it starts with spending an hour going in the Bible to where the Spirit is leading you. go to Proverbs. go to Ecclesiastes. go to the Psalms. go to the words of Jesus and the early church letters.
everything but God will lead to destruction. only the Bible will lead to everlasting life and salvation.
i recently saw a twilight zone episode, a story about a man who could shape-shift into different people. he ultimately was killed by his own father, because his father said the main character had broken his mother’s heart. before killing him, at one point the father called his son a “punk.” the father was angry enough at his son to essentially say, you are not my son anymore and i will kill you. the father thought that the sins of the son were great enough that the only way to pay them was if the father was judge jury and executioner, killing his own son.
so….. i’ve been thinking about it applied to my own life. am i a sinner? a punk? an asshole? a fool? if so, and i do believe it is so sometimes, then i need to atone for all my sins. even if it takes a million or more lifetimes. i need to atone, to simply my life, to do good deeds, to do as much good as i can before i die.
some people say atonement is not needed, as Jesus on the cross was the atonement. i agree. but i also think “faith without works is dead.”
first you need your conscience to be convicted. you need to be convicted of all of your sins.
then the next step is to find a Savior. to me, Jesus is the Savior. having said that, i think i benefit from studying other religious traditions, also, like Taoism and Zen and the sayings of Confucius.
each place you are at is a hologram. each hologram reflects all the other holograms. though you make your bed in hell, though you are in heaven, God is with you. “So, so you think you can tell heaven from hell?” –pink floyd. “to make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” –poem. we have that capability. do what you need to do. do what is right.
studying the tao te ching, an amazing book, convinced me that you can visit the whole world without leaving your bedroom. the internet also is collapsing time and space into here and now. the internet is making one world, not necessarily one world government, but one world. perhaps it is part of the next step in human evolution.
the asshole says, why should i do the right thing? what’s in it for me? and so he is always selfish and destructive.
the wise man says, what is the right thing to do right now, what is the right thing to say right now? then speak one’s lines from one’s heart and one’s gut. speak them with all the sincerity one has.
the spiritual path is from “what’s in it for me?” to “how can i help?”
i enjoy the film “what about bob?”
which is a story about a man who has a lot of fears, a lot of phobias
and his doctor has a book out about “baby steps”
so bill murray the main character “baby steps” to the door, “baby steps” to the elevator, etc. a good movie.
he’s overcoming his phobias, by taking one small step at a time.
i personally think america and china would not be enemies in the future, the more people speak each other’s languages and understand the culture of the other.
so…… i am dedicating myself (a bit anyway) to the study of chinese and japanese language and culture.
it can be done. you can learn a foreign language. take little steps, baby steps, and it can be done. stress free learning is the way to go, i believe. for people getting education in the future. where everything is to be gained, and there is no downside. do the homework to learn the skill or understand the points being made, the interpretations, but in general i believe once you are an adult, there is a part of you that doesn’t want to go back to doing homework, with positive results for stressful actions and stress resulting from not doing it, so both positive and negative results. instead, i believe in only positive results, stress free learning.
in other words, push yourself but move at your own pace. i believe children can learn calculus, if they are taught very simply and step by step. anyone can become fluent in japanese and chinese. you can learn about zen. you can learn about confucius. so, there is nothing wrong with knowing how to do something, or how to understand something, how to interpret it. understand what you can, and do your best, and give yourself permission to learn about another country. even something as daunting as learning chinese language is possible if you take one small step at a time, stress free learning.
fear hath torment
but perfect love casteth out all fear.
the five senses: based on corruption?
find the rock within, Jesus, to do the will of Jesus
on Christ the solid rock i stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
silver and gold have i none
but in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk rise up and walk rise up and walk
–Beastie boys, hello nasty album, dr. lee phd, based on acts
the more i dig into “environmental organizations”
(there is a listing on wikipedia)
the more i admire these groups
they want to save all life. they want to save plants and animals. they want to save humanity from itself. they want to save Mother Earth.
