Religious Boxes and Spiritual Cafeterias

My friend is arguing with me and blurts out, “you can’t just choose your values,  religion is not a cafeteria!”

I laugh and realize his quick synopsis catch-all answer has some merit.

I reply in kind and state just as firmly and just as loudly that “religion is also not a box.  A provincial viewpoint will never be a Universal Truth.”

How is the Religious/Spiritual World Organized?  That is a recurring theme in our lives.  It’s a philosophical question as well a question of placement.   Where do we belong?  It becomes a question of structural reality and placement.

When we are born in this world we are usually raised in a particular religion.  It is usually the religion of our immediate predecessors(i.e. our parents).   I currently believe that whatever religion we are born into is the possible continuation of the religion that we have built and established in our prior lives. But it could also be the religion that teaches us the lessons that we need to learn most in this lifetime.

I was raised as a Methodist and believe pretty firmly that it’s a carry over from my last life.

I believe that there are currently both Boxed Religions and Spiritual Cafeterias and that we are headed for a world in which Spiritual Awareness is completely and totally self-evident.  We are entering a world in which our spiritual consciousness is so evident in our lives that we can finally understand the greatness, the interconnectedness and beauty of all things.

The merits of boxed religion are that the individual can learn discipline, order, respect, progression, and teamwork.  The faults of a boxed religion are possible continued spiritual error, polarization, self-righteousness,  domination, constrainment of creativity and individual initiative.

The term Spiritual Cafeteria alludes to the idea that we can cherry pick our values and religious ideas. I don’t belive that we can pick our own Ideals and Values but that we sometimes grow beyond earthly systems.  Yes some people do abandon systems and abandon God(at least temporarily).  But some of us do seek greater spiritual answers and we “choose” to partake of the right Spiritual Nourishment.  We do know that “man cannot live by bread alone” and so we do exercise the right to choose responsibly.   We choose the Spiritual salad and vegetables that provides fiber and vital spiritual nutrients.  We choose the Spiritual meat/legume protein that grows our Spiritual Body.   We utilize the Spiritual carbohydrates that gives us the energy to fulfill our Spiritual Goals.   If we do not exercise our own discipline we may revert back to a religious method that instills the proper self-restraint to make wise choices. The clue isn’t will we choose individual answers that are self-serving but whether we will finally adopt Universal Laws and Understandings that have never been owned or constrained by any one group.

I believe that actually each of us is micro-managing our way back to God.  A system or box has merits and we learn from those until we outgrow them.  We stop believing in a paternalistic Santa Claus/Grandfather God and realize that God has greater dimensions than we could possibly perceive.  We realize that God is not an external agent controlling our lives as little puppets.  God is greater than we can imagine and is in all things. If we strike out on our own to learn greater truths those steps will inherently lead to some missteps. Those mistakes will be our own and we won’t have them thrust on us from someone else.

The box religions serve their purpose. Imagine a solder that hates the Jewish people. It doesn’t matter what era, Roman times or the modern era.   He completely doesn’t understand the Jewish world and holds it in great contempt and disdain. He dies and goes to heaven but God forbids him to enter(at least for now).   Finally they have a meeting.  The soldier states his case but God decides that he still has lessons to learn.

God tells him that he will return to earth and live in Brooklyn, U.S. A.   He will return to earth and become an Orthodox Jew.  Not as a punishment but as a spiritual lesson. He will learn to play accordion in a Jewish Klezmer band. He will observe the Sabbath and read the Torah. He will learn the values of family, community, discipline and order.    Most importantly he will learn to love others as he loves his own being.  He will love those he didn’t understand.

Another person has lived their prior life with blue blood sophistication, modern gadgetry, urbane polish, and social networking for career and a socially upward life.  In his next life he “gets to” fulfil new direction as a Pennsylvania Amish midwife.  From these the soul learns lessons of simplicity, earnest work, child-rearing, and a return to nature that brings great spiritual meaning.

