The End of Suffering, Too

 " But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 19:14 ( KJV )

"Why do we suffer?" Suffering" is brought on by many different catalysts, from the death of a loved one to one's own physical illness, or dis-ease, but the main cause of suffering is Choice! "Bad things happen"; yes, I get that, but must we suffer from it? What if, instead, we choose to learn from it, so if it happens again, we know better how to deal with it properly? "Does it cause us pain? Does not pain equal suffering?" Sure; pain often means suffering, but only if one suffers from it! I understand that I may be going out on a limb here, but what if, rather than suffering from the pain, we instead understand ( realize ) that the pain is there for a reason; to let us know that something is not right?! This could be applied to mental pain as well as physical pain. Mental pain, or 'anguish', is admittedly a different sort of animal; it is more of a Choice than actual physical pain & here is where the Suffering comes in. Whereas with physical pain, it would seem almost impossible NOT to suffer from it, with mental suffering, the Choice is clear; "DON'T!" 

In the quote above from the King James Version of the Hebrew/Greek Scriptures, "suffer" ought better to be translated "let" or "allow". Though it is archaic, the majority of the older versions of the Bible use the word "suffer", while most, if not all of the more modern versions translate it as "let" ( "leave" ) or "allow". In such a case, especially in reference to mental pain, the word "allow" more clearly shows how it is our choice as to whether we suffer from our anguish or not. "Anguish" is itself a matter of Choice as well! From losing a loved one to the death of a favorite pet, whether or not we find ourself in anguish depends largely on how attached we are to that pet or person. Whether it's attachment issues, or actual physical pain, it's always up to the individual as to what to do with the pain.

"What then do we do with Suffering?" I'll be the first to acknowledge that it's usually easier said than done to make the choice not to suffer from either physical pain or mental anguish, though I WILL tell you that it gets easier the more you are able to do it! Maybe the better question then is, "What is Suffering?" This might easily go back to the question of "Why?", but according to the Cambridge Dictionary, Suffering is "physical or mental pain that a person or animal is feeling". While it could admittedly be argued that one has no choice what one feels, the argument could as easily be made that one has no choice to whom they become attached. Again, "easier said than done", but I'm purposely being somewhat ridiculous: "Of course we have a choice as to whether or not we become attached to a person or a pet!" In that sense then, if that sense alone, one has a choice as to how they feel, whether it be about a person, place or thing!

Now, "How do we NOT suffer?!" There's a meme going around that I've really come to appreciate ( "I can relate as well!" ); it goes something like this: first, the question is asked ( by a psychiatrist, I assume ), "Does anyone in your family suffer from mental illness?" The reply is, "No, we all rather enjoy it!" Humorous, yes, but to the point. Obviously, we must deal with the difference here between physical & mental pain. It's easy to say, "I enjoy being identified as mentally ill ( whatever THAT might mean )", but it's not so easy to deal with, much less enjoy physical pain. "Must we necessarily suffer from physical pain?" I'll tell you this; it's most definitely hard not to! This is not to say that one cannot ignore their pain to the point that the lesson can be learned. I know; "easier said than done", but even in the case of physical pain, we STILL have a choice!

The problem, as I see it ( "Well, PART of the problem anyway!" ) is that we've been programmed to believe that we MUST suffer! When something happens to us, we have learned that we are the VICTIM, so thus, it causes anguish, possibly even physical pain. On the other end of the spectrum, so to speak, is RELIGION! We are told that, as a Christian, we should EXPECT to suffer! It even feeds us the notion that if we DON'T suffer, something's WRONG!

Programming/conditioning is, of course, not the main reason we experience suffering, although it IS so ingrained in us that it almost seems to come naturally! Our reliance on outside sources has taught us that when those outside sources do not provide for our 'needs' as we would like, we experience disappointment, which, when left unchecked, leads to suffering. Expectations, then, are a leading cause of suffering. Whether it's expecting others to be on the same page as we are, or expecting some Pie in the Sky, where the Big Guy upstairs looks after our every need, our expectations cannot but disappoint!

In the case of physical suffering, "As above, so below", when we ALLOW our physical pain to determine our actions, or on the other side of the coin, our inaction, we tend to look at those events that come at us from some other outside source as making us the victim. "Yes", in some sense we are victims of circumstance, but "again", this is where Choice enters the arena: we have the ABILITY, responsAbility really, to use those unfortunate circumstances to learn, to grow, to EVOLVE!

Thus, when we ALLOW that victim mentality to steer our thoughts, THEN is when the Suffering sets in! Rather than bemoaning, or dwelling on the fact that all this HAPPENED to us, things beyond our control, if we can simply realize that we might have had a hand in the unfortunate events, whether we placed ourselves in the path of something that might cause us pain, or whether a change in diet might have placed us on a different course ( this is where ResponsAbility comes in ), we can choose to make the necessary changes in our OWN lives! ( we should ALL know that we cannot change anyone but ourselves ) I do not mean to imply, of course, that NOTHING happens to us that is totally beyond our control, but even then, it is OUR Choice as to how we face these unfortunate circumstances, whether we EMBRACE them as a learning/growing/evolving experience, or whether we take the easy road & play the part of the Victim!

