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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

SO WHAT'S SO NEW ABOUT THE NEW YEAR?

The new year, 2009, is just two days away. So, will it really be a new year, or just another tedious repeat of the previous 2,008 years?

Given the fact that the Mideast is full of missles and killings once again, I doubt it will be a new year. Given the fact that the corrupt Illinois governor is thumbing his nose at society and appointing his candidate for the vacated Senate seat, I doubt it will be a new year. Given the fact that the economy is in the pits, while corportate CEO's still get bonuses and go on spa retreats, I doubt it will be a new year. Need I go on?

Every year, individuals ring in the New Year with resolutions and optimism. The old slate is wiped cleaned and a brand new year is given to each of us to try something different. . . to improve. . .to make amends. But where is the new slate for the world as a whole? Where is the new world--one without war, one with equality and justice, one with fairness and honesty, one with hope and humanity?

Many of us are setting our hopes on Barack Obama. He will change things, we say. . .we hope. But can one man change the world? When change is slow to come, as change always is, will the majority of the hopefuls become the majority of the critics and start condemning him as we have other leaders in the past?

Or should we attempt to change the world OURSELVES? We can, you know. If a "critical mass" of people on this planet become honest, honesty will prevail. If a "critical mass" of people become hopeful, hope will prevail. If a "critical mass" of people value justice, justice will prevail. If a "critical mass" of people believe in the goodness of each other and a divine power, goodness will prevail. Positive thinking can change the world. Peace and harmony can displace conflict and chaos if enough of us believe in it and practice it.

What do I wish for the world for 2009? It's quite simple. It's simply what Jesus advocated two thousand years ago. "Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself." That would go a long way to making 2009 a very good NEW YEAR.

Happy New Year to everyone who visits this site. And here's hoping you discover your Personal Connector Word to God in 2009. Finding a new way to connect with God can only be a good thing. If enough of us do, it will go a long way to making 2009 a very good year.

5:16 pm | link

Sunday, December 21, 2008

WHAT HAS SCIENCE DONE FOR YOU LATELY?

Most people have a belief in Science--generally defined as "knowledge obtained from the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical world, especially by observing, measuring and experimenting." In other words, we obtain knowledge (or truth) through our senses. If we can't see it, touch it, hear it, smell it, or taste it--how can it be true?

It wasn't always that way, of course. Science as we know it now only garnered such esteem in the last couple hundred years. Prior to that, religion, mysticism, magic, intution, the occult, the paranormal--the antithesis of Science--everything you couldn't determine with your physical senses--was held in higher esteem. It was what you didn't know that intrigued you. It was what you couldn't see, hear, taste, feel or smell that had power and holiness. Intuition and inner knowledge outranked Science and physical, external knowledge. We call such thinking today archaic, backward, ridiculous. It's what makes it difficult for a rational person to believe in God (or a higher divine power). "Show me," many people now say, just like Missourians. "You have to prove it to me," they say with a smug air. God must be rolling his eyes at us.

So, let's talk about Science and what it's done for you lately. After all, it is rational, true, right, something everyone can believe in. Science is never wrong, or is it? It was Science that told doctors not that many years ago that putting leeches on a patient and sucking out all their blood would cure them. It wasn't some exorcist or medium who came up with that one. It was Science, not some psychic or witchdoctor, who invented the O-rings that caused the Challenger disaster. It was Science, not a religious leader, who told people that hormone therapy was a wonderful thing and something to believe in--oh, yeah, it was also Science who later came out and said, "Uh-oh, we were wrong. Stop doing that."

It was Science, not a ghost-chaser, who developed weapons of mass destruction. It was Science, not an astrologer, who discovered nuclear energy, but didn't also discover a way to get rid of radioactive waste. It was Science who invented the cell phone--and it is Science we have to thank for the radiation and cancer that is obviously resulting from its use. (No one has proved that, you mumble. Ahh, give them time. It will come out eventually.)

It was Science, not alternative medicine, that made and packaged a multitude of pills and prescriptions that we find out, almost daily, do more harm than good to people. It was Science who created coal-burning smokestakes and air pollution that has not only choked the breath out of people, but has caused global warming that is destroying the world. It wasn't a prophet who did this. It wasn't Nostradamus. It was good ol' Science and industry.

I currently live in a hurricane-prone area and I am amused every year by the predictions of the so-called scientific experts. The last two or three years they have come out with dire warnings--huge numbers of hurricanes and storms. They've been wrong. Sure, there have been some hurricames, but their predications have been wildly wrong, to the extent that mid-way through the season they start chopping back their figures. Why do we allow them to make such "scientific predictions" that are so obviously inaccurate? Why do we continue to let them report their flawed thinking? How do they differ from charlatans? Oh, yes, because they are scientists. That gives them a license to be wrong. In truth, they have about as much an idea how many hurricanes will occur as does the average carnival fortuneteller. So does your local meteorologist, by the way. Nice, scientific-sounding name, but he/she is often more wrong than right about the weather. They should require all weather "forecasters" to put their "hit rate" in a box on the corner of the screen. If a guy dressed in a tall pointed hat with stars all over it and a long, flowing blue robe came out every night on TV and made these same faulty predictions, he'd be tarred and feathered.

