Wise Thoughts From The Easter Bunny

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Walk softly and carry a big carrot.

Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.

There's no such thing as too much candy.

All work & no play can make you a basket case.

A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention.

Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.

Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.

Some body parts should be floppy.

Keep your paws off other people's jellybeans.

Good things come in small-sugarcoated packages.

The grass is greener in someone else's basket.

To show your true colors, you have to come out of your shell.

The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

Must You Always Be Right

I have come across many people who when you
are in a heated discussion they can not seem to
let it go. They insist their opinion is the right one
and they will not let you leave the table until they
can change your views.

Why is this? Can't one just have their own opinion
with out it being right or wrong. Usually I just walk
away but it is harder when you are dealing with
family members. This is the toughest group to
deal with.

I had a conversation with a certain family member
the other night while we were out to eat. We were
discussing the Movie Blood Diamond. This movie was
based on a true events in life. The events take place
In the 1990's in Sierra Leone. It is about of course
blood diamonds. It is a great movie I highly
recommend it. Well many people were forced
into slavery under the rebels to mine for diamonds
latter to be smuggled out. Many children were also
captured and made to be part of the rebel troops.
The one child that was taken was between 10 and 12
years of age. They beat the children and did not feed them.
Then one day they bring them out and blind fold them.
They hand them weapons and make them shoot.
When they take off the blindfolds of course they had
killed Innocent people. The boy was of course hurt and
shocked but what could he do? Then they drug them
and keep them drugged to fight. Soon any part of who
they were has disappeared.

I was saddened because these children have no where
to run and no other choice but death itself if they do not
do as they are told and kill their own people. Plus they
are drug induced all the time.

This certain family member said well their is no reason
to stay like that they need to make a choice what is right
and wrong. I was set back. How can they make this choice?
It is not like they are in the US and into drugs and can
go get help on the next street corner. They are in the
middle of no where, a child forced to fight with the rebels.
Now if they were taken as an adult fine. They can make
the choice to die and not follow, but how does a child really
make that choice?

Well the family member said if you try hard enough you
can always make things better for yourself.
I said for What the **** this is not like accomplishing
the American Dream. Anyway you get my point. The
person would not give up on this. I said hey we just have
different views in life you are entitled to your and I am
allowed mine. Of course they still continued, I needed to
see the light. How many people have you met like this?

I also wonder why it is some people are so cold towards
other people's pain and hardship. Why such a lack of
compassion is so wide spread. So many of us see hardship
everywhere in the news on TV in photo's and magazines.
But how many of us truely see it, or truely try to do
something no matter how small, or do we just change
the channel or turn the page.

Love is Always Different Always Changing

I heard the question many times but tonight I can't seem
to get it out of my head.
How do you really define Love?
The Love you feel is different with every person.
I love my parents, But it is not the same type of
love I feel for my spouse.
And very different from the love I feel for my son.

I also look at other families.
I have friends that have several kids.
They all tend to have a favorite whether they
want to admit that or not.
They tend to feel more love for one then the others.
They love them all, but all in different ways.
How can you define something that is always changing.
I know there is no correct answer to my question.
What makes us love people so differently.
Sometimes it is a quiet safe love.
Sometimes it is an all consuming love.
All love is a gift and to be treasured not measured I guess.

ADD/ADHD and Allergies

By Heidi Hawkins, MAc, LAcChildren (and adults) with attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) pose a variety of challenges for any practitioner who wishes to treat them. People with ADD/ADHD invariably have allergies, the most common and problematic of which tend to be chemical. Food chemicals such as artificial flavors; artificial colors; artificial sweeteners; and preservatives are often the biggest offenders. In addition, processed food and pesticides are likely to pose problems for such sensitive people. Processed sugar tops the list. Other common problematic chemical allergies include most laundry detergents, fabric softeners and laundry chemicals. Cleaning chemicals typically used in the home, school, office, and other public buildings are also usually allergenic. Lifestyle recommendations for people with ADD/ADHD can help minimize reactions. Obvious choices would be:

Using safe laundry soaps and household cleaners, such as those in health food stores.
Eating organic, natural foods.
Avoiding junk food religiously.

