JUST IN: Immaculee Ilibagiza's new book,"Led by Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide," is also now available by ordering on-line at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.
Fortunately for us, Immaculee Ilibagiza was left alive and able to tell the story about what happened to her and her family during the Rwandan Holocaust in 1994 in which more than 1 million lives were lost. What a story she had to tell!
It was two Octobers ago, as I was flying away on vacation to Costa Rica, I picked up “Left to Tell,” which had been mailed as a gift by a friend who knew I’d appreciate the story. I’m writing about it now, because two years later, the story is still as compellingly fresh to me as when I first read it.
If you’re ever tempted to doubt the existence of God in our lives, pick up “Left to Tell” by Immaculee!
I was headed for a 10-day vacation, so I thought the book, which I’d had for several months without reading it, would be a suitable companion during my time there. I was wrong!
I picked up the book during the first leg of my journey from Phoenix to Miami. I never put it down, despite flying on a Red Eye, until we reached the approach to Miami.
Most of that flight, I recall I was crying as I read. My seat mate became concerned, and I had to explain that I was very okay, it was just the book.
Yes. The book!
“Left To Tell” is a powerful chronicling of how this Rwandan woman, Immaculee, 24 years old at the time, managed to stay alive even as killers hunted her down for several weeks and months. All members of her immediate family, except one brother, were slaughtered by members of the Hutu tribe because she was a Tutsi, the opposing tribe.
Immaculee was born of an educated and fairly well-to-do family. As a child she had friends of both tribes. No one differentiated between Tutsi and Hutus, until the war began. Then everything changed.
The survival instinct was strong in Immaculee. That kept her alive in the beginning. But it was her increasingly growing faith in God and the Spirit within her that kept her strong and able to survive crisis after crisis, as the enemy grew closer and closer.
At one time, it was simply a moveable wardrobe that separated Immaculee from the Hutu killers, out to avenge her simply because of her middle-class Tutsi upbringing. To be so young and to know that you were hated and called a “cockroach” by your childhood best friend, as well as Hutu strangers, also was another striking blow delivered to Immaculee during this time.
For three months (91 days), she and seven other women hid in a closet-sized bathroom (3' by 4') in a pastor’s home as the Hutus searched the rest of the home for her. They held their collective breath, as the killers searched less than a foot away from them. Only God could have had those Hutus, bent on killing her, not discover the bathroom behind the wardrobe.
She prepared for death, wondering how the machete would feel slashing through her skin. She clasped her father’s rosary and began silently praying:
“Oh, please, God, please help me. Don’t let me die like this. Don’t let these killers find me. You tell us in the Bible that if we ask, we shall receive...well, God, I am asking. Please make these killers go away. Please don’t let me die in this bathroom. Please, God, please, please, please, save me! Save me!”
Despite her Tutsi roots, Immaculee was brought up Catholic. She did not know how to pray, though, until she was in hiding in the bathroom. During that time, she clung to the red and white rosary her father had given her before he’d left, “God, in the Bible you said that You can do anything for anybody. Well, I am one of those anybodies, and I need You to do something for me now. Please, God, blind the killers when they reach the pastor’s bedroom-don’t let them find the bathroom door, and don’t let them see us! You saved Daniel in the lions’ den, God, you stopped the lions from ripping him apart...stop these killers from ripping us apart, God! Save us, like you saved Daniel!”
The only two verses she’d memorized from Mark, she used to build her faith while in the closet:
“Therefore I say unto you, what things soever you desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24)
“For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” (Mark 11:23)
From morning until night, Immaculee meditated on those words of God. “When I meditated,” she wrote, “I touched the source of my faith and strengthened the core of my soul.”
God not only saved her, he helped her thrive in the ongoing war!
She was 135 lbs when she entered the bathroom; she was 91 lbs when she left. But she was alive!
Eventually, Immaculee, through her growing faith, was able to find forgiveness for those who wronged her and killed her family in such a brutal way. Instead of seeking revenge, she sought forgiveness.
Triumph of the Spirit!
