Writing Paragraphs

There are people who love to write paragraphs of words, and because they love what they do they do it well. I haven't really enjoyed communicating in that way...I work my thoughts out through poetry and verse, and I believe that I do it well.

Reader Numbers

Watching the reader numbers of this blog has been gratifying, after all this time there are still lovely people reading what I had to say, and I thank you all.

The Best Words in the Best Order

In a few days time I shall be retiring from my full time teaching job, and this will give me the luxury of time. Time to work out the best words in the best order.

The Gift of Poetry

I really only ever wanted to give my poetry to the world, and now I can do that, knowing that I'm doing the best job that I can. You see, writing poetry is my passion, and I want to experiment with the genre, just give it its head and watch in wonderment where it takes me.

A Cordial Invitation

And so this is an invitation to all my loyal readers who might want to follow me into this adventure. My new address is: http://www.poetryweaver.com and I'll be waiting to welcome you.

Building Blocks

Not every building project involves materials that can be seen. If we're fortunate enough to live in a comfortable, warm house, chances are we'll take it for granted. We won't stop to think about the careful planning, the skillful design or the arduous labour that went into it, but simply accept it as our God-given right.

But there is also the invisible building - the abstract creation. Both start out as thought waves transcending the ether, the formless stuff of the void. A typical example to illustrate this is the church.

"...Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
( Matthew 16:18 )

The Invisible Church

From the Greek translation, the word 'church' means 'belonging to the Lord' and Peter, a name meaning 'rock', was chosen to be the head of the church on earth - a visible head of an invisible church. Because when we talk about going to church we think of a building, a place of worship. This fact has led many to believe in the mistaken idea that God can only be found in such a building and nowhere else. Christ never intended this. His church was never meant to be a place or structure that could be destroyed by man, but a body of believers, the chosen ones or the elect.

Let's look at another 'building' scripture.

"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it; except the Lord keeps the city, the watchman wakes but in vain." ( Psalm 127:1 )

Difficult Task

The idea behind this was to demonstrate that if man attempts to build in his own strength and by his own will, he can never succeed in the long run. Failure is the only outcome. However, if he allows God to be the architect and builder, all will be well. This is a very hard concept to come to terms with. To trust in something you can't see, hear or touch is perhaps the most difficult task imaginable.

We are constantly building something. A child builds with wooden blocks, part of the learning process. Young adults learn skills which become the foundation for even greater learning. We build and maintain personal and emotional relationships and if we do so on solid foundations (rock), the relationship will withstand the rigours and the tempests of life. But if we build on sand, the house will surely be vulnerable to destruction. Those of us who have suffered broken marriages will readily testify to this analogy.

The Ego Problem

The thing that makes building on rock so difficult is the ego, an over-used but generally misunderstood word largely associated with psychologists and psychotherapy. The ego, considered by many to be a construct, is the part of us which governs our actions and the decisions we make. It is our safety valve during our growing years, our governing mechanism that prevents us from endangering ourselves. The big problem with the ego is that it is fearfully paranoid and this fear is often converted into actions which cause conflict. You only have to look at structures such as the Great Wall of China, Hadrians wall and not forgetting the Berlin wall. They were all built out of fear to keep certain people out, and in some cases to keep them in.

Religion Not the Answer

This is ego building. It is the building of structures of segregation instead of unification and it happens because we find it so hard to trust and to believe that we are safe. Tragically, having a religion does not guarantee the kind of trust and self-belief necessary to build on rock. If it was, we would not have the religious conflict we constantly see around us. There would be no Middle East crisis and definitely no 'Holy War', an oxymoron of epic proportions.

Our Inheritance

If we can only learn to trust and believe that our default inheritance is one of safety and peace and that all things work only for our joy and happiness, the world would be transformed overnight. We began with a beautiful garden and gradually, because of our fear, the weeds and the briers took over. But it's never too late. We can turn the situation around, and we can begin by loving ourselves and trusting that all is well in our personal world. This is not egotism, which relates to pride, but it is the sure belief that nothing can harm us. Why not start with a thought in that direction. The thought will travel far into the void where it will be picked up by the formless matter and reflected back to us as tangible good. The mechanism never fails. What we focus our attention on, we get more of. This is a universal law which is foolproof. Don't take my word for it. Try it for yourselves!

Every thought you and I transmit today builds our tomorrow, good or bad. Don't you think that we deserve a good tomorrow?

Comments?

God versus Mammon

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mark 10:25)

This old chestnut, over-used and cliche-ridden has been the mainstay of bible-bashers the world over. It's the ace of scriptures designed to trump all arguments about poverty, wealth and the hereafter. But could this brand of salesmanship be no more than an insidious five-card trick? Is there a genuine case for the idea that living in poverty guarantees a ticket to life everlasting, or are the evangelists merely using the bible to their own ends?

What is 'Rich'?

There is a big problem with the above scripture. It's the word 'rich'. How can this word possibly be defined objectively. I have my own view of what constitutes 'rich' and no doubt you, the reader, have yours. To a member of the Rothschild family, I would definitely not be considered rich, but to the jobless, the displaced and the dispossessed, I am a wealthy man. So, according to what criteria does a person have the right credentials to pass through the pearly gates, all other things being equal?

Pennies to Heaven

The fact that double standards exist within the church may not come as a surprise. The following scripture should, by rights, have settled the matter of privilege, but alas they have studiously ignored it.

"Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money." (Acts 8:20)

This scripture highlights the deeply embedded tradition of rich people buying their way into heaven. This was done on the basis that sins could be forgiven by giving donations, or indulgences, and the larger the donation, the cleaner the slate. The donor was lighter in the pocket but could now sleep peacefully. That is until the next sin. The Catholic church quickly realised the wonderful potential of this. Wow! What a nice little earner! What power they had and still do have!

