Warning: Religion and Politics may be fatal.

Has there ever been a Christian vote - anywhere?

Seems to me that “Christians” go with what is viewed as the ‘better of the two evils”. And when both sides are as rotten as the other, they merely philosophize one sides view until it fits into their doctrine and a new dogma is formed which represents nothing from which the Bible originally taught. - Love.

Anyway.
I think the Mennonites might have been onto something buy incorporating into their belief system the idea of abstaining from politics and voting all together.

It used to seem a far fetched idea to me, especially being raised in a milieu that put specific emphasis on voting and changing the world for God.

Ironically, it appears that Jesus never went about with the idea of changing the world to mimic that of a doctrinal belief system. It seemed that such an idea was futile in light of his ultimate teaching of loving your neighbor as yourself and loving God with all your heart.

We see that he was frowned upon by the zealots and Judas for not complying to their wishes and ‘human understanding’ of what Jesus teachings implied. They wanted a kingdom on earth and to make a change in the political landscape of their day.

Well, Jesus didnt seem to think that would do.
Even when Peter, who often seemed not to get the gist of things - and in truth, how could he. Jesus had spoke to the fisherman in as clear a parable as he could have at the time, in order to relate with Peters line of thinking. - But it was a rabbi, by the name of Saul, that actually got the point, and of to whom was later misunderstood by his gentile audience. (Due to their lack of understanding and relating to the Jewish culture, a lot slipped through the cracks in the belief system.)

So when Peter went about cutting off a soldiers ear, Jesus popped it back on. (some good quantum physics at work. And who said science and religion dont match. Religion is the allegory, and science is the means of practical understanding…or unlocking those allegorical keys.)

In essence, we have had Christian societies trying to force a change on the world, which was never the intent to begin with from the likes of Jesus, Buddha, etc. -

Change happens first and foremost within.
Love does not have expectations of oneself or of others.
It accepts where they are at. And those who are Christians, have they studied or even read the Bible, would know this to be true by the example laid out in the life of Jesus and how he interacted with people.

Alas, many do not read the Bible for themselves. They are spoon fed ideologies which would make the apostle Paul flip over in his grave. After all, the pious of the pious, actually commended the Bereans for their diligence in not just believing what he had said, but first and foremost, searching for themselves.

“Seek and you will find, when you search with all your heart.”
note the absence of “seek within your own dogma, doctrine, relgion”. True sincerity is needed in this journey, or there is no way of being truly authentic. Well, perhaps authentically locked in chains by ones own instilled belief system, ingrained into them by their milieu.

I would say Thomas Merton provides a nice example of one, who was not afraid to reach out, to cross borders, in order to understand and see God within everybody.

He lets the rain fall on the good and the bad…
A little leaven (lie) runs the whole dough. Time to extract that 99% truth then. After all, Christianity has not been immune to such leaven. This is evident with the 3 mainstream lines of thinking of how one is saved. Which is quite contradictory, and therefore no one can be sure of who truly will be saved. (Unless you just take one side and go with it.)

- get saved, oops, did I just lose it on the way from the alter?(pentecostal)
- once saved always saved - Baptist
- predestination - you are once saved always saved, because you were chosen to be so, and the guy/gal over there was chose as a common pot to burn in hell. - presbyterian

- catholicism has purgatory, which ironically (or not so ironic) is more in line with a Jewish doctrine on the after life.

So, point is, let us seek with all of our hearts. As we see, no one religion can claim exclusive rights to the truth.

And when we find this ‘love’ within ourselves, and truly begin to ‘love’ ourselves as defined by Paul…then this trickle down effect will reach to those immediately around us - and then like a rushing avalanche will affect the entire world around us.

