Friday, April 13, 2012

YABO - Yet Another Bible Oddity, 2 for 1 Special! Part 1 of 2

Wow, it's been over two months since my last blog - unacceptable. In light of this fact, I offer here two items for review; one just freakin weird thing and one apparent contradiction from the New Testament. 

Before you get your skivvies in a bind, relax, enjoy the show. I know this is going to be unpopular for some of my mainstream Christianity friends but I ask them to carefully consider this, prayerfully if they like, and keep an open mind.

Leave your hate at the altar
Do some research before flying off the fundamentalist handle. Scriptures quoted are from the New International Version of the Bible except where indicated. KJV lovers, I included a few for you. There's no proof-texting involved. Any of these quoted scriptures read the same within the whole chapter. I am, by far, NOT an apologist so by all means, research this yourself, pick your favorite translation and see if it bears fruit. I already have. 

The Weird Thing
Those who have known me for a while know that I'm an ardent fan of Holy Scripture, any kind from any spiritual tome. I think they all have a common moral thread and are of value in some form or other, their specific worth determined by the reader.  It being the case that I was raised in a Christian flavor of household, I tend to study the Bible more than any of the others. It being the case that I like a challenge and notice things that seem out of place, I offer you these observations from the Book of John. I'll note here for the benefit of anyone who forges ahead to Part 2 that John, one of the four Gospels, stands apart from his brethren in scope, content and congruency. The first three; Matthew, Mark and Luke are referred to as Synoptic (like synonym kind of) Gospels for their congruency. Some scholars think that the latter two are strictly derived from the first but that's content for another blog.

Let's begin.

The setting is the "Last Supper" which, by the way, is a Gentile term for a tradition of having dinner at the passing of a loved one, also called the Eucharist, and it is the farewell discourse between Jesus and his disciples before he is delivered up to the crucifixion. Someone check my punctuation in that last sentence, I'm not liking it.

According to John 13:1 this gathering occurred BEFORE the Passover Feast (see Part 2):
John 13:1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

KJV
John 13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

Judas is sent away "to do we he came to do" and Jesus continues his discourse. All emphasis mine.

Where ARE you going?
John 13:33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

John 13:36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?

   Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

KJV
John 13:33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.

John 13:36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.

John 14:5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?

Wait for it...

John 16:4-6 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 

    
Wait, isn't that what Peter just asked?



YABO, it's good for baking your noodle.

Stay tuned for Part 2 - when was the crucifixion, or more particularly, what day?

Thursday, February 9, 2012

How To Deal With a Bully 21st Century Skeptic Style

Let me say this first, if your kid's a bully there's a reckoning coming if your kids tries to run over one of mine so be forewarned. Second, if my kid's being a bully you be sure to let me know so I can straighten out that problem myself.

I'm addressing the kids that are being bullied and what I'm telling my kids to do and what you can tell your kids. I refuse to be responsible for what you tell your kids and what they do as a result of this article. Disclaimer disclosed.

Do you know what to look for if your child is being bullied? Here are some common signs:




1. An - A - student rapidly drops to a - C - student.

2. Bruises or cuts that your child blames on other things.

3. A general depressed view of life.

4. A sudden unexplained aversion to wanting to go to school.

5. Vanishing lunch money.

6. Getting in trouble for fights that your child swears he or she didn't start.



These signs point to trouble, and need to be investigated further. You as the parent or caregiver need to put lots of attention on solving the problem. If you ignore it, your child could at the minimum suffer lower self-esteem, poor grades, self-confidence issues and a future of the same. Worst case, your child could be physically hurt, or even killed.


If your child is being bullied it's time to wade in as Mamma Bear, Papa Bear whatever - it's time to over-react and get a handle on it immediately. Talk to your child to find out who the bully is and what he or she has been doing to your child. This may be difficult, because most kids are ashamed to let their parents know what awful things have been done to them. You must press on and find out all the details. Either the same day you find out, or early the next morning go to the school and talk to the highest-ranked person there (probably the principal) and scream bloody murder. 

Do not be gentle in your approach with the school otherwise little if anything will be done. Demand that the bully be taken out of that class, or expelled from the school. Threaten law suits against the school and against the parents of the bully if there is even the slightest bullying against your child. If you don't get results go to the school board, pursue legal action. This doesn't mean you will get every demand but you will put the school system on notice that you're taking action all the way through to resolution.