Guilt Trip

The donations, as you would expect, swelled the coffers of the church making it the richest institution of all time. In modern times we have the famous (or do I mean infamous?) collection plate and for the fundamentalists, the added principle of tithing, ensuring a regular flow of money. And if the congregation should, by circumstance, default in this endeavour, you could guarantee a hell-fire and brimstone sermon next Sunday. This is the ultimate in guilt trips.

Root of all Evil?

The old saying that 'Money is the root of all evil' is a misquote. Money is an inanimate object. It has no power of itself but relies upon a universal belief that it represents a certain value at a certain time and place. For this reason alone the exchange of money is really an exchange of energy. You give energy in the form of the currency of your country, and you receive energy in the form of goods or services. In July of 1914, the German mark was a relatively stable currency but by January 1919 you needed 2.6 of them to buy the same thing. By November 1923 you would have needed 726,000,000,000 of them to buy that same thing.

If you've aver tried to sell something you considered quite valuable and had no takers, it's not the fault of money but simply the market forces at work. The trouble is that we have mostly been taught that having money is bad. How often have you heard the following statements?

• Money doesn't grow on trees.
• Money is filthy and dirty.
• Rich people are crooks.
• Only people who cheat have money.
• Poor people can never get out from under.

How we Think about Money

This list is not exhaustive but it highlights the kind of indoctrination we have mostly grown up with. Louise Hay tackles the problems of money from the inside by saying that we always have a choice. To make a different choice from the ones we have been making all our lives requires a decision to change our thoughts about wealth and I can do no better than recommend her books which explain this in detail. She offers a totally new and refreshing view on money. For example, do you resent paying bills? Do you treat bills as punishments, or debt as a life sentence? Do you treat money as a friend or an enemy to be avoided?

If we can remove ourselves from the negative teachings about money and adopt positive thinking, we can throw off the guilt attached to it and begin to prosper. The prosperity which comes from this will be a genuine prosperity, not one which goes the way of the German mark. It has worked for me. It can work for you.

If you want to know more about this 'new' thinking, get Louise Hay's book "You Can Heal Your Life". It makes mincemeat of camels and needles.

Does God have a Sense of Humour?

"I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh." (Proverbs 1:26)

Is this proof that God has a sense of humour? Is there such a thing as 'universal' humour, or does it depend upon the mores of culture and community? Impossible questions? Maybe.

The Audience

History has shown that 'professional' humour operates on a knife edge and that only the fabled few comedians, and comediennes, are able to hack it successfully year after year. They have the skills to match their humour with the audience knowing that failure to do so would mean disaster. Stand-up comedy is also about character and style of delivery. We only see the elite because of the dictates of the media. "Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone" is a well-worn adage which still holds true today.

The above scripture is interesting because it is one of the very few which blatantly give God a human face. I have mentioned, in a previous post, that man is forever anthropomorphising God. By doing this, man feels more comfortable about God - like he's one of us - a chip off the old block.

Gallows Laughter

But don't get me wrong! God is no stand-up comedian. The laughter suggested in the above scripture is a classic example of 'gallows' laughter. This is a kind of anti-humour, the sort that says "I'll get back at you for what you've done, ha-ha." This is definitely a case of Nemesis rides again. The need to get even is, unfortunately, heavily ingrained in man's psyche.

You've probably noticed that the bible, generally speaking, doesn't have much 'natural' humour in it. In fact the overall tenor of the scriptures is a sobering cocktail of misery, morbidity and mayhem. It seems that being a 'man of God' is a serious business, not to be taken lightly or lightheartedly.

Women and Humour

"A time to weep and a time to laugh." (Ecclesiastes 3:4)

Made into a famous song, this scripture runs the whole gamut of emotions. On balance, there is more weeping than laughing. There is, however, one event that demonstrates beyond question the existence of natural humour. When Abraham's wife, Sarah, was told she would conceive and give birth, she laughed. This was hardly surprising since she was 90 years old. As we all know, she gave birth to a son called Isaac, a name which means 'laughter'. Interestingly, there is no record of Abraham laughing. He, after all, was much older. Does this mean that women have a greater sense of humour than men?

As I write this, I am reminded, with sadness, of certain countries who are, even now, destroying their infant girls. Apart from the moral and social implications of this act, they are destroying the spirit of humour. What will they become when the spring of humour dries up completely?

Unintentional Humour

"Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep..." (Song of Solomon 4:2)

This one is a hoot. If this isn't a starter for ten, I don't know what is. Can you imagine saying these words to your loved one? Can you imagine the response? I don't have a punchline that will cut the mustard but if you have any suggestions feel free to make a comment.

Old Golfers Never Die

One day Jesus, Moses and an old man were playing golf. Jesus went up to the tee and hit the ball which sailed over the fairway into the water trap. Jesus simply walked on the water and chipped the ball on to the green. Then Moses went up to the tee and hit the ball which also went into the water trap. Moses simply parted the water and chipped the ball on to the green.

Next to play was the old man. He hit the ball which headed for the water trap. Just before it hit the water, a fish jumped out catching the ball in its mouth. But before the fish could dive back into the water an eagle flew down catching the fish in its claws. The eagle, with fish and ball, flew up, whereupon a lightning bolt shot by, barely missing it. In its fright, the eagle dropped the fish which promptly fell on the green. On hitting the ground the ball rolled out of the mouth of the fish into the hole for a hole in one. On seeing this, Jesus said to the old man "Dad, if you don't stop messing about we won't bring you again."

