Saturday, February 04, 2006
what? A mere itty bitty little cartoon will accomplish what YEARS of concentrated efforts from the "current administration" FAILED to accomplish?!?
And that is impending apocalyptic doom for all of us here - the brats and the brainiacs! The meek and the maniacs! You... and me too!
Reality is sometimes much stranger than fiction is - indubitably.
All that Dubya has done in his two terms (lest it is all that Dick Cheney has done, through him) is categorically as nothing in comparison to the effects of one tiny single panel cartoon depicting Mohammad... Well, obviously it is viewed as a most disrespectful caricature of the Prophet, as it is also one of the entire muslim world. And that will get all of Islam's blood boiling faster than any U.S.-led military action on muslim soil. How... odd. But no matter the oddness of the comparatitive value of these two facts - it is beside the point here. The possible events that can stem from this single cartoon are simply mind-blowing indeed...
Wouldn't it be amazing to see the entire planet engulfed in one final decimating war - over a cartoon strip? Every outrageous thing that Dubya did wasn't enough to incense all the muslim nations enough into banding together as One and steamrolling all over the "Infidel Invader" (!) - but now they will, because someone got inspiration from perennial French favorite Iznogoud...?!? It takes a little and a lot for them to mobilize it seems... quite literally too. Within hours of the publication of this cartoon, there has been a flurry of activity that is quite simply... astonishingly hard to believe! From kidnapping threats to the firing of a French editor over said cartoon! This, even though at least one Muslim group has accepted an apology over this blasphemous defiance of Sharia law (depicting the picture of the prophet is prohibited under Sharia law.)
See? Muslims are better at their religion than Christians are! I have seen so many blasphemous doctored pictures depicting a likeness of my Saviour - Christ, the son of God... and what has anybody done about THAT outrage? Were there any kidnapping threats issued? No! Anybody got fired? I don't think so! If they won't go this far for their Lord, it is obvious that not one single soul in the Christian world would kill a blasphemer (always a fellow westerner too! Never a "foreigner" - another thing that Islam has over the Western world - their unity!).
But I've digressed yet again...
The fact that an apology was issued (by... someone, somewhere!) does not help matters at all, alas. For it is indeed as null and void, seeing as other papers have dared to reprint the cartoon... Thus, we can assume that Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades remain on standby... Next stop: the Islamic Jihad. Yikes. Don't the Danish wish they had had one less cartoonist among their creative people now... hmm?
It is actually silly to hear European newspapers argue that "freedom of speech is sacred" - in the face of angry Muslims naturally offended by "jokes" that they can only consider utterly blasphemous. Do journalists and reporters know what "sacred" means? The right to say or write inane things shouldn't be hailed as "sacred" - it isn't even a "right" to do such things! Knowingly offending someone, when it is totally unprovoked, should not be tolerated! I sincerely doubt that this is "payback" for 9/11 (even though the cartoon is evidently linked to that - I was somehow allowed to peek at it by my local blasphemous news broadcasting network - they know what's coming to them now too!) and I doubt that this Danish cartoonist (D.C. - here ye art once again!) had any relative of his perish in the WTC Twin Towers...
"The government of Denmark has to do something to appease the Muslim world," said an official. Hmm... Danish pastries for everyone - will that do? It will cost a bundle on postal costs alone though... all those carepackages, you know... Maybe sentencing to death the culprit -the cartoonist- will be less costly... hmm?
The whole world is already in an uproar over this, a mere 48 hours after the initial publication of this cartoon. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin was quoted saying that this dispute "was not just between Jakarta and Copenhagen." (I always liked those names and locales, as a storyteller and traveller, by the way - Jakarta and Copenhagen! Never thought I'd see them linked by such controversy in my life though...!) "It involves the whole Islamic world vis-à-vis Denmark and vis-à-vis the trend of Islamophobia," added Yuri Thamrin, on behalf of most of Indonesia, I am sure...
Pakistan, as ever in the thick of things, had their precious parliament pass a resolution officially condemning the cartoon as "blasphemous and derogatory".
Just to annoy their arch-nemesis and neighbor, India did not.
Never mind the fact that India is not exactly a "muslim country"...
Meanwhile, in everyone's favorite muslim country, IRAQ, Iraqi Christians are fearful - rightfully so too. There were excessive (and much more passionate than when it involves anti-american sentiment) violent protests, culminating with the burning of the Danish flag (which is all red... with a white cross on it! Depending how you are holding it, there's symbolism there...) and so, "a new wave of attacks by Muslims, driven by anger" over this cartoon could happen... and keep happening... until all cartoonists are dead and buried?
Time to pause and mention that, for this luminous blogger, this is extremely ironic... for I found virulent opposition when I clashed with amateur cartoonists whose preferences can be summed up in two words - "toilet humor". And me, I want more tasteful jokes. The further it could get, perhaps, would be to have a cartoony cat pretend to be an Humphrey Bogart-type of private detective named, say... Dick Spade. And then to have a dazzling sulfurous blonde come in and ask him, casually (but sultry still) - "are you... Spade?". See? That is the perfect compromise. Tasteful and somewhat daring, if not risqué per say...! Subdued and low-key actually - just like what a Bob Newhart or a David Letterman would do. Or even a Larry David. All usually successful and all digestable. Oh - and not a hint of blaspheme! The Soup Nazi was as far as Seinfeld would have ever gone in an "assault" upon another culture... But enough about that...
Back to the news...
"La Libération" in France has published the offending cartoon - and so has the Belgian newspaper De Standaard. Both defend the "freedom of expression" to the last apparently... even over survival instincts and good old fashioned common sense!
Ironically, today, also in the news, was a report on a French-Canadian (close enough to un maudit Français) who sought online a Belgian woman he had met briefly in Cuba and could not forget. He found her too - and they chat on AOL now! Don't you just love a happy ending? But I've digressed yet again... *arrrghhh*
British newspapers refused to publish the cartoon though - up til now that is. And venerable CNN has declined showing them on-air as well (or on their website, linked here) "out of respect for Islam". Foreign Minister Jack Straw -old strawman himself, as scaredy-cat as ever... and thus, a poor scarecrow he is... but I digress for the umpteenth time- applauded the Brits' reticence there. Of course - no sense in poisoning any further an already poisoned situation...
It is, it appears, a Battle of the Value Systems - respect for religion versus freedom of speech. Care to place your bets on which side will win... and what will be the effects of that - and the long-term consequences?
Link
Reality is sometimes much stranger than fiction is - indubitably.
All that Dubya has done in his two terms (lest it is all that Dick Cheney has done, through him) is categorically as nothing in comparison to the effects of one tiny single panel cartoon depicting Mohammad... Well, obviously it is viewed as a most disrespectful caricature of the Prophet, as it is also one of the entire muslim world. And that will get all of Islam's blood boiling faster than any U.S.-led military action on muslim soil. How... odd. But no matter the oddness of the comparatitive value of these two facts - it is beside the point here. The possible events that can stem from this single cartoon are simply mind-blowing indeed...