Peace

dAlen

p.s. - I originally posted this at a comment {awaiting moderation} at another blog.
It was so long and heart felt, that I decided to post it here as well

p.s.s. - to further a point about what was said in this article.
In Genesis, after the flood, it states that a man that takes another mans life will have his taken also. {period, no exceptions}

So its ironic that a ‘Christian’ nation would ever go to war.
And this may also show why wars never seem to end - violence does not stop violence - it only begets it. — time to open the Bible and read it, there is some useful info in there after all. ;)

To paraphrase Inidigo Montoya (spelling) in the Princess Bride: “Its time to go back to the beginning.” :)

Psilocybin & OCD Relief {natures way of helping}

At around the age of 13, I was diagnosed as suffering from the obsessive compulsive disorder. {O.C.D.}
No, I wasn't typified by the stereotypical image of a person who repeatedly washes their hands until the skin is raw.

My issue showed externally, from the age of 7 {when it started} to about 13, through tapping.
More importantly, and to the point, is that I suffered from over-thinking...everything had to be understood and 'perfect.'

At the age of 13, I was so driven mad by my own mind, that it was at my request that I was sent as an impatient, one summer, to a clinic for diagnosis and treatment.

Ironically, 2 things were done in an effort to treat me.

First, I was given Prozac. - I will tell you now, it did not work or alleviate any symptoms from my perspective.
It may be argued that others saw me differently, but what good is it, if it did nothing at all to cope with the root of the issue that still plagued me - my mind.

I stopped taking Prozac at the end of my teen years. It really was no good, no help, etc. {Just to clarify my thoughts on this synthetic medicine. :) }

The second 'treatment' I was given, was that of the value of cursing.
Well, this was an indirect treatment, as it was a general rule for all the kids there, that they could be open to express themselves with whatever colorful words they so chose. - and I picked upon it rather quickly. :)

At about the age of 22, I had more than a glimpse of a true breakthrough.
I was listening to a pastor who said that I was loved no matter what and that I would always be Gods child.

Now let me clarify something. I was raised from a 'pup' in a extremely strong Christian milieu.
Most of my life was spent in Christian schools and academies. My parents drove home their view of religion in how they raised me growing up. I will say, that most of my experience was from that of a Pentecostal background...with a lot of fear based dogma pumped into it.

Once saved you could loose your salvation, and then once you got it back, it could be dropped on the way from the alter by one 'incorrect' thought that you might have had.

Ah, now we see where the disorder, at least for me, started from.
Religion and parents attitude.

Whether or not they meant harm is another thing, because unwittingly, their fear had a great impact on my thinking.

They say a child is the most impressionable in the first 6 years - and at that age, I was already experiencing the guilt of a grown man, for the responsibility {as a teacher put it}, of the death of Jesus for my 'sins'.

I have posted, in length, about the arbitrary nature of what I call, 'classical christianity'.
Again, the very fact that there are 3 main lines of thought about who is saved, is in and of itself, absurd & idiosyncratic.
Why would anyone even want to get involved, let along get their kids caught up, in something so seemingly deranged?

So, after years of identifying with thought, as it were - and always seeking for security in my relationship with God - a message from a Southern Baptist preacher, {who ironically grew up in a Pentecostal background as well}, reached out and touched the core of my soul while I was in my first year as a missionary in Europe. {doing graphic design}

I now realized that I was loved, no matter what, and that I would always be secure as God's child.
See, from a Pentecostal perspective, the fear said this: "If once saved always saved, then you can live how you want and live like the devil."

The problem with this thinking is, foremost, that it is rooted in fear.
We know that fear does not love.

Whenever you realize that you are not being judged, that you are fully loved, {accepted}, this changes everything.
Love begins to transform you from the inside out.

It truly is the case of 'it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me'.
No longer are you acting as a slave and laboring futilely to make superficial changes to your life which just wont stick, {but in reality acts as an agent of the ego to lead other blinded people into your pit}, but love now begins to bear fruit in you.

Ah, but there is something. You are but a babe now. You have truly just been born again.
It is important for a babe to have nourishment, and for such a babe, where is he/she to get their food?

Well, for the most part the Bible, for such a person, has been distorted for so long. However, as the good book says, "seek and you will find...when you search with all your heart", well, from my experience, I can say it is true.

