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'Fahrenheit 9/11' on the Hot Seat
By Bill Berkowitz, AlterNet
June 17, 2004
Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 won't rake in as much money as Shrek 2, the Spiderman sequel, or the latest installment in the Harry Potter saga, but it could make its mark on the November presidential election. And that's what Team Bush and their right-wing surrogates are concerned about. Worried that Moore's new film, Fahrenheit 9/11 - fresh off its award-winning debut at Cannes and set to open in hundreds of theaters across the country on June 25 - will be a political poison pill for the Bush campaign, conservatives have launched a preemptive strike aimed at discrediting Moore and bullying a number of big movie chains into not running the film.
Even before its release, Moore's film had stirred up a fair amount of controversy. The back-story, while nothing like the hullabaloo surrounding Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, has nevertheless engendered its own drama, including a major freak-out by the Disney Corporation which under the bold leadership of Michael Eisner, refused to distribute the film.
Now, with distributors Lions Gate Films, IFC and Bob and Harvey Weinstein's newly formed Fellowship Adventure Group in place and committed to spending up to $10 million on marketing, a California-based group called Move America Forward, which claims its goal is "supporting America's war on terrorism," has launched a campaign to prevent Moore's film from being shown.
At its website, Move America Forward is urging its supporters to "Stop Michael Moore" by taking "action against the release of his anti-American movie Fahrenheit 9/11." Claiming that the film is "an attack on the U.S. Military, the heroic men and women of the Armed Forces and our Commander-In-Chief," Move America Forward points out that Moore "and his anti-American film distributors are hoping to cash in to the tune of millions of dollars and also change U.S. politics."
Former GOP California Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian, and Melanie Morgan, a right wing talk show host on San Francisco's KSFO 560 AM are heading up the anti-Fahrenheit campaign. "Michael Moore has the right to free speech," MAF chairman Howard Kaloogian told Daily Variety. "But so do millions of Americans who find his anti-military propaganda and attacks on our troops offensive."
Another major participant in the campaign, according to the Political Strategy website, is Sal Russo, a longtime veteran of Republican Party politics. According to the Washington Post, Russo's Sacramento, CA-based political consulting firm, Russo Marsh & Rogers, helped create the Move America Forward website. Russo, who ran Bill Simon's unsuccessful campaign for Governor against Gray Davis, was an adviser to the Recall Gray Davis Committee.
Kaloogian, the Chairman of Move America Forward, claims that "we are winning the war on terrorism," and that the group's Web site is aimed at "report[ing] on the 'good news' you don't hear about."
(Snuffing the film from America's movie theatres is not the only controversy surrounding the film's release. Last week it was saddled with an "R" rating by the MPAA, meaning that children under 18 cannot see the film without being accompanied by an adult. According to a USA Today report, Moore has brought former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo on board "to help fight the movie's R-rating." At a press conference, Lions Gate Films chief Tom Ortenberg said that the distributors "want teens today, who will be required to fight in the next war, to be able to see" the movie. IFC president Jonathan Sehring pointed out that a PG-13 rating could add as much as 20% to the film's receipts.)
More often than not, censorious campaigns like the one carried out by Move America Forward are destined for the dust heap of history and often succeed in drawing more attention to a project than it otherwise might have garnered. "Any time any organization protests against a movie, they ensure that the movie will do better at the box office than it would have done otherwise. If they have any doubt about this, just ask Mel Gibson," said John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners. (Since its opening in February, Gibson's The Passion of the Christ has grossed $370 million domestically.)
"The movie theater is a place of public discourse, and all views and philosophies are welcome," Fithian added. "It's the right place for the public to debate public issues."
However, in the era of the permanent "war against terrorism," where, as then-White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer once warned, "all Americans need to watch what they say, watch what they do," combined with the skill of right-wing organizations in managing the media by mobilizing the full range of their resources, the campaign launched by Move America Forward should not be taken lightly.
Last year's brouhaha over CBS' four-hour miniseries on Ronald Reagan - revealing only a modicum of the late president's warts - became a lightening rod for conservatives. By the time the dust cleared, a multi-pronged conservative mobilization had forced CBS to capitulate and move the miniseries from prime time to the pay cable channel Showtime, a sister network at Viacom.
Revelations by the New York Times that the film was less than flattering to the 40th president brought a blitzkrieg of right-wing organizing against CBS. Critics jumped on the so-called inaccuracy of the script (as revealed by the Times), and heaped scorn upon the lead actors - James Brolin, the husband of one of the Right's favorite targets, Barbra Streisand, and Judy Davis - criticizing them for being anti-Reagan.
The Drudge Report, the extraordinarily popular Web site also took on the issue; Reagan's son, right-wing radio talk show host Michael Reagan, got involved; the cable news networks, especially the Fox News Channel and MSNBC featured stories and interviews with mostly Reagan supporters; right-wing groups sent out e-mail alerts urging constituents to contact CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves.
By late October, the Media Research Center, a longtime conservative media watchdog group run by L. Brent Bozell III, wrote a letter to a list of 100 top television sponsors urging them to "refuse to associate your products with this movie."
The Republican National Committee entered the fray, when GOP Chairman Ed Gillespie urged CBS to appoint a group of historians and associates of Reagan to review the film for accuracy. In the end, CBS caved and another battle - albeit a small one - in the "culture wars" had been won. "We used technology that was not available 10 years ago to do in nine days what used to take months," said Michael Paranzino, a former Republican congressional staff member active in the drive to boycott CBS, to the New York Times. "We created a genuine, national, grass-roots movement that forced a broadcasting titan to cancel one of its key sweeps weeks series."
The all-out assault against Fahrenheit 9/11 is just getting started. However, given the mood of the country and Michael Moore's celebrity, it is doubtful the attack dogs will prevail. Nevertheless, Move America Forward is urging people to put pressure on theaters that have decided to run the film; their website lists email addresses for dozens of executives from groups such as Loews Cineplex Entertainment, Landmark Theaters, Cinema Arts Theaters, Drexel Theatres Group, as well as contacts for Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Theaters, Century Theatres, and others that have not yet decided whether they will run Moore's film.
For years right-wing organizations have kept their constituents mobilized by trumpeting the liberal threat to traditional family values and their lack of patriotism. These campaigns - whether against same-sex marriage, a silly miniseries about the Reagans, or now, against Michael Moore's pointed critique of President Bush's war against terrorism and War on Iraq - are aimed at keeping its constituents on a permanent war footing. Move America Forward will not succeed in taking down Fahrenheit 9/11. It will, however, keep Team Bush's right wing base vigilant, agitated and mobilized.
Bill Berkowitz is a freelance writer covering right-wing groups and movements.
Dude, Where's My Movie Playing?
Michael Moore, AlterNet
June 18, 2004
We're a week away from the nationwide opening of Fahrenheit 9/11 and not a day goes by where we don't have some new battle to fight thanks to those who are still working overtime to keep people from seeing this film. What's their problem? Are they worried about something?
A Republican PR firm has formed a fake grassroots front group called "Move America Forward" to harass and intimidate theater owners into not showing Fahrenheit 9/11. These are the same people who successfully badgered CBS into canceling the Reagan mini-series a few months ago. And they are spending a ton of money this week to threaten movie theaters who even think about showing our movie.
As of this morning, a little over 500 theaters have agreed to show F9/11, opening next Friday, June 25. There are three national/regional theater chains who, as of today, have not booked the movie in their theaters. One theater owner in Illinois has reported receiving death threats.
The right wing usually wins these battles. Their basic belief system is built on censorship, repression, and keeping people ignorant. They want to limit or snuff out any debate or dissension. They also don't like pets and are mean to small children. Too many of them are named "Fred."
This new nut group is the Right's last hope for limiting how many people can see this movie. All of their other efforts have failed. Let's recap:
1. Roger Friedman at FOXNews reported that the head of the company which first agreed to fund our film "got calls from Republican friends" pressuring them to back out. And they did. But... Miramax immediately picked up the film! Except...
2. Michael Eisner, the chairman of Disney, then blocked Miramax (a company owned by Disney) from releasing the film once it was finished. But... public attention and embarrassment forced Disney to let the Weinstein brothers of Miramax find another distributor! But...