Avoiding unnecessary chemicals, especially in the home. In addition, foods that are particularly hot, stagnating or phlegm-producing should be avoided. This includes dairy products; wheat; hot, spicy food; peanuts; most commercial fruit juices; and especially processed starchy foods such as bread and pasta. Avoiding such toxins and unhealthy lifestyle choices would benefit all of us. However, with highly sensitive people, it is essential. To me, this is the bottom line with people with ADD/ADHD -- they are highly sensitive.

Reducing toxic stress and unhealthy eating practices will benefit them, but will not change who and what they are. Our Western world of overstimulation and constant entertainment/marketing ploys is unhealthy for us all, but we are not all the same. Some of us are more affected by what is wrong in our world than others, and that is consistently true of people with ADD/ADHD.

It is typical of people with allergies to seek, crave and become addicted to what they are allergic to. This includes the overstimulation of television; action movies; computer games; bright fluorescent lights; stimulating drugs; and junk food. The world is so overwhelming that people may seek to numb themselves in a variety of ways. That which is wrong is so very wrong that people may blame themselves or assume they need medication; are ill; or are somehow defective if this sick world makes them sick. Who is really sick? Television marketing, with rapid flashing imagery that numbs the mind, or the person whose mind is overwhelmed and sickened into seeking ever more intense stimulation? Where is the solution to our toxic culture and the sickness it creates? Ritalin works on the energy system of a person in the same way: it is a stimulant. It strengthens what is already in excess, and creates stagnation and heat in the body. It adds to the problem, but makes it so severe that the person with ADD/ADHD must shut down or self-destruct. The more sensitive a person is, the more challenging it is to live in this world. For those who understand traditional Chinese medicine, here is the information according to the principles:
Ritalin - hot and stagnating
Food chemicals - hot and stagnating
Pesticides and cleaners in schools, etc. -- also hot and stagnating, though some chemicals are cold and stagnating
Laundry detergent, fabric softeners - warm and toxic, except bleach, which is cold and extremely toxic To put it bluntly, people with ADD/ADHD are less tolerant of garbage. They are canaries in the cultural coalmine in the way that the chemically sensitive are canaries in the chemical coalmine. People with allergies are trying to wake us up to what needs to change in our world. Perhaps people with allergies are more evolved? Not all people diagnosed with ADD/ADHD follow the pattern laid out in this article, because such a catch-all diagnosis tends to be overused. Some people are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD because of drug problems or history (recreational or medicinal) or brain injury from a parent's drug/alcohol abuse history. The two syndromes are not mutually exclusive, however, and it is becoming increasingly common to find them together. The solutions are certainly challenging. Every person can be cured of allergies, but will that make our world a safe and healthy place to live?

People with ADD/ADHD generally need far less stimulation than they are getting. They need discipline of the spiritual and cultural type, not the heavy-handed "because I said so!" kind of discipline many of us grew up with. They need the kind of discipline that lets them know they have a place in the world, a purpose and a sense of belonging, and they are expected to contribute. Many find that most adults cannot provide or sustain these things for their children or community, and are baffled and bewildered by the downward spiral of people who seek things that are self-destructive for such a sensitive individual. Heidi M. Hawkins, MAc, LAc Seattle, Washington
heidimo@scn.org heidimoscn.orgwww.scn.org/acu

another link http://www.lightconnectiononline.com/Archive/apr04_article6.html

It seems autism is also linked to allergies too.

I was thinking this more today because my son is allergic to so many things.
Today I had to take him to the doctor because within 24 hours of coming in
contact with poison ivy both his eyes are swollen shut. He also is
deathly allergic to bees. He is allergic to many laundry detergents as well.
He get simple rashes all the time.

One time his forehead was swollen by the next morning his nose was
swollen to the corner of both his eyes, I thought he had a sinus infection
the doctor was not sure and called another specialist.
Then he had to get an MRI. The doctor latter said he was having
a allergic reaction to something, yet I had not changed anything
in my routine. He stated a food can have a chemical in it one time
and it may be different the next time. I thought great how do you
control something like this.

Books

I was out looking at used books stores today.
I love to do that. I was actually looking for a
certain book my son and I would like to read
together. An interrupted Life by Etty Hillesum.
My son has become quite interested in WW 2.
But I could not find it in the three stores I went
to better luck next time I hope.

But I did buy Sophie's World for a bargin price
of a $1.00 at the book rack so this is what I
will begin reading tonight.

Quote

"For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear...."