Another soul still has lived a life as an ardent religious priest who values duty, self-sacrifice, and carries an attitude of serious composure and restraint.   His next life finds him as a tuba player in a New Orleans Jazz Band.  He finds that joy, happiness, music and laughter are important in life for himself, but also for others. He derives his greatest joy playing in the New Orleans funeral processions.  From these he feels value from his work ushering the deceased into the next world while bringing solace to the people of this world.  He plays at every party and enjoys the parties like it’s 1999.   In this instance it’s a tradeoff of one box for another.   One was the monastery, the other being the Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

Meanwhile, the religiously graduated Boxed  Saint realizes  that there are new lessons of Love and Law that were not taught within his prior systems.   He/She has matured to a new point that places the onus of the Spiritual Life on Him or Her.  In this manner people can learn their co-creativity with God.

Rest assured that real life will find the weaknesses of any boxed religion. Real life also provides the crucible that enables us to amend, correct, and adjust our own lives according to God’s Laws.  Part of the difference is if it’s better to be compelled to conform verses us choosing God’s Laws based on knowledge, experience and wisdom.  It’s a question of Spiritual Maturity.   While in our infancy, WE DO need guidance, direction, focus and discipline.  As we Spiritually evolve we can see that the Spiritual kindergarten is over.  We must now attend High School, College, or Graduate School.

When you think you have to defend something is when you will realize the deficiencies of your philosophy.  I’m unable to describe the meanings of all Religions or Spirituality. I’m unable to describe all boxes and paths.  I believe now though that every individual is somehow forging their own Reunion with God and that relationship is between him and God. Whatever God’s plan is, somehow it’s Natural and Real.  It’s not given to man’s own proclamations and utterances. The answer is you can be wherever you want to be and we all choose when we will change, amend and apply ourselves to God’s plan.  The mature realization is that everyone is on their Religious/Spiritual Path.  The mature realization is that individually and collectively we all are choosing our Spiritual Destiny and our Spiritual Reunion.

“Think outside the box”                      

but remember…..

                               “No man is an island”

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Climbing The Mountain

I’m climbing the Spiritual mountain. Sometimes it’s easy and sometimes it’s hard.  Each step though is my step. Each handhold is mine also. Sometimes I stumble. Sometimes I go backward.  On really hard parts of the path I take two steps forward but go one step back. How I envy the mountain goat that can jump and leap and dodge these rocks and stones with nary a miss.

Along the way I have help.   Some of it is very good but some of it is suspect.

After trudging for a whole day I come to an overlook and I am immediately in awe of the view.  The horizon recedes in various degrees on mountains, lakes, trees, birds, and other natural beauty.  I sit down and try to take it all in.  Everywhere I look is another new and amazing sight.  I see a taller tree, a prettier bird, a clearer lake and a bluer sky. After a great while I pick up and begin anew on the spiritual path.  I realize that I found this path as a trail from the my main path.  It’s a path that I feel intuitively. In the weeks ahead I come across many sideline and divergent paths that lead to beautiful little nooks, and crannies, and grand vistas of awe inspiring beauty. I also find little shrines, and temples and synagogues.  I find chapels and churches and Grand Cathedrals of Holiness.  Each holds me in a transfixed state and I am hushed to humility and quietness.

Eventually I make my way back to the my true path and I realize that I have only been going around the mountain.   In short, I’ve made almost no vertical ascent.  I can see that I should stay mostly on my path and eschew these sideline trails and paths.  As wonderful and as holy as these places are, I realize that they don’t really lead me anywhere. I resolve to be more steadfast to an ever upward spiritual ascent.  If I come to a beautiful spot or a supposed Holy Ground, I recognise it but move on. To stay at these places is a dead-end.  I begin again.

I come to a landing that has many, many books.  The books appear as bibles, religious text, sacred writings, and ancient scrolls from all of the world’s religions.  I quickly recognise and pick up the main book from my geographic background and upbringing. I peruse through it and like what I see.

I start to follow it’s teachings again and it’s like a map that leads higher and higher up in the mountain. I’m starting to feel like I’m making headway and that the summit is near.  I come upon a winding stream with big canopy trees and foliage. My path leads right through it and I’m coming to a corner of the path to turn through.  As I turn the corner I am amazed at what I find.   I’m back where I started. I’m again at the landing with all the religious books and texts.  “How did I get here,” I think to myself. I sit down and ponder my situation.  I look at my book and find that it’s old and tattered.  It looks different now.  What initially appeared as an Authoritative guide has now turned to a useless book.   I quickly look at all the other books and texts and realize that they are old and tattered also.  I open another different book and look for the path given by that book and realize, “It’s the same path I just took.”   It slowly starts to sink in, “All of these books are just books and they all lead back to the same landing.”  Finally, I abandon the books and make my way for the path out of these woods and up the mountain again.   I realize after much thought that there are no sacred texts that are more important then a real reunion with God. I begin again.