And look what technology has done for us, via the route of Science. We now have become so sedentary, that we are obese. We have given up nature for the laptop. We have chosen to connect to our fellow human beings, not in person, not face-to-face--but from afar. A text-message, an email, a cell phone call (yes, even a Blog)--we all still crave to communicate. Only the communication is becoming less and less human, less and less fulfilling, less and less happy. Is it any wonder that divorces are at an all-time high and that the younger generation is forever, desperately searching for a meaningful relationship? Science has separated us from nature, God and from each other.

This is not to say that all science and technology is bad. Of course not. God wouldn't have given us creativity, the inventive spirit, or advanced rational thinking if He/She didn't want us to use it. Science and technology are good things. What makes them dubious, however, is when we think they are the ONLY things. Science is but one way of looking at the world. The other way--through intuition, insights, belief--through ways we can't see, touch, smell, taste or hear--is another way. Just as valid. Equally important to discover.

People say we are entering a new world, a new age . . . that will begin with the year 2012. Perhaps it will be a world where we acknowledge and honor the contributions of both science and "non-science" (for lack of a better word). After all, the Hadron Collider experiment in Switzerland holds promise that the worlds of Science and Religion (or the unknown, for lack of a better word) may start to merge. If the experiment is successful it may show that there are parallel universes. That there are levels of existence that we cannot see. Other levels of existence than our own? Wow. Suddenly, mediums and angels and ghosts and enlightened masters and aliens don't seem like such crazy, scary words.

The obvious examples that we can believe in things we can't determine with our physical senses are electricity, radio waves, nuclear fission, or even the Internet. People as little as a hundred fifty years ago would have found them all to be impossible. So, if one is rational, one would have to conclude that perhaps, just perhaps, there are other things in this world (and beyond) that we will discover that right now seems to most to be impossible. Let's hope so, or this world would be a stagnant place--and a lot less interesting.

12:10 pm | link

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

MAYBE THE ECONOMY BEING IN THE PITS ISN'T SUCH A BAD THING AFTER ALL

Everything is for a reason, some say. Everything has a silver lining, others say. When looking at the dismal economy during this Christmastime, maybe both of those statements apply.

During the past decade, materialism and greed in the United States reached epidemic proportions. People killed for high-priced sneakers and gold necklaces; designer brands commanded prices that were ridiculous; people bought off of QVC as if it were free. Now, with the economy in the pits, people have sobered up. Suddenly, a purse from Walmart is as functional as a Louis Vitton. Suddenly, maybe having your health and your family are more important than that Lexus or BMW.

And isn't that a good thing? Maybe, just maybe, this Christmas will be about family, good health, love and companionship . . . as it should be. Maybe, just maybe, we will have time now to just sit down at the dinner table and talk, instead of rushing off to the expensive gym, the expensive concert, or the expensive trip. Maybe, just maybe, we will get back to spending quiet time alone with ourselves and our family.

Maybe we will even meditate or pray. Maybe will go on the Internet and explore new ways of connecting with God and each other. Maybe we will slow down and look around and notice things.

This plunging economy and job loss situation may seem like the end of the world on the surface . . .but in many ways, it could be the start of a new world. Maybe people will now have the time and the leisure to listen to God. Maybe people will start discovering their Personal Connector Word to God.

Everything is for a reason. Everything has a silver lining.

5:20 pm | link

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

THE LAW OF ATTRACTION AND THE PERSONAL CONNECTOR WORD TO GOD

Students of the Law of Attraction or of The Secret seem to have trouble believing in the Personal Connector Word to God concept. They dismiss the idea that our Creator is somehow involved in these coincidental word sightings.

After all, they say, if we "expect" to see a certain word over and over again, we will. If we focus on a certain word, they say, it will appear. We create our own reality. So, they would tell me that the fact that I saw (and still see) the word Georgia repeatedly, is simply because I want to see it. I expect to see it. And, that's all there's to it.

After all, they will tell you, the Universe doesn't care what you ask for--whether it's seeing the word Georgia or becoming President of the United States--your wish is its command. As someone who has a belief in the law of attraction and the basic concepts in The Secret, I, too, thought about this explanation as a plausible reason for my repetitious word. At least, I did at first.

