setting the record straight- understand God not create God

And so Ebby said to Bill, "why don't you choose your own conception of God?" (the beginning of the God concept as Alcoholics Anonymous presented it).

When the A.A. book (basic text) also known as the Big Book was published in 1939 the "concept of God" transformed to "God as we understood Him" . The 3rd step of the A.A. program reads as thus;

"made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."

The first step to understanding what " understanding God " is about is to understand what
understand means. As you may already know, I prefer definitions from the Thorndike Barnhart Desk Dictionary circa 1950.

Understand (- stood ) 1. get the meaning of: now I understand the teachers words. 2. get the meaning: people often listen but do not understand. 3. grasp by the mind, comprehend, realize: understand the nature of electricity. 4. know how to deal with, know well, know: a good teacher should understand children. 5. be informed, learn: I understand that he is leaving town. 6. take as a fact, believe: it is understood that you will come. 7. take as meaning, take as meant: what are we to understand from his words? 8. Gram. supply in the mind. In "he hit the tree harder than I, " the word DID is understood after I. 9. Understand each other, a. know each others meaning's and wishes. b. agree

Quite a few too many times God is described as an " ashtray " or a " doorknob " in Society meetings. This is one of the first departures from an understanding of God and is more on the side of creativity, creating God. I can make this observation because even though folks say, "your God could be an ashtray or a doorknob" to my knowledge, me the writer of this blog, no one has come forth yet and said " I prayed to the doorknob and it took away my obsession to drink" OR "I prayed to the ashtray and it took away my pride."

I am fully aware that I'm going out on a limb with this discussion BUT then, isn't "out on a limb" where the fruit is?

Understand, don't create.

Contrary to popular belief there is an "  A.A. God  " of a particular type. This A.A. God, WE  A.A. members can fully agree does remove the obsession to drink and does help us with our other problems. Since that is commonly AGREED upon and because that practice has produced results ( relying on a Higher Power), then we could fairly say we (members of A.A.) WE  undertand a " particular " God or type of God if you will.

AND THE WILL of this God or particular type of God is to remove our obsession to drink and help us with our other problems. So far as we know, nothing from that description could be taken away or added to in the circles of A.A. Also, we may get a broader understanding of God and how He works from our friends that belong to religions, what their books say, the prayers that they pray.

This brings us to our next meditation, how do we know God has a sense of humor? Before you think I'm boring and take everything too seriously please commit to memory that this is about UNDERSTANDING God not creating God.


It is the "humor factor" that recovering alcoholics create which creates disturbances between our fellowship and the fellowship of Al-Anon. Al-Anon is 60 years of HOPE to and for those living with an alcoholic, a problem drinker. They believe alcoholism is a family disease and that changed attitudes can aid recovery. AND the first attitude change the Al-Anon's probably welcome like the morning sun is the alcoholic loosing the attitude that everything is humorous, funny.

I'll admit that the "God concept" in A.A. is open to interpetation AND we can't tell anyone what to believe and what not to believe SO I must remember then, at this point that the very last word in the "understanding" definition above is the word AGREE.

This A.A. God, WE  A.A. members UNDERSTAND does remove the obsession to drink and does help us with our other problems, we agree on that.

We understand as well, what we read in the A.A. book The 12 and 12, page 15;

" A.A.'s Twelve Steps are a group of principles, spiritual in their nature, which, if practiced as a way of life, can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to become happily and usefully whole."

We agree to that as well.

But a doorknob? An ashtray? That analogy IS at its root humorous; amusing, cause to laugh.

A friend of mine attends a local Al-Anon meeting which at the same time there is an A.A. meeting right down the hall. She confided to me one day that every time the Al-Anon's hear the GREAT ROARS, the laughing coming from down the hall of the A.A. meeting they become nervous.

The meeting times could be changed or the buildings in which everyone meets could be changed, but I think there's A HIGHER lesson for us here. I think there's something worth examining here, something to meditate on, something to understand.

I don't claim to know it all when it comes to God or Higher Power but I will say this, I understand people and people have feelings.

What you find humorous may not be so humorous to the next person, based more than on just their belief, but maybe also upon a most inhumane personal experience.

Stick more to the UNDERSTANDING God and less on the CREATING God.



tat2guru

can't let go of your past?

