Category: The Liberty Center

It is all about freedom

Concept Of Inequality

However you choose to believe we were created, I can only hope that you also believe it was with good intentions. It is in this thought, and in what I believe, that I say.. God is the good in us all. Imagine how life would be if only we believed or remembered this always. In the moments we realize this to be true, we find ways to love each other and to endure the struggles together, we are willing to sacrifice our own happiness in order to provide happiness to someone else, we are willing to look past the emptiness in someone to try to remind them of this fact, and we are more willing to forgive indiscretions and those that may persecute us. 

What happens in the moments we do not realize this fact, which by the way are far too many, we do just the opposite. We find ways to continue to hate, we separate ourselves so as not to feel the other’s pain, and we do anything but sacrifice; I’d say we protect ourselves, try to enrich ourselves, and worry about our own happiness before we think about the happiness of anyone else. Even worse, we allow someone’s emptiness to fester and grow until they do unimaginable things. And in our attempt to define words based on our status in life, forgiveness comes to the few, and persecution comes to many. 

Words like inequality. Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines this as “the quality of being unequal or uneven, disparity of distribution or opportunity”. I am sure the founders knew all to well mankind’s definition of inequality, as every time nations of the world forget who and what God is, they further the divide in their citizens. Hence, their attempt to build a place with the good of God in them and also governing their creation. As they say in the Declaration of Independence “We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states”. They further declare “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor”. 

Their attempt for a free society was to build a system of checks and balances, of separations of powers, and a system in which it’s citizens had some say and/or power in it. So, how did we get where we are? I think we got here because we completely forgot that God is the good in us all, and we have made every attempt to remove God from every public part of our lives; first and foremost our government and schools. Nations cannot control inequality. They never have been able to, and they never will be able to. And they further cannot force people to minimize it. Because, in the lack of appearance of good, we will always fight to survive. It is only when, we, individually, remember that God is the good in us all, that we will freely make the choice to bridge the gaps of inequality.

So as I go about my day today, I am going to desperately try to remember what and where God is. For when I do this, I also remember that God is in you too. Maybe one day together we will find a way to bridge our gaps. I hope you’ll do the same. Until next time, I would love to know how you feel, or what you think. If you get the desire to comment please do, we would love to hear from you. 

  

The Concept Of Equality

In many face-to-face discussions I have had over the years, in which all parties begin to speak truths about their status in life, I have always asked had they ever read their founding documents. The answer has almost always been no. Well, I ask, why not? With that said, and coming from the land of the grand experiment, where people are supposed to take part in the governance of themselves, it has been a desire of mine to bring these documents to you, or at minimal their concept. But how? When we are in such divided times.

I have known for a long time, where I have wanted to begin, and that is with the concept of equality. Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines equality as “the state of being equal”. When I read The Declaration of Independence, I am struck with the knowledge that that is where our founders also wanted to begin. It is apparent to me that they believed, as I believe, that we are truly only equal in rights provided by the laws of nature and of nature’s God. I will add that because we all have evil in us, we will rarely choose to live an equal human existence. In the Declaration, they acknowledged that there would be times when it would be necessary, to separate ourselves from political bands that have kept us connected to another, and get back to basic truths. They were smart enough to realize that it would be necessary, out of respect for the opinions of all mankind, for us to state clearly the causes that brought us to this place, that brought us to make this decision. Only then could we make forward movement. 

As humans, we find that truths in history can cause us pain, so we do our best to erase it, manipulate it, forget about it, hide it, or skew it to fit our narrative. We continue to say we must have discussions for healing, and I suppose we must. But, somewhere forgiveness must be given and excepted for true healing. Otherwise, we make a temporary fix, we remove or purge, and then, not so shockingly, we repeat. When I mentioned to someone that I wanted to start a discussion about how we were all created equal, they responded with “but we are not”.  In my next post I will address some thoughts on the concept of inequality. But, to that someone, yes we are created equal. It is what we choose to do with that creation, that brings on inequality. 