Make life a living hell for the bully that attacked your child. Your son or daughter will probably hate all the attention you are putting on the situation, but for sure they will thank you for it later, and it is your primary job as a parent to protect your child from harm. Follow up after your complaint to the school. Ask your child if the bullying has stopped, go back to the school over and over again until you get what you want. No one messes with your child.


I wasn't a big fan of school and I dealt with my fair share of bullying until about 10th grade when I took a stand and belted my tormentor in the mouth. That was the end of my torment from that particular idiot. My best friend in high school faced this same scenario the same way and, I think, in the same year with the same results. Do I advocate violence? Not as a general rule but in some cases I find it both cathartic and empowering for the abused. Enough is enough sometimes, folks, let's get down to brass tacks here and stop with all the feel good mumbo jumbo. Forgive me if I digress, violence - last resort.


School should be a pleasant learning experience for your child. If he or she is being tormented everyday by a bully there is little chance that your child will do well in school.


Bullying is always an escalating venture. It starts out usually with name-calling. Just like the shark that bumps it's prey before attacking, the bully will be checking to see if there is fear in his proposed victim. If there is, he or she will continue with more and more humiliating attacks, such as throwing objects like spit balls, paper airplanes, rocks and bricks. Use of liquids such as glue on the chair seat, paint on the chair seat, throwing milk. Spitting on the victim, spitting in the victim's food. Damaging the belongings of the victim. Writing on the books, breaking into the victim's locker, stealing personal items of the victim. Physical blows to the victim. Kicking the shin, the groin, the body, punching the stomach, the face, the shoulder, the back. Shooting the victim with everything from a sling-shot to a shotgun. The older the kids get, the more brazen the torment the bullies bring. How long are you going to put up with it?


I have seen in school systems bullies bust up another kid to the point they were nearly unrecognizable, both kids get kicked out for fighting (UNFAIR) or some lesser sentence for the bully like detention. Unacceptable.


Things can get really out of hand for your child if you allow it. Bullying is not limited to school. It often happens in the neighborhood, at the park, at after-school programs. There will always be bullies around your child. Don't let your child be the victim.


Strategies
Stopping the problem before it becomes a problem is always the best tactic. Here's what you should teach your child to help them to deal with bullies: Make sure your child understands that no matter how big and scary looking the bully is, he or she does not have the right to hurt your child and that the bully is being a bully because he or she is insecure and is a coward. You've got to give your child the confidence to stand up to the bully.

Most all schools have a zero-violence policy. If a child fights, that child gets sent home. Tell your child that when it comes to bullies, you expect him or her to fight back and that you will support your child's actions 100%. Many kids never fight back against bullies because they are afraid they'll be in trouble with their parents, and they allow the bully to harass them for many years.





By the way, one of our personal favorites here is to laugh at an insult or name calling and walk away. That's working good in elementary school for now but how about later?


Teach your child to over-react to the threat of a bully and to follow these guidelines: If some kid calls your child a bad word, he or she should look the bully right in the eye and angrily command "Stop It!" Immediately after, your child should go to the principal. Yard monitors for the most part won't be of much help. Your child needs to go right to the top. If on a subsequent occasion the bully physically touches your child in any manner, your child should very forcefully slap the bullies hand off, and with eye contact and a pointed finger-- command loudly "Don't EVER touch me again!"



In my law enforcement days we used to say "Stop resisting!" very loudly when dealing with a combative suspect. It has a psychological effect on witnesses and makes them pay attention to what's going on, sorting out the aggressor from the non-aggressor.

Teach your son or daughter to have a defiant attitude toward bullies. He or she should become very angry when a bully attempts physical contact. Your child should then go straight to the principal's office to complain, and call you at work or home. Once again, this should be made a very big deal.

It has to be so painful for the school when a bully tries to hurt your child that everyone at the school goes out of their way to prevent it from happening. If you under-react nothing will be done. Schools are run as a bureaucracy and for anything to get done, you first have to get noticed. You and your child need to cause a major ruckus every time there is a problem with a bully.

If it happens again that the bully physically touches or harms your child, instruct your child to snap kick the bully in the groin full power, and then to stand over the bully and say "You were warned, next time I won't be so nice!!" Then again, right to the principal's office. Pick your technique here, it doesn't have to be a groin shot.

