Provisions for Peace

It seems to me that many of us miss the whole point of Jesus' message. Jesus was a radical who believed that we must obey the civil laws and peacefully protest the ones that deny human equality and justice. Even in the time of Jesus, taxes were collected to provide public services. Where did many get the message that some of us are deserving of privileges and property without payment?

Jesus was a Jew who realized that the chosen people needed to be less judgmental of others and more compassionate for all of creation. Jesus never said that we are to hold any class or caste of people above others. In fact, Jesus purposely ate and socialized with those considered inferior by his Jewish society.

Paul skipped over much of the good about Judaism in order to convert the most people in the least amount of time. We must remember that the early Christians believed that The Rapture was imminent, in their own lifetimes. They believed that it was imperative that all souls be "saved" in their own lifespans. Paul seems to have created "Christianity Light."

All attempts to create mass conversions within certain earthly timetables create nothing but hypocrisy. Many wars have been fought over religious beliefs. These efforts are doomed to failure, as war begets more war. All the "conversions" accomplished under threat of death, whether earthly or eternal, are not true conversions of The Spirit. Fear begets false faith. Until we are touched by The Spirit and take joy in following our faith, we are not truly converted.

While it may be true that there are many who attempt to follow Jesus without the commandments binding the Jews, there are few that succeed in peaceful community without written guidelines to which the community members commit. As a child of parents born to the law and then attempting to raise children in "The Spirit," I have found that there is little peace without the protection of laws.

It is also my experience that few people care to know the rules of their own religions or their own families and neighbors. Is it ignorance or arrogance that allows so many to profess belief in certain sets of rules while exempting themselves from following those rules?

Jews believe that when humans sin against "God," humans may ask forgiveness only from "God."  Jews also believe that any sin committed against a fellow "neighbor" must be petitioned for forgiveness from that "neighbor." Jewish Jesus also taught this message. Do we also have the responsibility to allow ourselves to be vulnerable enough to admit that we were hurt rather than turn our hurt into fear and anger with no attempt at reconciliation?

Shortcuts don't work in the arena of Eternity. We are each responsible for stewardship of the provisions for peace. We must stop acting as if only our own lifetimes matter and begin believing that our mission is to help create peace on our own earth. One generation at a time, we may succeed.

Embracing Innocence

The Bible is full of cautionary tales about humans' mistakes made because of humanity's hubris. If one generation kills children, the next generation will fight to avenge the killings. Isn't it time we stop listening to the fear-mongers and realize that it is in our power to turn our own lives back to faith "like that of a child."

Observe  uncorrupted children on the playground. They want everyone to be friends with each other and are simply intrigued by any differences in others. How sad it is that so many children have been robbed of their innocence even before they go to school.


The greatest sadness in my life is watching people "teach" innocent children how to be "tough." I believe that this destroys the spirit. I believe that home and family are meant to be "home base" for compassion, a place to renew our spirits and to rest awhile before again facing the fears of the outside world.

Too often I see older siblings and cousins, parents and other relations "sharing" their "realities" with the innocents in their midst. What is the purpose of this "sharing," other than to create fear in the child, and a sense of awe for the vast knowledge of the one "sharing?" When we foster fear in others, it is a way of becoming the controller of their sense of safety. These people are not protectors; they simply want others to feel powerless in their presence.

I don't believe that the story of Adam and Eve leaving the paradise of innocence is a tale of "God's" wrath. I believe it is a tale of sad resignation that we want to know the unknowable and are willing to give up everything else for a sense of power. We give up our trusting innocence and pass our fears on to others. Only through humility and admitting what we can never know will we ever feel innocent and whole again.

Peaceful Progeny

Honor. What does that mean? One definition says that it is to bring respect to another's beliefs and actions. How does an assassin's child honor his or her parent? How does a drug addict's child honor his or her parent? How would Hitler's progeny pay tribute to his history?

Perhaps we must revisit the Ten Commandments and realize that they were meant for those following the same path. There are many that we want to believe can become blessed that have no ability to become anything more than talking animals.

In my experience, example is everything, and those born without souls can never develop them. There are also many who are born with innocent souls, and have no capacity for freedom of their wills. Those with no souls will never be saved, and those with no judgement must be trained by careful care giving and consistent example.