Henry Beston

Drawing

I have taken up drawing. I started about a month ago even though
I have never done so in my life, much to my surprise I am not half bad.
My brother is an excellent artist, maybe a little tiny bit rubbed off.
I started because it seems to help me relax and wind down.
I am basically just doing people either caricatures or natural drawings of people.
I have captured the eyes quite well.
My problem seems to be noses. Any advice from artists out there?
I have not took classes or anything, I looked up some basic stuff online.
Right now I am just doing pencil drawings as I like black and white.
I did buy various pencils for drawing.
Any help would be great.

The Book Of Counted Sorrows

Is there some meaning to this life?
What purpose lies behind the strife?
Whence do we come, where are we bound?
These cold questions echo and resound
through each day, each lonely night.
We long to find the splendid light
that will cast a revelatory beam
upon the meaning of the human dream.

Courage, love, friendship,
compassion, and empathy
lift us above the simple beasts
and define humanity.


from Twilight Eyes Dean Koontz
http://www.veinotte.com/koontz/sorrows.htm

I have always enjoyed read Dean Koontz.
Some of his books I enjoy much more then others.

Can We Honor All Religions

Great Article

Imagine an international flight having to make a crash landing on a deserted island. Everyone survives but there is little chance of being rescued because the pilot had no time to radio their position, and the island is uncharted. What's more, as it turns out, the island's resources are quite limited. Now the passengers, who hail from widely different countries, have a decision to make: they can either band together into their traditional ethnic groups and do battle for control of the island, or they can try to form a pluralistic society in which everyone is accepted as an equal. Although admittedly oversimplified, this is not a bad analogy for the situation we humans face today on this island Earth. Is our basic approach to each other going to be one of domination or cooperation?

If we are to take the road of cooperation, the first thing we must do is to try to understand and honor each other's cultures. Unfortunately, however, this is not as easy as many of our modern "multiculturalists" think. It involves a lot more than learning to eat sushi, or bashing pinatas on Cinco de Mayo, or listening to Buddhist monks perform exotic chants. What it requires is that we come to grips with the fact that people from different cultures hold very different views about the fundamental nature of reality. And since these views are, for the vast majority of us, religious in nature, this means we must come to understand and honor each others' religions.
Now, the only way to accomplish this is to engage in an open and honest interfaith dialogue carried out among peers. And the only way to do that is to begin by acknowledging that the teachings of other religions may turn out to be just as valid as our own. But is this really possible? Many religious people (ordinary believers as well as fundamentalists) have grave doubts that it is. The problem as they see it is that, while all religions claim to be founded on Absolute Truth, different religions teach different and often contradictory truths. In such cases, to admit the truth of another religion would seem to call into question the truth of one's own.
And yet, as a matter of historical fact, mystics of different religions have been conducting (albeit "behind the scenes") just this kind of dialogue for centuries. To give but a few examples: Throughout the Middle Ages Jewish Kabbalists, Muslim Sufis, and Christians mystics shared esoteric doctrines and practices in places like Spain, Egypt, and the Mideast where their religions overlapped. Sufis also learned techniques of ecstasy from the shamans of North Africa and exchanged contemplative skills with Hindus in India. Similarly, in the Himalayas, Buddhist and Hindu tantrikas drew from the same indigenous meditative systems, while in China, Zen masters and Taoist sages borrowed from each other so freely that their teachings and methods often seem indistinguishable.

So let us look at some of the main objections ordinary contemporary believers have to the possibility of a genuine inter-religious dialogue and see how these mystics of the past might have answered them today. The first objection is:

How can we honor all religions when they hold such different ideas about the nature of Ultimate Reality? For instance, Jews and Muslims believe in a personal God whose unity is unqualified, but Christians insist that God has a triune nature. Hindus worship many gods, all of whom they regard as manifestations of an impersonal Brahman. Taoists call the Ultimate Reality the "Way," while Buddhists insist that It is "Empty" of any characteristics whatsoever. How can all these apparently contradictory views be reconciled?

To this the mystics answer that, although different traditions do, indeed, have different ideas about the nature of Ultimate Reality, in the final analysis, this Reality is a Mystery which lies beyond the reach of any thoughts, ideas, words, or concepts whatsoever. Thus, Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, opened his The Tao Te Ching with these famous lines:
The Way which can be verbalized is not the true Way

Similarly, the 6th century Christian mystic Dionysius the Areopagite wrote:
That One which is beyond all thought is inconceivable by all thought
The 10th century Sufi Al-Junayd put it this way:
Whatever may be imagined in thy heart, God is the opposite of it.