As I ascend the path a brilliant light appears ahead of me at about a 45 degree angle. I have to arch my neck up just to see it. The light is emanating from some person.  I can only barely see through the light that someone is ahead of me. He has his hands folded in front and is sitting in the lotus position.  I call out to them, “Hey, who are you?” From the ledge a considerable distance above me a serene but authoritative voice answers, “It is me, your Teacher.  I’ve been sitting here waiting for you.” I become very excited because I’ve been looking for someone to show me the way.   It’s such a difficult journey and frequently I feel that I need all the help I can get.   The Teacher starts advising me on how to ascend to his platform.   The path starts to become  easier for it has obviously been walked on by others before me.   The Teacher keeps beckoning for me to hurry to him.

I’m getting excited because I’m halfway there and then I hear a voice from my immediate right about 30 feet away.   “Hey you. Where are you going?”  Another man is on an adjacent path but it doesn’t appear to be connected to mine.   “I’m going to meet my teacher.  I’m following the light that emanates from his being,” I say.  He calls to me to stop a minute.   “Please take another look for me will you.  I’m trying to find God and  I’m wondering if you can see his face? Is the light coming from his face?”   I can’t really figure out what he’s asking me but I look again and realize that I can’t see his face.  I see an aura of light emanating all around his head but I can’t see his face.  I look at the sideline climber again and say, “No, I can’t see his face. What does that mean?”  My adjacent climber friend shakes his head and says, “The light you see of the supposed leader is just a silhouette.  He’s standing in the path of the light of God and you’ve temporarily  mistaken it for God.”  I look again really hard and I realize now that my friend is right. I can’t ever actually see the teachers’ face even thought the aura of light is all around him.   I’m stunned  and realize that another illusion has interrupted my path.

I sit down and try to take it all in.  My adjacent climber friend has stopped also.   I look over to my friend and he sees my disappointment.   He calls across from our divided paths, “The Teacher, he’s not much farther along than you. He’s not at the top and he’s not cresting the horizon. If it was really Gods face, you would see his face and the light would emanate from his face.”   I nod my head and look  up the mountain again to the supposed teacher.   I turn and look again at my friend.   He calls to me and says,  “The Teacher is probably on his own singular ledge.   The path that leads to him is just a path to him.  He means well but has essentially stopped his ascent.”

As I regain my orientation I finally call back to my friend, “Hey friend, you were right.  I can see that you are on the right path so is it OK if I  tag along with you?”   He just looks a me with big sorrowful eyes.  Finally his gaze meets mine directly and he says, “No.  My path is mine and yours is yours.  Each of us has an absolute singular path. Each of us must follow that same path back.  When we left God we each left by ourselves.  Some ran down the mountain, some rolled down the mountain and some of us, like a big lazy river, just meandered down the mountain.  I happened to have JUMPED from the mountain and that’s why you see me now climbing the face of the mountain.   Follow your intuition and you’ll find your path.   Again, some of us jumped off the precipice and now we have to climb the face of it back up.  Your intuition will tell you your path because you’ll remember it as the path you took coming down.”  Before I could beg, plead or debate it with him he takes off and leaves me to my own thoughts.

I rested awhile and reviewed my friend’s words.  As I eventually start treading up the mountain again I realize that he was right.  If I jumped off the precipice, I have to climb it. To follow him is just a lateral move. The energy, time and space is exactly the same as pushing forward up the side of the mountain. I can see now that some people can just walk up the mountain but some people must straddle the face of a cliff.

As I come even with the teacher I can see that from his position that no path upwards exist.  The only path is the one I was on and that only leads to him.  I look along that path now and can see one person descending the trail to make it back to their own path.   Frequently those leaders will make their encampment on an adjacent ledge and proceed for a long time to regale themselves with their following and congratulating themselves with their level of attainment.   I realize that someday that teacher will descend his own path down and renew his real path upwards. More importantly he will make his path alone.

I can’t pass any judgement because from this height I can see that my own trail has ebbed and flowed, descending and then ascending again like waves. There are no books, places, or people that encapsulate God.  They are really just reflections.  I rest awhile….and then I begin again.