- not all of your past is bad. I tell you this, if you have tried everything you could think of to let go of your past , the dark past and it hasn't worked then maybe you should ask your past to let go of you.

prayer: " dark past, you refuse to release yourself from me. You no longer serve a purpose. I have learned the lessons I needed to learn from you dark past, let me go. Leave me alone." REMANEO



tat2guru

honor or ignore your Higher Power

" HONOR (respect) your Higher Power, God or Creator. "
" IGNORE your Higher Power, God or Creator. " The choice is yours.
The consequences, they are also yours. tat2guru

Everyone wants to remain teachable

Everyone wants to remain teachable  .   .   .   .   .

that is until the teacher shows up.

tat2guru

" I don't have to like everybody but I have to love everybody." PART II

There is no need to have this preconceived notion that, one day someone we meet is going to offend us AND our response, really a weapon designed to put THEM in their place should be; "I have to love you but I don't have to like you." (Part ONE of this blog should be read first.)

If you've been following the tat2guru, I mentioned plenty of times that my response to a specific situation or circumstance may be directed more to "this is what NOT to do" as opposed to "this is what to do."

Concerning this "defense mechanism" principle that is being thrown around, the title of this blog; don't buy into it. It's stealthy self-righteousness at best and spirtual cowardice at its worst.

When we've become disciplined we calmly and faithfully turn our day and all its events, known and unknown over to the AUTHOR of the day. We ask the AUTHOR of the coming day to help us, guide us and even protect us.

AND when we are clear minded enough as a result of prayer, meditation and self-examination, we are able to navigate the days maze with prudence and not paranoia.

Don't get ready to throw down with me by exclaiming "if we don't have expectations we won't have disappointments." Look, in the real world, mature and responsible people PLAN their day or days or week, there's nothing wrong with planning. AND if, every time something doesn't go your way you respond, "expectations, that's what happened" then you're missing the whole point of putting your will and life into the CARE of God's hands. (Your Power or Source). From my experience, laying blame on "expectations" is a COPOUT from learning any lesson or taking any responsibility for your actions of which resulted in the said dilemma.

IF you are who you say you are, a spiritual being having a human experience then excuse making and blame has no place in your daily repertoire.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

tat2guru

Mind Management

Mind Management: telling your ego it's not going to get that raise AGAIN.

tat2guru

" I don't have to like everybody but I have to love everybody."

Why do people say they like you when they truelly don't care about you at all? For me, when I like a person, something inside me begins to have a feeling of caring about them, genuinely.

I hear folks say " I don't have to like everybody but I have to love everybody."

Does anyone see how irrational, unrealisitic and full of shit that statement is?

It is a total CONDITIONAL approach and an "open to interpetion" response which would depend most likely upon how the person that is loved treats the person claiming to love them.

All is well and "loving" pending any turmoil or misunderstanding. When trouble does come it would be deemed PROPER by the person doing the loving, after being offended to exclaim, because it's easier to claim self righteousness silently throught the words- "I don't have to like you BUT I love you." It's a gimmick!



The other side of the statement " I don't have to like everybody but I have to love everybody" is that it birthed itself from a movement that claims UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

To say "I won't like you" but "I'll love you" sounds quite conditional to me IN FACT what it does is fire a warning shot across the bow of the vessel of relationship that signals "there's something wrong with you but I'll overlook it."

Further then, upon investigation it's quite obvious to a clear mind observing this discussion we're having that to say "I won't like you" but "I'll love you" is completely and unequivocally egotistical and not at all in alignment with unconditional, zero centered or self-lessness principles of spirituality.

There's a large neon sign flashing brightly day and night that reads "this type of thinking is infected with motives."

People don't take the time to think about what they REPEAT. Just because someone said it, and at the time it sounded noble doesn't mean it's worth repeating.

Nevertheless there are folks who claim to "be themselves" when in reality, with little observation and examination by the outsider it's clear that mimicing is still quite the fashion.

When it comes to HELPING our fellow men and women, liking and loving play no part if and when another person needs help.




tat2guru

changing your mind about changing your ways.

If your mind STOPS in its tracks and you think to yourself,  " I really need to change" then, at that moment, if the next thing you do isn't any DIFFERENT from what you're used to doing you have not even begun to take CHANGING yourself seriously.

Folks find themselves in an awkward position and or maybe in some kind of trouble. Under most circumstances the human tendancy is to GET the focus off me, why?

We might feel embarrassed on the one hand and on the other hand we might need to buy some time to prepare our alibi, NOT that we could convince someone that "we weren't at the scene of the crime" so to speak, but to make an excuse for our emotional and mental dysfunction.