I hope you liked that one and I shall conclude by quoting from Dave Allen, an Irish comedian sadly no longer with us:

"In Ireland we take our religion seriously. We take our sex religiously."

A House Divided

"Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand." ( Matthew 12:25 )

These words were spoken by Jesus to the Pharisees following their comments about casting out devils. But they seem to fit the bill in many modern day situations. Most recently, they have become a metaphor for the Church of England.

I speak of the latest gaffe perpetrated by Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, who has shocked the world by calling for parts of Sharia law to be introduced in Britain.

"Sharia law in the UK is unavoidable." These were the actual words he used.

Dr Williams is not an unintelligent man. He must, undoubtedly, have satisfied the higher echelons of the Church of England as to his ability and acumen to be the best banner man to lead the church into the twenty-first century. Really?? Surely, he has failed to look deeply enough into the thoughts behind these words and the repercussions they would have on society.

My view is, he has fallen into the old but ever enduring pit of apologetics where it is always fashionable to give deference to the 'away' team at the expense of the 'home'. Sadly, we have turned it into an art form in Britain. We do it ad nauseam.

Why did he not realise that by advocating fundamental forays into state law, he is attempting to undermine the whole structure of society? This could only lead to unrest and division on a gargantuan scale.

As I write, I learn that Dr Williams has now faced the synod, the church's governing body, and has staunchly defended his words. Already, I detect the stench of yet another schism. Is there a hidden agenda? Time will tell. Interestingly, though the Archbishop has plenty of supporters, his predecessor, Lord Carey has just said "Acceptance of some Muslim laws would be disastrous for Britain."

Perhaps Dr Williams needs to look more closely at the above scripture. The words of Jesus should ring loud and clear. For any invasion by Sharia law would indeed make the church, and the country, a house divided.

Sacrifice: Blind Obedience or Obsessive Barbarity?

Question: What kind of god requires sacrifice? Compare and contrast the moral implications of sacrifice with regard to human rights, with the principles of ritual and appeasement.

This question may never appear on a college paper but I would like you, the interested reader, to imagine you are the student and you have been given this assignment. How would you tackle it. Of course, I'm taking for granted the fact that you have done extensive research on the subject and your essay writing skills are beyond question. Feeling generous, I'm disposing with the normal time constraints. Go on...you can do it!

However, just in case you don't feel too confident I shall endeavour to offer some assistance by going over a few salient points. For starters, let's have a dictionary definition, or two, to get the juices flowing.

Sacrifice: n. (1) The slaughter of animal or person, surrender of possession, as offering to a deity.
v. (2) The giving up of a thing for the sake of another that is higher or more urgent.

You have probably learned from past teaching that sacrifice is synonymous with archaic religious rituals. That much blood was spilled and many innocents died. When you think of the word 'sacrifice' you think of ancient civilisations like the Aztecs and the Incas who practised the art frequently. That such offerings would appease angry gods or guarantee a good harvest next year was the natural expectation of the people. But you might say that these civilisations were godless in Judaeo-Christian terms, and that men of God such as Moses, Joshua and Abraham would never get involved with the idea. Wrong! In fact the principle of sacrifice is prevalent throughout the bible right into the New Testament.

The Bible sets the Scene

The original plan was to sacrifice animals. Most of the book of Leviticus is taken up with the ritual slaughter of birds and animals 'to cleanse lepers'. Can you believe this?

"And the priest shall command that one of the birds shall be killed in an earthen vessel over running water."

(Leviticus 14:5)

"And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering in the holy place."

(Leviticus 14:13)

Scapegoat?

In most cases the blood of the animals was sprinkled over the people. For what purpose? In Genesis, Abraham's obedience was 'tested' by God who demanded that he should offer up his beloved son Isaac as a burnt offering. The killing didn't take place as it seems that Abraham had passed the test by placing his son on the altar. But instead of everyone packing up and going home, Abraham felt it necessary to offer up an animal. Why waste an altar? It so happened that a ram was "caught in a thicket by his horns" and this poor animal was offered up to God in place of Isaac. I'm pleased for the sake of Isaac but why needlessly destroy the animal? This slaughter was not for food.

The New Testament

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood. Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins"

(Hebrews 9:22)

Here, St Paul is referring to the crucifixion of Christ who was regarded as the ultimate sacrifice to atone for the sins of man. Whose idea is this? First of all, you have to believe in the principle of sin. If like me, you don't, there is no need for senseless, ritual slaughter. Do you imagine for one moment that a sane, intelligent, all-seeing and all-knowing God would stoop to this barbaric level? No way! But then if you think about it, all down the ages, man has anthropomorphized deities. He has endowed God with human characteristics. He does it to animals and inanimate objects. And he has certainly done it to God. This is why God is seen as judgemental one minute and merciful the next. This is why God is called "a jealous God" who is easily angered.
This is why the God of the scriptures must be appeased and prayed to by penitents who need to suffer some form of deprivation so that there will be a change of mind, so that disaster will be averted.

Man has projected his feelings and emotions on to something on the outside. He has created a means whereby an outside entity can take all the blame for his own shortcomings and problems.

What am I saying here? That man has invented God? I think that will have to be another question paper.

I look forward to receiving your answer sheet with interest.

On the Breadline

"It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

(Matthew 4:4)

Fruit of the Earth

Here in the West it is hard to imagine life without bread. It is the fruit of the earth, the staple by which we measure physical sustenance, and the cornerstone of our very existence. It will always be here in its diverse forms. Well, maybe.

