Tuesday, September 25, 2007

The Blind Sage

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In the account of Paul, while on a famous journey to Damascus, he had a mystical experience. As so many mystical experiences do, this one produced light- and energy-phenomena. In fact, the text said that a bright light glowed all around him. This energy apparently affected his physical eyes, and produced blindness.

This blindness was actually a great spiritual gift. For Paul was, in his life as Saul, a rather famous student of a famous teacher named Gamaliel. Pride was one of his greatest natural weaknesses. Nothing increases humility like helplessness, and so, God gave him the gift of helplessness, so that he might also cultivate the spiritual jewel of humility.

Later, this blindness apparently served its purpose, and, at the hands of another Christian, "scales" fell from Paul's eyes, and he could see again. But most scholars believe that he never saw "perfectly" again. His vision was forever after poor; in one epistle, he comments on what large writing he creates, so that he can read it. This poor vision was likely the "thorn in his side" about which he prayed so fervently to God for its removal. But God did not cure him; he simply told him, "In thy weaknesss shall My strength be made complete."
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Saturday, September 22, 2007

Stories from Alternative News

Thanks to Mick Gallagher.

thepeoplesvoice.org Newsletter
092107

A Fed Panic and a Massive Bailout of American Banks Paid For by the Entire World - Rodrigue Tremblay
"Manias, panics, and crashes are the consequence of an economic environment that cultivates cupidity, chicanery, and rapaciousness rather than a devout belief in the Golden Rule." - Peter L. Bernstein, Foreword to Manias, Panics, and Crashes (4th ed.) by C. P. Kindleberger

"In a crisis, discount and discount heavily." - Walter Bagehot (1826-1877), British economist


AMERICA, THE ONCE FREE - Peter Fisk
I have grown sick, embarrassed and, ultimately disillusioned with what
has happened to my country. The United States of America- at one time
those five magical words mesmerized both citizens and foreigners alike.


ORB Survey And 1.2 Million Iraq Deaths Ignored By Australian And Anglo-American Media - Dr Gideon Polya, Countercurrents

In February 2007, as we approached the Fourth Anniversary of the US-UK-Australian invasion of Iraq, I published an article in Countercurrents entitled "US Iraqi Holocaust and 1 million Excess Deaths". I detailed and documented the following horrendous circumstances in Occupied Iraq:

"as of February 2007:
(a) the accrual cost has been $2.3 trillion;
(b) there are 3.7 million Iraqi refugees;
(c) the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) total 1.0 million (ONE MILLION);
(d) post-invasion under-5 infant deaths total .6 million;
(e) there were 1.7 million excess Iraqi deaths associated with the Western-imposed 1990-2003 Sanctions War;
(f) there were 1.2 million under-5 year old infant deaths in the 1990-2003 Sanctions War; and
(g) Coalition deaths total about 3,360."

It is now September 2007. And after a further SEVEN months of US-UK-Australian war and occupation, the horrendous human and economic cost has inevitably increased.


George W. Bush's Thug Nation - Robert Parry, Consortium News
It's said that over time, Presidents-- especially two-termers-- imbue the nation with their personalities and priorities, for good or ill. If that's true, it could help explain the small-minded, mean-spiritedness that seems to be pervading the behavior of the United States these days, both at home and abroad. On a global level, the world reads about trigger-happy Blackwater Security contractors mowing down civilians in Baghdad, the U.S. military killing unarmed people under loose rules of engagement in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and the CIA rendering suspected Islamists to secret prisons or to third-country dungeons where torture is practiced. Inside the United States, too, a police-state mentality is taking hold.


ACTION ALERT: Stop the Unconstitutional 'Protect America' Act - Michael Boldin
The single largest anti-Constitutional contribution to the Bush Regime by the Protect America Act (PAA) is its effective cancellation of legislative and judicial oversight on warrantless wiretapping. It authorizes open-ended surveillance of Americans' overseas phone calls and emails without a warrant. When this bill was signed into law on 08-05-07, legislative and judicial power in the executive branch instantly grew by several orders of magnitude. The Constitution's separation-of-powers principle had its arms ripped off.


09/20/07

Condoleezza Rice: saleswoman of lies - Palestinian Information Centre, From Khalid Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem
Condoleezza Rice, the unglamorous American Secretary of State, arrived in Occupied Palestine on Wednesday to promote the putative American-proposed peace conference, slated to take place in November. Rice will meet with Zionist political and military leaders in an effort to convince them to show some flexibility vis--vis the so-called core issues that define the Palestinian question. These include, inter alia, ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 as well as finding a solution to the plight of nearly five million Palestinian refugees brutally uprooted from their homes by Zionist terror when Israel was created six decades ago.