More often than NOT, during the process of creating our " defense " we create MORE problems from which closer scrutiny upon our condition arises from the said injured party.

LOOK, people see through our costumes or attempts to disguise the real us. It's my experience most times the person who is in the wrong will go to great lengths to get THE LAST WORD IN. YOU'RE obvious.

Why can't we change then? Why is changing so hard or painful?

The first block to change is the inability to be realisitic about ourselves which is a by product of NOT being able to be HONEST. An honest person won't prolong an arguement, in fact, a truelly honest person, even if he or she has done nothing wrong, when they see and sense the current discussion is not bearing any fruit of good will in fact AND should at least apologize for getting the other person upset.

When you "challenge" ME and IF I respond, and then you continue on and on and on about how "there's something wrong with me for being upset" AND you ignore the intitial challenge, it is at that point that I understand YOU to be a person of limited conscience OR worse, a troublemaker. Either way it won't matter to ME hours after the point of our impact while it is still bothering you because I know people as well as myself - we act and re-act. People with limited conscious and troublemakers spend hours, days and months dwelling on what appears to them " the greatest injustice" without even considering that upon the field which THEY made a battle,  IT was THEY who fired the first volley.

It is from YOU that I learned much about ME- thank you, thank you, thank you.

I started this journey on April 15, 1988 when I made myself available for change. Not long after that day I met my teacher, my spiritual advisor, Michael. Michael, who sponsored me through the "maze" of transformation has since gone on to be with his ancestors. His words ring STRONG today and I am indebted, I feel, to carry on his legacy of selflessness.

The "course" of action that led me to a mystical experience was embodied in the principles of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Michael explained to me from the outset that "we don't get better then do the steps, we do the steps and get better." I agree.

Before I continue allow me to repeat;  " I made myself available " at first briefly, then occassionally, then frequently and NOW I'm available always.

For me to change, and change IS constant I need to be available. Available how? I need to be observant and aware - conscious. This is a stark contrast from being say compulsive because as a compulsive person I act first and think later. As a conscious person I think first AND then may not even act. But this change doesn't come easy, one might even say it comes with a price.

The image I hold of myself, my ego doesn't like to be subpoened for any MORAL inquiry and will, if it has to only come kicking and screaming.  Maybe your ego is so captivating that escape from its slavery seems impossible and if that's the case I pray for you. On the other hand YOU may not understand ego at all. Nor would you even begin to consider the consequences of unbridled emotion and erratic re-action toward your fellow man.

Some people spend their whole lives lost only to spend their death lonely. Hard hearts are sad creatures.

It wasn't until my back was against the proverbial wall that I raised my hands and surrendered. It wasn't until the pain became unbearable, AGAIN that I hung my head and considered submission. It wasn't until I became honest with myself and said to myself
" enough is enough " AND at this point I knew I was unable to make even a LAST STAND.

Transforming isn't something that needs be applied when you're at the end of your rope. If you have an inkling that, in the grand scheme of things your contributions cause more confusion than harmony then you may at any time make yourself available to change, you must be prepared however to walk away- to walk away from yourself as you see yourself and seek the real you.

Some folks can't bear the thought of this transition and will after a brief consideration succumb to the fact that since "others act this way , why should I be any different?" They may even, without any experience or true facts about the case look upon peaceful and serene folks as boring and NOT fun.

We beg to differ with that opinion and WE do have sense of humor- we just know when and where its appropriate.

If you don't care at all about the contribution you make to mankind then we feel sorry for you friend. We would hope that one day you would be open to a most basic principle of humankind and that is if you can't help another person at least don't hurt them.

You may change because you want to OR you may change because you have to. It's not an easy decision. When guilt and shame weigh you down enough then you might consider your perspective and until then one thing won't change- we'll be here to help you. And maybe one day even laugh about it.

tat2guru

Open minded or condition minded?

Open minded or condition minded?

There are people who believe they have an open mind.

Most people believe they have an open mind and don't recognize just how conditioned they are. Do you believe you are an open minded person? Here's a test that YOU get to grade.

Go out and look at the stars on the next clear night. Are you able to look at the stars without being DRAWN to what is commonly known as say " the big dipper?"

Are you able to look at THE stars?

When you look UP, what do you see, the stars as a whole or patterns you were taught ARE UP THERE?

 

warning

Man cannot continue to rule man. Obey the Gods or you will be punished.

" Clash of the Titans "

guru thought for the day

I may one day have to answer for not forgiving you 7 times seven every day.