For me, a lot of my maturing phase has come from listening to Eckhart Tolle's audio books.
The philosophical teachings of Eckhart, actually have complimented by knowledge of the Bible nicely - shedding light on a lot of dark areas.

Also, one may say that its to bad that people like me have to grow up in such a milieu.
But like Eckhart has pointed out, those who are pressured more, usually turn out to be the gems.
People are less likely to change if not forced to. Thats just human nature. So things happen for a reason.

For those who are agnostic, atheist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, whatever... I am NOT suggesting for you to convert to Christianity to solve your problems.
The lesson I learned, can be learned from where you are at. 'God' reveals himself to mankind where they are at.
He lets the rain fall on the good and the bad. So, unlike the 'classical christian', Im not here to convert you or anyone.

Religion is a pointer, that many people get lost in. Take the point, which is that you are loved.
The Bible says to love your neighbor as yourself, and most people dont love themselves and have no clue what love is.

Paul gives a good definition of love...patient, does not remember wrong, etc. This is all good, and can be summed up as the following: Love accepts. Love allows space for the other to be.

Now what about Psilocybin, the compound that gives the magic in the 'magic mushrooms'.
There has been reports recently that Psilocybin has actually helped to relieve symptoms of the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Unlike Prozac, I can believe this. No I haven't tried any shrooms, but from what I have read about them it seems to add up.
Apparently shrooms forces you into acceptance, which is, as you see, what the OCD has a hard time doing.
What I mean is this...from what I have read, if you want to avoid a bad trip, you have to relax and accept what is going on.

Now in concept, you could do this without the shrooms, as I have pointed out, but you have to have a basis in which to do it.
For me, my OCD was based around religion, and I was able to climb up out of that which had put me in there to begin with.

But it is getting late, and I have shared quite a bit to start some of those wheels turning in some of you.

There are various links to the topic of Psilocybin and OCD itself, such as CBS NEWS, and you can also research more into the affects of Psilocybin on people at Erowid, which is quite an interesting place.

Again, your mileage may vary depending on your perspective, as well as location - seeing that Psilocybin only seem to be legal in Holland...for the time being. But it may be interesting to read about non-the-less.

Until Next Time

Peace

dAlen

You are what you eat - {quite literally}

INTRO:

You know those classical sayings,
- "You are what you eat"
- "...eating like a pig"

Well, we take these sayings, not exactly for face value - but for what they are pointing towards.

This is a good example, in and of itself, in helping to point out a message that I have said time and again, that words point beyond themselves. - it would really be to our benefit to truly get this point and understand how it applies in different areas of our lives, as it concerns our communication with people.

What I simply mean is this: As humans, we tend to block off that message which is not delivered, and set, within a verbal framework that has been given to us by our trusted milieu.

Much like my example of people who completely ignore a message given to them from someone outside of their race or religion.
The latter proving to be even more of a stickler, as the message may contain contamination from within that would separate them from their creator.

Instead of looking at the message for what it is, and extracting the light from within - enjoying & marveling at how our creator is able to reveal 'himself' to all of his creatures, despite what we think that our prodigal brothers/sisters deserve - we solidly and completely reject the message as evil, and the light that was meant to shine to the world, is covered by our own sin of 'arrogance'.

Never once did we think that perhaps we were meant to act as agents, to extract that light, cloaked in words of seemingly obscurity & 'sin', and interpret it into words that can be understood by the particular milieu, in to whom the message was meant for to begin with.

{Sin means 'to miss the mark'. So helping to redirect that arrow to the bulls eye would seem a worthy cause indeed. And doing so within a framework of words that would not hinder, or cause a potential 'brother'/'sister' to stumble, is really key here, remembering not to push ones "Christianized" ideology and more specifically, terminology, down their throats. This is done, (pushing down the throats ones own ideas and terminologies) out of our own fear...Fear of being 'contaminated by those of whom we are to love. Such fear is not only irrational, but not of God.}

Let me sum up again by saying this - and I pray to God that these points are starting to sink in and are becoming more relevant to the Christians life.