Bush Speech on Iraq and Democrats on Impeachment - Stephen Crockett
Since George W. Bush is completely ignoring the views of both the vast majority of American citizens and the majority of the members of Congress concerning the ending of the Iraq War, impeachment hearings should be started. Bush will not conform to democratic norms. He will not respect public opinion or democracy. There are plenty of reasons to hold immediate joint impeachment hearings for both bush and cheney.


THE END OF AMERICA - THE POLICE STATE IS RIGHT HERE - RIGHT NOW - Carolyn Baker
As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such a twilight that we all must be aware of change in the air--however slight-- lest we become unwilling victims of the darkness. - Justice William O. Douglas

Wolf's just-published book, The End Of America: Letter Of Warning To A Young Patriot,... offers an even fuller picture-- a succinct and engaging explanation of how our civil liberties have been hijacked in the past decade. It is the most poignant, powerful, genuinely patriotic piece of literature I have encountered since Thomas Paine's Common Sense. No wonder then, that the book's cover greatly resembles that 46-page tract by Paine written in 1775-- as well it should.



Bush Nominates 9-11 Zionist Judge as Attorney General - Christopher Bollyn, Truth Seeker / Rumor Mill News
It is widely reported that george w. bush will nominate former Manhattan federal Judge Michael [Bernard] Mukasey to replace Alberto Gonzales as attorney general. With the fraudulent "War on Terror" in full swing and with 9-11 cases in legal limbo, this is a critical appointment at a crucial time. As I had expected, bush has appointed a radical Zionist with close ties to the State of Israel. Mukasey, if confirmed as U.S. Attorney General, will protect the Zionist state and its agents who are suspected of involvement in the false-flag terror attacks of 9-11.


The Crushing of Fallujah - James Petras, Global Research
The mass propaganda media has taught the US public to believe that the extermination of thousands of Iraqi citizens is in their best interests: they can sleep sound, as long as 'our boys' kill them 'over there'. Almost the entire population of Iraq is opposed to the US military and its puppet regime--yet the media refer to the patriots defending their country from the imperial invaders as "insurgents," minimizing the significance of a nation-wide patriotic liberation movement.

I am reading William Shirer's Berlin Diary, a journalist's account of Nazi political propaganda during the 1930's, as I watch the US 'news' reports of the violent assault on Fallujah. The US mass media 'reports', the style, content, and especially the language, echo their Nazi predecessor of 70 years ago to an uncanny degree. Coincidence? Of course! In both instances, we have imperialist armies conquering
countries, leveling cities, and slaughtering civilians-- and the mass media, private in form, state appendages in practice, disseminate the most outrageous lies, in defense and praise of the conquering 'storm troopers. Call them SS or Marines. Both in Nazi Germany and the contemporary US, we are told by the mass media that the invading armies are "freeing the country" of "foreign fighters", "armed terrorists", who are preventing "the people" from going about their everyday lives. Yet we know that of the 1,000 prisoners there are only 4 foreigners (3 Iranians and 1 Arab); Iraqi hospitals report less than 10% of foreign fighters. In other words, over 90% of the fighters are Iraqis--most of whom were born, educated, and raised families in the cities in which they are fighting.


Bush, Iran, and Israel's hidden hand - Kathleen and Bill Christison, Redress Nuclear hypocrisy in the Middle East
Former CIA analysts Kathleen and Bill Christison argue that a US and/or Israeli attack on Iran to bring about regime change and strengthen US and Israeli dominion over the Middle East is likely to take place before the Bush administration leaves office unless a concerted effort is made to impeach bush and cheney. The internet is loaded these days with reports of the inevitability of a US, or a US-Israeli, attack on Iran. Some writers allege that the attack is imminent. Others, including the writers of this article, argue only that the attack will happen sometime before January 2009, when the bush administration leaves office. Many of these stories have by now been picked up by the mainstream media. In fact, it is probably safe to say that today, a majority of the traditionally cautious and so-called respectable foreign policy experts in the US think it is at least possible that bush will attack Iran before he leaves office.


Palestinian Propaganda Prize for Israel- Nicola Nasser
The inter-Palestinian war of words and the mutual violations of the freedom of press and expression by the Hamas - led government of Ismael Haniyyeh in the Gaza Strip and the Fatah-led government of Salam Fayyad in the West Bank have presented Israel with its biggest propaganda prize that is overshadowing the violations of human rights committed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).