Wouldn't it be amazing to see the entire planet engulfed in one final decimating war - over a cartoon strip? Every outrageous thing that Dubya did wasn't enough to incense all the muslim nations enough into banding together as One and steamrolling all over the "Infidel Invader" (!) - but now they will, because someone got inspiration from perennial French favorite Iznogoud...?!? It takes a little and a lot for them to mobilize it seems... quite literally too. Within hours of the publication of this cartoon, there has been a flurry of activity that is quite simply... astonishingly hard to believe! From kidnapping threats to the firing of a French editor over said cartoon! This, even though at least one Muslim group has accepted an apology over this blasphemous defiance of Sharia law (depicting the picture of the prophet is prohibited under Sharia law.)
See? Muslims are better at their religion than Christians are! I have seen so many blasphemous doctored pictures depicting a likeness of my Saviour - Christ, the son of God... and what has anybody done about THAT outrage? Were there any kidnapping threats issued? No! Anybody got fired? I don't think so! If they won't go this far for their Lord, it is obvious that not one single soul in the Christian world would kill a blasphemer (always a fellow westerner too! Never a "foreigner" - another thing that Islam has over the Western world - their unity!).
But I've digressed yet again...
The fact that an apology was issued (by... someone, somewhere!) does not help matters at all, alas. For it is indeed as null and void, seeing as other papers have dared to reprint the cartoon... Thus, we can assume that Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades remain on standby... Next stop: the Islamic Jihad. Yikes. Don't the Danish wish they had had one less cartoonist among their creative people now... hmm?
It is actually silly to hear European newspapers argue that "freedom of speech is sacred" - in the face of angry Muslims naturally offended by "jokes" that they can only consider utterly blasphemous. Do journalists and reporters know what "sacred" means? The right to say or write inane things shouldn't be hailed as "sacred" - it isn't even a "right" to do such things! Knowingly offending someone, when it is totally unprovoked, should not be tolerated! I sincerely doubt that this is "payback" for 9/11 (even though the cartoon is evidently linked to that - I was somehow allowed to peek at it by my local blasphemous news broadcasting network - they know what's coming to them now too!) and I doubt that this Danish cartoonist (D.C. - here ye art once again!) had any relative of his perish in the WTC Twin Towers...
"The government of Denmark has to do something to appease the Muslim world," said an official. Hmm... Danish pastries for everyone - will that do? It will cost a bundle on postal costs alone though... all those carepackages, you know... Maybe sentencing to death the culprit -the cartoonist- will be less costly... hmm?
The whole world is already in an uproar over this, a mere 48 hours after the initial publication of this cartoon. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin was quoted saying that this dispute "was not just between Jakarta and Copenhagen." (I always liked those names and locales, as a storyteller and traveller, by the way - Jakarta and Copenhagen! Never thought I'd see them linked by such controversy in my life though...!) "It involves the whole Islamic world vis-à-vis Denmark and vis-à-vis the trend of Islamophobia," added Yuri Thamrin, on behalf of most of Indonesia, I am sure...
Pakistan, as ever in the thick of things, had their precious parliament pass a resolution officially condemning the cartoon as "blasphemous and derogatory".
Just to annoy their arch-nemesis and neighbor, India did not.
Never mind the fact that India is not exactly a "muslim country"...
Meanwhile, in everyone's favorite muslim country, IRAQ, Iraqi Christians are fearful - rightfully so too. There were excessive (and much more passionate than when it involves anti-american sentiment) violent protests, culminating with the burning of the Danish flag (which is all red... with a white cross on it! Depending how you are holding it, there's symbolism there...) and so, "a new wave of attacks by Muslims, driven by anger" over this cartoon could happen... and keep happening... until all cartoonists are dead and buried?
Time to pause and mention that, for this luminous blogger, this is extremely ironic... for I found virulent opposition when I clashed with amateur cartoonists whose preferences can be summed up in two words - "toilet humor". And me, I want more tasteful jokes. The further it could get, perhaps, would be to have a cartoony cat pretend to be an Humphrey Bogart-type of private detective named, say... Dick Spade. And then to have a dazzling sulfurous blonde come in and ask him, casually (but sultry still) - "are you... Spade?". See? That is the perfect compromise. Tasteful and somewhat daring, if not risqué per say...! Subdued and low-key actually - just like what a Bob Newhart or a David Letterman would do. Or even a Larry David. All usually successful and all digestable. Oh - and not a hint of blaspheme! The Soup Nazi was as far as Seinfeld would have ever gone in an "assault" upon another culture... But enough about that...
Back to the news...
"La Libération" in France has published the offending cartoon - and so has the Belgian newspaper De Standaard. Both defend the "freedom of expression" to the last apparently... even over survival instincts and good old fashioned common sense!
Ironically, today, also in the news, was a report on a French-Canadian (close enough to un maudit Français) who sought online a Belgian woman he had met briefly in Cuba and could not forget. He found her too - and they chat on AOL now! Don't you just love a happy ending? But I've digressed yet again... *arrrghhh*
British newspapers refused to publish the cartoon though - up til now that is. And venerable CNN has declined showing them on-air as well (or on their website, linked here) "out of respect for Islam". Foreign Minister Jack Straw -old strawman himself, as scaredy-cat as ever... and thus, a poor scarecrow he is... but I digress for the umpteenth time- applauded the Brits' reticence there. Of course - no sense in poisoning any further an already poisoned situation...
It is, it appears, a Battle of the Value Systems - respect for religion versus freedom of speech. Care to place your bets on which side will win... and what will be the effects of that - and the long-term consequences?
Link
Friday, February 03, 2006
from warriors of the light... to spiritual warriors
Admittedly, we are talking about the same thing here... And that is what must be done too, so that the promise of delivering "more luminaries" here today comes to pass! Tomorrow though, we'll go back to discussing the, ah, other forms of individuals out there...!
Once more - a co-written entry here - on TLB Prime!
Spiritual Warrior is a term that I like to look at archetypically instead of literally, and only makes some sense if one views it from a dualistic view.
I first was introduced to the term "Spiritual Warrior" when I was a member of a traditional Christian demonination. Spiritual warfare was a term used in that sector as the "Holy" vs. "Evil" camps... Jesus vs. Satan, that sort of thing.
It seems that in the New Age arena, "Lightworker" may be another term closely related to this idea of spiritual warrior... the 'war' (if you will) is to bring Light to bear upon the Dark....healing to bear against disease... Love to bear against fear.
To a certain extent, the whole community that is involved in environmental protection, political activism, human rights, holistic healing, and organic living can be viewed as Spiritual Warriors!
As an archetype, I see the Spiritual Warrior as one who strives to bring Heaven to Earth, so to speak. They are engaged in doing what they can to bring liberation to the oppressed, hope to the lost, and comfort to the hurting. They stand in full awareness and accountability as God's emissaries on the physical plane. They understand that the physical is subject to the spiritual - and view their lives as channels for Divine intentions of peace, love, and joy.
Namaste, Janey
The Beefeaters are a wonderful example.They have to stand their ground whilst the general public mock them throw things at them,but they do not flinch.Unless you try to pass through them! this was one of the ideas behind the use of negative force within the golden dawn and gnostics.If we can control the negative forces when manifest As with the example of jesus in the wilderness. However developement to this level takes a lot of work and the negative energy is much stronger now! and i would strongly recomend that people do not follow this path.
