Today, I began to play with my site to give it a new look and add some content. My intention for 2008, a year of New Beginnings, is to provide more regular content and expand ideas and realizations as they come to me. I invite active participation here with all who visit. I love the expansion of ideas, feelings and expressions of creativity. The New Year brings excitement and mystery as we all release the past and live in the expectancy of what is yet to come.
Acronyms are a big part of what I share, and I will be offering those as part of my postings.
I also invite you to join the Magdalena Messages eBlast, which comes out every Tuesday. Email me your email address and you will be added. The power of this message is profound and lives have changed as a result of listening and exploring Mary Magdalene's insights of the Divine Feminine, Holy Love and Holy Desire.
This is a BIG YEAR, and all who desire it will experience a magnificent transformation.
Welcome to 2008. May you ride the Chariot of Fire and Break Through the Veils that have, up until now, hidden what is possible. We are the Ones we have been waiting for. If not now, when? If not you, who?
peace,
John
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
Conversations with God-Just viewed the DVD
What amazing beings we are! We attract to us exactly what we need, at any given moment. I will put this in the first person, since this is my observation and expression of what is true for me.
I just finished watching the DVD, Conversations with God, as told by Neale Donald Walsch. If you have not seen it, but know about the series by the same name, I will quickly fill in some blanks, and leave the rest of the experience to you. This is the story of Neale's journey from the bottom of his life to the realization of his passion and pathway. It contains scenes that graphically illustrate his struggles with his own demons and how he was able to finally shift his own perception of who he is and what he is here for. The story is not yet complete, but the message is clear that to live other than your own life with passion and purpose, is to die with your song still in you, as Wayne Dyer says.
This is such a timely experience for me for, though not yet at the bottom of my life, I can see what it might be like if I don't embrace what is being presented to me, now, and act on my own passion to realize my pathway. I have been blessed with Masters and Teachers who love me unconditionally, and with resources within myself that I may use to express that Love to others. The tools I have been given I always thought were outside myself, and had to be manipulated properly in order to get the results I desired and to make my life complete. What is being shown me, and what is being shown to others through the weekly Darshan at the Family of the Flowering Heart, is that the authentic tools are tools of the Heart and are best used through our being, not our doing. Awareness of my inner being is how I may experience my feeling nature, and recognition of the reflections of that being through others is confirmation of the inner truth that evolves, from moment to moment, into greater expressions of that Inner Self.
This vehicle of my self-expression provides a way to share my Love of God/Spirit/Divine Creator. Someone pointed out that our only purpose for being here, in Body/Minds, is to extend Love. That looks differently to each of us, but each of us has the capacity to feel Love and extend Love, and it is the degree of our Intention that draws that feeling back to us.
So, my friends, open your hearts to receive Love and pass it forward, and allow the spiral to ascend and expand, embracing all that is, without exception.
Peace,
John
I just finished watching the DVD, Conversations with God, as told by Neale Donald Walsch. If you have not seen it, but know about the series by the same name, I will quickly fill in some blanks, and leave the rest of the experience to you. This is the story of Neale's journey from the bottom of his life to the realization of his passion and pathway. It contains scenes that graphically illustrate his struggles with his own demons and how he was able to finally shift his own perception of who he is and what he is here for. The story is not yet complete, but the message is clear that to live other than your own life with passion and purpose, is to die with your song still in you, as Wayne Dyer says.
This is such a timely experience for me for, though not yet at the bottom of my life, I can see what it might be like if I don't embrace what is being presented to me, now, and act on my own passion to realize my pathway. I have been blessed with Masters and Teachers who love me unconditionally, and with resources within myself that I may use to express that Love to others. The tools I have been given I always thought were outside myself, and had to be manipulated properly in order to get the results I desired and to make my life complete. What is being shown me, and what is being shown to others through the weekly Darshan at the Family of the Flowering Heart, is that the authentic tools are tools of the Heart and are best used through our being, not our doing. Awareness of my inner being is how I may experience my feeling nature, and recognition of the reflections of that being through others is confirmation of the inner truth that evolves, from moment to moment, into greater expressions of that Inner Self.