- God lets the rain fall on the good and the bad
- Fear not (again, not a good idea, or something worth looking into - but a command. "Fear Not". When you can apply Gods basic principles in every aspect of your life, consistently, then you may begin to reject the message of God which is cloaked in the guise of 'other religious doctrines.' Until then, dont be such a hypocrite, or I say it is you who needs a missionary to share the 'good news of Christ'.
- Search, when you search with all of your heart...not within the confines of your own religion and your preachers dogma.
(I truly am befuddled with the lack of true study by those 'most zealous of Christians'. Humbug I say...you know not what it means to be zealous - your zeal is all in vain and futile pride that will destroy the race if it were not to be kept in check by your own creator that you profess to worship.)

EGO/FALSE-SELF:

Modern Science, more specifically Quantum Mechanics, is beginning to unravel the mysteries of God.

Please get the point of what I said, which was...'beginning'.

Before now we lived in complete belief of the superstitions and symbols handed down to us.
We lived in complete ignorance of the workings of creation itself, and assigned to creation, attributes which are inconsistent and only hold up for that of a person at the level of a 'babe' when it comes to understanding the nature of spiritual (scientific) matters.

And I will be straight with you, comparing the level of understanding to that of a babe, is insulting to most babies.

This generation, in hope, will grasp concepts, for all intents and purposes, which have alluded the generations before them.
Much like the Hebrews who wondered in the desert, and could not get a clue, so it currently is (for the most part) with this generation as well as the generations which preceded us.

This is because of their stuck notions of how things are done, and thus they cannot proceed to get beyond the 'known'.
"My wisdom is foolishness in the eyes of man...my thoughts are not your thoughts".

In reality we now understand that such non-repentance, {lets just call it for what it is...stubbornness}, is due to something that is biological.
Their neuron network is set, and there is little hope of change.

Changing ones mind, and thus ones neuro pathways, is no small feat in the least.
Why do you think that habits, built up over a life time, often follow us to the grave?
Or even more so, are replaced by, if not compounded by, even more bad habits.

Kind of gives new meaning to the passage which states that - after a demon left a man, the demon went to and fro in search of a new 'home', and when no place was found, he came back to see his original room swept clean. Upon seeing this, he brought his companions to live with him, and the state of the man was worse than before. -
This is heavy, and its implications are more real, and by far, closer to home than many in this modern society would care to believe.
And Im referring to Christians, who fail to make sense of this archaic terminology, thus failing to see how this impacts their lives...and more importantly, how they can change it. - one clue: 'ego'. {Paul called it the false-self.}

In short, it takes a daily 'renewing of the mind', and 'dieing daily' to the 'self'/ego, in order to remap your neuro-network.
This article isnt meant to deal with the ego in particular. But in short, the primary thing to do is simply relax.

God is the "author and finisher of our faith."

Drop the fear and watch yourself.
Watch the thoughts and feelings you have without judgment.
"Judge not or you will be judged."
Stop judging yourself, or you will be like many who live like hypocrites - so worried of sinning that they stick their head in the sand and point out the faults of the world while 'ignoring the plank in their eye.'

Renewing of your mind. This is even harder to address here.
Many people dont know what to renew their mind with. They have the Bible, but dont even understand it.
They live in fear, and thus the fruits that they bear are that of fear. They may read and 'know' that we should fear not...yet they 'fear'.
"My people perish due to lack of knowledge'.

PHILOSOPHY & PRACTICALITY

To cut things short, as I have not even remotely begin to discuss the topic of this article, I will say this.
A good place to start with learning about the ego is with a teacher of philosophy by the name of Eckhart Tolle.
Eckhart Tolle is NOT teaching a religion, he is not out to convert you...he is not 'new age'.

Eckhart Tolle puts the matter of 'the false self' or ego, in terms that anyone, from any religion can get.
If you approach the teachings from this perspective, you will be able to benefit from learning about the workings of your own mind, and thus start to find a 'peace which passes understanding.' - But this is not for the light hearted.