But I say this-" WOE unto YOU sinner who offends whatever Gods may be by continuing to provoke me."

good orderly direction

"  We honestly can't prepare, in our minds for what may come down the pike this morning, this afternoon or this evening ALL at once. The worst way we might think is that our morning devotion will keep us safe and balanced all day. That's not practical. It will however allow us to start the journey on the right foot. Every moment has its challenges. Every moment, as well, has its blessings. "


   "  Good orderly direction is to see both the challenge and the blessing, to do what can be done to meet the challenge and to be grateful for what has happened as a blessing.  We continue moving forward. This isn't wishful thinking, this is a fact.


To be honest, we live just one breathe at a time and so we can't take many breaths and expect that to sustain us for the next 20 minutes."


The tat2guru.

I miss the little town grocery store

I miss the little town grocery store, you know the one Mom or Grandma sent us to. With a note. Usually the exact amount for the bill. It wasn't a "super" market or a super store. In fact it didn't have much but it always had what we needed.

earthship tranquility

Behind me is the sweet aroma of white sage mixed with a hint of sweet grass, there is lotus oil burning in the lamp. I have finished the morning dance with Xena, my loyal companion. My heart is calm, my soul is rippling and my mind is free.

I wondered for a moment about the many things I've done lately, what manifested from prayer, meditation and self-examintaion. I pondered this journey.

Things done in thought, word and deed- things that have not benefited mankind and I am sorry for them. I have, to the utmost of my ability, reconciled the past and met controversy on its battlefield of revenge and unforgiveness.

Transgressions cannot at times be undone or rewritten- only forsaken. 

We live in this capsule with one another, beside one another AND for one another. We should at every turn think about how our actions will benefit mankind- to be helpful and not harmful. And still we weep, and we mourn and we cringe. Why?

What saith thee about this hate you embrace like a lottery ticket? How can we justify the visions of bestowing upon another creature doom and gloom and even death as if we could gift wrap it to avoid controversy? From which part of your heart do these desires of revenge arise?

And do not you, when you're all alone in the dark, wondering about the road that brought you to this point, don't you wish you could change the marks you left along the hardwood floor of life? Who will release you? How will you be released?

I don't know what love is entirely however I DO know what LOVE isn't.

AND at the end of the day, nay, the end of OUR life then this is what will matter, my experiences - as " I " see them, as I interpet them; as THEY affected me and mankind as a whole. Maybe I don't know what this thing you call life IS, but I am learning for sure what it ISN'T!

We may have a destiny - today, this hour, next hour, tomorrow or even next week. Our journey begins each day we open our eyes and open our mind and become conscious. The journey may be one short trek downstairs to open the windows, make a coffee, pet our animal friend, water the plants.

Our journey may be to smile WHEN someone least expects it, to hold a door when we don't feel like it, to give a hand when we want to stay idle, our journey may be to be quiet and listen.

Maybe the journey is to awake inside and journey inside ourselves, to love ourselves, to be kind to ourselves, to have dignity and self-respect.

We have a choice what we think about and how long we think about it. We have a choice to move forward, stay put or traverse the roads of the past. Good memories are good to memorize, no?

A bell is ringing for you this day, do you hear it?

Follow the bell with your heart and flee from the siren of your hateful mind. Flee from those things that keep you hostage, those things that bind you, those things that TELL you "you're o.k. - this is o.k." WHEN you know it's a lie. AND the truth is you're lying to yourself. Follow the bell!

Escape from the labyrinth of self absorption. Smell fragrances that as a child brought a smile to your face, embrace your five senses, now.

I tell you to seek that which you are not. Look for the you you have visions of. Find the you you saw as a child. Capture the you you lost along the way; the you you know you aren't but want to be.

Awaken from your sleep. Arise to meet the day.  Start your journey anew. Embrace yourself.

Inhale, exhale. Relax.

regarding the serenity prayer

Regarding the serenity prayer;

God,  grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.



Maybe the thing YOU need to change about a certain situation is the fact you have a poor record about accepting things.

Maybe the thing YOU need to accept is the fact that you don't like to change.


Asking for help takes courage.

The help WE get is wisdom.

guru said

No one should be made to FEAR making a mistake. What we should be afraid of is what the things we are keeping secret about ourselves are doing to our heart, mind and soul.

noon quote

"there is no need to search for God, or Creator or The One. If you leave your home and take a trip, when you return you do not SEARCH for your home? God, Creator, The One is like that. Always there, you need only recognize it."

thought for the day

Once you look deep into yourself and see, and identify especially with pain - the pain caused by others upon you AND the pain you have transmitted, once that becomes a realistic appraisal you can never be a hard ass again. 