In my journey I have come to realize these truths: Our creator has given all of us a human body and it is scientifically complex in how it operates. Our creator has given all of us a mind to learn, process, use and think with. And our creator has given all of us a soul in hopes that we would connect it to another and share moments of joy, love, compassion, friendship, wonder, awe, and I could go on and on. These are where we are all equal, we all possess these things. The one other thing that makes us equal, is what I am learning is also the thing that divides us further from each other. That thing is “free will” our ability to make choices. Our founders expressed it like this in the Declaration “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (humans) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life (body, mind, and soul), liberty (freedom to choose), and the pursuit of happiness (choice making that brings us joy).

Governments are formed to ensure us these rights. What happens though when our choices make us unequal? What happens when humans in governments, whom are supposed to ensure their citizens equality, further exasperate the inequality? What are the inequalities? Can there be agreeable solutions for our survival with them? The founders, in the Declaration, stated this “Prudence (Cautiousness), indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes (those lasting only for a short while); and accordingly, all experience has shown that mankind are more disposed (willing) to suffer while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing (ending) the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations (infringements), pursuing invariably the same object, evinces (reveal the presence of) a design to reduce them under absolute despotism (power), it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security.” 

Before we move forward, maybe we can further discuss the things that make us equal. I have stated the things I think make us equal, maybe you can think of others. Maybe you will be willing to share the things you have noticed in your life that show us on equal plane, or discuss mine. Maybe we can come to an agreement on the things that make us equal, and then begin the tough stuff; the discussion on inequality, whether inequality is good or bad, the airing of our grievances, and the compromises and/or fixes we can make. Along that journey, it is my intent to bring into the discussion, The Constitution, the compromises and decisions made by the founders – so we can see if changes need to be made or unmade.  As I said to a sibling once “you speak of moving a tree, but how do you know the tree needs to be moved, if you know nothing of the soil or environment to which the tree was originally planted”. I hope you will join me in starting at the beginning – “all mankind is created equal”. 

   

Hatred Corrupts The Vessel

Today I watched the funeral, of a former leader, of the nation I was born into. I became sad for a nation so divided, yet happy for a man whose heart, and soul, touched many. Although there were moments that made me laugh and moments that made me cry, there was a moment that so struck me to the core that I had to come share it with you. A simple sentence stated that made me think of another sentence, in a comment, to one of my original posts. The line spoken today was “hatred corrupts the vessel that carries it”. The line commented by a friend of mine was “hate the game, do not hate the player”. Today had a profound aha moment for me, or rather a questioning moment for me. Was I hating the direction that corrupt vessels have taken us? Or was I hating the vessel that carried enough hatred to point us in such directions? or was I hating at all?

As I sat and looked at the faces of some of the leaders, dignitaries, diplomats, princes, and kings that attended today, for the first time in a long time, I thought I really wasn’t sure of the answers to those questions. I had to dig deep, and walk in a truth, that if I was to truly walk my walk and talk my talk, than love had to rise to the surface. I had to separate things that have been done from the people who have done them. I had to believe in the existence of both love and hate, good and evil in them. I had to realize that, like me, when they walked in their moments of hate they corrupted their vessel and when they walked in their moments of love they redeemed themselves and repaired damage to their vessels. I recently said to someone who uttered the words “this world is full of evil and it is getting worse not better”, “that this was why I needed to love more, that I needed to love deeper, and stronger, and more steadfastly, for it will only be love that will defeat hate and love that will remove the pain that has caused the hate in the first place”. Maybe when we can find forgiveness for atrocious acts that put us and keep us locked in hatred, love can shed the light as to why they were done in the first place, than great change can happen for the better of all, not just some.