Paul said to renew your mind daily.
Remember this. A habit is a habit for a reason. We feel comfortable with it, no matter how much it tortures us.
So when you start to apply principles learned, watch yourself.
The mind will tend to act in its old way and occasionally bring up principles learned and say, "yes, love... that is a nice concept...hmmm, maybe one day..." and you go about your life in the normal 'buzz' of anxiety, fear, etc.,

- again, I highly recommend Eckhart.
If he occasionally says something that does not seem to align with your current theological stance, then don't worry about it.
In other words, don't throw the baby out with the bath water... and I will tell you why.
More than likely you are only misinterpreting what he is saying based on your limited perspective of things.
As I have tried to point out in this whole article, words are tricky in that they point beyond what is being said - yet we tend to get wrapped up and lost in what we 'think' is being said.

Having said that, Eckhart's audio tape 'A New Earth' is not a bad place to start.
The very beginning may really throw it for some Christians, but get past the initial chapter or so, and you will begin to discover what the ego is and how you have been its 'slave' for a lifetime. More than that, you find clearly how to become free and stay that way.

After listening to what Eckhart is saying, you will not only be able to identify the ego, thus having the ability to have peace truly manifest in your life, but you will also have the keys to comprehend the Bible in a way that you have only dreamed of. - it will give a whole new term to the words "life application". ;)

But, in summary, I do recommend the audio books.
An important reason is that you can feel more where the author is coming from, than in the books, which with at topic like this, is important.

Also, the primary reason, is due to the fact that you will be hearing great principles & concepts, that in all honesty, are easily forgotten after reading a book.
How many of us pick up a self-help book (or any book of great interest) after we have read it once?
{Some people buy books and don't even read them.}

If we are to be about 'renewing our minds' on a daily basis, that is reprogramming old patterns of thought which are no longer beneficial to us, than a one time read ain't gonna cut it. {Though your ego, old habitual thought patterns wont mind much. Nothing wants to 'die'. }

So, will we be like the generation of Hebrews, in the days of Moses, and continue to wonder in the desert because we are 'stuck in our ways?'
{At a certain age, changing thought patterns are hard, due to what was just discussed.}

Or will we enter and conquer the land. - Which subsequently something that even the later generation(s), up till now, failed to do?
The choice is up to the individual.

THE POINT OF THE POST:

So, back to the original topic of this post.

We know that in Judaism they have the laws of Kashrut: "Jewish dietary laws".

But why?

Well, we now know of health benefits from some of these dietary laws.
Also, we are just now starting to understand how we actually affect each other - at a 'Quantum Level'.

The whole bit about 'string theory' for example - relate this to: "In the beginning was the 'Word'...and the 'Word' created all things."
Everything is said to vibrate, like a musical symphony.

You cannot just put together a bunch of notes and hope that it comes out right...you have the conductor to ensure that the orchestra 'plays' together, and plays 'their part'.

So imagine that this rule is applied to creation.
Yet sometimes there is sin. {sin again is missing the mark.}
Lets call it dissonance, as this terminology fits within the framework of this illustration.

There are actually a couple of factors at play, and I will hit upon them briefly now, and perhaps go into more details at a later time.
{Despite that it was my initial intent to cover it fully here, I want to start winding this particular post to a close.}

1) If everything vibrates and has resonance, and we act upon each other like the notes in a symphony, then how does what we eat affect us? This may give clues and an insight as to why the dietary laws were made to begin with.
i.e., An advanced knowledge of how things work on a quantum level.

And as I have said before, the masses back then would not have begun to, even remotely, have the capability to comprehend such knowledge.
We see this evident many centuries later in Jesus time as well.
His disciples (the masses, who were not educated in such matters of science, etc.), would have found it incomprehensible to discuss, in detail, such matters as quantum mechanics and the foundational laws of the universe. He spoke to them at their level...in parables.