Immaculee’s story is not a story about the Rwandan war. It is about the human spirit triumphing in the most desperate of circumstances.
I cried as much as I did, not at the sad parts, but actually about the courage of the people who risked their lives to save her and others. I cried because her story of desperation and finding God in the midst of the “valley of the shadow of death,” is one that we all want to believe in the midst of our trying circumstances.
“Left to Tell,” gives you hope and renewed faith.
It is one of the deepest spiritual growth stories I have ever read. It is one of the most powerful spiritual experiences one could ever have in a lifetime, i.e. waking up at death's door with God and faith your only weapons! Through Immaculee, you learn that they are enough!
Dr. Wayne Dyer was the one that "discovered" Immaculee through his daughter and had her tell her story.
It is a story that I strongly recommend you read-- if you haven’t already done so-- to help you increase your faith and hope in God, especially in trying times!
Namaste’,
Che’
NOTE: Third photo captures Immaculee Ilibagiza with orphans from Mother Teresa's orphanage. Immaculee later founded a "Left to Tell Charitable Fund."
Helping you to Return to the Wholeness that YOU ARE! Helping you to KNOW that the Spirit of God IS Within YOU!
Leo Tolstoy on God
LEO TOLSTOY ON GOD: "When you look inside yourself, you see what is called 'your own self' or your soul. You cannot touch it or see it or understand it, but you know it is there. And this part of yourself--that which you cannot understand--is what is called God. God is both around us and inside of us--in our souls.
The more you understand that you are at one with God, the more you will understand that you are at one with all His worldly manifestations."
The more you understand that you are at one with God, the more you will understand that you are at one with all His worldly manifestations."
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Can you keep a Secret? The "mystical" world of the Rosicrucians
Shh...don’t tell!!!
If you can listen, learn, but not repeat what you’ve learned, then you’ll probably be welcomed into the world of the Ancient Mystical Order of Rosicrucians (AMORC). The organization considers itself a teaching, not a religion.
And the group is proud of its secrecy. Writes Samuel Lidell MacGregor Mathers (1854-1918), occult scholar and leader, in writing about imposter organizations and the “True Rosicrucians”:
“We are a secret Order, pursuing our studies in secret, and our Neophytes must be prepared not only to take, but also to keep a most solemn Oath of Secrecy as to our Rituals, Ceremonies, and Formulas, in which, however, there is nothing contrary to the civil, moral, or religious duties of the aspirant, also there is nothing to shock her or his self-respect. The grades follow in succession like the rungs of a ladder, or the steps of a staircase, each with its particular studies, its rituals, ceremonies and formulas, and its own particular Obligation of Secrecy.”
When I lived in Mountain View, Calif., I was living only about *20 minutes from the beautiful US Rosicrucian headquarter facilities in San Jose. I visited the headquarters several times, fascinated with the artifacts in the museum and other structures. I also was curious about what was going on behind the doors that I was not allowed to enter.
I had no agenda. I simply wanted to know more about the group that hosted open houses to show off their Egyptian-styled buildings and a wide range of beautiful Egyptian art and gifts, yet smiled quizzically when asked about their teachings. As curious as I was, I quickly learned that you learn only what the order makes public, though increasingly the information that is becoming public is now plentiful!
In the hidden corridors of those beautiful structures lie secrets that are centuries old.
Public Information on the Rosicrucians: Unverified!
The first widespread publicity of the AMORC came about in Germany in the early 17th century, when two anonymous Manifestos were published to great notoriety. According to the Manifestos, the Rosicrucian Order was founded a century earlier by a certain Christian Rosencreutz, a poor descendant of nobility who was cloistered at an early age with the Jesuit Order.
The story is told that after training with the Jesuits as a youth, Rosencreutz travelled to the Holy Land to learn the art of healing. He continued to travel, learning mathematics, alchemy, and magic from the Arabs, biology from the Egyptians, cabala from the Spanish.
Then, according to the account in Fraternitas, he returned to his native land, where he formed a secret group. This was made up of himself and three of the brothers of his cloister, and the group’s mission was to preserve the arts and learning that Rosencruetz acquired on his journeys.
