental decision making and the art of war and peace. So it's yours and mine to decide which among many is the real Lord that we're going to put our bets on. The gods of a (shrinking) world are upping the spiritual ante and are graciously letting us, their subjects, decide on whom the winner is going to be. Ultimately we are the winners though, since we get to do the choosing this time, and for once they have to listen to us!

Overload

Our 'sense switches' are turned on almost all the time, taking in many different kinds of information which we knowingly or unknowingly sift through to create a picture of what is both inside us and around us and the mind is the collector and mediator of it all. When we concentrate on an activity, we learn to shut off any and all impulses that reach the brain which do not have immediate relevance to whatever task is before us. When we're loading the diswasher for example, there are dirty dishes in the sink and clean ones to be removed and placed back in their assigned positions in our cabinets and drawers and we logically order the tasks that need to be done to effectively complete the job. Of course, not everyone does these tasks in the same order but the end result is basically the same, the dishes get done. Some, however, who may be mentally impaired will often mix the dirty dishes in with the clean ones simply because there is no logical sequence that the brain can reference to do it efficiently. I know because I used to work with mentally handicapped people. One actually punched me in the face simply because I was trying to help her with the task. Why she did this I'll never know, but I surmise that she somehow knew that she was incapable of doing the job and became upset because she was limited in her dishwashing abilities and perhaps became frustrated with herself (and me) at about the same time. At any rate, there are times when we are more aware of our surroundings than at other times and the level of concentration regulates the amount of information we are getting from them.

In the same way, on a larger scale, we often reactively become frustrated with the immense amount of information we have to deal with from moment to moment and there sometimes is a vague but palpable sense of disquiet that manifests itself symptomatically in our bodies and/or in our emotions. Our stomachs may become tight or a bit queasy, the muscles in our backs and necks may become painful or we may just feel anxious, depressed or even agitated and we then search for ways to reduce the offending stimuli by removing ourselves from its reach in order to rebalance. Often it is impossible to do, and our hands get clammy, our heart rate speeds up, or we become angry and lash out verbally or even physically to lower the perceived threat level. All physical, sentient beings have this built in mechanism for dealing with large quantities of information whether it be of a threatening or non-threatening nature but humans are able to process a vastly greater amount of cognitive information since our brains are larger with more surface area to perform tasks such as abstract reasoning and that's also due to the way we've been put together. Consequently, there is a much greater degree of variation and complexity in human behavior than in animal behavior.

We Westerners are a driven herd. Hypnotized by the constant lure of sense pleasures, we run on all twos like hamsters run on all fours riding the great wheel of productive activity all day long till we drop to possibly gain a few of them. Since there are few of us who have the luxury of not having to participate in that wonderful pastime, work, there are some things that we should be aware of. To make up for the range of negativity that being productive may evoke, we tend to daydream about things that make us forget our unpleasant thoughts and this usually helps to slow down the mental machine that keeps driving us on. Sometimes the machinery isn't able to compensate for anxiety, anger, frustration, etc., and our defense mechanisms break down and we end up punching out sick so we can recover from the overload. When enough overload occurs, the mind and body starts a shutdown sequence and we may then be asked by our co-workers, "are you feeling alright?" There are times, though, when we just don't want to honestly display our inner disconnectedness and we say something like, "Well, I'm just not feeling too well. My stomach is like this, my head like that." You know what I mean. It's difficult in our competitive world to admit insufficiency and give away our hand because people easily sense weakness and can turn it to their advantage in the complex jungle of the workplace. I'm including child and elder care here too, folks, since caring for family is usually just as difficult, if not more so than dealing with the challenges at the office or shop, and we don't have the option of going home sick. Let's also not forget the mental load our partners place on us as well but that's another story in itself!

At the rather young age of 35 I started having disabling panic attacks and didn't know why. I'd just start to fall asleep and all of a sudden would sit straight up in bed in a cold sweat, hyperventilating myself into a complete terror. As I think back it seems these attacks resulted from many minor assaults on my emotional defenses that had accumulated over those 35 years and my system just became swamped with too much stuff but it seemed the actual precipitating event was my impending divorce. As the years went by these episodes would come and go but after a time they progressively got worse until I was often getting them several times a day. Fortunately, they're gone for now. Medication and meditation are now my main weapons to keep them from coming back but often I still feel that vague feeling of dread that seems to want to take up residence somewhere midway between my stomach and my head. Now there are some people that develop hyper-allergic conditions to various types of offending substances most of us can easily handle, but in an overload condition the immune system runs amok and becomes alerted to them even when they are present in only very small amounts. A similar thing occurs in anxiety disorders. Something in the brain senses danger when no actual danger exists and it responds by sending hormones into our bloodstreams that put our 'flight or fight' instincts in gear. I remember back in the early 80's a friend of mine tried to tell me about his panic attacks and I thought he was putting on an act. He wasn't. Sure as can be it caught up with me as well and if you haven't had one of these killer-chillers, believe me, they're quite frightening and you literally fear for your very life.

It's important not to overlook the signs of overload when they start staring at you because the human brain, like the physical body has its limits in being able to fend off stress. Take some time out each day to create a quiet place within yourself where you are able to completely relax, a little oasis where you can check in with your body and mind and ask them how they're doing. It may help to write down both the good and bad events that occurred up to that point during the day if they're not immediately obvious to you. Also, you can include breathing exercises during that quiet time which can help to rev down your engines so you can think about the events of the day in a clearer way. Mantra meditation, I've found, is especially good because it gives the mind rest from distracting or intrusive thoughts. The main point here is that we need to learn how to take good care of both our minds and our bodies so they both can run optimally. Mental health and physical health are inseparable partners in the nurturing of wellness and it is up to us to keep a close watch on how they are doing.