And the ancient Upanishads declared:
The Spirit supreme is immeasurable, inapprehensible, beyond conception, never-born, beyond reasoning, beyond thought. His vastness is the vastness of space.

Finally, the 2nd century Buddhist sage Nagarjuna insisted:
The ultimate truth which is indeterminate is the unutterable dharma. There the sphere of the speakable ceases, the activities of the mind come to an end.

According to the mystics, then, while descriptions of Ultimate Reality can certainly be useful, if we seize on any of them as being the Ultimate Reality, Itself, we mistake what is relative for what is Absolute, and so fall into a kind of intellectual idolatry.

Another objection a contemporary believer may have to the
possibility of inter-religious dialogue is:

Our descriptions of Ultimate Reality are not just products of human imagination. They are contained in our Holy Scriptures which are derived from the Ultimate Reality, Itself. Therefore, we must take what they say at face value, without any alteration or interpretation.
Mystics agree that Holy Scriptures are not strictly human inventions. They have their source in the Ultimate Reality—whether they come through the revelations of a Prophet, or the teachings of an Enlightened One. Nevertheless, precisely because Ultimate Reality transcends all words, even Scriptural descriptions of this Mystery are not meant to be taken literally. Rather, they are composed of symbols and metaphors which, while they need not be altered, can and, in fact, must be interpreted. To insist otherwise is to make a mockery of the Divine and render religion absurd to all but the most immature minds.

This is why the 9th-century mystic John Scotus Eriugena wrote about the Christian Bible:
It is not to be believed as a book which always uses verbs and nouns in their proper sense when it teaches us about the Divine Nature, but it employs certain allegories and transfers in various ways the meanings of the verbs and nouns in condescension towards our weakness and to encourage by uncomplicated doctrine our senses which are still untrained and childish . . . For instance: when we hear that God wills and loves or desires, sees, hears, and other verbs which can be predicated of Him, we should simply understand that we are being told of His ineffable Essence and Power in terms which are adapted to our nature.

So, too, the 10th-century Sufi Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi maintained:
The fact that we describe God as having all these attributes in no way bestows any attribute on Him: our description is merely our own attribution, an account we give of an attribute which exists through Him.

And the Buddha said of his own teachings:
These teachings are only a finger pointing toward Noble Wisdom . . . They are intended for the consideration and guidance of the discriminating minds of all people, but they are not the Truth itself, which can only be self-realized within one's own deepest consciousness.

Not only must descriptions of Ultimate Reality be interpreted, they require different levels of interpretation. This is because members of any religious community are always moving through different levels of spiritual development, and what is appropriate for one level may not be appropriate for another. Here, for instance, is how the 19th-century Tibetan master Jamgon Kongtrul explains why apparently contradictory descriptions of the cosmos are found within Buddhist texts:
One may wonder why this description of the universe [Wheel of Time Cosmology] does not accord with that of . . . other systems. The omniscient Victorious One [Buddha's] . . . teaching is not one that, based on a belief in a single view, sets forth a particular system as the only valid one. Instead, the Buddha spoke in response to the various levels and capabilities, interests, and dispositions of those to be guided.

Moreover, the fact that Scriptures speak to us in symbols and metaphors is by no means a defect. On the contrary, this is what gives them their infinite power, richness, and depth. For, unlike literal descriptions, symbols and metaphors are open to multiple interpretations, each of which can be `true' from its own perspective.

Thus, the 18th-century Hasidic master Menahem Nahum
wrote of the diverse teachings of the Jewish sages:
Each person's opinion follows the root of his soul. That is why he understands Torah in a particular way. Another who says the very opposite, may be acting just as faithfully according with the root of his own soul. In their source, both are the words of the living God, since all is one . . . All the sages really mean the same thing, however, since all of them are drawing from the same well, from the same mind.

And this applies not only to different interpretations within a particular tradition but across traditions, as well—which is why the great 13th-century Sufi shaykh Ibn `Arabi warned:
Beware lest you restrict yourself to a particular tenet [concerning the Reality] and so deny any other tenet [equally reflecting Him], for you would forfeit much good, indeed you would forfeit the true knowledge of what is [the Reality]. Therefore, be completely and utterly receptive to all doctrinal forms, for God Most High is too All-embracing and Great to be confined within one creed rather than another.