We often hear the phrase 'bread basket of the world', an indication of its importance in the world's economic machinery. Over millennia, we have called upon the pagan deities, offered sacrifices and invented a whole gamut of seasonal rituals to ensure a good harvest in the coming year. The annual Thanksgiving ceremonies are a testimony to the continuation of such rituals. Corn dollies and corn-sheaf bread are symbolic of the pagan infrastructure which still exists.

Body of Christ

Bread plays no minor part in the scriptures either, but has achieved dynamic status as a parable medium. Ravens brought bread to the prophet Elijah when he went into hiding. The miracle of the five loaves and two fishes feeding the five thousand is well documented and often quoted. And who has not learned of the importance of bread as a representation of the body of Christ at the Last Supper? This is one of the fundamental beliefs of the Catholic Church which maintains that the communion host is actually the body of Christ.

"...Take, eat; this is my body" ( Matthew 26:26 )

Leavened or Unleavened?

Leavening is the biblical word for yeast. Unleavened bread, therefore, contained no yeast and was somewhat flat, since it is the yeast which makes the bread rise. Leavening was also equated with sin and was to be avoided at all cost. Of course, this presupposes that you agree with the principle of sin. Hmm! Could be another article there.

St Anthony's Fire

If you've ever wondered how a belief begins life, this account might proffer a reasonable explanation. In the middle ages in Europe much of the bread was made from rye flour. But rye bread had a problem. It was prone to attack by a fungus called ergot. The result of prolonged consumption of the diseased bread was a painful burning sensation in the legs. It was known as St Anthony's Fire and those with the disease in its advanced stages would gradually watch their limbs turn black and gangrenous. Many sufferers in the early stages of the problem were advised, or felt the call, to travel far away from home to a shrine in order to be at peace with God and pray for forgiveness and a healing. Well, guess what? After a month or two they got better, which encouraged an even stronger faith in God. However, there was no one around at the time to tell them that by moving away from home, they moved away from the cause of the disease and simply lived on bread totally unaffected by the ergot.

My point is that here was a belief born of ignorance of the facts. You may be thinking - what does it matter how belief is arrived at or how faith is formed as long as it is there. If you are thinking along those lines, I would like to hear from you.

Write now!

Curses: Ancient and Modern

The Tradition of the Curse

What do you think of when you hear the word "curse"? Long-forgotten fairy tales with stereotypical, ugly witches in pointed hats? Or biblical stories like this one?

"And he turned back and looked on them and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood and tare forty and two children of them." (2Kings 2:24 )

I have a big problem with this scripture. The story goes that Elisha, a 'man of God' was on his way to Bethel when he was followed by some children from the city. They mocked him, calling out "Go up thou bald head, go up thou bald head" (2Kings 2:23). Well, come on! Kids will be kids and they can be cruel sometimes, but to curse them with two vicious animals is a bit over the top don't you think? Wouldn't something more humane like temporary blindness or dumbness have been more appropriate? Or perhaps even forgiveness?

What makes it worse is that it was done in the name of God! Does God really hate children that much? Somehow I don't think so. This is not what you'd call good publicity.

In the 1800's Richard Harris Barham, in the Ingoldsby Legends, published his famous poem "The Jackdaw of Rheims". In this saga, the Cardinal Lord Archbishop loses his ring and suspects someone has stolen it. Out comes the bell, book and candle, plus a large helping of "holy anger and pious grief". The main elements are as follows:

He cursed him at board, he cursed him in bed
From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head
He cursed him in sleeping that every night
He should dream of the devil and wake in a fright

The curse gets worse and the big surprise is that nobody seems to be affected by it. That is until a sad, crumpled and limping jackdaw appears.

This is fiction of course but it demonstrates the ethos of power held by the clergy. Here is yet another man of God who would rather punish someone harshly than play the merciful card. The fact that curses are against the teachings of Christ seems to be irrelevant.

The Power of the Modern Curse

You may be thinking - OK, this is interesting historical stuff but nobody curses these days. You think not?

If you have had perfect parents and a truly excellent schooling you need not read further. For the benefit of the others who haven't, I would ask you to cast your mind back to childhood. Let's say you wanted to learn a skill such as building model aeroplanes or knitting, and in the process of learning you made a mistake. Your father, or mother, chastised you for the error saying something like "You'll never be any good at it, you haven't got what it takes." This whole sentence is a curse. There's no bell, book and candle but the effect is just as devastating. Why? Because children look up to their parents and see them as experts. In fact they see their parents as gods who know everything, are always right and always speak the truth. You only learn this is not the case as you get older.

The child with the modelling kit will give up the idea of making anything, and the wool and the knitting needles will probably be given away unused simply because of the curses. The terrible part about it is that the children's creative minds have been dealt a severe blow.

School is another danger area. How often have you heard it said, "You're useless at maths. You'll never pass your exam." The teacher is sadly right. He or she has laid down a curse of failure and without the curse being lifted by copious amounts of positive input (see last post), failure is the only outcome.

If you have your own tale of curses from the past, do write and tell me about them.

Incidentally, in case you don't know the poem, the jackdaw's curse was lifted and he was back to normal in the end.

Don't Think of an Elephant

Hasn't this year gone quickly? Is it my imagination or is time really speeding up? Whichever it is, 2008 is upon us already, and millions of us will reflect and steadfastly make high-flying new year resolutions which will mostly be shot down by the artillery of procrastination.

Never do today...

