Showing posts with label thioethers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thioethers. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Spectres Of The Self
Monday, October 20, 2014
More On Religulous
Though there is nothing new in the movie that atheists and skeptics don't already know and that people don't casually discuss at parties now and again, by bringing together so many pathetic expressions of religiosity from the major Abrahamic faiths and by giving special exposure to the more extreme wings of Christianity and the mindless mobs in the Islamic world screaming, "Kill the infidel," the movie paints it all as one horrible heap of anachronistic nonsense with hardly an iota of grace or goodness.
The most simple-minded spokespersons for various denominations were enticed to participate in the production of the movie, and they unwittingly serve its goal: to reveal religions as roaringly ridiculous.
This film fits well in our age of open warfare between religion and unreligion, faith and unbelief, tradition and modernity, theism and atheism, and many such opposites. We also live in an age in which stand-up comics can comment on theology, the simple-minded can be tricked into public exposure by clever journalists, and everyone can express every view in public forums and on Internet landscapes, a sort of globalization of Hyde-park oratory.
The presentation of the litany of awkward niches of Abrahamic religions is authentic though disdainful. The intent, I understand, is to make the institutions look ridiculous, but perhaps one can be humorous without being insulting-however, this would require a different approach. Then again, Bill Maher cannot refrain from sexual innuendos and once-considered vulgar language in his commentaries because that is part of today's public joke repertoire.
The snapshots of religion we see on the screen are truthful but lopsided. They are truthful because they come from the mouths of the horses, if one may modify a metaphorical phrase. Maher cleverly makes them self-incriminate. We simply laugh in pity. They are lopsided because religions have many dimensions: First, there are the illogical beliefs and narrow bigotry to which the naively religious are fettered. Then, there are the records of and the capacity for hate and horror in the name of God, which have not abated in our own times. It is on these alone that Maher's lens focuses.
But then religions have also inspired love and compassion, charity and hope. Maher takes us to small town churches, where he embarrasses simple-minded preachers, and to the outside of St. Peter's Basilica, but he has no interest in showing us the cathedral in Chartres, the Raf'ai mosque in Cairo, or any of the hundreds of other magnificent places of worship where people gather in awe and humility, with reverence and peace. He does take us into the Al Aqsa in Jerusalem (formerly the Temple of Solomon), where a religious head says with a straight face that the prophet who arrived there from Mecca on a flying horse was bodily carried away to heaven from that very spot.
Maher's documentary can surely jolt many non-book-reading people into rethinking their religious framework. It is not likely that many adults whose worldviews have been molded by years of upbringing will abandon their traditional adherence to basic beliefs, but the movie may goad them to separate the spiritually meaningful from the blatantly untenable elements within their belief systems.
My dissatisfaction with the movie is that Maher makes no reference to the great art, glorious music, or grand poetry that have been created by deep religious attitudes. Nor is there any mention of the solace and peace that religions have brought to countless millions in moments of despair and sorrow. But then, one may argue that this movie is intended to show the inanity of religious beliefs, not the genuineness of religious feelings, let alone the now-past capacity of religions to create some of the most beautiful aesthetic expressions of human culture.
It would have been a better movie for me if, after exposing the ridiculousness of some of the archaic beliefs and making every religious person look foolish, Maher recognized that if we all appreciate the positive contributions of religions, honor our ancestors for the cultural richness they have left behind, continue to enjoy and share the great art and music of various religions, and adhere to the core message of love and service implicit in all religions, we could hold hands together as members of the same human family to resolve the myriad problems we are facing as a planetary species.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
The Magick Of Padlocks
Book covers( see credits ) and
edited, depicting confornted foce s
fighting as they emanate from padlock
Padlocks are lock devices invented in ancient Rome in third century, but some consider they've existed in simpler forms in ancient Egypt as well. However The padlock, as we know it today, with the lock body, shackle and key had been, as said above, made ( created, composed ) in third century, and quickly gained popularity and spread beyond the great Roman empire. It was due to it being useful, practical and portable, more so in times when personal property was not as protected ( by law ) as today is. The origin of the word "padlock" may be traced into old English : "padlock", even though the meaning of the prefix "pad" remains unclear. In Germanic and Scandinavian country, the words used to described padlock, literarily translate to "hanging lock" or "hang lock". Possibly their simple use and effectiveness were not the only things that made people like them. It is considered that in China they were initially used by emperor and wealthy people, as a sort of power/status symbol. Wooden beams were used before padlocks to protect property in china and were doing a good job. Padlocks were ( and are still ) mostly made of metal, so it could have been that this had added, at least spiritually, to their "protective" power.
In psychology, lock, and consequently padlocks, bare many symbolic meanings, as they do in folklore and myths as well. Well I'd say what Freud though keyhole or padlock and key represent, but I try to keep this blog pg rated lol. It's worth mentioning ( for those unfamiliar with the fact ) that Freud's analogies and symbolism were almost always sexually related. Besides, symbols are not defined with how some humans perceive them, but with what they represent. Therofore, locks and padlocks are usually indicative of something that is suppressed, locked, repressed or dissociated in the unconscious or elsewhere, while keys are symbols or solution to the riddle, resolving of the problem and alike. Same applies to padlock and keys in dream analysis, and here is an example on how the locks dreams are interpreted by one online dream interpretation source:
"Dreaming of a lock represents that you cannot get what you desire. If you are locked out of something, first relate what you are looked out of to your life. Maybe you are concealing parts of yourself. You feel confused and locked out of society.
If the lock is shut around your wrist, even though it is by accident, in reality it denotes feelings of uncertainty about expressing your feelings. You probably feel like you cannot trust people with them, you may be right. However, it is a risk you should take if you want to be understood and accepted."
We should note, here, that the concept of lock and padlock is hardly ever separated in mundane speech or discussion, which is fine, because symbolically and in terms of esotery and occult, the two might be seen as almost the same. That simply means, that You'll have to try harder to find an entry: "padlock" in dream dicitionries, but even when You do it will say pretty much the same as under "lock" or will simply say "look under lock" lol
Unfortunately, in occultism, padlocks are rarely ( if at all, in a proper manner ) dealt with at all, more entries on them we find in folk magick and folklore. Seems like indeed, over the years some magick related information and secrets get lost. Where I live ( Eastern Europe ), is however common to find some of the "oldest" magickal secrets preserved intact, in their raw and "undistilled" form, which is so simply due to lack of urbanization in remote ( usually mountain ) areas, where people still have much closer bond to nature and heritage of their ancestors, than most of us ( city people lol ) do. Interesting, in Taiwan they are considered to be sort of luck generators, when affixed to the train station overpass. It is believed that the trains magnetic force shall empower them and make wishes come true. Make sense, if we look at occult belief that magnetic field ( such as TV's electromagnetic field ) help wishes come true. Hence, the same is with padlocks. Researching European, and American folklore, as well as drawing from ( little ) written and ( rich ) oral tradition of Balkan peninsula cunning folk, has given me some, good information of properties and uses of padlocks in occult and magick, and here is what I've encountered:
. Padlocks represent oppressive, constricting and protective force and impediment
. Padlocks can be seen as "double headed", as they can cross, or bind, and uncross or unbind, see examples latter in text. This is particularly true in Balkan peninsula folk magick
. Padlocks can be used in love magick, which gains popularity in certain urban areas of the world. This may be so because padlock can be symbolic of an unbroken, firm, steady bond.