A sure way to deaden the soul is with mind-altering drugs. How many babies with dead souls have been born to these deadened people? How many wars have been fought with encouragement for the troops to deaden their souls with alcohol and other drugs? When we kill our consciousness, we kill our consciences -- at least temporarily. What we wake to can be so horrific that we can't face the shame, so we do more of the same.

We now have the technology to ascertain those with capacity to make judgments and those who are permanently damaged in this capacity. It is time that we accept that we will never stop violence until we're willing to sacrifice those without functioning souls. Lack of judgement leads to honest mistakes, but lack of a functioning soul leads only to evil.

Those who are willing to procreate should prepare their bodies and souls for conception, and those who will nurture these children must also protect and nurture the parents. This is the only way we can produce progeny better than beasts, and the only way we can hope to create peace upon our earth.

I am a parent of two children. I have never been at peace as long as my children were at war with each other. Can we believe that The Creator of All will ever be at peace as long as we war with others in creation? I don't expect my children to agree on everything, but I do want for them to have respect for each others' places on the path to peace and to protect and guide each others' children on this path. And I expect all our family members to hold each other accountable to certain stated rules of relationship.

If I have stepped outside the rules and refuse to return, it is no dishonor to me for my children to seek a path without me. And I mean no dishonor to them if I feel that they have stepped off the family path that we have all laid out, if I stay my course while they go their own ways.

Eternal Energy

I know that peace on earth will not happen in my lifetime; it is likely, neither will The Rapture. I believe that we are part of the Eternal Energy that represents "God" on this earth. I also believe that until all of our energy coalesces back into Positive Power, there will be no eternal peace for anyone.

I have relatives and friends who left much destruction in their wakes, but they also left positive energy. I watch subsequent generations touched by them to ascertain their levels of eternal peace. It saddens me greatly when I see their children struggling with the same demons to whom they lost their fights. I have attempted to intervene, and have been sucked into their hells. In grief, I had to finally turn my head and heart away.

What I believe is: If we do what we can to positively direct the energy in our lifetimes, bit by bit and generation by generation, we can make a difference in eternity. When we stop thinking of salvation only in terms of ourselves we will care what happens to the generations that come after us and all of eternal creation.

Breaking the Bonds of Blindness

Until I was almost sixty, I lived in La-La land, believing that all was right in my own home. As long as I could make it home and close the door on the outside world, I could be safe with my babies under my wings. Any perceived threat to the safety of my children, physically or morally, was banished. I wouldn't even watch the news for fear that the outside world would infect my children's innocence.

Several threats of death in family and close friends awakened me. I came home and reconnected with my family and friends in a fully awakened state, believing that I was strong enough to face long-denied truths. All my years of denial had created a type of emotional blindness in me -- sort of like, I suppose, living in a cave would do for one's physical eyes. The truth did not set me free; in fact, it almost killed me and may have killed relationships with several of my friends and my family.

I want so badly to believe that we can achieve peace on earth and that we can break the horrible human cycle of jealousy and competition that began with the first humans that I had convinced myself that this world existed in my family and friends. How horrible it was for me to find out that my family and friends are as flawed as the outside world. What great grief I have experienced coming to understand that not all people are willing or able to break with the patterns inherited from their parents.

Must "Christians" act as "soldiers of Christ" with all the accompanying anger and competitiveness? Can't we simply spread the solace of The Spirit? Can't we share harmony simply -- with a smile, a hug, and a bit of compassion, without being ridiculed and persecuted for our passivity and naivete?

I do have a home with harmony, but it can be lonely at times. Is there such a thing as "emotional cataracts" to help dim the light of outside reality?

The Price We Pay

I don't know what happened to me when my daughter got so sick;
I felt that my mother's God, on my daughter, had played a trick.
My mother always said that the bad that happened to me
Was because of sins I committed, and that God could see.

I had learned, at an early age, that sins of the parents
Were passed on to the children, who had to do penance.
How was I to undo my children's problems I caused?
I offered myself as penance for breaking God's laws.

But I knew I was not worthy to be human sacrifice;
Only innocent souls would, as scapegoats, suffice.
My children let me know I make their pain worse;
I will left them alone, rather than continue the curse.

I was taught The "Divine Father" of Jesus, the Christ
Demanded that his own son die as a human sacrifice.
How could I believe in scripture and not firmly believe
My sins led to my children's destruction, like those of Eve?

