Don’t mistake ignorance for perspective.  Gather complete information.  One of the most important and most violated principles of critical thinking is thoroughness—that is, gathering all available facts on a subject under scrutiny.  Obviously thinking requires facts; erroneous conclusions often stem from inadequate factual knowledge.

Principles of Critical Thinking:

1.      Gather complete information.

2.     Understand and define all terms.

3.     Question the methods by which the facts are derived.

4.     Question the conclusions.

5.     Look for hidden assumptions and biases.

6.     Question the source of facts.

7.     Don’t expect all of the answers.

8.     Examine the big picture.

9.     Examine multiple cause and effect.

10. Watch for thought stoppers.

11.  Understand your own biases and values.

One of the reasons I have so thoroughly come to respect both Judaism and Buddhism, and adopt their views as my own, is that there is an encouragement toward Critical Thinking built into both religions. As this is the reason I drew away from Fundamental Christianity as my source of faith, you can understand that this would be a draw toward these as perspectives to both admire and to adhere to in my own walk. Question, question, question; this is my own stance toward life, and I expect to be questioned by those who walk the path beside me.

I believe Spirit is very real, as I have had that level of help in my own walk, both in making decisions and in who and what to be. I also believe that there is One, Holy and Righteous, that cares intimately for me, and all other human beings that walk the planet. I also believe the One has many helpers on many levels. I have had many mystical experiences along the way, which is why I call myself a mystic, though the path I walk could as easily be called the Questioner’s Path as any other name. In fact, one of the red flags along this path is that, when questioned regarding a particular event, any person says to me, “Don’t ask questions, just believe.” That will get my hackles rising in seconds.

I have been called a “New Ager”, and I understand the wish to label me, so I understand the desire to put this label on me, though, if you look at standard New Age belief systems, generally, I don’t fit with the norm, (when have I ever?), but just for the sake of argument, I have drawn from beliefnet.com a set of general beliefs to show where mine differ.

Belief in Deity
God is the impersonal life force, consciousness, ultimate truth and reality, the incorporeal, formless cosmic order personified within all people and matter. God is all and all are God.

God is very real, not only not impersonal, but extremely personal, with a sentience that goes well beyond our understanding. God is in all of creation, this is truth, but we are not God, we are co-creators with God, therefore gods, in a round about way, but not God the One.

Origin of Universe and Life
The universe, life, and matter were not created by God but “are” God. The universe and life emerged out of the creative power of the eternal universal life force.

After Death
Some believe in continual rebirth–no death–as life is spirit. Some believe that our souls rest for a time before deciding on a new body (or bodies). Heaven and hell are states of consciousness, self-imposed, due to ignorance of God as all.

Why Evil?
No original sin, no Satan, and no evil. Most believe people make “mistakes” when they are ignorant of the power of goodness, which is God, within themselves and others. Some believe evil is perpetuated through accumulation of past-life wrongs and spiritual ignorance.

Salvation
Salvation lies in the realization of oneness with the impersonal life force. Awareness can be heightened through methods that induce altered states of consciousness, e.g., hypnosis, meditation, music, drugs. Spiritual “tools” include crystals, tarot cards, amulets, channeling, fortunetellers and psychics. Some believe the salvation of humanity will occur when a critical mass is reached, when people converge in experiencing their oneness with God and with each other. This will bring a New World Order or new Planetary Order, resulting in oneness of civilization and one-world government, peace, and harmony.

Ah, no. Obviously, since I believe God is a real, sentient being, and a “person” who wants each of us to be “in relationship”, this is not part of my belief system. One part of the twofold issue of Salvation is that God saves, and God saves to the uttermost, so all are “saved” in that all will eventually be “in relationship” with the One. We may have to live many lives to eventually “get there”, but we will all eventually get there. The other part of the twofold “Plan of Salvation” is that each and every one of us, when we finally reach that point of being in relationship with the One, will know that living in unconditional love, compassion, and forgiveness are our “chores” in the learning process. This is what we are here for. This is what we are to learn. It is necessary for each of us to learn these functions in order to reach our own personal salvation. When we learn this, we will be able to “go home” permanently, living in the unconditional love of the Creator of all life. As for the New World Order, well, it isn’t happening in the next six hours, so the best we can do is learn our part in the plan, and see where that brings us when we have managed that.

