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Moving Forward

My Easter week experience.

The Wednesday morning of Easter week was one of the best mornings I have had for a long time. I had the energy and will to help my wife ... I even washed some dishes ... and went out to buy my wife some flowers ... an all too rare event for me.

Went to work after lunch feeling really good. A few hours later I walked out of a staff meeting ... more angry than I have been in a long long time. My anger lingered for several days ... even beyond Easter Sunday.

What happened?? ... Why the roller coaster ride of emotions ... not the first time ... yet not a common experience either.

I am reminded of St Augustine's words ... something to the effect "Lord ... you provide the pricks that move me along in the direction you want me to go"

My reflection on this most recent experience seems to be consistent with Augustine's belief ... when we are supposed to move on and we don't want to ... something misereable or perhaps even exciting ... pushes us along.

To where? My first reaction to this phenomenon is usually in the physical realm ... time to change jobs ... time to change locations ... time to change relationships etc.

This time around seems I am contemplating yet another possible means to "move on" ... nothing to do with changing jobs etc

I found what might be the answer in Reverand Karban's commentary this morning ...

Life is still quite turbulent ... I will try to patient and more importantly ... loving ... in the next few days and weeks and see where I land!!!

Taking steps forward
BY REV. ROGER KARBAN
Ideally, all nine readings for the Easter Vigil liturgy should be commented on. Because of space limits, I have selected four.
No other liturgy compares to this night's celebration. When Jesus' earliest followers tried to explain the impact of the resurrection on their lives, their Jewish faith and culture led them to create analogies from the greatest event in their history: the Exodus (Exodus 14:15-15:1).
The narrative of the crossing of the sea begins with Yahweh's command, "Tell the children of Israel to go forward!" Those words set the theme for our Easter reflection; probably the most difficult action for people of faith is simply to go forward.
Stepping forward
When Yahweh ordered the runaway Hebrew slaves to head into the sea, they thought it was a step into death, not into the most life-giving event they had ever experienced. Their trust in God's ability to lead them to life and freedom was the only force impelling them forward.
No wonder Paul, a Christian Jew, wrote so eloquently about being buried in the waters of Baptism and rising into new life with Jesus (Romans 6:3-11). His people annually commemorated a similar 1,200-year-old "dying and rising" experience.
The four evangelists are convinced that the one obstacle standing in our way of going forward is a belief that going in such a direction is against "common wisdom." As Luke mentions in the Gospel (Luke 24:1-12), when the women informed the Apostles of what they found at the tomb that Sunday morning, "their story seemed like nonsense, and they did not believe them."
We always feel more secure when the majority of those around us agree with the direction in which we're moving. To commit ourselves to the movement of a small minority can't win us lots of friends or influence many in our community.
Here, the passage from Isaiah kicks in (Isaiah 55:1-11). I always remind my students that prophets rarely put their oracles into the order we find them in the books bearing their names. Only after the prophet's death will his or her followers sit down, reflect on their mentor's influence in their lives and arrange their sayings in the pattern which best conveys that influence.
Isaiah's disciples saved these words for the very end of their collection; it is a summary of what they believed the prophet was all about.
They begin by assuring the Israelites that Yahweh will freely give them what they're really seeking in life. Then the prophet reminds them of the contradiction all followers of God face daily: God is both the closest and the most distant element in their lives.
Death and life
But the last two verses best apply to our "go forward" theme: "For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down, and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it."
We go forward into our daily deaths only because we believe God's word that such actions will bring us life. As Christians, we share in the dream that God's word instilled in Jesus' heart 2,000 years ago, the word-based dream He shared with His first followers.
No wonder Luke's Easter Sunday angels insist that the women remember what Jesus said to you."
Those who let themselves be led forward by trusting God's word will experience the life that word gives, the same life Jesus eventually received by trusting in God's word.






"We always feel more secure when the majority of those around us agree with the direction in which we're moving. To commit ourselves to the movement of a small minority can't win us lots of friends or influence many in our community"

Hegemony

Seems to me this planet is always vulnerable to the vagaries of the universe … anything can happen!

Mankind’s ability and willingness to inflict irreversible harm to this planet and its’ inhabitants has grown exponentially in the last century … anything can happen!

In my opinion the notion of ‘hegemony’ permeates human existence. Hegemony is manifested at the individual level with the notions of ‘inner struggle’ … ‘struggle of conscience’ etc.

In antiquity individual hegemony was subordinated to the family … family to the clan … tribe … culture … nation … religion … philosophy etc.

In the beginning this subordination of individual hegemony may have been necessary for survival. Mankind mastered survival a very long time ago yet the scope of hegemony seems to be ever increasing, witnessed by the rise and fall of several empires in the past 3,000 years.


We must never forget the price paid by the aboriginal peoples of the Americas and Africa to satisfy European hegemony.

So what is the underlying impetus … perhaps another of mankind’s innate characteristics … an insatiable appetite for power.

Today the scope of hegemony is global and the attendant risks and dangers are the same.

Simple imagery helps me to understand complex issues … “ a picture is worth a 1,000 words”. I subscribe to the notion that ‘truth’ is embedded in myth.

The image that helped me to put the notion of global hegemony into perspective is a large flock of sheep moving along at a rapid pace. While watching this innocuous event in Europe on several occasions it occurred to me that most sheep in the flock have no idea where they are and no idea where they are going.

Worse yet, the sheep have no choice but to allow themselves to be carried along by the momentum of the flock … pressed on all sides by other sheep … ‘social pressure’ … the ‘trap’.

Augustine wrote 1,600 years ago … “ Woe you torrent of human custom. Who can stand against you?”

People do not generally favor parallels drawn between themselves and dumb sheep.

Change the word ‘sheep’ to the word ‘consciousness’ and the above image may support Jung’s theory of “collective unconsciousness” … some ‘thing’ that influences mankind’s behavior without our conscious awareness.

I met a young man while walking across Spain several years ago who was serious about pursuing the Buddhist notion of nirvana. His only concern was whether or not he would retain his individuality upon reaching nirvana … or be like a drop of water falling into the ocean. I prefer to believe we retain our unique individuality.

Seems a notion labeled “collective consciousness” is being seriously examined these days. Perhaps this is a natural extension of Jung’s work. My hope is that this notion of “collective consciousness” will reach critical mass and subsequently lead to “collective will” … and

With a lot of luck the new world hegemony will be as described in the words of John Lennon’s song “Imagine”

Morning thoughts

A few years ago I read a paragraph written by George Sand. While these words were written in 1832, in my view, she eloquently expresses the reality of today.

" ... there is a lack of hands to work the land but every profession has a host of aspirants; where human beings, hideously massed together around palaces, crawl and lick the footprints of the rich; where enormous capital, accumulated in accordance with the laws of social wealth ... in a few men's hands, is the prize in a never ending lottery of avarice, immorality, and ineptness ... in this country of lewdness and misery, of vice and desolation, in this civilization, rotten to its very roots, you want me to be a loyal citizen? You want me sacrifice my will, desires, imagination to its needs, being either its dupe or its victim, so the penny I might toss to a beggar will end up in a millionaire's coffers?"

Feudalism is not dead! … it has simply ‘morphed’ into capitalism. Feudalism in its’ day was transparent … feudalism today exists as an ‘illusion of freedom’ … a grand deception indeed!

The essence of capitalism is ‘winners and losers’ … the pinnacle of capitalism is ‘one winner’! Globalization and modern technology has set the stage for the ‘winner’ to percolate to the top and emerge.

The rich and powerful will likely never surrender their grip on power and control … who will clean their toilets?

The sad reality … really sad reality … is the the only way the rich and powerful can maintain their grip on power and control is through the willing cooperation and support of the masses.

Today this is achieved primarily through … “the iron law of wages” … author unknown. The rich and powerful give the masses the ‘crumbs’ from their table and a false hope that some day they may be able to sit at the table themselves.

Karl Marx expressed this phenomenon eloquently …

“The "free" labourer, thanks to the development of capitalistic production, agrees, i.e., is compelled by social conditions, to sell the whole of his active life, his very capacity for work, for the price of the necessaries of life, his birthright for a mess of pottage.”

So what can we do? …

Thanks to people like John Lennon, Fidel Castro and more recently Chavez … there is a growing awareness of this reality … a growing ‘awakening’. A growing realization that another ‘way forward’ for mankind may exist.