3. Instead of a new distributor stepping right in - as all the media predicted would happen - it took another month to find distributors who would take on this movie. A number of other distributors, thanks to various pressures, were afraid to get involved. It looked for a while like we would be distributing this ourselves. But then Lions Gate and IFC Films rode in to the rescue!
So, we have beaten back all attempts to kill this movie, and the only thing in the way of you now seeing Fahrenheit 9/11 is this Republican big-money front group trying to force theaters not to show the movie.
Please, contact your local theaters and let them know you want to see Fahrenheit 9/11. Tell them that some people don't know that this is America and that we believe in freedom of speech and the importance of ALL voices being heard. (The members of MoveOn.org - an ACTUAL grassroots organization - have done a very cool thing. They are pledging to send a message to theater owners and are planning to attend a showing of the film on its opening weekend.)
I appreciate their efforts, but you don't have to be a member of MoveOn to help stop this effort to keep Fahrenheit 9/11 from making it to screens across the country. If a theater in your area is planning to show the film, just give them a call and thank them for standing up for the freedom of speech. If your local theater isn't showing the film, call them and let them know that you would like to see it and you'd like them to show it.
The White House and their minions in our media have presented one distorted version of the truth after another for the past four years. All we are asking for is the right to show what they HAVEN'T shown us, the real truth. The truth that ain't pretty (and is, sadly, damningly hilarious).
On top of all this, the MPAA gave the film an "R" rating. I want all teenagers to see this film. There is nothing in the film in terms of violence that we didn't see on TV every night at the dinner hour during the Vietnam War. Of course, that's the point, isn't it? The media have given the real footage from Iraq a "cleansing" - made it look nice, easy to digest. Mario Cuomo has offered to be our lawyer in appealing this ruling by the MPAA. Frankly, I would like to think the MPAA is saying that the actions by the Bush administration are so abhorrent and revolting, we need to protect our children from seeing what they have done. In that case, the film should be rated NC-17!
However it turns out, I trust all of you teenagers out there will find your way into a theater to see this movie. If the government believes it is OK to send slightly older teenagers to their deaths in Iraq, I think at the very least you should be allowed to see what they are going to draft you for in a couple of years.
Finally, some very sophisticated individuals have been hacking into and shutting down our website. It is an hourly fight to keep it up. We are going to find out who is doing this and we are going to pursue a criminal prosecution. I'm preparing lots of cool stuff for the site so watch for new items on it next week (fahrenheit911.com and michaelmoore.com).
Thanks again for your support and I hope to see you at the movies on opening night, June 25.
Yours,
Michael Moore
PS. I am sponsoring a number of benefits around the country next week for local and national peace and justice groups, including Military Families Speak Out and September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. Please check your local papers and my website next week for further details.
PPS. Also, I am going to be on the "Late Show with David Letterman" on Friday night. It's on CBS at 11:35 PM Eastern and Pacific. And on Monday morning (June 21) I will be on "The Today Show" on NBC. Next week, Jon Stewart and Conan. I'd go on O'Reilly but, like a coward, he walked out on a screening we invited him to (with Al Franken just a few rows away!). I personally caught him sneaking out. Embarrassed, he tried to change the subject. He said, "When are you coming on my show?" and I said, "Turn around and watch the rest of the movie and I will come on your show." He walked out. Fair and balanced.
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AS OF LATE, I HAVE HAD A DEEP ROOTED CONVICTION TO SHARE MY THOUGHTS ON THE POWER AND IGNORANCE OF PERSPECTIVE...
So what exactly is perspective? Perspective is our outlook of the world and our definition and understanding of reality. As you can imagine, based on different experiences and learnt behaviors collected throughout our personal lives, we all have different perspectives and because we have different perspectives, we experience different realities. When you take a moment to do some critical thinking on this subject, you will come to realize that all perspectives are limited and inevitably ignorant.
Let me explain this in more detail = ) When we are babies our minds are like clay, very pliable and impressionable, this results in our perspectives being shaped with literally no effort on our part. We start to create an outlook of reality based on the direct or indirect teachings of those who surround us (who too have limited perspectives).
What this means is if your parental figure is a pessimist, always talking about how hard life is, how nothing ever seems to work out and is constantly dwelling on negativity, chances are extremely high that you too will share this perspective and reality. This of course is just an example but the concept is accurate. Please understand that parents or parental figures don't do this consciously or intentionally, but rather because they too have a limited perspective and are ignorant to the benefits of stepping outside of their perspective.
The other key to our minds development is personal experience. For example, lets say two people have a miscommunication or misunderstanding, this being the result of failure to gain or respect the other persons perspective, and lets say they end up having a physical confrontation, this will leave a lasting impression on the mind and shape their perspectives in future interactions, influencing them to adopt prejudices and false beliefs that only help create an ignorant perspective and false reality.
As we get older our mind is primed through different systems...more limited perspectives = ( These systems are ALL very mechanical and binding. They not only enforce (often subtly) rules, limits, and the acceptance of dependency, passivity and mediocrity but they also discourage freedom of choice and the use of imagination. four of these powerhouses are the religious, government, media and school systems, after reading this article please feel free to follow the link at the bottom for an in depth look at how they shape our outlooks and click on "THE TRUTH". Once we understand that these systems do a much better job of keeping us ignorant than properly educated, we can free ourselves from mental enslavement.
God, the universe, Mother nature, the absolute, Allah, energy, spirit or whatever you want to call that which is beyond a name, is the creator. Creation knows no structure because it is beyond structure, it knows no limit, it knows no perspective, it is the highest form of freedom and imagination, it is the potential of all things, it is ALL perspectives. People seem to forget that we did not create God in our limited perspective, this amazing thing created us and it is beyond our comprehension because it is beyond our perspective.
So then the question is, how do we expand our perspective resulting in a new reality? We do this by turning to the great minds who came before us, the FREE thinkers who were misunderstood because their perspectives were beyond the mechanical outlook of an ignorant society. People like Socrates, Gandhi, Galileo, Lao Tzu, Buddha, Jesus, Confucius, Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Einstein, and many other historical figures who people know of but very few truly understand.
When we study these amazing minds, we find very distinct similarities in their outlooks. There is a clear understanding shared amongst them that perspective, especially that shared by the majority of society, is limited and ignorant.