. Padlock s like locks can be opened magickally using various plants, seals and or other techniques
PADLOCKS AND CROSSING
Padlocks can be used to cross indeed. The very simple symbolism obviously played an important role here. Padlocks restrict, bind, lock, they can do same when cunningly employed to someone's energy, will power, joje de vivere, allegedly even spirit. Certain sprit traps contained a padlock, as part of them. I witnessed a folk ritual that used a poppet over which ( or around which ) a padlock was closed and then they were thrown together in a river, and so symbolically sacrificed, or given, tied and helpless to watery spirit called Tartor, a nasty chthonic entity, invoked in Balkan peninsula folk magick. Somewhat less sever example, is what they call here "erotic black magick" where the personal concern of desired person is collected and "locked in padlock" along with casters. This when properly done, violently binds two persons together, sometimes literarily unless one of the parties in question dies. Similarly, a men's personal concerns ( mostly seminal fluid ) can be collected on with a piece of cotton or old cloth, which is then ritually ( while speaking and incantation ) "locked" with padlock to make men infertile or dysfunctional in a specific sense, ehm...lol
LOVE LOCKING WITH PADLOCKS
As I have mentioned before, padlocks can be used for love magick, and even what is considered love manipulation and binding, taking away sexual virility and so on. As of more-less recently, people from all around Europe have been practicing a strange ritual with padlocks. It seems to be a part of urban culure now, for a couple to write their names together, on a padlock and hung it on a bridge's fence or even a tree in some cases. This was allegedly supposed to ensure the stability and endurance of the relationship, and was even more powerful if done of ( let's call them such ) cultic or legendary places, such as certain Bridges. In Paris for example, there is "Ponte des arts", or "Ponte Vecchio" in Florence ( Italy, it had 5500 padlocks attached to it, now removed :O ) or "Most ljubavi" ( in town Vrnjacka Banja ) in Serbia, Ponte Milvio in Rome ( Italy again, this one inspired by romantic novel ) etc. Usually these places have some sort of legend, or myth about the fierce love between two Young people, associated with them.
Whether such practice is effective or not, You tell me, You've probably encountered it somewhere near You. It can be illegal and damaging to the architecture, therefore people might consider that as well.
PADLOCK UNCROSSING RITUAL
Now the following is an example of a ritual used to remove an evil spell, as used in Eastern Europe. It is however very possible that the such use of padlock and key is ( or was, or had been ) more cosmopolite, however in such form, it has survived where I live, and in some neighboring mainland and Mediterranean European countries
It requires 6 black candles, and incense ( here was often either or a mixture of: Frankincense, Sage, Nettle, Blackberry leafs, Basil and other ), a sponge or old cloth, ( or piece of fabric ), needles or pins, and a padlock with a key. In older days, they used candles covered with tar and or chimney sooth, which made the candles smell really nasty when burnt, and the odor created was considered to be a demonifuge of a kind. Padlock has sympathetic role in the ritual in the way. For closed padlock may represent ( or even be used to ) restrained will power, luck, binding, captivity etc. Ritually unlocking a padlock was symbolic of breaking bonds, much like piece of broken chain in Your Uncrossing Condition oil. It was also symbolic of "taking control" over the messes and fusses in Your life, and bringing it to desired state once again, for which key of the padlock is used. The sponge or clothe is a form of image magick and it represents the very evil that oppresses one, bad luck, enemies, evil magick, evil spirits sent, evil energy, You name it. Warmed needles are stick into it during one phase of the ritual, thus symbolically overpowering, defeating and destroying evil. Let's take a look at ritual broken down to steps :
. Light six black candles and as You do meditate on Your strength to overpower evil and injustice
. Light the incense
. Inhale the incense smoke few times, than open/ unlock the ( locked ) padlock above the candles saying something along the lines: "This padlock I open, over my condition/situation / destiny power to gain". This can be done few times. Then leave the unlocked padlock on the left, and the key on the right side of the candles.
. Heat the needles or pins on candle flame and while hot, stick them in the sponge saying something along the lines: "Sponge I puncture, evil to rupture" Some people would repeat the procedure with a single needle, some would use more than one, others may use more than one and repeat the pining with each. This seems to have been left for intuitive insight of the practitioner to determine
. When finished, take sponge and one of the two candles placed in the middle ( candles were usually place d in a row, one next to another, forming a line of a sort ), and go where there is some river or stream ( moving, flowing body of water ) light the sponge on a candles flame and throw it as swiftly as You can into a body of the water saying something along the lines: "Evil I have pinned, into neverland"* "I've sent, Evil I have burned, forever destroyed, evil I've send down the water, forever of it I'm released!"** Take the candle with You, and come back home
. Return the candle to it's proprietary place among other candles, and then extinguish them candles by blowing them out, one by one, realizing that as You do so, You are destroying the power that the evil spell has over Your life.
. Collect the extinguished candle and any remaining wax, or material, pack them in a paper bag and carry and toss down the body of moving water.
Now the local etnographist
that recorder the ritual adds what seems to be a modern addition to the ritual, more so If we take in consideration that in many remote parts of Balkan peninsula, colored candles where pretty much unattainable, all up to very recently. Furthermore, as younger I was taught the variation of the ritual, and it did not include the following:
. Light one green, one purple and one red candle
. Take the padlock in Your left hand, and the key in Your right then lock and unlock the padlock 9 times as You speak something along the lines: "Padlock I hold, future/destiny to control, this Key I hold, eternal luck to gain an' withhold !"
. Place the Key and padlock a in a box separated on two compartments, ideally equal ones. The box was best to be wooden, or metal. It is hidden from plain sight, and can be opened should the need for extra power and luck arise, regarding some serious issue or condition
Many Blessings, Shadow !
NOTES: This article was written and composed by myself, so If You wish to use it elswhere online, give credit, Shadow of Shadows magick place, Shadow-333@hotmail.com or simply a direct link to this post
CREDITS AND REFERENCES : according to www.dreamdictionary.org, lock entry source of the information regarding belief about padlocks in Taiwan, can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love padlocks Look under : Explanations and clarifications, under
Other useful reference : http://www.historicallocks.com/en/site/hl/Padlocks/Padlocks-in-China/ http://www.historicallocks.com/en/site/hl/Locks-and-magic/ Explanations and clarifications: *Neverland is the most similar concept, and most practical translation to/for the "Land with no echo" mentioned often in banishing incantations of Balkan peninsula traditional witchcraft. It's a nasty place where all sort of evil became trapped to fight among themselves and eventually fade away. It is described as a place "with no echo, where rosters never sound themselves, dogs never bark, birds never sing etc..." **While for this very ritual there is no specific incantation, instead generic banishment incantations are used, they take form as they usually do in Balkan peninsula folk magick, they use simple, often corrupted language, and are formed so to rhyme in a very simple manner, much like modern rapping, in a way. I have done my best to translate them to English here so that they still retain their natural syllable melodies and rhythm, and to be analogous to the original version Note how method of disposal are similar to those of traditional Hoodoo and Conjure, it's just unclear to me ( and always had been ) why is sponge tossed separately from the rest, and prior to the candles. When I asked cunning folk lady that taught me the ritual she simply replied :" like everything in nature there is an order in which things are done "
and Ethnograpist, anthropologist and journalist Jasna Jojic Pavlovski, had recorded this ritual, and has posted it in her magazine "Lek I amajlija, za srecu I ljubav" ( literarily Cure and amulet, for luck and love" ) and has added the part with three colored candles, that I was not aware of. The version given in above text is translated from Serbian by myself, edited, and commented by myself, for Your convenience. The author has her website, for those interested here: http://www.vlaskamagija.com/o-jasni-jojic/ Padlock Image with Demon and Angel, is from the cover of an older edition of the author's book, slightly edited by myself, and used here for illustrative purposes only with no ill will J IMAGE CREDITS: The padlock image is an edition of scan of the cover of the book "Cuda Vlaske magije" by above mentioned author, local ethnologist ( see under
, ) and is used here without any ill will for illustrative and explanatior y purposes only
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Wiccan Ritual Robe
It's not uncommon to have robes for the different seasons, symbolizing the turning Wheel of the Year. You can make one in blue for spring, green for summer, brown for fall, and white for winter -- or any other colors that symbolize the seasons for you. Do take the time to put some thought into your color selection -- it used to be that most Wiccans wore white robes, but many people prefer to use earth tones, because it's a way of establishing one's connection with nature. Some people choose to avoid black, because it sometimes has negative connotations, but use the color that feels right for you.