Some refer to this phenomenon as a “collective consciousness” and in my view, when this ‘collective consciousness’ grows to a ‘critical mass’ it will transform itself into a ‘collective will’ … and watch the sparks fly!!

Al Jazeera English - Americas

Al Jazeera English - Americas

Moa Zedong and Marx

Reading a book about Mao Zedong and China's Revolutions this morning ... read a quote from Marx ...

"It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness"

and ... also from Marx

" The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it"

These statements seem to summarize all of my efforts to understand 'mankind' ... the first seems to echo my 'sheep philosophy' ... seems to me the parallels between the behaviour of sheep in a flock and the "social" behaviour of human beings is so obvious and compelling ... the behaviour of sheep in a flock would also seem to suggest the individual sheep does not exercise any individual 'consciousness' ... the individual sheep has no idea where he is is going ... where he is ... etc etc ... the individual sheep is simply a clog in a huge "collective consciousness" ... the flock ... and is subject to the whims of this collective force ... Augustines words ... "oh! you torrent of human custom ... who can stand against you?

The second quote also seems relevant ... " ... the point, however, is to change it" ... somehow ... we need to change the direction the flock is heading ... how?? ... perhaps the first step is to somehow reduce the "speed" of movement ... slow the flock down ... stop the 'flock" ... give the individual sheep a chance to examine their individual consciousness ... and make a "conscious" decision to continue with the flock or join another one ...

No easy task ... a couple examples of this phenomenon ... "stopping the flock" were discussed a few days ago in one of the classes ... Chen Da Jun talked about how he missed the days when SARS was a serious threat in Hohhot ... he quickly clarified that it was not the "threat" that the illness SARS posed that he missed ... he missed the quiet ... the comradery ... the time alone with family etc

At the time I remembered the "black out" in Southern Ontario and Northern USA in the summer of 2003 ... when I was in Segovia ... when I returned to Guelph Linda and Tom talked about how nice it was for these few days ... how people were so much more sociable ... friendly ... talkative ... etc etc

Seems we all want a "better life" ... a life without the daily hustle and bustle ... go go go ... insensitive uncaring encounters with other people ... often including family and friends ...

Yet ... seems we are denied our preference unless something beyond our control forces us to "stop" or "slow down" ....

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

February 11， 2006 Feast Day 。。。 Our Lady of Lourdes

Today there are approximately 6.5 billion people living on the planet 。。。 up from 4 billion in 1970，almost all of which are anatomically the same。

Seems to me that most people 。。。 almost all people are content to live out a ‘mind numbing’ existence 。。。 simply going through thier local society’s programmed motions‘ day in 。。。 and day out。Augustine said it best about 1，600 years ago 。。。 “Oh you torrent of human custom 。。。 who can stand against you”

Yet 。。。 again throughout recorded history there have always been a few people who found they could not conform to the ’social programs‘ or the ’intellectual programs‘ of the day 。。。 eg 。。。Christopher Columbus

The examples I relate to very well are 。。。 Socrates 。。。 the famous Greek Philosopher 。。。 he was teaching the people of his day that there was only one Divine Being 。。。the Greeks of the day were ‘programmed’ to believe there was a plethora of gods 。。。 a god for each thing in life that they could not understand。
Socrates was given an ultimatum 。。。 stop teaching this stuff or commit suicide by taking the hemlock poison 。。。 Socrates was so sure of his beliefs he chose death 。。。

About 500 years later Jesus Christ was given the same ultimatum 。。。 stop teaching the stuff He was teaching or 。。。 His enemies were not so kind 。。。 He was nailed to a tree 。。。
A millenium or so later Copernicus 。。。 who refused to believe the earth was flat 。。。 faced the same reaction from the people of his day 。。。
and so 。。。 and so on 。。。
Seems to me the people on the peripheral of mankind （Socrates， Jesus， Copernicus， Columbus etc） are not on the peripheral by personal choice 。。。 somehow they simply find themselves on the peripheral 。。。 the ‘outside’ of humanity 。。。 and seem to have no choice but stay there and fulfill their mission 。。。
Perhaps this is how mankind has evolved 。。。 by producing these ’genetic mutations‘ 。。。 the ’force‘ is unstopable 。。。 seems humanity must go through these mascinations 。。。 seems we have no choice。Perhaps the Star Wars movies are trying to provide humanity with the same ’message‘。
So what does all this have to do with you 。。。 or me？？？
I am increasingly convinced that you and I are in the ‘genetic mutation’ group 。。。simply a question of ’degree‘。
Individuals who simply can not accept the ‘social programming’ of the day 。。。 or in some cases the ‘intellectual programming’ 。。。 this is not a bad thing 。。。 although life can be a ‘bitch’ at times for the people in this group。 Seems while we can not accept what we see 。。。 feel 。。。 hear etc etc 。。。 we have no ‘road map’ for what we can accept and want to promote。
Here‘s what percolated to the top of my consciousness this morning 。。。 the comments （big brother et al） reminded me again of the story of Babel in the Bible 。。。 until this morning I always thought of this story as ’historical‘ 。。。 myth or fact 。。。 it was in the past。
This morning I am not so sure 。。。 my mind added a new dimension/possibilty 。。。 perhaps the story of Babel is prophetic 。。。 a coded message about the future 。。。many say the entire original Hebrew Bible represents a coded message to mankind。
Seems logical that we would lose some of the intended message with the several translations from Hebrew to other languages 。。。 here is the story of Babel in Lili‘s Bible 。。。
“The Tower of Babel”
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words。 And as they migrated from the east they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there。 And they said to one another， “Come let us make bricks， and burn them thoroughly。” And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar。 Then they said， “Come let us build ourselves a city， and a tower with its top in the heavens， and let us make a name for ourselves； otherwise we shall be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth。” The Lord came down to see the city and the tower， which mortals had built。 And the Lord said， “Look， they are one people， and they have all one language（http：//WWW）； and this is only the beginning of what they will do； nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them。 Come， let us go down， and confuse their language there， so that they will not understand one another’s speech。” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth， and they left off building the city。 Therefore it will be called Babel， because there the lord confused the language of all the earth； and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth。
Imagine
John LennonImagine there's no heavenIt's easy if you tryNo hell below usAbove us only skyImagine all the peopleLiving for today... Imagine there's no countriesIt isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die forAnd no religion tooImagine all the peopleLiving life in peace... You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one Imagine no possessionsI wonder if you canNo need for greed or hungerA brotherhood of manImagine all the peopleSharing all the world...You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one

"...On the 8th of March, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen sailed from its base in China. The ships, huge junks nearly five hundred feet long and built from the finest teak, were under the command of Emperor Zhu Di's loyal eunuch admirals. Their mission was 'to proceed all the way to the end of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas' and unite the whole world in Confucian harmony. The journey would last over two years and circle the globe. When they returned Zhu Di lost control and China was beginning its long, self-imposed isolation from the world it had so recently embraced. The great ships rotted at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. They had also discovered Antarctica, reached Australia three hundred and fifty years before Cook and solved the problem of longitude three hundred years before the Europeans..."

February 11， 2006 Feast Day 。。。 Our Lady of Lourdes

Today there are approximately 6.5 billion people living on the planet 。。。 up from 4 billion in 1970，almost all of which are anatomically the same。

Seems to me that most people 。。。 almost all people are content to live out a ‘mind numbing’ existence 。。。 simply going through thier local society’s programmed motions‘ day in 。。。 and day out。Augustine said it best about 1，600 years ago 。。。 “Oh you torrent of human custom 。。。 who can stand against you”

Yet 。。。 again throughout recorded history there have always been a few people who found they could not conform to the ’social programs‘ or the ’intellectual programs‘ of the day 。。。 eg 。。。Christopher Columbus

The examples I relate to very well are 。。。 Socrates 。。。 the famous Greek Philosopher 。。。 he was teaching the people of his day that there was only one Divine Being 。。。the Greeks of the day were ‘programmed’ to believe there was a plethora of gods 。。。 a god for each thing in life that they could not understand。
Socrates was given an ultimatum 。。。 stop teaching this stuff or commit suicide by taking the hemlock poison 。。。 Socrates was so sure of his beliefs he chose death 。。。