Your child might get suspended for the day. But, it will change two people's lives forever and will be well worth it. Your son or daughter will be changed because he or she will have learned to fight back, and with the confidence gained from the experience, your child will most likely never be targeted again as a bully's victim. Your child would also have done the bully a big favor. The bully would have learned that it's not a good idea to go up to people and pick on them. If the bully hadn't learned this lesson with your child, he might have continued to bully people for many years. As an adult, the bully might go up and harass an armed person who may not be as forgiving as your child was.

Bullying for a junior high school or high school student can be a very dangerous proposition. The bully/victim relationship is basically the same as it was in elementary school, but now the bullies are much bigger and stronger and are capable of extreme damage. Especially in junior high school the amount of bullying and fights increase dramatically. Most likely this is due to the onset of adolescence.

Young adults try to establish a "pecking order" at this age. To make sure your child doesn't end up on the low end of that order, here are a few things to help: It's better to have friends than enemies. Encourage your child to have as many friends as possible. Try to get your child to get involved in team sports, and in some of the clubs available in junior high and high school. In general, kids with a strong core group of friends don't get picked on much.

Once again, instill an indignant attitude in your child toward bullies. Instruct your child to not let an aggressor get away with anything. Should a bully attempt to torment your child, he or she should instantly fight back, and then again go straight to the principal to report what happened and to call you. Cause a stink, get results. If your child doesn't immediately fight back, the hesitation will be interpreted as fear and will cause the bully's attacks to get worse.

Do your child a big favor and teach them not to stand for being bullied-- not now, not ever. This martial artist attitude will give your child a happy, rewarding time during school and for the rest of his or her life.



The school system will not endorse this type of response to bullying. They are at the mercy of policy and procedure. Your child is at the mercy of the bully - YOU decide which is more important.

Gilmer County High School Divided Over Bullying Issue - WBOY.com: Clarksburg, Morgantown: News, Sports, Weather

Gilmer County High School Divided Over Bullying Issue - WBOY.com: Clarksburg, Morgantown: News, Sports, Weather



Mmkay, so the upshot of the story is this: some of the kids say there's a bullying problem at Gilmer County High School, some say there isn't.

The school system is supposedly investigating alleged cases of bullying at present and there is no police report filed, at least not with the WV State Police. None of this is exciting, it's pretty standard fare and process for something falling under Safe Schools, so no problems there.

What has me up in arms are statements like this: "I was just so stressed out because of what people were saying. They would call me fat. They would call me stupid and ugly and everything. It got so bad where the only thing I thought I could do was cut myself," and this: "I would stick my finger down my throat to get sick so I wouldn't have to go to school. That was the point I was at before they pulled me out," and even more so this: "That's why people kill themselves. They commit suicide because they're sick of people making fun of them. I don't think it's right. No one should have to take their own life because their life gets so bad,".

Back in the day, admittedly over a quarter of a century ago, "cutting", suicide and self induced vomiting weren't a consideration when being bullied. It wouldn't have entered anyone's mind to take a sharp implement and carve into one's own skin for chrissakes.

This begs a number of questions - where are the parents and what have they taught these children as far as how to deal with problems of any sort including being bullied? Where is the idea of cutting as a solution to any problem coming from? The media? TV or music? Overexposure to same?! I think so.

It reminds me of the major news outlets delineating in excruciating and maddening detail the events of 911 and subsequent terrorist activity. Does everyone need to know how to make an IED?! Really?

Parents, wake up and help your kids deal with their problems. Give them alternatives, direction, structure, options.

Media, stop hyping up all the bad crap people are doing, especially anti-social behavior and instructions on how to be a class A dirtbag.

Turn off the TV, video games and internet (or monitor it very closely), moms, dads and caregivers. Watch for changes in your kids, ask questions, investigate, give a crap. Then give some common sense advice, if you have any.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Original Sin, a Catastrophe of Biblical Proportions

See, her eyes are open.
Some years ago, I was heavily involved in the Christian ministry - at some point, I'll share all of those details but, for now, suffice it say that my religious upbringing was interesting, varied, and confusing. After my Dad died in 1994, I clung ferociously to the Church and the Scriptures as my only lifeling/ coping mechanism. Ironically, my new found love of scripture led me to Hebrew and Greek translations of the Word and ever deeper study and THEN I began to see the oddities of an allegedly divinely-inspired work.