Watching mistakes repeated by my daughter and son,
I could not abide more shame for what I have done.
I wished that they could start over from another womb,
And let my evil be taken with me to my tomb.

There are those who now say that Christianity
Is about how much Jesus and his father love me.
They refuse to admit that, for many generations,
Religion was about redeeming ancestral obligation.

Coming back to my roots and my mother's death
Has put my relationships and shame to the test.
I have struggled to define my own Holy Spirit;
I'm not comfortable, on others, in judgement, to sit.

But there are many behaviors in which I see danger;
My pointing them out seems to cause much anger.
I've have often been told to shut up and go away;
Many people don't want to hear what I have to say.

They have told me so many of their deepest secrets,
I think they, have since then, come to regret.
I have held their hurts, for years, in my heart;
Am I to be silent as, their mistakes, they restart?

Does my responsibility as "my brother's keeper"
Permit me to silently welcome the "grim reaper",
Whether that reaper is the one who perverts souls,
Or the one who finally reclaims the sick and the old?

The Ten Commandments seem such basic laws,
Yet they have, for generations, given pause.
I am so tired of the parsing of details,
Knowing many believers have become derailed.

Forget about what your "god" will forgive;
Save the communities in which we live.
My "God" doesn't want sacrifice of a fatted calf;
My "God" wants communities that share a child's laugh.

My "God" doesn't want great temples of gold;
My "God" wants someone to hold the hands of the old.
My "God" doesn't care about "God's" earthly name.
Nor what happens to our bodily remains.

My "God" wants greed and arrogance to cease,
And for all of creation to live in peace.
It is true that there are many natural deaths,
But death is necessary to growth, nonetheless.

We don't know what will be our earthly contribution;
I choose to believe it's not for ancestral retribution.
Until we teach our children they're born with clean slates,
We will live with the destruction that shame creates.


We cannot gestate an innocent human with a soul,
Inside a mother who has stopped being whole.
And until babies' sweet souls can be gestated in peace,
It's unlikely that killing of bodies and souls will cease.

Can We Help Create Heaven on Earth?

The truth is that we will never have justice until we rid ourselves of the idea that there are people who are born to rule over others. Too many generations have justified dictators, emperors, slave holders, and all manner of human bondage and abuse by pointing to scriptural passages that indicate that all leadership comes from "God". We must ask what is the example of their "God"?

Is your "God" a jealous, vengeful father, as so many writers of scripture state as their experience? Is your "God" a gentle Jew walking among men and women, spreading responsibility, compassion, and joyful gratitude? Or is your "God" a Spirit of Holiness that imbues all of creation, especially humankind?

I believe that this is why we need scriptures that have been revealed after the enlightenment of Pentecost descended upon the earth. What Christians believed after the resurrection of the body of Jesus has taken almost two thousand years to begin to be realized. We cannot afford to continue separating people into either saints or sinners based on a creed, or humans and non-humans by the color of their skin. We must have a code of conduct that includes all those willing to live with compassion and responsibility for all of creation, especially the children, the aged, the infirm, and the otherwise vulnerable.

We pretend that those born to privilege are endowed with leadership skills.  Good leadership requires self-discipline, patience, and compassion. Truly anointed leaders don't lead by fear, but by example. With the possible exception of those born severely brain damaged, sometimes through gestational drug addiction or other pre-birth injuries, we are all born with some ability to take personal responsibility. We make a mistake believing that there should be a group of "God"-defined masters to guide the less privileged as a shepherd guides his sheep.

I believe that "righteousness" is handed on, one hand held through the valleys of darkness at a time. Creation is in spiritual crisis, no less severe than are communities hit by tsunamis and hurricanes. When a hurricane hits, all the compassionate join hands with each other, and roll up their sleeves to assist. There is no male nor female, no black nor white. Isn't this how heaven has been described? We are then all created equal. We can spread this throughout creation., if we simply work at it.

What I believe we need is mentors, not masters or mistresses. And I believe that many of the journals of these mentors should indeed be included into sacred scripture. Let's ask those who have brought up compassionate, responsible parents to tell us the stories of their faith and families. Maybe we can create a heaven on earth with a Spirit of Holiness reigning over us all.