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So I’ve been thinking about and writing these thought down when they occur to me. It’s not very well hashed out just some fragments, but here’s what I’ve got so far…
…
A disaffected voter. One day at the (in)famous coffee shop I work for, a “partner” of mine said, “If you don’t vote you can’t complain!” At the time this statement pissed me off so, and I responded, somewhat angrily, “That assumes that voting makes a difference!” and she pessimistically agreed, but then we were both left in despair. So what’s the full circle in this conversation that moves from death to life? In that moment I couldn’t put my finger on what pissed me off so much about her dogmatic assumption. But what I really meant was, “That statement assumes that voting changes the conditions in your life that you want changed!” Exterior change is what I think I need in order to feel supported and whole. So I assume that different exterior conditions will produce different interior results.
The Loss of Ritual.
Exterior cannot change the interior except through Ritual! Because ritual is an portal/effigy that points to a spiritual reality not seen with the eyes of the head, but with the eyes of the heart.
Election seems to be a kind of ritual on the surface. So why cannot it offer an interior change as other ritual do? It used to be a sacred ritual, but in recent years, even the last two hundred years, the money changers and thieves have entered the temple and set up shop. The effacement to the temple has caused Him to leave it in dust and seek other means. Upon His shoulders the government stands, as does it fall. Falling doesn’t mean falling apart but rather a changing of the guard. Changing from the Divine Guard to the guard of man and along comes mans corruption with him. (By NO MEANS am I suggesting that turning to some kind of Theocracy is the right way.) So all that’s left is a sterilized made for TV mockery of the true ritual. This worship of the profane and lack of truth is why the electoral process or the government itself has lost it’s power to enact interior change. Now I wouldn’t say that government should be religious. But it should be holy, with a lower case “h”, set apart. Respected and kept holy as ritual.
What do you expect to get from voting, politics, politicians or government? Health, peace, abundance, security, prosperity, fulfillment, hope, harmony? This list of expectations sound vaguely familiar to something Jesus talks about called, “The Reign of God.” “Render unto Cesar what is Cesar’s and to God what is His.”
Who or what do you put your trust in, god or man?
and to whom does your trust really belong to? God or Cesar? To whom do you give the fulfillment of your heart?
If there is One* Power… in the light of that One Power, what other power can have reality? There is no other power, no other reality that can exist along side that of Divine. Sure there are things we give power/reality to by giving assent to them, but aside from the power/reality we as co-creative human beings give to something other than the Divine, what other power is there?
The Reign of God IS. …a matter of realization obtained fully through the graces of God. “Those who have eyes to see, let them see and those who have ears to hear, let them hear.” or how about “Pick up your mat and walk. Upon hearing this the man picked up his mat and walked.” Your faith/trust/realization of Divine Reality has made you well. The Reign of God is NOW within you! Perception changes reality. Not just your own, but everyone else’s as well!
A false dichotomy. Reliance on men, politicians, governments. This man or that man, this politician or that politician, this government or that government, this dogma or that dogma. The Truth will set you free. Truth is non dogmatic, but essential (of essence) and transmutational in nature. In my experience Real Truth seem to always present itself as non-dualistic and paradoxical.
A “falser” dichotomy. Having to choose between reliance on man or reliance on God. God works through all things. The weight of circumstantial and relational issues seems to try to do a great deal to keep me occupied and out of direct service of the Creator Messiah. I say “direct” as opposed to “indirect”, for who can escape the Oneness of God? There is nothing else. Consequently we all play a role in service to Creator, willing or unwilling… But to be sure you cannot recognize this “falser” dichotomy until you recognize the One Power. For to start from the “falser” dichotomy would be still de/illusion.
Why Vote?
I don’t know yet. Let you know when I figure that one out.
Seeking the Truth
“If you asked Jesus if you should seek after truth or seek after himself. He would tell you to seek after the truth”, because somehow the Truth keeps getting found in this God-man. The more I seek the truth through other realizations the more often I come back to Jesus and see how the One Power transmutes the truth throughout everything. This constant returning to Jesus doesn’t lessen the importance of my path through other ways, nor does it diminish the Truth of Jesus. One upholds the other, one cyclically bolsters the other in a mysterious and wonderful way of death and resurrection. This no doubt is only by God’s grace.
Living with Doubt
Go to the Death. To really go to the Death of Jesus, means so much more than most (myself included) even dare to think of. Jesus the divine, the epitome of humanity DIES! God in man dies! CAN YOU HEAR ME???!!!! When Jesus was crucified, every human being was crucified. When Jesus rose from the dead, so did every single human being. Why is there division? Why is there wheat and chaff? It goes back to realization. Every person is already purified by the sacrifice of The Lamb. Perception changes reality. If you can’t go to the Death of Humanity, you can’t reach the Resurrection of it either!!!! Shit this lands on me like a ton of bricks! I love you! Every time I think about Jesus dying on the cross, I never really believe he dies! Because three days later he is raised from the dead. I never really believe he rises because I never really believe he dies. Resurrection is “simply inconceivable!” Jesus’ Death is simply inconceivable if he showed up alive three days later! You have to go to the Death! Without death you’re never even born! Go to the Death FIRST!
In this world we think birth moves toward death, but in Reality we all move through Death towards Birth. The delusion of birth toward death is another example of this upside down kingdom. And maybe it’s that the perception of the process of human life is paradoxical/non-dualistic. Maybe truth is the axle that lies at the center of these two dichotomies, Birth to Death or Death to Birth. Or maybe it’s late at night and I need to go to bed. Yes grasshopper!