But then I realized that my original sightings of Georgia were not something in my subconsciousness or even in my consciousness. I didn't know anyone named Georgia. I had no particularly associations with the state of Georgia. I wasn't thinking about Georgias. I wasn't overdosing on Georgia peaches. In fact, my original coincidence concerned Georgia O'Keeffe; and if you watched my YouTube videos, you know I was embarrassed by my lack of knowledge about her. So, how could I have attracted the multiple Georgias in the first place?

And even after they started coming, I certainly was not thinking about the word, or looking for the word, or hoping for the word, or focusing on the word, or expecting the word. To the contrary, I didn't want to see any more Georgias.

Both The Secret and The Law of Attraction emphasize that it is not thinking, as much as feeling and deep-seated happy longing and dreaming, that makes the Universe respond to your desires. They also caution you that it doesn't happen instantly and that it could take years of prolonged focus and a happy attitude for your dreams to come true. And I most certainly had none of that with the word Georgia. After my original triple sighting, the word came each and every day for months, without me doing anything. No Georgia intentions, no Georgia affirmations, no Georgia vision boards. . .I wasn't doing anything. I wasn't even thinking about the word. I wasn't creating this reality. Something greater than myself (God, the Universe, our divine source, whatever) was doing it.

Additionally, my PCW comes to me more readily when I am depressed, down, anxious, fearful, upset--the times when most of us need to hear from our Creator. That is counter to everything the Law of Attraction or The Secret teaches. When you get discouraged or down or frustrated or negative or unhappy (and who doesn't?), the Universe pretty much will turn up its nose at your request. . .or so they say.

Not so with the Personal Connector Word to God. In fact, it seems the more down and out you are, the more your PCW appears. And isn't that exactly when God would appear? Isn't that exactly when we need Him/Her?

No, I'm afraid you fans of the Law of Attraction and The Secret won't convince me that my PCW is nothing more than playing Scrabble with "create your own reality." And, I guess I won't convince you it isn't. But, then again, when you discover your own PCW, I won't have to.

10:50 pm | link

Monday, December 1, 2008

THE THING THAT'S WRONG WITH BILL MAHER'S RELIGULOUS

I saw Bill Maher's documentary movie called Religulous. It was supposed to be a comedy, which it really wasn't. The theme of the movie is much too serious for that. In a nutshell, Bill Maher is telling us that organized religion is old-fashioned, silly, and archaic. That what the heck is wrong with us here in the 21st century believing in such nonsense! That's hardly something to laugh at.

Of course, I pretty much agree with Bill's primary premise--trying to communicate with God with old Bible stories and silly rituals from centuries ago makes little sense. And I do admit that the movie did have its amusing moments.

But, it equally had its disturbing moments. Like when people visiting "The Holy Experience" in Orlando (an amusement park based on the Bible) actually were applauding and taking pictures during a horrible re-creation of Jesus' crucifixion. Torture, humiliation, and blood are re-created right before their eyes and the crowd applauds and takes pictures? Makes you think, what the heck is wrong with all of us, that's for sure.

It's not that Bill Maher's movie tries to show people how ridiculous organized religion is that I object to--in fact, I agree with Bill on this very thing. If you've watched my YouTube videos and if you understand what the Personal Connector Word concept is all about, you know that I don't hold much for our old way of communicating with God. I applaud Bill for pointing out all this in such an entertaining way.

What I do object to, however, is that Bill doesn't give the viewer anything else to turn to. That's what's wrong with Religulous--it crushes the old without giving us the new. It criticizes the past, but doesn't offer anything for the present. It ridicules organized religion, but it doesn't offer any alternative. Bill would counter that the alternative is simple: be an atheist. But, this is where he misses the boat.

People cling to the old Bible stories and the ridiculousness of organized religion, because it is at least something. Something handed down from the past. Something that gives hope. Something that speaks to a greater purpose and meaning to our lives. Something that says there is a divine source and we are not just some biological amoebas that sprung up one day in a pool of water.

You can't take this all away from people, Bill, no matter how rational your argument is. . . no matter how amusing your argument is. . . without replacing it with something as hopeful, as divine, as connecting.

That's what the Personal Connector Word to God does instead. It encourages people to move on from the failed religions of the past to something more hopeful. It encourages people to discard organized religion, but to replace it with personal religion, with direct communication with God.

Because the thing that is wrong with religion, is not that there is no divine source, that there is no God. It is simply that we have been so caught up in old rituals, we haven't been connecting directly to our divine source. We get so caught up in old rituals, that we applaud at re-creations of crucifixions instead of practicing the ultimate religious principle: love God and love our neighbors as ourselves.

We can connect directly with God, Bill. We don't have to do the old rituals that make you laugh. We can try a new way. Yes, we can. Yes, you can. Try it. Discover your Personal Connector Word to God, Bill, and life won't seem so religulous!

5:38 pm | link

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