Swearing on the Sacred

I believe we have a power stronger than our courts
To which people of loving communities could resort.
Or are we happy with the way our world is currently turning?
Instead of talking to each other, we keep our anger burning.
Our courts are a sad joke when people swear on a book
That our society, long ago perverted, and many forsook.

We swear oaths to a force in which many don't believe,
Can we continue to pretend that we're not all being deceived?
If a person loves a spouse, a child, or even a pet,
An oath sworn on their heads may be a safer bet.
Oaths sworn on anything in which we don't passionately believe
Are simply an easy way to, true believers, deceive.

This turns mother against father and father against mother;
The deceits repeat themselves in our sisters and brothers.
What is so difficult about admitting to those we love that we erred?
Is judgment by our community that of which we're scared?
If we confess to each other in the company of only those who love,
Don't we think we'd get some help from The Power up above?

Hermeneutics of Holiness

Our ancestors had it right when they knew that we knew not god's face or name.
It was like the blind men seeing the elephant; no two parts appear the same.
The language of holiness is self-disciplined love; can we, on this, all agree?
Can we come to see god in each other, and from fighting about god's face be free?
I don't fault those who are excited when they feel that they finally see,
But this may not be the same face of god that is presented to me.
Languages are fluid; they evolve over many miles and many ages,
And compassionate, responsible action may not fill many pages.
But this sharing is the only language that is eternal and universal,
And it should be the only faith language in which our souls become full.

Will Pentecost Bring Peace?

Is it Utopian thinking that leads us to pray that God's will be done on "earth as it is in heaven?" To my knowledge, the Utopian experiments excluded women and our children in decision making. Women who have born and reared children have had to learn to wait and wonder, the gift of gestation. The traditional male wants to force society to mold into their visions during their own reign on earth. Both attempt to keep the power to pass down to their own progeny, at the exclusion of justice and harmony. I believe that the Light of the Holy Spirit is the gift of this spiritual era, and that we must look for this common thread in all creation.

For my parents, Utopia didn't include their nine children; only through going to their individual mountains of quiet worship could they hear the word of their God. My father even wrote a children's story in which God was always being "bothered" by the little noisy angels in heaven. How can it be that there is no sacred scripture that includes the spiritual awaking of being held in a loving husband's arms or the feeling of complete peace watching a loving parent soothe a fussy baby?

I feel fortunate that I was exposed so deeply and for so long to the pre-Vatican II Roman Catholic religion, which I believe was a truly Judeo-Christian religion. As an adult, I feel equally fortunate to have been intimately exposed to Jewish faith-in-action, Protestant faith-in-action, Pentecostal faith-in-action, and a bit of Muslim faith-in-action. I have also seen a Holiness in the lives of many who profess no faith other than a belief in the potential of humans to be something more that our animal selves.

There are many interpretations of what we consider sacred scripture. My belief is that we must look for the eternal truths in the writings (scriptures) over all time. I believe that the Light of Divinity that some call God, some I AM, radiates in all creation until it turns against or attempts to control this Light. This Light is what I believe is The Holy Spirit, sometimes called the soul. This Holy Spirit must be nurtured to continue living and growing in us. We look to others who, likewise, follow and nurture this Spirit in themselves and in others.

The Pentecostal movement has opened new doors to receiving and honoring the gifts of this Spirit. I know that many find this connection to the Spirit through Christianity; others find it through other sacred paths. I simply don't believe that all who are born to other paths are unable to nurture and share this Holy Spirit. I have had many alternative openings to this Spirit through people on other faith paths and journeys. This dialog is an attempt to increase my understanding of the Eternal Spirit of Goodness and Light in all of creation, not to discount any particular path.

God as The Great Life Force

It greatly diminishes for me the importance of Jesus' walk on earth if I believe that he was a god while here. I believe that he was a man, imbued through his family lineage with an extraordinary Spirit of Holiness. His good, observant Jewish family had been groomed for centuries to bring him up well and allow him to do what he was sent to do. To believe that he was a god on earth gives me every reason to despair that I can ever follow his example.

It's easy for us to make excuses for why we can't follow the Judeo-Christian path that was built on many principles of self discipline and responsibility for all creation incorporated in the great religions preceding the these. We're not gods; we're only humans, we say. We seem to be forgetting that the great religions all see humans as made with a spark of divinity. Some perhaps have a larger spark than others, but I believe we can grow this spark in ourselves and from one generation to the next.

I believe that we are all part of the Universal Energy Source that many call God, and that we all have the opportunity to reenter that Energy of the Universe upon our deaths. This would mean to me that, we too, have the opportunity to become more fully parts of what we call God, Allah, Jehovah, Yahweh, and many other names, all meaning The Great Life Force in creation.

I believe that we are all meant to continue being part of the perfect balance in life, but that in our fear, greed, and jealousy, we turn toward the negative. We can choose to help restore balance, and our mission in life is to, at the very least, leave behind a neutral energy, rather than negative energy for which the universe continues to pay.

Where we err is in believing that inflicting pain and punishment is discipline; that we have the power to bring wrath upon others for their transgressions, calling this discipline. Punishment leads to fear and destruction of The Spirit. A disciple follows a teacher, and the best teachers lead by their own examples. Self-discipline and teaching by example leads to permanent lessons learned by whole tribes, for all ages.

Separation of Church and State?

We wonder why their is a backlash against the name of god
When hypocritical leaders use it as a cattle prod.
Self-discipline is common in all major religions
This is what builds character in ourselves, our daughters, and sons.
We pursue the false promises of happiness from our founding fathers
Who recognized no inalienable rights in their slaves or their own daughters.
If the religions were true to their espoused beliefs they'd hold them accountable,
But power, not justice, is our country's and many religions' practiced rule.