* (“One” is not commenting on triune nature/relationship, “One” rather speaks to the Unity of the Divine, since all persons are of the same essence/matter)
Iraq Report by Dahr Jamail, An Unembedded Journalist
A very candid and eye opening report on journalism and the US occupation of Iraq. Compliments of a friend of mine…
The Report
Iraq Report by Dahr Jamail – An Unembedded Journalist
Q & A Discussion
Q & A with Dahr Jamail – Part 01
I was listening to a great song by, “the moldy peaches” and some of the lyrics to their song, “loose lips” got stuck in my head.
“. . .
we’re just dancing, we’re just hugging,
singing, screaming, kissing, tugging
on the sleeve of how it used to be
how’s it gonna be?
i’ll drop kick russell stover, move into the starting over house
and know matt rouse and jest are watching me achieve my dreams
and we’ll pray, all damn day, every day,
that all this shit our president has got us in will go away
while we strive to figure out a way we can survive
these trying times without losing our mindsso if you wanna burn yourself remember that I LOVE YOU
and if you wanna cut yourself remember that I LOVE YOU
and if you wanna kill yourself remember that I LOVE YOU
call me up before your dead, we can make some plans instead
send me an IM, i’ll be your friendshysters live from scheme to scheme and my 4th quarter pipe dreams
are seeming more and more worth fighting for
so i’ll curate some situations, make my job a big vacation
and i’ll say FUCK BUSH AND FUCK THIS WAR
my war paint is sharpie ink and i’ll show you how much my shit stinks
and ask you what you think because your thoughts and words are powerful
they think we’re disposable, well both my thumbs opposable
are spelled out on a double word and triple letter scorewe won’t stop until somebody calls the cops
and even then we’ll start again and just pretend that
nothing ever happened
. . .”
but specifically:
“. . . FUCK BUSH AND FUCK THIS WAR. . .”
and so I got to thinking about this rebel call for judgment. Judgment is such a tricky thing and it’s trickier when you’re angry. I apologize for the weepy, whiny, preachy tone of this rant, but it was 3 am when I wrote it. couldn’t sleep.
–
I hate Bush. It doesn’t feel good to say that. I’m just being honest about this emotion in my chest. But then again most politicians don’t impress me much, even the impressive ones. There doesn’t seem to be any hope for the voice of the people to be heard through our form of democracy. Power isn’t in the hands of the voter, it’s in the hands of the people counting the votes. Anyway back to Bush…
If he were to stand in front of me and try to charm me with that practiced smile of his, I would at the least stare him down and at the most spit in his face and call him out for the greedy sick coward he is. I would tell him of all the calamity, despair, pain, sickness, suffering, destruction and death he has caused by the word of his tung and the sign of his hand. I would tell the man of the broken families, the tormented minds, the fractured, shattered communities, the vapid desolation he has wrought, the countries he’s raped, the families he’s murdered and the souls he has coveted as his own.
Then I would take the back of my hand and slap him to the ground. I would shout in his face and say, “you fool after all this all you can do is start another war?! You commit suicide on behalf of your country, pulling us all into this abyss along with you. Your insatiable greed, lust for power, your grand consumerism has made you drunk on the wine made from grapes of wrath!” the lack of response from his weakened frame and the pure void that echoes back through the blackness of his eyes, tells me that all I’m doing is yelling into my own broken soul, my own broken heart.
Now I find myself weeping for this… man… no different than I. When I accuse him, I accuse myself. I am capable of all this and so much more. If human beings act as mirrors to one another, how can I pass judgment on him without passing judgment on myself?
Have you never found yourself under such impossible responsibility and said, “oh shit…” then found yourself making the biggest mistakes of your life? In those instances one has to decide, “Do I check in or do I check out?” Maybe Bush just decided to check out. I feel empathy for Bush… in this moment.
I’m not trying to play the naive peacemaker. Bush may very well be an evil man. He may very well be ware of all of the evil his decisions or lack there of, have brought about. He may even revel in it or in his power for all I know.
But if I am to take Jesus seriously, turn the cheek, love my enemies, be gentle as a dove and wise as a serpent, then I must give Bush the benefit of the doubt and approach him with mercy. I must believe him when he lies to my face. I must take his word even though he’s lied and manipulated me a thousand times before. This doesn’t mean I fall for his deception, it just means … God’s wisdom appears foolishness to men. This way we follow is a way of forgiveness, peace, mercy and love for us humans. God’s justice prevails by our tuning karma on it’s head, by God using us to turn Karma on it’s head. Justice prevails by showing mercy. Otherwise the cross is full of shit. Otherwise the Divine is a hypocrite. When we show unconditional love, compassion, and mercy we do pass judgment, not our own but God’s. What is the deeper meaning to , “returning kindness for malice pours burning coals on your enemy’s head”. This is not some one sided farce that is dreamed up by the spineless ideals of men, but it’s a part of the fullness of God’s living message and kingdom here on earth.
There are those in the body that use “Love” as a cop out to deny and usurp the harshness of this faith. But there is also a love uncommonly explored that with it’s own outward compassion, pierces the heart of the lover and turns law, karma and man’s sense of justice/fairness on it’s head. I wonder about Judas. what’s his measure? Not sure what that question means, it just popped out…
This is the love that allows the believers in china to practice the way, it is the love that allows the martyrs in Iran to not die in bitterness and anger toward their persecutor, it is the love that we as followers of the way of Jesus must cling to. We must become martyrs to our own egos, we must allow that love to murder our judgment, rage, fear, bitterness and resentment towards a system that’s just doing what’s in it’s own nature. Dare I say that only through martyrdom will the church (or has the church) ever make an impact on the system. This isn’t agreeing with Bush or giving in to him, but instead giving into the Messiah as an alternative to worldly accent. It is rendering to God what is God’s.
Thank you very much.
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