"EVERYTHING WE HEAR IS AN OPINION, NOT A FACT. EVERYTHING WE SEE IS A PERSPECTIVE, NOT THE TRUTH." - MARCUS AURELIUS
"I SAY THERE IS NO DARKNESS BUT IGNORANCE." - SHAKESPEARE
"IGNORANCE IS THE ROOT AND STEM OF ALL EVIL." - PLATO
"CHILDREN'S TALENT TO ENDURE STEMS FROM THEIR IGNORANCE OF ALTERNATIVES." - MAYA ANGELOU
"EDUCATION IS WHAT REMAINS AFTER ONE HAS FORGOTTEN WHAT ONE HAS LEARNED IN SCHOOL." - ALBERT EINSTEIN
"I BELIEVE ALL SUFFERING IS CAUSED BY IGNORANCE." - DALAI LAMA
"WE DON'T KNOW A MILLIONTH OF ONE PERCENT ABOUT ANYTHING." - THOMAS EDISON
"IGNORANCE MORE FREQUENTLY BEGETS CONFIDENCE THAN DOES KNOWLEDGE: IT IS THOSE WHO KNOW LITTLE, NOT THOSE WHO KNOW MUCH, WHO SO POSITIVELY ASSERT THAT THIS OR THAT PROBLEM WILL NEVER BE SOLVED." - CHARLES DARWIN
"THE ONLY TRUE WISDOM IS IN KNOWING YOU KNOW NOTHING." - SOCRATES
"IN THE SKY, THERE IS NO DISTINCTION OF EAST AND WEST; PEOPLE CREATE DISTINCTIONS OUT OF THEIR OWN MINDS AND THEN BELIEVE THEM TO BE TRUE." - BUDDHA
"REAL KNOWLEDGE IS TO KNOW THE EXTENT OF ONE'S OWN IGNORANCE." - CONFUCIUS
"WHO HAD DECEIVED THEE SO OFTEN AS THYSELF?" - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
"EDUCATION CONSISTS MAINLY OF WHAT WE HAVE UNLEARNED." - MARK TWAIN
"THE GREATEST DECEPTION MEN SUFFER IS FROM THEIR OWN OPINIONS." - LEONARDO DA VINCI
"PEOPLE DO NOT SEEM TO REALIZE THAT THEIR OPINION OF THE WORLD IS ALSO A CONFESSION OF CHARACTER." - RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Furthermore because we do not see from all perspectives and are plagued by a certain level of ignorance, they do not believe in limitation, but rather they believe in the power of thought, possibility and imagination:
"ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO THOSE THAT BELIEVE." - JESUS CHRIST
"IT ALWAYS SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE UNTIL ITS DONE." - NELSON MANDELA
"TO FIND YOURSELF, THINK FOR YOURSELF." - SOCRATES
"IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE, KNOWLEDGE IS LIMITED ONLY TO WHAT WE KNOW AND UNDERSTAND AT THIS PRESENT MOMENT, IMAGINATION EMBRACES THE ENTIRE WORLD, AND ALL THAT THERE EVER WILL BE TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND." - EINSTEIN
"NOTHING HAS ANY POWER OVER ME OTHER THAN THAT WHICH I GIVE IT THROUGH MY CONSCIOUS THOUGHTS." - TONY ROBBINS
"I CANNOT DISCOVER THAT ANYONE KNOWS ENOUGH TO SAY DEFINITELY WHAT IS AND WHAT IS NOT POSSIBLE." - HENRY FORD
"IMPOSSIBLE IS JUST A BIG WORD THROWN AROUND BY SMALL MEN WHO FIND IT EASIER TO LIVE IN THE WORLD THEY'VE BEEN GIVEN THAN TO EXPLORE THE POWER THEY HAVE TO CHANGE IT. IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT A FACT. IT'S AN OPINION. IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT A DECLARATION. IT'S A DARE. IMPOSSIBLE IS POTENTIAL. IMPOSSIBLE IS TEMPORARY. IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING." - MUHAMMAD ALI
"IMPOSSIBLE IS A WORD ONLY TO BE FOUND IN THE DICTIONARY OF FOOLS." - NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
"WE ALL HAVE POSSIBILITIES WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT. WE CAN DO THINGS WE DON'T EVEN DREAM WE CAN DO." - DALE CARNEGIE
"WE NEED MEN WHO CAN DREAM OF THINGS THAT NEVER WERE." - JOHN F. KENNEDY
"THE ENERGY OF THE MIND IS THE ESSENCE OF LIFE." - ARISTOTLE
"THERE ARE NO LIMITATIONS TO THE MIND EXCEPT THOSE WE ACKNOWLEDGE." - NAPOLEON HILL
"EVERYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE IS REAL." - PABLO PICASSO
"WHEN THERE IS FREEDOM FROM MECHANICAL CONDITIONING, THERE IS SIMPLICITY. THE CLASSICAL MAN IS JUST A BUNDLE OF ROUTINE, IDEAS AND TRADITION. IF YOU FOLLOW THE CLASSICAL PATTERN, YOU ARE UNDERSTANDING THE ROUTINE, THE TRADITION, THE SHADOW - YOU ARE NOT UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF." - BRUCE LEE
"LEAVE THE BEATEN TRACK OCCASIONALLY AND DIVE INTO THE WOODS. EVERY TIME YOU DO SO YOU WILL BE CERTAIN TO FIND SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. FOLLOW IT UP, EXPLORE ALL AROUND IT, AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, YOU WILL HAVE SOMETHING WORTH THINKING ABOUT TO OCCUPY YOUR MIND. ALL REALLY BIG DISCOVERIES ARE THE RESULTS OF THOUGHT." - ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL
"SINCE NEW DEVELOPMENTS ARE THE PRODUCTS OF A CREATIVE MIND, WE MUST THEREFORE STIMULATE AND ENCOURAGE THAT TYPE OF MIND IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE." - GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
The most important discovery we find from their teachings, is that we can tap into a deeper resource, a place that will expand our perspective, a place that is connected to ALL perspectives!
"OUR CREATOR IS THE SAME AND NEVER CHANGES DESPITE THE NAMES GIVEN HIM BY PEOPLE HERE AND IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD. EVEN IF WE GAVE HIM NO NAME AT ALL, HE WOULD STILL BE THERE, WITHIN US, WAITING TO GIVE US GOOD ON THIS EARTH." - GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
"I LIKE TO SEE YOU MOVE WITH THE RHYTHM; I LIKE TO SEE WHEN YOU'RE DANCING FROM WITHIN" - BOB MARLEY
"THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU." - JESUS
"PEACE COMES FROM WITHIN. DO NOT SEEK IT WITHOUT." - BUDDHA
"EDUCATION COMES FROM WITHIN; YOU GET IT BY STRUGGLE AND EFFORT AND THOUGHT." - NAPOLEON HILL
"DIG WITHIN. WITHIN IS THE WELLSPRING OF GOOD; AND IT IS ALWAYS READY TO BUBBLE UP, IF YOU JUST DIG." - MARCUS AURELIUS
"AT THE CENTER OF YOUR BEING YOU HAVE THE ANSWER; YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT." - LAO TZU
"BUT WE ARE BORN TO BE HAPPY, TO BE ABUNDANTLY SUPPLIED WITH EVERY GOOD THING, TO HAVE FUN IN LIVING, TO CONSCIOUSLY UNITE WITH THE DIVINE POWER THAT IS AROUND US AND WITHIN US, AND TO GROW AND EXPAND FOREVER." - ERNEST HOLMES
"EVERYONE WHO WILLS CAN HEAR THE INNER VOICE. IT IS WITHIN EVERYONE." - GANDHI
"GO TO YOU BOSOM: KNOCK THERE, AND ASK YOUR HEART WHAT IT DOTH KNOW." - SHAKESPEARE
"I WANT YOU TO BE EVERYTHING THAT'S YOU, DEEP AT THE CENTER OF YOUR BEING." - CONFUCIUS
"THE HIGHEST REVELATION IS THAT GOD IS IN EVERY MAN." - RALPH WALDO EMERSON
"WE CANNOT TEACH PEOPLE ANYTHING; WE CAN ONLY HELP THEM DISCOVER IT WITHIN THEMSELVES." - GALILEO
"THAT DEEP EMOTIONAL CONVICTION OF THE PRESENCE OF A SUPERIOR REASONING POWER, WHICH IS REVEALED IN THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE UNIVERSE, FORMS MY IDEA OF GOD." - EINSTEIN
You see my friends we ALL have limited perspectives and our ignorance has indirectly created a world in which over 1 billion people go to bed hungry each night, the wealthiest 2 percent own more than half of all global household assets, 2.6 billion people around the world lack basic sanitation. According to the most recent "Global Wealth Report" by Credit Suisse, the wealthiest 0.5% control over 35% of the wealth of the world! More than 3 billion people, close to half the world's population, live on less than 2 dollars a day and there are 400 million children in the world today that have no access to safe water. I hate to bring up what may be perceived as negativity but the key to change lies in each of us, in us expanding our perspectives and freeing our minds. I refuse to stand aside well a minority of corrupt power addicts destroy this beautiful world!
Ultimately, even what I have shared with you today, is only my perspective, however, I am sharing from much personal experience, countless hours of different fields of study and inquiries on those great minds who came before me. These combined have created my perspective and each day I seek to learn more. As the brilliant Sir J.C. Bose once said,"WE MUST REMEMBER THAT ALL INQUIRIES SHOULD HAVE AS THEIR GOAL THE ATTAINMENT OF KNOWLEDGE IN ITS ENTIRETY." In order to achieve this goal we must stand together and share our perspectives and be made aware of our ignorance.
We all want love, respect, happiness, peace, etc. and we can have all of these things if we let go of our ignorance and come together expanding our perspective and the reality of a better future! I understand it's hard to believe that we can change the world because this is what we have come to know but don't allow your perspective to be your enemy, make it your friend! Believe! To change the world we must start with ourselves... I vow to spread hope, love, peace and empowerment. I vow to be aware of my ignorance and work with my fellow beings, looking to understand their perspective and expand my own rather than judging them out of my limited perception. I ask you to make this pledge as well. Together we will stand in the name of love and Truth and the more people we bring together in the name of our cause the greater will be its effects!