Janey seems to have summed it up nicely. I would only like to add a bit of emphasis to truth. It take a real spiritual warrior to find and face the truth about himself/herself and the world in which we live. The greatest and most critical battles occur within ourselves. Truth is the light by which we see clearly to chart our course and it often takes real courage to accept the truth and stand by it in the face of opposition within and without, but this is the way to make things better. The real spiritual warrior,I think, opens his/her eyes fearlessly to truth, however much it hurts.
My intent is not to offend anyone with my ideals for i realize they are just mine and would never present them as a dogma that must be followed by all or anyone. Everyone has their own paths, their own enlightments, their own spirituality. As for me though i am proud to be a warrior. I joined this community in order to battle, not with weapons of destruction such as guns or bombs but with the weapons of change--my voice, my signature, my time, my finances. I believe that i am only a small living organism that is a part of a larger organism, i am part of a community (local, national, and global). I'm a warrior against my country's slaughtering thousands of people in a war, a warrior against countries that participate in slave marketing of women and children, a warrior against hunger,poverty, I'm especially a warrior against the destruction of the larger living organism i am a part of-earth. my list could go on and on. My belief is that as a spiritual being i must also recognize and face the realities of my physical existence, tempered with the wisdom, love, and compassion of my spirituality. I am a physical being, an intellectual being, as well as a spiritual being and my goal is to live in a balance and harmony of my triad. So I also must be a warrior against my own inner dragons and beast. So please forgive if i offend you by stating i am proud to be a spiritual warrior, for it just may be that i have not evolved yet to that higher spiritual level, but my goal is to evolve and allow others to also.
- Rob
Spiritual Witnesses:
There is nothing new in heaven or earth. We are empowered by our spirituality to witness love, care, upliftment, peace, harmony, etc. to ourselves and fellow travellers. How often do we listen to this still, small voice within our human breast?
Nancy's examples of some wonderful witnesses to spirituality certainly listened and acted upon their own voice of reason and love.
I think of warriors archetypically as well. Carolyn Myss says that warriors have the light attributes of strength, skill, discipline, and toughness of will. Heroism, stoicism and self-sacrifice in conquering the ego. She says the sharow attributes of the warrior are trading ethical principles for victory at any cost, and indifference to the suffering inflicted on others.
- Anon.
Sandee wrote: I'm going to stick my neck out on this one. I've just read many of these posts. All threads are very interesting and good different points of views. Spiritual warfare has been since the very beginning of time. The most important one I've ever learned is not in this realm, but a much higer one. There are many principalies and levels. From the Bible, you can learn how to fight this "evil" with the Armour of the Lord. I know that sometimes I feel overwhelmed with almost feeling all things coming at me at one time. If I do not put the "Armour" on, I find myself even in worse shape. Sometimes I feel as if I'm in the "matrix" with no way to get out. I am a very open person to all things.
However in greatest times of need, I do believe when I realize and take the time to "smell the roses," that when I feel like I'm being attacked, I must put all things in God's hands and wear my armour to protect me from all evil. This is much easier than said. My "self" is always getting in the way. I need blinders to jeep me from allowing my spirit from going down "hill". There are many ways that I know that I can deal with it.
I don't think about it until it's too late most times. When I breathe slowly and go into praying and then staying quiet for a time,
ANSWERS generally come. They don't always seem like the right ones, but eventually I do see the ends to the means. I do know that if I do the best I can, no matter what the circumstances or how bad they are..I will have the strength in the end to make it through. This does not make me any better than anyone else. I try to keep myself at a very basic level all I can. Then my personality will not get in my way. Spiritual warfare can be from others or straight from satan himself as he dominates today's world. For those who believe, I need to say No more, for those who do not, nothing will suffice. I hope that this is recieved with the love that I intended it to have. To me karma is just another way to feel things. In one's soul we can feel many things as well as karma and I do believe in that concept as well. The most vital part to me is still fighting with the "Battle belonging to the Lord." There are two things that I do not believe in only: Reincarnation. I don't want to keep coming back in different forms.. and not having any faith that there is nothing but the "now". I must believe that somewhere in this Universe that there must be a superior being to guide us. To me, it is God.
Even Aristotle believed in the "soul". This is my view and am not trying to offend anyone.
Holly R. wrote: many ideas, similar meanings...
I consider myself as a spiritual warrior, spiritual seeker, spiritual devotee, spiritual mystic... you get the picture.
I find it helpful to clarify the meaning of warrior... it too often gets confused with soldier. To be a warrior, spiritual or no, requires a strength, courage and purpose directed by the mind and soul of the warrior.... towards whatever end the warrior deems neccessary to redeem his purpose. A spiritual warrior, uses the guidance and fealty of his own soul to determine the use of force or action through will. The spiritual warrior is his own king, needing no other loyalty than to his own soul. The soldier on the other hand, requires all the extraneous acoutrements of a warrior, like courage, strength, skill, etc, but professes obediance and loyalty to a sovereign nation, religion, or other motivating force outside himself.
OM Shanti
A Spiritual Warrior first fights against Himself like Robbie said to face our own ugliness and egos we have thus changing and nurturing a more positive less selfish personality,A Spiritual Warrior fights for those who are suffering and are opressed in all levels not only physical, and a Spiritual Warrior not only feels and shares the pain of Humanity but of the Earth and other beings on Her. A Spiritual Warrior respects Him/herself as much as respects others not only on religious views but in all areas this are some of the Shields a Spiritual warrior wears but there are many many more as he walks he is growing and learning more and more.
We want to become powerful spiritual warriors who can offer love in any situation, even to our so-called enemies. In order to achieve this end we focus on two more deeply spiritual aspects of love: compassion and love of God any concept you might have. As we grow spiritually, we will be constantly amazed at the amount of love we can experience and share. Compassion sees profoundly into the heart of each situation and offers unconditional love as a remedy. Unconditional love of God is actually the ultimate goal of our spiritual quest, which is the only remedy to satisfy the deepest longings of the soul.
love to all, tulsi
In the Name of...!
You deserve praise for that, Tulsi...
One sometimes finds it difficult to understand, how those, who have never felt the Spiritual Warrior's rush of blood, pounding through their veins and the welling up inside, of the need to fight for a cause considered worthy, can be so negatively censorious about the use of such a title...
It is not a label, that one promotes as would be a banner, or a standard on a battlefield - it is more akin to a feeling that dominates the entire fabric of those who unite under such a designation...
Just my thoughts...
Rob.
Warriors? Yep.
Some people I think really are like spiritual warriors. They work to deal with negative energies, negative entities and "evil" if you like.
Some of this goes on globally and the majority of the general population would be unaware of what was being done.
Some of these "spiritual warriors" spend a lot of energy cleaning up the bad energies around entire countries especially those affected by war.
Much of this work is voluntary and comes with risk, those doing this thankless task can get attacked by those forces they work to control. Life is far more interesting than many realize.
So perhaps think quite different to the term "disciple" although you find that term also used in dark cults so I guess they are kind of spiritual warriors as well but on the other team!
Perhaps it is just these archetypes that have created wars, abuse, conflict, weapons on our earth world. Maybe by misunderstanding a battle of the soul. Perhaps if a more loving example had been set, we would have realized there is nothing that works like Love and would never have been a warrior at all?