The brothers completed a building, called the Sancti Spiritus (Holy Spirit), then added four more men to the group. The Rosicrucian Order was formed.
The men agreed that secrecy was necessary to fully explore the philosophy of the order. They further agreed to split up and travel the world, curing the sick. Once a year, they were to meet at Spiritus Sanctus, and they were each charged with appointing a successor to carry on their work. The order was to remain secret for 100 years.
Today, several groups use the name “Rosicrucian” as it was not copyrighted. However, only those with the AMORC in its name are considered the “True Rosicrucians,” which has millions of followers throughout the world. (http://www.amorc.org)
Many who are acquainted with Free Masonry would equate the teachings of AMORC as being the same. But, according to the research, this is a fallacy. Each group is unique and has its own rites and teachings, though there are many similarities.
Beyond these similarilities, other groups claim alliances with the Rosicrucians, including the Rosicrucian Fellowship: "An association of Christian Mystics." For more on this group: http://www.rosicrucian.com
The AMORC in different levels is very selective about choosing candidates for initiation. Members can be of any denomination, whether Christian or Buddhist and can continue in their religious pracitices without interruption in AMORC. Candidates are admitted through their initiation in a local lodge. The Outer Order is formed by initiates of the tradition of mysteries and is aimed at its member's evolution of Wisdom, Love and Liberty. The Inner Order consists of enlightened adepts of the High Mysteries.
The AMORC is divided in lodges, chapters and study and meditation groups.
The highest committee is the Supreme Council, consisting of members of the international Grand Lodge. The different language zones are under the guidance of a Grandmaster with full power of authority within his area. The present souveran Grandmaster is Hamid Mirzaie. Studying takes place at home and in local groups. Initiations and ritual meetings are restricted to the lodges.
Teachings
Rosicrucian studies provide specific knowledge of metaphysics, mysticism, psychology, parapsychology, philosophy, and science not taught by conventional educational systems or traditional religions. Members also learn techniques for relaxation and meditation, how to use visualization as a tool to achieve goals and other personal empowerment strategies.
Members of the AMORC do not pay for studying the teachings. They are provided with weekly lessons, called monographs, studied for 90 minutes once a week, as part of membership into the order. The three main elements of Rosicrucian membership are: the system of home study lessons, the Order’s initiatic tradition, and the fraternal activities of Rosicrucian Lodges.
Those students beginning the lessons are called “neophytes.” They’re immediately taught about the duality of human nature, i.e. in addition to the five physical senses, every person also has a psychic sense. The neophytes are taught about mysticism and how to develop psychic powers. After that, they move into the second and third atrium. Altogether, this program of study takes about 18 months.
With completion of the third atrium the student is no longer a “neophyte,” and is moved into the “temple” where they progress from the first degree to the final “ninth” temple degree.
Course Samples
A sampling of course for Neophytes:
• Illusory Nature of Time and Space
• Human Consciousness and Cosmic Consciousness
• Rosicrucian Technique of Meditation
• Development of the Intuition
• Introduction to: Human Aura, Telepathy,
Metaphysical Healing,
• Mystical Sounds, Spiritual Alchemy
First Atrium
In the introductory lessons neophytes are taught about the fundamental principles of consciousness. The First Atrium goes further, exploring consciousness as the organizing principle of matter, and explaining the composition and structure of matter and its vibratory nature. Neophytes also learn how the creative power of thought affects the material world. This power is demonstrated through exercises in the techniques of concentration, visualization, and mental creation.
Topics include:
• Structure and Composition of Matter
• Power of Thought
• The Creative Power of Visualization
• Mental Projection and Telepathy
• Law of the triangle.
Second Atrium
Understanding the connection between mind and matter is expanded to include the connection between the mind and the physical body. The Second Atrium explores how your thoughts influence health, the role of proper breathing in psychic development as well as health and vitality, and Rosicrucian healing techniques. As the student develops the body's psychic centers, he/she is expected to gradually awaken psychic faculties, such as the ability to perceive aura. They will also experience the mystical effect of sounds on the psychic centers as well as on the physical body.