I know all about procrastination. I have turned it into an art form. I'm not sure but it could be the philosophy of someone who believes he is going to live well into three figures and has all the time in the world - my excuse and I'm sticking to it. However, statistics don't support this belief. They would proudly cling to the well-worn theory that in terms of longevity, children generally follow their parents. My father died at 70, which statistically gives me 7 years of life. But thanks to visionaries like Louise Hay, it is possible for me to buck the system, and it's all down to positive thinking, positive vocabulary, and how I react to situations.

The elephant and the 'F' word

Be honest, when you read the title did you automatically think of an elephant? I did when I first heard the spoken command. Most of us will do the same because the brain needs to go into immediate action to search the archives for an image of an elephant. The word "Don't" hasn't a prayer because it is essentially an invasion of our personal freedom of thought. and therefore we dismiss it. It's the same with the 'F' word. I'm referring to the word 'fear' of course, and the bible is full of examples ( 117 altogether ) where we are told not to fear. If we are told "Don't be afraid" the word we latch on to is 'afraid' because the brain gets the message that there is something to be afraid about. Then worry sets in and we no longer feel safe.

Self-preservation

Imagine you are climbing a rock face with a friend who is more experienced in mountaineering. Halfway up your friend shouts down to you "Don't look down!" The compulsion to look down would be overwhelming, even though you have been told many times that it is psychologically unsafe to do so. If, on the other hand, your friend had said "Keep looking up!", you would have followed that order without the fear element because the word 'up' is the dominant one. I reckon there's enough adrenalin in rock climbing without adding to it. This is all about using positive commands instead of negative ones.

I am reminded of an old song which I believe was written by Willie Nelson:

You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
And don't mess with Mr Inbetween

Shame about the last line but the general idea is good.

Happy positive thinking.

Sun God or the Son of God?

So you think Jesus Christ was born on 25th December?

Most experts conclude that Jesus Christ was not born in December at all but rather September. They say shepherds would not be tending their sheep on a cold winter's night. So why have we adopted December 25th as Christmas ( Christ Mass ) day?

Pagan Tradition and the Christian Takeover

When we look into man's pagan history it's not difficult to see why December was chosen. It is, after all, the month of the winter solstice, a day of great importance in pagan times. The 'sol' part means sun, and sun worship was the high point of man's existence. In addition, all the paraphernalia surrounding this worship, the Yule logs, the holly and ivy, the mistletoe and not forgetting the tree, are all pagan fertility symbols still in use today.

When in Rome

Around 350 AD the Romans were still chiefly pagan and Pope Julius 1 probably got orders from the top to increase subscription and rope in more converts to the faith. Then he had a brainwave. He didn't want to tell the people they could no longer worship their sun god. They would probably have rioted. So he simply superimposed new feast days on top of the existing ones. It worked! Everyone continued with their merrymaking whilst the Pope happily told them they were now honouring Jesus Christ. Perfect!

And now, when you go into a church and see the lighted candles, what you are really doing is paying homage to Mithras the sun god.

What do you make of Christmas?

Christmas seems to have many faces. One face is the face of great joy and happiness, and family get-togethers. Another face represents heartache and sorrow, the nadir in emotional turbulence. Yet another face is the face of enterprise and commerce with its miasma of sales, bargains, gadgets and gifts. Whole industries have mushroomed around it. The lights have their purpose too. They chase away the winter blues, thereby replacing the sun's weak winter light.

Christmas can be a roller coaster ride for families and individuals alike. According to the Samaritans, there is a greater potential for suicide at Christmas than at any other time of year. Why? Have we been indoctrinated so well by rose-tinted tradition, with fairy tale images of joy and happiness and the sound of Bing Crosby singing 'White Christmas'?

For those whose emotions are not so robust, these images can be a dangerous foray into fantasy. Like Cinderella, the clock must strike twelve at some point and then comes the reality shock. For some people it's too much.

I have another face for Christmas. It is the face of each individual looking in the mirror and saying to their reflection "I love you", and saying it with confidence and joy. It is the face of you and me loving ourselves for who we are regardless of where we come from or the colour of our skin. By doing this on a regular basis we are laying the foundations for loving other people. For we cannot love others until we have first learned to love ourselves. This has the potential to change the world. All we need is the will to do it.

A merry Christmas to my readers ( all three of you ) and a prosperous new year.

God:The Real Time Lord?

"...one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Peter 3:8 )

Time: Reality or Construct?

Does time exist in reality, or like the internet, is it a construct? Could it simply be an invention of man's imagination adopted for the procurement of power and stability?

The earth and moon have provided man with natural periods from their rotational cycles and he has successfully subdivided these ephemeral giants into pocket-sized chunks of time. Greenwich Mean Time was set up as absolute time to ensure that trains always ran on time. I have bad news for them. They failed!

A wealth of expressions has grown up around time. We talk about killing time, wasting time, that time and tide wait for no man. This suggests time is marching on inexorably and therefore we can't afford to relax for one moment. This means no time for meditation or reflection. No time for nature and the inner peace we so desperately need. The clock has become our god - our master rather than our servant.

Is time necessary?

The above scripture is curious. It appears to be as irrelevant as it is enigmatic. To say that a day is as a thousand years seems to imply that time is non-existent. Perhaps God is really saying "Hey! I don't need time. I'm timeless. I was here before the beginning of time and I shall still be here after the end of it."

Yet other scriptures are so time-oriented. One in particular has been popularised through song:

"To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

This is popular because it doesn't challenge anyone's comfort zone. It is a metaphor for the zeitgeist principle, the rise and fall of fashion, the vogue of human existence and the changing nature of life on earth. But we are told that God does not change.

Does this mean we have taken on board time as a false god? Have we drifted so far from the original blueprint, the God-given prototype of how we should live our lives? Or is God the real time lord, who can travel through a thousand years in one day?