“We climb to heaven most often on the ruins of our cherished plans, finding our failures were successes.”

                                                              – Amos Bronson Alcott

Truth

I believe that Truth is a very important component of Spirituality.

As I’ve studied various spiritual tomes, religious tracts, bibles, Near Death Experience books I’ve come across a theme that recurs over and over again.   In the hereafter nothing is SECRET.   Everything is known.  Everything is understood or can be understood.

Now that is a thought that both scares me and highly intrigues me.

It scares me because I don’t really want the things of my life to be public knowledge.  I don’t want my indiscretions of selfishness to fly as a flag from the tallest mast on the biggest ship in the widest ocean. YES, I”M AFRAID THAT PEOPLE WILL SEE ME AS I REALLY AM.    Some of that is very, very good because sometimes I am very, very good.  But I am all to aware of the multitude of times that I have let  down my brothers and sisters.

The good part of a hereafter with no secrets is all man-made political and spiritual systems will be laid bare as provincial, ego-building systems. The Universal truths will be self-evident and undeniable. Spirituality will be plain and forthright. TRUTH will be as evident as the clouds in the sky, the streams through the wilds, and the trees in the forest.  In short, incontestable, undebatable.  I believe that I will finally have real answers to real questions of the Universe and God’s world.   I WILL UNDERSTAND THINGS.  Reality won’t be open to interpretation.   All the different positional sides of people will enable us to see ourselves as ONE.

I believe that there are two kinds of Truth: Provincial Truths and Universal Truths. The provincial truths are those that are primarily geographic, local and temporal.  The Universal truths are true despite geogaphy or time.   They are true everywhere, all the time, for all people.

Provincial Truths can further be broken down into true or passing for true(talk about doublespeak).   A real provincial truth is usually small personal, geographic and timely. The love of my family is a provincial truth. It’s real to me but but does not carry over to other people, other places, or other times.

The false provincial truths are provincial truths trying to pass for Universal Truths. These are truths that the religious, the political, and particular try to pass off as “We Are The One”.  In short, it is various groups trying to “co-op” and “incorporate” the truth to their personal use.

The discovery of a false provincial truth can be seen by trying to take it to another part of the world and imparting that truth there.    If it appears at all self-serving or self-directed then it could be met with jeers and disdain.   “You believe what?” they would say.  It becomes a propositional  truth that has to be sold.

The Universal truths can be recognized everywhere, all the time.   Truths that are Universal can be recognized as, “whatever you do unto others will be done to you”, “As you give you gain in understanding”, “you must first save yourself if you would save another.”  These are truths that can usually be recognized by all people, anywhere, anytime.

It will behoove us to learn NOW to be as honest as possible. If upon entrance to the hereafter we try to carry on as we did on earth our foolish lies will pervade our whole existence. We will be embarrassed that we can’t face the truth.

Imagine a world in which every mistruth exposes us as a long-nosed Pinocchio, or the naked Emperor upstaged by a child(“The Emperor’s New Clothes“). Could we live with our lies emblazoned like NEON signs on our forehead? Don’t you think that we would grow mute if we couldn’t tell the truth. If every word we uttered was an attempt to amend and modify our world to our selfishness wouldn’t we see the need to change?  If our normal shortcut answers failed to help us wouldn’t we try to align ourselves to Universal Truth?

Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.

                                                                     -Elvis Presley

Spiritual Book Review: “Your Life….Understanding the Universal Laws” by Bruce McArthur

This particular post is a kind of trilogy of understanding that I’m recently embracing and hope to share with others.  We know what Love is, is there more?

Bruce McArthur has undertaken an adventuresome book.  The full title is “Your Life: Why It Is the Way It Is and What You Can Do About It – Understanding the Universal Laws” by Bruce McArthur.   It’s too long of a title to have as the name of this particular post.  Compared with the wisdom and insight of this book the lengthy name is inconsequential .  The book is ISBN #0-87604-300-7 and is about 276 pages long.

Bruce MacArthur was an Electrical Engineer and an Executive.  He pondered that state of the world and had the courage to wonder “How does it work?” He was familiar with the teachings of Jesus and understood learning the lessons of Love.

In his introduction he makes a very clear case for his questions and searching.  He sought to know how the Universe works.   What is the Spiritual Structure of this world?    What is the bottom line?