Watching this has made my heart-break for those whose vessels have not seen the light of love for a very long time. I cannot and do not want to imagine how or what they must feel. It breaks for the people of nations who cannot differentiate between the player and the game. Who are kept divided, confused, and uneducated to truths by vessels they trust that are corrupted by hate. And shockingly it also breaks for leaders of nations, of religions, of organizations, who because they are human, also have moments of hate that lead them to make decisions that corrupt the vessels that carry them. I wonder will any of this change? and when and how will it change?  Can I repair your broken heart? And can you repair mine? Can we repair broken nations together? And can we repair a broken world? I will continue to have hope that anything and everything is possible, and further hope, that I will always look to love for guidance, no matter how hard that might be.

I do not know what your thoughts might be on the matter, but I sure am willing and ready to hear them or read them, whenever you are ready to leave them. So join when you are ready and until then, I hope my thoughts are food for discussion that you may have around your dinner table, whether you agree or not. May your vessel not be heavy with the cargo of hate and corruption, but instead be light and flowing with the power of love.

 

 

 

Jesus Would Heal..

Sometimes I just get sad by some of the things that are posted on social media that further cause a divide. Lately I have been seeing a post that I wanted to address here, instead of commenting on another site. The post reads “If Jesus were on Earth today, would he be at a Trump Rally or walking with the caravan?” One of the best things I have heard in my life, is that although Jesus did die on the cross to relieve us of sin, that is not necessarily all he was here for. They say, that Jesus real purpose was to teach us how to live, to give us an example to live by.

Some of the things that Jesus taught while he was here, are how to serve and not be served, how to be humble, and the need to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness.  He taught us that a good shepherd is willing to lay down his life for his sheep, and to seek out those who wander off, for God does not like to have any of his children perish. He told us to forgive ourselves and each other, so that we may be forgiven by his father. He told us to do to others, that which we would have them do to us, and to love our enemies, as well as, our neighbors, and pray for those who persecute us. Most importantly, he asked us to do the will of his father; “to love the Lord our God, with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind” and “love our neighbor as ourselves”.

Jesus had a divine nature, and we, well we, all have evil and good in us. This fact, makes it near impossible for us to do all these things, or to live in this way. I for one, am willing to try to do the best that I can in the life I am given. I will fall a good distance short, because I am human. And because human life is about balance; good and bad, yin and yang, love and hate, light and shadow, etc.. So my answer to the question that started it all, is that he would be at both. He would also try to be in every one of our hearts, souls, and minds, as well as, in the hearts, souls, and minds, of those that govern us, those that make the laws that we are requested or made to follow.

My thought is that if Jesus were on Earth today, he would be finding ways to have us find our way back to love and to solutions for the betterment of all. I like to think that maybe, just maybe, if we lived with God’s laws in our hearts, we would find a way to create laws in compromise, change or rid ourselves of laws that injure, follow created laws or pay the penalty, and realize that laws were meant to be followed or obeyed, not broken.

How we get away from a question and a divide like this, I do not know. I do know discussions need to be had, solutions need to be arrived at, and both of these need to begin with love in our hearts, and open minds. I know I am not the only one that feels sadness for a home so divided, or that is finding ways to add love back into their daily routine, so if you are too and you wish to comment, please do. We are waiting to hear from you. Until next time..

 

 

 

 

Divine Politics…

In the last few days I’ve come across things I wanted to discuss today. One was a prompt for people to get out and vote and the importance of that. One was how much of what is motivating us to do just that, is coming from a place of anger. One was the interchangeable use of the words mob and protesters. And one was a conversation about the Constitution of The United States, and the fact that many have not read it, do not understand it, or even do not want to read and understand it. All of which saddens me, as a person who wants to love, be at peace, and live freely.

I am glad that there are those prompting many to get out and vote. I have always thought this to be of great importance. I even wish that more born or naturalized citizens would participate. I do understand the feeling of what is the use, and feel this comes from a place of not knowing enough about the system, about how it was originally set up, and about what it has been changed into and/or is being changed into. Knowledge and participation are the things that can change this. So please begin to participate. With that said, it saddens me the amount of untruthful, biased, or taken out of context information that gets put out. So there is a necessity to do your own homework, research what you can, and converse with both those of whom you agree and disagree to know where they are coming from. This leads me to my next point.