It's your call!

Jonah and the Gourd

"Then said the Lord, 'Doest thou well to be angry?' (Jonah 4:4)

Anger and Judgement

The story goes that God told Jonah to preach to the people of Nineveh because of their 'wickedness'. But Jonah had other ideas and ran away to sea. The ship was struck by a great tempest and when it was discovered it was Jonah's doing, they threw him overboard. Jonah got swallowed by a whale where he had to stay for three days and nights. This 'punishment' for disobedience resulted in Jonah going to Nineveh after all.

God gave the people of Nineveh 40 days in which to change their ways. And they did, but Jonah was surely convinced that they were about to get their come-uppance. He went out of the city, built himself a booth and sat in it, like a ringside seat, waiting for the show to begin. When it became obvious it wasn't going to happen, Jonah became very angry. After all he had gone through, he was not going to be denied the satisfaction of witnessing the destruction of this great city.

The Need for Mercy

God needed to show Jonah what mercy was all about and prepared a gourd and "...made it come over Jonah that it might be a shadow over his head" (Jonah 4:6). Jonah was very glad of the gourd but God destroyed it with a worm in the night and its protection was gone.

The upshot of this was that Jonah felt sorry for the gourd but still angry about the fate of Nineveh. God used the gourd to teach Jonah that the destruction of Nineveh was not carved in stone and that mercy could replace judgement - that change could take place. "Thou hast had pity on the gourd for which thou hast not laboured, neither made it grow; which came up in a night and perished in a night." (Jonah 4:10) The parallel here is that God took pity on the city of Nineveh. How much greater were they than the lowly gourd?

Real-life Parallels

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt wronged by someone because of something they said or did? You felt bitter about it and secretly wished that poetic justice would take place to even things out. But instead, the other person prospered in some way. In reality this person was probably unaware of your feelings and would most likely have apologised later for the misdeed. If the two of you had got round the table and talked about it, the matter might have been resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Imagine the change that would take place in your mind, body and spirit following the resolution of such a situation. You can almost hear your Higher Self's sigh of relief during the eye-to-eye contact and the wave of serenity that has just replaced the tension of anger and judgement.

But this face-to-face scenario isn't always possible, like the driver who cuts you up forcing you to brake sharply. It's not easy to find mercy in your soul when this happens but by doing so you release yourself from the negative vibration which harms only you. It's worth the effort to practise this. After all, at some point, the other guy will repent. It may not be today or tomorrow or next year, but it will happen.

The Lot of Women: The Problem with Judgement

If you regard the scriptures objectively, and I hope you can, you will probably reach the point where you have to question certain things. You don't have to nail notices to church doors any more but it's still possible to cause a stir by asking questions which challenge fundamentally basic and accepted beliefs and dogmas. You may love or loathe the challenge but if you are looking in from without, you can make up your own mind without judgement, which is what this post is chiefly about.

My Revelation

This article assumes that you can adopt an open mind about God or whatever you feel represents God in the scheme of your belief. I found that the more I studied the scriptures, the more I was led to question the reasons why certain things happened, always with the understanding that I was looking at the situation with modern and educated eyes. I found myself looking at the "judgement" aspect of the bible and making the earth-shattering discovery that if there is a God at all, he would never ever judge anyone.

The Sodom and Gomorrah Story

I could choose any part of any of the books from the old and new testaments but I've found Genesis a rich tapestry from which arguments may be drawn. In particular, the story of Lot's wife has intrigued me as an example of how women have been devalued like coins of the realm. But before Lot's wife became the salt of the earth, there was the small matter of Lot's daughters.

Lot showed hospitality to two men (angels) at the gate but some men of Sodom came demanding to "know" the angels (meaning they wanted to have sex with them). Lot refused. So far, so good. But then amazingly he told the Sodomites that they could have his two daughters instead! "Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man..." (Gen 19:8 ) Excuse me! Stand up the modern father who would willingly sacrifice his virgin daughters to complete strangers for the sake of other complete strangers. Would the girls have had any say in the matter? I think not.

The Wife with No Name

The bible does not tell us the name of Lot's wife, which is interesting because names are of paramount importance. Names represent an identity. No name - no identity. Then Noname, as I shall call her, sealed her fate by looking back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and you know the rest. The point is that she was judged. What was her crime? What kind of justice was that? Why should Noname die along with all the inhabitants of these towns? It's all down to this thing called judgement.

Judgement is Flawed

My research has led me to the conclusion that a nation or community can only evolve, spiritually or otherwise, if they treat their women-folk fairly and as equals. If you can think of such a nation or community, please let me know. I'd love to hear from you. It would be wrong to think that we, in the West, can pat ourselves on the back whilst looking eastward. That would amount to judgement.

God judged no one, least of all Noname. God didn't judge the people of Sodom and Gomorrah either. They judged themselves and found themselves guilty. In so doing they brought about their own destruction. It is possible that Noname felt guilty about what was happening and judged herself. Man is the only judge, and over the millennia he has turned it into an art form - but flawed. Flawed because judgement cannot be anything else. If we could only learn to love ourselves, and therefore others, we would not need to judge at all. And the world would be a happier place.

Crouching Scripture - Hidden Agenda

One of the all-time favourites from the bible has got to be the story of Noah and the ark.

You may remember the song about the animals going in two by two, so I won't repeat it here. But after the waters had subsided and things got back to normal, there was an incident which had far-reaching repercussions for one member of the family.

