Reality is that thing that remains even when you stop believing in it. - Wayfarer's Blog - Bakersfield.com

Maybe you asked the question wrong?

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:46:01 PDT

This article about why humans swing their arms when they walk news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090728/sc_afp/sciencearmsoffbeat

illustrates another point I have been trying to get across. One of my fascinations is how the human mind creates a reality based on stories we tell ourselves. If you look at the history of western intellectual development you will find that the secular thought of our modern age developed from the pagan philosophies, which were revived by the Roman Catholics during the middle ages, which gave birth to materialism. One of the myths of secularism is that it is inherently superior to any other paradigm for viewing world. Secularist often brand people of other faiths as superstitious. One of the perennial arguments is the theory of evolution. They accept the theory as fact and label any who question it as nonscientific and superstitious. But my premise is that unquestionably accepting the theory of evolution as dogma blinds the researcher ,because he is forced to make the facts fit his preconceived notions. This article illustrates this ,because the researchers assumed that arm swinging and the appendix should be disregarded as vestigial. Since they could not be made to be called a evolutionary advantage and thus, did not fit their dogma. But new research shows that arm swinging and the appendix are perfect for the human design. Once more it seems the facts have trampled over the accepted dogma.

Birthers the New Hate Word.

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:29:37 PDT

In the past couple of years that I have been on these blogs I have noticed the tendency to use buzz words to demonize a section of the population which some people can feel self righteous and use as a safe target to express their fears and hate. Past buzz words have been conservative, Christian, muslim, religious right, fundies, neocon, moral, and traditional. Did I miss any? From skimming the blogs lately, I gather the new trendy hate word is *Birthers* I don't think name calling actually helps the communication process, nor does it help a person grow in love or compassion which they must do to overcome hate and fear.

Buying Forward.

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:43:26 PDT

Here is a news report about a coffee shop that started a chain of customers paying for the order of the car behind them. This act of kindness by one person has generated so much money for charity that the coffee shop now has it's own charity fund. By the way does anyone know where the phrase Paying Forward came from?

cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/

Maturity

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:38:57 PDT

This is a repost from Return Magazine

July 15, 2009
Notes from a Monastery: Spiritual Maturity

Or, Monkicism Tangibilated

Monk Cosmas

It’s a paradox. Those who progress in the spiritual life attain a great maturity on the one hand while on the other hand they retain a childlike quality. I have encountered this phenomenon enough times among people I have met that I can no longer doubt it, even though I do not fully understand it. Let’s see if we can sort it out.

The first thing we notice is that in their maturity and their childlike quality they do not resemble the adults or children we happen to meet in everyday life. It’s a sad fact that many adults are not very mature, while many children believe they are entitled to all the rights and privileges of adults. Over the course of the twentieth century—and particularly in the last half of that tumultuous era—we have seen the concept of adulthood erode. Maturity and a sense of responsibility have come to be considered less important than before, while at the same time people began to regard adulthood as primarily an opportunity to do what they want, when they want, and as they want. What were once taken for granted as marks of adulthood and maturity—virtues such as honor, trustworthiness, and emotional stability—gave way to spontaneity and absence of inhibition. We see this not merely in role models of popular culture such as athletes, entertainers, politicians, and the men and women of the business world, but also in real life. We don’t admire the person who does the right thing when no one is looking, but the one who does the wrong thing in front of everyone and gets away with it. Think about it—don’t you have friends, co-workers, or even managers at work (no matter what their age may be) whose behavior seems much more typical of teenagers than full-grown adults? And as younger people have emulated this behavior and these attitudes, we have seen the model of the rebellious teenager extend downward in years to the so-called “tween” years (that is, the period between childhood and the teenage years, conventionally regarded as extending from eight to twelve years of age). As a the result, those who are still too young to know life already think they know everything there is to know, especially the seamier aspect of the world, and are as bad as the adults they copy.

This is not what we mean when we say that men and women who have progressed in the spiritual life demonstrate both maturity and a childlike quality.

