Education as Anti-War

Why do we humans believe that we have to bond against others in order to bond to each other? Isn't it enough that we have others who are comfortable with the ways we and our household behaves, without the need to turn against anyone who acts or believes otherwise? Are we so weak in our own beliefs that we are afraid of being infected by the beliefs of others if we are in close proximity to them?

Must we treat all others as weeds that are endangering the perfect symmetry of our own gardens? Do we really have our own gardens in such perfect order that a beautiful wild flower (weed) or two may not be a welcome addition to the plot? Life is not symmetric in its natural state. The left side of a human body does differ from the right side; identical twins do have some definable differences.

It is true that, in unfamiliar surroundings, we must watch our children more closely, in order to observe that to which they are being exposed. If we are strong in our own values, we can observe dispassionately and explain to our children why we don't, in our homes and communities, do things that others may do. If we cannot keep our passions under control while observing, we are free in the United States of America, to simply walk away or avert our eyes, and those of our children.

If we treat our lives with our own children as PG experiences, we will protect them. We do this, not by condemning others, but by offering them Parental Guidance in the form of our own actions and our ability to explain why we act in specific ways in our own homes. Human animals want boundaries; it is up to parents to offer and explain those of their family in a way that respects their children and others. Respect doesn't mean acceptance, so it also may mean estrangement when our boundaries are not respected by others.

If we strengthen our own family bonds, and study the ways of other in order to stop the fear of infection, will we still need war?

How Do You Define The Soul?

I was taught, as a Judeo-Christian, that humans were the only animals with souls, and that all homo-sapiens, in fact, have souls. My experiences in life tell me otherwise. I have met too many people who, when I look into their eyes, exhibit no feeling at all that would lead me to believe that they are any more soulful than robots. Sadly, I have seen even infants in whom I see no sense of soulfulness, that aspect having been replaced by the dehumanizing affects of deprivation and terror.

I have also seen such joy, pain, fear, and compassion in the eyes of "lesser" animals, that I have come to believe that the only thing that actually separates homo-sapiens from other animals is the ability to make informed choices. Terror destroys our ability to think and make choices; thus destroying our humanity, what some refer to as the soul. Inflicting terror and arrogant authority as forms of control is why I walked away from my parents' religion.

I had never deeply bonded to an animal, other than homo-sapiens, until I met my very first dog, at the age of 59. She looked in my eyes at the shelter and our souls simply connected. I took her home. It was in watching her rub her body all over the grass and snow, like she would a parent, sibling, or a lover, that I saw her "humanity." It was in watching her absolute joy in being tormented by our cat and doing likewise to him that I saw "sibling" bonding in its simplest form.

I have, in fact, see a cat absorbing The Sacred Spirit of the perfect patch of sunshine and a dog absorbing The Sacred Spirit of the physical earth through the pores of her skin. I have come to believe that there are many manifestations of life other than homo-sapiens with what we refer to as souls, and that there are many homo-sapiens that have none of this spirit of The Sacred.

Wanton Woman

It is true that I am distrusted and scorned by many women because of the ways in which I relate to their men. I will not be intimidated by a man's misbehavior. I defuse their anger with listening and attempting to help them overcome their helplessness in the face of any soft emotion. As a rule, a woman doesn't like another woman to share any emotion with her man. What a pity it is that jealousy kills so many relationships and so many people.

It is such foolishness that people turn every show of affection between members of the opposite sex into sexual attraction. Brothers and sisters pinch, punch, kiss, and cuddle with their "litter mates." I view most adults as my brother or sister. Perhaps this is seen as taking liberties, but I don't know how else to follow the imperative to "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." For this, I'm tired of apologizing.

How Do You Define Humanity?

The fact is that no matter how we try to deny it; humans are animals. We like to believe that we are a higher breed of animal than those that don't speak in our own words, but we don't all speak in each others words, either.

We have historically bonded on the basis of common language and rituals. In the revealing of the sights and sounds of the universe to all corners and communities on earth, we are seeing similarities in ourselves and others that we were taught to believe did not exist. Perhaps it is time that we stop preening ourselves as so intrinsically special, simply because we walk upright and have less body hair than apes.

Whether or not one believes in evolution of our species on a scientific level, we must start believing in our ability to evolve individually, and as communities. It is imperative that we stop looking at the universe as ourselves and "others," and start believing that we are endowed with the ability to seek The Sacred Spirit it all around us. Instead we continue to act as packs of wolves with only our territorial instincts to guide us.