Nablus Fierce Battle Killed & Injured Israeli State Terrorist Unit - Hiyam Noir, PalestineFreeVoice
Gaza City September 18 2007: Invading Israeli State Terrorist units launched wide scale attacks into the Al-'Ayn refugee camp in Nablus in two stages on Tuesday morning. In the first incursion, more than fifty Israeli armed vehicles stormed the camp just before dawn, and imposed a curfew. Members of the Israeli State Terrorists units seized four Palestinians and blasted through the walls in the alleys between the buildings, trespassed through Palestinian territorial land - and stationed themselves inside Palestinian homes.



George W. Bush: The Quiet Dictator - Irregular Times
As of this week, the bush administration's descent into totalitarian depravity has reached a new low so despicable that even a few Republicans are beginning to criticize it. It was revealed this week that the bush administration is planning to keep people as prisoners for their entire lives, even though there is no evidence that those people have committed any crime against the United States. The lack of evidence against these people is so striking that the American government does not even have enough grounds to bring them before a form of military tribunal that has been set up by George W. Bush precisely for the purpose of evading the standards of justice set by the United States Constitution.

The Cross

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The cross is a very ancient and pre-Christian symbol. As the symbol of the four directions, the cross appears among the spiritual symbols of many native Americans, including both the Mayans and the Aztecs. It also appears in Buddhism, Hinduism, and both ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek religion, among many others. It is perhaps the one universal symbol among the human spiritual movements throughout the ages.

But when Jesus came, this symbol of the yin and yang forces of the cosmos changed. (The receptive energies of the cosmos were symbolized by the horizontal bar of the cross, the active by its vertical bar.) After Jesus, the cross took on its most popular form in the west, with the long vertical bar and the short horizontal bar, lifted high. (In other cultures, the equilateral cross was more popularly used, and there were also other forms. In many forms, it was combined with a circle.)

After Jesus, it became the ultimate symbol of "dying to the world," or being conquered by, surrendering to, the Spirit. To "die" to this world, in mystical and general Christian symbolism, was to die to full dominance by sensuality or materialism.

The cross also signified survival of physical death as a Soul. The Soul is intrinsically immortal. This is why translations of the Bible that say that Jesus offered "everlasting life" are incorrect. For when God creates a life, a mind, it is already everlasting. (Jesus used the Greek adjective aionian, meaning "timeless.") So, he did not promise his disciples "everlasting" life, but "timeless" life-- a life outside the flow of spacetime altogether (in only the now). So, the cross became the
symbol also of this special altered state of mind called "timeless life."

In time, the cross grew to represent the Holy Spirit, Christ-spirit, or God. Thus, it became a beautiful symbol of Love. Its symbolism also includes balance, similar to the Chinese Tai Chi Ch'uan, or "yinyang" symbol. The point at which its two bars converge is the point of Tao, the Origin of the cosmos.

There is so very much more that could be said about this fascinating subject. Years ago, a book was written here about the symbolism and complex history of the cross. But, no matter how multiple were its ancient meanings, its modern significance is that it is the ultimate symbol of the life and death of Jesus Christ.
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Spiritual Teachers and Egos

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The ego is not the "enemy" of the enlightened. Instead, it is her teacher. As part of the Mind, it is also the creation of the One, and so, has a valid reason for existence.

Still, yielding to its domination (it is always wanting to control everything) is ignorance and darkness. So, especially in a spiritual teacher, we should look for the concealment of the ego, not its prideful display.

The ego is a small but real part of the identity of the Mind. Specifically, it is the "role" that Mind is playing in the "stageplay" of this earthly life. Everyone, including the sage, has one. But the sage, in wisdom, conquers or overcomes her ego with Love.

That means that she reidentifies with the Spirit of Love, or Lovemind. This process begins with a de-identification vis a vis the ego. She says, "I am not just this body," and, "I am not the identity that adheres to, or within, this body. I am not the timebased ego."

Gradually, her identity is transformed: "I am not a physical body" grows into, "I am a nonphysical mind." In time, that evolves into, "I am not just this conscious mind, but an ancient Mind that has lived for many ages-- a Soul." With the passage of more time, this realization blossoms into, "This Soul is part of the Mind of the One. So, It is Love Itself. I am an incarnation of Love, of the One."

This does not lead to selfconscious pride; if the thought leads there, it is anti-enlightenment. This realization leads to the egoless state. It is full enlightenment. This is becoming a sage, or master.

But, free of ego, and free of the need to manipulate others to approve of her (receiving her validation from within only) the sage or master would never, could never, claim to be a "sage" or "master." Thus, you can rest assured that anyone who ever claims to be any sort of "master" is working from an unhealthy ego; she is proving her absence of true masterhood. For one major mark of a master is always her humility. The unenlightened is always so very insecure that she feels that she cannot "afford" humility, and so, is very rarely humble.