About 500 years later Jesus Christ was given the same ultimatum 。。。 stop teaching the stuff He was teaching or 。。。 His enemies were not so kind 。。。 He was nailed to a tree 。。。
A millenium or so later Copernicus 。。。 who refused to believe the earth was flat 。。。 faced the same reaction from the people of his day 。。。
and so 。。。 and so on 。。。
Seems to me the people on the peripheral of mankind （Socrates， Jesus， Copernicus， Columbus etc） are not on the peripheral by personal choice 。。。 somehow they simply find themselves on the peripheral 。。。 the ‘outside’ of humanity 。。。 and seem to have no choice but stay there and fulfill their mission 。。。
Perhaps this is how mankind has evolved 。。。 by producing these ’genetic mutations‘ 。。。 the ’force‘ is unstopable 。。。 seems humanity must go through these mascinations 。。。 seems we have no choice。Perhaps the Star Wars movies are trying to provide humanity with the same ’message‘。
So what does all this have to do with you 。。。 or me？？？
I am increasingly convinced that you and I are in the ‘genetic mutation’ group 。。。simply a question of ’degree‘。
Individuals who simply can not accept the ‘social programming’ of the day 。。。 or in some cases the ‘intellectual programming’ 。。。 this is not a bad thing 。。。 although life can be a ‘bitch’ at times for the people in this group。 Seems while we can not accept what we see 。。。 feel 。。。 hear etc etc 。。。 we have no ‘road map’ for what we can accept and want to promote。
Here‘s what percolated to the top of my consciousness this morning 。。。 the comments （big brother et al） reminded me again of the story of Babel in the Bible 。。。 until this morning I always thought of this story as ’historical‘ 。。。 myth or fact 。。。 it was in the past。
This morning I am not so sure 。。。 my mind added a new dimension/possibilty 。。。 perhaps the story of Babel is prophetic 。。。 a coded message about the future 。。。many say the entire original Hebrew Bible represents a coded message to mankind。
Seems logical that we would lose some of the intended message with the several translations from Hebrew to other languages 。。。 here is the story of Babel in Lili‘s Bible 。。。
“The Tower of Babel”
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words。 And as they migrated from the east they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there。 And they said to one another， “Come let us make bricks， and burn them thoroughly。” And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar。 Then they said， “Come let us build ourselves a city， and a tower with its top in the heavens， and let us make a name for ourselves； otherwise we shall be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth。” The Lord came down to see the city and the tower， which mortals had built。 And the Lord said， “Look， they are one people， and they have all one language（http：//WWW）； and this is only the beginning of what they will do； nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them。 Come， let us go down， and confuse their language there， so that they will not understand one another’s speech。” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth， and they left off building the city。 Therefore it will be called Babel， because there the lord confused the language of all the earth； and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth。
Imagine
John LennonImagine there's no heavenIt's easy if you tryNo hell below usAbove us only skyImagine all the peopleLiving for today... Imagine there's no countriesIt isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die forAnd no religion tooImagine all the peopleLiving life in peace... You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one Imagine no possessionsI wonder if you canNo need for greed or hungerA brotherhood of manImagine all the peopleSharing all the world...You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one

"...On the 8th of March, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen sailed from its base in China. The ships, huge junks nearly five hundred feet long and built from the finest teak, were under the command of Emperor Zhu Di's loyal eunuch admirals. Their mission was 'to proceed all the way to the end of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas' and unite the whole world in Confucian harmony. The journey would last over two years and circle the globe. When they returned Zhu Di lost control and China was beginning its long, self-imposed isolation from the world it had so recently embraced. The great ships rotted at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. They had also discovered Antarctica, reached Australia three hundred and fifty years before Cook and solved the problem of longitude three hundred years before the Europeans..."

February 11， 2006 Feast Day 。。。 Our Lady of Lourdes

Today there are approximately 6.5 billion people living on the planet 。。。 up from 4 billion in 1970，almost all of which are anatomically the same。

Seems to me that most people 。。。 almost all people are content to live out a ‘mind numbing’ existence 。。。 simply going through thier local society’s programmed motions‘ day in 。。。 and day out。Augustine said it best about 1，600 years ago 。。。 “Oh you torrent of human custom 。。。 who can stand against you”

Yet 。。。 again throughout recorded history there have always been a few people who found they could not conform to the ’social programs‘ or the ’intellectual programs‘ of the day 。。。 eg 。。。Christopher Columbus

The examples I relate to very well are 。。。 Socrates 。。。 the famous Greek Philosopher 。。。 he was teaching the people of his day that there was only one Divine Being 。。。the Greeks of the day were ‘programmed’ to believe there was a plethora of gods 。。。 a god for each thing in life that they could not understand。
Socrates was given an ultimatum 。。。 stop teaching this stuff or commit suicide by taking the hemlock poison 。。。 Socrates was so sure of his beliefs he chose death 。。。

About 500 years later Jesus Christ was given the same ultimatum 。。。 stop teaching the stuff He was teaching or 。。。 His enemies were not so kind 。。。 He was nailed to a tree 。。。
A millenium or so later Copernicus 。。。 who refused to believe the earth was flat 。。。 faced the same reaction from the people of his day 。。。
and so 。。。 and so on 。。。
Seems to me the people on the peripheral of mankind （Socrates， Jesus， Copernicus， Columbus etc） are not on the peripheral by personal choice 。。。 somehow they simply find themselves on the peripheral 。。。 the ‘outside’ of humanity 。。。 and seem to have no choice but stay there and fulfill their mission 。。。
Perhaps this is how mankind has evolved 。。。 by producing these ’genetic mutations‘ 。。。 the ’force‘ is unstopable 。。。 seems humanity must go through these mascinations 。。。 seems we have no choice。Perhaps the Star Wars movies are trying to provide humanity with the same ’message‘。
So what does all this have to do with you 。。。 or me？？？
I am increasingly convinced that you and I are in the ‘genetic mutation’ group 。。。simply a question of ’degree‘。
Individuals who simply can not accept the ‘social programming’ of the day 。。。 or in some cases the ‘intellectual programming’ 。。。 this is not a bad thing 。。。 although life can be a ‘bitch’ at times for the people in this group。 Seems while we can not accept what we see 。。。 feel 。。。 hear etc etc 。。。 we have no ‘road map’ for what we can accept and want to promote。
Here‘s what percolated to the top of my consciousness this morning 。。。 the comments （big brother et al） reminded me again of the story of Babel in the Bible 。。。 until this morning I always thought of this story as ’historical‘ 。。。 myth or fact 。。。 it was in the past。
This morning I am not so sure 。。。 my mind added a new dimension/possibilty 。。。 perhaps the story of Babel is prophetic 。。。 a coded message about the future 。。。many say the entire original Hebrew Bible represents a coded message to mankind。
Seems logical that we would lose some of the intended message with the several translations from Hebrew to other languages 。。。 here is the story of Babel in Lili‘s Bible 。。。
“The Tower of Babel”
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words。 And as they migrated from the east they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there。 And they said to one another， “Come let us make bricks， and burn them thoroughly。” And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar。 Then they said， “Come let us build ourselves a city， and a tower with its top in the heavens， and let us make a name for ourselves； otherwise we shall be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth。” The Lord came down to see the city and the tower， which mortals had built。 And the Lord said， “Look， they are one people， and they have all one language（http：//WWW）； and this is only the beginning of what they will do； nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them。 Come， let us go down， and confuse their language there， so that they will not understand one another’s speech。” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth， and they left off building the city。 Therefore it will be called Babel， because there the lord confused the language of all the earth； and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth。
Imagine
John LennonImagine there's no heavenIt's easy if you tryNo hell below usAbove us only skyImagine all the peopleLiving for today... Imagine there's no countriesIt isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die forAnd no religion tooImagine all the peopleLiving life in peace... You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one Imagine no possessionsI wonder if you canNo need for greed or hungerA brotherhood of manImagine all the peopleSharing all the world...You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one

"...On the 8th of March, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen sailed from its base in China. The ships, huge junks nearly five hundred feet long and built from the finest teak, were under the command of Emperor Zhu Di's loyal eunuch admirals. Their mission was 'to proceed all the way to the end of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas' and unite the whole world in Confucian harmony. The journey would last over two years and circle the globe. When they returned Zhu Di lost control and China was beginning its long, self-imposed isolation from the world it had so recently embraced. The great ships rotted at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. They had also discovered Antarctica, reached Australia three hundred and fifty years before Cook and solved the problem of longitude three hundred years before the Europeans..."