This vehicle of my self-expression provides a way to share my Love of God/Spirit/Divine Creator. Someone pointed out that our only purpose for being here, in Body/Minds, is to extend Love. That looks differently to each of us, but each of us has the capacity to feel Love and extend Love, and it is the degree of our Intention that draws that feeling back to us.
So, my friends, open your hearts to receive Love and pass it forward, and allow the spiral to ascend and expand, embracing all that is, without exception.
Peace,
John
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
God and Atheism and Beyond...commentary
This began as a response to an article I read on the internet, and I wanted to share it with you.
All the back and forth between atheists, theists and agnostics is more of the belief in separatism: there is only one way to believe and it excludes all others. What I "know" from experience is that there is no single answer that excludes all others. God is an experience and is not confined to a religion/philosophy/belief/point of view. It/god is not human and is not confined to human qualities; in as much as each of us is the "product" of god's consciousness, we have access to those qualities to the degree that we are open to that consciousness. For the scientists among you--and I do not claim to be one--, the scientific method includes that realm of curiosity about the origin and purpose of the observable universe, but also the realm of the unobservable. What is now visible was once invisible because we had no instruments to observe, or lacked the imagination to question the unknown as knowable. Religion is that arena of belief that wants to control the exploration of the unknown because of fear. Fear is the reluctance to acknowledge death and the possibility that there is nothing after this life. Mysticism is that realm of direct experience of God, without the need for empirical proof of Its existence. Life is the experiment that becomes the experience. Visionaries are those who imagine what is not observable and are passionately willing to risk everything for a possibility that something more exists beyond what their senses tell them exists.
These random thoughts are meant not as conclusive but exploratory. Radical Inquiry, which is a method introduced to me by Jayem, www.wayofmastery.com, is that realm of inner exploration in which the I of my mind is willing to delve into the unimaginable infinite possibilities that exist just a thought away.
There are so many avenues of exploration and revelation that I'd like to share with all of you, and I will be posting commentary on these as I travel the pathway of self-discovery and self-realization.
I wish you Peace, Love and Joy from moment to moment.
John
All the back and forth between atheists, theists and agnostics is more of the belief in separatism: there is only one way to believe and it excludes all others. What I "know" from experience is that there is no single answer that excludes all others. God is an experience and is not confined to a religion/philosophy/belief/point of view. It/god is not human and is not confined to human qualities; in as much as each of us is the "product" of god's consciousness, we have access to those qualities to the degree that we are open to that consciousness. For the scientists among you--and I do not claim to be one--, the scientific method includes that realm of curiosity about the origin and purpose of the observable universe, but also the realm of the unobservable. What is now visible was once invisible because we had no instruments to observe, or lacked the imagination to question the unknown as knowable. Religion is that arena of belief that wants to control the exploration of the unknown because of fear. Fear is the reluctance to acknowledge death and the possibility that there is nothing after this life. Mysticism is that realm of direct experience of God, without the need for empirical proof of Its existence. Life is the experiment that becomes the experience. Visionaries are those who imagine what is not observable and are passionately willing to risk everything for a possibility that something more exists beyond what their senses tell them exists.
These random thoughts are meant not as conclusive but exploratory. Radical Inquiry, which is a method introduced to me by Jayem, www.wayofmastery.com, is that realm of inner exploration in which the I of my mind is willing to delve into the unimaginable infinite possibilities that exist just a thought away.
There are so many avenues of exploration and revelation that I'd like to share with all of you, and I will be posting commentary on these as I travel the pathway of self-discovery and self-realization.
I wish you Peace, Love and Joy from moment to moment.