I'm going to do a fair amount of blogging on similar topics ranging from justice, inconsistency and lunacy to illogical, evil and outright balderdash.

Am I slamming Christianity - not really, more like pointing out stuff that makes no sense whatsoever in what is supposed to be the Word of God himself. Believe what you will. Apologists are welcome but please bring your evidence to the fore. Historical evidence, concrete evidence, please. Using the Easter Bunny to explain Santa Claus is not allowed.



Let's deal with the punishment of the snake in Genesis first. This excerpt comes from the New International Version (NIV) Bible but any translation will work.

Genesis 3
[The Fall]

 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
 16 To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
 17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
 20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
 21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Where to start? I'll pass on breaking each verse down for now. Let's go with the original idea of punishing the snake. First, in almost every Christian Church I've been in where the Fall is discussed, the serpent not only represents old Scratch, the Devil himself - he IS Satan in the slithery flesh incarnate. I don't see that here in the Scripture but I digress.

Why was the snake punished? Was there a standing law to withhold secret knowledge accessible by eating fruit from a tree known to be dangerous and bearing fruit not to be eaten yet stuck squarely in the middle of a garden paradise as a temptation?

Too much? I don't think so. The whole story smacks of a lesson and nothing more, eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and die that very day or, better said, "Do what God commands or DIE". But wait, that didn't happen so maybe it's a figurative death. Death is coming later rather than sooner, some 820 years or so - there's no exact accounting.

Back to the snake and its punishment. The snake said that if she ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that her eyes would be opened and, according to the story, that's exactly what happened. Should the snake be punished? There must have been some unspoken understanding about talking snakes and their revealing knowledge useful for decision making to created beings.

The God made in man's image shines here. He is vengeful, cruel (do you set your kids or any kid or disadvantaged person up for a fall knowing there's a huge temptation to be tried? do you permit drug dealers to come around your kids so they can try to sell them some good stuff?), unfair and a micro manager. What were these people like BEFORE their eyes were opened and they were oblivious to clothing or the lack thereof? BEFORE they knew the difference between good and evil? And this brings up another salient point - they didn't know the difference between good and evil until after they ate the fruit - so are they guilty, Your Honor? How could they be? They had no idea what they were doing was wrong, correct? OR when it was made known that they were not to eat of the fruit - evil, or the potential of it, entered in at that point and man didn't create that, the man-made God in this story handled that on his own. Either way, there's no reconciling this one. If they understood it was wrong to eat the fruit, then that knowledge already exists - with me?

I'll be waiting for the "free will" arguments which will be baseless here since Adam and Eve's eyes were closed to good and evil. The proof was in the eating.

Do you think the serpent had feet before this all went down?

New Year, New Stuffs

I'm not big on New Year resolutions but this is going to be a formative year for me, for this country and, I believe, the world. In honor of all things formative, I'm undergoing a total body makeover. BTW, I hate that syntax "total body makeover" but it's fitting. To your left is an image of Disney boy toy Zac Efron who made some pretty big gains a couple of years back.

This isn't Fantasy Island and I'm not Zac Efron, Ricardo Montalban not even Tattoo. What I am is in decent shape, but not where I want to be,and looking to challenge the notion of "ya gotta jack alotta iron and take alotta supplements to get big and strong".
I'll be the first to admit that working out with free weights is a fine idea and shows impressive results. I don't have a free weight collection unless you count the 110lb novice sets sold at big box retailers. I plan to use isotonics. Imagine isometric body exercises where one muscle group is pitted against an imovable object, or perhaps another muscle group,and then add some movement through space.

I started this year off right with P90X, three weeks worth. The first week was brutal, next week and subsequent week were fine EXCEPT I've got a brutally bad knee and an old shoulder injury that flares up from the stuff in Tony Horton's offering. I fully expect to have to deal with those problems but I also know I'm going to work around them, 21st Century Skeptic style.

Stay tuned, when I'm successful and have some results, I'll add pics and numbers to the mix.

Also, look for new posts about really insane crap I find in Scripture that I can't, for the life of me, reconcile. It's all coming soon so check back often. Heck, I'll probably post something later tonight.

Cheers

Friday, October 14, 2011

What The Mayan Elders Are Saying About 2012

Straight From Here
This is a repost of something I previously wrote (February 2011) but this repost is inspired by Marjorie McAtee's Blog entitled "Friday Fun Facts#12: Apocalypse Edition".