A contemporary believer might also raise the following doubts about the possibility of genuine inter-religious dialogue:
The moral codes of different religions often conflict with each other. For example, it is permissible for Christians to drink alcohol, but a man can have only one wife. Muslims are forbidden alcohol, but men can have up to four wives. If we accept that all moral codes are equally valid, then making judgments about what's "right" and "wrong" boils down to a matter of pure subjective opinion, as secularists maintain. One of religion's most important functions, however, is precisely to protect us against the chaos of this kind of moral relativism into which these secularists have fallen.

The mystics' reply follows: Moral laws are given to a particular community at a particular time in a particular place, so they are not absolutes in themselves. For example, being a Muslim, Ibn `Arabi followed the moral laws revealed to the prophet Muhammad in the Qur'an. But, growing up in 13th-century Andalusia, he also lived among Christians and Jews who followed different laws, brought by different prophets.

For Ibn `Arabi, however, these discrepancies posed no problem, because as he explains:
The knowledge with which they [the prophets] have been sent is according to the needs of their communities, no more nor less, since communities vary, some needing more than others . . . Thus, what is forbidden in one Law is permitted in another, from the formal standpoint. This does not mean that it is always permitted, since the divine Command—that is, God's continuing self-disclosure—-is a new creation that is never repeated: so be alert.

In other words, moral laws are to a certain extent relative, but this does not mean that mystics like Ibn `Arabi hold they are completely relative, as secularists do. Whatever differences exist in their specific formulations, all moral laws reflect a Cosmic Law that is Absolute. This is the Law of Selflessness, according to which selfish actions lead to suffering, while actions motivated by selfless love and compassion lead to happiness. Why? Because, as all traditions attest, the Ultimate Reality, Itself, always "acts" out of pure Selfless Love and Compassion. The real purpose of moral laws, then, is to teach us how to conform to Reality by curbing our selfish tendencies and cultivating selfless love and compassion, instead.

Here is how the Jewish Midrash puts it:
As the All-present is called compassionate and gracious, so be you also compassionate and gracious and offer thy gifts freely to all.

Likewise, the Christian Apostle John teaches:
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love . . . and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

And Rumi, the 13th-century Sufi poet, writes:
Whether love is from this side or from that side, in the end it leads us to that side.

So, too, the 20th century Hindu saint Anandamayi Ma says:
One of God's Names is Love. . . . [Therefore] the more kindly and friendly you can feel and behave towards everybody, the more will the way to the One who is goodness itself open out.

Even Buddhists, who shun all concepts of a 'Creator God,' recognize that selfless love and compassion are not just human emotions, but inherent in the nature of Ultimate Reality, Itself Contemporary Tibetan master Bokar Rinpoche explains:
Love and compassion are not qualities added to the mind. These qualities are part of the awakened state even if, for the moment, this state exists only as a potential for us . . . [Therefore] without love and compassion, every other practice, no matter how deep it may appear, is not a path to awakening.

The Law of Selflessness, then, constitutes a universal moral standard by which we can judge actions to be right or wrong, good or bad. Selfish actions are bad and wrong, because they are unrealistic and so cause us suffering. Actions based on selfless love and compassion, on the other hand, are good and right, because they accord with Reality and so bring us happiness.
Notice that this is not a matter of individual, subjective opinion. Choosing to obey or disobey the Law of Selflessness has definite consequences which cannot be avoided whether we want to or not. In this sense, it is every bit as objective as, say, the laws of physics.

And yet at the same time, the specific precepts which embody and articulate this Law are, as Ibn Arabi recognized, relative and flexible. Why? Because an action that is selfish for one person, in one culture, at one time, may be selfless for another person, in another culture, at another time.

This is true even when it comes to applying a precept within a particular culture to a particular situation. Take, for example, the precept not to lie. If we examine our motives, we find that in most cases we lie for selfish reasons, so the precept not to lie is generally applicable. But there will always be some cases where it is not. In Nazi Germany, those who lied to the Gestapo about the whereabouts of Jews behaved more morally than those who told the truth, because compassion prompted them to risk their own lives in order to save the lives of innocent people. In situations like this, then, we must allow love and compassion to override a particular precept and, as Jesus said, obey the spirit of the law rather than its letter.