So, any so-called "spiritual teacher" who puts herself "on display" is a fraud and a phony. Perhaps she is not simply deceiving, but selfdeceived as well. But any "teacher" who talks about herself rather than the Way is fake. You need to run, not walk, in the opposite direction!

Specifically, any teacher who tries to impress people with her "famous" students, or her "many" students is only pretending. The greatest masters in all human history, Jesus and Gautama (the Buddha(, did not value their disciples in terms of numbers. And anyone who tries to show you how "important" she is by saying that she has "thousands" of followers is only childishly, and ignorantly, selfdisplaying the ego.

Anyone who boasts of how "well-known" she is, how "famous," has also missed the entire point of enlightenment, and denied it. She is suffering from one of the most serious diseases in the whole of mysticism-- egotism. It is a disease that makes the pathetic ego-selfesteem feel better for a few minutes, but it seriously wounds the
Soulmind.

A teacher, in our world, must use an egoname. Jesus, Gautama, and other fine mystics used them. But, in the life of a true teacher, the ego or name must never be the center of the teaching, or the work. Any "teacher" who boasts or brags about her "many incarnations," and any teacher who amusingly claims to have been great beings from the past is laughable from a spiritual perspective. She is also quite pathetic. And she is certainly not enlightened-- not even close!
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Sunday, September 16, 2007

A New Love-Adventure for Love Ministries!

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Love comes to us in many forms, sometimes unexpectedly, sometimes challengingly, sometimes outrageously! But the entire world is filled with Love, and it is our commitment and true assignment to respond to It wherever we find It.

A few months ago, while visiting neighbors, the donkey was "assaulted" with an abundance of kisses by a lama full of Love. He covered the head and face with kisses, and snuggled up, putting his great head and jaw in the crook of the arm. He radiated Love, and a real need for Love.

Later, he moved to Indiana, and so, we called his new owner and asked permission to visit him. As soon as we arrived, the lama bolted in our direction and, within an instant, his nose was an inch away from the donkey's. Again, he spent nearly half an hour snuggling, kissing, and posing for pictures-- some of which were touchingly, movingly, even amusingly, exquisite in their tenderness.

The next day (last Monday), the donkey called to express his appreciation to the owner. The man was just gushing, incredibly enthusiastically. He went on and on about how that llama had never behaved that way before, and begged us for pictures as evidence. For none of his friends would believe the story about this ultraloving llama.

In fact, the man was so astonished and so impressed that he offered to give the llama free.

At that moment, the Spirit within said, "Yes." For this beautiful, Love-filled, sensitive, intelligent creature had been treated like a plow, or a piece of old furniture, and not with the dignity due a living aware, sentient creature. He had been rather seriously Love-starved by his three (only) previous owners.

Long story short: Today (Saturday, September 15), we are going to pick up "Safire" (pronounced exactly like the jewel, "sapphire.") We are going to bring the poor, lonely, Love-starved, emotionally distressed creature, filled with such Love, to Ohio and integrate him with a community of twenty or more other llamas.

We know that all of you are animal-lovers, as we are. We celebrate this real Love-sharing, as it is a genuine expression of the Lady of Love, the Goddess. If you saw Safire's eyes, you would "fall in Love" with his bright, gentle, Light-filled Soul. Taking care of such a large and fine creature is one of the greatest and most delightful assignments ever bestowed by the Goddess of Love. And, realistically, it is also not easy, or cheap. But how in the cosmos could we possibly have said no to this deeply sensitive, gentle, warm creature? No way!

Many of you, our very kind friends, have expressed a sincere desire to give practical aid to Love Ministries whenever it is needed. Out of respect and gratitude, we have refrained from spending any extra or unnecessary penny. We also hate the connections between spirituality and money. That is one of our passions. You know that we are sincere about this, as we have always been. But if any of you would like to donate a dollar, or three, or five, to take care of Safire, that input would be welcome!:) In fact, if you could donate a tiny monthly sum of only one to three dollars, that could make all the difference in the world to this warm, tender creature. Please think and pray about this, and then, get in touch with us at rmfrancis@juno.com or use the paypal donation button on the side menu. You can also mail a check to:

Love Ministries
5100 Liberty-Fairfield Rd.
Liberty Township, OH 45011.

You will never regret it. And you can visit Safire at any time! Thanks, my dearest friends, from a bottomless Heart of Love,

Galaxies of Love,

shi and the Love Education Team of Love Ministries

Christ and Jesus

Christ and Jesus
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To understand many of the words and teachings of Jesus Christ, you must use some discernment. There is a difference between Jesus the historical man, and the Christ, the Holy Spirit (God) who still lives in your heart and mine.