He begins his case with  the thought that God’s Laws must be Universal and unmutable (unchangeable), they must apply equally  to everyone.   He makes the analogy of electricity laws.  He learned these laws of electricity in his youth and realized that they were so perfect he could imagine and design whole circuits with nothing but pen and paper.  Upon leaving his study he could then build these circuits right every time, the first time.  He knew too that these electricity laws were equally good in India, Ohio, or Sweden.  The electricity laws are Universal. From these simple electrical explorations he realized that God’s Laws must be like this.   In fact, he again realized that even the mere electricity laws were part and parcel  of God’s Laws.    Nothing is separated, nothing is isolated.

He began a more earnest journey to know these Universal Spiritual Laws and eventually found the  teachings of a spiritual healer that imparted these laws sensibly.

In short, but not all, some of these Laws are:

“As you sow so shall you reap”

“Like begets Like”

“There is nothing by chance”

“As you give you gain in understanding”

“Spirit is the Life, Mind is the builder, Physical is the result”

These are but a smattering of his so-called research of the Universal Spiritual Laws.  In the back of the book he lists 32 separate laws that should be applicable in one’s life.  They are very good laws.

My own thoughts: electricity laws and Universal Laws share other common attributes.   Like electricity laws the Universal Laws are impartial, they shock, harm or alarm exactly alike or the can build and shine a light unto the world.

Addendum: I haven’t referenced the teacher healer by name because while I give credit where credit is due I realize that Mankind desperately wants to play the “My guru is better than your guru game.”   If each of us searches in the same manner that Bruce McArthur has, we can actually see more, be more and understand more.

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Life-About-Understanding-Universal/dp/0876043007/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319457949&sr=1-1

“There is an orderliness in the universe, there is an unalterable law governing everything and every being that exists or lives. It is no blind law; for no blind law can govern the conduct of living beings”

      -Mahatma Gandi

Water, Land, and Religion

In 2005, a movie called “The Corporation” was released.  In that movie they told of the Water Rights Movement of Cochabamba, Bolivia.  Apparently in the year 2000 the water was privatized and Law #2029 gave the water rights to a private company. The broadness of this law debatably gave the company control of people’s irrigation systems, personal water wells, and even the rainwater. The protest movement of the Coördinator questioned whether God’s rainwater from the sky could ever be properly or rightly owned. Eventually the people of Cochabamba had their own water rights restored to them, The “Corporation” book/movie was certainly highlighting the overreaching control of corporations. I have since been informed that the rainfall water rights of Western America are controlled by the Government and related water corporations.

In 1626 Peter Minuit purchased Manhattan from the Carnasee Indians for gifts with a value of 60 Dutch guilders.  While this has variously been described as being worth $24.00, when it’s truly adjusted for inflation it’s a sum more than $1000.00 in today’s market.  The nearby Raritan Indians supposedly sold Staten Island at least six times.  This probably means one of two things: the Indians either knew what they we doing or they didn’t understand what property rights were.  There’s no evidence that either party attempted to swindle the other but it seems to me that the Indians must have at least pondered what was going on.   Did they in fact wonder whether they could also sell the moon, or the sunshine and the stars?  Did they think the land was being leased?   Again how can land be owned?  Does anyone anywhere have the deed from God?  Did Mother Nature give anyone the title to those resources?  Isn’t it really just a manmade invention.

Mankind has an inordinate desire to own things and this has even been seen in our Spirituality and Religions.   Many people want to OWN God, to make him their own.  Religion has become a possession. “In my church….”,  “In my religion….”,  “In our beliefs….”!!!  It’s a natural expression of wanting to belong to something and to have that thing belong to us.

I feel that we should release our feelings from the temporal qualities of this world and realize that we are just passing through.  Yes we should adhere to God’s laws and we should be part of the community and we should love  one another but beliefs of ownership polarizes us.   You and me, yours and mine, us and them are just examples of claiming God’s world as our own.  Mankind frequently does that to control others and to control resources.

It also undermines our real relationship with God because we put others up as intermediates to God and others put themselves up as intermediaries to God.   No person, group, institution, or organization has greater connection to God than your own self.   God wants me to ‘remind’ you that your greatest connection to God is your own Self to God. No one anywhere can speak for your needs better than your own Self to God.