A fourth objection a contemporary believer might raise to the possibility of genuine inter-religious dialogue is:
You say we should honor all religions, but what about Jim Jones-style sects, Satanic cults, and fanatics who preach hatred and violence? Are we to honor them as well? How can we tell authentic religions from spurious ones?
Granted, there are no generally agreed upon criteria for making such judgments at the present time. But this is no reason to refrain from interfaith dialogue. Quite the contrary, it is one of the most compelling reasons to deepen and intensify it. In this era of globalization, when traditional societies are being disrupted on an unprecedented scale, leaving masses of people spiritually adrift and hungry for Truth, establishing such criteria is becoming an increasingly urgent task. And the only way to reach consensus on this is through dialogue. The real question, then, is not whether we should talk to each other, but how we can proceed without immediately getting bogged down in sectarian disputes.

A good way to begin would be to look first at those religions which have served most of humanity for the last several millennia—Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism/Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. If we sift through these time-tested traditions for common denominators, a set of tentative criteria should start to emerge. In fact, in our discussion so far we have already glimpsed at least three points of convergence: 1) all the Great Traditions recognize an Ultimate Reality that transcends our ordinary thoughts and perceptions; 2) all teach that true happiness is attained by conforming ourselves to this Reality; 3) all teach that the way to conform ourselves to this Reality is to exercise self restraint and cultivate selfless love and compassion in our relationships with others.

Once agreement has been reached on what the Great Traditions have in common, we can broaden our dialogue to include lesser known religions to see how their teachings might enhance or alter our criteria. Next, we can take up the more difficult task of examining those doctrines, practices, and moral codes which do differ from one religion to another, asking questions such as: To what extent do these reflect core convictions and values, and to what extent do they stem from local customs and historical contingencies? Are they really meant to be applied universally or only to members of a particular community? And, if they are held to be universal, are they subject to more ecumenical explications or interpretations?
Finally, regarding those points on which no consensus can be reached, it should still be possible to agree to disagree without succumbing to acrimony and recriminations. Drawing a comparison between religions and marriage, the renowned religious scholar, Huston Smith, once remarked that just because I love my own wife above all other women doesn't mean I have to criticize your wife. In fact, it is precisely because I do love my wife so much that I can appreciate how deeply you feel about yours!

Needless to say, if a significant number of the worlds religious leaders arrived at this degree of mutual understanding and respect and were willing to preach it in their temples, churches, and mosques (as some already do), it would go a long way to fostering a more harmonious spiritual climate on our ever-shrinking planet. But improved social and political relations is not the only, nor perhaps even the most important benefit to be gained from engaging in interfaith dialogue. On a more personal level, studying other traditions can uncover heretofore hidden truths buried within ones own because, as the 20th-century Christian mystic Simone Weil noted:
Each religion is an original combination of explicit and implicit truth; what is explicit in one is implicit in another.

This, in turn, can greatly speed the progress of anyone who wishes to attain for him or herself a direct Realization, Enlightenment, or Gnosis of that Ultimate Reality from which, mystics claim, all true religions derive and to which all true religions lead. Here, for example, is how the 7th-century Zen master Sengstan expressed his Realization of this Truth:
There is one Dharma, not many; distinctions arise from the clinging needs of the ignorant.

This is why the great 19th-century Hindu mystic Ramakrishna insisted:
God has made different religions to suit different aspirants, times and countries. . . .Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with wholehearted devotion.

And why Ibn Arabi wrote so beautifully after his own Gnosis:
My heart is capable of every form; A cloister for the monk, a temple for idols, A pasture for gazelles, the worshipers Kaba, The Tables of the Torah, the Quran. Love is the creed I hold; wherever turn His camels, Love is still my creed and faith.

May all our hearts become this capable!

by Joel Center Voice: Summer-Fall 2002 Center for Sacred Sciences http://www.centerforsacredsciences.org/

ADOLESCENCE

In the life of children there are two very clear-cut phases, before and after puberty. Before puberty the child's personality has not yet formed and it is easier to guide its life and make it acquire specific habits of order, discipline, and work: after puberty the personality develops impetuously and all extraneous intervention becomes odious, tyrannical, insufferable. Now it so happens that parents feel the responsibility towards their children precisely during this second period, when it is too late: then of course the stick and violence enter the scene and yield very few results indeed. Why not instead take an interest in the child during the first period?