we are threatened, our survival is threatened, by our own foolishness. we are like the fool who breaks his mother’s heart by being addicted to foolishness, pornography, and the mother dies. well, in this case, however, the pornography is our own addiction to short term thinking, advertising, transforming Earth into products, which we use, then throw away, which go into a landfill, the pollution of the planet, the toxic substances that enter the oceans and rivers and lakes, and air, and soil.
study: adbusters. a very interesting magazine. having said that, if capitalism becomes “green” and we protect what remains of nature, capitalism has a better chance of surviving for the long run.
study: joanna macy. an amazing author, she cares deeply about the survival of the human race. sometimes this point of view is known as eco-buddhism, a combination of both buddhism and ecology.
i enjoy watching die hard (the original movie) from time to time
here is a cop who has his gun with him
he visits a japanese corporation on the very day that a gang of thieves and thugs take over the building
so there is always a point in an action movie where the “background” ends and the “intro” ends
and shots are fired, and people’s lives are threatened, and the hero must save the day. the hero enters the “action” part of the “action movie.”
in every moment zen, one can imagine that the warrior, having attained enlightenment, is a bit like inspector clouseau who instructs his friend to attack him at any moment in any location, in broad daylight or in the middle of the night, to maximize his own awareness and readiness to do battle instantly.
sometimes historically a samurai would study zen and get as much enlightenment as possible, get as much understanding as possible, in order to be a better samurai.
samurai has samurai karma!
cat has cat karma!
husband and wife have marriage karma!
student has learning karma!
hero has hero karma!
so it is not so much a matter of “waking up” from your earthly karma, as much as it is *choosing* to pursue what it is already your karma to pursue.
a woman once said to me, “Chris you need to work on your self respect.”
after i had mentioned to her that i wanted to have a girlfriend
what is self respect?
i think some of it comes from simply doing one’s best to be generous with the less fortunate.
you don’t have to feast all the time when there are those without even their daily bread.
there are those who are hungry.
there are the homeless.
so…….
and then as far as being laughed at, yes i am familiar with it
but my whole thing is no longer “what’s in it for me?”
but rather “how can i help?”
i continually read books because i believe in self improvement
i believe in the future of humanity
i believe if there are problems, the internet can bring attention to the problem,
and we can solve the problems as a human race.
look for ways to give to the needy
when i brought up giving to charity, one person mentioned an arts gift
another person mentioned a magazine he subscribes to
to be honest, i think giving to charity should mean giving to the needy. to the poor. to the hungry. to the homeless.
to those recovering from the wounds, both physical and psychological, of war.
and there are many good and worthy charities
try to look for those opportunities to give back to the community
look for ways to encourage others and help those who need help.
to do your job well, to keep your job, is a task that some people have not mastered, to their detriment
and that too has to do with self respect
what would you do if you knew you could not fail?
use the time wisely, knowing the shortness of life
i have a few credit cards
actually more than a few
why?
i want to build a good credit history
best to hover around zero
if it gets up to let’s say 500 dollars in debt it’s starting to get out of control
on one of the credit cards
so……
i always remember what a friend of mine said
“i don’t spend money i don’t have.”
that’s essentially what credit cards allow you to do:
but then you get to a point, if you’re foolish, where you barely make payments to pay the interest alone
and now you are stuck. you are trying to make minimum payments, as that is all you can now afford
and now you are in slavery. economic slavery. financial slavery. you are bending your knee
to the credit card company.
and you are presuming on God’s good will, that God will allow you to continue to make the minimum payments.
Jesus said, “put not the Lord your God to the test.” yet this is what you are trying to do.
so…… allow the credit card to go up
but then try your hardest to pay it all off.
once it is all paid off, you can allow yourself to spend a bit
you have to live a little as well
but that’s what a credit card is good for: spending money and then paying it off.
take twice as much pleasure paying off the debt as you did when you were spending the money.
take pleasure in paying off debt, as you make the (positive) money disappear (as it combines with the negative money, the debt)
kind of like matter and anti-matter
meeting each other and ultimately disappearing
debt is a form of slavery. as such it is a very ugly thing.
yet if you travel, it is good to have some credit cards. keep two wallets and if you get mugged, your other (hidden) wallet
will still have good credit cards.
it seems to me you need credit cards for hotels, transportation, food, etc.
although i do admire those successful people who simply do not believe in debt. the owner of the basketball team here in minnesota is like that.
remember: you are staking your word on being able to pay off your debt.
are you as good as your word?
a man is as good as his word.
a man’s word is his bond.
a man as good as his word is worth more than his weight in gold.
when you make a promise or a vow, keep it.
so, pay off your debts.
if it gets to a danger point, don’t spend money you don’t have.