If you keep me or us angry, we are more likely to believe our friends, our side, and share what is being presented, whether it be truthful or not. This is what I was tired of, feeling so angry, so heavy, so hateful, so afraid all the time. That is why I chose to take a spiritual journey, to search for truths, to find peace, calm, and love in myself and my fellow human beings. Then I decided to share with you things I have learned, things I have experienced, and questions I ask myself daily. And did this in hopes that you would share the same. I believe, that when we expand in this spiritual, loving way, we become more of a threat to a system that wants us divided in anger, a system that wants us to come from very destructive places.

Some truths removed from our lives, that our country was founded through recognition of, and under the protection of, divine providence. According to http://www.gotquestions.org, “Divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. The doctrine of divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe as a whole (Psalm 103:19), the physical world (Matthew 5:45), the affairs of nations (Psalm 66:7), human destiny (Galatians 1:15), human successes and failures (Luke 1:52), and the protection of His people (Psalm 4:8).” And that our rights were endowed upon us by our creator, not by man, or government.

What happens when you remove Divine Providence from governments and politics? You remove the part of us that was created in divine image, you remove wisdom and love. The allowance of solely our human nature stepping in to create laws, and to govern, means that although there may be love, there is also greed, power, corruption, anger, and hate. Isn’t what is needed the resurgence of our divine natures, our good natures, our loving natures, our spirituality to be put back into the governing aspect of our country and all other countries? Maybe I am just wishful thinking?

Sadly, when only our human natures are involved, and not our divine souls, we do things like lie, generalize, omit, insinuate, exalt immorality, confuse fact and fiction, redefine words to our liking, and equate words that should not be equatable. Let me define a few of these words for you according to Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary. The first is mob “a large disorderly crowd, a criminal set, to crowd about and attack or annoy”. The next is protest “a solemn declaration of opinion and usually of dissent, a complaint, objection, or display of unwillingness usually to an idea or a course of action”. The next is solemn “marked by the invocation of a religious sanction, marked by the observance of established form or ceremony”. The next is peaceable “disposed to peace, quietly behaved, marked by freedom from strife or disorder”. And lastly assemble “to collect in one place or group, to meet together, convene, gather”.

I bring up these definitions to have you equate them to what you see, hear, feel, etc.. I also bring them up so that you are able to compare and/or equate them to the actual words from the Constitution. Amendment 1 of The Bill of Rights “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances”.

Now I am not hear to tell you what to think, how to feel, or what to do. I am only here to present you with information, thoughts, and definitions. It is my hope that with love, we can begin necessary conversations. So as always, if you want to leave a comment, start a discussion, present a question, thought, etc. feel free. We can only grow when we open our hearts and minds. Until next time.

 

When Cooler Heads Prevail…

Today I want to tell you a story about something that happened to me, as I recognize signs or similarities in the goings on in today’s political world. With each authority figure that stands up, and with their platform, tells their followers to harass, to be uncivil, and to fight, I have become more afraid of something on a larger scale happening. I am standing up in an attempt to bring calm, light, and love back into the environment. Maybe my tiny voice will be heard by some, and maybe somehow we begin to find a way to forgive, to calm, to listen, to compromise, to have faith, and to love. I would say that people could get hurt. But, people have already been hurt and that has not changed the trajectory. In my world, more than one that stays steadfast in their anger and hate, is more than one too many for me.

I will preface my story with my belief that light always shines on the truth, even if that light is only a flashlight. I have found that when cooler heads prevail, and some are willing to seek that tiny bit of light, that things begin to change. Truths become more apparent as the light grows in luminosity, and personal responsibility, acceptance, apologies, and forgiveness have to come into play. My story goes like this: Years ago, I was harassed, put down, made fun of, and personally injured because a small mob decided to follow someone’s lead. Although I do know who started my nightmare, I was not privy to the information passed between them and the leader of the mob. Nor was I privy to any of the discussions between mob members. My only other knowledge was that I was taking treatment from strangers that I felt I did not deserve. And after too many months of this, I had had enough.