Imagine
John LennonImagine there's no heavenIt's easy if you tryNo hell below usAbove us only skyImagine all the peopleLiving for today... Imagine there's no countriesIt isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die forAnd no religion tooImagine all the peopleLiving life in peace... You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one Imagine no possessionsI wonder if you canNo need for greed or hungerA brotherhood of manImagine all the peopleSharing all the world...You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one

Morning Meditation

The word combinations ... "Oil and Water" ... and the words "Competition and Cooperation" have been swimming around in my head for the past few days.

Seems one could argue we need each of what the individual words represents ... independently ... we know we can lnot live without water ... many people suggest competition is the 'mother' of innovation ... some may even say 'progress'.

Yet ... in combination ... the parallels are striking ... and point to a poignant reality ... we know oil and water do not mix ... seems to me the same is true of competition and cooperation.

Recent global activities seems to support this position ... the USA lead invasion of Iraq ... and the USA refusal to join the Kyoto group ... hmmmmmm!

Lili and Bruce

1918/1919 Pandemic known as the Spanish Flu

Today I learned about the 1918/1919 pandemic known as the Spanish Flu. Seems this tragedy is getting some media airtime today due to the current much talked about "Bird Flu" threat.

My first reaction to the Spanish Flu stroy was the timing ... 1918/1919 ... my mind pulled out the memory of the event in Fatima Portugal ... October 13, 1917 . My curiosity was tweaked by the timing.

I asked myself if there was any connection between the events of Fatima in 1917 and this Pandemic ... referred by some as the worst pandemic in the history of mankind.

Acknowledging that looking for 'connections' between these two events is a silly waste of time ... yet I decided to do the "Google Search". :-)

Discovered that Francisco and Jacinta( 2 of the 3 young children directly connected with the events of Fatima) died in the influenza pandemic that ravaged Europe in 1918 and 1919 ... hmmm

While this does nothing to support the notion of a "connection" ... I find it intriguing.

Meditations while watching the iceburg

For a long time now I have had the feeling that most people are not interested in discussing the 'serious' side of life ... we are trapped in the 'life we know' ... the day to day grind for many of us.

I am reminded of a few words I read last week ... "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -- Krishnamurti

Let's look at the word 'wisdom' ... seems to me there are 2 kinds of wisdom ... man made wisdom and the wisdom from 'God'

Man made wisdom is everywhere ... we see it every day ... we read about it everyday ... it's on the television ... it's on the radio ... it's in the newspapers ... another expression for man made wisdom is "bad news" ... seems to me man has always taken the 'wisdom' of God and exploited it for selfish purposes ... and man has never been able to stop at the point where the 'wisdom' turns from good to evil ... for example ... the wisdom given to Einstein was fabulous and could serve mankind wonderfully ... so what did mankind do with it? ... turned it into nuclear bombs :-( ... etc etc .... the story of the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' over and over again!

On the other hand the 'wisdom' from God is absolutely wonderful ... I believe if we look closely at the little things that happen in our life ... the trivial ... seemingly unimportant ... tiny details! ... Lady Wisdom will reveal Herself to us ... She may appear clothed in a few words you hear someone speak ... She may appear in a picture you look at that seems to speak to your inner being ... She may appear on the face of a person you see ... who again ... seems to speak to your inner being ... you will know when it happens

Seems I had one of these kind of experiences again today ... I dropped what I was doing to go and see the 'iceburg' ... I had looked out my kitchen window and it appeared as though the iceburg was right up on shore ... this image seemed to ignite a 'curiosity' ... an excitement' ... in my inner being ... I felt compelled to go and have a look.

It's only about a 15 minute walk to the shore ... as I was getting closer I could see that the iceburg was still quite a distance from shore ... yet closer than it has been ... a truly awesome sight ... see we are compensated a bit for the 'cold' we endure up here :-)

For some reason ... as I was walking I started to meditate ... this happens to me regularly ... my mind wanders off somewhere :-) ... and sometimes comes back with 'sensible stuff' ... and sometimes with 'junk' :-)

This morning the 'fruit' of my meditation' seemed sensible ... and seemed relevant ... it suddenly occured to me that the iceburg is symbolic of life ... apparently only about 10 percent of the iceburg is visible ... the remaining 90 percent is below the water and out of our vision capabilities ... hmmm

Seems to me our 'life' is about the same ... what we know about life is a small percentage of the 'whole' ... what we do not know is obviously beyond our physical sense perceptors ... our human capabilities including all modern science etc etc

Seems this reality has been known to mankind since the beginning of time ... all cultures in all geographies ... for all of history ... have their legends ... their religions ... their myths ... etc etc to explain the 90 percent we really can't know or see

Seems man has always had an insatiable curiosity ... imagination etc etc ... and also seems we are not able to live with an 'closed door' ... something that we know is ... but we do not know what it is ... the 'fear' of the unknown ... the solution to this throughout the ages seems to have been religion ... legend ... etc etc

One last tiny experience ... when I got home ... I had left my computer on but my monitor has shut off ... I turned my monitor on and somehow an email that was in my hotmail mail box for a while was wide open on my screen ... and I know I did not have it open today ... here is a copy of the email .... hmmmm

Solomon's Wisdom Lesson

Fr. Roger Vermalen Karban
This Week’s Liturgy: The readings for Sunday, July 24, 2005, the Seventeenth Sunday of the Year, are I Kings 3:5, 7-12, Romans 8:28-30, Matthew 13:44-52.
The late scholar of biblical Wisdom literature, Father Roland Murphy, always began his Wisdom 101 classes with today’s I Kings passage. He believed it contained the best definition of the subject he taught.
Yahweh tells Solomon: “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” The king surprises everyone, not by asking “for a long life … nor for riches, nor for the life of (his) enemies.” Instead, he makes this request: “Give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.”

Father Murphy always emphasized that a biblically wise person is someone who looks at life with an “understanding heart.” In the culture of the I Kings author, the heart was thought to perform many of the functions which we today attribute to the brain. It wasn’t just the organ of emotions. It was the source of thought and reasoning. That’s why Solomon desires a proper heart: one which would help him judge reality with the understanding with which Yahweh judges it. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then understanding is in the heart of the believer.
As we hear in our Romans pericope, Paul has such a heart. Notice the statement he makes at the beginning of the passage. “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” The apostle presumes everyone experiences the same basic reality. What’s important isn’t what happens in life, it’s how we interpret what happens. Paul is convinced that our faith provides our interpretation. Without an understanding, faith-filled heart, we have no basis for judging the everyday events of our lives.

Matthew’s Jesus continues what he began in last week’s Gospel: providing more parables to help us better understand God working in our midst. But like last week’s images, today he zeroes in on our response to that presence.

“The kingdom of heaven,” Jesus first teaches, “is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds … .” Then he offers a parallel idea: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price … .” In each case, the finder “goes and sells all she or he has and buys the treasure.”

Jesus’ message is clear: If discovering God at work in our lives is the most valuable dimension of our existence then we should be willing to sacrifice anything and everything to acquire it.

Of course, such a long-sought-for experience doesn’t happen in isolation from everything else that runs through our lives. That’s why Jesus adds one more parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full, they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away.”
Though Matthew’s Gospel interpretation springs from his concept of the “last judgment,” scholars believe the historical Jesus originally intended the separation of good from bad to pertain to our role in the process. Day by day we must use our understanding hearts to determine what is from God in our lives and what isn’t.

No wonder Matthew ends the passage with Jesus describing the evangelist himself: “a scribe … instructed in the kingdom of heaven … who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”

Only someone wise in the faith knows what to keep of the old and what to discard of the new. An understanding heart is always able to figure out the proper combination. If we don’t, then God’s kingdom is solely something which happened in the past, or an event we’re anticipating only in the future, not an experience for followers of God right here and now.

香客汤姆结婚!! ... Pilgrim Tom Marries!!

After more than 10 years of being single Heaven sends me a beautiful wife ... Huang Hui.

From 'Collective Unconscious' to 'Collective Conscious' to 'Collective Will'

Plato and more recently Jung described the notion of Collective Unconscious. We are now seeing more published work on the notion of Collective Conscious ... seems we have moved into 'consciousness' ... we are awakening.

Seems to me the next logical step is the notion of 'Collective Will' ... perhaps we have been functioning for a zillion years under the influence of 'will' derived from our 'Collective Unconscious' ... our will being influenced without us being aware of it ...

Wow! ... this hypothesis is quite exciting ... this theory suggests mankind is moving from a very long period of grandiose 'DECEPTION' ... through unconscious influences ... to a pure 'TRUTH'
... through conscious decisions based on awareness ... from 'darkness' ... to ... 'light'.