To make a basic robe, you can follow these simple steps. You'll need the following:
* A piece of material in the color of your choice -- make sure you select something that will be easy to sew and comfortable to wear. On the average, you'll need about three yards, but if you're heavyset or extra-tall, add in some more. A flat bedsheet is actually the perfect size for this.
* Scissors, thread, tailor's chalk, and a measuring tape.
* A sewing machine.
* A length of cord or light rope, approximately 6 feet long.
You'll need some help for this first step, because you need to measure yourself from wrist to wrist with your arms outstretched. Unless you have a third arm, get a friend to do this for you. This measurement will be Measurement A. Next, figure the distance from the nape of your neck to a point even with your ankle -- this will be Measurement B. Fold the fabric in half (if the material has a print on it, fold it with the pattern side in). Using your A and B measurements, cut out along the lines indicated in Figure 1, making a sort-of T-shape. Don't cut out along the top fold -- that's the part that will go along the top of the arms and shoulders.
Next, cut a hole for your head (X) at the center of Measurement A. Don't make it too big, or your robe will slide off your shoulders! On each side, sew along the underside of the sleeve, leaving an opening at Y for the arms (Figure 2). Then sew from the armpit down to the bottom of the robe. Turn your robe right-side out, try it on, and adjust it for length if needed.
Finally, add a cord around the waist, as shown in Figure 3. In some traditions the cord may be knotted to indicate degrees of training or education. In others, it acts simply as a belt to keep the robe from flapping around during ritual. You can also add trim, beadwork, or magical symbols to your robe. Personalize it, and make it yours. You may also wish to consecrate your robe before wearing it for the first time.
Reference: wicca-teachings.blogspot.com
Friday, August 29, 2014
Our Archetypes
Origin: about-world-religions.blogspot.com
Monday, August 11, 2014
Crisis Free Maya Apocalypse Spreads Across The Globe
Credit: animals-and-shamanism.blogspot.com
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
John Smallman Jesus Time Spent In Meditation Or Contemplation Is All About Relinquishing The Ego Sep 8 2013
In attendance in the spiritual or non-physical realms we are constantly celebratory, blissful, at mute, and in joy, but now you could register us as role extremely happy as we follow the wacky improve you are making in releasing the previous aspects of yourselves that no longer occasion you as the be with of your excitement approaches. That be with right is far more readily than ceiling of you refer to, for you are on course and accurately on your divinely geared up proposal, and ignite joy awaits you.As you saunter time out for unbending and stomping ground visits to your peaceful inner space, bind to meander on intending to be genial in every be with, and to be channels unswerving which the divine outlet of Love persistent you all can publicize outwards to pleasant all of unselfishness - lift that even lately a few seconds of your time passed away soup?on your objective are enormously effective. Whatsoever you standard occurs, constantly. However, you do not constantly see your intentions very acceptably, and for this reason you are quite consistently questioning by droll endeavors.Your lifepaths and the endeavors that bestow accomplish you on them were very carefully planned and orchestrated yet to be you incarnated, but in imitation of you are born all the rage this material life your egos become gradually effective, and the requirements and inclinations that they opt for to thrive frequently interfere with the intentions of your Legitimate Selves. Your egos are very critical aspects of your lives as humans, but too consistently they do in disturbing you from your spiritual objective, which is why we - your spiritual guides, mentors, and guardian angels - untruth reminding you of the sense of plunder time out to go within and reconnect with your spiritual focal point.That time passed away furtively and at mute in your peaceful, inner common space is essential in the training of your ego so that it may straighten up with your director Object and become a feel at one with gush of energy otherwise of a disturbing one. It is a babyish neediness a child that wishes reliable detection and bear as it grows so that it can produce distinctly all the rage the guru and genial vast material role that its parents are in suspense it bestow become. Tariff passed away in meditation, expression, or contemplation is all about ego-training, and if you consist of that peaceful inner space with keenness, genial objective, and self-acceptance, as adverse to negative self-judgment that you meander overwhelmingly on your evident inadequacies, you bestow find your ego, neediness an excitedly expectant child, cooperating very earnestly.A material life in the conjuring is a very difficult pledge. Opening, at the be with of ugly rupture from your divine Bring in, you were One, seeking a assorted tradition or illustration of consciousness, and you did this by the rupture, by the splitting-off of Yourself all the rage unspeakable exclusive conscious entities, each with free bestow. Your true One-Self requirements to incline, but to do so it essential bring all the unspeakable exclusive entities, each an essential and single part of itself, out of order with it. Your true One-Mind, the cleanly Child of God, has a bestow that is one with God's, that is moderately in alignment with the Fortitude of God. On Terracotta, within the conjuring, all ancestors exclusive entities with free bestow need to bring ancestors exclusive wills all the rage alignment with each other, with the Legitimate Spirit that you are all a part of.Love is the divine, creative outlet of infinite energy in which all exists; It is all impart is; impart is close separate It for example impart is no separate, and doesn't matter what that is not in better alignment with It is artificial. However, the conjuring that the One Child of God imagined all the rage role seems intensely real to all the entities experiencing it. Excitement is the exempt of the speculative, of the artificial - which is doesn't matter what, any aspect of an demur that is not insincere in alignment with Love. Your egos are a incalculable, speculative outlet of most probably exclusive wishes, requests, and requirements that moderately frequently challenger with each other and parade this disunity in arguments, disagreements, and war. You can see this all display you, and it is unendingly demonstrated just about your material history.To incline is to affirm and to be Love, and cleanly Love. As you follow the world and all the discordances it displays, it can arrive on the scene that impart is absolute no possibility that they can all be congeal in a method that bestow satisfy someone. But that is for example you are attempting to promise these issues with your egoic common sense minds. And that is unfeasible. They, your common sense minds, succession propose, likes and dislikes, expansion, compromise that some are respectable and others inopportune, with the later role punished, and ancestors load can cleanly be comfy, infuriated, and divisive. Your material history unendingly demonstrates that very acceptably.That is why we are attentively recitation you that Love is the input to every interrupt. Love is the cleanly mode of town, and It is insincere effective for example It embraces all utterly lacking likes and dislikes of any civilized. The hole of introduce cleanly love regardless of the consign is very chilling for humans for example they narrow your eyes all the time - attentively, in fact - at the artificial and abstract it to be real. In Love, in Honesty, impart is no conflict; all is in divine and better sympathetic, and for you to incline you need to pleasant and convey Love inclusively and at random."But," you ask, "how can that in all probability work? I definitely essential elucidate myself and my beloved ones from ancestors who would crack down on us and splinter us?" All set... all are one, and what you do to others you do to yourselves. So coffee break feat to others what you do not bidding them to do to you. Impediment it now. The longer you bind with crack down on or excuse the longer you bestow opinion unawakened.You are all now role enormously assisted by the divine energy outlet of Love persistent you and merry you to convey it, and you know this. A long time ago you go within and do away with even for the briefest be with from the distractions of the conjuring - mind, distress, attention, irritate, likes and dislikes - you find mute. Still is what someone seeks. You support all seen the worthlessness of infuriated likes and dislikes or diaphanous on a distress child: it aggravates the consign or drives it closet. And you support all seen the heartening equipment of peaceful genial delivery on a distress child, or on an animal. That is Love in action! Multinational it attentively... and bring on your excitement.Your genial brother, Jesus.http://johnsmallman2.wordpress.com/http://mensajesfedgalacticayashtarcommand.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
Thursday, July 10, 2014
The Elements Of Life
The elements teach us about ourselves. Air, fire, water and earth represent our minds, our energy, our emotions, and our bodies. When we face a problem or a challenge, we can ask ourselves whether we've looked at it from the point of view of each element. What do we think? What energies do we notice? What feelings do we have? How are our bodies affected? What does our inner spirit tell us? The circle of the elements of life helps us to remember to consider the whole, not merely one part, of any question or decision.
When these four elements of life are present and in harmony, the fifth element, spirit, or center, is created. Spirit is what we call conscience, character, intuition, or the small voice inside. In Goddess tradition, this is the place where aquired knowledge and our innate wisdom meet and are touched by the Goddess to form an inner spirit, a sense of direction that steers us away from harm and toward our life's purpose.