Just some random thoughts...
God bless, J
Verily, to me, Spiritual Warriors are Spiritual Survivors - whose awareness and vigilance are just a tad more elevated than the norm.
One has to be aware of the source of any affliction in order to cure it. And Spiritual Warfare is much akin to a chess game than actual warfare - a game of chess with dark influences that we must overcome. Being aware of their very existence is a huge step forward towards accomplishing just that. - Luminous Luciano
Carol wrote in response to that:
"Verily, to me, Spiritual Warriors are Spiritual Survivors - whose awareness and vigilance are just a tad more elevated than the norm."
Wow - that's it Luciano. You hit the nail on the head.
Yup.
Link
Once more - a co-written entry here - on TLB Prime!
Spiritual Warrior is a term that I like to look at archetypically instead of literally, and only makes some sense if one views it from a dualistic view.
I first was introduced to the term "Spiritual Warrior" when I was a member of a traditional Christian demonination. Spiritual warfare was a term used in that sector as the "Holy" vs. "Evil" camps... Jesus vs. Satan, that sort of thing.
It seems that in the New Age arena, "Lightworker" may be another term closely related to this idea of spiritual warrior... the 'war' (if you will) is to bring Light to bear upon the Dark....healing to bear against disease... Love to bear against fear.
To a certain extent, the whole community that is involved in environmental protection, political activism, human rights, holistic healing, and organic living can be viewed as Spiritual Warriors!
As an archetype, I see the Spiritual Warrior as one who strives to bring Heaven to Earth, so to speak. They are engaged in doing what they can to bring liberation to the oppressed, hope to the lost, and comfort to the hurting. They stand in full awareness and accountability as God's emissaries on the physical plane. They understand that the physical is subject to the spiritual - and view their lives as channels for Divine intentions of peace, love, and joy.
Namaste, Janey
The Beefeaters are a wonderful example.They have to stand their ground whilst the general public mock them throw things at them,but they do not flinch.Unless you try to pass through them! this was one of the ideas behind the use of negative force within the golden dawn and gnostics.If we can control the negative forces when manifest As with the example of jesus in the wilderness. However developement to this level takes a lot of work and the negative energy is much stronger now! and i would strongly recomend that people do not follow this path.
Janey seems to have summed it up nicely. I would only like to add a bit of emphasis to truth. It take a real spiritual warrior to find and face the truth about himself/herself and the world in which we live. The greatest and most critical battles occur within ourselves. Truth is the light by which we see clearly to chart our course and it often takes real courage to accept the truth and stand by it in the face of opposition within and without, but this is the way to make things better. The real spiritual warrior,I think, opens his/her eyes fearlessly to truth, however much it hurts.
My intent is not to offend anyone with my ideals for i realize they are just mine and would never present them as a dogma that must be followed by all or anyone. Everyone has their own paths, their own enlightments, their own spirituality. As for me though i am proud to be a warrior. I joined this community in order to battle, not with weapons of destruction such as guns or bombs but with the weapons of change--my voice, my signature, my time, my finances. I believe that i am only a small living organism that is a part of a larger organism, i am part of a community (local, national, and global). I'm a warrior against my country's slaughtering thousands of people in a war, a warrior against countries that participate in slave marketing of women and children, a warrior against hunger,poverty, I'm especially a warrior against the destruction of the larger living organism i am a part of-earth. my list could go on and on. My belief is that as a spiritual being i must also recognize and face the realities of my physical existence, tempered with the wisdom, love, and compassion of my spirituality. I am a physical being, an intellectual being, as well as a spiritual being and my goal is to live in a balance and harmony of my triad. So I also must be a warrior against my own inner dragons and beast. So please forgive if i offend you by stating i am proud to be a spiritual warrior, for it just may be that i have not evolved yet to that higher spiritual level, but my goal is to evolve and allow others to also.
- Rob
Spiritual Witnesses:
There is nothing new in heaven or earth. We are empowered by our spirituality to witness love, care, upliftment, peace, harmony, etc. to ourselves and fellow travellers. How often do we listen to this still, small voice within our human breast?
Nancy's examples of some wonderful witnesses to spirituality certainly listened and acted upon their own voice of reason and love.
I think of warriors archetypically as well. Carolyn Myss says that warriors have the light attributes of strength, skill, discipline, and toughness of will. Heroism, stoicism and self-sacrifice in conquering the ego. She says the sharow attributes of the warrior are trading ethical principles for victory at any cost, and indifference to the suffering inflicted on others.
- Anon.
Sandee wrote: I'm going to stick my neck out on this one. I've just read many of these posts. All threads are very interesting and good different points of views. Spiritual warfare has been since the very beginning of time. The most important one I've ever learned is not in this realm, but a much higer one. There are many principalies and levels. From the Bible, you can learn how to fight this "evil" with the Armour of the Lord. I know that sometimes I feel overwhelmed with almost feeling all things coming at me at one time. If I do not put the "Armour" on, I find myself even in worse shape. Sometimes I feel as if I'm in the "matrix" with no way to get out. I am a very open person to all things.
However in greatest times of need, I do believe when I realize and take the time to "smell the roses," that when I feel like I'm being attacked, I must put all things in God's hands and wear my armour to protect me from all evil. This is much easier than said. My "self" is always getting in the way. I need blinders to jeep me from allowing my spirit from going down "hill". There are many ways that I know that I can deal with it.
I don't think about it until it's too late most times. When I breathe slowly and go into praying and then staying quiet for a time,
ANSWERS generally come. They don't always seem like the right ones, but eventually I do see the ends to the means. I do know that if I do the best I can, no matter what the circumstances or how bad they are..I will have the strength in the end to make it through. This does not make me any better than anyone else. I try to keep myself at a very basic level all I can. Then my personality will not get in my way. Spiritual warfare can be from others or straight from satan himself as he dominates today's world. For those who believe, I need to say No more, for those who do not, nothing will suffice. I hope that this is recieved with the love that I intended it to have. To me karma is just another way to feel things. In one's soul we can feel many things as well as karma and I do believe in that concept as well. The most vital part to me is still fighting with the "Battle belonging to the Lord." There are two things that I do not believe in only: Reincarnation. I don't want to keep coming back in different forms.. and not having any faith that there is nothing but the "now". I must believe that somewhere in this Universe that there must be a superior being to guide us. To me, it is God.
Even Aristotle believed in the "soul". This is my view and am not trying to offend anyone.
Holly R. wrote: many ideas, similar meanings...
I consider myself as a spiritual warrior, spiritual seeker, spiritual devotee, spiritual mystic... you get the picture.
I find it helpful to clarify the meaning of warrior... it too often gets confused with soldier. To be a warrior, spiritual or no, requires a strength, courage and purpose directed by the mind and soul of the warrior.... towards whatever end the warrior deems neccessary to redeem his purpose. A spiritual warrior, uses the guidance and fealty of his own soul to determine the use of force or action through will. The spiritual warrior is his own king, needing no other loyalty than to his own soul. The soldier on the other hand, requires all the extraneous acoutrements of a warrior, like courage, strength, skill, etc, but professes obediance and loyalty to a sovereign nation, religion, or other motivating force outside himself.