Carlos Barrios, Mayan elder and Ajq'ij (is a ceremonial priest and spiritual guide) of the Eagle Clan. Carlos initiated an investigation into the different Mayan calendars circulating. Carlos along with his brother Gerardo studied with many teachers and interviewed nearly 600 traditional Mayan elders to widen their scope of knowledge.
Carlos found out quickly there were several conflicting interpretations of Mayan hieroglyphs, petroglyphs, Sacred Books of 'Chilam Balam' and various ancient text. Carlos found some strong words for those who may have contributed to the confusion:

NOBODY can interpret this
Carlos Barrios: "Anthropologists visit the temple sites and read the inscriptions and make up stories about the Maya, but they do not read the signs correctly. It's just their imagination. Other people write about prophecy in the name of the Maya. They say that the world will end in December 2012. The Mayan elders are angry with this. The world will not end. It will be transformed."
"We are no longer in the World of the Fourth Sun, but we are not yet in the World of the Fifth Sun. This is the time in-between, the time of transition. As we pass through transition there is a colossal, global convergence of environmental destruction, social chaos, war, and ongoing Earth Changes."

He continues: "Humanity will continue, but in a different way. Material structures will change. From this we will have the opportunity to be more human. We are living in the most important era of the Mayan calendars and prophecies. All the prophecies of the world, all the traditions are converging now. There is no time for games. The spiritual ideal of this era is action."

Carlos tells us: "The indigenous have the calendars and know how to accurately interpret it -- not others. The Mayan Calendars comprehension of time, seasons, and cycles has proven itself to be vast and sophisticated. The Maya understand 17 different calendars such as the Tzolk'in or Cholq'ij, some of them charting time accurately over a span of more than ten million years.

"All was predicted by the mathematical cycles of the Mayan calendars. -- It will change --everything will change. Mayan Day-keepers view the Dec. 21, 2012 date as a rebirth, the start of the World of the Fifth Sun. It will be the start of a new era resulting from and signified by the solar meridian crossing the galactic equator and the Earth aligning itself with the center of the galaxy."

At sunrise on December 21, 2012 for the first time in 26,000 years the Sun rises to conjunct the intersection of the Milky Way and the plane of the ecliptic. This cosmic cross is considered to be an embodiment of the Sacred Tree, The Tree of Life, a tree remembered in all the world's spiritual traditions.
Some observers say this alignment with the heart of the galaxy in 2012 will open a channel for cosmic energy to flow through the Earth, cleansing it and all that dwells upon it, raising all to a higher level of vibration. Carlos reminds us: "This process has already begun. Change is accelerating now and it will continue to accelerate.
If the people of the Earth can get to this 2012 date in good shape without having destroyed too much of the Earth, we will rise to a new, higher level. But to get there we must transform enormously powerful forces that seek to block the way."

The date specified in the calendar Winter Solstice in the year 2012 does not mark the end of the world. Many outside people writing about the Mayan calendar sensationalize this date, but they do not know. The ones who know are the indigenous elders who are entrusted with keeping the tradition.

Carlos tells us: "The economy now is a fiction. The first five-year stretch of transition from August 1987 to August 1992 was the beginning of the destruction of the material world. We have progressed ten years deeper into the transition phase by now, and many of the so-called sources of financial stability are in fact hollow. The banks are weak. This is a delicate moment for them. They could crash globally, if we don't pay attention. Now, people are paying attention."

The North and South Poles are both breaking up. The level of the water in the oceans is going to rise. But at the same time land in the ocean, especially near Cuba, is also going to rise. Carlos tells a story about the most recent Mayan New Year ceremonies in Guatemala. He said that one respected Mam elder, who lives all year in a solitary mountain cave, journeyed to Chichicastenango to speak with the people at the ceremony. The elder delivered a simple, direct message. He called for human beings to come together in support of life and light.

"Right now each person and group is going his or her own way. The elder of the mountains said there is hope if the people of the light can come together and unite in some way. We live in a world of polarity -- day and night, man and woman, positive and negative. Light and darkness need each other. They are a balance."
"Just now the dark side is very strong, and very clear about what they want. They have their vision and their priorities clearly held, and also their hierarchy. They are working in many ways so that we will be unable to connect with the spiral Fifth World in 2012."