Undeserved Suffering
Suffering is the result of greed, hatred, and spiritual ignorance in a person’s, or humanity’s, past lifetimes, which returns as suffering (karma). Suffering is sometimes viewed as occurring for a specific purpose, to further spiritual growth and learn a life lesson. Suffering is also seen as illusory, in that it results from attachment to bodily pleasure and pain, and only the universal life force within, God, truly exists.

Well, what we have here is a partial truth. Karma is very much a part of the picture, as Y’shua is quoted, “What you sow, that shall you also reap”. And, yes, I do believe that part of suffering is to learn a life lesson, but that is most definitely NOT all there is to it. Remember that I believe that there are three “lessons” that are uppermost in our learning process, unconditional love, compassion for ourselves and others, and forgiveness; when we have truly learned those lessons, suffering as such will become a non-issue, as it really is an attachment to bodily pleasure and pain that is the ultimate cause of such. What is not being said here is that this is a Buddhist teaching, and the teaching has a great depth not under discussion here. To learn the entire teaching, please refer to the Buddha’s teachings on suffering. I do want to mention here that, Buddhism is the ultimate of humanism. There is no mention of “God” in Buddhist teaching, as the point in the Buddha’s entire journey and teaching was the alleviation of suffering for the human soul. His point was to find what could lead to happiness within the heart of each and every human being. In my own journey, where I have come to believe the reality of Spirit, and the belief that God is real, is that ,most profoundly,  from a Buddhist viewpoint, one must learn to be compassionate and forgiving, and from a Judaic viewpoint one must be compassionate and forgiving. Hence, the ultimate obedience to God is to follow the same path that Buddha taught as the way to alleviate suffering: be kind.

Now, are there darkened spirits that exist in such hellish conditions within themselves that they are all but without the light of heaven? Yes. Indeed there are. Is there a dark Lord that rules a lower kingdom that endevours at all times to bring us down into the depths of that realm? No. Were such a person to exist, those who choose to live non-spiritual lives would be easy prey, unable to discern the evil pursuing them, they would be in hell on earth. There are way too many folks who live without any need for spiritual encouragement that the approach of the churches has never truly made sense to me. I had been told through Spirit that even when a person experiences “spiritual attack” that it is not an issue with the dark ones, but a living incarnate who is sending hate and anger, that the darkened spirits attach to that energy, this causing the affects experienced by the “victims”.

This is why Y’shua told us that our faith could and indeed does make us whole, and protect us from such “attacks”. I fully suspect that these are the truths that Y’shua said we would learn as we grew in our relationship with Spirit. I am aware that his emphasis was on the Ruath HaQodesh, or Holy Breath, usually translated as the Holy Spirit; he spoke of kingdom living, he spoke always of personally being aware of Spirit’s guidance and presence in our lives. The Spirit that is with us always is an emissary of the Holy Spirit, I do truly believe this, and have no doubt that there is one such person guarding each of our lives. To call them Spirit Guides may, indeed, not fully embrace all that they are for us.

The one who has been with me is a guardian, mother, mentor, teacher, friend. It is her guidance that has kept me from falling prey to the voices that echo in my brain. According to Dr. Newton, we are given bodies that are less than perfect for the spiritual lessons we have come in to learn in this lifetime. Yes, he has found that we reincarnate, some many times. This would make incredible sense to me. My paternal grandmother heard the voices and saw the things that I have seen. She became paranoid and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Because of the help with these voices given by Spirit, I have never been hospitalized for this. Yes, when I have not listened to her, I have taken paths not good for me, but when I listen to her, I am given the guidance to move in the direction in which I need to go.

As I process more of what Dr. Newton has to say about his case studies, I will happily share those insights with you, my readers. I thank you for continuing to read, and hope you will find the time to read his books, please feel free to share in comments any insights you experience in that reading. One last thing I would like to share. In his books it becomes extremely apparent that compassion, forgiveness, indeed unconditional love, are the goals toward which we all are working. Take care, and blessings to all!

That, of course, is the difficulty with answering violence with violence. The people we hurt are usually not the ones that hurt us. The camp wasn’t of a religious nature, it was a Labor Party camp. Yes, he blames that party for the multicultural stance of his country, but these are not people that espouse violence in any way. Will his actions help his cause? Probably not, in fact, it may hurt it in many ways, and for years to come.