You see, up until the day I finally decided to stand up, anytime the mob appeared and began their antics, I removed myself as quickly as possible from the area. Some days I was not quick enough and suffered more than just mental anguish. I do not know who, or how many, in the mob knew that it had turned physical for me and truthfully I did not care. It was not important for me to know who in the mob knew I was being physically harmed, it was only important for me to save myself and have someone in that mob make a decision to have a cooler head, and search for truths.

The day I stood up to the leader and mob, and let them know I was prepared to protect myself from any further harm, was the day a tiny speck of light appeared in the eyes of one of the mob members. As they approached me for discussion, I tried to find a way to calm myself and give them an opportunity. In our conversation, they were able to tell me that they felt things had gotten out of hand, and they were able to answer some of the questions I presented to them. Of course I asked them why. I also asked if I exhibited any of the behaviors, or had spoken in any way, that would lead them to believe that what they had heard in the first place, was true. As is typical of mob mentality, as we were beginning to make headway, the leader came out to reign back in their mob member. This time, as I again made the choice to walk away, I was assured, from at least one mob member, that they were done with that mentality and they would be walking away as well.

That day it all stopped and something else began to happen. The light of truth began to increase and the members began to disband. The leader was to witness first hand the untruths that began my situation. So with humble heart, the leader apologized for what I had been through, and I made the decision to let it go. I have not forgotten, but I have chosen to forgive, if for nobody else or for no other reason than to lighten my own soul. I am learning that joy and love lift and fill my soul each time I choose to forgive and have faith. On the other hand, the memory is funny, in that it reminds us, what to do or not do the next time we are presented with a similar situation.

My story ended well because we all made decisions that brought us to the right place. I tell it to you in hopes that cooler heads will prevail in today’s climate, in hopes that we will seek deeper truths before we become part of angry mobs, and most importantly in hopes that leaders will find better ways to shine the light to truth, and bring entirety to situations for compromise, instead of being the catalyst for what an angry mob can and will do. I ask you today to think before you act, to research before you believe, and to try to become a part of a better way. If you have suggestions on what that better way is, or a story of your own, or a comment to my story, by all means come join in.

The Price Of Liberty..

In this digital age, most have the books they read, on some kind of electronic device. Call me old school, but I have always desired a library in my home. A room filled with books from multi-generations, where I can go and research or read; to see how life was, is, can be, or will be. As a writer, I find it fascinating how others think. How some can tell someone else’s story so eloquently, or how some have such a vivid imagination, they leave us all in awe.

Today’s topic came from a book I went to for inspiration. The book “Ask Me Another – The Question Book” was compiled by Justin Spafford and Lucien Esty, prefaced by Robert Benchley, and copyright in 1927 by The Viking Press, Inc. The books quiz topics are general, arts, literature, geography, science, mythology, American history, European history, current politics, the bible, and sports. It has two sections of questions and answers with each quiz having fifty questions. So how would I choose?

Believing in fate, I picked up the book and thought of a number between one and fifty. I randomly opened the book to a page and looked for the question assigned to that number. I opened to pages 276-277 and looked for question number 35 the first number that popped into my brain. Here is the question: “What, proverbially, is “the price of liberty”? Here is the answer: “Eternal vigilance”. I laugh, as I think that this is a question and answer really needed in today’s society, from a book published in 1927. Then I think, the Lord works in mysterious ways. So lets consider this question and answer.

I always think the best place to start is the definitions. So I looked up the definitions of Liberty “The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views”, Proverbially “referred to in a proverb or idiom”, Eternal “lasting or existing forever; without end or beginning”, and Vigilance “the action or state of keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties”. This is what I took away from looking up these meanings; we are supposed to forever keep a careful watch for possible danger or difficulties in order to remain free. Have we done that? Are we doing that? Keeping a careful forever watch? Or did we become complacent and trusting? And are we or have we allowed the erasing of reminders of the dangers and difficulties?