Christopher Heimarck
poem 4-21-2013a
be gentle with the gentle souls
do good and give to those who never can give anything back to you
remember the pope being humble
washing the feet of the worshippers
remember to be gracious
make the other person feel welcome
make the other person feel that you love to talk to them
infinite hospitality is a two way street, but begin by being warm, with a warm smile
no one should be excluded.
poem april 18th 2013a
when in the fullness of time
the time comes round again to now
time to do something
time to do one’s job
not like the slothful man
the man so lazy he cannot bring his hand to his mouth
to feed himself
but what is one’s job?
what is the central question one has to answer, in all of one’s life?
finding other people
finding friends to help you in your task
is a mirror once again bringing you to the now
a book can be a friend
and when the student is ready, the teacher appears
what is it you are learning in this life?
what are the lessons you need to learn?
what is your job?
what is the question you need to ask yourself, when everyone else has gone away, leaving you alone again?
my heart goes out to the victims, those who have died and those who have been wounded, by the terrorist bombings in boston. may God strengthen our resolve to stand together at this time, offer all that is needed for those still recovering from the cowardly attacks. and i hope Justice is served as those who are responsible are found and will have to pay for their actions. i hope God, who is the consolation of the bereaved, will bring us at last to a time to heal, but for now, the anger and pain is too raw to speak of healing, so let us turn to God in this time and turn to embrace each other, and support law enforcement as they do their tasks, tracking down the perpetrators.
i believe in Jesus Christ
i believe in salvation
part of it is gaining Wisdom
read the Bible. read the King James Version. read the NLT. new living translation.
i believe some of the Bible was actually added later on. decide for yourself.
having said that, i also like the idea of everyone being bodhisattvas
a bodhisattva refuses to go to nirvana unless all beings are saved.
so i believe in collective salvation.
we watch TV. we are inundated with advertising concepts.
it is better to try to gain the Wisdom both from Christianity and Buddhism and ecology movements and simplicity
that says, no, you don’t need a second and third car to feel happy
you don’t need to somehow become a millionaire, a billionaire to be a worthwhile person
when there are people starving
and going without fresh water
and homeless
i don’t know if i would want to be a billionaire. i would give it away.
yes i believe in survival of the human race. i also believe in survival of all the species on earth.
a mass extinction is going on.
i am getting into the books of Joanna Macy
good stuff.
i don’t know if i could forgive a God who would send people to hell forever and ever.
i believe in a Buddha of Compassion who has compassion for all people and all beings
it is merely another way of referring to God.
we need to get together and see what we can do for the rain forest, the wild places, the wild creatures on this planet.
i used to think if i chose to say yes to Jesus
i would have to let go of my study of the Buddha
now i realize you can be both. you can read the Bible. you can gain wisdom that way.
but there is a related, but different kind of wisdom in Buddhism.
i’m reading the work of Joanna Macy
and i love what i’m reading
and she is rooted in the Buddhist perspective
but she wants to save the world. save the environment. save the species of animals and plants. stop the mass extinction.
stop the militarism, the endless war.
“world as lover, world as self.” that’s what i’m reading.
i can say yes to Jesus, when Jesus talks about loving neighbor as thyself, and loving God
but i can also say yes to the wisdom of Hinduism, Buddhism, and try in my own way to solve the problems
—-heal the brokenness of the world.
i have great respect for Shelley Lubben as well.
she takes people from the degrading and evil lifestyle of pornography
and fills them with hope that God has new plans for their life.
www.shelleylubben.com
i once mentioned religion to a man
i was trying to point out a series of cause and effect things that are based on the Bible
and what the Bible says
i was trying to give someone the wisdom that i had received myself from studying Christian books and the Bible
of course, as often happens, the other person was not at all appreciative of what i was trying to say
so he said, it’s just like the colors blue and orange. one person says he prefers blue, that blue is a better color.