The violence that begat this violence is blamed on extremist Muslim jihadists, and because they claim the Islamic faith as their own, they taint the view of much or the world regarding the Muslims who truly see their faith as the House of Peace. There are, of course, things I am uncomfortable with, regarding the Islamic faith. I’ve never pretended otherwise. Devout women of the faith must wear the Burka and Hijab to cover themselves from head to toe. This engenders a lack of sexual responsibility among the men, as it’s “all right” to rape women whose skin is exposed. But, violence toward the peaceful practitioners of this faith is not going to make this go away, and the violence that was engendered wasn’t even toward Islamic folk, it was toward secular Norwegians.

Ouch! That’s the problem with answering violence with violence, those who get hurt, and in this case dead, are not the cause of the pain in the first place. If the violence did not spread like fireworks to injure others not involved, I am not sure any of us would do more than just stand back and let those involved fight it out. But, here is a prime example of the very explosiveness of such a stance. The violence that rocked Oslo was not a direct answer to Extremist Islam, it was an outpouring of angst on people only indirectly involved. And it was children who paid the price in this awful debacle.

It seems that no matter what side this is fought on, children are the targets, that is, itself, most frustrating. Why children? Is it because the soldiers and infighters in both extremes are nothing but cowards? They lack the balls to fight each other on equal ground, so kill the children? I have never had much patience with child killers, I have less now. The children are used to make us cringe, I know, and it is succeeding. I have come to believe that, whether extremist Islamist, or extremist anti-Muslim, the death penalty should ensue every time a child is raked into their fight.

The wren is a cunning little bird, considered “cheeky” by those who have familiarized themselves with animal lore. Their coloring is rather plain, being mostly browns, but their “design” is compact, downright pretty, and they hide well within the bushes of any terrain. They have a rather loud voice, being able to sing a song that can be heard above other bird calls.

When wren has appeared in your life, you are often asked to take knowledge already available and apply it with a unique twist that brings about a different perspective, so that all can see the solutions to a problem and solve it with ease. Wren people make good team leaders, for though they can speak loudly enough to be heard by the entire team, they do not need to take center stage, therefore letting other members of the team shine when it is appropriate and good for all.

I don’t believe an actual “beating” ever does any good. The once or twice that I actually spanked the child I was helping with had more to do with what would happen if she repeated the actions for which she was spanked. The first was running across a busy road without looking. She nearly got run over at the point at which I spanked her, as much for running into the road when I told her not to,  and told her that had she gotten run over it would hurt much more than a spanking. The other time was when she kicked a playmate that was in her way. She had kicked her playmate in the eye, leaving a horrid bruise, and needed to know how much that hurt. I dare say the spanking hurt less than the bruised eye, but was enough to let her know that that was not acceptable behavior. At all other times, I preferred to use “time outs” or other means of expressing disapproval as I felt then, as I do now, that spankings were a last resort.

I do agree that violence often breeds violence, which is the argument against spanking to begin with, I simply felt that the only answer to her violence was to feel the consequences in a swift and effective way. One of my greatest concerns for this child that I loved as though she were my own, was that I wanted her to know that actions have consequences. I hope she learned that. And that is the rub, isn’t it? We never know that what we have tried to teach has actually been learned except with the living out of the life so affected. I know this hasn’t been an answer to the question, just a musing over what I did and whether it “worked”. I hope someday we will know the best and truest way to deal with each child so effectively that they will desire the way of love rather than the way of ruin.

1 Cor. 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

The concept that God will never give you more than you can handle is not really from the Bible. The closest verse that even approaches that concept is quoted above, and it’s not talking about adversity, it’s talking about temptation. Now, truly, they can be one and the same at times, but most certainly they are not always the same. The trials of life can pile up on a person all at once, and a person can break from the load. That happens to the faithful as well as to those who have no strong connection to the Divine. I have been there, as have many others in my personal circle of acquaintances and friends. There are times, however, when we have asked Spirit to prepare us for certain ministries and functions where Spirit must break through our own barriers in order to do so. At those times, we are brought to, and at times, beyond the breaking point, so to say that God does not give us more than we can handle is short sighted to say the least.

For instance, there are many who innocently enough ask for patience to be made more pure in themselves. That is a foolish prayer, one that can bring on bigger troubles than one can ever foresee. It is trials and tribulations that grow patience within the human soul, so when one prays for patience, one will receive trials and tribulations, aplenty. Never pray for patience unless you are prepared for the “schooling” that brings it out in you. Even praying for understanding can lead to situations we had never before encountered just to show us what another person is going through. Be prepared when you ask Spirit to help you grow in a given area, the lessons to be learned may be more than you can take. I will not tell you that you should not ask for spiritual growth, just the opposite, but don’t be surprised when you find yourself experiencing growing pains, it comes with the territory.