John
Friday, December 14, 2007
Steroids, Baseball and Power
Yesterday, December 13th, a report on steroid use in major league baseball(MLB) was issued by former U.S. Senator and former Senate Majority leader George Mitchell. On its surface, this investigative report appears to be broad and comprehensive, naming names and condemning the illegal use of performance-enhancing substances(anabolic steroids and Human Growth Hormones) by major league baseball players, going back several years. What it fails to disclose is Mitchell's conflict of interest in heading up this investigation: Mitchell sits on the boards of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, and the Walt Disney Company, which owns ESPN, baseball's number one broadcast partner. This information comes from a column by Dave Zirin(http://www.edgeofsports.com/), in which he exposes the hypocrisy of this commission and MLB, in general. Read the column, The Mitchell Report: Absolving the Owners, for more information.
My purpose in writing the blog entry is to, once again, address the interrelationship of all events to each other. Major League Baseball and professional sports, in general, are a microcosm of the larger culture of the United States of America. The deception and denial around full disclosure of the "facts" in this instance, reveals the deception and denial of the "facts" around political and social policies which control the populace of this country. Now, this may sound like we are the victims, and I do not take that position. We are not victims, except to the extent we choose to deny our personal responsibility for what is before us. As with illegal drug use in MLB, we have chosen to look the other way when confronted with clear evidence that more is going on than is readily apparent by reading and watching the Main Stream Media(MSM). If you are reading this blog, then you have access to the Internet. While the Internet is not free of misleading and factually false information, it does allow access to information that is accurate and not readily available through the MSM. By connecting the dots of the information from various online and alternative media, one can begin to see the larger picture: the "wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan are not about democracy and a response to terrorists' threats to the United States; they are a manipulation of the "facts" surrounding 9/11 so that those in power can further control the people of this country and even the rest of the world.
What this tells us about ourselves is that we are unwilling to see a larger view of the world. In the short term, a few months or even a few years, the power a money and force seems to work to gain an edge. In the long run, what some of us call the panoramic view, it is impossible to maintain the disproportionate balance of power. The people and corporations that seem to be on top cannot retain their advantage without the cooperation of those on whom they depend for that positioning. The people who do the "work" of providing the services and manufacturing the consumer goods on which "they" depend for their growing profits are really in control. They just have not discovered this power, yet. But, with broader access to information through the Internet and alternative media, and less attachment to the "needs" sold to us by the same power brokers who want to control us, this structure will collapse and reform into one of cooperation and collaboration. Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the peaceful resolution of those conflicts that naturally arise in a world based on duality of form.
Recognizing that we live in a Spiritual Universe, based on Spiritual Laws, releases us from dependence on just the physical and political laws that seem to operate outside ourselves. We have within us the power and wisdom to decide how we want to respond to any event/experience, and that power is unlimited. We only have to claim it and practice it. Trust in the power of One and all is well.
peace,
My purpose in writing the blog entry is to, once again, address the interrelationship of all events to each other. Major League Baseball and professional sports, in general, are a microcosm of the larger culture of the United States of America. The deception and denial around full disclosure of the "facts" in this instance, reveals the deception and denial of the "facts" around political and social policies which control the populace of this country. Now, this may sound like we are the victims, and I do not take that position. We are not victims, except to the extent we choose to deny our personal responsibility for what is before us. As with illegal drug use in MLB, we have chosen to look the other way when confronted with clear evidence that more is going on than is readily apparent by reading and watching the Main Stream Media(MSM). If you are reading this blog, then you have access to the Internet. While the Internet is not free of misleading and factually false information, it does allow access to information that is accurate and not readily available through the MSM. By connecting the dots of the information from various online and alternative media, one can begin to see the larger picture: the "wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan are not about democracy and a response to terrorists' threats to the United States; they are a manipulation of the "facts" surrounding 9/11 so that those in power can further control the people of this country and even the rest of the world.