Topics include:
• Origin of Diseases
• Influence of Thoughts on Health
• Mystical Art of Breathing
• Rosicrucian Healing Treatments
• Perception of the Aura
• Awakening of the Psychic Consciousness
• Mystical Sounds
Third Atrium
The Third Atrium moves beyond the physical body and the psychic faculties into the realm of the mystical. As students become more attuned with the inner source of wisdom, they are expected to become more receptive to the subtle inner promptings of intuition, inspiration, and illumination. These lessons also explore the nature of soul and spiritual evolution, reincarnation and karma, and the cycles of the soul.
Topics include:
• The Great Religious Movements
• The Nature of Soul
• Purpose of our Spiritual Evolution
• Reincarnation and Karma
• Good and Evil and Free Will
• Intuition, Inspiration, and Illumination
Studies in the Neophyte section established the foundation for the lessons of the Temple Degrees. Now the Temple Degrees will further develop these elements, providing additional depth and practical applications of the principles. Altogether the program of study takes approximately five years.
Symbols
The term Rosicrucian (symbol: the Rose Cross) describes a secret society of mystics, allegedly formed in late mediaeval Germany, holding a doctrine "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe and the spiritual realm."
The cross symbolically represents the human body and the rose represents the individual’s unfolding consciousness. Together, the rose and cross represent the experiences and challenges of a thoughtful life well lived.
About Mysticism
With the AMORC, there is a total focus on mysticism:
“Mysticism can be defined as an experience where one personally knows, through direct knowledge, the source of all being. Many call this source God; others, the cosmic. The point is, the experience is noetic. We know, not believe through faith or know only through scientific observation, but we simply and truly know.
The art of mysticism can be learned. The work of the Rosicrucian Order is to initiate the student to the techniques where mystical knowledge can be readily attained. This knowledge when properly accessed is ultimately rational.”
Goal
The order's main aim is the development of the brotherhood of humanity through the expression of perfect wisdom, love and liberty:
• universal spiritual development
• universal health
• universal political freedom
• universal religious freedom
• universal education
• universal prosperity
• universal peace
These are all awesome goals! So, even if I knew the "secret" to achieving them, I doubt that I, too, would share it!
Namaste’,
Che’
NOTE: *I now am located only 30 minutes from the headquarters. For more information on AMORC, go to http://www.rosicrucian.org. Next month, we'll look at Seventh Day Adventists.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
“Something’s going on ‘in there’”: When Fear leads the Way!
Every Sunday he stood outside the Religious Science church, held each week at a large facility in Oakland, California. He did not seem able to stay away, yet every Sunday this 30-something-year-old troubled man complained as church members filed past him, “Something’s going on ‘in there.’ I want to know what’s going on ‘in there!’”
I just attended the church for a short while, and during my time there, I know he never went inside. He preferred to believe that whatever was going on ‘in there’ was a threat to him, not an invitation.
So often, this is the way with many people, too, when we get the invitation to get closer to God. We keep on standing right outside, believing that whatever is going on with others who are getting closer to God has nothing to do with us.
I’m glad I finally dared to step inside. If I hadn’t, I, too, would have forever wondered, “What’s going on in there?!”
God is what’s going on “in there,” and in every beat of our lives. We need not be frightened to step closer, as God is there in the midst of the discovery and the reconnection to Spirit.
I recently saw Bill Maher's documentary/movie: "Religulous"!
Many "religious" people will disagree with me, but I thought Maher did a fine job!
He poked fun at religion, and he had a right to do so when many people he spoke with could not provide an articulate and believable answer to support their faith. Who can blame him for not being convinced, when the people themselves who claim to be "believers" can't provide concrete answers to support their religious beliefs.
This is because so few people are willing to go deeper than the surface of what they hear in church.
So many people also believe in the God of their childhood religion, where they heard that God "punishes you" for being bad.
I don't blame the churches, and I don't blame parents for instilling a "fear of God" and his wrath into kids.
Sometimes, putting fear into people is the only way to get them to act right.