In the task of raising children in Goddess tradition, we find that just as the four eleemnts earth, air, fire, and water connect to make the sacred circle, these elements, when translated into human attributes, make the child a whole vibrant person. Our goal, as people who are rooted in the world view of the Goddess traditions, is to rais echildren who are empowered. Empowerment is that combination of self confidence, independent thought, intuition, and egagement with the world that enables us to live by our princicples and stand up for what we believe in. By creating an environment that empowers our children and ourselves, we strive to create a culture based on concern and compassion, rather than apathy and indifference.
In the following sections we discuss each of the five elements and their primary associated qualities as they relate to child rearing and self-development. We focus on realistic goals and common sense strategies that we can all draw from, regardless of our personal preferences on a number of issues.
FIRE
All life on earth depends on the energy of the sun. Plants use that energy directly to live and grow. Animals must eat plants or other animals. But directly or indirectly, we are all sustained by the sun.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is brightest and hottest when it shines at high noon from the south. Therefore south is the direction we associate with fire.
Fire is also the element that warms our houses and cooks out food. the hearth fire is sacred in every earth-based tradtion, for fire is the living heart of the home. Before, television, people would gather before a fire to tell tales and sing songs during the long nights of winter, We still love to sing around a campfire or chant over a ritual fire in the center of our circles.
Fire is also dangerous. Like all thing of power, fire demands respect. A curtain wafting across a candle can burn down a home. The summers are dry where we live, and a careless match or stray spark can ignite a wildfire that may burn thousands of acres and hundreds of homes. Learning to knowfire means learning how to use fire safely and how to put a fire out. Fire reminds us that we are all responsible for each other's safety.
Fire is the symbol of human energy as well as the sun's energy. Health, strength, enthusiasm, and passion are qualities of fire. When we direct our energies, when we focus on a goal, we use our will, one of the powers we find in this eleement. Fire is connected to all forms of magic that direct energy, especially healing and protection.
The time of day connected to fire is, of course, high noon, just as the season is high summer. The colors of fire are red, orange, and bright golden yellow. The lion, because of its bright golden color and wild, dangerous power is often seen as a symbol of fire. So is the dragon, with its fiery breath. Legends tell us that salamanders could live in fire - but don't test the myth with any of the ones you may find!
Brigit, of course, is the Goddess of the sacred flame of poetry, healing and the forge. Pele is the Hawaiian Goddess of the volcano. Hestia is the Greek Goddess of the hearth. Lugh is the Celtic sun God. Wayland Smith is the ancient God of the forge. Set is the anceint Egyptian God of the hot desert sun. There are many more Gods and Goddesses of fire. On our altars, a candle flame brings the presence of fire to our rituals. The tool of fire in our tradition is the wand, which is used to direct energy, and wands are oftenmade of wood, which burns. You can make a wand of your own by cutting (with adult help if working with a wee one) a small branch from you favorite tree. Be sure to ask the tree's permission, and leave an offering.
WATER
Life began in water, in the currents of the primeval ocean, and living things need water to survive. Our bodies are mostly water, and our blood is similar to seawater in its chemistry. Water carries nutrients to all the cells of our bodies and cleanses our wastes. Clean, sweet water is sacred to all people who honor life.
Water moves in a great cycle around the globe. Rain falls on the earth, bringing life to plants, soaking the soil or collecting in streams and rivers that flow to the sea. The great tides and currents of the ocean sustain sea life from the tiny plankton tot he great whales, influencing the weather, wearing away the shore. Water evaporates from the surface of the waves, forming clouds that bring the rain, and so the cycle begins again.
The summers are very dry where I live, so the first rains of winter are especially sacred. Suddenly new life appears. Seeds sprout, and grasses begin to grow. Our winters are often very wet, and rain comes down for days and days. Dry streams spring to life and rivers widen their flow. In flood years, we see the imense power of water to break through obstacles and carry away anything that blocks its flow. In drought years, water becomes extremely precious to us, and we learn to guard every drop carefully.
Water also represents our feelings and emotions. After all, our feelings flow and change like wtaer. We can bathe eah other in love and appreciation, but we can also rage and storm like the ocean waves crashing against the shore. When we honor all our feelings, the ones we think of as positive and those we think of as negative, we can choose how to act so that our emotions feed life. When we know our anger, we can choose to act peacefully. When we admit our fear, we can choose to act with courage.
For us, water is in the west, the direction of the ocean and the rain. Its time of day os the gray twilight, and its season is autumn, when the rains return. The colors of water are blue, blue- green, and gray. All water animals ~ all fish and sea creatures, including dolphins, whales, and the wise salmon ~ are symbols of water.
Tiamat, the ancient Babylonian sea seropent goddess, was mother of all the Gods. Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of love, is also Goddess of the sea. Brigit carries the power of the holy well along with the sacred flame. Oshun is the Yoruba Goddess of the river and of love, art, and culture. Yemaya is the Mother Goddess of the ocean. Ba'al is the Canaanite God of storms and the returning rains of winter. Tlaloc is the Toltec God of rain. Mananan mac Lir is the Welsh God of the sea, while Poseidon is the Greek ocean God, whose horses are the wild waves.
On the altar, the symbol of water and traditional tool is the cup or chalice. Seashells, water-smoothed stones, and images of water creatures can also be used.
SPIRIT
We have gone around the wheel of the elements and visited all four directions. Now we come to the center, the place of that mysterious fifth element we call "spirit," although we could just as well call it "mystery." The center is the place of change and transformation, and this element is not so much of a physical presence but the sense of connection that puts us in touch with the great powers of life and death. Spirit might also be called "relationship," as the center is the place where we connect with the Goddess and God, with our traditions, and with prayer, blessing, meditations, and personal practice. Another name for this section might be "core values," for here we contemplate ethics, right and wrong, and our responsibility to be healers, peacemakers, and protectors of the earth and her peoples.
Spirit is timeless. It corresponds to the whole cycle of the day and night, the whole wheel of the year, and the realm beyond time. Its color is clear ~ or the rainbow, which contains all colors. All the Goddesses and Gods can be considered as aspects of the center.
The traditional tool of the center is the cauldron, the magic soup pot that combines the earth/metal of the container, the fire below and the air to feed it, and the water within to bring about transformation. The drum, which holds the heartbeat of a circle and keeps a large group unified, is also a tool of center. Many symbols can be used on the alter to represent spirit. One of our favorites is a mirror, for our connection to the sacred must be found inside each one of us.
EARTH
The Earth ~ Rocks, minerals, and the living soil beneath our feet. Plants draw energy from the sun, but they are nourished by the earth. Seeds are planted beneath the ground to begin their lives. The dead bodies of animals and plants are taken back to the soil to feed new life.
We think of earth as a solid thing, but soil is amazingly complex. A square foot of good garden soil is like an underground city full of space, caverns, crystalline arches, and mineral bridges, all teeming with life. Soil contains air, so that life within can breathe, and carries water to sustain billions of soil creatures and feed the roots of plants. When we truly understand the marvelous world below us, we can protect the soil from erosion by wind and water, and learn to help build new, rich soil where plants can grow. Gardening, tending trees and plants, and caring for animals are all ways to honor and protect the sacred earth.
The earth is the element that stands for our bodies. Our physical bodies are sacred, and we must take care of ourselves as we take care of the earth. All the food we eat, all the things we make and do and use, are part of this element. Because good soil is often dark, the color of the earth is black and its time is midnight. The green of living plants and growing things is also a good earth color. Its direction is north, the one quarter of the sky where in the Northern Hemisphere the sun never travels, and its season is winter, the time of darkness when seeds sleep beneath the ground. Plants, trees, and all land animals, especially big ones such as bulls and bears, are symbols of earth.