No human being who has searched his heart and soul and desires to do the will of God or The Creator enjoys watching others suffer. On the other hand, we do not embrace suffering as a daily ritual normally. Suffering, wether it be upon a person, a city or a country is denial by those "well off" or those with the means to never want materialistically or worst someone or something without a conscious.

(my thoughts from a thought from the movie ONE).

people say Jesus said . . . .

People say "Jesus said in the Book of _______ Chapter ___

Verse ___  "

Jesus didn't speak in chapters and verses, he spoke in words.

Let's have a REAL conversation with Jesus minus the chapter and

verse stuff.

nothing is a secret

nothing is a secret-

not even the secret you keep from yourself.

guru said

I could proclaim LOUDLY that I am right or gather an audience with the few tickets I have for the self-pity show.

However, I answer to my conscious, the difference between being nervous all day and sleepless most nights.

Covering up lies may come natural to some folks but that's not the norm. As well, being truthful may get one into a quagmire - these skirmishes get tiring.

Whatever lies beyond the other side of my conscious, at the end of THAT rainbow makes or breaks the inherent right that I FEEL I have to join the human race. A membership that may be terminated at any time.

Feeling good about provoking another person to feeling bad? It's YOUR illusion that you've won the game.

Consequently speaking, you're in another dimension not closely related to reality or rationality. Your ship will come in one day on the presupposition there is NO tax to be levied upon you and on that day, in the harbor you will sink.

Oh glorious reason, oh beautiful common sense, oh pitiful masquerade of delusion and self-efficacy.

2012 insight

Folks think that the world is going to end Dec. 21, 2012. Most spiritual experts agree that the world is going to end only " as we know it" and I agree.

I feel there is going to be a dynamic change of thinking amongst most folks.

Perhaps some us will disappear into other dimensions.



Here's a story.

A christian women responded to a comment I made the other day about circumstances surrounding my daughters death. Crystal Victoria went to be with her ancestors on Nov. 6th 2007.

Anyway, the lady said "Crystal died because God wanted her."

Now, what precipitated that response from her was some talk about folks turning their back on my daughter, some relatives never truelly LOVING her as a relative, people forcing her to make decisions about her life that weren't realisitic and a LACK of empathy and compassion by many.

To think Crystal died because God wanted her means I would have to submit to  the theory that the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away- I don't.

I cannot from within the loving soul I possess SAY I surrender my daughters death because God wanted her. I cannot believe from a heart that bleeds compassion that God wanted my daughter and he gets what he wants.

Even if I would believe such an account I would have to accept that NOT only did God take my child from me at 22 years young but that he chose the most despicable manner in which to do it ; " he selects a drug addict, provides a syringe with a hot shot of dope in it and has said drug addict inject my daughter knowing it will kill her. "

"Crystal died because God wanted her? "

And that this is the most reasonable, acceptable method he could use?  He chose to bring about her death, which she too may have suffered intensely until her last breath AND inflict what would be multiples of gut wrenching pain upon me, who, he claims to love as well?

Sorry, I don't buy it.

This sort of thinking, this "herd" mentality is going to disappear soon. Realisitic and mature insights, explainations and deductions will occur. Things like I described above cannot be explained in a realisitic way anymore.

thought for the morning

Why wait until the end of the day to inquire what YOU missed this day, where did you fall short?

Ask each morning instead for the VISION to recognize what your next step is to be.

my power

Any power I have, I mean power that was given to me by the Giver of all things Good does not lie in my fist .

My power lies in my heart. I use this power for the GOOD of the earth and mankind, that is all, not for myself.

This power should not be used as a weapon.

As I received it, so can it be taken away,I must respect this power.



He-ay-hee-ee!

Lose the baggage

That baggage you say you have, your past, why don't you do with it what most airlines do- lose it.

There isn't anything really that we can bring with us from the past but our memories. Can't we choose then which ones to bring?

spiritual remedy for the holocaust

Our time, now, is experiencing a self holocaust.

The great destruction is upon us and poisoning us and killing us.

The deception is so cunning that we think we NEED it to survive - it IS an addiction.

The self holocaust has a host. From the host there extrudes tennacles of destruction and demise.

So powerful is the bane that we seek more of it to cure its original affect.

Then we overdose.