The Curse

"And Ham, the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father..." ( Genesis 9:22 KJ )

One day Noah got drunk (demon drink?) and lay down uncovered. Sooner or later one of his sons was bound to come in to Noah's tent (maybe to borrow some money - you know what kids are like) and it was Ham's bad luck to be the one. When Noah recovered from his bender he was full of rage. His anger with Ham knew no bounds and he cursed Ham to be a servant to all, forever.

As David Icke, in his magnificent book 'Children of the Matrix' put it, "What's the big deal?" This was no crime. Surely this event wasn't worth such a vitriolic attack on his own son. Sons have had less than this for smashing up their fathers' cars!

Bloodlines and Aliens

This event led me to do some research on bloodlines because clearly, Ham had seen something he wasn't supposed to. I discovered that Noah belonged to one of 13 specific bloodlines, hybrids from the time of the Anunnaki, who bred with the Cro-Magnon people of the earth.

"The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair..." ( Genesis 6:2 )

The sons of God were the hybrids who took the Cro-Magnon women as wives and this is where it all began. The bloodlines are still with us today but my point in mentioning them is that they have the reptilian element which was the signature of the Anunnaki who created the hybrids. I believe that Ham saw something "reptilian" in his father as he lay uncovered that fateful day. The following poem comes about as a result of my research so far.

Earth to Earth

You came to Earth
To plunder gold
The legacy you left
Grows old
And repressive

You engineered
Our D.N.A.
To suit your means
So that some day
You'll take by stealth

You own the banks
The stores, the schools
But do not think
Of us as fools
In ignorance

Remember too
That Earth is king
It waits for none
To do its thing
To be reborn

And when our home
Should be renewed
Both yours and ours
Will fight for food
And destiny

Jericho and the Power of the Mind

The Jericho Story

I reckon God had it easy in biblical times. Situations were either black or white. No grey areas. Only one race of people was "chosen" and God was on their side. Nowadays, when two nations go to war, they both claim God is on their side. This puts God in a serious dilemma since they can't both win. What a responsibility!

Most of us have been fed the sanitised version of Joshua and the battle of Jericho, and the rollicking song about the walls "tumbling down". It has been accepted as "business as usual" for the children of Israel, and no one bats an eye about the bloodshed and death that goes with such crusades. A bit like the Middle East today. No change there!

However, I'm not writing this post to moralize but to highlight the psychological aspect of Joshua's success in this campaign, and his hardly-mentioned defeat in the following one.


Mental Preparation

Have you ever witnessed or experienced firewalking or smashed a one inch thick piece of wood with your bare hand. Even comparatively "weak" members of the audience have achieved success here, but I guarantee that if they tried to repeat it at home they would fail. Why? Because the mental preparation would not be in place. At these events the audiences are hyped up to incredible levels. They shout and repeat words of encouragement to the one on the stage. What they are doing in fact is combining their energy and giving it to that special person, to whom victory is the only outcome. The military also use the same technique on their raw recruits. Without it, they would not be able to do the job.

So it was with Joshua and his men before they conquered Jericho. They were hyped up. Their mental preparation was perfect. They could not fail.

The Transgression

"But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing..." (Joshua 7:1 King James Version)

It so happened that Joshua's men tried to "take" the city of Ai. It was smaller than Jericho and wouldn't need the same task force or preparation. The result of this campaign was defeat. The men of Israel were chased back to their camp and Joshua "rent his clothes and fell to the earth upon his face..."

The reason given for the defeat was that someone had taken something he wasn't supposed to from Jericho - "the accursed thing", and was made to confess the crime. Have you noticed in politics, there's always a scapegoat when things go wrong.

I reckon this failure was nothing more than bad mental preparation. The battle hype wasn't there. The men of Israel were probably living on past glory, something we would call over-confidence, but with no substance to it. That was the transgression.

When they eventually got it right, they were victorious over the people of Ai. It's all to do with the power of the mind.

More bloodshed!

(Sigh)

The Law of Attraction: The Power of Thought

"For whoever has, to him more will be given and he will be furnished richly, so that he will have abundance but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

(Matthew 13:12, Amplified Version)

A Recipe for Disaster

The above quotation from the New Testament used to bug me from time to time. This usually happened when I was reminded, by the media or some pushy charity, that the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer. In those days, being naive, I would fall for the same five-card trick and complain to God about the injustice of it. What a recipe for disaster! The gap between the rich and the poor gets wider and God is giving it the green light? There must be more to it than this. Yes, there is.

Right Thinking

When I discovered the Law of Attraction my eyes were opened and I learned the true meaning of the above words spoken by Jesus. And the words are magnificent! It was no longer a case of cracking the Enigma code for the Law made it crystal clear. For whoever has right thinking, to him more will be given and he will have abundance. This is the essential principle of the Law of Attraction. It's all down to the way we think. If our thoughts are positive we send positive thought-wave energy into the ether and the Law returns it to us as a positive and beneficial manifestation. It cannot fail to do so. In addition, continuous, positive thoughts will bring us even more good things. The scripture is being fulfilled. The reward is always forthcoming.

The Principle in Reverse

Sadly, the same Law works, with equal efficiency, in negative -thinking people. Their negative thoughts are returned to them in malignant ways and they suffer hardship and misery. It cannot be otherwise. And as they continue to think negatively so their problems get worse. They are in a downward spiral and once again, the scripture is being fulfilled. It begins with thoughts and thoughts can be changed.

Comments???

The Law of Attraction: Job's Real Comforter-

I am reminded by my wife whose blog expertise has reached new heights, that it is not enough to simply post bits of poetry and hope to engage an instant readership. Besides, not everyone appreciates this particular genre, which is a pity because I enjoy writing it. Nevertheless, I shall abide by her advice and offer something more conventional and hopefully, controversial.