I have come across a handy summary of the characteristics of maturity on a little card (undated, with no indication of place of publication) which reprints a list from a publication “Moral and Spiritual Values in Education” used by the Los Angeles City Schools. These suggested characteristics are as follows:

He accepts criticism gratefully, being honestly glad for an opportunity to improve.
He does not indulge in self-pity. He has begun to feel the laws of compensation operating in all life.
He does not expect special consideration from anyone.
He controls his temper.
He meets emergencies with poise.
His feelings are not easily hurt.
He accepts the responsibility of his own acts without trying to “alibi.”
He has outgrown the “all or nothing” stage. He recognizes that no person or situation is wholly good or wholly bad, and he begins to appreciate the Golden Mean.
He is not impatient at reasonable delays. He has learned that he is not the arbiter of the universe and that he must often adjust himself to other people and their convenience.
He is a good loser. He can endure defeat and disappointment without whining or complaining.
He does not worry unduly about things he cannot help.
He is not given to boasting or “showing off” in socially unacceptable ways.
He is honestly glad when others enjoy success or good fortune. He has outgrown envy or jealousy.
He is open-minded enough to listen thoughtfully to the opinions of others.
He is not a chronic “fault-finder.”
He plans things in advance rather than trusting to the inspiration of the moment.

This list represents a “classic” view of maturity, a view which may seem very distant from our contemporary secular outlook. In fact, if we compare this list with what we see in popular culture—movies, for example—what immediately strikes us is that immaturity has become today’s ideal rather than maturity.

The “classic” view of childhood also differs from today’s conventional ideals for children, tweens, or teens. No, the standards of this world will not provide us any clues as to what Jesus meant when He said that “…unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4). On the contrary, this passage mentions humility as the main point. We could probably add joy, acceptance of others, playfulness, and other such elements of childhood as it used to be. These childlike qualities are perfectly in keeping with maturity. When St. Paul said that we should “put away childish ways” (1 Corinthians 13:11) he did not mean the childlike humility that would allow us to enter the kingdom of heaven, but the immature behavior and thinking which today’s world endorses with such gusto.

These, then, seem to be characteristics of those who have progressed in the spiritual life—maturity and childlike humility, not in a worldly sense, but the real thing.

Genuine spirituality does not constitute a separate category of life. On the contrary, all of life is spiritual when we live in communion with God and with one another. The way we treat one another, our expectations of ourselves and others, our ability to remain calm in the face of difficulties, our emotional stability—these factors constitute a major part of our spiritual life.

What this really means, then, is that spiritual maturity is not something esoteric or out-of-reach. It is something we can attain through God’s help on the one hand and our own patient efforts on the other. It just means growing up and becoming adult men and women as God intended us to be while keeping a childlike humility.

You can learn more at http://www.monasteryofstjohn.org/

Cosmas (formerly Cyril) was born at the mid-point of the twentieth century, in 1950. He was raised Methodist and was the son of a minister. Soon after entering college he drifted away from Christianity, seduced by the allurements of secularism and decadence, and spent many years in the spiritual far country of depravity, degeneracy, defiance, and bad attitudinality. He entered the Greek Orthodox Church in 1996 the old-fashioned way as a repentant sinner. Anything that might be construed as a journey to Orthodoxy was confided to his spiritual father in life confession and sealed with the prayers for absolution. He is a tonsured reader / chanter. In 1997 he joined the translation team to complete the Orthodox Study Bible by producing a version of the Old Testament with commentary which conformed to the Septuagint Greek text and was made chairman of the translation committee. His work on that project continued until 2004, when he joined the brotherhood of the Monastery of St. John. He was tonsured to the small schema on March 20, 2008 with the name Cosmas. His patron saint is Cosmas of Aetolia. Among the obediences and other activities at the monastery of Fr. Cosmas are copy editing, proofreading, translating, and some writing for Divine Ascent Press, hauling trash to the dump, dipping and chopping candles, and making coffee.

Truth and Stories.

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:18:10 PDT

I was just listening to a pod cast by an Orthodox Christian Theologian who was commenting on Christ's use of the parables to teach. He noted that 2/3 of the Gospels are in the form of stories told by Jesus the Christ. To explain why it is easier to communicate in stories. He recounted this tale told by a old Jewish Rabbi.

"Once truth walked the world naked ,but was very sad. When people saw him they fled and ran into their homes. There they locked the doors and hid underneath their beds. As truth was sadly leaving the village he came across Story. She was brightly and gaily clothed. She asked 'What is wrong Truth?' Truth replied 'Where ever I go people fear me and they flee from me. It has been this way since the days of Adam!' Story thought and then replied ' I think a see the problem. You live apart from the world in a shining palace. While the world has fallen into muck and decay. When you walk among the fallen your light shines and reveals the filth and illnesses on the poor people. What you need is a cover that can dim your light a bit and let people get to know you little by little. If you like I can make such a costume for you!' Truth happily agreed and the next time he visited the village people welcomed him into their homes eagerly.