Here is one good example: Christ said, "I and the Father are one." (Jn. 10:30) And Jesus also said, "The Father is greater than I." (Jn. 14:28)

Now, logically, both statements cannot be true of the same being. So, they must originate with two beings. And they do. The first statement is from the everlasting Christ-spirit, and the second from the human and historical Jesus.

In many early Christian documents, writers made this careful distinction. That we all are part of the Christ (Holy Spirit; God) is implied, for example, in the gnostic Gospel of Phillip, where the early Christian author writes that, when converted to the faith, we do not become simply "Christians, but Christs." To the unaccustomed ear, it might well sound strange to speak of "Julia Christ," or "Kevin Christ." But, the truth is, we are all called to follow Christ within as the Way. For He said, through Jesus, "I am... the Way." (Jn. 14:6(

We cannot now "follow" Jesus, for he is no longer alive on earth. But Christ still lives, and never died. He is a "model" for us, the Scriptures say. Jesus predicted, "The things I do, you also will do; and you will do even greater things."

No one is as advanced, as complete, a being as Jesus Christ. For he is, in Western culture, the very archetype (symbol) of a completed and enlightened man. But that does not make us less than Jesus, as a species.

For he was truly "man," born of woman, although he was also as truly God. He was, in short, Love in incarnation. It is not blasphemy to declare that Jesus is a model, as the Scriptures say, "for you to follow his footsteps closely." Indeed, the true "blasphemy" would be to ignore this lovely specimen of God.

So, when people teach that "Jesus saves," it is the realization of the deeply interior Love-nature that saves. It becomes conscious (aware) to your conscious mind. And from what does Jesus Christ save? He saves, by grace, from the nightmare of ignorance, with its hatreds, fears, and assorted miseries. He also saves us from terrible slavery to our lower humanimal nature-- slavery to abject cruelty, loveless sexuality, greed, and similar abominations. By grace, we are liberated from a legion of interior "demons," who lose all their power in the Presence of Christ(Love).
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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Spiritual Blindness

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Those with absolutely zero spiritual insight, who understand absolutely nothing about God, and very little about the Scriptures, are "blind" in their hearts. Yet-- often for money or fame-- they have set themselves up as religious leaders. This is based, not on their ability to love, but upon some shallow academic degree. They have failed to see God as Love, and hence, are "spiritually " blind. This is, by far, the very worst kind of blindness, for it affects not just the body, but the Soul.
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The Holocaust and the UK

Thanks to Marcia Lehman.

Dear Friends of the Heart,

It is our balanced and moderate policy to try, in the "Universal Love Digest," always, when possible, to present both sides of any explosively controversial issue. The piece on the Holocaust was, as it claimed to be, a simple reminder to all of us. It was not designed to promote, but to resist, any kind of religious, cultural, or racial prejudices. Please keep always in mind that the "Universal Love Digest" is not, and does not claim to be, the "infallible Word of God." It is, instead, a simple sharing of news. And news comes from many sources, none of which is guaranteed by the uld.

Read widely, and read wisely.:) And don't believe everything that you read! That having been honestly said, nevertheless, we renew our pledge to present only reliable, practical, and, most of all, spiritually positive and constructive materials for your edification and education. We are pro-people-- people of all colors, cultures, and helpful ideas.

The editors
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Marty Morand is professor emeritus, Indiana University of PA, where he served as director of the Institute for the Study of Labor Relations. He sent, to a friend, the following:

The Holocaust is part of the UK's national curriculum. It's actually one of the few historical realities all UK schoolchildren are required to learn about. No one has complained about that or proposed that it should be changed." See full letter below.)... In a way this is related to the attack on Jimmy Carter whom I knew and who is not only the best past president the US ever had but the most effective president as defender of Israel. He has been maligned as anti-Semitic and anti-Israel because there has been a misguided conflation of criticism of Israeli government as an anti-Semitic attempt to destroy the nation of Israel -- not too dissimilar from
Cheney's characterization of Congressional opponents of the war in Iraq as unAmerican and disloyal.