Wendell Phillips, speaking to the members of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, on January 28, 1852 said the following: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty; power is ever stealing from the many to the few. The manna (spiritual nourishment; Eucharist) of popular liberty must be gathered each day or it is rotten. The living sap of today outgrows the dead rind of yesterday. The hand entrusted with power becomes, either from human depravity (evil quality) or esprit de corps (feeling of pride, fellowship, and common loyalty shared by members of a particular group), the necessary enemy of the people. Only by continued oversight can the democrat in office be prevented from hardening into a despot (person who holds absolute power); only by unintermitted agitation (continuous brisk stirring or disturbing) can a people be sufficiently awake to principle not to let liberty be smothered in material prosperity.” 

You will notice that Wendell speaks of the spiritual nourishment of popular liberty. The founders, as do I, believed that liberty was endowed on us by our creator. Why then, have we removed his existence from not only our governments, and nations, but also from our lives? Congregating to profess our belief in him does nothing if we choose to not follow his law. He asks us this “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind” and “Love thy neighbor as thyself”. He even gives us examples on how to do this. For if we thought about our neighbor in our decision-making, then we would normally come from a better place, a more righteous and fair place. And then wouldn’t we all have a share in liberty?

I will include, that God’s laws are not the easiest to follow and God knows this, as sin, evil, and temptation exist and we humanly cannot resist at times. This is when he tells us to ask for his help. Even then we still will fail, and this is when we must ask for, learn, and give forgiveness, to not only ourselves, to all others as well. I currently find myself at this exact point, being tested, with a situation in my life, trying to ask for his help and trying to find a way to forgive and follow his laws. I am finding, that just like liberty, it also takes eternal vigilance to follow his laws.

As always, I ask that if you have something to add or say, please do. In the meantime, I am trying to realign myself with God and Liberty, and hope you will take the time to think about doing the same. Until next time, you are wished love, life, and liberty.

**words in red above are the definitions of the words or phrases that preceded them – obtained from dictionary**

How Free Are We…

I ask this question as a person who once saw their country as the beacon of light on the hill; the lighthouse so to speak. But, the fear, the hatred, and the corruption run so deep and have divided us so greatly, my hope for its saving is waning. Maybe I should not be writing this today as I am still recovering from a happening yesterday. Sadly, I am not so sure what is more damaged my body or my faith in my fellow human beings, that I have loved so dearly all my life. I will not say what happened, just that with each passerby that did nothing and there were probably well over a hundred, I became more and more disappointed in humanity. I found the strength, however, to motivate to a location that led me to complete strangers, more than willing to assist and verify all was okay. By the grace of God, and divine protection, I am okay and any other damage could have been and should have been worse.

How does the happenings of yesterday lead me to talk about freedom? Well, the more I think about why people would not stop to help, the more I think about how we got to a society like this in the first place. Everybody afraid for themselves, everybody afraid of lawsuits, afraid of government or business repercussions, or something else. Who is to blame for that? The people whose agenda it is to divide us? The corrupt? The lawyers? The courts? The laws? The lack of education? Ourselves? Maybe all of the above. How do we fix it all though? And can we fix it? We say we are good, loving, compassionate people for the most part, then why do we not show that side of ourselves more often?

It is my opinion that maybe it all stems from us not being as free as we think we are. Are we free when a company denies us credit when our credit score is 810 and the factors hurting us are our revolving credit being too high at 6% of total available and we do not have any form of loan installment payments due? Are we free when we are forced into zones to be able to speak our peace and then punished in those zones when we do? Are we free when a business can decide who and how many are able to see or read what we say? Are we free when we own a piece of property that we pay taxes on which can be taken away by eminent domain, can have restrictions put on it as to use, or requirement of thousands of dollars in permits to do what it is that we want to? Are we free when we are a country that joins together to donate goods to another country that has had a disaster and those goods never leave our ports to their destination? I can continue, I think you get the point though.