Judges perform the marriages and priests perform domestic partnership rites;
Isn't this contradictory to the rules for which our ancestors put up bloody fights?
How did we fool ourselves into believing we had separation of church and state?
This is an ideal that we in the United States still await.
Why do we call marriage that which is a business partnership?
The blessing of one's community is what makes a marriage stick.
Would it be so terrible to have civil union contracts before
A couple seeking a marriage walks through their place of worship's door?

The people making our laws exempt themselves from their own rules;
Swearing on a Bible that few have read makes, of our courts, fools.
We have always been a melting pot, challenging diversity,
By expecting those who enter our country to work toward prosperity.
We continue to encourage by injustice, the lack of family responsibility,
Earning wages that require a second job, keeps poor families parent-free.
Instead of seeking justice in education and incomes,
We continue to allow the abuse of those on society's lowest rungs.

We listen to people with pretty smiles and smooth lies to tell
Instead of looking at how their lives follow what the prophets foretell.
Every great religion is corrupted by the nation
Exempting their most powerful from teamwork with all creation.
How people conduct their personal and business lives is a measure for sure
Of what values they represent deep down in their cores.
We should hold them more accountable for their wrong actions
Than we hold accountable our country's least privileged factions.

But our preachers stand next to our leaders and beam their approval,
When the actions of so many of them should bring about their removal.
We shouldn't have to ask what religion a person belongs to
By looking at their lives we can ascertain their truths.
Instead of spending the time we pay them for on the campaign trails
They should be seriously studying and enacting laws that help justice to prevail.
I'd like to see our leaders of churches and states deferring to the higher power
That lives in each of our souls, not to our personal gods of the hour.

We have government funds given to church programs and administered by the same;
It simply creates a climate where charity is a power game.
Our churches are exempt from our laws to further their own plans,
Which feeds the greed of those who continue to underpay our fellow humans.
We should all be equally accountable for our own actions and mistakes;
Simple monetary penalties for the rich and powerful gives them an unjust break.
The system that we still live under is a dynasty of priests and potentates;
If we don't allow equal power to all our people, our country will cease to be great.

Family Affairs

I am privileged to know several "Mr. Moms"
These are men and fathers who make house a home.
Many are embarrassed to admit their positions,
As if this is not a manly mission.
I've had several husbands much calmer than I,
But we couldn't give role reversal a try,
Because we had been taught that women weren't to be
Trusted to, in the workforce, be free.

The mothers often convinced themselves
To buy all toys and adventures others would sell.
Stay-home men might allow children to run
All day in their pajamas, having unsupervised fun.
Many lost the ability to constructively imagine;
We don't want, this reality, to fathom.
Have our families become better off,
Or are we now paying a terrible cost?

We must stop hiding the truths from each other;
We can't afford to trust children only with mothers.
I have great hope that we won't slide back,
As long as we're truthful about the impact
Of deciding what chores have to be done
And assigning each to the appropriate one,
Not based on gender, but on ability.
Only then will our society, truly be free.

This new way takes much sacrifice,
But the alternative had too high a price.
Children now have no roots at home;
Both parents are, to the workplace, gone.
Do we need the luxuries that this affords,
The lessons in piano, two skateboards?
Or do we need block parents and neighborhood games?
This should not bring either parent shame.

Our blocks should agree on a code of conduct,
Not allowing the children to run amuck.
It could all be like Daddy or Mommy Day Camp,
But the rules of our behavior need to be revamped.
While on duty, the patrol parents must insure
Fairness, responsibility, and safety are secure.
These are times when we must not be hesitating
To create a world in which "G" is our child's world rating.

The adult programs must be turned off;
Children's minds are pliably soft.
They soak up like sponges that which enters,
And these images become their centers.
It is not fair to, as children, burden them
With problems that vex grown women and men.
Until we are willing to be accountable adults
The destruction of our families remains our faults.

We now have classes for every parental chore;
Anger management should receive the highest score.
No longer should we teach that might makes right;
We should behave by the rules in each others sight.
What's done in secret rarely, for long, stays far
Off the scope of children innocent radar.
We destroy their minds and their confidence
When we dishonor their minds' evidence.

All the parents who teach our children wrong,
Or expose them to the bullying throngs,
We as a society must learn to shun;
Let them live like the animals they've become.
We should not let the wealthy pay their way out;
This is not what shunning is all about.
It is a turning away of those who, our children, hurt.
Let them learn, their disciplined selves, to assert.

Recycling Relatives

I just can't hide it anymore;
The inside me keeps popping out.
But there are so few who want to know
What we're really all about.

I have spent my life changing myself
To please my current community,
Accepting all suggestions for
How to be a better me.

My grandmothers and mother
All said I was too wild.
A sister accused me of attempting
To steal her husband and child.

When my mother told me my troubles
Were caused by my past sins
It was very difficult for me
To continue to let her in.

Another sister told me
That I was no more fun,
When a depression layed me low,
And I didn't know where to run.

My husband was also depressed
But he didn't even know it.
Men are, after all,
Taught never to show it.

My nephew who asked for our help
In making peace with his brother
Has sent accusations that I've wronged him
To my sisters and my brothers.

A brother whose wife I love has said
He never wants to talk to me again,
And now I seem to have forever
Lost his wife as a dear friend.

My sister who was like my baby
Has finally spoken her truth to me;
She said that I've been stupid
In helping others for free.

I simply had to come home to
Where I have deeply loving friends,
Who don't care if I don't change,
Or if, into their family lives, I blend.

Where is the recycle center for
All the baggage from our pasts,
The people we collected
Before they woke us up, at last?