Wow!! ... how I hope this is true!!

Carl Jung and the Collective Unconscious

Carl Jung was a student and follower of Freud. He was born in a small town in Switzerland in 1875 and all his life was fascinated by folk tales, myths and religious stories. Although he had a close friendship with Freud early in their relationship, his independent and questioning mind soon caused a break.

Jung did not accept Freud’s contention that the primary motivation behind behavior was sexual urges. Instead of Freud’s instinctual drives of sex and aggression, Jung believed that people are motivated by a more general psychological energy that pushes them to achieve psychological growth, self-realization., psychic wholeness and harmony. Also, unlike Freud, he believed that personality continues to develop throughout the lifespan.

It is for his ideas of the collective unconscious that students of literature and mythology are indebted to Jung. In studying different cultures, he was struck by the universality of many themes, patterns, stories and images. These same images, he found, frequently appeared in the dreams of his patients. From these observations, Jung developed his theory of the collective unconscious and the archetypes.

Like Freud, Jung posited the existence of a conscious and an unconscious mind. A model that psychologists frequently use here is an iceberg. The part of the iceberg that is above the surface of the water is seen as the conscious mind. Consciousness is the part of the mind we know directly. It is where we think, feel, sense and intuit. It is through conscious activity that the person becomes an individual. It’s the part of the mind that we “live in” most of the time, and contains information that is in our immediate awareness Below the level of the conscious mind, and the bulk of the ice berg, is what Freud would call the unconscious, and what Jung would call the “personal unconscious.” Here we will find thoughts, feelings, urges and other information that is difficult to bring to consciousness. Experiences that do not reach consciousness, experiences that are not congruent with who we think we are, and things that have become “repressed” would make up the material at this level. The contents of the personal unconscious are available through hypnosis, guided imagery, and especially dreams. Although not directly accessible, material in the personal unconscious has gotten there sometime during our lifetime. For example, the reason you are going to school now, why you picked a particular shirt to wear or your choice of a career may be a choice you reached consciously. But it is also possible that education, career, or clothing style has been influenced by a great deal of unconscious material: parents’ preferences, childhood experiences, even movies you have seen but about which you do not think when you make choices or decisions. Thus, the depth psychologist would say that many decisions, indeed some of the most important ones that have to do with choosing a mate or a career, are determined by unconscious factors. But still, material in the personal unconscious has been environmentally determined.

What is the Collective Unconscious

The collective unconscious is different. It’s like eye color. If someone were to ask you, “How did you get your eye color,” you would have to say that there was no choice involved – conscious or unconscious. You inherited it. Material in the collective unconscious is like this: inherited. It never came from our current environment. It is the part of the mind that is determined by heredity. So we inherit, as part of our humanity, a collective unconscious; the mind is pre-figured by evolution just as is the body. The individual is linked to the past of the whole species and the long stretch of evolution of the organism. Jung thus placed the psyche within the evolutionary process.

What’s in the collective unconscious? Psychological archetypes. This idea of psychological archetypes is among Jung’s most important contributions to Western thought. An ancient idea somewhat like Plato’s idea of Forms or “patterns” in the divine mind that determine the form material objects will take, the archetype is in all of us. The word “archetype” comes from the Greek “arche” meaning “first, and “type” meaning “imprint or pattern.” Psychological archetypes are thus first prints, or patterns that form the basic blueprint for major dynamic counterparts of the human personality. For Jung, archetypes pre-exist in the collective unconscious of humanity. They repeat themselves eternally in the psyches of human beings and they determine how we both perceive and behave. These patterns are inborn within us. They are part of our inheritance as human beings. They reside as energy within the collective unconscious and are part the psychological life of all peoples everywhere at all times. They are inside us and they are outside us. We can meet them by going inward to our dreams or fantasies. We can meet them by going outward to our myths, legends, literature and religions. The archetype can be a pattern, such as a kind of story. Or it can be a figure, such as a kind of character

What Is Collective Consciousness? Collective consciousness is a mode of awareness that emerges at the first transpersonal stage of consciousness, when our identities expand beyond our egos. A crucial capacity that accompanies this awareness is the ability to intuitively sense and work with the interactions between our and others’ energy fields, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. For example, just as Gene Rodenberry imagined a future where Star Trek’s Spock could “mind meld” with others, more of us are now becoming aware of our capacity not only to intuit each other’s thoughts and emotions, but also to consciously think and create together without communicating through our five senses.

Change

Seems to me we human beings are creatures of habit ... we resist change ... our habits become our 'addictions' ... our addictions become our comforts ... our 'comforts' become our comfort zone ... our 'bubble of comfort' ... as long as we remain within the limits of our 'comfort zone' (bubble of comfort) ... life is OK.

Perhaps one way to understand this phenomenon is to look at some of the 'traumas' in life. For example ... divorce... death in the family ... sudden loss of our job ... sudden loss of our wealth or stature in the community. All of these incidents cause great trauma for the individuals involved ... and recovery is not always certain ... seems to support the notion that we prefer small doses of change throughout our lives .... and do not respond well to big changes.

So what happens when considerable change is thrust upon us? ... or we find ourselves asked to contemplate a monumental change in our lives?

I believe 'fear' creates a 'shadow' around our being and we become almost paralyzed. The fear of the unknown ... the uncertainty ... the potential for pain of some kind ... potential for misery ... rejection ... financial loss ... financial insecurity etc etc. A normal reaction given the comments above about how we prefer to stay in our 'bubble of comfort'.

Yet from time to time ... some unknown force seems to push us towards change ... we know it ... we feel it ... we want to respond to it!

"Conquering fear is the beginning of wisdom" ... author unknown ... ancient Chinese wisdom I think

Writing about this brings to mind a few memories ...

Last summer I walked accross France ... somewhere along the way I found myself walking along a deserted country road. The road was probably only used by the local farmers. I have walked kilometres and kilometres of similar roads in the 4,000 kilometres I walked since June 2000. Yet on this particular day ... seems I was asked to pay attention ... there was something I would learn at this particular spot.

I started by looking at my feet ... there were piles of fresh cow dung all over the road at this particular spot ... again ... nothing particularly new or exciting about seeing cow dung on the road
I looked around and noticed that there was a gate in the fence at this point in the road ... seems the cattle had come onto the road through this gate ... hmmm

I wondered why so many of the cattle 'dumped a load of poop' right here ... right after passing through the gate. It occured to me that these cattle were probably quite content grazing in the field they just left ... they knew the smells of the grass ... they knew the boundaries(the fence line) ... etc etc ... they didn't want to move ... to change pasture ... for all they knew they may be heading for the 'butcher' ... ouch! ... that would make me nervous enough to poop my pants too!

The 'imposed change' likely caused the cattle to become nervous ... their stomachs responded ... and they 'dumped' all over the road. The patch of 'cow dung' didn't stretch too far ... all of it was within a few metres of the 'gate' ... seems cattle are not crazy about 'change' either ... they seem to have the same reaction to the 'unknown' as we humans do ... ???

Another memory ... maybe I was sharing this story with a stranger down the road a ways ... don't remember ... but this stranger ... a lady from Australia ... told me an interesting story ... involving some research in Australia regarding sheep. Apparently when a flock of sheep is forced to change their pasture ... these sheep do not get to wander around with a shepherd ... they are penned in ... and their entire world is within the boundaries set by the fence.

When the sheep are taken to a new pasture area ... apparently many of them will not eat the grass in the new pasture ... they will starve to death before eating this perfectly healthy grass ... fear of change??? ... fear of the unknown???

Finally, another image about sheep ... in this case it is a flock of sheep who wander around the country side every day with their shepherd and his dog(s) ... no fences! These sheep know their shepherd ... and respond to his commands ... they also know the shepherd's dogs. They know the dogs have never harmed any of them ... yet ... if one of the dogs gives a loud bark ... all of the sheep immediately huddle together ... pushing and shoving ... forming a very tight bundle of sheep. Why ??? ... perception of fear??? ... of change???

As I finish typing these notes it occurs to me that Jesus faced the same challenge in His day. The people of the day were quite content with the Law of Moses ... and the 'habits' they developed as a result of this Law ... they were not interested in 'monumental' change ... and as a matter of fact felt threatened by it ... so threatened they decided to kill the person who was trying to introduce the 'change' . Jesus was crucified because He was considered a rebel????