You think it's alcohol or drugs and that is partially true, and therein lies the chicanery. (drugs and alcohol do cause problems and death).

Unless you summon all the courage your heart and mind and soul could muster to see outside the box- you will not see what is hiding in front of you in plain sight.

You will despise people like me for "bringing you down." But I forgive you because I feel sorry for you. You are NOW where I once was.

 The solution that you seek is found in spirituality. In order to create a new approach, to attain a perfect transition, to align yourself with the GOOD in the universe, to throw off the clothes of senseless entertainment and mindless chatter it requires a period of total silence. Usually then daily after the initial dose and reality sets in.

Avoid;







A start is all that is required- television, fast foods, cig's and toxic cleaning products are a good start and you WILL NOTICE immediate results in the way you think and act.

Take up new habits and hobbies;












TIME TO GET STARTED.

hurt, forgiveness and healing

You can say " I FORGIVE past hurts" all the live long day if you want but the turning point happens, the release from these hurts gets lifted when you heal from them. Healing takes time and FULL healing isn't always a gaurantee.

I'd like to say your attitude "no malice toward ALL" is a good start and most honorable but I don't have a cake to eat just because I know what the ingredients are. Just saying "I can bake" doesn't make one a baker.

Even the act of continuous prayer may not get the desired result. What we need in most cases with transformation is new information, primarily the life experience of one who has against all the odds had his heart changed - a change of heart so to speak which in turn affected the outlook.

The information at it's source is wisdom. This wisdom is HEART wisdom and is not majick to be conjured up and doesn't appear as the result of wishful thinking.

In my case almost every situation (injury) required a different approach (antiseptic) .

First, the action needed to be taken depended on my current life situation. There are times when I COULD block everything out and focus on just one issue but that's not always practical especially in today's world. Plus, when I'm feeling good, happy, I tend to NOT want to work on solutions to my problems.

Two, hurts GET DELIVERED in various forms; intentional, unintentional, as consequences and life just happening .

Third, we are not omnipotent (all powerful) to bear ALL - all the time on any given day. The crosses I bear are easier to endure when I share them with others. A life active with contiuous harm is a heartbreaking matter that requires delicate surgery.

Fourth, I trust something OUTSIDE of myself for the strength to endure life's trials and tribulations.

Lastly I am healed at times without committing myself to a procedure or process laid out by someone in a book. There are circumstances in my past that HONESTLY speaking I have no idea where to start with them. My experience is that having had a change of heart in one or two areas sometimes takes care of, heals, reduces the swelling (of pride and ego) in another area AND the replay button never gets pushed again. Then often I realize I put myself into a situation purposefully and got hurt knowing I might or would.

These healings are REMARKABLE occurances and the more  extraordinary, unusual, exceptional, noteworthy, uncommon, incredible, unbelievable, impressive and phenomenal the occurance the more I'm convinced it came from a Power much Greater than I.

One can't pretend with these matters nor explain this process as simply doing this and then do that.

These transactions are phenomenon. One must respect that.

trust

When it comes to trusting people, we don't trust them like a baby trusts its mothers breast.

" . "

Every answer has an answer,

not much ends with a period

Our wounds heal themselves mostly-

In most cases our physical wounds heal by themselves without outside help. Why not the emotional wounds, why do they not heal so easily?

Isn't our body, mental and physical OUR body- one?

today's duty-

Our duty is to smile as often as we can, no matter what our circumstances may be.

One does not continually remove a band aid to see if the cut is still there.

in your actions today-

In your actions today be that as a Lifeguard. Stand by and be prepared, be watchful, alert. Rescue when necessary.

You are not called to be funeral director. Don't, even in your mind, plan the burial of your adversary. The judgement is not yours.

Save lives- do not destroy them.

namaste'

tat2guru said

Tell your pride and ego to go to hell. You  can't get rid of them but at least you know where they are.

What is the meaning of life?

 I'm going to address a subject perhaps only the world's greatest minds would attempt. What is the meaning of life?

To begin I answer that there are many, perhaps thousands of answers to the question "what is the meaning of life?" yet, there is no one explaination. There is no ONE explaination yet there IS one, not a single definition but a compilation of them, a compilation of one.

The meaning of life might be to live it. To live is to have life. To have life is to live. But how? The answer to "how to live life" may reside in the question "why should we?" And it is from this point we will start to look.