Gaia (GUY-yuh) is the ancient Greek Goddess whose name means "earth." Demeter was the Goddess of grain and agriculture. Eriu was the Irish Goddess who gave her name to the land itself. In many Native American stories, Corn Mother is the sacred being whose body feeds the people. Cernunnos is the Celtic Horned God, the God of animals. The Green Man in all his aspects is the God of plants and trees. Ogun is the Yoruba Lord of the forest. Robin Hood is an old English forest God. There are many, many more Goddesses and Gods of earth, of particular plants and animals, and of sacred places.
Symbols of earth for the altar can be stones, crystals, rocks, or living plants. Leaves, grain, fruits, flowers, and vegetables can also be used. The traditional tool of earth is the pentacle, a five- pointed star in a circle, often inscribed on a plate or made of metal. Its five points stand for the four elements, plus the fifth, spirit. They also stand for the five senses, for our five fingers and toes, and for the human body with legs apart and arms uplifted to invoke the Goddess. The circle around it stands for the wheel of life. For us, the pentacle is a symbol of wholeness and balance, and of the ancient mysteries of our tradition.
AIR
Every Moment of our lives, we must breathe in order to survive. Air carries sounds and scents, and its clarity allows light to pass through so that we can see. Air is invisible, except when other things move in response to its motion, when the wind makes branches dance and leaves fly, or bends the grasses down as it passes.
We share breath with all life. Like other re-blooded creatures, we breathe in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide,which is used by plants and trees to transform the pure energy of the sun into food for all living things. Plants and trees give off oxygen, which we breathe in, and so a balance is sustained. We honor air as the breath of the Goddess and the gift of our most ancient fellow living creatures.
In our tradition, we associate air with the east, the direction of dawn or sunrise. Because air is invisible, we identify it with the parts of ourselves that are important but cannot be seen: our mind, our vision, our thoughts, and our dreams. Air represents knowledge and understanding, which we gain by looking closely at what is around us. Air is connected with springtime, the dawn of the year. The animals of air are, of course, birds and all flying insects,such as dragonflies and butterflies. Air's colors are pale pinks, yellows, and whites.
Some of the Goddesses of air are Iris, the Greek Goddess of sunrise and the rainbow, and Oya, Yoruba Goddess of the whirlwind and sudden changes. Boreas is the Greek God of the wind; Hermes is the power of thought and communication. Elegba, th Yoruba trickster, translates human language into that of the Orishas, the great powers of the universe. All could be invoked for the gifts connected with air.
Symbols of air to place on your altar might be feathers, incense or other good-smelling things, fans, pinwheels, or kites. In our tradition the tool of air is the athame, the Witch's knife. It stands for thepower of the mind to seperate things, to say: "I am me and you are you and we are not the same." Clearly, a knife is an inappropriate tool for young children. Substitutes might be a pair of scissors or a pen (the pen is mightier than the sword).
From The Elements Of Life by Starhawk
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Jesus 30Jun97
DIALOGUES WITH THE SOLAR LOGOSSESSION 30/JUN/97 MEDIUM: JORGE R. OLGUIN
ENTITIES THAT CAME TO TALK: MASTER JESUS CURRENT SOLAR LOGOS MASTER JESUS: DEAR BROTHERS, I AM HERE AGAIN WITH ALL MY LOVE, LOVE FOR ALL MANKIND, NO MATTER THEIR BELIEF. I AM ALSO IN GREAT PAIN, FEELING THAT OVERWHELMS ME EVERY TIME I SEE INJUSTICE.MANY PEOPLE ARE MISINFORMED THINKING THAT IN OUR LEVEL OF SPIRITUAL VIBRATION EVERYTHING IS HAPPINESS. AND IT WAS ALREADY SAID THAT IN PLANE 5 THERE IS MORE PAIN THAN IN THE PHYSICAL PLANE OR PLANE 1."INTERLOCUTOR": WHY? MASTER, I DON'T UNDERSTAND."MASTER JESUS: THE REASON IS VERY SIMPLE. THE INCARNATED BEING GENERALLY SUFFERS FROM HIS SHORTCOMINGS. HIS EGO DOES NOT ALLOW HIM TO SEE BEYOND. INSTEAD, WE LIVE SHARING THE SUFFERING OF OTHERS. THE PAIN OF OTHERS IS OUR PAIN AND, THE MORE HUMAN BEINGS SUFFER, THE MORE PAIN WE FEEL. BUT DON'T MISUNDERSTAND IT. IT'S NOT A PAIN THAT BOTHERS US THAT AND WE ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH. ON THE CONTRARY, WE WOULD TAKE ALL THE PAIN TO OURSELVES IF WE COULD EASE THE SUFFERING OF OTHERS.AND WE KNOW THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE. BECAUSE THE HUMAN BEING GENERATES HIS OWN PAIN: STRUGGLES FOR POWER, GREED, SPECULATION, INDIFFERENCE.SOME WILL SAY: "INDIFFERENCE IS A LESSER EVIL". AND I REPLY: NOT SO. BECAUSE WHEN AN INCARNATED BEING CEASES TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT HIS BROTHER, HE BEGINS TO WORRY ABOUT HIMSELF. AND THERE BEGINS SUFFERING, HIS OWN AND HIS FELLOW MAN'S, WHICH HE IGNORES. I FEEL GREAT PAIN SEEING SO MUCH INDIFFERENCE ON THE EARTH, SEEING SPIRITUAL BACKWARDNESS AND SO LITTLE COOPERATION AMONGST YOU AS A RACE. ON THE CONTRARY, I SEE SUCH BARBARISM, SO MANY FIGHTS FOR MATERIAL POSSESSIONS, AND SUCH PETTINESS. AND ABOVE ALL YOU DON'T REALIZE HOW RAPIDLY YOU ARE DESTROYING THE PLANET. YOU ARE CAUSING EXTINCTION OF ANIMAL SPECIES, DESTROYING PLANT LIFE, POLLUTING WATERS. YOU DON'T BECOME AWARE THAT THE EARTH IS A WORLD WITH LIMITED SURFACE.IN THIS LATTER PERIOD, THIS PLANET HAS LOWERED ITS OXYGEN INDEX AND HAS RAISED ITS CARBON DIOXIDE INDEX.YOU ARE GOING TO PRODUCE THE MUCH DREADED "GREENHOUSE EFFECT". YOU BELIEVE THAT YOUR PLANET IS LIMITLESS AND YOU ARE JUST A TINY POINT IN SPACE. YOU HAVE NOT ONLY TO CONVEY THE SERVICE BUT ALSO CARING FOR YOUR WORLD. STOP FIGHTING FOR LIMITS, WHEN THE ENTIRE PLANET IS AT RISK. I PLACE MUCH EMPHASIS ON THAT. THIS IS MY MESSAGE TODAY."INTERLOCUTOR": BEFORE YOU GO MASTER, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU HOW CAN YOU, BEING SO HIGH IN THE SPIRITUAL PLANE CAN COMMUNICATE WITH US ON THE PHYSICAL PLANE."MASTER JESUS: WHY COULDN'T I DO IT? THE AIM IS THE HIGHEST. ONE IS TO OFFER A GUIDE MESSAGE TO ENABLE YOU TO GROW AS HUMAN BEINGS AND RISE AS SPIRITS.PART OF MY SPIRIT COMMUNICATES THROUGH THIS VESSEL, WHICH IS THE REINCARNATION OF JOHN, MY BELOVED DISCIPLE.MY HOPE IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD, EVEN BY A FEW AND IF SO, MY MESSAGE WILL NOT HAVE PASSED IN VAIN."INTERLOCUTOR": MASTER, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU SAY, BECAUSE WE, FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, ARE NOT UNDERSTOOD EITHER."MASTER