I am more fortunate than most to have been born into the most free nation on the planet. We were that or are that, only because some pledged to each other their lives, fortunes, and sacred honors. They worked tirelessly, and divinely guided, to devise a system by the people and for the people. Yet what have we done? We did not pay attention, we became complacent, we removed the divine from it all, including the education, and we stopped teaching and reading the documents set for us to live by. When we do not know what it is those documents say, it is easier for us to be manipulated. Have there been mistakes and injustices made? Oh heck yes. And with each one we moved or move further away from the divine and endowed rights we were given and further into allowing man to say what rights who has and what rights who hasn’t.

Take for example, many do not know there are three branches of government. They also do not know the powers given to each branch, let alone why some branches were supposed to have vastly more power than the others. Because they do not know any of this, they cannot recognize when the power structure shifts in a way that hurts us all. I will leave you with an example of the shifting powers that divide us.

Lady Justice wears a blindfold, and carries scales and a sword for a reason. She is supposed to be blind to the people’s race, creed, religion, wealth, etc. that are before her, her scales are supposed to be balanced with honesty and integrity, and her punishment is supposed to be cutting and swift. So I ask you, is she blind when people commit the exact same act, yet receive different punishments? Are her scales balanced when judges, lawyers, and other government officials are allowed to choose what evidence is admissible and what evidence is not admissible. When we select facts are we presenting the whole truth with honesty and integrity? And lastly, how is the punishment swift and cutting when some are not punished at all?

It is my hope, in future days, to walk you on a slow path to knowledge of our founding documents, possibly through court cases that show how lady justice has changed, and into discussions on how to fix what is broken. Maybe again, by divine providence, we can find and fight our way to freedom; or maybe we will remain complacent, ugly, angry, and hateful. You decide for you, as for me, I will fight as hard as I can this feeling, that is trying to tear me from faith in all of you, and freedom.

 

Our Founding In Spirit…

I have long hoped to turn this website into both a spiritual place and an educational one; no matter the topic. I have asked for help in this regards and am learning through faith, that it will be in his time and in his way, not in mine. With that said, I wanted to share with you a few things that have appeared in my life in the last few days. Hopefully, I can bring to you what my desire has been all along, an education in facts, and in, and with spirituality. The Fourth of July had me thinking about America, so today’s topic will be her.

I will begin by letting you know that in nearly every face to face, and personal conversation, that drifts towards politics, or need for change in today’s society, I ask what I think to be a very important question. Before I tell you what that question is, I will let you know that I have not received one yes, to this point. I find it very sad, that in a year of conversations of freedoms, of need for change, of laws and policies, not one person has said yes to “Have you ever read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America, or the Federalist Papers?”.

I find it even sadder to think how these individuals are forming their opinions, or where they are getting their information from. I myself have found several articles stating that a popular social media website, banned on the Fourth of July, all or part of one of our founding documents as hate speech. I wonder why. I came across another website or article, in which the author, uses bits of text, without context, to try to prove that our founders were either not religious, or did not want religion attached to government. They went so far as to say, that our founders made sure to not mention God in our founding documents. I am finding in the re-reading of our founding documents, and in the reading of letters back and forth between the founders, that this could not be farther from the truth.

I recently watched a learning video with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a well-known spiritual leader. In this video, he was asked what this world needs, he responded as follows: “We need to spiritualize the politics, socialize the business, and secularize the religion”. He goes on to further explain what he means by this statement. He says that in the secularizing of religion, we need to not think that our religion is the right and only one. That all religions have in common the existence, and faithfulness to God. He goes on to say that in socializing business he only means that every business should have an aspect in which they are giving back, in which they are doing something of benefit for humanity and the planet. And well, I think we can all understand putting the spiritual (the Spirit of Love, of morality, and of the Divine) back into politics.