But I do blame people, who as adults, buy into the church's teachings lock, stock and barrel, without any personal inquiry! They do so because, fundamentally, they don't want to know the truth!
They want to believe that the minister, or the priest, will get the blessings for them, and if they just show up on Sunday, by osmosis, they will get "right by God!"
Well, I'm here to tell you that you can't find God by proxy, or by osmosis, or by association. You find God by searching within your own soul, and yes, a minister or priest can help you probe and delve deeper, but the work you must do must come from you!
Jesus did not die for our "sins," as we may want to believe.
Wouldn't that be awesome?!!!
That we can keep on sinning and doing wrong with impunity, because Jesus already paid for our sins!?
I cannot believe it when I hear grown men and women... some highly intelligent beings...spouting out stuff that you know they didn't think about!
The Jesus that I know came to show us by example what we also can do by following his ways in the world.
Jesus came with a message about God's spirit in him to empower us to believe that God also is in us! He said:
"Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself but the father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
"Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works' sake.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do also..." John 14:10-12
Jesus also said," Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one: that is God!" Matthew 19:17
Yet so many deify Jesus, totally ignoring his own words.
Why?
Because they learned it in childhood, or that's what their pastor, minister or priest told them to do.
I honor Jesus because I love the example he held up for me so that I also can aspire to such heights...maybe in many more lifetimes to come. But starting with an enquiring mind and by understanding the Spirit of God within me is a good start!
It's interesting that throughout the documentary, Bill Maher never touched the spiritual. I believe that even he knew that if he'd addressed "spirituality," he may not have had a story to tell!
Many believe that spirituality and religion are the same. But that is absolutely untrue! There are many people who claim to be spiritual, i.e. feel and experience the presence of God within them, without adhering to any religious beliefs: spirituality is in religion, but the reverse simply is not true.
As a spiritual director, I can work (i.e. walk)
with people of any religious background, because the common ground I go for, and address, is the Spirit within. This brooks no argument from any one, and it is the common ground that curtails all religious debate.
Religious contention comes in because so many of us want to believe that our view, i.e. our religion and its teachings, is the right view.
Even as a Christian, I have people question my faith because I don't think or believe the way they do, I don't see the Bible and the lessons in the Bible the same way their minister, pastor or priest told them to look at it.
This is sad!
"God did not give us the spirit of fear...but of Power and of Love and of a Sound Mind," II Timothy 1:7
The 23rd psalm has been recited and practiced by untold billions over the centuries. Yet today, it remains fresher than ever.
Those are the words of God.
No man could have conceived this on his own, without God’s inspiration.
This is true for most of the Bible.
Sometimes, there are things we may not understand in the Bible. We want to know what the writer meant. In those times, instead of chucking aside the entire book, we need to remember that even when inspired, man can put his own twists and “discernment” to the inspiration he receives.
The Bible is mostly a historical document, written and recorded during a certain period in human history. It is IMPERATIVE that we remember this, even as we search its depth for TRUTHS we can cling to today.
I love the Bible. I love the old language of King James. I love the beauty of the prose!
I am not one of those people who publicly quote the Bible. It's just not something I do, so most devoutly Christian people who know me probably believe I have no concept of what the "bible says!"
I don't discuss the Bible because truth be told, I don't take it "literally!" It is a controversial book, if you take it word for word. But of all the books in the many libraries I’ve kept over the years, this is the one book I reach for each day before I start my day.
Without fail, it is the one book that always has the right comforting food for any weary soul.
“Something’s going on in there!”
Yes, it is.
But until you take the time to learn what it truly says, and until you learn to look within your own soul for truth, then you'll always be at the whims of Bill Maher and others who, at any time, can question your faith.
Get to know God. Get to know yourself. Get to know your own Truth: Honor who you are...then no one can take away your truth from you!
John 8: 32: "You shall know the truth and the Truth shall set you free!"