someone else says, no, orange is a better color.
that’s like people with religious points of views. it is exactly the same, he said.
so why argue? why argue blue is better than orange?
why argue that God can do certain things for you, when someone else has a different point of view?
if you start from the assumption that God exists, that he is all-good, infinitely good, and all-powerful, infinitely powerful
then you want him on your side. you want him to know you will do what you can for good, and against the wickedness of the devil.
those who are foolish, are those who think it’s meaningless to discuss religion.
those who are wise will know this: the more you give, the more you shall receive. be generous with the poor and needy. and God will give back eventually with interest the money and help given.
indeed, there is full and rich life in Christ. and i’m not going to stop talking to people about Jesus.
it was nietzsche who said that everything boils down to the will to power.
there are many interesting and profound things he said
but my problem is: is something clean, or is it unclean?
my fear is the nietzsche’s philosophy leads people to try to be strong themselves, to try to have power over others, to be hedonistic.
by rejecting Christianity, nietzsche essentially had nothing other than the philosophy of a vacuum to replace it, and
i am not at all surprised that he ended his life having gone crazy.
i am a Christian, and i am glad to be a Christian. there is honor in being a Christian, like a knight of old
—-a Christian knight who stands up for what is right.
a warning: nietzsche’s vacuum philosophy, a void of goodness, is a meaningless reflection of the supposed absence of a God and may drive you crazy. just as nietzsche himself went crazy. just as it is rumored that he had sex with his sister. if there is no God, and if there are no rules, then insanity and self destruction follows.
i have to give respect to the african americans in this great nation
as well as in particular the jamaicans, the people who honor Bob Marley, as i honor the great man as well, and as a believer in God
i can truly say i admire the words and teachings and music of Bob Marley
sometimes people make assumptions
there are people who will try to put me down
as if they know the truth about who i am as a person, as a man
again it goes back to led zeppelin’s words
“in the days of my youth i was told what it means to be a man
now i’ve reached that age i try to do all those things the best i can.”
so……. yes there is a sense of being insulted
yes there is a sense of being put down
but i take refuge in the idea that all people are bodhisattvas
and if my karma includes being insulted, so be it.
it certainly happens often enough that i am insulted
that it becomes routine. an everyday occurrence
having said that, i must do what i must do.
what does that mean? i believe everyone is my friend
to the extent that i try to smile at people and make them feel welcome.
if they respond with insults and insult comedy, so be it.
i believe in “infinite hospitality for all people.”
what does that mean?
you take the good with the bad.
you love people even when they are a burden to deal with.
“you don’t know the size of my heart.”
–bloodstain lyrics
i believe in a world where everyone has fresh water, enough food, and so on. a place to live.
there are people who are wounded by the world itself. by the lack of heart, of men with heart in this world, a lack of generosity. a lack of hospitality. a lack of love.
they are humiliated by feeling that they have to take a job that doesn’t pay very much
and they know that they live in a society where indeed people are homeless. where people are hungry.
and they’re unhappy because there are apparently no more idealists who can imagine actively a world where everyone gets what they need.
so let me now take a stand: i believe in a world where the hungry are fed, where the homeless are housed, where people get their basic needs taken care of.
here we have the perennial question: does the money come from the government, through taxes? or from private sources? i believe in a partnership of public/private sources of money
so the job gets done.
but i also believe in a potlatch society, a society inspired by the traditions of american indians, who once a year (one set of tribes did this) they would give away all their possessions, and honor came not from keeping possessions, but by giving them away.
so people get what they need. the hungry are fed. the homeless are housed. the despairing are given meaning in life. that’s what i believe.
i am not ashamed of what i just said. but i am not a communist. i think there has to be new ways of dealing with society’s problems. the soviet union was a torturous place.
so…… if people make assumptions about me, so be it. i often am quiet, in part because i have studied the Quakers and i believe in simple words. keep it simple.
people look at the snarky insult comedy on TV, and they think the universe itself is a form of insult comedy, that this is a crazy universe, and in their unhappiness, they try to take it out on other people. but i love them just the same, as human beings, full of potential.