There have been so many great minds that have given their lives to humanity, let us not allow them to of died in vein! Please stand with me in the name of Truth!
Thank you for reading = )
"A SMALL BODY OF DETERMINED SPIRITS FIRED BY AN UNQUENCHABLE FAITH IN THEIR MISSION CAN ALTER THE COURSE OF HISTORY." - Gandhi(
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The fruit of the Eucharist is the participation of the body and blood of Christ. There is no sentence of Holy Scripture which saith that we cannot by this sacrament be made partakers of his body and blood except they be first contained in the sacrament, or the sacrament converted into them. "This is my body," and "this is my blood," being words of promise, sith we all agree that by the sacrament Christ doth really and truly in us perform his promise, why do we vainly trouble ourselves with so fierce contentions whether by consubstantiation, or else by transubstantiation the sacrament itself be first possessed with Christ, or no? A thing which no way can either further or hinder us howsoever it stand, because our participation of Christ in this sacrament dependeth on the co-operation of his omnipotent power which maketh it his body and blood to us, whether with change or without alteration of the element such as they imagine we need not greatly to care nor inquire. Book V.67.6
Anyone who has diligently studied Anglicanism from its own sources, is well aware that the whole idea of being a Protestant was to be a true Catholic. These things do not contradict each other, and indeed, according to the Anglican paradigm, only such a Protestant is practicing the Catholic Faith, and believing that doctrine that has been, from the earliest times, Quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est. Richard Hooker, a perfect example of the Catholic Protestant (or Protestant Catholic) in the Church of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and one of the finest theologians and scholars of the period, expressed the Anglican mind with clarity. His writing would not satisfy any modern day "Reasserter," and equally, would not satisfy any Anglo-Papalist. On the subject of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, he refused to be painted into a corner by any of the continental European parties of western Christendom.
The emphasis for him was the saving effect of the sacrament as a participation in the Body and Blood of Christ. In Book V of The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, he approaches the subject of sacraments, specifically Baptism and the Lord's Supper (the two "generally necessary to salvation" as the Anglican Catechism says), by first clarifying that the most important fact about these sacraments is that they impart grace.
For we all admire and honour the holy Sacraments, not respecting so much the service which we do unto God in receiving them, as the dignity of that sacred and secret gift which we thereby receive from God. When Sacraments are said to be visible signs of invisible grace, we thereby conceive how grace is indeed the very end for which these heavenly mysteries were instituted, and besides sundry other properties observed in them, the matter wher they consist is such as signifieth, figureth, and representeth their end. V.50.3
Before going directly into the subject of these two saving sacraments, he begins by laying the proper foundation. He devotes the next several chapters to the Incarnation (which of necessity requires that much be said about the Trinity). This is the necessary foundation, for as the Church is an extension of the Incarnation, these sacraments flow directly from the Hypostatic Union, and from Christ's death for us on the cross, and his resurrection. Without the risen Christ who is fully God and fully man, one Person who is Uncreated having taken the created nature of man into his eternal Being, who has overcome sin and death, and continues to live forever in both natures, the sacraments could have no real effect. Some have called the Incarnation "the Anglican heresy," perhaps with tongue in cheek, suggesting that it is possible to over-emphasize this doctrine to the neglect of others; to which we say, that is impossible.
By the time he comes back to writing directly about the sacraments, in chapter 57, he has laid the foundation by teaching that our salvation requires a participation in Christ himself.
It greatly offendeth, that some, when they labour to shew the use of the holy Sacraments, assign unto them no end but only "to teach" the mind, by other senses, that which the Word doth teach by hearing. V.57.1
This is therefore the necessity of sacraments. That saving grace which Christ originally is or hath for the general good of his whole Church, by sacraments he severally deriveth into every member ther. Sacraments serve as the instruments of God to that end and purpose, moral instruments, the use wher is in our hands, the effect in his; for the use we have his express commandment, for the effect his conditional promise: so that without our obedience to the one, there is of the other no apparent assurance, as contrariwise where the signs and sacraments of his grace are not either through contempt unreceived, or received with contempt, we are not to doubt but that they really give what they promise, and are what they signify. For we take not baptism nor the eucharist for bare "resemblances" or memorials of things absent, neither for "naked signs" and testimonies assuring us of grace received before, but (as they are indeed and in verity) for means effectual whereby God when we take the sacraments delivereth into our hands that grace available unto eternal life, which grace the sacraments represent or signify. V.57.5
This emphasis on the working of these two sacraments that are "generally necessary to salvation" occupied the minds of the Church of England's teachers. That they impart grace, and are not empty signs, was an argument they had to make against Puritans and against Zwinglians. That the purpose of the sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood was not that it be "be gazed upon, or to be carried about, but that we should duly use them." (Article XXV), had less to do with any fear of idolatry than with a failure to receive the same, and with that reception to be given the grace imparted. The Article makes this clear in what immediately follows: "...but that we should duly use them. And in such only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or operation: but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to themselves damnation, as Saint Paul saith." This came about from correcting a medieval abuse, namely, that many people did not, before the English Reformation, take and eat, but merely gazed on the elevated sacrament during the Latin Mass.
Hooker writes:
This was it that some did exceedingly fear, lest Zwinglius and OEcolampadius would bring to pass, that men should account of this sacrament but only as of a shadow, destitute, empty and void of Christ. V.67.2
The whole idea of Real Presence was not, in his mind, about describing what the sacrament is in terms of how it becomes the Body and Blood of Christ; but rather about emphasizing what it does. By taking and eating, by drinking the cup, a true believer with a healed and sound conscience is participating in the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
With apparent disdain for foolish debates about Divine mysteries, that come from reasoning that presumes to exceed what has been revealed, Hooker dismisses not the theories themselves as much as defense of the theories.
If we doubt what those admirable words may import, let him be our teacher for the meaning of Christ to whom Christ was himself a schoolmaster, let our Lord's Apostle be his interpreter, content we ourselves with his explication, My body, "the communion of my body," My blood, "the communion of my blood." Is there any thing more expedite, clear, and easy, than that as Christ is termed our life because through him we obtain life, so the parts of this sacrament are his body and blood for that they are so to us who receiving them receive that by them which they are termed? The bread and cup are his body and blood because they are causes instrumental upon the receipt wher the "participation" of his body and blood ensueth. For that which produceth any certain effect is not vainly nor improperly said to be that very effect whereunto it tendeth. Every cause is in the effect which groweth from it. Our souls and bodies quickened to eternal life are effects the cause wher is the Person of Christ, his body and his blood are the true wellspring out of which this life floweth. So that his body and blood are in that very subject whereunto they minister life not only by effect or operation, even as the influence of the heavens is in plants, beasts, men, and in every thing which they quicken, but also by a far more divine and mystical kind of union, which maketh us one with him even as he and the Father are one.
The real presence of Christ's most blessed body and blood is not therefore to be sought for in the sacrament, but in the worthy receiver of the sacrament. V.67.5,6
The context of this passage does not allow us to charge Hooker with denying the Real Presence. Indeed, he has made it abundantly clear that Christ is present in all his saving power, giving us grace as we receive and thus participate. Hooker simply refuses to honor the speculations of ecclesiastical academics that had created disputes and erected schools of thought. At first glance he almost appears to be setting up another theory, one that assigns a time when the sacrament is fully consecrated, that is, upon being eaten and drunk (as the Lord's words, so quoted, might seem to indicate). But, this is not the case. Hooker rejects the idea that we can be sure of the moment in which the consecration has fully happened, and the idea that we could ever know how. To try to know more than what has been revealed is to try to remove the Holy Communion from the list of divine mysteries. The overall context of these chapters clearly teaches, as a chief point, that what matters most, and that upon which all Catholic believers agree, is that by properly taking the sacrament we receive the grace for which it was instituted, the purpose for which God gave it to the Church. We have in that our communion of the Lord's own Body and Blood. We participate in the risen and living Christ, and we are saved from sin and death.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. John 6:53-58
Hooker draws from the Scriptures and from the ancient Fathers of the Church, to make the case that he puts forth nothing more than what has been ever Quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est.