Leo Tolstoy,Wise Thoughts for Every Day, writes:
"Very often a person wearing clean, shiny new shoes will walk carefully around the mud, then make a misstep and go into it as if he wasn't careful. When he sees his shoes have muck all over them, he will keep heading straight through the mud and get filthier and filthier. Do not do this in you spiritual life. If you venture into filth, get out of it, and clean yourself.
"A small sin can lead to a bigger sin."
Remember: the only real sin is not seeking your own Truth!
"Grow up or Die!" are some the last word Bill Maher says in his documentary. He's so-o right about THAT!
Namaste’,
Che’
I just attended the church for a short while, and during my time there, I know he never went inside. He preferred to believe that whatever was going on ‘in there’ was a threat to him, not an invitation.
So often, this is the way with many people, too, when we get the invitation to get closer to God. We keep on standing right outside, believing that whatever is going on with others who are getting closer to God has nothing to do with us.
I’m glad I finally dared to step inside. If I hadn’t, I, too, would have forever wondered, “What’s going on in there?!”
God is what’s going on “in there,” and in every beat of our lives. We need not be frightened to step closer, as God is there in the midst of the discovery and the reconnection to Spirit.
I recently saw Bill Maher's documentary/movie: "Religulous"!
Many "religious" people will disagree with me, but I thought Maher did a fine job!
He poked fun at religion, and he had a right to do so when many people he spoke with could not provide an articulate and believable answer to support their faith. Who can blame him for not being convinced, when the people themselves who claim to be "believers" can't provide concrete answers to support their religious beliefs.
This is because so few people are willing to go deeper than the surface of what they hear in church.
So many people also believe in the God of their childhood religion, where they heard that God "punishes you" for being bad.
I don't blame the churches, and I don't blame parents for instilling a "fear of God" and his wrath into kids.
Sometimes, putting fear into people is the only way to get them to act right.
But I do blame people, who as adults, buy into the church's teachings lock, stock and barrel, without any personal inquiry! They do so because, fundamentally, they don't want to know the truth!
They want to believe that the minister, or the priest, will get the blessings for them, and if they just show up on Sunday, by osmosis, they will get "right by God!"
Well, I'm here to tell you that you can't find God by proxy, or by osmosis, or by association. You find God by searching within your own soul, and yes, a minister or priest can help you probe and delve deeper, but the work you must do must come from you!
Jesus did not die for our "sins," as we may want to believe.
Wouldn't that be awesome?!!!
That we can keep on sinning and doing wrong with impunity, because Jesus already paid for our sins!?
I cannot believe it when I hear grown men and women... some highly intelligent beings...spouting out stuff that you know they didn't think about!
The Jesus that I know came to show us by example what we also can do by following his ways in the world.
Jesus came with a message about God's spirit in him to empower us to believe that God also is in us! He said:
"Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself but the father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
"Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works' sake.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do also..." John 14:10-12
Jesus also said," Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one: that is God!" Matthew 19:17
Yet so many deify Jesus, totally ignoring his own words.
Why?
Because they learned it in childhood, or that's what their pastor, minister or priest told them to do.
I honor Jesus because I love the example he held up for me so that I also can aspire to such heights...maybe in many more lifetimes to come. But starting with an enquiring mind and by understanding the Spirit of God within me is a good start!
It's interesting that throughout the documentary, Bill Maher never touched the spiritual. I believe that even he knew that if he'd addressed "spirituality," he may not have had a story to tell!
Many believe that spirituality and religion are the same. But that is absolutely untrue! There are many people who claim to be spiritual, i.e. feel and experience the presence of God within them, without adhering to any religious beliefs: spirituality is in religion, but the reverse simply is not true.
As a spiritual director, I can work (i.e. walk)
with people of any religious background, because the common ground I go for, and address, is the Spirit within. This brooks no argument from any one, and it is the common ground that curtails all religious debate.
Religious contention comes in because so many of us want to believe that our view, i.e. our religion and its teachings, is the right view.
Even as a Christian, I have people question my faith because I don't think or believe the way they do, I don't see the Bible and the lessons in the Bible the same way their minister, pastor or priest told them to look at it.
This is sad!