But of course he was often misunderstood in even the most basic of things.
You don't have to understand Quantum Mechanics for it to work. The laws of the universe work regardless.
Jesus attempted to give 'keys' in order to guide and help humankind. However, with a lack of understanding, came the lack of faith.

People then tried to live life according to their own extremely, narrow, view of the universe...and "perished because of their lack of knowledge."
{You could also say that they suffered as a result of their 'sin' - they had 'missed the mark'.
Or in terms of this illustration, it was due to their dissonance with the rest of the symphony.}

All of this could have easily been put straight had they applied the keys, handed to them by Jesus, to their life.
"My yoke is easy". He was not expecting them to understand the 'hows' and the 'whys''.
But they did not have faith in that which they did not understand. "Lean not on your own understanding".
This gives a whole new meaning to the saying, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions".

2) If everything vibrates and has resonance, how does our thoughts affect one another?
So this is not about eating, but this is as worthy a topic as any, and fits in with what is being discussed at the present moment.

"If you think of murdering your neighbor, you have done so."

Our response: "Its not the same to our neighbor". :)

But there is a seriousness to this, which does not make sense to us.
Your thoughts, it says, are the same as your actions.

Now many will take this to say that eventually your thoughts lead to the action of sin, and therefore thats why the thought is bad, and that the thought, in and of itself, is not a sin.

NO...Jesus claimed it was sin.
It ceases to amaze me how many 'fundamental' Christians claim that the Bible is without error, yet they are constantly rewriting it to suite their (lack of) understanding of things. And in truth, its because they feel powerless. After all, its in the thought level that they are held captive and do not know how to escape.

Our understanding of science, and the world, is catching up and proving Jesus teachings to be "on target".
The concepts of quantum collapse, multiple universes, etc. are really going a long way in helping us to understand about 'Life.'
And what is going on, is more bizarre than the parables in the Bible itself, yet a lot more clear, as that which is hidden is revealed.

This also applies with the unraveling of the mysteries of how we operate on an individual level.
{Again, this is where Eckhart Tolle comes in. He sheds light on this matter on a very practical level.)

Your in for the ride of your life...literally - so enjoy.

Peace

dAlen

p.s. -
Since the topic was supposed to be about food, I will add for fun the following:

Paul stated that we are both in heaven and on earth at the same time.
How can this be? Many dismiss this and try to 'theologize' around it. I have respect for one well known pastor who said, "I dont understand it, but if its in God's word, I believe it!" - Good for you.

In Judaism, it is explained, and seeing Paul was a Jewish Rabbi, we can now understand how this concept came into being...it was not new.

The concept is as follows:
In short, we have 5 levels to the soul.
Each person has the 'base' level. The 'Nefesh'. (The life is in the blood)

Then as you 'merit' it, you gain an additional two levels - with the last two remaining in heaven.

So there you go. Now as to what this means on a scientific level...well, I will let you figure that one out yourself.
When you know, write a blog, and tell me about it. :)

Looking back at this concept though: "The life force is in the blood", as well as looking at the verse in Genesis, {the one after the flood account}, that stated that we are not to eat the blood of an animal - it makes you wonder.

Does something about the blood affect me?
Well, we already know on a quantum level we are affecting things and we dont even realize it.

And who is "I" anyway. (whoops, that is a topic on its own. Im shutting that can of worms and will let you look for yourself.) ;)

So in essence, we are seeing that parables and sayings, in effect, do have a truth - greater than what we realized.
"You are what you eat" takes on a whole new meaning. When you consider why you are to 'pray' over food, etc., things become more clear.
Its not just a random act - or is not supposed to be. Most people, out of habit, rattle off "the Lords' prayer like they are going 160 on Germany's autoban.

Its all about 'intent'. We are 'co-creators', in more of a real sense then what many believed.
So, if we go about things haphazardly, its not wonder we don't see the miracles we are looking for in our lives.

And even more so, its amazing we even make it day to day with how many of us live our lives. But enough for now... ;)