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Are Faith, Hope and Charity Worth Standing Up For?
PeaceOptions Feed - Tue, 08/31/2010 - 22:39
These spin doctors are making me sick -- and more than a little bit sad.
Yesterday I wrote about my reaction to the race-baiting being done by some talk show hosts and guest "experts" who somehow felt threatened by the 8/28 rally organized by Glenn Beck this past weekend in D.C.
Granted, these people were seeing it from the opposite end of the political spectrum from Beck and his crowd, who were openly committed to values like faith, hope and charity, as well as politically conservative in their approach to government and public affairs.
Do YOU Like to Be Judged or Stereotyped?
PeaceOptions Feed - Tue, 08/31/2010 - 03:09
A rally was held in Washington over the weekend at the Lincoln Memorial. It was about restoring honor and faith in our society, things most probably would agree we need more of.
But it was organized by Glenn Beck, so the 500,000 "white people" who attended were automatically branded as racists by those seeking to discredit the Tea Party movement (though this was not a political event).
Where Do You Come From?
PeaceOptions Feed - Sun, 08/29/2010 - 15:44
Set aside your beliefs for a minute. Forget what you've been told by your religious training. Ignore the thoughts that make you question the very existence of God, much less how a loving one could allow so many bad things to happen to good people.
Now, without benefit of input from your mind, answer this question.
Where do you come from?
Without the reassuring and self-righteous (and often wrong) thoughts that are ever-present in our minds, we're forced to enter an experiential world that seems very strange to most people.
Is Our System Worth Saving?
PeaceOptions Feed - Thu, 08/26/2010 - 16:14
Liberty may be the buzz word for a lot of people, but it seems to me that self-determination is really what is behind their concern – the ability to choose our own path through life and travel it without interference by others.
Control is the means by which that ability is denied or altered. Begging the question of when control crosses the line into oppression, a bigger one keeps rolling around in my head.
And that is, what can we do to stop the controllers, or at least be beyond their influence?
Traveling Through the Valley of Fear
PeaceOptions Feed - Wed, 08/18/2010 - 19:00
Do you believe in reincarnation? I do.
Then again, I know I've had other lives -- many of them, in fact. And some aren't far below my conscious awareness, as if the veil that separates them from this one is paper-thin. Often experiences "bleed through" through with memories and emotions that clearly are not associated with this one. Somehow I'm usually able to shift my awareness to another place so I can understand how it all fits together.
One of those was in Scotland where a good friend wrote a series of mysteries featuring Sherlock Holmes. You may have heard of him. His name was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. My favorite was The Hound of the Baskervilles. Maybe you've heard of it. Or even the howls of the hound across the moors on a dark, foggy night.
Envisioning a New World Without Control, Inc.
PeaceOptions Feed - Tue, 08/17/2010 - 18:10
Our focus today returns to creating a new world. The first step is to decide what we want it to look like.
Here are just a few of the good things I want it to bring. Peace. Prosperity. Health. Freedom. Opportunity. Good relations. Joy. Happiness. I suspect they're on your list, too.
The question is, how will we get there without taking along the aspects of our system that too often keep us from them?
I call them Control, Inc., an alliance of often well-intentioned forces that combine and conspire to keep us under their thumb.
How Our Fear and Desire Fuels Power Politics and the Growth of Big Government
PeaceOptions Feed - Sat, 08/14/2010 - 18:49
Mainstream politics is slipping deeper into polarity wars for control over us and the direction of our nation's future. Each side professes to fight for their respective core principles when in reality they fight for power and influence, and the perpetuation of their seat at the table where they get it.
It is their addiction to power that allows them to be manipulated by those who want it wielded in their favor.
Is Discontent Denying You Peace?
PeaceOptions Feed - Tue, 08/10/2010 - 15:52
Discontent. It's like a virus that eats away at us inside, making us dissatisfied with our lives and causing us to want more in or from them, even when we're not sure what that something is.
In many ways discontent is a good thing, for it keeps us motivated and moving toward the future. But it also robs us of the joy of the moment where life is lived. It's like having a burr under the saddle, constantly irritating and distracting us from what is going on now.
Was I Crazy to Choose the Law as my Career Path?
PeaceOptions Feed - Mon, 07/26/2010 - 22:07
A number of years back a friend remarked how unusual my choice of the law was as a career path for me. It's not that he thought there was anything wrong with the law. Only that it didn't seem to fit me, that he saw me more as a healer or teacher than hired gun.
How Can We Find Our Way With So Many Forces Pushing in So Many Directions?
PeaceOptions Feed - Mon, 07/26/2010 - 17:25
We come into 3D world to create the lives we need, but no one teaches us how to do that. Perhaps in those moments we think the one we've created doesn't feel so right, it might help to consider just what we've gotten ourselves into.