... The Holocaust is part of the UK's national curriculum. It's actually one of the few historical realities all UK schoolchildren are required to learn about. No one has complained about that or proposed that it should be changed. According to a newspaper report (unconfirmed) there appears to have been ONE school in the north of England where a teacher is said to have felt uneasy about teaching the subject to a class of mainly Muslim children. But there are literally tens of thousands of classes filled to the brim with Muslim schoolchildren where the matter is taught routinely without the slightest problem.
...The Russian people sacrificed more to fight and defeat the Nazis than any others. Why no mention of the French or Dutch, who "looked on" and did nothing? Not to mention the Poles and Lithuanians!
...In fact, Holocaust Memorial Day (which happens also to be, depressingly, my birthday) is now a government recognised and sponsored event in UK. That's a welcome development. I just wish there was also a memorial day for the victims of British imperialism, who are, historically speaking, as numerous as the victims of Nazism.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Revelation

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The Book of Revelation is a very deep, and highly symbolic, allegory of spiritual growth. This book has been severely misunderstood, for centuries. Writers with microgroups (cults) have been extremely confused as to its meaning. They have produced dozens of "prophecies," proved false by the passage of time. Revelation is about your life and mine, not about governments, calendars, or the "end of the world." (This phrase is not found a single time in the entire book.)

This book tells the story of interior spiritual development, using symbols. I have explained it, verse-by-verse, in my The Apocalypse of Love: Mystical Symbolism in Revelation. This commentary on Revelation contains a full glossary of the terms used. These include such symbols as "dragon," "angels," "plagues," "throne," and dozens more.

If you want a copy of this commentary, just say the word!:)
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"Atheists" and Mystics Share Skepticism

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Watch the baby when tossing out all that bathwater! Your article against swallowing the whole Bible was very bold, even startling! But you did fail even to mention the galaxy that separates "Jehovah" from "God.":):) It is similar to that galaxy that separates the atheist from the mystic, although both have fully rejected the cultural, anthropomorphic, historical, and Scriptural godimage common to this society.
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"Sin" and Forgiveness

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"Sin" is the Greek word amartyrian in the ancient writings of the Christian Scriptures. This is a word borrowed from archery, and means "missing a target."

When an archer misses a target, she does not do this out of evil or rebellion. She does it because she is imperfect. She is truly trying to hit the "target" (in this case, obedience to Love), but misses because of human limitations.

The ancient Christians chose this word very carefully, for it was their intent to show that "sin" is not deliberate, voluntary evil. It is not rebellion against God. Instead, it is clearly inability that manifests itself when one is trying, with all one's mind, heart, and power, to do the right thing, but fails-- often seriously, or miserably.

Jesus very easily and readily forgave sins "on the spot." He did not hesitate, for he knew that "sin"-- including some very serious sins of a sexual nature-- were the results, not of evil, but of universal human imperfections. He also commanded us to forgive each other "seventy times seven" times-- a number that, symbolically, represents an infinite, unlimited forgiveness.

He also said, "As you forgive others,your Father will forgive you. But as you refuse to forgive others, your Father will refuse to forgive you." (Mt. 6:12) Why? Because the very same mind is forgiving both the self and others. This is your own deep Unconscious.

We obtain forgiveness, not by being "perfect," flawless, or stainless, but by forgiving others. Each of us needs this, for, no matter how carefully and wisely we live, we are all "sinners." This need for forgiveness is a lesson in humility.

Jewish mystics taught that a person forgiven was more deeply spiritual (loving) than a person who felt that she did not "need" forgiveness.

Jesus might have agreed.

Bottomline: We all need forgiveness of sins; and the only way to get it is to give it to others: As we judge, we are judged. (Mt. 7:1)

Let us, then, follow Jesus and give abundantly a limitless ocean of forgiveness. For each act of forgiveness is also an act of being forgiven-- erasing old karma.

Sin is error, mistake, processing error, and not evil. If we keep this principle in mind and heart, this will make forgiveness the easy and natural response to our imperfect, ignorant, limited sisters and brothers. For forgiveness is Love.
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Saturday, September 08, 2007

In Memoriam

Thanks to Linda Bartisch.

LEST WE NEVER FORGET

Subject: In Memoriam
Strange as it may seem, only yesterday it was reported that the British School system has been ordered to cease teaching about the Holocaust since it offends the Muslim citizens. AND THEY DID IT! God save the Queen. Think about it. Incidentally, "Mohammed" is the second most common name currently being registered in the UK for new births.

Please forward this message! We cannot, we must not, ever forget what happened in Europeover 60 years ago, because it could happen again. Anyone, any group, could be the target. It has been said that those who refuse to study history are doomed to repeat it. In this case, those who are attempting to rewrite history are probably planning to repeat it! The hatred is already there, in place, taught to the children from infancy, with promises of glory and honor to those who carry out the plans. Forewarned is forearmed, and I'm doing my small part by forwarding this message. I hope you'll do the same. Make sure your children and grandchildren understand this too.

In Memoriam.

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This email is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved, and humiliated with the German and Russian peoples looking the other way!