now…… i do have this to say: to the extent that someone or a group of people rely on insult comedy to make themselves seem superior, (just as is on the satanic TV set) there is a sense that they do not believe in the Day of Judgment. they do not believe that one day they will have to answer to God himself for their deeds, both good and bad.
so one pastor would put it this way: God doesn’t want you to go to hell. but if you want to go to hell, God isn’t going to lift a finger to stop you, if you are truly determined to go there. you have free will. you can choose good or evil. i warn you now, i warn whoever is reading this, there is a hell, and it is no joking matter. so, choose wisely.
roughly speaking there are three points of view on self and others:
win/win
win/lose
and lose/lose
once i was challenged to a fight (in high school.) i said, “what’s that going to prove?” the other person said, “it’ll prove that i can kick your ass!” of course, being a peaceable man, and seeing no need to prove my manhood to anyone, i refused to fight. the next day, and for a while afterward, i was called all sorts of names. i grinned and bore it. i knew time would change the perspective. i knew time was on my side. finally years later that same man who had challenged me to a fight came up to me and told me i was cool.
if i had fought, there were three possible outcomes. i could get injured, the other person could get injured, or we both could get injured. i just thought i was a losing game, and so i saw no sense in it, no need to fight. it was lose/lose.
and then there’s win/lose or lose/win. most people tend to think like this. this is the point of view that plays it small. there is a sense of envy and revenge. someone at this level tends to draw as much enjoyment, and perhaps more enjoyment, from the republicans losing as from the democrats winning (if the person is a democrat).
finally, there is win/win. the analogy i like to use is that of a candle. a candle can set another candle alight without losing anything of its own nature. one equals two. two equals three. there is no limit to the number of candles that can be set alight from one candle. likewise, a smile, a desire to help other people, is win/win.
sometimes it is as simple as asking a direct question and asking yourself who do you know that might be able to help this person?
find good books about networking. good networking can start with asking yourself how you can help, first. once you’ve helped enough people, eventually the good will come back to you. God is a rewarder of those who help others, and you can’t out-give God.
find good books about salesmanship. approach problems with a win/win attitude in place, as if you will benefit, but so will the other person. let go of bitterness and hatred, and replace them with hope and love.
ask yourself, what can i do to help the entire community? what can i do to help those in need? even if i have to sacrifice something, do something good for the needy. then tell no one about it. keep going on the path of philanthropy, and all of your positive energy will eventually come back to benefit you.
“Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to save them,
“Desires are inexhaustible, I vow to put an end to them,
“The dharmas are boundless, I vow to master them,
“The Buddha Way is unattainable, I vow to attain it.”
donnie wahlberg, marky mark’s brother
produced a good show. i highly recommend it. boston’s finest.
about the police of boston.
i have a real interest in boston as a city
i also have an interest in shows that show the reality of what it means to be a police officer.
what the badge means. honor and courage.
so i highly recommend the show.
having just seen the first episode, i most appreciated the twin sister story line, a female cop
has a twin sister who’s been addicted to drugs, and on the wrong side of the law.
God bless these police officers.
it is worth mentioning that this is more a documentary (reality TV) rather than a fictional TV show.
mark wahlberg is one of my favorite actors
and this is his brother’s production. mark has a charity for young people
and donnie also wants to give back to the working people, boston, his roots, his people.
for those reasons i deeply admire both mark and donnie wahlberg.
it occurs to me that some of my posts in the past week or two
were bitter
though i had some incredibly bad experiences in psychiatry
i do not see any particular doctor as a malevolent being
“we are all on the same side.”
in other words, some people have problems. problems in living.
psychiatry attempts to deal with the problems.
if psychiatry did not exist, another system would still need to exist, to help people who have “problems in living.”
so rather than being bitter, i encourage all anti-psychiatry people instead to support alternative systems
such as soteria houses, etc. i believe we need shamanic training and psychedelic drugs for a deeper self-understanding
rather than seeing the other as the “enemy”
we need to find ways to create a new reality where human rights are not violated.
i personally think perhaps we need to start from square one.