My own personal experience on this has been a slow and sometimes painful process of learning. I hear voices, I see “things” that are not there for others to see. I wanted to understand what was happening to me, and asked to be shown. I was shown. The human mind has far more capacity than most of us ever use. The reason most of us have been “shut down” in some of those areas of the brain are that, quite frankly, we cannot take the bombardment of stimuli on the constant basis that would ensue. Look at autistic children, they are born with many of those things which would be called “breakthroughs” in the mind. Many can hear with such acute clarity that they can hear a faucet dripping blocks away. Others experience visual stimuli outside the normal spectrum available to most humans. These are but a few of the ways in which they are challenged, and such a young mind ends up shutting down, or shutting out normal communication because it is too much to bear.

I can tell you that Spirit is there to comfort and sustain us at those times, I can tell you that Spirit is very real to me, but you must experience that for yourself, and that alone can be a phenomenon that will lead to near breaking of your own psyche. Truly, it is no comfort to tell someone that God will not give them more than they can bear, the truth is that many times life on this plane will bring just exactly that. Sometimes, all you can do for another is simply be there, give a shoulder to cry on, give a listening ear, gently allowing another to pour out their pain, so that you can, at least for the moment, share it, thereby easing the burden. Try not to give platitudes, they only make the suffering worse. Just be there, that may be all you can do.

Don’t like gay marriages? Don’t get one..

Don’t like cigarettes? Don’t smoke them..

Don’t like abortions? Don’t get one..

Don’t like sex? Don’t have it..

Don’t like drugs? Don’t do them..

Don’t like porn? Don’t watch it..

Don’t like alcohol? Don’t drink it..

Don’t like guns? Don’t buy one..

Don’t like your rights taken away???

Don’t take away someone else’s!!!

A precious friend posted this on his facebook, and while I agree with it 100%, my feelings about it require more than a reposting. I posted a couple of days ago regarding the right to Free Speech. It was a short post, I was venting, (sorry about that). Like most rights it has been abused, and continues to be abused even at the allowance of the Supreme Court. In fact, the Supreme Court has gotten into the rights above listed quite often. What worries me is that there seems to be no balance applied that keeps those rights from interfering with the rights of others. Eh, let me back up a bit, sometimes the rights of others are the point, as with smoking, making it unlawful to smoke in public in many areas.

My stance on gay marriage is that it should be a right to marry the person of your choice, regardless of gender. That right in no way hinders my right to marry or not to marry, so is moot as far as I am concerned. Cigarettes? Well, I do see the issue here, even though I am a smoker. I do believe it should be the right of an individual not to even second hand smoke if they desire that right. I suspect that things are going a bit too far in some areas, as even smoking outdoors in some areas is being questioned.

On abortion, well, it gets complicated, as do most rights. At what point does abortion become murder? To some, it’s right from the point of conception, while to others (myself included) it is at the point when there is a fully formed tiny human in the uterus. This occurs at about the 4th month, and then comes a time that is in a grey area, what you see is a tiny baby, but the ability to survive exutero is still not there, simply because this tiny one cannot create many of their own enzymes and secretions, requiring then, massive care in order to survive. At about the 8th month, most babies can, with a little extra help, survive being born. That all said, the point at which an abortion is still appropriate is much in question, even to the best minds of our time. I prefer to see abortion as a legal option until the 4th month, when our little fetus has become a “person” that you can recognize as a human. I would also like to see the entire question left in the hands of clinicians, as there are many circumstances where abortion should still be a viable option. And, for the most part, this is the way it is, as in most states, until the baby takes it’s first breath, it does not have the rights accorded to it’s status as a human being.

Regarding sex? Ha! Legislating sex is a lost cause. If someone wants sex, preventing it may be out of the question. But  herein lies the rub. It better be consensual, and with one who is able to give consent legally and morally, because if it’s not, you, my friend, are in trouble, with a capitol T, and should be. I do not care if you have been teased by an 11 year old female child who dresses like a hooker. It doesn’t matter to me. She is not able legally or morally to give consent, so you are out of bounds. Don’t do it, it’s not your right, just because your “member” is itching, you don’t have the right to scratch it on someone not legally able to give consent.