"God did not give us the spirit of fear...but of Power and of Love and of a Sound Mind," II Timothy 1:7
The 23rd psalm has been recited and practiced by untold billions over the centuries. Yet today, it remains fresher than ever.
Those are the words of God.
No man could have conceived this on his own, without God’s inspiration.
This is true for most of the Bible.
Sometimes, there are things we may not understand in the Bible. We want to know what the writer meant. In those times, instead of chucking aside the entire book, we need to remember that even when inspired, man can put his own twists and “discernment” to the inspiration he receives.
The Bible is mostly a historical document, written and recorded during a certain period in human history. It is IMPERATIVE that we remember this, even as we search its depth for TRUTHS we can cling to today.
I love the Bible. I love the old language of King James. I love the beauty of the prose!
I am not one of those people who publicly quote the Bible. It's just not something I do, so most devoutly Christian people who know me probably believe I have no concept of what the "bible says!"
I don't discuss the Bible because truth be told, I don't take it "literally!" It is a controversial book, if you take it word for word. But of all the books in the many libraries I’ve kept over the years, this is the one book I reach for each day before I start my day.
Without fail, it is the one book that always has the right comforting food for any weary soul.
“Something’s going on in there!”
Yes, it is.
But until you take the time to learn what it truly says, and until you learn to look within your own soul for truth, then you'll always be at the whims of Bill Maher and others who, at any time, can question your faith.
Get to know God. Get to know yourself. Get to know your own Truth: Honor who you are...then no one can take away your truth from you!
John 8: 32: "You shall know the truth and the Truth shall set you free!"
Leo Tolstoy,Wise Thoughts for Every Day, writes:
"Very often a person wearing clean, shiny new shoes will walk carefully around the mud, then make a misstep and go into it as if he wasn't careful. When he sees his shoes have muck all over them, he will keep heading straight through the mud and get filthier and filthier. Do not do this in you spiritual life. If you venture into filth, get out of it, and clean yourself.
"A small sin can lead to a bigger sin."
Remember: the only real sin is not seeking your own Truth!
"Grow up or Die!" are some the last word Bill Maher says in his documentary. He's so-o right about THAT!
Namaste’,
Che’
Sunday, October 5, 2008
A Dedication: "There's No ME Without YOU!"
This poem is written to commemorate this special October day.
Some themes and words may sound familiar; but all's fair in
love! Thanks "Babyface" and Celine Deion!
"There's No Me Without YOU!"
I've lived so many years now,
and I know this is True:
"There's No Me Without YOU!"
I'm sorry it's taken me so long
to discover the "you" that is in "me."
But...it was a PROCESS!
For so long, I never knew
there was no "me" without you...
because so much of you is hidden
It's not until the troubles started
I looked within and realized
There's a "me"
And then, there's "'you!"
All the years, you let me be...
claiming successes and accomplishments
that came only from you...
Your invisible hands wrote all that I knew
Your invisible feet took me places
near and far
Yet, I stalled in
wanting to know
the "you" that was in "me."
Then the joys turned
into fears
As the years and troubles
gained
The tears that I cried!
The pain that I felt!
Were all a result of the
absence of awareness that
"There's No Me Without you!"
So many miles I've trod
So many roads I've wandered through
Just looking for you...
Now finally, after all these years...
I clearly see...
You were my hands when I couldn't
feel
You were my feet when I couldn't
walk
You were my eyes when I couldn't
see
You were my ears when I couldn't
hear
You were my words when I couldn't
speak
You were my heart when I couldn't
feel
You were indeed the "me" that
didn't skip a beat!
Now the only thing I know is TRUE
...is that...
There really is ...
NO ME...
Without YOU!
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
Che'
NOTE: Today is the 111th celebration of St. Therese's Feast Day! I hope you enjoy the roses in celebration of her, too, as she was known as "the little flower." St. Therese stated, "I will let fall from Heaven...a shower of roses."
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Personal Authenticity: "To Thine Own Self Be True"...
"To Thine Own Self Be True and it must follow as the night, the day, Thou canst not then be false to ANY man."
William Shakespeare.
William Shakespeare.