As we look at our lives from an energetic perspective, we can see that the path to where we are today is the result of a complex blend of forces, each interacting upon the others to steer us down the road of life.
Ask John - How does this life serve my Soul?
PeaceOptions Feed - Fri, 07/23/2010 - 14:50
Q: You speak often about our lives bringing experiences needed by our souls. How can I know what my soul is trying to get out of this life, and how it fits into the bigger picture of its evolution?
A: Great question. To put this life into context, it helps to step back from the energies of the moment and consider what you know about yourself through your observations on this life.
What patterns have played out so far? What kind of challenges have you created? Did you accept them willingly? Did you go kicking and screaming? Were they thrust upon you?
Do We Really Want Peace in Our Political Affairs?
PeaceOptions Feed - Wed, 07/21/2010 - 17:19
This is a time of great tumult in our political affairs. Not only do Democrats and Republicans spare no effort to weaken each other's bid for power, but others have gotten into the act as well.
The Tea Party gives voice to a long-festering dissatisfaction among the people with their government. They speak (often loudly) against the rapidly-growing deficits that are exploding our national debt, and the disconnect between our leaders (and the government they head) and the people they serve.
Changing the Collective Consciousness
PeaceOptions Feed - Mon, 07/12/2010 - 18:41
Let's continue this morning's post. If you want to change the world, first you must change the collective consciousness that creates it.
How do we change consciousness?
After all, we cannot force change upon anyone, not even ourselves. It can only come from within. That within starts with us and the beliefs, perspectives and practices we bring to our lives.
Working With and Within the Dramas of Our Outer World
PeaceOptions Feed - Mon, 07/12/2010 - 16:42
The mass consciousness is creating troublesome dramas that are causing many to give up hope that they can create a life that serves them, much less impact the direction of our common affairs more to their liking.
Getting Up
PeaceOptions Feed - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 00:12
Reality sure is doing its best to knock us down. The question is, when it beats and batters us into submission, will we get back up? And if we do, will we keep going the same old way or try something else?
The oil spill in the Gulf is but one example as it wakes us from our slumber to face head on our refusal to recognize our interconnectedness with the planet of which we're part. No longer can we ignore the fact that we're part of this giant eco-system, and if we destroy it, we are destroying ourselves as well.
Lives have been lost; countless more are disrupted. Unforeseen possibilities too horrible to imagine are working their way into our awareness, and bringing with them greater probability for manifestation in our world.
Falling Down
PeaceOptions Feed - Thu, 06/24/2010 - 17:16
Funny how we all long for the good times, when everything falls in place and life works just the way we want it to. Times like these are what we live for -- or are they?
To those who use life to know themselves and what they're about, maybe not. Because for as good as those moments feel, they're like the icing on the cake -- something to be savored and appreciated, but get too much of it and our taste buds go on overload and we have to turn away from the sweetness so they can reset themselves.
Is Holistic Lawyer an Oxymoron?
PeaceOptions Feed - Wed, 06/23/2010 - 21:36
Lawyers. We love to hate them, don’t we?
Well, get out your rotten tomatoes. Because I’m one of them. So hate me, too. Lord knows I hated myself when I behaved in ways I wasn’t proud of.
Spirituality and Peace
PeaceOptions Feed - Wed, 06/23/2010 - 14:40
What is the link between spirituality and peace? I'm not sure either can exist without the other.
Spirituality tries to explain our relationship to source and what our lives are all about. Peace is the condition that comes from knowing and experiencing it at a cellular level, and allowing it to spill over to our outer lives.
Healing the Pain that Keeps Families Apart
PeaceOptions Feed - Fri, 06/11/2010 - 13:27
Family matters. It's the source of our greatest joys. And also our deepest heartaches. It gives rise to our closest connections. Sometimes, though, it digs our deepest chasms as well.
Lord knows how we love our families. Somehow, that doesn't seem to be enough to heal the scars that often come when those we care about most hurt us.
Don't Seal Off the Pain
PeaceOptions Feed - Tue, 06/08/2010 - 16:10
Life is hard enough as is. But when it serves up events like the Haitian earthquake and the Gulf oil spill, the pain it causes ripples throughout the human race.
It makes us realize a simple fact -- all life is interconnected. What happens to others (or to our planet) also happens to us. These events give us a great gift, allowing us to feel that connection and change how we relate to the world we live in, and the other beings who inhabit it with us.
Unfortunately, when that connection is opened, their pain becomes ours, and many are so overwhelmed with it that depression, anxiety, and a sense of helplessness can run rampant, making it hard to function with any sense of normalcy in our own lives.