These things considered, how should that mind which loving truth and seeking comfort out of holy mysteries hath not perhaps the leisure, perhaps not the wit nor capacity to tread out so endless mazes, as the intricate disputes of this cause have led men into, how should a virtuously disposed mind better resolve with itself than thus? "Variety of judgments and opinions argueth obscurity in those things whereabout they differ. But that which all parts receive for truth, that which every one having sifted is by no one denied or doubted of, must needs be matter of infallible certainty." V.67.12
Hooker believes we can afford to admit that we are ignorant about some things, especially the works of God.
Whereas therefore there are but three expositions made of 'this is my body,' the first, 'this is in itself before participation "really and truly the natural substance of my body by reason of the coexistence which my omnipotent body hath with the sanctified element of bread,"' which is the Lutherans' interpretation; the second, 'this is itself and before participation "the very true and natural substance of my body, by force of that Deity which with the words of consecration abolisheth the substance of bread and substituteth in the place ther my Body,"'1 which is the popish construction; the last, '"this hallowed food, through concurrence of divine power, is in verity and truth, unto faithful receivers, instrumentally a cause of that mystical participation, whereby as I make myself wholly theirs, so I give them in hand an actual possession of all such saving grace as my sacrificed body can yield, and as their souls do presently need, this is" to them and in them "my body:"' of these three rehearsed interpretations the last hath in it nothing but what the rest do all approve and acknowledge to be most true, nothing but that which the words of Christ are on all sides confessed to enforce, nothing but that which the Church of God hath always thought necessary, nothing but that which alone is sufficient for every Christian man to believe concerning the use and force of this sacrament, finally nothing but that wherewith the writings of all antiquity are consonant and all Christian confessions agreeable. And as truth in what kind soever is by no kind of truth gainsayed, so the mind which resteth itself on this is never troubled with those perplexities which the other do both find, by means of so great contradiction between their opinions and true principles of reason grounded upon experience, nature and sense. Which albeit with boisterous courage and breath they seem oftentimes to blow away, yet whoso observeth how again they labour and sweat by subtlety of wit to make some show of agreement between their peculiar conceits and the general edicts of nature, must needs percieve they struggle with that which they cannot fully master. Besides sith of that which is proper to themselves their discourses are hungry and unpleasant, full of tedious and irksome labour, heartless and hitherto without fruit, on the other side read we them or hear we others be they of our own or of ancienter times, to what part soever they be thought to incline touching that wher there is controversy, yet in this where they all speak but one thing their discourses are heavenly, their words sweet as the honeycomb, their tongues melodiously tuned instruments, their sentences mere consolation and joy, are we not hereby almost even with voice from heaven, admonished which we may safeliest cleave unto? V.67.12
What Hooker writes about these debates should remind us of St. Paul writing to Timothy these words: "Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do." (I Tim. 1:4) Hooker's concern, stating a defense of the position of his Church, was that emphasis should be placed on receiving the grace of the sacrament, not on a quasi-scientific definition of how God works.
Where God himself doth speak those things which either for height and sublimity of matter, or else for secresy of performance we are not able to reach unto, as we may be ignorant without danger, so it can be no disgrace to confess we are ignorant. Such as love piety will as much as in them lieth know all things that God commandeth, but especially the duties of service which they owe to God. As for his dark and hidden works, they prefer as becometh them in such cases simplicity of faith before that knowledge, which curiously sifting what it should adore, and disputing too boldly of that which the wit of man cannot search, chilleth for the most part all warmth of zeal, and bringeth soundness of belief many times into great hazard. Let it therefore be sufficient for me presenting myself at the Lord's table to know what there I receive from him, without searching or inquiring of the manner how Christ performeth his promise; let disputes and questions, enemies to piety, abatements of true devotion, and hitherto in this cause but over patiently heard, let them take their rest; let curious and sharpwitted men beat their heads about what questions themselves will, the very letter of the word of Christ giveth plain security that these mysteries do as nails fasten us to his very Cross, that by them we draw out, as touching efficacy, force, and virtue, even the blood of his gored side, in the wounds of our Redeemer we there dip our tongues, we are dyed red both within and without, our hunger is satisfied and our thirst for ever quenched; they are things wonderful which he feeleth, great which he seeth and unheard of which he uttereth, whose soul is possessed of this Paschal Lamb and made joyful in the strength of this new wine, this bread hath in it more than the substance which our eyes behold, this cup hallowed with solemn benediction availeth to the endless life and welfare both of soul and body, in that it serveth as well for a medicine to heal our infirmities and purge our sins as for a sacrifice of thanksgiving; with touching it sanctifieth, it enlighteneth with belief, it truly conformeth us unto the image of Jesus Christ; what these elements are in themselves it skilleth not, it is enough that to me which take them they are the body and blood of Christ, his promise in witness her sufficeth, his word he knoweth which way to accomplish; why should any cogitation possess the mind of a faithful communicant but this, O my God thou art true, O my Soul thou art happy!" V.67.12 (emphasis in italics, mine)
Queen Elizabeth I sums up the prevailing Anglican belief in her little "poem."
Christ was the word that spake it.
He took the bread and break it;
And what his words did make it
That I believe and take it.
This refusal to presume upon a divine mystery is the Anglican position, even though few today in the official Canterbury Communion seem aware of it. Rightly understood, it should not discourage orderly Eucharistic Devotions, unless mere gazing begin to be treated as equal to actually taking and eating, and drinking. But, always remember, the greatest Eucharistic devotion, and the one consistent with the purpose of our Lord in instituting the sacrament, is to receive it in a worthy manner, and so receive the food and drink of eternal life by participating in the life of the Risen Christ, fully God and fully man.
"1.Which is why Article XXV rightly says that the doctrine of Transubstantiation (as then defined, or at least as then commonly understood) "overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament." Instead of a sign that effects what it signfies, we have a complete change of physical reality that is merely disguised; no, longer a sign that effects.
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Korean Buddhist legend, Robert Koehler (rjkoehler.com, geumsan-sa.org)"In a graveyard realizing he had drank from a skull cup, Wonhyo had an epiphany (satori").
The following tale is from the life of VEN. WONHYO, the renowned monk from the Silla peninsula. He twice tried to visit Tang, China. At the age of 33 with his Dharma friend, VEN. UISANG, he tried to cross the Amnokgang river on a trip that failed. On a second attempt, he left with Usiang for Dangjugye, in the territory of Baekje, to reach Tang by sea.
When they arrived at the harbor, it was already dark and stormy. They stayed in a cave hewn out of the earth. When they awoke he realized it was not a cave but an old graveyard.
The heavy rain had not stopped, so they had to stay another night. On the second night he could not sleep. He knew it was a graveyard. And this led him to a sudden realization:
"ALL PHENOMENA ARISE WHEN THE MIND ARISES. AND WHEN THE MIND IS ABSENT, THE CAVE AND THE GRAVEYARD WERE NOT TWO; THERE WAS NO SENSE OF DUALITY.
This sudden realization gave rise to a profound understanding of the world. Wonhyo said, "The three worlds are only mind, and all phenomena arise from the mind, from consciousness. If the truth is present in the mind, how could it be found outside of the mind! I won't go to Tang."
Then he once again returned to Silla.
There is a dramatic story which was later added to these events. It is said that Wonhyo drank water when he awoke in the night desperately thirsty. In the darkness, he found a container with water in it and gratefully drank it.
The next morning he found that the water he drank was filthy rainwater that had collected in the skull. This experience became the basis of his realization that "there is nothing clean and nothing dirty; all things are made by mind."
The fact that all phenomena arise from the mind is a truth he clearly understood. He knew that the mind exists in all human beings. So he decided not to go to Tang China but to return home.
* SLIDESHOW: KOREAN BUDDHIST TEMPLE
* DR. DEATH (KEVORKIAN): CRANK OR PIONEER?
"SANSHIN" MOUNTAIN-SPIRIT, MT. SEORAK-SAN, Prof. David Mason (san-shin.net)
ABSORPTION OF "SAN-SHIN" BY KOREAN BUDDHISMSan-shin.orgThere were at least three elements similar to Korea's [indigenous] "San-shin" traditions already present in the Mahayana Buddhism that took root in Korea. This made it easy for the imported religion to absorb native spirits: protection by "devas", meditation-practice in caves, and carving stone Buddhas.