The question then of drugs, well, dang, I suspect we are going to have to legalize the use of illicit drugs, not because we want to, or because it is healthy, but because it may be the only way to prevent the massive spread of diseases and infections that come with the sharing of needles, something that happens quite often, because needles are not easy to get where the use of recreational drugs is illegal.

Regarding pornography. It isn’t healthy, it’s an addiction for many people. That being said, the only objection that I have to it’s being protected by the free speech laws is that there are times that it proliferates on the web to the point that it comes popping up on a computer when a web search is done regarding diseases of the breast or genitals. That is unfortunate, and, in my opinion should be illegal. If I want pornography, (which I don’t, by the way), it should be something that must be specifically searched for, not shoved in my face with a web search for something else.

And, you cannot legislate alcohol use, it’s been tried, it’s too easy to make it yourself. The best we can do is try to keep it out of the hands of the youth. Even that’s a major challenge.

Regarding guns, well, I want the right to own one even if I don’t have one at the moment, the gun laws are intricate, and the question of controlling them has been examined by legal minds ad infinitum. The belief is that an unarmed populace leaves room for political take over by unscrupulous forces. That may be a moot point in this day and age, I wouldn’t want to own the kinds of weapons that are available to militia groups everywhere.

All this has been for the purpose of stating that, though I most definitely want the right to act in any manor that pleases me, I have no right to act in such a manor when it interferes with the rights of another. I want to see balance in legislation, and a sense of reality, what really works, and what doesn’t. We humans are quite inventive when it comes to our desires and cravings, if we want it, we will find a way to get it. For that reason we need to protect the rights of the innocent and the underdog. Beyond that, we need to be concerned that the removal of rights is a dangerous thing, it leads to too much power being in the hands of the few. That is a scary proposition.

Ok, stick a fork in me, I’m done! When the Supreme Court says these people have a right to picket funerals because of their crazy, extremist views, freedom of speech has gone tooooooo far! The rights of one person or group of persons ends where another’s rights begin! That should be the “tell” for the Supreme Court rulings. Yes, I am glad I live in a country where free speech is allowed, but, people, there must be a balance! The right to picket a funeral? Why? And with their views that aren’t even mainstream? Again, why?

This is similar to the idea that the pornographers have a right to send pictures of genitalia to someone doing a web search on breast cancer, or prostate cancer. Yuck! When a person is doing research to find out what it really is they are coping with, they don’t need pornography on their computer! Have some common sense, judges!! This is not free speech, this is dirty tactics being used by unbalanced people to make their cause create misery in other people’s lives. It’s nonsense! Freedom to voice one’s opinion is fine, in fact, it is excellent, but freedom to voice one’s opinion at the top of one’s lungs, in my face,  is NOT your right!

Little Caylee Marie undoubtedly struck the hearts of citizens all over the world. There are many of us who would rather see the end of a life in the first trimester of pregnancy, before the quickening that means there is a chance that this little one would survive outside the uterus. If you make up your mind too late for an abortion that you do not want this child, then go to a legitimate adoption service, and let the child be reared by someone who loves and will love the child throughout it’s life. I cannot say whether Caycee Anthony murdered her two year old daughter, but the trial made it plain that she did not have a normal mother’s love for that baby. She didn’t even bother to feign grief for the little one she lost. It makes you ashamed to be of the same species.

But . . . . . .the fact of the matter is that she is not alone in her indifference. Children all over the world suffer at the hands of parents who should have given up their children for adoption to those who would care for them. There are way too many people who do care and would love to have a child of their own. Please, if your child proves too much for you to handle, don’t throw them away, let them be loved, let them be cared for, let them be nourished by those who would give them a good home!

Edit~ I just read where there was a lightning strike at the place where little Caylee’s body was dumped. If that means what I think it means, Caycee, or the child’s murderer will get justice, as that is the sign of the Native American Wakinyan. Let us watch and see!

Truly there are many things in the history of my country that are a source of shame. Our leaders have often made poor decisions for which we have paid dearly later down the road. The assistance given Saddam Hussein comes jumping to mind. I have seen much that says that “right” has not yet prevailed as the final decision maker in our Capitol. Much is still needed to even begin to make it “right” with the Natives of this land.

But . . . . . .I will celebrate the ideals for which that flag stands, even in a world where idealism is “old-fashioned”. Freedom for ALL, Truth, Justice, Love of family and friends, kindness to neighbors, both nationally and personally, and the right to pursue happiness in all that entails. I pray for equality for all, I pray for objectivity for all, and compassion for all. I pray this holiday brings you these things in abundance!