OM Shanti
A Spiritual Warrior first fights against Himself like Robbie said to face our own ugliness and egos we have thus changing and nurturing a more positive less selfish personality,A Spiritual Warrior fights for those who are suffering and are opressed in all levels not only physical, and a Spiritual Warrior not only feels and shares the pain of Humanity but of the Earth and other beings on Her. A Spiritual Warrior respects Him/herself as much as respects others not only on religious views but in all areas this are some of the Shields a Spiritual warrior wears but there are many many more as he walks he is growing and learning more and more.
We want to become powerful spiritual warriors who can offer love in any situation, even to our so-called enemies. In order to achieve this end we focus on two more deeply spiritual aspects of love: compassion and love of God any concept you might have. As we grow spiritually, we will be constantly amazed at the amount of love we can experience and share. Compassion sees profoundly into the heart of each situation and offers unconditional love as a remedy. Unconditional love of God is actually the ultimate goal of our spiritual quest, which is the only remedy to satisfy the deepest longings of the soul.
love to all, tulsi
In the Name of...!
You deserve praise for that, Tulsi...
One sometimes finds it difficult to understand, how those, who have never felt the Spiritual Warrior's rush of blood, pounding through their veins and the welling up inside, of the need to fight for a cause considered worthy, can be so negatively censorious about the use of such a title...
It is not a label, that one promotes as would be a banner, or a standard on a battlefield - it is more akin to a feeling that dominates the entire fabric of those who unite under such a designation...
Just my thoughts...
Rob.
Warriors? Yep.
Some people I think really are like spiritual warriors. They work to deal with negative energies, negative entities and "evil" if you like.
Some of this goes on globally and the majority of the general population would be unaware of what was being done.
Some of these "spiritual warriors" spend a lot of energy cleaning up the bad energies around entire countries especially those affected by war.
Much of this work is voluntary and comes with risk, those doing this thankless task can get attacked by those forces they work to control. Life is far more interesting than many realize.
So perhaps think quite different to the term "disciple" although you find that term also used in dark cults so I guess they are kind of spiritual warriors as well but on the other team!
Perhaps it is just these archetypes that have created wars, abuse, conflict, weapons on our earth world. Maybe by misunderstanding a battle of the soul. Perhaps if a more loving example had been set, we would have realized there is nothing that works like Love and would never have been a warrior at all?
Just some random thoughts...
God bless, J
Verily, to me, Spiritual Warriors are Spiritual Survivors - whose awareness and vigilance are just a tad more elevated than the norm.
One has to be aware of the source of any affliction in order to cure it. And Spiritual Warfare is much akin to a chess game than actual warfare - a game of chess with dark influences that we must overcome. Being aware of their very existence is a huge step forward towards accomplishing just that. - Luminous Luciano
Carol wrote in response to that:
"Verily, to me, Spiritual Warriors are Spiritual Survivors - whose awareness and vigilance are just a tad more elevated than the norm."
Wow - that's it Luciano. You hit the nail on the head.
Yup.
Link
Thursday, February 02, 2006
to be found worthy ~ you have to be a warrior!
.
.
Former child actor and rather troubled young man Eddie Furlong - of T2, Pet Sematary 2, 3 Blind Mice and American History X fame - was recently labeled as a "warrior"... simply for reviving his career after some years spent being too much of a raucous rebel without any kind of a cause.
As great as it is to see someone who picks himself up, hits the brakes on the self-destruct road they were on, and gets back on the road to recovery... this is not exactly what being a true "warrior" is all about.
I am not telling you all to go check with Jim Hellwig now - better known as "Warrior" these days (he even legally changed his name to be forever known as such! But that is another... very odd... story!) for even he, despite the name he bears, could not guide you properly down the proper path here...
The best guidance to be found on this matter ~~~ is the following!
Every warrior of the light has been afraid to enter a combat.
Every warrior of the light has betrayed and lied in the past.
Every warrior of the light has lost faith in the future.
Every warrior of the light has trodden a path which was not his own.
Every warrior of the light has suffered because of unimportant things.
Every warrior of the light has doubted that he is a warrior of the light.
Every warrior of the light has failed in his spiritual obligations.
Every warrior of the light has said yes when he meant no.
Every warrior of the light has hurt someone he loved.
That is why he is a warrior of the light: He has endured all this, and not lost the hope to improve.
-Paulo Coelho, "The Manual of the Warrior of Light"
Copyright notice -as required by the author- Warrior of the Light, a www.paulocoelho.com.br publication
Luminous Paulo ~ Luminous Luciano salutes thee!
For thee art worthy too - indubitably!
Just as yesterday's luminaries ~ and tomorrow's as well! Here - on TLB Prime! ;)
Link
.
Former child actor and rather troubled young man Eddie Furlong - of T2, Pet Sematary 2, 3 Blind Mice and American History X fame - was recently labeled as a "warrior"... simply for reviving his career after some years spent being too much of a raucous rebel without any kind of a cause.
As great as it is to see someone who picks himself up, hits the brakes on the self-destruct road they were on, and gets back on the road to recovery... this is not exactly what being a true "warrior" is all about.
I am not telling you all to go check with Jim Hellwig now - better known as "Warrior" these days (he even legally changed his name to be forever known as such! But that is another... very odd... story!) for even he, despite the name he bears, could not guide you properly down the proper path here...
The best guidance to be found on this matter ~~~ is the following!
Every warrior of the light has been afraid to enter a combat.
Every warrior of the light has betrayed and lied in the past.
Every warrior of the light has lost faith in the future.
Every warrior of the light has trodden a path which was not his own.
Every warrior of the light has suffered because of unimportant things.
Every warrior of the light has doubted that he is a warrior of the light.
Every warrior of the light has failed in his spiritual obligations.
Every warrior of the light has said yes when he meant no.
Every warrior of the light has hurt someone he loved.
That is why he is a warrior of the light: He has endured all this, and not lost the hope to improve.
-Paulo Coelho, "The Manual of the Warrior of Light"
Copyright notice -as required by the author- Warrior of the Light, a www.paulocoelho.com.br publication
Luminous Paulo ~ Luminous Luciano salutes thee!
For thee art worthy too - indubitably!
Just as yesterday's luminaries ~ and tomorrow's as well! Here - on TLB Prime! ;)
Link
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Saints & Angels: The TLB Prime series!
Special co-written edition!
"An authentic disciple of Christ experiences misunderstanding, and sometimes even persecution. These are consequences of adopting faith that strengthens with such trials. Why then are we afraid of inviting the Lord to all the matters of our life? Does the Gospel seem too demanding for us? Perhaps we just don't want to lose our previous goods, prefering everything to stay like it was? We, the Gerazeans of the XXI century, regret the pigs instead of enjoying the cure of our brother in faith. However, one must decide, whether he chooses pigs - our daily sins, or the curing power of the Christ." - f. Thomas Bielinsky.
"St Thomas Aquinas (about 1225-1274) a Dominican, great philosopher and theologist, unrivalled lecturer is the author of "Suma Theologica" and many more works. His academic work enlightened people's ways to God. It's worth notice that his intellect hadn't overshadowed God for him but instead - helped to get to know Him. Let us ask then, by the intercession of St Thomas, that our mind enlightened us the truths of faith, which we declare." - f. Thomas Bielinsky.