the “subject” is the person about whom much information is collected and put into files
but does the “subject” ever do anything similar about those who work at a hospital?
of course not. but i don’t think there should be files in the first place.
the psychiatrist prescribes drugs that he himself would not take.
as opposed to the shamanic experience, where the more experienced shaman takes the same psychedelic drugs that the student shaman takes.
we need to have reciprocity in the relationship between Guide and Seeker
rather than putting it in terms of the medical model, doctors, medications, hospitals, criteria for forcible drugging and electroshock, etc.
perhaps the Guide could be the senior Shaman
and the Seeker would be the one searching for a deeper foundation for society as a whole
and i believe as i said, hallucinogenic drugs should be legal and used in certain situations
if they were safe with the primitive tribes,
why would these psychedelic substances not be safe with us?
—-when used in controlled circumstances.
when human rights have been violated, anger is a stage that is often necessary for the protester
but what are the further steps, toward creating a new way of being?
pray to God.
when it is light outside, why are you still trying to sleep?
get up and read the Bible for an hour every day, if you can. and pray.
you need good food for your spirit man. you don’t need all of that “sex lies and videotape” that’s always on TV.
i like the King James Version of the Bible. but it is more understandable in the New Living Translation Study Bible,
which i also like.
start by memorizing the Proverbs. a fool sayeth in his heart there is no God. but foolishness vanishes
when God’s righteousness comes into one’s soul.
ask for the Holy Spirit to come into your heart and teach you what to do and what to say.
it is the Spirit of All Truth.
i think Ecclesiastes naturally goes with the Proverbs, and makes you think about what you really want your life to be about, in a world full of vanity and useless pride. there is great Wisdom in Ecclesiastes.
then of course the Gospel of John. read especially the words of Jesus. and the other Gospels.
i must admit that i got the idea of spending an hour in the Bible every day from Gloria Copeland, God bless her in all ways.
i am proud to be a partner with Kenneth Copeland Ministries.
in thinking about studying the Bible in the morning
remember Wisdom, who says in Proverbs, “Those who seek Me early shall find Me.”
if you seek Wisdom, ask God, and God will not upbraid you, or criticize you—– God wants to give you his Wisdom.
but try not to be a double minded man.
don’t give equal weight comparing what God says to what the world says.
other than Jesus, “all other ground is sinking sand.” –Christian hymn.
i used to believe like deng xiaoping says, “it is glorious to get rich”
at least that quote was attributed to him, maybe he didn’t actually say it.
and so i thought first i do stage a then i do stage b.
i used to believe in the idea of “going back to school”
then earning a lot of money
then attracting a woman.
the truth is, however, the internet can be used as a school. learn about the world. learn as much as you can.
learn different languages. order books on entrepreneurship. learn about the business world.
LEARN. LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, ALL THE TIME. LEARN!
so……
i realized that life is going to pass me by if i don’t get out there and get what i want out of life.
you don’t want to be 75 years old, look back on your life, and say,
“i really could have done something, but i never started, because i was waiting for the perfect time.”
look at ecclesiastes
it says, he who regardeth the wind, etc. will not sow, and therefore will not reap.
ecclesiastes is some of the deepest and most thoughtful Wisdom i have ever found.
what is it talking about in sowing and reaping?
what is it talking about, putting your bread on the waters, and getting it back after many days?
well first, it’s talking about sexuality itself, getting your wife pregnant. obviously, taking care of children in a Godly way is the purpose of a family unit.
second, it’s talking about “bread on the waters” which is investments. invest in many different things. “the bread will come back to you after many days.”
third, it’s talking about supporting your local church. tithing. offering. to tithe literally means to give 10 percent.
finally, and not least in importance, it is talking about giving to the poor. giving to charity. God will see you being open-handed, being generous with the poor. one of God’s angels will open the way for you, if you seek a richer, fuller life.
“i have come that you might have life, and that more abundantly.” –Jesus.
you have to overcome your perfectionism. don’t regard the wind and clouds. start where you are, and God will bless your undertakings. now is the time to sow, so that the time to reap and sow more will come soon.
a relative of mine once said, “the perfect is the enemy of the good.” NOW IS THE TIME.