Humanity is a choice that we can breed into or out of future generations. My definition for humanity is responsible compassion. How do you define humanity?

Fairness and Family

I knew that my upbringing was not the path I wanted to follow;
I could either seek a new path, or in my history's misery, wallow.
I chose to seek a way that made compassionate sense to me,
So I could bring up my children with personal responsibility.

The hardest thing I've ever done is to stay true to my spirit,
Especially when persecuted when anyone else would hear it.
I am one individual woman, with a determined place on our earth;
Told I must not question the rules under which I'd been given birth..

My parents followed, precisely, the rules in which they were raised.
At least the rules forbade murder; for that they should be praised.
I chose to push for faster progress in the path to full humanity,
Sooner than my siblings, friends, and their society could agree.

I have held fast, alone, to my visions of enlightenment;
This is not a path on which I'd have chosen to be sent.
It is simply the path that I received by my parents' default,
In looking for family that taught by example, not assault.

Will humans ever see that peace is brought on by example?
The stories of this leadership should be, at this time, ample.
The missions of Moses, Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King
All lead to earthly paradise that non-violent resistance brings.

When will we accept that killing only breeds more of the same?
War isn't a path by which peace on earth will ever be gained.
I have raised my children and helped with theirs; I'm now free
To stand in the way of abusers, so peace can finally come to be.

Do not take my grandson in your quest for supremacy;
I have more experience than the warrior you want him to be.
There is no greater power than a mother protecting her young;
This is the warrior's true song that must be, eternally, sung.

Do not try to convince me that God is a father of fury;
I am, as a mother, a more powerful lawyer, judge, and jury.
I will not banish my children, but I will stand firm;
They can't live in my home without the lessons I insist they learn.

This isn't a way to resist differences of cultures or opinions;
It's to stop us, from excitement of differences, becoming minions.
There are many things that intrigue us in our vast universe,
That we can and should explore in order to intelligently converse.

This is not, and should not, be meant to be an open invitation
To adopting or accepting these new influences in our nation.
These differences should be seen as possible spices in the mix
To a recipe that, from the beginning of our country, has been fixed.

The religion of my children is the Constitution of the United States;
This is the belief system to which I, before their births, could relate.
I will not return to the religion of my parents before me; and theirs.
The United States' freedoms are those to which my children are heirs.

I am very aware that the founders, in their leadership, were flawed,
But I know that they were greatly gifted humans, not completely gods.
We are uniquely, with the blessings bestowed on us by democracy,
From the patterns, of our parents and theirs, allowed to break free.

There are many in my country who, in their fear, want to go back
To the world of their parents in which much freedom they lacked.
I do understand the fear of change with all its uncertainty,
But, from the bonds of our parents' faults, we must break free.

We learn from their example, that killing leads to more of the same.
Do we want for our universal peace, on our human earth, regain?
If we want to live in harmony with our sisters and brothers,
We must listen and follow the cries of our suffering mothers.

We give birth to our children, risking the lives of our own;
Killing of your siblings is not the seed we wish to be sown.
Any father telling you to risk your sacred life for enemies of theirs
Is not promoting the sacred divinity in which you should share.

I am your mother, telling you to stand against oppression;
Not to join others in the vulnerable ones' repression.
I have never stood behind you to shield myself from danger;
It is time that you learn to channel your own outrage and anger.

The quest that you began for fairness when you were young
Is not a song that you should never have freely sung.
It is simply that, until you saw your individual strengths,
You couldn't understand the position for which you're meant.

I am no longer able to guide what you should become;
I know that my input, in fact, makes you from me, run.
I wait with open heart, mind, and spirit to welcome you
As part of me and my partner's values to which we're true.

I simply can't stay silent as you succeed at fitting in
By denying the love we share in the presence of other men.
I have lived my life attempting to break history's mold,
Working for the peace on earth that has been foretold.

This can only be accomplished through redefining men
As, not only protectors, but also as women's friends.
Why are you so ashamed to feel such love for me?
My spirit will live in you and your children for eternity.

I may die without your beautiful face and your family,
But the gift of your Sacred Spirit will, eternally, live in me.
How blessed I have been in life to be the vessel of your birth.
Your love for me has been part of my heaven on this earth.