"The blessed Jerzy Matulewicz (1871-1927), the bishop of Wilno and the apostole visitor in Lithuania, rebuilder of the Gathering of Marian Priests, in his priestly life had experienced many adversities, slander and unjust judgements. He was burning with care for salvation of others, often saying that one must "bring Christ everywhere". How do we use an occasion to spread God's Word around us? Sharing the Gospel is a sign that the grain, which had fallen onto our hearts, is bearing a fruit." -f. Tomas Bielinski.
"The helpmates of Jesus are not only those of the closed group of twelve. It's also the group of seventy-two scholars, assistants of the Apostoles, like Saint Bishops: Tymotheus and Titus, and also the group of all faithful. "Though the toll is great, there are only few workers." - isn't that because it's we who don't take up Jesus' calling? Because we don't feel worthy, because we don't believe that He wants to spread the Gospel through us? After all, the saints were men just like we are, they also needed an encouragement, advice, an embrace from the One, before whom we're standing." -Mira Majdan & Agnieszka Wedrychowska.
No one worthier of accolades than these individuals, I say!
And as for our angels...
Labels: Saints And Angels
Link
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
in memoriam
This girl was murdered while on the job, in Québec, Canada recently.
She had the night shift in a gas station, see...
Her funeral took place yesterday morning - and was televised.
The shocking details of her grisly murder were one factor that prompted the TVA network to give this girl nextdoor the same treatment they had given to home-made network spokesperson and star Marie-Soleil Tougas when she died prematurely in an aircraft accident, on the same year Lady Diana Spencer crossed over as well...
Mayhaps another factor was that this girl nextdoor's family is being let down, like so many others before, by an inadequate system of support for the families of crime victims in that part of Canada - incidentally where crime is flourishing in recent months...
There are three programs of indemnification in Quebec - the SAAQ would have paid her family the best... the catch though is that it would have indeminified her family with the whupping sum of 50,000$ only if she had been run over by the car of her murderer...
The CSST will pay her family only 7500$ - and that is because she was ON THE JOB at the time that she was brutally killed...
The third program (the IVAC - the latter three letters standing for "victimes d'actes criminels") would have only given her family a little 3000$ had she been a homebody - and this primarily due to her age... meaning it could have been LESS!
Can you believe this...
DISCRIMINATION regarding the way one's family DIED.
The most outlandish scenario is what would have been better taken care of - what were the odds that she would have been run over by a car behind her cash register?!?
This WAS a self-service gas station!
She was being exploited in a lousy job with lousy hours (obviously hazardous time of day) and lousy pay... and for THAT she is awarded some sort of "basic" fund for her FUNERAL COSTS... I am sure her family is grateful for that!
But, if she had been a TRULY NICE GIRL - who stays home in the family, does her homework, helps take care of a little sibling or niece or nephew... walks the dog at the most... does not take a job on the market away from someone who truly needs it (although that someone would have likely been stabbed to death in her place) - if she dies THEN... under THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES... SHE ISN'T WORTHY OF A DECENT FUNERAL?!? SHE GETS A MEASLY 3000$ FOR HER FUNERAL?!? (Actually only less than half of that is to be for funeral costs... but those are details...)
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?
No wonder that the local association for crime victims (L'Association des Familles des Personnes Assassinées Ou Disparues) plans on protesting - AGAIN - this aberrant discrepancy between these three programs...
The former Minister of Justice in Québec, Marc Bellemarre was dug out of mothballs on this occasion (he whose own daughter made the news - but because she was a stripper despite being the daughter of a minister of Justice! Far from being the same kind of daughter the slain victim was... extremely far from even beginning to compare with her... Bellemarre is out of politics thanks to that too...)
Bellemarre, while with the Liberal Party campaign three years ago, promised that the uniformization of these compensations to the families of crime victims was coming soon... This still hasn't been done and the Liberal government is nearing the end of its mandate now...
Another mother of a slain victim was seen this week - the media remembered the case of a girl who was beaten to death in Montreal in 2001 - and, in her case, the IVAC decided on the measly sum of 600 dollars as sufficient indemnifaction. That victim's mother kept the cheque but never cashed it in - she views it as an insult and will not accept that, according to some bureaucrats, her daughter's life is WORTH ONLY 600 BUCKS.
How subjective the question of worth is - you see?
This must be the topic of the week now, on TLB Prime! Topics have this way of imposing themselves upon you... like characters impose their "will" on writers sometimes... just ask King, Rice or Crichton about that sometime!
The truth is, MILLIONS could not replace a departed loved one - especially when that loved one died a violent death that he or she had not deserved... met an ignominious end he or she had not had coming.
And the fact is, those who do have it coming seldom get it.
The three bastards who stabbed this gas station attendant until she expired in a pool of her own blood will likely live for years to come... "pay their debt to society"... and move on with their truly *worthless* lives (indeed, "worth" is the topic of the week...)
They had nothing better to do that night than to go rob some place... and they could not steal without killing?
To be fair, one of the three was apparently not implicated in the stabbing - but Sébastien Simon and Sergio Moniz (name rings a bell) WILL BURN IN HELL...
Brigitte Serre was only 17 years-old... SEVENTEEN YEARS-OLD!
She was worthier of the luxury of being alive than many among us... A GREAT MANY OF US... she didn't hurt anyone, she didn't belittle anyone - heck, she was in sales, wasn't she? She HAD to like everyone.
In her case though - the customers were neither RIGHT...
Nor worthy of a good service.
Labels: commemorative
Link
Monday, January 30, 2006
about worth...
I recently stated that Bill Cosby summarized it succinctly well when he said "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
Nowadays though, "everybody" is a critic.
Alas, "everybody" is also prone to have poor taste, a questionable set of values, bad life habits, bizarre ideals and morals oftentimes... and the wrong priorities (which have, usually, as their top three - 1. money 2. money and 3. more money! Debauchery comes in at number four.)
"Everybody" is also rude... obnoxious... hypocritical, not just critical (take note, adversaries, how "h-y-p-o-crite" is spelled... have it inscribed on your pieces of I.D. now!)
"Everybody" has an opinion (and a few other things too) - and that is okay but also deplorable because many opinions are ill-informed and misguided. But that might be another story for another blog post...
The infantile and immature ones will always want to ascertain their alleged superiority (a word that I loathe) upon either those that they despise (I have been despised - I will be again - for speaking the truth!) or those that they simply... envy (I have been envied too - since the day of MY BIRTH... again a fine subject for another blog post, methinks).
I remember with... actually, not much fondness at all, watching wrestlers Curt Hennig and Bret Hart stage a mock argument of the sort "my dad beat your dad" (Larry The Axe Hennig and Stu Hart) and then both egos would go from there (Curt thinking himself to be "Mr. Perfect - from the top of my head to the tips of my toes - absolutely perfect!" while Bret still claims to be "the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be"... lest he's on his "excellence of execution" trip, which he shouldn't be anymore because he cannot execute anything anymore - he's retired! Which is still better than Curt - who is dead! But this sure is another story...)