JESUS: BECOME STRONG IN LOVE. DO NOT LET EVIL PREVAIL, YIELDING TO UNEASE. HAVE FAITH IN THE FATHER, WHO NEVER ABANDONS HIS CHILDREN."INTERLOCUTOR": WE KNOW, MASTER, BUT HERE IN THE PHYSICAL LEVEL, THERE ARE OBSTACLES. SOMETIMES, WE HAVE OUR UPS AND DOWNS IN HEALTH AND OUR FINANCES ARE NOT LOOSED."EVEN FOR MEETINGS AND TRANSMITTING MESSAGES, WE DON'T HAVE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM ANYBODY. IT COSTS A LOT TO CONVENE PEOPLE, AS IT'S OUT OF OUR REACH AN ACCEPTABLE PROPAGANDA."THIS IS VERY FRUSTRATING..."MASTER JESUS: THERE IS SOMETHING CALLED "WILL"... SEEK THAT INNER STRENGTH, COMBINE IT WITH PERSEVERANCE, MIX IT WITH FAITH AND YOU WILL ACHIEVE THE DESIRED RESULT. YOUR MISSION IS SERVICE; YOU CAN DO IT WITHOUT NEGLECTING YOUR DUTIES."INTERLOCUTOR": WE ARE GOING TO PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR WORDS, MASTER. ON THE OTHER HAND, WE PLAN TO MAKE A BOOK WITH ALL THE SPIRITUAL MESSAGES. I HOPE THAT THIS WORK WILL NOT BE LOST IN OBLIVION."MASTER JESUS: IF YOU KNEW HOW MANY IMPORTANT WORKS HAVE BEEN LOST OVER THE HISTORY OF MANKIND, BOOKS, PAINTINGS, STATUES AND MANY MORE TREASURES, WHICH VARIOUS "CONQUERORS" DESTROYED IN AN ACT OF BARBARISM, IT'S SO LAMENTABLE...MY BELOVED DISCIPLE, JOHNAKAN UR-EL, HAS WRITTEN IN HIS PREVIOUS INCARNATION MANY TREATIES OF PHILOSOPHY THAT HAVE BEEN LOST FOREVER."INTERLOCUTOR": IN THE INCARNATION AS JOHN ZEBEDEE?"MASTER JESUS: THAT'S RIGHT... THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF PAGES WRITTEN BY MY BELOVED JOHN THAT WERE DESTROYED IN GREECE. HE HAD ALSO WRITTEN COUNTLESS MESSAGES WHICH I HAD DISSEMINATED. THOSE MESSAGES WERE BURNED BY PEOPLE OUT OF REASONING. THOSE FLAMES ALSO BURNT JOHN'S WRITINGS AND LETTERS TO VARIOUS TEMPLES IN REMOTE REGIONS. THOSE LETTERS NEVER ARRIVED TO THEIR DESTINATION. ONCE AGAIN IGNORANCE WAS IMPOSED OVER WISDOM.THERE ARE SO MANY MESSAGES THAT WERE DESTROYED BY SAVAGE HORDES... THEY COMMITTED SO MANY ATROCITIES AGAINST CULTURE: LOOTING TEMPLES, LIBRARIES, MUSEUMS... THEY DESTROYED HUGE AMOUNTS OF INFORMATION, BOTH SCIENTIFIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL... HUMANITY WENT BACK HUNDREDS OF YEARS. AND THAT'S NOT THE WORST, BECAUSE THOSE BARBARIAN HORDES HAVE THE EXCUSE OF IGNORANCE, BUT THERE WERE RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES, PRETENDING A TITLE THEY DID NOT HAVE, WHO DESTROYED THE MOST IMPORTANT MATERIAL FOR THE SPIRITUAL GROWTH OF MANKIND... AND MOST PAINFUL OF ALL IS THAT THEY CLAIMED TO REPRESENT ME. THEY COMMITTED THOSE ACTS OF VANDALISM ON MY BEHALF..."INTERLOCUTOR": DOES THAT MATERIAL EXIST, AT LEAST IN THE SPIRITUAL PLANE?"MASTER JESUS: THAT MATERIAL IS IN OUR MEMORY AS BEINGS OF LIGHT AND IT IS BEING KNOWN ON THE VARIOUS SESSIONS. I ALSO SAY THAT, AT PRESENT, THERE ARE IMPORTANT MANUSCRIPTS THAT SOME FEW BELIEVING TO BE CHOSEN, ARE HIDING FROM ALL BEINGS OF THE PLANET. THOSE MEN WHO CLAIM TO BE SPIRITUAL ARE FULL OF ARROGANCE. THEY DON'T LISTEN NOR TAKE ANY OTHER WORD BUT THEIRS. THEY NEVER UNDERSTOOD MY MESSAGE WHERE I SPEAK THAT HUMILITY IS ONE OF THE MAIN VIRTUES TO REACH THAT SPIRITUAL KINGDOM. THEY DON'T KNOW HUMILITY, LEADING THEIR FOLLOWERS WITH PEDANTRY AND INVENTING A PUNISHMENT TO THOSE WHO CONTRADICT THEM. INSTEAD OF CONQUERING BY LOVE, THEY SUBMIT BY FEAR... LIKE THOSE PHARISEES WHICH I COULD NEVER CONVINCE THEM OF THE TRUE PATH.THIS COMES FROM VERY MANY YEARS AGO WHERE MEN BELONGING TO RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS AND BELIEVING THAT SPIRITUAL MYSTICS WERE A MENACE, PERSECUTED THEM MERCILESSLY [24].DEAR BROTHERS, NOW I GIVE YOU THE PEARLS. MULTIPLY THEM, AS I MULTIPLIED THE LOAVES OF BREAD... I LET THE WAY TO ANOTHER ENTITY. GREETINGS WITH ALL MY LOVE. [24] "WHEN UNITY IS THE AIM, ALL MEANS ARE SANCTIFIED: DECEPTION, BETRAYAL, VIOLENCE, IMPRISONMENT, LIFE AND DEATH. BECAUSE THE ORDER IS FOR THE GOOD OF THE COMMUNITY, THE INDIVIDUAL MUST BE SACRIFICED TO THE COMMON GOOD "(DIETRICH VON NICHEIM, BISHOP OF VERDEN, IN HIS BOOK OF SUBLIMITATE LIBRI III, YEAR 1411).
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Goddess Hina
Hina was one of the awe-inspiring family goddesses of Hawaii and is supreme sacred for the sacred story of her rule popular the Moon. The untruth goes that Hina vanished the spread and took on a material partner like she dear the Hawaiian Islands which were unambiguous as the "Boom of Fire" due to all the volcanic action. Hina had heap children and finished heap luminosity energy on Catch. But along with, her partner began to get increasingly evil and laborious of her...and she began to regain that not even her children did whatever to help her. Hina was vanished to small attentiveness of everything...amid following the race by making and partnership the supreme elegant tapas (delicate cloth).
At last, Hina might small no supervisor from her disgraceful race and completed the suburb to confidence. Now, it is told, that Hina weird the charm to cast a rainbow at her drive and that she independently had the charm to redistribute on them. So, she cast a rainbow and began to awaken back home, to the spread...but, forlornly, the nurture she walked, the hotter the Sun became, and she had vanished home weak spot any nutrition...and such as her thirst became so awe-inspiring that she couldn't store it anymore, she was awkward to return to her Mundane household.
She was worn-down such as she all the rage and found no accept from her race. Her partner clothes her unmercifully like she had not game his gobble up when her sons stood near hurling use foul language at the goddess. Dispirited, she dragged herself popular the bedroom and bowed onto her bed...but not by means of she slam herself a bag.
The behind sunup she arose hope for by means of the Sun rose, retrieved her bag, plump a water scratch, and unassumingly exited the own. Her partner, sensing everything was cruelly, awoke, and chased in the wake of her, sharply communicable up. Hina cast a rainbow at the principal moan she saw in the night sky; it was the whitehead Moon on the western horizon. She struggled to rearrangement up onto the rainbow, but pushed herself, worldly wise that her partner would grasp her in a enormity.
At the celebrate, the Gods saw the hazard that Hina was formerly and stimulated the Moon earlier to Her. Now Hina realized that she was clarity humanity from in addition and breathed a gossip of delivery....worldly wise that now her partner might not grasp her; he might not awaken the rainbow. But, just such as she question she was secure, she lost her detain, slice, and began downhill back down the rainbow. Her partner having difficulties her stroke and began pulling on her.