Lastly, I hope that we can realize that we walk through God’s rain, we travel through his Land. The rivers and mountains and streams are his domain. God’s plan is his alone and we can’t own it, change it, amend it or control it. We are stewards of God’s land and we can walk through it but we will never own it.

“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books”

                                                                                                                                                                 – John Lubbock

 

Astrology: The Mirror

These are my observances, thoughts and opinions of Astrology. First, what Astrology is not.  It is not the daily horoscope as commonly found in the newspapers.  If you pay a dollar for advice you will get a dollar’s worth of advice(shades of instant karma).  If you read the daily advice column you can usually be certain that it won’t be about your exact concerns and problems. Dear Abby doesn’t apply to everyone all the time. Why don’t these columns and horoscopes work?   Because each and every human being is different and unique.  Every Astrology Birth Chart is different. Even the stock market page advises each person to consult a broker for real financial advice.

In my opinion(which varies with much of the Astrological community) Astrology is not a  psychic instrument and  forecasting the future can be difficult and challenging.   In short I don’t particularly find it to be a great instrument in predicting the future.   However, it can be useful nonetheless.   Just as I might look at the weather forecast or the stock market trends or the political landscape I can possibly draw likely scenarios of the future.  I just can’t do so with certainty.   Three days out and the weather can completely change.  There are too many variables to read to make completely accurate predictions.

It is not a religion but is it part of the spiritual as we all are. It is not science but it is mathematical and exact. Between religion and science, it has become an outcast of the modern world.

In truth, Astrology shares much in common with psychology. The famous psychologist Carl Jung used Astrology. A fair amount of psychologists use Astrology.

The stars do not determine our fate, they mirror our personality and reflect our likely dispositions. Our fate is still determined by us.

What the Astrology Birth Chart does do is to mirror our world.

The actual birth chart is like a snapshot of the most important moment of your life, the moment you were born. Truly the most significant moment of your life.    If we had a big enough camera and snapped a picture of the universe from the exact time and place of your birth the picture and the birth chart would look the same.   It would show exactly where the Sun, the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and Mars were at that exact time/spot where you were born.  This is why it’s a mirror.  It’s a reflection of how you view the world.

So why is Astrology so hard to understand?   One, because all of the planets and houses need to be understood in their own context and in relationship to one another.   This would require homework for the true student to understand the whole picture. Another reason it’s so hard is the planets describe ourselves as energy.   This is a difficult idea to understand. It’s even more difficult to describe.  How do we describe a waterfall or a bonfire?  How can we describe steam or electricity?   How can we describe a hurricane or a sunny summer day.  But in our lives we all know people who are like emotional waterfalls, fiery bonfires, hellfire hurricanes or beautiful sunny days.   Any worthwhile system takes time to get a comprehensive view.

It worth it for each individual to have their own chart calculated and interpreted by a reputable Astrologer.   Only by doing this can others understand.  It’s a soft science in that judgements and interpretations are determined just as a psychologist does in his evaluation with patients. It’s a science in that the Birth Chart has to be calculated from the persons exact time and place of birth to determine that exact placement of the planets at the time of birth.   Several books have to be consulted to calculate the chart(an ephemeris, a table of houses). The cost is minimal compared to the knowledgeable information.

A QUICK ASTROLOGY INTERPRETATION OF MY CHILDREN(please read to the end)

I can’t go over both of the children charts and there is too much in each chart to post on even one site.  I have culled from the interpretation of a book called “The Only Way To Learn Astrology”. This is actually a very common book that can be found in any New Age bookstore or even in Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Only-Way-Learn-Astrology-Second/dp/1934976016/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316101288&sr=1-1

Here is their birth data.   In using the book a person would read up on a planet/house combination and see if it fits the respective individual. The relevent parts that pertain to them I will have in bold and italics print.

Date                     Time             Place

Daughter:

Jan. 5, 1993,   10:31 AM  EST,  Port Huron, Michigan   Placidus House System

Son:

Aug. 6, 1993   08:10 AM EDT,  Monroe, Michigan   Placidus House System

For my example I have used the Moon indicating the mother figure(also the sign of Cancer) and the Sun/Saturn representing the Father figure.

First my son:

He has a Moon in Pisces in the 8th house. The 8th house and PISCES sign are both indicative of secrets.   PISCES is also related to the 12th house of things hidden from others.   This 12th house is also the house of secluded or private institutions like prisons, mental institutions, monasteries or hospitals. For our purposes it means an absent mother or secret mother.