My point is -and I sure do have one- none of this "worth" talk makes any sort of sense!
As pointed out in yesterday's post, we are all unique and different - there is no point in going any further into that!
Haven't you folks heard that "it ain't fair to compare" yet?!?
Many of us can be unique in an obnoxious way (I have met a lot of people like that) others will be unique in the causes they champion (such as good taste, faith and higher values - this is the category that I belong in and have strived to belong to for as long as I can remember) and still others will be "unique" because of what fate and life itself has dealt them in terms of "hand to play"...
What is the worth of each one of these individuals?
Were they not all created equal...?
Are not earthly accomplishments ephemeral at best in the Grand Scheme of Things?
Will anyone of us take with himself - or herself - his/her riches, prizes, decorations, kudos, accolades, awards... any of "da goods"?
The answer is simple, my friends (and the rest...) - NO.
Whether you are a believer and whether you're not - those facts remain the same.
Nothing of "the present" will remain - NOTHING.
The unbelievers will see this as ample reason to do as they please in the here and now - and trample all over others in the process. Their self-gratification knows no boundaries - for they have it that they will not be held accountable for anything at all... ever! None of their diplomas will be remembered once they are no more - why should their sins be remembered - right?
Again, another simple answer - however, this time, it is WRONG, not right at all.
Ever thought in terms of ABSOLUTES?
(Yeah - I know - if you are any one of my trivial adversaries -an assumption of the worth of their opinion, yes... I dare... however I admit that only God Knows about their true worth- while knowing that none of them has ever thought of anything other than the "here and now", as evidenced by their discourse and actions... so... I can dare!)
I repeat - have you ever thought in terms of ABSOLUTES?
GOD is the Absolute Righteousness.
We know that evil exists - it is all over the place on the planet...
Absolute Righteousness Exists as well.
The closer we inch towards it (we can never hope to be all that close at all, of course) the better we feel about ourselves (even those with little or no conscience cannot deny that fact - for even they have experienced contentment after "doing the right thing") and the more at peace we are with the world (even when confronted with injustice, stupidity, rudeness and their many, many kins...).
In other words, the more serene we are.
And, whether you are a believer or not, you want your peace of mind - YOU WANT YOUR SERENITY! YOU KNOW YOU DO!
A SENSELESS WAR IS BEING FOUGHT IN IRAQ... just so that Americans can feel serene that the "terror threat" is being dealt with... so, carry on with consumerism, folks!
The petty ones will not feel serene still when they are called out to their crude behaviour, or exposed as overgrown little minds that can only appreciate the lowest common denominator fare to be found today...
This, evidently, has no ties to either a period of peace or wartime.
In either situation, crudeness exists - and wants to overrule.
The disciples of crude also like pre-conceit, foulness and filthiness.
Ironically, these are the ones who will attack the worth of others - for they erroneously believe that their acceptance of any sort of outrageous and foul behaviour -in whatever medium that it is to be found in- makes them "better" somehow... They also see, of course, much more potential in themselves as "progressive minds" and even human beings... or they desperately want to see that in themselves, because they are afraid that the righteous and tasteful might be right about them (as we sure are) and that their days are therefore... numbered!
Even the foulmouths of today are not oblivious to some of history's lessons - the fall of the Roman Empire... Napoléon's out-of-control ambition... Hitler... Dubya... oops - that last one is sad history still in progress...! ;)
Even so... the senseless will remain senseless and wayward - to the point of even thinking that they are "the best"! *ROTFL*
Poor senseless souls - thou hast no idea what awaits thee!
However... thou shall see - and soon at that!
Me, in all this? I shall continue to aim to please only ONE - GOD! As I state on this blog and on my profile, I am reflecting His Light. My role-model in this exercise is none other than John The Baptist - and I choose him as such knowing full well what happened to him. He was not popular one bit. He displeased a lot of people - telling them, to their faces, what displeases the most... THE TRUTH.
Luckily for me, I see no crooked, rotten-to-the-core king that could get me beheaded amongst my quarries... Only crooked, rotten-to-the-core jokers with a very warped sense of what is right, tasteful and "worthy". Oh - and of what is "funny" too. But it is another subject... or story... for another time!
As Cosby said, trying to please everybody leads nowhere fast. We wind up straying from the right path OURSELVES in doing so... That is NOT for me!
For I value MY SOUL too much for let that happen!
Different strokes (I know Cosby wasn't in that one - ok?) for different folks - I am so very certain that these feeble minds I have been refering to have many other aspects of themselves that they value and emphasize upon... in stead of their souls. For all intents and purposes, they could be soulless! But they are not, not really. They just act that way - as if they were without either soul or conscience. Or good taste. Or a sense of what is right and wrong. Or decency. Or plain good old common sense! They lack in many essential, key departments of what makes "humanity"... human! Humanity was created in the image of God - lest you forget! We are to aspire to be closer to Him - not further and further from the ideal to the point that we indulge the bases instincts on a constant basis. When that happens, we are closer to animals than human beings at all. Those are the individuals that I have met, to a "T"... or maybe they just act that way. For the sake of their souls and loved ones (...) - I hope it is all an act indeed. For every one of them that is "just an outrageous act" though - there is one genuinely rotten to the core.
Believe me on that - I know.
What would be "the worth" of such individuals?
Cannon fodder worthy? (One-way ticket to Iraq...)
Supermarket/Restaurant employee worthy? (I wouldn't eat food that went through their hands)
Family man (or woman) worthy? (I pity the folks...)
High-pay (sounds more like high risk to me...) ultra-chic job worthy?
Maybe my purposefully sardonic tone -no to mention the previous essay- is not indicating it to you yet... but none of these matter ultimately.
What has to be worthy is YOUR SOUL.
YOUR HEART AND SOUL.
For the soul is the only part of you that has any kind of shot at eternity... life everlasting... immortality...
Okay - admittedly, in a morally-corrupt society, less and less of us have a really good shot at THAT...
Most of my adversaries have a one or two percent better chance of "scoring" on the link at the top and bottom of this blog entry...
Most of my adversaries have an excellent chance of "scoring" quite high too at the next few week-ends' "get laid, paid and contaminated for life" sweepstakes...
But that is most definitely another (sickening) story... not for TLB Prime... not for any of my blogs! I am not into street walking lifestyles (the winters are too cold to be on the streets anyway! *LOL*)
I "don't do" (to speak their lingo...) "the libidinous blog"... ;)
Link
Nowadays though, "everybody" is a critic.
Alas, "everybody" is also prone to have poor taste, a questionable set of values, bad life habits, bizarre ideals and morals oftentimes... and the wrong priorities (which have, usually, as their top three - 1. money 2. money and 3. more money! Debauchery comes in at number four.)
"Everybody" is also rude... obnoxious... hypocritical, not just critical (take note, adversaries, how "h-y-p-o-crite" is spelled... have it inscribed on your pieces of I.D. now!)
"Everybody" has an opinion (and a few other things too) - and that is okay but also deplorable because many opinions are ill-informed and misguided. But that might be another story for another blog post...
The infantile and immature ones will always want to ascertain their alleged superiority (a word that I loathe) upon either those that they despise (I have been despised - I will be again - for speaking the truth!) or those that they simply... envy (I have been envied too - since the day of MY BIRTH... again a fine subject for another blog post, methinks).