What this tells us about ourselves is that we are unwilling to see a larger view of the world. In the short term, a few months or even a few years, the power a money and force seems to work to gain an edge. In the long run, what some of us call the panoramic view, it is impossible to maintain the disproportionate balance of power. The people and corporations that seem to be on top cannot retain their advantage without the cooperation of those on whom they depend for that positioning. The people who do the "work" of providing the services and manufacturing the consumer goods on which "they" depend for their growing profits are really in control. They just have not discovered this power, yet. But, with broader access to information through the Internet and alternative media, and less attachment to the "needs" sold to us by the same power brokers who want to control us, this structure will collapse and reform into one of cooperation and collaboration. Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the peaceful resolution of those conflicts that naturally arise in a world based on duality of form.
Recognizing that we live in a Spiritual Universe, based on Spiritual Laws, releases us from dependence on just the physical and political laws that seem to operate outside ourselves. We have within us the power and wisdom to decide how we want to respond to any event/experience, and that power is unlimited. We only have to claim it and practice it. Trust in the power of One and all is well.
peace,
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Suicide Rates among returning and active duty soldiers
This is the posting I left today on commondreams.org regarding the suicide rates among active duty and returning veterans from the Gulf "wars" of the United States. Your comments are welcomed.
I returned from VN on 12/31/98, and received no counseling or recognition of any kind with regard to possible PTSD, or whatever it may have been called at that time. I know it is almost 40 years later, but I don't see that much has changed. Yes, there is a PTSD diagnosis, but it is frowned upon in the "macho world" of the military, and it is documented that the symptoms often do not manifest for months or even years following the incident(s) that may have caused the condition. The cost to society and the individuals involved is incalculable, but there is a cost and it is way beyond what we Americans of the United States are willing to allocate for this condition. Suicide rates are manipulated so that they appear less than they are; homeless rates among veterans of this and previous wars/military conflicts are way beyond what is statistically expected over the population; domestic abuse, violence in the workplace, mall shootings, job retention, job performance and other social costs cannot be measured accurately, but the fact that there seems to be an increase in this form of dysfunction is a clear indicator to me that the consequences of war and violence-based conflict resolution are underneath this escalating trauma of war.
In a Wholeness Paradigm, all these factors are to be viewed as interrelated and the solutions have to be developed with the whole in mind. Treating symptoms one at a time does not root out the cause, and the symptoms just move around as a virus does when it mutates to resist new vaccines. Remove the source of sustenance of the problem and you remove its life-force; resist it with more force and it gets stronger. Developing conflict resolution tools that recognize the cause(s)of the conflict and create solutions that integrate all stakeholders into the resolution removes the fear and separation that just fighting the differences with force validates.
I don't know if this is of value to you other CD posters, but it helps me in self-examination and evolving my own solutions. Thanks for your participation in being the change you wish to be in the world.
peace
I returned from VN on 12/31/98, and received no counseling or recognition of any kind with regard to possible PTSD, or whatever it may have been called at that time. I know it is almost 40 years later, but I don't see that much has changed. Yes, there is a PTSD diagnosis, but it is frowned upon in the "macho world" of the military, and it is documented that the symptoms often do not manifest for months or even years following the incident(s) that may have caused the condition. The cost to society and the individuals involved is incalculable, but there is a cost and it is way beyond what we Americans of the United States are willing to allocate for this condition. Suicide rates are manipulated so that they appear less than they are; homeless rates among veterans of this and previous wars/military conflicts are way beyond what is statistically expected over the population; domestic abuse, violence in the workplace, mall shootings, job retention, job performance and other social costs cannot be measured accurately, but the fact that there seems to be an increase in this form of dysfunction is a clear indicator to me that the consequences of war and violence-based conflict resolution are underneath this escalating trauma of war.
In a Wholeness Paradigm, all these factors are to be viewed as interrelated and the solutions have to be developed with the whole in mind. Treating symptoms one at a time does not root out the cause, and the symptoms just move around as a virus does when it mutates to resist new vaccines. Remove the source of sustenance of the problem and you remove its life-force; resist it with more force and it gets stronger. Developing conflict resolution tools that recognize the cause(s)of the conflict and create solutions that integrate all stakeholders into the resolution removes the fear and separation that just fighting the differences with force validates.
