tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373433625814757665.comments2009-06-15T18:44:18.695-04:00ReflectionAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12279767505638893022noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373433625814757665.post-61867549123295241362009-06-15T18:44:18.695-04:002009-06-15T18:44:18.695-04:00You are wise beyond your years! I fully agree! Kee...You are wise beyond your years! I fully agree! Keep posting. You help more than you will ever know.<br /><br />TrinibwyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373433625814757665.post-39468784464522827272009-06-13T11:50:26.836-04:002009-06-13T11:50:26.836-04:00Heard a story from a priest:
Recently, I went to...Heard a story from a priest: <br />Recently, I went to Washington, DC. I took two homies with me, Louis and Joe – big huge guys, been to prison, heavily tattooed. They’d never been to our nation’s capital. We gave a briefing to a bunch of Senatorial and Congressional types. The next day we toured DC and we went to the Washington Monument and we went to the Holocaust Museum, where we spent three hours. We met at 3 o’clock, after our tour, in the lobby, and we debriefed about this very emotional place – a very powerful experience. And, we noticed over here there was a desk, and behind the desk was an old man, maybe early 80’s. He was reading a book and there were two chairs in front of the desk, empty, inviting you to sit and talk with him because there was a sign in front of the desk that read, “Holocaust survivor.” And, Joe and I looked at each other and said, “What would we say to somebody who has suffered so much?” But, Louis is fearless. He said, I’m gunna go talk to him.” So, he sits down. The man’s name was Jacob. <br />Louis shakes his hand and says, “So, what camp were you in?<br />And, Jacob says, “Auschwitz.” He entered like a thirteen year old boy and he left the place, when the camp was liberated, when he was seventeen years old. Both parents killed there. Five sisters and brothers executed there. A niece and a nephew killed, right before his eyes. He was a worker, so he survived.<br />And Louis listens. Then Louis pulls a card out of his pocket and he hands it to Jacob. “I work at Homeboys Industries. It’s the largest gang intervention program in the country. I hope you come and visit.”<br />And Jacob looks at the card. And Louis says, “I’m 27 years old. I’ve spent eleven of those years locked up.”<br />And Jacob gets a little dismissive of American prisons, “Your own room, a mattress, a pillow. I slept on boards. They’d pull you out of line if you spoke and they’d beat you right there.”<br />And Louis listens. And he says, “Yeah, I was beat down many times at County Jail. Once they dragged me out of line. They beat me so badly, my head – I looked like the Elephant man. They threw me naked in a cell and I slept on a metal sheet.”<br />And Jacob listens. <br />This is when I stopped Louis. I said, “Louis, let me see if I got this right. You were comparing your experience to a Holocaust survivor?”<br />And he was quick and clear and he said, “No, I wasn’t ‘comparing.’ There is no comparison between what he’s suffered and what I’ve gone through.” And then I watched, as he made an additional calculation in his head. And, his eyes filled up with tears. He said, “No, I wasn’t ‘competing’ with him. I was ‘connecting’ with him.”<br />Exactly right. Suddenly, kinship so quickly.<br />The measure of your compassion lies not in your service of those on the margins, but in your willingness to see yourselves in kinship with them, connected to them – to move beyond the service of the other, to a solidarity, where your heart is in the right place – and, now finally, to a place of kinship, where your feet are in the right place.<br />Listen to your heart, and if you listen to your heart, it’ll bring you to your feet. People may say that what you are doing when you do this is indeed a waste of your time, but "In this place of which you say, ‘It is a waste,’ there will be heard, again, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voices of those who sing.” (Prophet Isaiah)<br />Make those voices heard. Listen to your heart. Allow it to bring you to your feet.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12942742628481159489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373433625814757665.post-40981468004372621502008-12-08T14:47:00.000-05:002008-12-08T14:47:00.000-05:00"As you think, so shall you be"If you really think..."As you think, so shall you be"<BR/>If you really think about this statement, it is amazingly powerful. I just finished watching a great movie "What the Bleep? Down the Rabbit hole" again last night. This talks about how quantum physics really is a confirmation that the mind and our perception creates our reality. The most amazing part was when they spoke about how reality changes when it is observed; the mere act of observation, changes the results of an experiment. This clearly validates that reality is subjective. WOW!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12279767505638893022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373433625814757665.post-77749364853813808372008-12-08T08:28:00.000-05:002008-12-08T08:28:00.000-05:00As the Proverbs tell us:"As a man thinketh in his ...As the Proverbs tell us:<BR/>"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he"<BR/>Whatever you think or believe yorself to be, that you are - hence the importance of mainitaining positive images of ourselves and loved ones. To imagine ourselves into our desirable state is to use our creative power for good.nesstyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10209351058748449943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373433625814757665.post-72020295386260027522008-12-01T10:58:00.000-05:002008-12-01T10:58:00.000-05:00@ nessty | I agree that it can be difficult to put...