Breaking News: Mexico proposing it's own border wall!

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:52:39 PDT

I suppose fair is fair. Mexico is proposing building a wall to keep out gringo pendejos. Whats next Canada invading and stealing all our beer? Warning may contain rude names in foriegn languages.www.theonion.com/content/video/mexico_builds_border_wall_to_keep

God's Miracle In Albania

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:45:45 PDT

Wow! I just heard this interview with his grace, Archbishop Anastasios the head of the Orthodox Church of Albania. A little back ground. Albania was the worlds first constitutionally official atheist nation. It was mainly a muslim country when the communist dictators took over and tried to annihilate every other faith in the peoples hearts, accept for atheism. Finally after 20 years of oppression the madmen fell and left a economically and morally broken country. Archbishop Anastasios was asked to go on a fact finding mission for the Ecumenical Patriarch. The Albanian people asked him to stay and so with five helpers, $5,000 and the Grace of God; he became the leader of the then extinct Albanian Orthodox Church. Since then he has establish a completely native clergy and rebuilt the atheist destroyed church infra structure, as well as many charities for the entire Albanian people. All this supported entirely by the poor ,but faithful Albanian believers. This is a real miracle of God. Follow this link and click unto Archbishop Anastasios of Albania to hear the story fromm his graces own mouth ancientfaith.com/podcasts/hopko

Explanation for Crop Circles Found!

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:36:58 PDT

Crop Circles explained! A least in Tasmania.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_wallabies_odd

Insanity or Demonic Possession

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:55:47 PDT

How does the Orthodox Church view mental illness and does it attribute the cause to biological problems or spiritual attacks. Mother Melania of St. Barbara's Monastery has done research in the writings of the spiritual warriors of the church and has come to some enlightening conclusions on a issue that the secular world knows little about. Follow this link and click unto the Insanity or Demonic Possession pod cast. http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/illuminedheart

Obama cruel to animals!!!

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:41:42 PDT

Read it for yourself news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090618/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_dead_fly

The Morning Funny;)

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:35:13 PDT

Celebrating Diversity.

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:03:18 PDT

Here is an interesting article. A Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church argues against the secular faith attempts to impose its beliefs on everyone. His point is that instead of imposing one belief system on everybody [ which the communist tried in the Soviet Union and failed miserably with the cost of millions of human lives and the destruction of the environment ] human relations should take a different path of mutual respect and dialog between the different belief systems.

Russian Orthodox Church opposed the secular monopoly
Posted on Thu Jun 11 2009

Moscow, June 10, Interfax - The Moscow Patriarchate believes that the secular humanistic society model should not be imposed on the world as the only correct and forward-looking.

"In my view, the secular project has been exhausted. It gives people no vigor, it fails to inspire them in emergency, and it is unable to teach them self-denial and self-control," head of the Synodal Church and Society Department Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin said at a Moscow conference dedicated to relationships between religion and the state.

According to him, demographic data, psychological tests and sociological research "convincingly show that secular ideology deprives the society of many benefits inherent to a society with a strong religious motivation."

"Today, there are many examples when a society with a strong religious motivation proves to be no less, and even much more efficient than a society based on its secular identity," Father Vsevolod said.

"In fact, today we can see that the pursuit of "civil religion" and "universal human values", and the priority of material life over the end purpose of existence proved to be a failure for many people, in particular, in the West."
Father Vsevolod stated that "the existence of groups with different attitudes which put the main emphasis on their worldview, different models of society, family, and local communities based on different attitudes is a real fact."

He thinks that this trend in society development should be given a special focus and "it would be reckless for both politicians and intellectuals to ignore this phenomenon."

Fr. Vsevolod believes that today we need "to proceed from attempting to unify the humanity", impose a single model of state and society and the relations of the state, society and religion as the only correct, we need to proceed from all the above to the situation where different models of society, family and local communities "are considered equal".

"Both in Russia and in the world, there are communities which live under the Islam law which they consider the supreme law. Orthodox believers treat the religious law as supreme which they cannot deny even under death threat. This is evidenced by the lives of Russia's New Martyrs and Confessors and the history of the early Christian years. This kind of law is also supreme for the followers of Judaism," Fr. Vsevolod said.