And here we are 2,000 years later ... where once again ... the various denominations of Christianity are cozy and comfortable with the rituals and habits that their particular flavour of 'Christianity' has enshrined over the past 2,000 years. The fact that these various forms of 'Christianity' ... with all of their doctrines ... do's and don'ts ... are so far removed from what we are told Jesus taught doesn't seem to matter.

Mohammed Gandi of India expressed it best ... apparently he said ... "I love your Christ ... I don't care much for you Christians."

I suppose anyone who show any signs of success in reminding Christians of this will face the same resistance as Jesus did ... as long as no one followed Jesus ... He was safe ... it was only after many people started to follow Jesus that the 'mainstream people' felt threatened.

Seems this is why I tell people ... in some ways I am happy that I am still a 'flock of one' ... it is more safe ... should the day come when people actually start to believe what I write and say ... yikes!! ... trouble will be just around the corner!!!

Reflections at the Arctic 'Floe Edge'

Floe edge camping - hmmm - how did I get here? Walking barefoot on the arctic ice ... watching curious seals bopping up out of the water to check out those strange two legged creatures in their midst. Watching the sea landscape ... metamorphing from open water to a floating sea landscape of ice ... all shapes and sizes. Snow covered mountains popping in and out of sight ... at times reflecting the bright sun ... at times veiled by the fog and not visible.

<>Birds peacefully floating on the open sea ... an 'ivory gull' flies over head ... perhaps attracted by the remains of a seal laying motionless on the ice ... why am I here? <>

The story of a polar bear sighting early this morning ... looking at day old polar bear tracks ... awed by the size of the footprint ... how much more awesome the animal leaving these 'footprints' in the snow must be. <>

The silence ... almost being able to hear one's thoughts. Knowing there are so few people within 1,000's of kilometres in every direction ... such a pleasant feeling of isolation. Knowing that we are moving slower when being still ... the highest speed from the relentless spinning of the planet being at the equator ... more north ... more slow. <>

Observing the difficulty some fellow campers are having trying to deal with the rather abrupt slowdown in the pace of life ... despite weeks of conditioning in the village of Pond Inlet ... where the pace of life is already so much slower than say Ottawa or Iqaluit ... what a phenomenon! <>

I am reminded of my 'flock of sheep' philosophy ... I share it with Giovanna ... experience here seems to confirm the 'phenomenon' yet again! <>

Our 'state of being' is a mirror reflection of the mood ....direction ... speed etc etc of the flock ... and distance from the flock doesn't seem to diminish the 'conditions' I wonder how long one would have to be out here so far away from the flock ... to become 'detached' ... and more important ... comfortable with the detachment. <>

The Inuit peoples are an obvious exception to my 'flock philosophy' ... or perhaps such a micro version that they are insulated from much of the 'unhealthy' characteristics/attributes of the 'flock phenomenon' <>

The Inuit have obviously tuned into the 'rythm of nature' and found 'comfort and peace' ... dancing to nature's rythm ... of course enduring unbelievable hardship as a result. Yet not at all looking for an alternative ... or looking for ways to 'defy' nature ... with man-made defenses etc <>

Seems to me the social challenges/problems the Inuit have experienced in the past 50 years or so ... and continue to experience ... is a consequence of their sucumbing to the 'conqueror' ... the white man ... perhaps not being defeated by the sword or the canon ... defeated nonetheless ... perhaps by government cheques ... flush toilets ... oil fired heating machines etc etc The endless smorgasboard of man-made 'candy'. The varieties made with sugar ... and the technology 'candy' ... snowmobiles ... motor powered boats etc etc <>

Seems to me there remains a strong 'remnant' of the former "Inuit Spirit' ... an invisible/intangible/undefinable ... yet very real ..'spark' ... that is pulling some part of their being back to the former 'dance' ... the dance to the rythm of nature ... Johnathan seems to personify this 'reality' <>

Of course, they cannot go back ... the white man has irreversably damaged their environment ... global warming ... the cumulative effect of jet airplanes polluting ... with noise ... and garbage the formerly pure air of the arctic forever changing the habits and lifestyle of not only the Inuit ... also the entire animal kingdom of the Arctic. The former food chain that sustained the Inuit in the Arctic for mileniums no longer exists ... and the issue of Canadian Sovereignty ... a pallatable word for 'global supremacy ... born in the era of the Cold War .... the West versus the East ... communism vs capitalism/democracy/colonialism <>

Knowledge is power ... knowledge is the currency of the 21st century ... much more obvious and broadcast publicly ... perhaps was always the case ... yet in times past was 'hoarded' by those who possessed the 'knowledge' ... Xavier's comment ... where did the 'knowledge' of the last 5 centuries come from? God or Satan? <>

The man's comment at the hotel the other night in response to my comment ..."knowledge is power" ... "debatable ... if someone connects the dots ... than you are screwed" ... my intuitive reaction ... if we (mankind) have been seduced and deceived by Satan ... and now the 'climax' of Satan's plan is near ... and someone 'connects the dots' to Satan's plan and threatens to foil mileniums of hard work ... the individual or groups of individuals who attempt to 'broadcast' the 'TRUTH' and reveal the 'DECEPTION' ... YIKES!! ... what fierce resistance they will face ... who will protect them ... who will save them ... of course ... the same Heavenly being(s) who gave them the pieces of the puzzle in the first place ,,, how else could it be ...??? <>

Back to East versus West <>

The 'sled dog killing stroy' ... the stakes were very high ... 'global supremacy' ... were the Inuit 'pawns' in this game? ... Canada ... under pressure from the USA and all other nations of the 'West' was compelled to solidify sovereignty of the Canadian Arctic ... like all rules of possession/ownership ... occupancy is the clearest manifestation of 'ownership' ... the old maxim ... possession is 9/10ths of the law. <>

With nomadic peoples roaming the Canadian Arctic ... motivated solely by the 'rythm of nature' ... manifested in the behaviour of the Arctic Animal Kingdom ... the Inuit food supply ... this form of 'occupancy' was considered inadequate to support the 'sovereignty' claim. Canada needed stationery settlements ... Canadians living in one place year round ... year after year <>

How to achieve this? Eliminate the 'means of transportation' that permitted the Inuit to be nomadic peoples in the Arctic ... kill their dogs ... by any means available ... sickness ... eg TB ... or the rifle ... shoot them ... ostensibly to prevent the spread of TB ... pretty shallow deception ... yet it worked. <>

Secondary strategy ... take Inuit peoples from populated areas and 'parachute' them into the key defenseline areas where 'stationery' population is desirable ... eg Resolute and Grise Fiord. People were moved from northern Quebec and thses people had no idea how to survive so far north. Had the local Inuit from Arctic Bay not gone over to help them ... they surely would have perished ... 'pawns' ... ??? (Carmen Levy) <>

Ham's story this morning ... he saw an airplane for the first time in 1946 ... up here in Pond Inlet. His comment that the planes were US military planes ??? The large military base in Resolute ... 600+ Paul Diamond <>

All the research effort dedicated to producing materials ... including clothing etc ... that would sustain 'white man' ... white army man ... in the Arctic ... ignoring the fact that the Inuit already possessed all the 'knowhow' necessary to survive up here ... survival was not the goal ... winning a war played out on Arctic Ice or perhaps beneath the ice ... or perhaps in the Arctic sky was the goal ... hmmm! <>

Were the Inuit peoples a 'pawn' in these war games. ???? <>

The price was very low for the conquerors ... the western white man ... seems the price was very very high for the Inuit peoples. All of todays' social challenges/problems ... suicide ... domestic violence ... drugs ... alcohol etc. <>

The expression from Catherine ... each Inuit child has a mother ... a father ... and an anthropologist! Why are the Inuit ... such a tiny group of people ... less than 25,000 in a world of billions of people ... so studied? ... some say the most 'studied' peoples in the world today. eg Annemieke and Harm here in Pond Inlet from Holland ... for 5-6 weeks of research to support a Phd thesis in a Holland university ??? <>

Yet ... if it wasn't for Annemieka and Harm I wouldn't be here today ... at the floe edge ... thinking and writing these thoughts. Annemieka on Friday responding to my suggestion that she announce on the local radio that she is looking for a guide to take us to the floe edge ... Lizzie ... the cook ... volunteers to call in the request ... the response within 10 minutes from Ham and Tomasee and here we are ... hmmm! <>