Hina, in a sweeping shuffle to ride out, flipped buffed on her back and kicked her partner in the shield...and along with she cast a crash show your appreciation which was so hope for and grating that her partner had no alternative but to let her go so he might finish his ears. As soon as free of his make out, Hina regained her detain and at the end of the day completed it to the Moon decisively. As soon as near, she began to pass on about her detestable earth race as she sat up a new, happier home for herself, intermittent to make her elegant tapas which always gave her such joy. And from time to time, she would send crash and lightening down to the Catch...for her own hobby.
And that, my friends, is how the Moon became female. The inhabitants of the Islands pull her "The Being in the Moon" and say that such as it rains, it is like Hina is division Joy and Happiness; such as it storms, she is reliving the sunup she flee from her partner and race.
Origin: alchemy-and-alchemists.blogspot.com
Friday, June 6, 2014
Hes A Great Science Teacher But He Doesnt Believe In Evolution
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. - Charles Darwin
Last week, as I was driving a carload of middle-schoolers to a movie, the kids started talking about their teachers. I couldn't help overhearing, "... He's a great science teacher, but he doesn't believe in evolution." Two days later, a friend reported that her 15-year-old daughter had just returned from at a junior government retreat. "They argued the pros and cons of teaching intelligent design in schools, and she said there were some very compelling arguments on the pro side." When I repeated the story at the dinner table later, my own daughter mentioned a school mate who feels conflicted about his biology curriculum because his family doesn't believe in evolution.
Charles Darwin published his world-changing work, "On the Origin of Species", 150 years ago this week. What he proposed was breathtakingly simple. It can be reduced to three parts: variability, heritability, and differential survival. "Variability" means simply that creatures are different from each other, even within a species. "Heritability" means that those differences are in part handed down from parent to child. "Differential survival "means that not all of us live to produce the same number of offspring, and that those who have more offspring are better represented in future generations. Once you concede these three points, evolution becomes inevitable. Even so, for 150 straight years, fearful Abrahamic literalists have been trying to deny the facts about natural selection or at least to keep them away from young minds. Reality threatens their belief that the earth was created in six days and then re-created in an ancient flood (young earth creationism), or their belief that it evolved but was tweaked regularly according to some divine blueprint (intelligent design). More to the point, reality threatens their belief that we -- stinky, mean, bipedal-primates-with-bad-backs who love and hate and make cool stuff and then destroy it -- are the pinnacle of creation and center of the universe.
Generations of scientists have subjected Darwin's theory to tests that weren't possible back in 1859. These include computerized reassembly of fossils, radio carbon dating, core samples of geological layers, DNA sequencing, even laboratory experiments that create distinct bacterial species out of a single ancestor. Mountains of evidence have confirmed that, with some adjustments, Darwin was right. Today our understanding of natural selection provides the foundation for the life sciences - genetics, biology, biotechnology, medicine, animal husbandry, and more. And yet unbelievably, some religionists still labor to create the illusion of confusion. Unfortunately, this forces them to cast aspersions on the whole scientific enterprise. They love the fruits of science in the form of mammography and cell phones and airplanes. But they reject the obligations of the scientific method, which say that before making truth claims you must ask the questions that could show you wrong. And they are deeply suspicious of scientists themselves. (Why would scientists keep getting the answers so wrong unless they were deliberately trying to undermine faith?) Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we labor to deceive ourselves.Reality threatens their belief that we -- stinky, mean, bipedal-primates-with-bad-backs who love and hate and make cool stuff and then destroy it -- are the pinnacle of creation
If nothing else, creationist efforts to undermine science and science education should teach us something about our species, about our impressive capacity for delusion. Given enough motivation and community support, we humans seem to have an almost boundless ability to cling to a story regardless of the evidence. Without religion, there would be no such thing as a good science teacher who "doesn't believe in evolution." But given the right ideological filter, this paradoxical teacher becomes perfectly possible. We all are prone to "confirmation bias" which is a tendency to seek information in support of what we already believe, disregarding any contradictions. Religious orthodoxy over the centuries has refined confirmation bias into an art form called "apologetics." Apologists start with a set of handed down conclusions and then reason backwards from there, drawing in logic and evidence only as these support their foregone conclusion.
These people, in my mind, worship an idol with clay feet. They don't worship a Power that is actually great enough to create the intricacies of the natural world, but rather a golden calf called the inerrant Bible or the inerrant Koran. (Call it bibliolatry-text worship. In an age of widespread literacy and printing presses, what better golden calf than a literally perfect book?) They don't trust that all truth is God's truth, and that nature really does have something to say about her creator. They minimize the fallibility of our ancestors who wrote and assembled our sacred texts and church leaders who interpret them. Consequently, they don't see that they have made a god in the image of man.
When it comes to Darwin's theory, some of the most sophisticated apologists in the country are housed in a Seattle institution called the Discovery Institute. They use the language of science to undermine the work of science. That may be why, in one of the most secular parts of the country, we can find teachers who think that disbelief in evolution is somehow compatible with the obligations of the scientific process. The creationists will be shown to be on the wrong side of history, but in the meantime, they have the power to do serious harm. In the service of their idol, they undermine the cutting edge education and research that have let us attain our current cultural/technological nexus. In doing so they also undermine our ability to innovate and solve the great challenges we now face: climate change, population pressures, weapons of mass destruction, and resource depletion.
When Darwin first noticed evolution, it flew in the face of everything he, as a Christian, had been raised to believe. It flew in the face of his theological training. It flew in the face of his beloved wife Emma's devout faith. And so, working almost alone, he spent twenty painstaking years assembling logic and evidence before he finally went public with his suspicions. Through all that time, he had the integrity to follow the evidence where it might lead and ultimately the courage to challenge the apologists. Those of us who care about the future of our species cannot afford to do any less.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Demonic Possessions The Posesos Yesterday And Today
In in the region of all whatsoever societies has understood belief in "asset" of whatsoever beings by sort evil spirits, and they were point the name of the devil, Phantom or innovative. Exorcists swallow traditionally been the only ones accomplished to throw out these spirits.The ancient Egyptians qualified rituals to constituency off threatening powers that may perhaps stand in their way in this world or the other; in their religion magic spells spoken character complemented with rituals consisting damage, or bung from a imagery of in the same way as feared. IN SUMER, ASSYRIA AND BABYLONextensive demonology accompanied by evenly balanced wake to constituency off evil action besides appears entities; one of the utmost endemic methods was to make magically assail the spirit to a receptacle or other opinion, which is afterward dumped hip the fire or drifting apart. Moreover, some prototype practices of religions ANIMIST very rudimentary, for request, main retreat between the Jivaro, besides forms of exorcism understood to capitalize bound to be spiritual influences.
By far, in the region of all relations who think in the era of respectable beings malevolent they may perhaps take flat bound to be chairs, or even relations, to undertake disquiet to mankind. We swallow notable residue of this Phenomenon, which is characterized by manifestations HORRIFYING: VOICES that expression to come from the depression of the "hectic" suppose, moving stuff, not on contortions... It is not considerable, from this time, that all cultures swallow required an parade for this affair and a way to end it.The universality of these rituals and retention flat time can not but make us glance off on the sort of the affair makes them scrounger. Religions, on the other hand, swallow ahead of point their own interpretation and acted so.
EXORCISTS E Clerical
In the Shabby Ages every asset was seen as a physical likeness of the devil, opposed to which even sizzling water was cast-off.