In the beginning

Of all the books in the Old Testament, the one which takes pride of place on the podium of pathos has to be the Book of Job. The story of Job is fairly well known. It is a sad account of a wealthy, privileged, though naive man and his family whose fortunes take a severe downturn when God and Satan, between them, arrange for Job's demise. This is when Satan, presumably out of boredom, gatecrashes a private meeting chaired by God, and unbelievably hoodwinks God into handing over Job's fortunes:

"Does Job fear God for nought?" ( Job 1:9 )

The idea is that Job is only a good and godly man because he is so blessed, but turn his fortunes around and he will "curse thee to thy face".

I should say, at this point, that I am writing this on the assumption that you accept that God and Satan exist. I am not making a case either way. If you are a believer, this article will, if nothing else, allow you to think outside the box and look at the whole episode of Job's story in a new light. If you are not a believer, your non-belief may well be justified. At any rate I hope to satisfy everyone's curiosity as to how the Law of Attraction fits into the equation.

Matter and Anti-matter

The most incredible part of this tale is the idea that God and Satan could ever be in the same room at the same time. This must surely be the ultimate in depolarisation of opposites, a coming together of matter and anti-matter which according to science would cause an explosion greater than any supernova. Excuse me? The thought of God and Satan sitting in a celestial, smoked-filled bar with their dry martinis, discussing the fate of Job is too ludicrous for words. And are we also to assume that God is a doddery old man who gives in to the unscrupulous salesman at the door? I think not. If God exists at all, he would have a degree of perception and intuitive skills enough to match his power.

The Law in Operation

The truth is that neither God nor Satan had a hand in Job's problems but Job himself had everything to do with them. His thoughts alone were the real protagonists in his suffering. His thoughts alone were the architects and builders of his misfortunes. His thoughts alone were powerful enough to wreak havoc amongst his family, servants and ultimately himself. It is simply the Law of Attraction at work. Job must surely have considered all he possessed and felt the destructive emotion of guilt and unworthiness. And with these terrible twins came the need for judgment and punishment. This was enough to set the ball rolling. This was sufficient to send a signal into the ether. It was as good as placing an order on the net. The goods could not fail to arrive, and they were devastating. What amazing power Job had! The manifestation of his thoughts were loss of his animals, slaughter of his servants, death of his children by freak weather conditions and an affliction of boils on his own skin.

No change there

What? You think such things don't happen in this day and age? Look around you. Read the papers. Listen to the news on TV. At any hour of the day or night disaster is working its way into someone's life. At any moment in time someone is suffering from aids or cancer or malnutrition or the effects of a hurricane, or a tornado. Whole villages have been wiped out by landslides and tsunamis. I could give a much longer list but I'm hoping that you have understood the point. Things have not changed. The manifestations may be different but the Law is the same.

We all have this power

The truth is, we all have this power and we are using it all the time. But it is our choice as to how it is used. We can go through life thinking negative thoughts. We can complain about the government, the economy, social security, the state of education and there will be plenty of Job's comforters to elaborate on these woes. We can also go through the day telling ourselves that we are unworthy of the good things in life, or that we were born to suffer. What will result from these thoughts should be fairly clear. We have placed our order with the waiter in the restaurant of hell and we shall duly be served with a meal of misery.


The Good News

The good news is - the opposite is equally true. Think positive thoughts and you get positive feedback. Think about good things happening and for you, they will happen. Imagine circumstances turning to your advantage in a job or relationship and you will see amazing results. See yourself in perfect health and that will be your manifestation. You are simply employing the universal Law of Attraction which is perfect. I'm not saying the switch from negative to positive is going to be easy. If you have spent years sending out negative vibrations, you will need to practise sending out positive ones. You can start by learning to love yourself. Can you look at yourself in the mirror and say "I love you"? It's an important step but one which will change your life. It changed the life of Louise Hay and it has changed mine and countless others too.

Interestingly, Job's story ends happily, which means he must have changed his thoughts to positive ones. Anyone can do it. You can dig a pit for yourself or you can climb the golden ladder. The choice is yours.

The Cruel 'C'

News item: "10 minutes on a cell phone can cause cancer"


Let's call it The Big 'C'
( Don't mention it by name)
And set up a shrine
Every day a feast day

Forget Aquarius
This is the Dawning
Of the Age of Management
'Cure' is a four-letter word

How much longer
Must we persist with
Archaic and barbaric
Chemo-Therapy treatments?

Drowning by numbers
In a sea of ignorance
A lamentable litany
Of pharmaceutical failures

Where O Grave is Thy Victory?

I suppose it must be me
Nobody else gets choked by it
But then, graves and death
Have lost the power to scare

Can't get them to understand
I don't want another Arlington
With pristine paths and walkways
Or lawns with Regency stripes

The racket compounds the felony
With strimmers fore and mowers aft
Like a bunch of demented hornets
Drowning my peace in formic acid

Where are the wild flowers now?
And the butterflies, bees and birds?
The dead don't sit in judgment
Discussing the state of their abode

Leave it alone! Let it grow!
Let nature work its magic
To the brambles and briars - Welcome!
Don't lose the plot. Take it over!

New broom

Hi, I'm Richard Webb.

I've taken over this Blog ( with Carol's blessing ). She has bigger fish to fry - which is good news for an upwardly mobile Piscean who is up to her gills in serious article writing. It's good news for me too as it gives me a dynamic platform for communication which I hope will work both ways.

A new identity means a new look, with poetry being the main vehicle for my posts. I shall endeavour to use this vehicle to inform, instruct and hopefully entertain you.