Antonio Gramsci 1891-1937, Italian Political Theorist

The Closet

This was written when I was 15 years old April of 1981

I am currently sitting in my closet with my bedroom door locked in hopes
the Wicked Witch (my dearest mom) will not return.

Though I swear I hear her wildly panting outside my door, Paranoid delusions maybe.

Although I am always compelled to defend myself during her ranting alcholic moments I am quite scared to death of her.

Tonight I was sound asleep, I awoke to her standing straddled above me, with that sick smile and those eyes of contempt and hatred I have come so well to know. They are forever burned inside my flesh.

She starts screaming at me practically drooling from her twisted smile. She is screaming I am the Devil's Spawn. Great, love the compliment. If you know me I can never seem to contain a quiet thought without blurting it out. So I respond to her that she must then indeed be the Devil.


Shit big mistake scramble out of bed and run for your life. Well at least to the bathroom and lock the door.

My life seems to be spent a great deal of the time behind locked doors.
Dad to the rescue, well long enough for me to retreat
to my bedroom and lock the door.

The the safety of my closet, I have been going there
for years to write in times like these.

I think the panting outside my door has stopped.

The world is dark and quiet for the moment.

Me

To this day 25 years later I remember this moment as it was yesterday.
It is funny after I was done being scared shitless I would always make a big
joke out of the situation, It always seemed so unrealistic compared to real life.
My friends knew my situation. My friends always picked me up while driving
by the house never really stopping.

Thought Of The Day

Statistics

The following are just actual cases that were reported so you can at least more than double the numbers if not more.

Durring 2004 1,490 Children died from abuse or Neglect based on data provided from the State Child Welfare Informantion Systems.

An estimated 872,000 were actually abused.

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm04/chapterfour.htm#child

So to me this statement has profound meaning, We can do so much more.

Twenty-five years of observation has also told me that criminals are more "made" than "born," which means that somewhere along the line, someone who provided a profound negative influence could have provided a profound positive one instead. So what I truly believe is that along with more money and police and prisons, what we most need more of is love. This is not being simplistic; it's at the very heart of the issue...-

Mind Hunter - John Douglas and Mark Olshaker

The Long And Winding Road

I guess we all have different roads we chose in life to lead us to where we are at the Present.
I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. My life was not difficult in the way that we were always provided for extremely well. But My mother was a binge alcoholic and a control freak, my father was a difficult but honest man whom I adored. I valued his insights and our long conversations. He was a passionate man in life with many views. My parents loved to argue, It was like a game at times I felt. I found myself being on the defensive allot in my life growing up.
I felt I had to prove my point it must go heard and noticed or I felt I would fail to exist. This is the one thing I said I would never carry over in my family life.

As I got older I just wanted to get away so I joined the Navy. I went into the Seabees to be exact. It was probably one of the best decisions I had made. I came to know people from all walks of life. I learned that there was so much more that the little town I grew up in and so much more to life, and so much more to me.

I later on had my son Kyle who is the love of my life to say the least. I struggled being a single parent and having a son with ADD. I think 3rd and 4th grade were the worst. What took most kids 30 minutes to finish for homework would take us 2 hours. So it was work come home to cook and help with homework. Forget any social life. But I would not trade any moments with my son regardless. His IQ is extremely high so it is hard for him to cope sometimes not being able to put things on paper but know everything by heart in his mind. He is getting better at this and I am very proud of him.

Once my son became a little older I decided to go into the Mortgage business and it seems their I found my true calling. Although the business as everyone I am sure has noticed is having it's share of problems on the Sub Prime side. One can always succeed if one puts their mind to it. I have found that very true.

I am now the mother of two as I have taken on one of my sons friends. I am his legal guardian until his mother can work out her life. This is something I have wanted to do for this child for quite some time so I am happy with the outcome.

I seem to be the gathering place in town for my sons friends we all meet twice a week. Once for dinner and a movie at home. Once to discuss any topic of their choosing. This has become a big hit and once I figure out how to work things here I intend to show the boys discussions and I think you will be surprised at how brilliant they truly are.

Myself I also have ADD. I am a poor speller...lol but my brain is not half bad. So that is a little about myself more on my thoughts to come later.