I believe I would not get an honest answer for any question about life from one who is suffering a tremendous suffering right now. Many times I have experienced that it is not easy to answer such a meaningful question when our line of sight is blurry or distorted. To compound this matter if I am seeking the response from an adult who has had years of discomfort I wouldn't expect him or her to reply assertively, with focus. Who represents them or fights for them?

Children on the other hand act and re-act differently under similar circumstances or yet even grave and often hopeless conditions. Who represents them or fights for them?

And this is where we take a second look " who fights for you?"

It is no lie that there isn't a lack of terminal illness. It is no lie that there isn't a lack of painful emotional/mental situations. It is no lie that there isn't a lack of hopeless and helpless cases. But who fights for you?

I was compelled earlier to address both sides of the aisle- belief in God or a Higher Power AND non- believers of a supreme being. It is my wish to do so connecting terminal illness, painful emotional/mental situations and hopeless and helpless cases with the question "who fights for you?" Here goes;

1. If you believe in a God or Higher Power and  are terminally ill or suffer from a painful emotional/mental mind or are hopeless and helpless - who fights for you?

2. If you do not believe in a God or Higher Power and  are terminally ill or suffer from a painful emotional/mental mind or are hopeless and helpless - who fights for you?

If you're expecting me to directly verbalize an eloquent answer for question 1, then question 2 , you are mistaken. Truthfully, the answer to both questions is the same! Without being descriptive, wether atheist, agnostic or believer, the answer to questions 1 and 2 is simply that what or who fights for you is someone or something more powerful than you.

Let's briefly address "fights" in the context of this letter.

Fight - "power or will to fight" ( from the Thorndike Barnhart Comprehensive Desk Dictionary circa 1951. )

So someone or something WILL take part in your conflict. They may make manuevers on your behalf, maybe even struggle for you. They may dispute, contest and engage on your behalf.

At your weakest you MAY or WILL rely on them.

At your weakest you MAY or WILL trust what they are doing.

At your weakest you MAY or WILL expect them to bring you through to the other side.

Deity or man - what's the difference? Deity or man what's the similarity- the will?

When WE'RE in the thick of things there are developments which we may or may not have control over. It is these developments that may;

a. spark a fire under us to get moving.

b. douse what little fire is left in us.

When we become weak, discouraged, confused and non-responsive something has to happen AND happen it will. But what? And how?

Who is going to fight for you? You?

Correct me if I'm wrong - there isn't a situation or problem on this planet that doesn't require the power of at least 2 people to solve or make headway with.  In many cases many people get involved and the use of technology is soon enough introduced. Are these people and machines the result of accident and mis-fortune? Or is something else involved here?

And even if one person using a device could get the desired results - other people are indirectly involved because of the device. Who made it?

My friend Bill Flyzik might comment after reading this something like "the guru didn't say anything that most people who have had 25 years of a life experience would know." O.K. so I'll submit the possibility of osmotic pressure at work. Perhaps the meaning of life is thus:

One day we wake up and have ALL this knowledge in our head just like that AND even if we didn't have the physical experience we can ACT like we did and teach and give lectures on it.

My friends and colleagues read a story pertaining to childhood that went something like this, "and who on a star lit night didn't look up into the sky and ask who made all this?"

I have an answer to that question about the maker of all this "I don't know" because it boggles the mind. The nearest answer to "I don't know" is "this is what I think." Be honest now and please be sober at least.

Take for instance the results of prayer, meditation and self examination. What happens there and why do changes occur and improvements take place especially in the most dire cases that then become unexplainable results? Some call these occurances miracles.

And why would there be any kind of ORDER in our lives, AND there is order when the whole of humanity can be described as simple and disorderly by those who don't believe in a Greater Source?

Please understand that for the most part I am not including organized religion which tends to emanate with rules and regulations as the "board" sees fit. AND the Bible is open to interpetation IF for only this reason - words from the original Greek and Hebrew versions cannot be translated to English because there IS no English word for them SO a substitute word is inserted and HAS been inserted into the Good Book. I have studied the Greek and Hebrew versions.

There isn't much meaning in noise I've learned.

There is much meaning in silence I've experienced.

In silence I manage to GO somewhere, maybe inside of myself OR somewhere out there amongst the stars. I'm not sure but the experience is usually profound and life changing. Of course I didn't come up with the idea of prayer and meditation myself and I don't know who did. (maybe is was osmotic pressure). I don't have an answer either as to how prayer, meditation and self-examination become linked to and part of the many spiritual paths and religion.

Certainly there is much more that could be written about this topic and I don't have the time and room right now. I do want to share this with you.