"On the light side everyone thinks they are the most important, that their own understandings, or their group's understandings, are the key. There's a diversity of cultures and opinions, so there is competition, diffusion, and no single focus."

Carlos believes the dark side works to block unity through denial and materialism. It also works to destroy those who are working with the light to get the Earth to a higher level. They like the energy of the old, declining Fourth World, the materialism. They do not want it to change. They do not want unity. They want to stay at this level, and are afraid of the next level.

The dark power of the declining Fourth World cannot be destroyed or overpowered. It's too strong and clear for that, and that is the wrong strategy. The dark can only be transformed when confronted with simplicity and open-heartedness. This is what leads to unity, a key concept for the World of the Fifth Sun.

Carlos said the emerging era of the Fifth Sun will call attention to a much-overlooked element. Whereas the four traditional elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water have dominated various epochs in the past, there will be a fifth element to reckon with in the time of the Fifth Sun --- that element is 'ETHER'.

The dictionary defines Ether as a "hypothetical substance supposed to occupy all space, postulated to account for the propagation of electromagnetic radiation through space." Perhaps it could be defined as the "space between space". I would suggest it could be manifest as the alignment of charged particles from our solar system (Sun), and our galaxy (Milky Way) surge. The Ether element represents spiritual energy.

"The element of the Fifth Sun is celestial. Within the context of Ether there can be a joining of the polarities. No more darkness or light in the people, but an uplifted unity. But right now the realm of darkness is not interested in this. They are organized to block it. They seek to unbalance the Earth and its environment so we will be unready for the alignment in 2012."

"We need to work together for peace, and balance with the other side. We need to take care of the Earth that feeds and shelters us. We need to put our entire mind and heart into pursuing unity and unity now, to confront the other side and preserve life."

"We are disturbed -- we can't play anymore. Our planet can be renewed or ravaged. Now is the time to awaken and take action. Everyone is needed. You are not here for no reason. Everyone who is here now has an important purpose. This is a hard but a special time. We have the opportunity for growth, but we must be ready for this moment in history."

Carlos says: "The prophesied changes are going to happen, but our attitude and actions determine how harsh or mild they are. We need to act, to make changes, and to elect people to represent us who understand and who will take political action to respect the Earth."

"Meditation and spiritual practice are good, but also action. It's very important to be clear about who you are, and also about your relation to the Earth. Develop yourself according to your own tradition and the call of your heart. But remember to respect differences, and strive for unity. Eat wisely --- a lot of food is corrupt in either subtle or gross ways. Pay attention to what you are taking into your body. Learn to preserve food, and to conserve energy. Learn some good breathing techniques, so you have mastery of your breath. Be clear. Follow a tradition with great roots. It is not important what tradition, your heart will tell you, but it must have great roots."

"We live in a world of energy. An important task at this time is to learn to sense or see the energy of everyone and everything -- people, plants, animals. This becomes increasingly important as we draw close to the World of the Fifth Sun, for it is associated with the element 'ether' -- the realm where energy lives and weaves. Go to the sacred places of the Earth to pray for peace, and have respect for the Earth which gives us our food, clothing, and shelter. We need to reactivate the energy of these sacred places. That is our work."

"One simple but effective prayer technique is to light white or baby-blue colored candles. Think of a moment in peace. Speak your intention to the flame and send the light of it on to the leaders who have the power to make war or peace."

Carlos reminds us this is a crucially important moment for humanity and for Earth. Each person is important.
He said the elders have opened the doors so that other races can come to the Mayan world to receive the tradition. "The Maya have long appreciated and respected that there are other colors, other races, and other spiritual systems. They know that the destiny of the Mayan world is related to the destiny of the whole world."

"The greatest wisdom is in simplicity. Love, respect, tolerance, sharing, gratitude, forgiveness. It's not complex or elaborate. The real knowledge is free. It's encoded in your DNA. All you need is within you. Great teachers have said that from the beginning. Find your heart, and you will find your way."

Interesting stuff - I personally don't think anything unusual is going to happen in 2012. I'd like to think we are moving firmly into a more humanist, realist and less superstitious way of thinking. Perhaps 2012 will gift us with that.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Relationships 101 For the Men, Women and Manipulation

She's using you, bro
We're at a serious deficit from jump when it comes to our sexual obsession towards women. Usually men are better with the brute strength side of desperate measures. Picture a scene some 130,000 years ago when Neanderthal ruled the land. He came, he saw, he conquered for quite some time including dragging off whatever female he wanted, presumably by the hair of her head. Those days are over, fellas.