Now, more than ever, with Iran, among others, claiming the Holocaust to be "a myth," it is imperative to make sure that the world never forgets, because the Islamo-Fascists want to do it again.

This e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people worldwide!

Join us and be a link in the memorial chain and help us distribute it around the world.

Please send this e-mail to 10 people whom you know and ask them to continue the memorial chain.

Please don't just delete it. It will take you only a minute to pass this along. Thanks!

The "Interior Demon" of Envy

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After having spent twenty years in the cult, and another twenty studying their interior and private psychology, I am fully convinced of one fact: The average cult-member of any cult is almost consumed with envy against those on the "outside." They envy our freedom to form Love-bonds-- reduced in their terrible minds to "sexual immorality"!:) They continually berate us because of this seething envy. It is the only way that they can tolerate their continual enslavement and our apparent and obvious freedom! They envy our own possession of our own time, and our ability to make important spiritual decisions. This is, it has been discovered, a profound and powerful motivator for the average cult-member. So, whatever they say about those on the "outside" of their cult has no credibility.
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Pervasive Meditation

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"Pervasive meditation" is the same as "acognitive therapy." I have coined both terms to refer to a form of meditation that "pervades" your days and nights. For, in "structured meditation," you usually take fifteen or twenty minutes, go to a certain place, sit down, and "meditate."

But this can be inconvenient to impossible with the speed and variety of modern life. So, an alternative is "pervasive meditation."

Pervasive meditation occurs inside your head, and so, you do not need a particular posture, or a particular place, to practice it.

To practice, choose a four-syllable "mantra." This phrase, in pervasive meditation, is called the "trm," or "thought-replacement mechanism." Its purpose is to replace thought with the thoughtfree state of stillness, leading to the state of "lucidity," or clearmind. This alone allows your higher Mind or Self to act through you.

The trm can be any phrase with which you are comfortable. For many years, my Christian friends and I experimented with the trm, "Jesus Christ, and..." (A three-syllable phrase can be used by adding the word "and," which adds continuity, rhythm, and flow.) Other very spiritual mantras (trm's) include, "Brahman, Brahman," "Krishna, Krishna," "Ahmitabha," "gentle Kwan Yin," "loving Mary,"... and the list goes on and on, into thousands of possibilities.

After having selected a trm with which you can live-- one that is uplifting, spiritual, healing, joyful, etc., you begin to repeat it, inside your head, silently, whenever you get a chance.

So, whenever you have ten seconds here, thirty seconds there, a couple of minutes unoccupied-- and we all have these "free moments" all day-- instead of allowing the mind simply to wander, or, worse, to recycle negativities, why not open the "interior door" to the Lord and Lady of pure Love, allowing this Spirit to work through you? This is, after all, the motive or reason for clearing the mind of all excess thought: You want to become an instrument, a "marionette," of Love.

It cannot be overemphasized that you "run" your "trm" during every spare second or minute, all day long. Using pervasive meditation, a person can meditate a total of four hours or more each day, instead of only fifteen minutes or a half-hour. Of course, meditation is never about "competition." But it is all about doing your best, and giving your "all" to God(dess) every minute of every day. Pervasive meditation takes an unfocused, confused, meandering mind and sharpens its pure and laserlike focus upon God (Love).
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The "Second Coming" of Christ

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I have found your email debate about the word used in Matthew 24:3 fascinating. Here, the disciples asked Jesus, "What will be the sign of your coming, and the end of the age?"

Here, the Greek word for "coming" is parousia, and our friend reflects the standard cult-doctrine that this word really means "presence," not "coming."

This debate is interesting because it can alter the doctrine that Jesus "came into his kingdom invisibly, in heaven," and nobody on earth saw a thing!

It is an interesting doctrinal conundrum, but spiritual people, who are free of the necessity to embrace or reject most doctrines, including this one, say that the word could be translated either way. For, in the larger spiritual overview, it really does not matter.

For the "first coming" of the Christ, in Jesus, was personal (to Jesus), public, historical, chronological, and external. It would be redundant and incompetent for God (Love) to do this twice. If we take these factors one at a time, we can get a whole new understanding-- one that you have probably considered, but the cult never has:

1) Personal. The "second coming" (or, "presence") of Christ would not be personal-- to one man, Jesus. Rather, it would occur for the benefit of everyone. For the Scriptures say, "Every eye will see Him," but not necessarily at the same time.