Life, no matter how you look at, no matter how you describe it, no matter what it means to you, no matter how you feel about it,  life cannot be explained away simple. And that's life.

Simply put, the meaning of life cannot be answered in that form of a question and be even close to answered exactly.

Exactly speaking there is no meaning of life.

Life is as life does with ONE exception -

" the only meaning of life is the meaning WE give it, without US it's simply life with no meaning."

Namaste' the guru

The measure of a man.

Humanly speaking, we harm people every day - intentionally and unintentionally. We commit sins of omission and comission. We harm others mentally, physically, spiritually and financially. Some of these harms are done in the name of love while others, well, in the name of God and country. Harms breed delusions. Delusions INFECT the one doing the harm. Often times the one doing the harm is sick and doesn't realize it.

There are TOOLS in place for men and women to measure their daily human relations activities. These tools may be the result of one's personal religion, spiritual path or code of conduct. None the less, much of what we do and say is common sense stuff which, these days isn't so common.

So what is the measure of a man when it comes to hurts and harms?

As a youth we may find ourselves in precarious positions as a result of our zeal. In most cases under these conditions our parents are made aware of what is going on and they (should) provide proper instruction.

As we get older we tend to make mistakes, especially "on the job" miscalculations which, when truthfully interpeted are just that- mistakes. We should learn from them. AND we will be HONEST, by the way, about our mistakes IF we were HANDLED properly by our parents when we were growing up.

There's a point in life when we are "on the journey" for real. Learning new lessons doesn't cease and making new mistakes as we go along doesn't retire either. That's part of the journey.What we do with all this is the center of what makes a man (or woman).

Personally, I don't like being MESSED with - had enough of that growing up and there's no reason to get into the details. HOWEVER, for most of us, no matter how bad our childhood may have been, for most of us there comes a time when we MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR ACTIONS. Our actions today. Or "man up" as the saying goes in 2011.

I find especially since 9-11 that there is more excuse making than responsibility taking. What one has to do with the other is a personal meditation and self-examination process. I can't say that WE ( as a country) had something to do with 9-11 so I will say this; my spiritual teacher taught me to look at BOTH sides when encountering a dilemma, a misunderstanding, a fued.

AND then again there are situations when only one side is responsible for hurts and harms. This conclusion isn't always "cut and dried" but the result of close scrutiny, examination and HONEST appraisal.

The truth is as well that WE don't always feel a need to ADMIT hurting or harming another person or persons. If you can live with that then I guess it's fine  ( for you). On the other hand, most of us do UNDERSTAND karma and personally I go to great lengths in my daily walk to clean my karma side of the street. Energy coming to me and going from me is realistic.

I'm going to mention men and women who have no clue that their behavior is harmful because some folks are born with (birth) defects. Then there are those who have developed serious emotional and mental problems who can't seem to help what they do. Could they be healed? I'm not a doctor. Should they be punished? I'm not a judge. Should we love them?

In most cases speaking truthfully and from experience there is nothing secret about people who continue to hurt or harm others - it's usually out in the open. In most cases it's no secret what is behind the hurts or the harms as well. But what can we do about it?

I was thinking about ALL the TOOLS of instruction, better learning and self-improvement that are available to us these days. Vidoes, cd's and live lectures. For the most part, we can't deny that there is a thread of "civility" running through most social networks AND most people have no truck with mending broken relationships. ( I don't advise anyone to ATTEMPT to mend a destructive relationship.)

I respect men and women who STEP UP TO THE PLATE and take responsiblity for their actions. Now, before you conclude that I look at the world through glasses that scrutinize the wrong doing of others let me say that I also respect men and women who DO GOOD to and for others AND don't require their picture in the paper or a parade down mainstreet.

But we're quick to blame and place blame upon others in these times, April 1, 2011. We're quick to "pass" the proverbial buck in these times. We're quick to FORGET the PRINCIPLE behind the GOOD SAMARITAN story no matter what language it's spoken in, AND every faith and spiritual path HAS a Good Samaritan story. ( Of course one must be cautious in our times about helping another because of lawsuits and litigations.) OY

What about PEACE OF MIND? Do you have it?

At the end of the day can you say "job well done" or "well done thou good and faithful servant" instead of mission accomplished?

Do you wake up mostly calm minded and prepare to meet the day to give and not take? To speak for and not about? To help and not to harm? Or are you burdened by yesterdays calamity and still figuring out, fine tuning YOUR SIDE OF THE STORY?


Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.  ~William Shakespeare