Love Our Land or Leave

"Government Angreizi aur Jihad is an Urdu booklet written in 1900 by Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, the Promised Messiah and the Founder of the Ahmadiyyah Muslim Jama‘at. In this booklet, he refers to the Holy Qur’an and the ahadith (sayings) of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa in order to explain the true nature of the Islamic concept of jihad.

The author points to the peaceful nature of the Islamic faith and explains that Muslims resorted to defensive war early in their faith’s history only after suffering thirteen years of brutal oppression. Divine permission to retaliate was granted for the specific purpose of self-defense, to punish aggressors, and to uphold freedom of conscience."

Munir-ud-Din Shams
Additional Vakil-ut-Tasnif
London, March, 2006

This seems to be the justification all three Abrahamic religions have for continuing to kill our brothers, sisters, and babies, "They did/do it to us." Is this not the time to finally put an end to retaliation by one generation for the persecution of a previous generation?

My grandmother used to have a saying when we children were fighting, "I don't care who started it; I'm finishing it." Who among us has the authority and willingness to stand on the battlefield and say, "I'm finishing it," even at the threat of his/her own death. I thought that Jesus had done this, but Christians continue to kill in the name of "Christ." This says to me that they don't actually follow Jesus as their "Christ."

It is so much easier to hate those who are different than we are than it is to learn about them and decide how we can live, in peace, as neighbors. It takes great respect to do this. I can't imagine that a Muslim woman would be happy to visit a nudist colony, nor have one next door to where she was bringing up her children.

This does not necessarily mean that there is anything intrinsically wrong with nudism, but it does create stress for imparting her values in rearing her young. For this reason, in multi-cultural society, parenting takes great commitment to one's own beliefs and very close bonding and monitoring of one's children. In the United States of America, we have been working this out for a couple of centuries.

We have a saying by Robert Frost, "Good fences make good neighbors." The same could be said for solid walls. We live in nuclear families, that presumably, share a set of values. We have the right to offer hospitality only to those who will adhere to our values on our property. We do not have the right to dictate what our neighbors do in their own homes, unless it is infringing on our own property or rights.

The United States of America, long ago, adopted a language as our common language. We have a set of rules prohibiting any one religion from setting the rules for our nation, even though there are many who have attempted to apply their own religion to the law of the land. It is time that all in the United States of America insist that we focus our energies on living our values in our own homes and minding our own business when other "children" want to fight.

The United States is our home with our set of values, which includes multi-culturalism and freedom from religious oppression. Those who break our laws should not be welcome in our home, as guests or otherwise. This is our home where we live by the laws of the land. Love our land by obeying our laws or leave.

True Church

Cruelty does not go away; it is simply passed on to others. These acts become the demons seeking to destroy The Sacred Spirit inside of ourselves. Without enough strong support for the goodness in us, we may have too many demons to fight at one time. This can lead to despair.

When we despair, it is our own personal "End Times." All the horrible predictions in Revelations visit us in our waking and our sleeping lives. All the things that gave us joy and brought us beauty suddenly look like ashes covering all the earth. We are reduced to bodies without a living spirit. Only through allowing others with intact extra spirit can we hope to survive, and yet these are the very people that most hurt our eyes and our insides. We can't stand to be in their light while in our stripped naked state. It seems to burn our very souls.

We must allow ourselves to be sheltered while we die by the "hands" of our own demons. This entails allowing the demons to finally stop eating us from the inside and have their ways with us on the surface of our lives. When we expose them to the light from which we have been sheltering them, because of our own shame in knowing they are parts of us, they will eventually burn themselves out.

Mental hospitals are not safe places, as there are few with living spirits, and many who will share their own demons which you previously didn't have. Medications simply quiet the demons while they continue to eat the spirit inside you. This is often necessary to allow you to fight one demon at a time. But who will hold you as the demons fight against their own deaths?

Avoid those who fear you or want to rush your recovery. There are many that will bring your demons out to fight. They must be strong fighters, with a strong support system themselves, or they will simply drown with you. Do not be afraid of confrontation of your demons (not confrontation of you, but of your demons) by those who have fought the same battles. They can help you to recognize the pitfalls of engagement with them. They can often show you the path to a new peace.

Surround yourself with those of strong, safe, Sacred Spirits. They will wait and watch with you. They will breathe new life into you when you stop fighting and surrender to their ministry. This is your true family, your true church.

I am blessed by many in my life who are strong demon slayers.