I wholeheartedly agree with his statement above, and believe that our founders attempted this in the founding of our nation. We see the spiritual in the politics in the mention of Nature’s God and Divine Providence in our founding documents, we see the socializing in the business when they pledge to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honors, and lastly, we see the secularization of religion in the first amendment “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. It was not that our founders were not religious, it was that they knew better than to have a national religion, or to stop people of any religion from worshiping God. I hope in future posts to delve into more of our founding, as I think it important to truly know where we came from before we make decisions on where we are going.

I am attaching a link to a website for all to read the Declaration of Independence. My first hope is that you all take a few minutes and read it, especially if you have never read it before. My second hope is that you will not only see that Nature’s God is mentioned in the first paragraph, but also that “Divine Providence” is mentioned near the end. By the way, Wikipedia says this about Divine Providence “In theology, divine providence, or just providence is God’s intervention in the universe. The term “Divine Providence” is also used as a title of God”. My third and last hope is that if there are questions in what we are reading, that a discussion can start about context. We may find we need to go to other documents to find complete context.  Here is the link: http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/  please enjoy.

As always I am here waiting for you to join in. I only ask that when you join in, you do it with love in your heart and in a positive, constructive way. For if we are to ever heal we must begin “to love our neighbors as ourselves”, only then will we find our way to compromise.

 

Everyone Has Their Own Story…

The other day something was said to me, that not only caught me by surprise, but instantly hurt my feelings. The more I transform, however, the more I learn that things can only hurt my feelings if I allow it. I suppose in my reply you could sense the shock and hurt. You could also sense my disappointment. Among other things, I told them that it did not matter what they thought of me, that I would love them anyway; because that is who I am.

Since that day, I said that I would no longer think about that conversation, that the more I think about it, and let it affect me, the more I give it power to guide my course. It is, and was, a hard enough battle for me to truly love myself, to realize my self-worth and power, to believe that I was courageous, strong, beautiful, and loving. So when moments like these arise, I am put back in the battle of lacking self-worth, questioning my confidence, and back to a place of fear. I refuse to go there anymore, or if I do, I want out instantaneously.

There was something that had gone through my mind before my response to them, and probably the biggest reason for the creation of this site. My thought was that you have no idea what I have been through to say that to me. Sure enough, as I am reading something this morning, there it is in big bold letters – “Everyone Has A Different Story…”. So this morning, I did let the thought of that conversation reenter my mind, in order to look at it from all perspectives, realizing that those words rang true the other direction. I did not know their complete story either and why they would feel that way about me.

Then I realized a couple of things, that there is a huge lack of trust in each other, a huge lack of letting each other in, a huge lack of learning about each other. Because evil does exist in this world, and most are very quick to use it, most shut their inner most beings off to the rest of the world in order to keep them safe and protected. The big how to, is how to let our inner most beings shine and keep them protected at the same time, while trying not to injure others. I guess that is what faith and forgiveness are for.

So I find myself wanting to know more, to know what has happened in your life that would make you feel the way you feel, and wanting to tell you about my life so that you may have a better understanding of why I feel the way I feel. Maybe they did have a point to what they said, and maybe there was some truth to it, that was completely beyond my control. Maybe it is not necessarily about me the individual, as much as it is about me being put somewhere by forces beyond my control. And I further find myself thinking that it is human nature for us to rise in power by putting someone beneath us. Yet the best thing I can do, is try my hardest to attempt the delicate balancing act of helping someone develop their own power, while not losing mine at the same time. I am learning that humanity requires a big balancing act and that is what the law of love (“To Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself”) is for.  If we could find a way to follow that law, just imagine the heights we could reach, and the things we would find ways to compromise on.

In the end, I am trying to live a life of gratitude and grace, though it does not always happen that way. I am also trying to recognize the lessons put directly in front of me, to broaden my view of the circumstance, in order to do so. So with that said, I have never wanted this to be a one way street, so when you are ready, I and/or we are ready to share in your existence. I only ask that you keep the vibes positive, because I am learning that positive begets positive and a life of gratitude and grace are a life truly worth living.