At the same time, "only a minor part of the world's population treats as the most important the priorities of material life and worldly comfort which form the basis of humanist ideology."

"The secular humanistic model of social structure is just one model, one system of law, and its followers can no longer explain why it should become universal," the priest said. According to him, the current economic crisis has raised serious doubts about the last argument of secularism adepts, i.e., its eternal economic efficiency.

In closing, Fr. Vsevolod said that none of the social models, neither Orthodox, nor Islamic, should become a ground for dialogues.

"Today's ground for dialog is the willingness of different models representatives to discuss future without any precedent conditions and claiming progressiveness," the priest said.

Top List of Public Intellectuals Who Defend Human Dignity.

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:32:06 PDT

Mercator Net which is a on line magazine that takes a honest and thoughtful look at contempory society, has posted it's list of the top intellectuals that have done much work to defend human dignity. www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/our_public_intellectual_a_list/

We have met the enemy and it is us.

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:54:16 PDT

Real change starts at home. Please excuse some of the language. Hopefully educating people so they can express themselves with out profanity will be one of the items on Obama's to do list.

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/obama_drastically_scales_back?utm_source=tvtheonioncom

Why God Doesn't Answer My Prayer.

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:54:35 PDT

What does it mean when God doesn't answer your prayer? This question happens to everyone. Dr. Jerry Sittser lost three people of his immediate family in a fiery car crash in spite of the fact that he was a devout church going Christian who prayed regularly for their good. How did this affect his relationship with a God and his prayer life? Listen for yourself. Follow this link and click onto the pod cast Why God Doesn't Answer My Prayer ancientfaith.com/podcasts/illuminedheart

Billy Grahams Prayer For Our Nation

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:36:14 PDT

Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation

THIS MAN SURE HAS A GOOD VIEW OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY!

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'One nation under God.'

World Environment Day.

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:44:15 PDT

Today is World Environment Day. A time for each of us to examain our lives and ask are we good stewards of the creation that God gave us and our fellow brothers and sisters. Or are we mere worms only concerned with filling ourselves and pursuing are appetites. For myself I pray you forgive me a mere worm.

http://www.ec-patr.org/docdisplay.php?lang=gr&id=1071&tla=en

Remembering Tiananmen Square.

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:23:46 PDT

Today is the anniversary of Tiananmen Square. Let us remember the victims on both sides. Those whose blood was spilled and those whose hands were stained and pray for forgiveness and healing of all. May we also remember that although we may distract ourselves with debates about politics and ideologies. The final line is always the cost our actions have on a single human life.

Getting married in the golden years.

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:42:45 PDT

          Jacob, age 92, and Rebecca, age 89, living in Florida ,
          are all excited about their decision to get married. They
          Go for a stroll to discuss the wedding, and on the way they
          Pass a
          Drugstore. Jacob suggests they go in.

          Jacob addresses the man behind the counter: "Are you the owner?"
          The pharmacist answers, "Yes."

          Jacob: "We're about to get married. Do you sell heart
          Medication?"
          Pharmacist: "Of course we do."

          Jacob: "How about medicine for circulation?"
          Pharmacist: "All kinds "

          Jacob: "
          Medicine for rheumatism?"
          Pharmacist: "Definitely."

          Jacob: "How about suppositories?"
          Pharmacist: "You bet!"

          Jacob: "Medicine for memory problems, arthritis and
          Alzheimer's?"
          Pharmacist: "Yes, a large variety. The works."

          Jacob: "What about vitamins, sleeping pills, Geritol, antidotes for
          Parkinson's disease?"
          Pharmacist: "Absolutely."

          Jacob: "Everything for heartburn and indigestion?"
          Pharmacist: "We sure do."

          Jacob: "You sell wheelchairs and walkers and canes?"
          Pharmacist: "All speeds and
          Sizes."

          Jacob: "Adult diapers?"
          Pharmacist: "Sure."

          Jacob: "We'd like to use this store as our Bridal Registry.."

Taking a rational look at the murder of Tiller.

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:16:45 PDT

The tragedy that occurred with the ironic murder of Tiller was quickly twisted into a hammer and used to bash those human beings who risk their lively hoods and lives fighting for those who can't defend themselves. But rather than drink the haters kool aid let's take a step back and take a more rational, humane look at the impact of these sad events.

www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060301.html

www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060210.html

www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/the_killing_of_george_tiller/