I remember with... actually, not much fondness at all, watching wrestlers Curt Hennig and Bret Hart stage a mock argument of the sort "my dad beat your dad" (Larry The Axe Hennig and Stu Hart) and then both egos would go from there (Curt thinking himself to be "Mr. Perfect - from the top of my head to the tips of my toes - absolutely perfect!" while Bret still claims to be "the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be"... lest he's on his "excellence of execution" trip, which he shouldn't be anymore because he cannot execute anything anymore - he's retired! Which is still better than Curt - who is dead! But this sure is another story...)
My point is -and I sure do have one- none of this "worth" talk makes any sort of sense!
As pointed out in yesterday's post, we are all unique and different - there is no point in going any further into that!
Haven't you folks heard that "it ain't fair to compare" yet?!?
Many of us can be unique in an obnoxious way (I have met a lot of people like that) others will be unique in the causes they champion (such as good taste, faith and higher values - this is the category that I belong in and have strived to belong to for as long as I can remember) and still others will be "unique" because of what fate and life itself has dealt them in terms of "hand to play"...
What is the worth of each one of these individuals?
Were they not all created equal...?
Are not earthly accomplishments ephemeral at best in the Grand Scheme of Things?
Will anyone of us take with himself - or herself - his/her riches, prizes, decorations, kudos, accolades, awards... any of "da goods"?
The answer is simple, my friends (and the rest...) - NO.
Whether you are a believer and whether you're not - those facts remain the same.
Nothing of "the present" will remain - NOTHING.
The unbelievers will see this as ample reason to do as they please in the here and now - and trample all over others in the process. Their self-gratification knows no boundaries - for they have it that they will not be held accountable for anything at all... ever! None of their diplomas will be remembered once they are no more - why should their sins be remembered - right?
Again, another simple answer - however, this time, it is WRONG, not right at all.
Ever thought in terms of ABSOLUTES?
(Yeah - I know - if you are any one of my trivial adversaries -an assumption of the worth of their opinion, yes... I dare... however I admit that only God Knows about their true worth- while knowing that none of them has ever thought of anything other than the "here and now", as evidenced by their discourse and actions... so... I can dare!)
I repeat - have you ever thought in terms of ABSOLUTES?
GOD is the Absolute Righteousness.
We know that evil exists - it is all over the place on the planet...
Absolute Righteousness Exists as well.
The closer we inch towards it (we can never hope to be all that close at all, of course) the better we feel about ourselves (even those with little or no conscience cannot deny that fact - for even they have experienced contentment after "doing the right thing") and the more at peace we are with the world (even when confronted with injustice, stupidity, rudeness and their many, many kins...).
In other words, the more serene we are.
And, whether you are a believer or not, you want your peace of mind - YOU WANT YOUR SERENITY! YOU KNOW YOU DO!
A SENSELESS WAR IS BEING FOUGHT IN IRAQ... just so that Americans can feel serene that the "terror threat" is being dealt with... so, carry on with consumerism, folks!
The petty ones will not feel serene still when they are called out to their crude behaviour, or exposed as overgrown little minds that can only appreciate the lowest common denominator fare to be found today...
This, evidently, has no ties to either a period of peace or wartime.
In either situation, crudeness exists - and wants to overrule.
The disciples of crude also like pre-conceit, foulness and filthiness.
Ironically, these are the ones who will attack the worth of others - for they erroneously believe that their acceptance of any sort of outrageous and foul behaviour -in whatever medium that it is to be found in- makes them "better" somehow... They also see, of course, much more potential in themselves as "progressive minds" and even human beings... or they desperately want to see that in themselves, because they are afraid that the righteous and tasteful might be right about them (as we sure are) and that their days are therefore... numbered!
Even the foulmouths of today are not oblivious to some of history's lessons - the fall of the Roman Empire... Napoléon's out-of-control ambition... Hitler... Dubya... oops - that last one is sad history still in progress...! ;)
Even so... the senseless will remain senseless and wayward - to the point of even thinking that they are "the best"! *ROTFL*
Poor senseless souls - thou hast no idea what awaits thee!
However... thou shall see - and soon at that!
Me, in all this? I shall continue to aim to please only ONE - GOD! As I state on this blog and on my profile, I am reflecting His Light. My role-model in this exercise is none other than John The Baptist - and I choose him as such knowing full well what happened to him. He was not popular one bit. He displeased a lot of people - telling them, to their faces, what displeases the most... THE TRUTH.
Luckily for me, I see no crooked, rotten-to-the-core king that could get me beheaded amongst my quarries... Only crooked, rotten-to-the-core jokers with a very warped sense of what is right, tasteful and "worthy". Oh - and of what is "funny" too. But it is another subject... or story... for another time!
As Cosby said, trying to please everybody leads nowhere fast. We wind up straying from the right path OURSELVES in doing so... That is NOT for me!
For I value MY SOUL too much for let that happen!
Different strokes (I know Cosby wasn't in that one - ok?) for different folks - I am so very certain that these feeble minds I have been refering to have many other aspects of themselves that they value and emphasize upon... in stead of their souls. For all intents and purposes, they could be soulless! But they are not, not really. They just act that way - as if they were without either soul or conscience. Or good taste. Or a sense of what is right and wrong. Or decency. Or plain good old common sense! They lack in many essential, key departments of what makes "humanity"... human! Humanity was created in the image of God - lest you forget! We are to aspire to be closer to Him - not further and further from the ideal to the point that we indulge the bases instincts on a constant basis. When that happens, we are closer to animals than human beings at all. Those are the individuals that I have met, to a "T"... or maybe they just act that way. For the sake of their souls and loved ones (...) - I hope it is all an act indeed. For every one of them that is "just an outrageous act" though - there is one genuinely rotten to the core.
Believe me on that - I know.
What would be "the worth" of such individuals?
Cannon fodder worthy? (One-way ticket to Iraq...)
Supermarket/Restaurant employee worthy? (I wouldn't eat food that went through their hands)
Family man (or woman) worthy? (I pity the folks...)
High-pay (sounds more like high risk to me...) ultra-chic job worthy?
Maybe my purposefully sardonic tone -no to mention the previous essay- is not indicating it to you yet... but none of these matter ultimately.
What has to be worthy is YOUR SOUL.
YOUR HEART AND SOUL.
For the soul is the only part of you that has any kind of shot at eternity... life everlasting... immortality...
Okay - admittedly, in a morally-corrupt society, less and less of us have a really good shot at THAT...
Most of my adversaries have a one or two percent better chance of "scoring" on the link at the top and bottom of this blog entry...
Most of my adversaries have an excellent chance of "scoring" quite high too at the next few week-ends' "get laid, paid and contaminated for life" sweepstakes...
But that is most definitely another (sickening) story... not for TLB Prime... not for any of my blogs! I am not into street walking lifestyles (the winters are too cold to be on the streets anyway! *LOL*)
I "don't do" (to speak their lingo...) "the libidinous blog"... ;)
Link
Sunday, January 29, 2006
It's Officially The Year Of The Dog - Here's Something For All The Underdogs Out There...!