PROTECTION BY DEVASIn the Hwa-eom-gyeong 18 "Mountain Gods" are said to serve as guardians of the Dharma [Buddhist teachings]. They are considered "devas", demigods, or nature/animal spirits ranking lower than the "Buddhas, Bodhisattvas", and "Na-han" but higher than any human being.
Each "San-shin" of each mountain that hosts a Buddhist temple is said to protect the temple buildings themselves and the local "Sangha" [community of monks]. Protection of the nation in general, always a part of Korea's "San-shin" traditions, became a major theme of Korean Buddhism throughout history.
Still today, monks and common people both pray to San-shin for spiritual protection from ill-fortune.
MEDITATION-PRACTICE IN CAVES In the Seon sect which became very important in Korea from the ninth century onwards, it was standard from the beginning for monks (in both China and Korea) to seek enlightenment without distractions by extended meditation practice conducted in mountain caves.
Both beneficent and harmful spirits were encountered there as part of the monk's development; there are several old stories about Korean monks [such as Wonhyo and Usiang] and other heroic seekers meeting and being helped or advised by "San-shin" while meditating or deeply praying in caves. There are many Tantric Buddhist texts which... MORE
* WHERE DID THE KOREAN PEOPLE COME FROM?
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Pic from Coast to Coast am ~
Rainbow in Lightning Storm
I took three exposures and used computer software to splice the photos together to get everything in. Lightning flashed when I exposed the first frame.
-Bob Bell
bobbell@ americanarchaeologist.com
Nighttime maows and mews, my Springtime lovely Kittens... instead of May Day dancing around the maypole, it was a dank, dreary, cold day on the tame prairie, mostly... as the Kougaress did a bit of research on this festive day, which has a rich pagan history, and is celebrated across the pond much more than here in the US... she linked into a nostalgic remembrance of May Day... early in her school days, there was a little maypole we kids walked around tamely... the crepe paper ribbons in bright colors braiding around the pole captured the Kougaress in a magical way, and she recalls being wonderfully mesmerized by the constantly winding colors... and today it struck her, it's a way of...
Spinning Energies into Existence... that is, by whirling, by twirling in dance a vortex of vibration is created, and this Big Cat is reminded of the Sufi dancers, or Dervish dancing... depending on the mood brought forth while dancing around the maypole, joy could be spun into the world, or the community's intention for good fertility, as was the original purpose... but, what better way to create good vibes, to create miracles? Than by a community coming together to dance... imagine the possibilities of dancing, or celebrating in a manner that brings forth goodness and abundance? Not to mention the romantic and erotic possibilities for the adults... but, that's the great thing about dancing, and dancing around a maypole, it can be purely innocent fun for families... or a sensual whirl for lovers.
BTW ~ the Kougaress found this today, but has no idea if it's true ~ *the name "May" comes from a Norse word meaning "to shoot out new growth".*
Big Cat by-the-numbers ~
4:44 pm... 5:55 pm...Volcano's Angelic Forecast for this week ~ siren On May 1, courageous Mars and fortunate Jupiter will meet in energetic Aries, an alignment rife with astronomical opportunity. You'll feel confident and driven, and if there were ever a time to get something done, this is it!
In fact, the only thing you'll need to worry about is not allowing yourself to go overboard promoting your favorite causes. Yes, it's important to state your case and do what's necessary to get the job done; there's no need to step on toes, however. Practice a little caution and common sense, and you'll probably receive even more support in your current projects.
Two days later, on May 3, the new Moon will rise in earthy and practical Taurus. You'll want to take some time to figure out exactly what your next move will be, and then plan it carefully. Taurus can be extravagant, but it also values comfort and security - so if you have an urge to indulge yourself, go for it! You'll be able to stay within your means.
HATE! HATE! HATE! The FDA! Taking down another Amish farmer for selling raw milk. No one was harmed by the milk. There were no complaints. After a year of infiltrating the public selling of raw milk, a desperate undercover agent finally bought some and transported it over state line, so they could have their big bad fed raid, and make their false case. Raw milk has incredible health benefits, especially for those who don't have an allergy to milk. Cooking, or pasteurizing, and homogenizing milk is what makes it 'unhealthy'. The French don't homogenize, that's one reason they're not overweight as a population. This dirty little secret is perpetrated against the people of America because the big-farm dairies couldn't compete with the small farmers originally, before the sixties. IT'S ANOTHER BIG FAT LIE that has brought down the overall health of Americans. NEVER EVER trust the current corrupt gov when it comes to your precious health. It's all been designed to rape, pillage and plunder you, and your loved ones. Big Daddy/Mommy gov don't love you. It only pretends.
Will there be any good foods? Any good vitamins, minerals and herbs left after the FDA goes total DICTATORSHIP?
The most powerful weapon is the human soul on fire. ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
~ Happy Flower-blooming days of May ~
~ MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE ENOUGH ~
And, May you live the dreams of your heart, not in interesting times...
Spinning dancing kisses from the Kougar...
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There's a simple love potion and ritual you can use to help you attract a lover. This remarkable potion has been handed down by Witches, and when used in conjunction with a simple ritual, will enhance your chances of attracting your lover
This is a wonderful love potion that you can drink on its own or to accompany a Love Spell you are casting. Like many Love Spells, this ritual is best begun on the evening of a Full Moon. The night of the Full Moon is the best, most optimum time for Attraction and Love Spells of all kinds.
Recipe for Love Tea
Prepare a mix of the following dried herbs:
3 teaspoons of Dittany of Crete
3 teaspoons Lavender
3 teaspoons Chamomile
9 Rosebuds
If you can't get hold of Dittany of Crete, use 3 teaspoons of mint instead.
Mix the blend slowly and thoroughly with a wooden spoon, and as you do so, think of the lover you want to attract to you. Take care with this part of the process and focus on who exactly it is that you want to draw towards you. Focus on their qualities, their strengths and their gifts and talents.
After a few moments, and when you feel you are ready, say aloud 3 times:
Mix combine to bring to me
A true love for all to see!
The blend you have prepared should give you enough blended love tea for nine days.
Each evening for nine consecutive days pour boiling water over one teaspoon of the blend, (including one rosebud). Allow to steep for five minutes. You can add some honey if you wish to.
When the tea is ready, sip it and say aloud 3 times:
One true love bring forth to me
Two hearts combine
So mote it be!
Repeat this process for another eight days.
Good luck!
Alison Yates wrote this article. Alison is an experienced White Witch and Spell Caster. For more on Spells and Potions visit:
Source:: http://wizard-notes.blogspot.com
(Acts 17, 27) Indeed he is not far from any one of us
[27] so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us.
(CCC 57) This state of division into many nations is at once cosmic, social and religious. It is intended to limit the pride of fallen humanity (Cf. Acts 17:26-27), united only in its perverse ambition to forge its own unity as at Babel (Cf. Wis 10:5; Gen 11:4-6). But, because of sin, both polytheism and the idolatry of the nation and of its rulers constantly threaten this provisional economy with the perversion of paganism (Cf. Rom 1:18-25). (CCC 2566) Man is in search of God. In the act of creation, God calls every being from nothingness into existence. "Crowned with glory and honor," man is, after the angels, capable of acknowledging "how majestic is the name of the Lord in all the earth" (Ps 8:5; 8:1). Even after losing through his sin his likeness to God, man remains an image of his Creator, and retains the desire for the one who calls him into existence. All religions bear witness to men's essential search for God (Cf. Acts 17:27). (CCC 28) In many ways, throughout history down to the present day, men have given expression to their quest for God in their religious beliefs and behaviour: in their prayers, sacrifices, rituals, meditations, and so forth. These forms of religious expression, despite the ambiguities they often bring with them, are so universal that one may well call man a religious being: From one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him - though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For "in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:26-28).
Origin: http://invocation-rituals.blogspot.com
Day 10-Saturday, July 4th-The Great Pacific Northwest Adventure
We originally planned to go to Portland's Blues Festival and see their big fireworks display at 10pm, with friends from Dugan's preschool days. But the weather was extremely hot, and the guys had to get up at 5am for their flight back home on Sunday, so we scaled back our ambitious plans and celebrated a low key 4th instead.