I don't know if this is of value to you other CD posters, but it helps me in self-examination and evolving my own solutions. Thanks for your participation in being the change you wish to be in the world.
peace
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Some God Beliefs...
There are as many beliefs about GOD/non-GOD as there are those to have beliefs. In fact, I think/believe that there are more than one for each of us, depending on how, when, where we derived them and from whom. I have deep "beliefs/convictions/understandings/projections" of who and what GOD is, and they seem to change as I "evolve" in my awareness of who I am and how I came to be here. What works for me is that, as much as it is possible, I review my judgments of others and how they relate to my own belief system(s). I, as a human being, do have judgments and make both conscious and unconscious discernment about almost everything, person, place or event I encounter. I notice my immediate thoughts and feelings that occur, then review them for clarity and meaningfulness in this context. Who/What is God? Why does it matter to me? Why does it matter to me what others think/believe about God? Why do I find it necessary to capitalize the G in god? Is it required by god? By my culture? What if I just used lower case g for god? Nope, no lightening, yet. And, I am a licensed Science of Mind/Religious Science Practitioner saying these things!
What I believe is that what is more important than what I profess to believe is how I live my life and relate to those others with whom I share this existence. We are all One/one and whomever I encounter and whatever event/experience comes to me is a reflection of those beliefs/convictions/thoughts I hold. How I respond, my response-ability, dictates how I experience these conditions of my life. And, I may even re-choose that response to a past event/experience, which may change this present moment. Is this possible? It is an experiment to be practiced.
Hmmm...This whole discussion...is it a discussion since I am the only one here writing this?...was initiated from a blog I was responding to about the presidential campaigns and the candidates' beliefs/professed beliefs/opinions about god. In a country which is supposed to be founded on the separation of church and state, how did we get to the conflicting discussion over whose religion/faith is more electable? It seems to mirror the conflicts in the rest of the world. Whose religion is better and whose god is more "real"?
Any comments? Feel free to respond.
Peace
What I believe is that what is more important than what I profess to believe is how I live my life and relate to those others with whom I share this existence. We are all One/one and whomever I encounter and whatever event/experience comes to me is a reflection of those beliefs/convictions/thoughts I hold. How I respond, my response-ability, dictates how I experience these conditions of my life. And, I may even re-choose that response to a past event/experience, which may change this present moment. Is this possible? It is an experiment to be practiced.
Hmmm...This whole discussion...is it a discussion since I am the only one here writing this?...was initiated from a blog I was responding to about the presidential campaigns and the candidates' beliefs/professed beliefs/opinions about god. In a country which is supposed to be founded on the separation of church and state, how did we get to the conflicting discussion over whose religion/faith is more electable? It seems to mirror the conflicts in the rest of the world. Whose religion is better and whose god is more "real"?
Any comments? Feel free to respond.
Peace
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Published letter: Salon.com November 30,2007
The following is a letter I wrote in response to an article by Joan Walsh in salon.com, Don't ignore Shtup-gate! This letter is a general response to the presidential campaigns and their failure to address the humanity of the process of selecting "leaders" for this and any other political body.
What seems to be missing in all of these campaigns, save Dennis' [Kucinich], is the humanity of all concerned. What I am saying is that as we are caught up in all the political charges and counter-charges, we are missing the human factor. Immigrants, whether "legal" or not, are human beings and have lives with human needs and desires. When they go to the emergency room, whether with a cold or serious, life threatening illness or injury, they need attention and professional services, just as you would(I am speaking to those out there who are "legal" immigrants or documented residents/citizens, but this applies to all). To deny or criticize them/anyone for accessing available services is to deny their humanity. Do you have a problem with who is paying for it or whom it denies services to? Then, look for ways to expand the medical/health care and social services...there is plenty of money to pay for weapons of mass destruction and private military/security personnel and massive waste/misappropriation of tax money. Do you care for your children/loved ones first, or buy more guns and ammunition to guard against an unknown assailant who may, at some time in the future, come through your bedroom window?