2) Public. If the first coming was a public event, the second coming could well be to the individual. Christ would, in his second coming, reveal himself as dwelling in the heart of the being with a more cosmic perspective. (This itself would be a part of grace, a part of the "gift" of God, and not the result of doctrinal conformity.) So, here, we must carefully distinguish between the historical man "Jesus," and the eternal Spirit-- "Christ"-- that still lives within the hearts of every one of us. In the first two centuries, we see this same distinction made in Christian writings. The "second coming" was the return of the "Christ," not the historical man Jesus.

3) Historical. The first "coming" or "presence" of the Christ occurred once in history, in the person of the enlightened master Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was not, of course, the only enlightened being ever to live in history. But his birth, ministry, teachings, and death were historical events (as well as possibly allegorical ones in the Gospels). So, the second coming would be, not a history-making event that would attract the attention of many, but a non-historical and individual event revealed only to the one to whom it occurred.

4) Chronological. Because it was historical, it also occurred within a chronological bracket. It occurred at a specified time, began and ended on the calendar. It was a timebased and timelimited event. The second coming is not like this: It has already occurred in some hearts, and has not yet occurred in others. At its peak, it is the gnosis of the personal being's Unity with the Mind of Love. Each person is a part of,
and an expression of, the universal or cosmic Mind of Love. But different persons realize this at different times.

5) External. While Christ's first coming was clearly "external"-- among the people and events of the "outer" world, the second coming would be an interior event. It would occur within the heartmind of the individual as an intense and instant realization. She would realize that Christ, as pure Love-mind, lives deeply within her Unconscious. In fact, he lives deeply as the Core of the collective Unconscious shared by all minds, and so, is not a "personal" possession, even though a personal relationship is very desirable. But really, one is possible only after an "introduction." Christ "stands knocking at the door" of the mind, the Scriptures say, but we must invite Him "in."
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Gandhi and Ramanama

Gandhi and Ramanama
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It is now 3:03 am, a sweet, silent, holy night in which everything but the crickets and treefrogs has grown silent. This really is a very fine time to think, meditate, and get some practical stuff done-- like email and sweeping.

Gandhi drew his great strength from a practice called "Ramanama"-- the cycled and continuous interior repetition of a name of God as a mantra. (It is supposed to get the small self out of the way, so that the higher Self can "come through" into the world. Experience has shown it sometimes is successful!:)
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What Jesus Asks

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Jesus does not call us to be perfect. He calls each of us to do only her personal best. No matter who you are-- no matter how weak, wounded, uneducated, or challenged-- every person can always do her personal best.

Jesus says that his load is easy and his burden light. He does not call upon anyone to wrestle with monsters or to accomplish supernatural feats. Instead, he calls us to do what we most deeply and truly want to do-- love ourselves and each other.

He recommends forgiveness, which might not be something that we do as much as it is many things that we stop doing! He does call upon us to love even our enemies, which is tough, but, again, this Love is the most natural part of human psychology. And, technically, it is not something that "you do." It is allowing the Holy Spirit of Love to move through you. Deep down, everyone really wants to be loved, and everyone realizes that the only Way to be loved is to love.

Love and forgive. That is all that Jesus asks of us, and he asks us kindly, tenderly, and gently, as a very loving older brother. He has no complex doctrines, complicated teachings, or involved rituals. He demands no great intellectual accomplishment. His sweet and very simple teachings are understood by the simplest farmer, and the most illiterate person. (It is the Church that has made many libraries of these simple teachings, turning them into something intricate, convoluted, and ugly.)

To love is to follow Jesus. To love yourself and others is his Way. There is nothing more-- nothing that really matters. Jesus does not "belong to," or recommend, any modern church or religion. How could he? They did not even exist during his time.

Jesus does not command religion, but the much easier, more refreshing and inspiring, spirituality.
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The Soulhealing Nanotech

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There has been discovered, over the past few years, an entirely new science called "nanotechnology." When it is perfected -- and it will be savagely resisted by the many, many money-interests around the world -- every human being can have whatever she needs! People will, at last, be able to do the work that they love, and the "power of the dollarbill" will be a sad and scary memory. The someday-possibilities are breath-taking.

In theory, you will be able to take a shovelful of dirt and transform it into a steak (this is what nature does, only more slowly). Or, you could transform it into a batch of tomatoes, or a handful of diamonds. [This all has to do with atomic and molecular rearrangement, as sweet Mother Nature (the Goddess) is doing all the time!]

You can see how industry, stuck way back in the twentieth century, will resist this tooth-and-nail, and so will every rich person on the planet -- for decades, even though the theory might be completed and applicable within forty years. It's a total solution to both starvation and to poverty, as well as just about every other scientific and social challenge.

The creation of nanobots (molecule-size robots to be fed into the cell and/or bloodstream) will make many diseases treatable and reversible. Some great stuff!
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