The narwhals have just arrived ... 3 of them ... their spots identify them ... no 'long tooth' though ... swim by in front of us ... shot by cameras ... may be shot by rifles down the way ... some Inuit hunters camped 1 kilometre or so away. 2 rifle shots break the silence ... another one ... ouch!! ... poor narwhals. Another loner passes by ... the rythm of it's swim is magestic ... I can hear it breathing ... why am I here?? <>

Why am I in the Arctic? ... learning and admiring the Inuit way of life ... seeing first hand how members of our species lived on the fringe of civilization for mileniums ... wow!! <>

The Inuit knew nothing of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire ... the Egyptian Empire ... the European colonization of most of the world ... the theory that the Inuit are descendants of Mongolia ... Mongolians who migrated north through Siberia and Westward accross the Arctic ... hmmm! <>

Why was this tiny group of peoples insulated and sheltered from the rest of the world for so long? Reminds me of the caves in Nerja Spain ... closed by nature for 2-3 thousand years and opened again a few years ago. Israel coming back into 'nationhood' and the Inuit losing 'nationhood' ... sychronicity??? <>

Serious minded people today have the opportunity to see the 'fruit' of 1,000's of years of so called 'progressive evolution' of civilization and compare this to 1000's of years of non-exposure to this 'evolution' ... my first impressions ... progressive evolution came at a very high price ... the Inuit are now learning just how high this price is by trying to integrate their former lifestyle into 21st century westerism. <>

The result ... suicide ... violence ... drug and alcohol abuse ... racism etc etc. Yet the 'nature' of the former life still lives on the faces of some of the elders ... their 'serenity' ... the leather like texture of their skin ... thier child like sense of humour. Especially obvious with Ham who just said in his best english ... "my name not Ham ... my name Cookie Monster" ... all this with a wonderful child like laugh ... what a treat to be around him this weekend <>

OK so we can observe and note the contrast ... we can debate the +'s and -'s ... so what! ... where do we go from here?? <>

We attach much signifigance to the biblical expression ... "I am the cornerstone" ... the cornerstone being Jesus ... He is the Cornerstone of all life ... our salvation ... our redemption. The 'cornerstone' ... using the same analogy ... the "Family"unit is the 'cornerstone' of all communities/tribes/clans/cultures/societies/nations <>

Reminds me of Augustine's writing ... a family is a collection of individuals ... a collection of families is a village ... a collection of villages is a province ... etc etc <>

Writing this brings me back to my earliest days of being alone ... the 'mystical' experience at the Maples Inn ... why did I stay there? ... it was from there that I started my trips to Europe. <>

The specific experience that is now 'top of mind' was the day I lie on my bed staring at the wall ... looking at 4 walls is a common pass time for lonely people ... seems I was no exception. <>

This wall was no ordinary wall ... it was not painted drywall ... bland and empty. This wall was painted bricks ... the large ones .. 8" by 14" or so. The wall served to divide the rooms and support the structure ... both at the same time. Seems the owner was content not to 'dress up' the cement block supporting wall with drywall ... good thing ... or i would not have had the contemplation I am about to share! <>

1,000's of years ago man learned that if you stack stones in a staggered pattern ... the result is a strong and sturdy wall ... capable of holding up tremendous loads ... the walled cities of Europe and the middle east ... Jerusalem. In times past they didn't use mortar to cement a bond between the stones ... a tight fit was all they used and 1,000's of years ago the 'stone arch' was discovered ... by placing stones in a certain pattern ... each stone pressing against its' neighbours. They built an arch which was used to join two walls ... and soon large and complex buildings ... Parthenon ... Greek Temples etc etc. <>

Back to my wall in my room at the Maple's Inn ... as I looked at the cement blocks ... neatly piled in a staggered pattern ... and evenly bonded to each other with mortar. It occured to me that this same structure symbolizes 'civilization' with each cement block representing an individual ... the mortar symbolizes the bond that holds individuals together in a 'collective' ... a tribe ... a clan ... a village ... a family ... a culture ... a society etc etc <>

The strength of the bond manifests the strength of the unity of the tribe ... clan ... culture etc etc. A wonderful example is the 12 tribes of Judaism ... and equally impressive are the local tribes ... clans of Inuit. The Inuit camp or village was never more than an 'extended' family and seems as they roamed around members of one clan would be given in marriage to members of another clan and so on and so on ... avoiding the obvious threat of 'in-breeding' ... amazing ... profound ... wow!! Contrast this with 'marriage used as a 'tool' to gain more property and or power ??? ... the ancient ... and perhaps still current ... white man's way <>

Back to the 'bond' mentioned above ... as I stared at the wall and contemplated this analogy ... I thought of the bond as 'love' ... when 'love' between individuals ... first in a single family ... and simultaneously ... among families who share a common bond ... eg a tribe ... as long as this bond ...'love' remains strong the 'collectives' remain strong ... seems it is directly proportional. The 'bond' ...'love' ... is intangible ... the alchemist gold ... what is the recipe for a solid bond ...'love' ... a mortar that will not disintegrate ... crack ...erode etc etc <>

Seems to me if we could measure the 'holding' strength/power of the 'bond' between individuals today ... be it individuals within a family ... among families ... within a village ... among villages within a province etc etc We would find that the tercile strength has diminished profoundly ... corroded ... disintegrated ... melted ... whatever!! <>

United we stand ... divided we fall ... my dad would say this expression often when speaking of our family ... the words are so few ... so simple ... so logical ... and yet so profoundly true .... while our minds could easily understand the 'notion' ... this understanding is not enough ... the recipe is more complex and seems we have lost track of the ingredients ... the combination/mixing process etc etc <>

Words are not enough ... <>

Writing these words reminds me of the time I was contemplating potential strategies to destroy the human species ... I placed my mind on the other side of the wall so to speak <>

The two strategies I remember well are: <>

divide and conquer ... a well documented and effective war strategy (united we stand ... divided we fall) <>

destroy the female species ... not as in kill all females ... no ... destroy them by distractions encouraging abdication of their primary role ... to bring new members into the species and nurture their early years ... according to the proper recipe ... prepare them to live out their lives in a 'holistic' and 'healthy' way <>

Without holistic and healthy young mothers how can we expect healthy and holistic new members. This problem exaserbates itself with successive generations ... becoming progressively worse! <>

Look at what the woman's liberation movement has done to 'motherhood' <>

Look what living in this space age costs ... the basic entry price is a 2 member working family ... both the father and the mother ... so now a woman has a fulltime job ... nurturing their children is farmed out to a stranger ... motivated by $$$ only ... for the most part. <>

Seems to me all young women today are 'damaged' before their first child is born ... psycologically ... emotionally ... and likel physically ... fatigue etc <>

How many people today require Prozac or equivalent simply to keep going with todays' lifestyle ???

Same Sex Marriage

We humans are all created in the image and likeness of our 'Creator' ... according to the book of Genesis ... I take the word 'all' at face value ... 'all' .... simple means ... 'all' ... each and every one of us regardless of gendre ... or sexual orientation ... or religious beliefs etc etc

Seems to me for the the above statement to be True ... each of us is a 'person' first ... a 'gendre' second ... and all else third, fourth etc ... By limiting comments to the level of 'personhood' may provide a common denominator accross all gendres, cultures, societies etc. Perhaps with such a restriction we can establish a framework for some meaningful reflection/contemplation

<>Seems to me deviant human behaviour has been around since the beginning of man ... yet we know today that the issue of same sex partnerships goes beyond deviant human behaviour. I believe our medical community has been able to provide conclusive evidence that female physiological/psychological characteristics etc exist in certain males and vise versa.
<>This biological reality places same sex partnerships outside of the realm of deviant human behaviour ... seems these people are simply responding to their 'hard wired genetics'.
<>Perhaps a few words about 'lepers' would help to put this into perspective ... the story of St Francis of Assissi comes to mind. I understand St Francis ... well into his conversion ... had a serious aversion to leperacy and lepers. After he found the courage ... or received the Grace of God ... to visit with some local lepers ... he fell in love with them.
<>I have a personal experience involving an encounter with a 'leper'. I was in Jersusalem at the time ... wandering around the streets of the old city one night ... completely lost. I was drawn into a building ... don't understand how ... I heard some voices from the second floor so I went up to check it out. I found myself face to face with a 'leper'. This young man's leperacy affected his face ... it was rather extreme ... he greeted me warmly ... shook my hand ... I couldn't stay ... I was too much of a coward. For months and years after this experience I was ashamed of myself ... I would reflect on the fact that this young man had feelings and emotions ... just like the rest of us ... I am still ashamed of myself ... my hope is that I will be stronger should I be given this special priviledge again.
<>I also remember climbing this very steep mountain in France about 5 years ago ... I took a wrong turn on the Camino Santiago ... at the time I interpreted the experience as a wrong turn ... the climb was very difficult and I had to walk back down again and find my way back to the correct road. At the top of this mountain, I chatted with one of the local residents ... he pointed out a village a few hundred metres away ... a vacation paradise today ... a leper's hell 100 years ago! This experience provided some insight into just how cruel mankind can be ... to banish these suffering peoples ... so far from 'mainstream society' ... wanting them out of sight ... and out of 'mind'.