Sorry to our old school friend, Baxter, and his family. We would have loved to hang out and catch up. Hope to see ya next time, either out there or on the Chicago end of the magic, underground worm hole, between various cool cities. (He's our gymnastics friend from toddler days and our Montessori preschool and skate park buddy from half the kids' life times ago. Funny how 4 years isn't much when you're over 40, but it's interminably ancient history when you're 8.)
We also missed running into kids Gaia and Apollo, former Chicago Hip Family Friends of ours, who's family moved from Chicago to study micro brewing in Germany. We lost track of them, but they resurfaced living close to my sister in Hillsboro and frequenting the little park where she walks her dogs (pictured at the end of this post)! She just mentioned them by chance, never dreaming we'd actually KNOW them. They just moved again within the city, less than a month ago, so we couldn't track 'em down and didn't bump into them. We would have loved to catch up with them, too. (More worm hole theory.)
So, instead of seeking out relocated Chicagoans, we checked out small town 4th of July at it's best. The Hillsboro parade route goes right in front of my sister, Maia's, home. And people get crazy about staking out spots at the crack of dawn. The first year she lived there, she awoke early to find a family had set up a tent in her front yard, obscuring her view, and was busily frying bacon!
This year, John was proactive and put chairs out and roped off the front yard the night before. As the parade began, we hustled to erect a shade tent, which got a lotta thumbs up from marchers, drooling over our patch of cool shade. Small town parades have such a different vibe than the big city variety.
The kids caught bulging bags full of candy and enjoyed blowing bubbles at the passing floats.
We saw a unicorn, palm trees made from evergreen boughs for Robin Hood's forest (?), and various patriotic incarnations of Uncle Sam, including one with a big fake piece of cotton taped over his very real, Uncle Sam style white goatee. The gymnasts, dance troupes, marching bands, vacation bible schools, church barbecue promoters, politicians, vintage car enthusiasts, war veterans and civil servants were out en mass.
To some, patriotism means waving tiny American flags made in China or building a squadron of fighter jets from balloons. To others, it is the American right to drive Hummers and giant Hot Wheels toys for rich kids. To some, Patriotism is Homeland Security footing the bill for overkill riot gear vehicles, so the local, small town Sheriff can serve and protect in style.
To others, patriotism is pride in your job, keeping the streets free of garbage, or having the freedom to clear cut large swaths of old growth forests.
To some, it is the right to openly and peacefully protest, whether you're left wing, right wing or a wing nut. To others, it's having a president again who clearly believes in the separation of church and state, that our founding fathers declared necessary for good government.
To us, it is embracing America's diversity, and unique, far ranging mesh of lifestyles and religions, and realizing we have something to learn from everyone.
After the parade, we had a shade tent raising, and 4 of us picked it up and walked it to my sister's back yard. We celebrated with a small barbecue with family and friends, fresh berries from the farmer's market, and Tillamook chocolate ice cream.
The kids created a wacky play with costumes and a creative cast of characters. There was Knee Man, the mystic master who sent the kids on quests. The Moss Grouch, The Shoe of Unhappiness, The Purple Wave of Happiness and Unhappiness, The Unicorn and The Cat and The Masked Creature.
That evening, we donned glow bracelets and necklaces and walked to the local park to play with a balsa wood airplane that the kids caught at the parade. Then they took a last bunch of turns on the teeter totters and merry go round, both "dangerous" park gear, that no longer exist in any of the Chicago play lots I know of.
This may be the only time in their childhoods that they can spin around on a merry go round and watch fireworks fill the night sky.
They also loved the geodesic dome, based on the famous designs by Chicagoan, Buckminster Fuller. I don't think they've been declared dangerous, but I can't think of a Chicago play lot with one of these fun and functional pieces, either. Bucky's the one who described our planet as "Spaceship Earth", a contained system where we need to have clean and uncontaminated air, food and water to survive. He was a smart man with revolutionary designs, way ahead of his time.
The DIY firecrackers and fireworks were fewer and farther between than the urban barrage we're used to. But, we took a night walk and found a good curb perch where we saw quite a few. We sang and laughed while the kids butchered old Queen lyrics..."Recommend an octopus? Insatiable in appetite." And laughed some more. We drank mugs of red wine and enjoyed the pyrotechnics and scent of burning powder. At one point the smoke trails from some larger blooms trailed across the nearly full moon, and star spangled sky. And it was beautiful.
Patriotic Stories Edition of I Faces
Reference: http://lilith-dark-moon.blogspot.com
Thank you for your responses to the earlier question on the subject of spirituality. It seems that most of you believe in spirits. I was particularly amused by Cindy's parental (OR CHAPERONISH?) spirit who questioned her when she got home late.
Many dictionary definitions of spirituality link it to ecclesiastical activities. We need a new definition for everyday use, because people whom we all know naturally demonstrate spiritual behavior without necessarily being part of a church hierarchy.
"SPIRIT" comes from the Latin "SPIRARE", which means literally breath. It is the root of such words as inspire and aspire, as well as conspire and expire. If we think of the spirit as altruistic, and if in a specific person the spirit is more to the fore than the body is, then that person can be thought of as spiritual-or at least more spiritual than others who are more focused on temporal concerns.
Yet spirits we have dealt with can be very negative, especially possessing spirits. This can be a problem when pagans and Wiccans "CALL DOWN THE MOON", inviting spiritual entities-of whatever nature or disposition-to inhabit their very body. In controlled situations such as those that occur in Voudun, where there are people fully trained to deal with such activities, this may present no problem since exorcising the spirit is part of the training. On the other hand...
Remember the case from Spirituality 1 of the old smuggler and the table. Ask any army psychologist what happens when a possessing (ENEMY) spirit of one killed in battle tries to make the body of the possessed commit suicide.
If we use "SPIRIT" as the root of "SPIRITUALITY", we can go to the philosopher Hegel (1770 - 1831).
The nature of spirit may be understood by a glance at its direct
opposite-matter. As the essence of matter is gravity, so, on the
other hand, we may affirm that the substance, the essence, of
spirit is freedom.
Is it possible for us to follow this quote and say that the opposite of spirituality is materialism?
Can materialistic people be spiritual? Is it easier for the rich to be spiritual? What about people like Elton John? At last count he had given 157M for AIDS relief. We might think of Mohandas Gandhi as being spiritual. Then we learn, though, that he insisted his wife clean out the latrines at the ashram where they lived-but would not clean them himself.
What about Mother Theresa? If you listen to her nuns, she was a harsh bully. Can a Jew be spiritual? He does not love his neighbor, nor does he turn the other cheek. A Jewish friend told us, "SPIRITUALITY IS SOMETHING WE KEEP IN OUR BACK POCKET. WE PULL IT OUT WHEN WE'RE IN TROUBLE AND BECOME HOLIER THAN THOU." Can you be half-spiritual? Is spirituality a learned behavior?
Causal determinism argues that every act we take is the result of a set of causes, and that we have no option but to react in response to those causes.
Every event has a cause.
If every event has a cause, there is no free action.
Therefore there are no free actions.
Ipso facto, you have no free will.
We all believe we have free will-but think about buying a Razzmobile. Advertisements, friends, price, salesmen, etc etc; many factors influence your "FREE-WILL" choice. Pagan, Wiccan, and Unitarian-Universalist groups accept all seekers, or at least profess to. Most conventional groups do not. Which type is free and hence more spiritual?
So today's question is : Do you have enough free will to become spiritual?
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The word "Orchid"comes from the Greek "'orkhis," literally meaning "testicle" because its root has a similar shape. The term was introduced in 1845 by John Lindley in "School Botany". In Greek mythology, Orchis was the son of a nymph and a satyr. During a celebratory feast for Bacchus, Orchis committed the sacrilege of attempting to rape a priestess, resulting in his being torn apart by wild beasts, then metamorphosing into a slender and modest plant. Mr Farrant has always claimed Dionysus/Bacchus, along with Lucifer, as being a very important deity for him in his belief system.
"DAVID FARRANT WITH HIS RITUAL DAGGER - HOLDING A DEATH DOLL."
"THE ALTAR TO DIONYSUS/BACCHUS AT DAVID FARRANT'S HOME."