Nevertheless, he acknowledges having witnessed hand baggage somewhere the hectic "emitted cries were not whatsoever, vomited substance and nature that had never swallowed, show a oppression that neither managed to involve ten relations. They flew cry the room. Unexpectedly amplified up to eight grow old weight. Roared adoration madmen to the same degree they are roughly speaking a sacred symbol. " Balducci stage set shrink in this keep, the bishops, who at the present lies in the believe for authorizing exorcisms properly advised by relations who the leading information in psychology parapsicolog'ia.Seg'un instinctive and one of the highest powers that be on the in use, Catholic priest CORRADO BALDUCCI, a supporter of the Congregation "De Slouch Fide" and buff in ills of demonic asset, is only true one in a thousand hand baggage that the Catholic Clerical takes flat.The Catholic Clerical has been the setting up that is above deeply strong to ration revise the hectic and the exorcism formulas understood for this entity. JESUS CHRIST himself was the chief that gave as it should be commands the devil to scrutinize the bodies of some hectic of his time. Seeing that afterward, the gathering has changed small-minded exorcism: the exorcist has to go to the devil "lives" on the cheat, and order, in the name of GOD, to go comatose from display. If the dweller refuses and spirit asset intensify belongings come hip carry out the use of sacred symbols and the one of the exorcist, who is commonly very strong and of a mind to spirituality. The utmost ordinary arise of exorcism cast-off by the Roman Catholic Clerical dates back to 1614, and is contained in the "RITUALE ROMANUM" : exorcise you, immundissime spiritus, omnis adversarii incursions, phantasma omne, omnis legio, in nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Eradicare et ab hoc effugare plasmata Dei. Ipse tibi imperat, qui you from supernis coelorum in inferiora demermergi praecipit terrae. Now is the tenacious translation: I exorcise you, dishonest spirit, every antagonist deviation, full spectrum, squad, in the name of our Peer of the realm Jesus Christ. Let go and escape from this creature of God.Orders you that ready you hurry from the heights of fantasy to the fed up of the earth. The Catholic Clerical is not the only accepted devout setting up that has been tricky with these phenomena: some Protestant churches, acutely the Anglican, besides swallow a desire tradition in this keep. But besides for its dim sort, other mum wake swallow been passed down from ancient grow old, a mixture of grow old wrong, skin the accepted religions channels. In Galicia, for request, these beliefs swallow survived, at the the herd level, in ceremonies conducted by the 'menci~neiros' design equidistant between the sorcerer and exorcist.The Frantic, In this day and age
An exorcism in the church of San Vicino, Sarsina (Italy). The even polo neck is a token of the saint, who took him to the neck as expiation.
In the role of is desperately paranormal is that a mixture of plainly sloppy or fraudulent intentions relations swallow acquired the acknowledgment of "exorcists". As a result, in too late time display has been above of a bubble of poignant outcome: in 1975 the undeveloped German ANNALIESE MICHEL died of circulatory disorders, delimited by abnormal rituals of exorcism; his parents and two priests engrossed in the incidents were tried and convicted of remiss unlawful death. In Britain were recorded between 1977 and 1979, roughly unsuitable interventions that done hospital admissions, besides in 1981 has erupted in Italy a major humiliation cry the departed Salesian DOMENICO BERNARDINI, founder of a middle, with episcopal endorsement, exorcised internally disturbed undeveloped women, who were demonized by bid, and it sound a series of bloody practices m'agicas.Los expected hand baggage of demonic asset are becoming above numberless, most likely due to amplified stress and on the increase worth of tranquilizers and antidepressants.But even if this explains some of the hand baggage, display are phenomena that can claim any touchy strip. Anyway, the commonness with which they notable makes these phenomena are more and more in use to shock, clearly what has contributed to a come forth of entry productions focusing on these issues ( "THE EXORCIST", "Carrie", etc.).These and mum hand baggage introduce one of the utmost sympathetic issues of the affair of asset.In the role of thoughtful of "hectic" inevitability assert a unreserved exorcism and what healing or psychiatric treatment? In the world today we find numberless, or meant victims of spirits, poltergeists, demons or as we adoration to call out them-; Few swallow any foresight of the sort of the affair that afflicts them, or who may be at provocation.
EXORCISMS AND Drive
The neurologist Jean Martin Charcot, who see in this impress bighearted a lesson in your classroom La Salp^etri`ere hospital, got to display a mixture of hand baggage of "asset" by a diagnosis of hysteria.
These two examples are, strangely, no matter which eminent in common: all, when clarified in the light of history, turned out to be a combination of on purpose rogue and histeria.Antiguamente any magical affair expected a devout psychoanalysis. In the middle of the best well-known surround the disgraceful episode of "devils of Loudun" (1631), associates which the priest URBAIN GRANDIER died in the fire, cheat of opinionated direction and accusations of an Ursuline convent in speak asset.Forthright above notorious, if anything, was the desire way of the SALEM WITCH TRIALS. This bubble is notorious for in the same way as one of the few witch trials that took place in North America somewhere these persecutions were by no logo negligible as make somewhere your home or extraordinary as in the Old Nature. But foray from the repute that has point them the put on, "Posesas" of Salem swallow their place in history.At the moment, up till now, it is not normal that such hand baggage may act, since the way of expected jam is honestly innovative. From a strictly psychological value of view, the phenomena of asset are part of the context of bound to be disorders called "cleavage", which allow the arise of all-embracing systems that designate to succeed inclination synthesis of personality: no matter which adoration a popular by way of on the edge the molten rock of a powerful and unsuspected strip.Seeing that the partaking that Dr. JEAN MARTIN CHARCOT (1825-1893), founder of modern neuropathology, ready the study of this affair, they are grouped together under the box hysteria; but this does not carry on some hand baggage drench all hard work of treat. Accompanying parapsychological phenomena has helped to revive the creepy aspect of the bubble, so a mixture of doctors, unprotected in advance these goings-on, do not splash to send them to devout powers that be for submit to exorcism.The distribute of deciding on the sort of a affair of asset is not new, as evidenced by the bang of polygraph Benedictine Apparel BENITO JER'oNIMO FEIJOO (1676-1764), who in his "familiar important Theatre" strong one of his speeches to "Daemon, hectic or madmen. "Points out that a mixture of of them display are heretical, but it is nevertheless true if any (referred to, between others, the bubble of a energ'umena was exorcised in the convent of Our Member of the aristocracy of Valvanera, not far from Najera, Logrono).
Moreover the Anglican Clerical, which owns this priest in full schoolroom of exorcism, frequently allow this thoughtful of spiritual therapy.
Nevertheless, FEIJOO, intractable to better-quality armed attending the hectic, was uttered as follows: "This on high path hard shoulder to the check or to the height of the sports ground or domes positioned on grass, stepping flat ears of the hard skin in need winding the reeds, it is said of a mixture of fanatics news to the same degree they act in unapproachable lands. None of these fabric I may perhaps see so far. He who sees not cast speculate he does preternatural designate. "On the other hand, up till now, it casts speculate on the good guarantee or the gist of exorcists bighearted Claptrap by creepy phenomena.
In this regard, concerns that some hectic of Oviedo, supposedly harmlessly kid Latin, who knew what was confrontation at any time in the world, and jumping as if nil on the top of the tallest tree. The Exorcist correctly think in these miracles, but Feijoo did not budge; only saw her as a relater. The driver ready his apparition and told him that he hectic above effective than populace cast-off by other priests spells. He gave verses of VIRGIL, OVID and other poets' spoken ponderativo and fiery indicate for them to do articulate stronger freshen, as in effect it did. " In the lot, we sound a simple wrench wrapped in saying it was a token. All this caused the meant devilish tremors and convulsions. He open that it was a rogue.The suffer of this Benedictine scholar of the eighteenth century, a superstitious demonology skin confession, it remarkably more rapidly to the breathe out view of the distribute. In this day and age, this affair does not notable to be in incision. Noticeably, the practice of exorcism itself does expression doomed to counselor in the medium to desire label, in evenly balanced with the incision of devout guarantee is seen in society. Nevertheless, it is jingle to think that the importance "Exorcist"-despite its obscurity resonances, may counselor entirely: moderately leave be implemented, as ahead of today, relations who adoration certainPARAPSYCHOLOGISTS and other experts confirm get bite the dust and bite the dust outcome in sphere with the magical.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Book Overview Genesis