My son has the Sun in the 12th house(house of secrets or isolation) which can also mean an absent or secret father.

My daughters information is even more direct and with one exception is quoted exactly from the book with the relevent page and line numbers.

MARS IN CANCER Page 171, line 9 of the paragraph

“Mars in Cancer can lead to an early separation from the mother”

SATURN IN THE 12TH HOUSE Page 216, Line 9 of the paragraph

“With harsh aspects, your father may have faded out of your life early”

Her Moon is in Gemini which could be interpreted to mean two mothers.

These sentences and interpretations fit nicely into their real lives because:

The children have never known their respective birth parents because my wife and I adopted them as infants.

It’s also possible to have one’s chart done online and to buy the books and read up the interpretations on one’s own.   It is absolutely important that the DATE, EXACT TIME TO THE MINUTE, AND THE PLACE BE EXACT. Even so I would still highly advise that a person consult a reputable Astrologer for the best interpretation.  When we look at ourselves sometimes we fudge the truth and this is another reason to consult an Astrologer personally.

nosce te ipsum     (Know Yourself) 

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
                                           – Aristotle

Spiritual Perseverance

Recently it was brought to my attention that “I’ll never find what I’m looking for.” The point was made that it’s obvious that I’m searching and I need to settle. I disagree, no surprise here. I’m not purposely trying to surf or spin. I’m not trying to say I’m constantly dissatisfied.  I’m not trying to be obstinate. 

Much of what people think that I need to settle on is “an external object.”  What’s my book? What religion am I in?  Who’s my Savior? What teachings do I adhere to? I believe that I’m a spiritual being and that you are too. 

I once read a story(recalled to the best of my memory) about a CIA analyst/Salt Treaty Advisor that was being interviewed on the history of the cold war and the US/Soviet Arms Race Buildup.  He was questioned at length about the cold war, what it was, how it happened. The interviewer finally inquired on the Advisors’ role in the Salt Treaty.  “Since you’ve worked for about 25 years monitoring the weapons and the Russians, why are you working with them now, what is different now?” he asked. The advisor put down his coffee and looked the interviewer right in the eye, “Yes, you’re right, I’ve been at this a long time. Most of my career, in fact. The difference today is that the Russians now are actually going to give something.”  The interviewer looked at the analyst and said, “You mean you have sat in your chair for twenty-five years just waiting for the Russians.”   The Analyst smiled and said “Yep, waiting for them to give something of value, something of substance and something real.  Everything before this was just words, research and posturing. We now finally, after twenty-five years, really have something we can hang our hat on.”

That’s the way I feel.

Part of what I’m trying to say is “We aren’t there yet.” How can we be since the world is so divided?

Spirituality is a process, not an object. It has no beginning and no end.  I or we, will never arrive.  We can stand still(an illusion), step back or step forward but no matter what we are in constant spiritual flux.

I, as much or even more than others, would love to find that spot or Ideal realized. Like a moth to the flame, wouldn’t any of us sacrifice ourselves for greater and total reunion with God.

My position is not anxiousness, it’s Patience. It’s not wanderlust, but the insistence of Spiritual Certainty.

I believe that our greatest communion is self to God, our greatest values are worked through our community, and Truth & Justice transcends Religion and Borders.

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

                                                            – Matthew 18:20

No One You Can Say That Can’t Be Saved!

When I think of God, I believe that he is 100% fair and 100% just.  Because of that I don’t believe that anyone will perish. It’s never made any sense to me that somehow some people will be punished to an eternity in hell.   I believe again that God’s laws are Universal, Just & Fair.   I  believe that everyone will go to heaven, achieve wholeness,  and meld with the ONE Universe. This is something that I feel by instinct, feel in my heart, and realize in my mind.  Not only are we all ONE, but Time and Space are Love Inventions  created by God for us to find our way.  TIME & SPACE are ways for God to let us find ourselves but to eventually realize & return to God.  Most  importantly we are to find our way back to him.   Our thoughts are what separate us.  A lot of times I think that  maybe we are a great big entity experiencing COGNITIVE DISSONANCE  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance).  Besides the title I offer from the respective author these additional words…….

Well, we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun…

                                                                                      – John Lennon