Angie Mary Watkins, who triggered the present controversy that brought Catherine Fearnley back into the fray after three years of calm, calls herself "BlackOrchid". This is what she has to say about her user-name: "My identity is open for all who wish to know. On Facebook I go by the name BlackOrchid and also Luci Loo. I no longer use the name Clarmonde. My real name is Angie Mary Watkins, and because I love graphic novels, and superhero comics, I usually use the name BlackOrchid, and more often than not, a picture of this superhero as my avatar. I have met Mr Farrant three times, and yes, did make him a Shepherds pie." Miss Watkins ("BlackOrchid"), like so many before her, would eventually see Farrant for what he is, as her comments on the Supernatural World forum (where Farrant also posts) attest: "Its hardly surprising all this paranoia is coming out? I discovered once I had met David Farrant that it is impossible to be his friend, and NOT end up paranoid? I liked him at first, and formed the impression he was an approachable, nice enough bloke - THEN all the stupid games started? And by the way, David,why did you pretend you were going out with a lady called 'Veronica Lake', whilst you were already going out with the lady known as now your ex-secretary and girlfriend? How was she meant to react to this? These things might seem amusing to you, but don't you think it's a bit unfair, if not cruel, to appear to go out of your way to MAKE people paranoid? When you and I fell out, I kept silent, as you sent me a message saying that I was deliberately trying to hurt you. It was true that I was annoyed. But what you don't understand is that YOUR behaviour hurts people - all these stupid games, silly lies and red herrings! You just ###### people about, and they dont like it? Then you complain that people are accusing you of things!"
Barbara Green adopted the pseudonym "GreenOrchid", and not long after that Catherine Fearnley was calling herself "BlueOrchid". Three orchids for Mr Farrant who, intentionally or not, helped to fuel his hate campaign against Bishop Manchester. Mrs Green and Miss Fearnley have history which reveals them participating with Mr Farrant and his close associate Gareth Medway in a pseudo-occult ceremony over a grave on private land, something they now regret doing.
"AN ILLEGAL" WITCHCRAFT CEREMONY CONDUCTED OVER A PRIVATE GRAVE."
In above the photograph, from left to right, are Barbara Green, Gareth Medway, David Farrant and Catherine Fearnley on the night of 20 April 2005. There were two others present, these being from "Red Monkey Films" who took video footage of the proceedings without consent from the landowner. This video film has never been shown after the threat of an injunction by the landowner. Mr Medway would later recount on 29 April 2005, "via" Mr Farrant's computer, on the "Fortean Times" forum:
"The ritual conducted there by me, at sunset on 20 April 2005, was based upon the invocation of three (not two) Greek Goddesses. Firstly, Athena was called upon... Secondly, Hekate who guides the spirits of the dead to the next world... Thirdly, Themis, the Goddess of cosmic order and balance was invoked... The ceremony finished with a general blessing. In my opinion it is too early to say whether it has been successful... What I did notice was that, when I arrived, I felt very cold and my nose kept running, but that after the ritual I did not notice the temperature at all. Barbara Green, who had been campaigning for many years for such a ritual to be done, seemed to be satisfied."
"."
"DAVID FARRANT PREPARING A PSEUDO-OCCULT RITUAL "OVER A TOMB ON PRIVATE LAND IN WEST YORKSHIRE."
Miss Fearnley's ex-boyfriend is no stranger to nefarious nocturnal rituals over graves. Mr Farrant's first criminal conviction was in November 1972 at Barnet Magistrates Court. One of the more reputable local newspapers in their coverage of the court proceedings where Mr Farrant and his co-defendant, Victoria Jervis, were both found guilty of indecency, the "Hampstead ">
"Mr P J Bucknell, prosecuting, said Mr Farant had painted circles on the ground, lit with candles, and had told reporters and possibly the police of what he was doing. 'This appears to be a sordid attempt to obtain publicity,' he said."
"DAVID FARRANT AND VICTORIA JERVIS BEING ARRESTED IN 1972."
Editor and journalist Peter Hounan wrote in an article for the "Hornsey Journal", 19 June 1974, following Mr Farrant's sentence of four years and eight months at London's Old Bailey:
"As a lad, David Farrant was 'a little devil' some of the time. As a teenager, he was 'a bit of a terror'. But as a man he caused the most trouble - because of his wicked witchcraft activities. Farrant, aged 28, of Archway Road, Highgate - a former Highgate public schoolboy - paid the penalty for his weird pastimes at the Old Bailey on Wednesday. He was jailed for four years and eight months at the end of three separate trials."
The following month, Peter Hounan, who had interviewed Mr Farrant twice in person, wrote again in the "Hornsey Journal", 16 July 1974:
"Farrant was a fool. Fascinated by witchcraft, which he learnt from his mother, he couldn't keep his interests to himself. He was a blatant publicist. He told this newspaper of his activities, sent photographs and articles describing his bizarre activities."
David Farrant was given a two years' prison sentence in June 1974 for vandalising a tomb and for offering indignity to remains of the dead at London's Highgate Cemetery. He received a further two years for making black magic threats in an attempt to pervert the course of justice, and another eight months for theft from a hospital, plus possession of a firearm with ammunition.
It should be added that Angie Mary Watkins, Barbara Green and Catherine Fearnley have subsequently seen through David Farrant's deception and want nothing further to do with him. They have also rumbled the Australian internet troll Anthony Hogg who uses defamatory material sourced with Mr Farrant in his anti-Bishop Manchester vendetta. Mr Hogg is an internet friend and collaborator with Mr Farrant's eldest son, Jamie Coster, who, since 2010, has assisted in his father's hate campaign.
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Today, four days after winter solstice, in the northeast, we have gained a whole minute in the length of the daylight hours. Between now and summer solstice we will gain two minutes a day, until on June 21 the day will have stretched out to 15 hours 17 minutes. It will stay there for several days:
The midsummer event actually extends from June 1 to June 26. Then it starts losing one minute a day and then two minutes a day.
What this tells us is that a minute is important, and that minutes add up. The day at midwinter is only 9 hours and 4 minutes: over 6 hours shorter than the day at midsummer. Mother Nature responds to this change in the length of daylight hours by giving us first the spring flowering and then the summer and autumn fruiting of the crops.
Changes in daylight also seem to change our personal outlook on the world. In midsummer everything is much brighter, corresponding to the longer daylight, rather than the drab, colorless, depressive outlook we experience at midwinter. Thus we have to admit that the time of year definitely affects our outlook, so that it is not surprising that babies born in the winter months have a different attitude to life than those born in spring and summer months.
You can help the winter children by making sure that the nursery is brightly painted in sunshiny colors of gold and palest yellow, and that there is adequate light for several extra hours in each 24-hour period.
Be aware of changes in the outlook of people around you; and be grateful that these outlooks will change as the seasons progress.
Blessed Be Gavin and Yvonne
Source: http://about-world-religions.blogspot.com
"Archbishop Amfilohije (FoNet, archive)"
27 August 2008 13:02
Belgrade daily Politika writes that even though immediately after the May assembly, Archbishop Amfilohije said that he had no designs on the SPC's top job, and that the "Lord has the final say on that," Amfilohije is one of the main candidates to become the SPC's 45th Patriarch.
According to recent unofficial information, certain circles close to the state expressed an interest in what chances Australian-New Zealand Bishop Irinej, who has good ties in the U.S. administration, had of becoming the new Patriarch.
The problem is that Irinej does not meet the canonic conditions for the position, since he has been an archbishop for less than five years, having been elected bishop in July 2006.
Bishop of Banja Luka Jefrem, and Bishop Nikolaj are mentioned as a potential candidates from the so-called Bosnian bloc. It has frequently been rumored around Church circles that they would like the new "spiritual leader" of all the Serbs to be elected from among the younger SPC bishops.
Accordingly, Bishop of Zahumlje and Herzegovina Grigorije and Bishop of Branicevo Ignjatije are seen as potential candidates.
Of course, Bishop Artemije should not be written off as the leader of the anti-ecumenical bloc in the SPC, which opposes liturgical changes.
The Patriarch is chosen by an "apostolic draw" from among three candidates, with the one with the majority of votes being elected Patriarch. So, it is not outwith the realms of possibility that one of the aforementioned persons could become the new Patriarch and sit on the Throne of St Sava.
SOURCE:: http://ceremonial-magic.blogspot.com