Now, thanks to following the Code of Hammurabi and the more recent Masonic code, we have laws to prevent such activities today. Except for some Middle Eastern countries, getting sex by threat of violence is pretty much non-existant and, personally, I'm down with that.

Civilized man has to get sex the hard way, and that puts him at the mercy of women's unpredictable moods and whims. If a woman doesn't want to put out, what are you gonna do? Rape her? Yeah, good luck getting away with that, Genius. What kind of asshat are you anyway?

A woman's last resort strength, her sexuality, is perfectly legal and works like a charm. Having said that, sexuality isn't even her best weapon. The award winner here is her manipulative little mind.

Women's wants and how the relationships fail:

Often, when it comes to choosing a mate, women aren't the most levelheaded. Shockingly, most of the men women end up marrying invariably fail to measure up to their White Knight childhood fantasies. The first few years of marriage are spent trying to hone their man's "rough edges," subtly, or not so much, trying to "domesticate" him until he acts less like himself, and more like the kind of guy they really wanted to marry (but didn't want to go out and actually find).

Toward that end women don't just use their body parts to get what they want. Rather they use their crafty minds, too. It being the case that men can't think straight around women they like, a crafty daughter will take advantage of that confusion, it's just kicking a guy when he's down.

The Manipulated Man

Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil and David DeAngelo got nothin on what I'm about to reveal here.

Women can often effortlessly and significantly change a man's behavior by using a few standard conditioning methods. These methods work on either sex equally well, but generally require the kind of persistence, patience and underhanded craftiness that few men can muster, or sustain. Yet it's precisely that kind of mental voodoo that women excel at.

First, there is Classical conditioning. This is where women get men to associate one behavior with another. For example, if a woman gives her man a blow job every time he buys her jewelry, he will begin to associate the two and, in no time, the mere thought of buying her jewelry finds him sportin' a woody. How Pavlovian of us, right guys? We ARE a simple lot.

The second kind of conditioning makes someone associate a particular behavior with a particular consequence. For example, when a man stays out all night with his boys, the woman, who wants to discourage this "terrible" behavior, withholds sex. Assuming he doesn't pack his bags and leave (like he should), the man soon learns that if he wants to get laid, he'd better come home on time. This is called operant conditioning, but is more commonly referred to as "pussy-whipping."

Another common form of manipulation is "passive-aggressive" behavior. In a nutshell, when a woman wants her man to do something, like buy her a new car, she doesn't come right out and tell him what she wants. (That would be effective, but wouldn't make him jump through any prove-you-love-me hoops.) Instead, she drops periodic hints under the assumption that, since her man says he loves her, he can pick up her clues and figure out what she wants without her asking. If he fails, she will, quite illogically, assume that he doesn't love her.

The main flaw in this approach is that it overestimates men. They are just not perceptive enough to notice most signals a woman uses short of slapping. Another woman might be able to decode her veiled suggestions, but men simply aren't equipped with the right emotional sensors to piece together her 100,000-piece all-blue-sky jigsaw puzzle. Again, we ARE a simple lot and NO, we really DON'T know what you're thinking!
Women could avoid a lot of disappointment if they'd just say, "Honey, I want you to buy me a car" in the first place. Sure, it's not as romantic as if the car came from the goodness of her man's heart, but it sure as hell beats walking, right?

The War Against Men Why Women are Winning

This natural obliviousness is man's one defense. Manipulation is useless against subjects too dumb (or, is it too crafty?) to do what they're supposed to do. So use this innate ignorance to your advantage: Ignore her. Ultimately, even if you bust your ass and actually succeed at fulfilling her every need, she'll do what anyone would do: She'll make up new ones and then more new ones.

Rarely is anything ever good enough for crafty, manipulative women, which is why most guys stop trying after awhile. You'll never succeed at making sure she "never wants for anything." Frankly, the wants of the average women are numerous. Too numerous, in fact, to discuss in a book without clear-cutting Costa Rican rain-forests for enough paper.

Stop trying. Not only does ignoring her negate any attempts to control you, it drives women freaking nuts as a bonus. And that's what tilts the Scales Of Love Injustice back to level.


More on this topic later, stay tuned.