@ nessty | I agree that it can be difficult to put into practice. However, it does take practice, and once you start doing so more often, you will actually create that greater awareness within yourself. The ego has a tendency to want to hurt others to feel as if it has won a conflict, however, most times, you will notice how bad you feel after you have done so. There is no end to it. I notice that it becomes easier once you surrender everything to the will of God and just be kind at all times, regardless of the situation. By being kind, you will notice that not only do you become a stronger person emotionally, but others learn from you as well. Ultimately, the overall consciousness level of humanity increases because of it.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for you comment.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12279767505638893022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373433625814757665.post-37224615314180153932008-12-01T10:45:00.000-05:002008-12-01T10:45:00.000-05:00"When you know you are connected to all, you canno..."When you know you are connected to all, you cannot fathom striking out at others; let alone feeling hatred for them..."<BR/><BR/>This line truly touched me and although I know it is true, I wondered why it was so hard for me to put into practice and I re-read the sentence and found out why - it starts with<BR/><BR/>"When you know..."<BR/><BR/>It is easy for us to hurt those who we love when we feel hurt ourselves because we do not recognise or know that we are connected to each other. The concept of returning sweet words for harsh ones, kindness for pain and turning the next cheek is hard for us to do when we do not live in awareness.nesstyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10209351058748449943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373433625814757665.post-1659607012198772962008-11-02T18:14:00.000-05:002008-11-02T18:14:00.000-05:00beautiful entrybeautiful entryAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15782666093534752269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2373433625814757665.post-89270625284464695452008-10-13T13:35:00.000-04:002008-10-13T13:35:00.000-04:00This is definitely a powerful message. It caught m...This is definitely a powerful message. It caught my attention as soon as I read the first sentence. So interestingly, I was sitting in my room and just let my thoughts wander last night. It stopped at the points of "who I am at this point of my life" and "how I become what I am today." I always had a thought, not really a dream, to come to the US. I don't remember since when I started to envision a picture from my thought. Things happened in life that made me envision more... My thought was somehow transformed to become a vision. Then, my dream came true at some point here in the US so smoothly. Reading Noel's story in receiving God's message and then building the gigantic ark out of nowhere, I have once again tasted God's grace that He has in us, the divine nature. Realizing the divine nature and trust it, life seems to become so simple, peaceful and joyful. After staying so long on the ark in the middle of this endless ocean, and after the Raven he sent to find a land came back with nothing; Noel was frustrated and questioned God. While feeling frustrated and confused; all of a sudden, Noel started to pray and dance. God laughed and said, "Noel, you have once again touched my heart. I will give you a sign tomorrow. Send a dove." Without a doubt the land was discovered. We truly can't know how many tests and challenges that God will give to us as assignments on earth to prepare us for a greater good. Yet, one thing we can be sure is to Trust God, to believe in the divine nature that He grants us and to exercise that belief in our life. Oftentimes, it is just so simple to give up to God and peace and happiness is there for us. <BR/>I don't know how much we can distinguish whether there is a tree or treeless when there is no tree yet. Yet, I'd rather believe that it is a tree because there is always something valuable when it comes from God; there is always bliss of life when we trust the divine nature that we get from God.<BR/>Share with you the song that I always love:<BR/>Yehweh is my shepherd now, I shall not want, I shall not want. <BR/>Yehweh is my shepherd now, I shall not want anything.<BR/>In meadows of green grass I lie.<BR/>To waters of rest he leads me.<BR/>He guides me a long ways of goodness for the glory of his name.<BR/>Though I pass through the valley of darkness, I fear no evil or harm.<BR/>For you stand beside me with all your love to raise my heart with joy.<BR/>You prepare a banquet for me before the eyes of my enemies.<BR/>You have anointed my head with oil.<BR/>My cup floods with joy.<BR/>Surely goodness and kindness will follow me all of the days of my life.<BR/>My home is the house of Yahweh for as long as I may live.<BR/>God Bless Us All!!<BR/><BR/>RosaRosaYenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12020533254808347251noreply@blogger.com