People who love each other, or just want sex, whether homo- or hetero- or bi- sexual, are still human beings. They/we may or may not have "chosen" that orientation, but whose decision is it how we express love or physical/emotional desire? As long as another is not abused in this choice, what is the fear? How does my sexual orientation/practice threaten anyone's marriage? Children witness and adopt behaviors, not words of admonition. Practice what you preach, but don't condemn/judge another whose heart you do not know. I could go on with more examples, but I trust I am making my point.
As I read about the "debates", which are not debates at all, I am perplexed at the failure of the candidates and moderators to address the human face of the issues. Whether Giuliani protected "illegal" immigrants in his sanctuary city, or Romney had a "sanctuary mansion", what is really the issue? We are talking about people, human beings, who may be flawed, misguided, troubled, abused or simply ignorant(not stupid). Before casting stones, check within. How have you perhaps wronged another, whether deliberately or unknowingly(Scott McClellan comes to mind)? Can you take responsibility for your action or inaction? Is it someone else's fault? Really? No one can make you/me "do" anything. Yes, there are consequences to all behaviors and we make choices on how we respond, but we are always at choice.
This may be long and somewhat convoluted, but I wanted to may a point that each of us is responsible for how we perceive the world from our individual perspective. I can only know my perspective and choose my perception. How I respond is up to me. There is only Love and Fear, and Love can embrace Fear. It is always a choice. I choose Love.
What seems to be missing in all of these campaigns, save Dennis' [Kucinich], is the humanity of all concerned. What I am saying is that as we are caught up in all the political charges and counter-charges, we are missing the human factor. Immigrants, whether "legal" or not, are human beings and have lives with human needs and desires. When they go to the emergency room, whether with a cold or serious, life threatening illness or injury, they need attention and professional services, just as you would(I am speaking to those out there who are "legal" immigrants or documented residents/citizens, but this applies to all). To deny or criticize them/anyone for accessing available services is to deny their humanity. Do you have a problem with who is paying for it or whom it denies services to? Then, look for ways to expand the medical/health care and social services...there is plenty of money to pay for weapons of mass destruction and private military/security personnel and massive waste/misappropriation of tax money. Do you care for your children/loved ones first, or buy more guns and ammunition to guard against an unknown assailant who may, at some time in the future, come through your bedroom window?
People who love each other, or just want sex, whether homo- or hetero- or bi- sexual, are still human beings. They/we may or may not have "chosen" that orientation, but whose decision is it how we express love or physical/emotional desire? As long as another is not abused in this choice, what is the fear? How does my sexual orientation/practice threaten anyone's marriage? Children witness and adopt behaviors, not words of admonition. Practice what you preach, but don't condemn/judge another whose heart you do not know. I could go on with more examples, but I trust I am making my point.
As I read about the "debates", which are not debates at all, I am perplexed at the failure of the candidates and moderators to address the human face of the issues. Whether Giuliani protected "illegal" immigrants in his sanctuary city, or Romney had a "sanctuary mansion", what is really the issue? We are talking about people, human beings, who may be flawed, misguided, troubled, abused or simply ignorant(not stupid). Before casting stones, check within. How have you perhaps wronged another, whether deliberately or unknowingly(Scott McClellan comes to mind)? Can you take responsibility for your action or inaction? Is it someone else's fault? Really? No one can make you/me "do" anything. Yes, there are consequences to all behaviors and we make choices on how we respond, but we are always at choice.
This may be long and somewhat convoluted, but I wanted to may a point that each of us is responsible for how we perceive the world from our individual perspective. I can only know my perspective and choose my perception. How I respond is up to me. There is only Love and Fear, and Love can embrace Fear. It is always a choice. I choose Love.
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