<>Seems much of mankind wants the same for same sex partners today.

<>Seems to me as well that the high profile status given to 'same sex marriages' today is an indication of just how 'sick' our society has become. If we were a vibrant healthy society ... we may be more inclined to simply allow the changes and 'let it be' ... not feeling at all 'threatened' by it. Perhaps the fact that we feel so threatened by the possibility of widely accepted same sex marriages points to some 'phobic' condition(s) in our current society.
<>Perhaps we should visit the notion of lifetime(monogomous) heterosexual relationships ... are these 'natural' to the human species. Today we know of many animal species where this is true. The osprey comes to mind ... I was told that if the female osprey in a relationship dies ... the male partner will die of lonliness. I was also told that if a male osprey dies ... the female partner will go and find a new partner ... go figure eh! ... perhaps it is 'hard wired' to ensure the propogation of the species??? Seems the osprey don't need government to protect the institution of lifetime partnerships. :-)
<>What about humans? As you mentioned ... statistics are clearing indicating that marriages ... based on free choice ... largely based on the "cult of romantic love" ... are not lasting ... I understand ... more than 50% failure rate in North America.
<>An alarming trend! ... we are told in the bible that ... whom God joins in marriage ... no one can separate ... this suggests God had nothing to do with a whole big bunch of heterosexual marriages :-)
<>Seems to me there are two possibilities ... the bond of marriage is 'conditionally sacred' ... or monogamy is not natural within the human species. If monogamy is not natural anyway ... why worry about the 'institution of marriage' ... let's stop fighting 'nature' ... maybe the quality of life will improve :-)
<>Back to 'conditionally sacred' ... here I am trying to say a 'bond of marriage' is sacred when both partners ... their families ... their extended families ... their neighbours ... etc believe in God. This notion is difficult for me to describe ... seems analagous to the expression ... "It takes the entire village to raise a child" ... parents only have so much influence on the development of their children ... one day the child must go out into the village ... and from that day forward the 'village' exerts a powerful influence on the child.(seems to me the 'village' exerts a very strong influence on the child before the child enters the village ... a child's outcome is the parents 'scorecard' ... report card)
<>Seems with marriage ... the same 'phenomenon' is at work ... "married people must leave the wedding bed and go back to the village" ... "It takes the entire village to raise a marriage" ... and today the village is 'the global village' ... our sense perceptors and pysches are subject to all that goes on around the globe ... except for those very few people who refuse to read a newspaper ... a magazine ... watch televison etc etc
<>My view is that most of mankind has been basically 'rewired' by the persistant and insistant 'messages' delivered via mass media and other modern communication technologies ... this influence is so pervasive and invasive ... there is no room for God ... and as a result ... most ... (50% plus one) of the 'scared marital bonds' are destroyed ... and the damage does not stop with the 'marriage bond' ... it extends to the children of the marriage ... the extended families ... the neighbours etc etc
<>
Perhaps it is this reality that underlies the 'loud' response to same sex marriages???

Friday the 13th

Today is Friday May the 13th ... May 13, 1917 was the first apparition of the Virgin
Mary to the children in Fatima Portugal. Seems like an appropriate day to share my
thoughts on Friday the 13ths.

I grew up with the same silly superstitions so many people around the world seem to
want to keep 'alive'. last summer during my walk in France i was given a 'new twist'
on the number 13 ... in business and especially in politics we often hear the
expression "spin doctor" ... referring to those 'word doctors' that have the ability
to take bad news ... spin it around ... dress it up ... and spit it out again as
'good news' ... reminds me of St Augustine ... whose first career was ... " a seller
of words".

Oh! ... the marvel of the human mind ... the marvel i refer to hear is the
'gullibilty' of the human mind ... all too many people believe the 'twisted' output
of these 'word doctors'.

Anyhow ... now to my own use of the 'spin' phenomenon :-)

Last summer it 'dawned' on me that 13 represents a very positive number ... Jesus
plus His 12 apostles was a group of 13 ... and Friday is the day we commemorate the
crucifixion of Christ ... therefore ... all Friday the 13ths are very special days
indeed ... wonderful days! ... days to celebrate! ... quite a spin eh!!

Let me share some more speculation ... if the story of Jesus is true ... and indeed
He was crucified on a Friday ... and if the story of the 'enemy' is equally
true ... would it not be a good strategy for the 'king of deception' to turn
something good into something 'dark'. It all makes sense for me ... of course i
try very hard to accept the 2 basic assumptions that hold it all together ...
the story of Jesus is true ... and the story of the 'enemy' is true ... ying and
yang ... or whatever the proper words are :-)

'Connecting the Dots'

3 words ... "Connecting the Dots" ... that popped into my head so many times on my walk accross France last summer ... and many of my experiences along the way seem to provide the catalyst for the 'connecting'

intrigued to see the expression and some commentary today ...

Living connected lives
BY REV. ROGER KARBAN
Sunday’s first reading (Acts 2: 42-47) is one of those little summaries of early Christian life that frequently pop up in the first five chapters of Acts. We’re grateful for the picture of dedication to the teaching and life of Jesus which they convey. But, we’re also jealous that these first followers of Jesus are able to accomplish something which we later followers find almost impossible to achieve: real Christian living.
Luke isn’t describing the actions of priests or nuns in these summaries. He’s simply talking about ordinary, dedicated individuals who take their faith seriously enough to actually change how they live their everyday lives.
Who of us would hold "all things in common...sell [our] property and possessions and divide [the proceeds among] all according to each one’s need?"
Was it real?
That’s why we’re relieved to discover that most scholars don’t believe those summaries are accurate descriptions of first-century Christian living. (The scholars encourage us to turn to the last half of I Corinthians 11 to find out how disciples of that period actually struggled to live their faith.)
The experts contend that Luke employs such summaries of ideal Christianity for two reasons. First, he does so to present the community for whom he writes an ideal to aim for. He isn’t informing his readers about something that happened in the past as much as he’s giving them a picture of what they could accomplish in the future.
Second, Luke needs a device to tie together the diverse stories about the early Christian community that have been passed down to him by the Church’s preachers. His summaries help create a consecutive narrative out of 50-year-old, disconnected stories. It’s not only an insightful way to achieve a literary necessity; it also conveys a deep message of Christian faith.
Most of us live our lives as though they’re just a series of disconnected events. We rarely find anything to join and make sense out of even one day’s happenings, much less a lifetime filled with them. We constantly go from one thing to another without being able to "connect the dots."
We long to experience what the author of I Peter (1:3-9) refers to as a "new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,....an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for [us]." Yet we never seem to achieve such a state. We’re too busy just trying to survive.
Having doubts
Like Thomas, we’re not completely convinced that Jesus is risen and among us. But, unlike Thomas, we’re never given a chance to put our fingers and hand into Jesus’ hands and side (John 20: 19-31).
Or are we?
Perhaps Luke hits on something essential to our faith with his summaries. Each describes Christians loving one another so much that they often sacrifice their own good for the good of others. They transform their wealth into something that benefits the whole community. What other action better connects the otherwise disconnected dots of our lives?
Such moments of self-giving are the "trials" which the I Peter author is convinced demonstrate the "genuineness of faith;" the actions which make "awe come upon everyone" who witnesses them.
It’s no accident that John introduces his Thomas narrative with Jesus’ command to forgive one another’s sins. Only by performing such a self-giving, heroic act of faith do we surface the risen Jesus present in our lives. These deliberate acts of love give meaning and direction to something which could easily be without meaning or direction.
Perhaps one day we’ll discover that the loving, connecting links of our lives are more important than the other events they connect.