Let's face it; in this experience we call Life, things WILL happen to us that ARE beyond our control! ( that's really an arguable point, but for our purposes here, we will go with it ) "As above, so below", we cannot control the actions of others & neither should we try, though we can influence them. Therefore, those things that happen to us ( "Cruel Fate", or whatever ), that seem to be beyond our control, or even sphere of influence, that make us believe we are the Victim, are in Reality, still within the Realm of our ResponsAbility! Choice is a powerful thing; it ALLOWS us to decide what to do with, as they say, "the cards we are dealt"!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

The Fear of 'God'?!

 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all. - Ecclesiastes 12:13

 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. - I John 4:18

If you were brought up in Christianity like I was, you are doubtless very familiar with this concept! First of all; who is 'God' & why should we fear 'Him'? Secondly, if we fear 'God', can we truly say we love 'Him'? On the other hand, if we love 'God' can we truly say that we fear 'Him'? Given that 'fear', especially in reference to 'God', has a secondary meaning of 'to revere', we're faced with the same issues. If, according to The Preacher, we are to REVERE 'God' & keep 'His' commandments, there is still the blaring question to be answered; "If we fail to keep 'His' commandments; what then?" Is there reason to fear?! Same with Reverence; "if we do not render 'God' 'His' due reverence; what then?" If this is man ( kind )'s all, then if we do not fear ( revere? ) 'God' OR keep 'His' commandments; the Bible is pretty clear what happens! 

Getting back to the first question, "Who is 'God' & why should we fear ( even 'revere'? ) 'Him'?' First, "Who IS 'God'?" According to what we read in the Bible, 'God' is the Creator, a Being of Pure Light Who is responsible for everything we see, whether directly or indirectly. I'll give you this; if indeed this 'God' did create everything we see, again, whether directly or indirectly, that would definitely be a good reason to revere 'Him'! However, what real, actual proof do we have that 'He' IS the Creator, other than "the Bible tells me so"? Faith tells us that 'God' is the Creator & Faith tells us as well that the Bible is true! 

So, why should we fear 'God'? Is there a valid reason for fearing 'God'? Again, the Bible itself is rife with examples of why we should fear God: if one fails to keep 'His' commandments, as he or she should, then according to the majority of Christians, that one may suffer eternal torment in the Lake of Fire! But, then again, "why SHOULD we take the Bible's word for it?" Actually, this bit of fear-based propaganda is itself founded on a misinterpretation of the Hebrew & Greek texts. The "Lake of Fire" was an event that was visited on the Jewish, or Hebrew people in the first century. Enough about that though; the point is that "yes", the 'God' of the Hebrews was most definitely One to be feared if you failed in any of 'His' commandments!

Reading the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as the book of Revelation, which is itself based largely on the Hebrew Scriptures, it is fairly evident why the Hebrews had such a fear of their god. However, if it was just in the Hebrew Scriptures that we found evidence of the fearfulness of the Hebrew god, the argument elucidated earlier could almost be employed here, but throughout history ( if you can trust even that ), there is much evidence of how the fear of this god of the Hebrews disrupted & in many cases, brought war & genocide to many otherwise thriving cultures. This is not to say that this god of the Hebrews CAUSED all of this disruption & mayhem, though we DO have 'evidence' from the Hebrew Scriptures themselves - Isaiah 45:7, for example ( I may be accused of 'cherry-picking' here, but this a good example of who the god of the Hebrews was really like; there ARE others ) - of the pettiness of this god of the Hebrews!

Turning to the Greek Scriptures, usually called The New Testament, we are introduced to an almost entirely different 'god', in the form of Jesus, who was the Christ. Although Jesus made the claim that he was the son of the Hebrew god, the notion that Jesus somehow tamed his father down almost seems to gain a foothold! Jesus was more inclusive than exclusive, though he DID say once that, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" ( Matthew 15:24 ). Rather than condemning those who failed to keep god's commandments, Jesus treated them with love & kindness, though admittedly, he DID tell them to "go ^[a]and sin no more" ( John 8:11 ). On the other hand, Jesus was known for his condemnation of the religious leaders of his day, those who strove to keep alive the Fear of 'God' in the Hebrew peoples!

Fear is definitely a great motivator, but more potent by far - to Infinity, really -  is Love! Jesus came to show us this; that loving, not fearing each other & yes, 'God' was The Way to Life. Fear only leads to Death, a saddening fact which History has made abundantly clear. History shows us, for one, that religious fervor ( Fear ) has been behind the overwhelming majority of wars that this world has borne witness to. For another thing, whether it's a fear of those who are different or a fear of the unknown, Fear has been the cause of most, if not all of the unrest & dis-ease in the world. Love, on the other hand, comes naturally to us!

In this day & age, rife with Fear & Hatred, one might be laughed at for making such a statement & indeed, it IS very optimistic! However, given the centuries of programming that humanity has labored through, one would be very hard pressed to even come near to the Truth of such a statement. No, to a psychopath, Love would probably not come naturally, although it could be argued that even a psychopath has feelings & when it comes down to it, would likely, especially when it comes to family, act more out of Love than Fear. Like I say, though, "It could be argued"; whether it could be successfully be argued might be another matter entirely!

Love; DOES it come naturally & if so, "how could that be?!" Well, risking sounding like a broken record, "it is because we ARE Love!" I know, I know, "Easy to say, hard to prove!" Yes, "as above, so below"; in this day & age it seems to be a preposterous proposition, at the very least, but if 'God' who is Pure Energy, is Love, then we too, in our Inmost Being, are Love as well, for we too, at our very Foundation, are Pure Energy! So, we've come to the most important question; "Who IS 'God'?!" 

For lack of a better term ( "if that even covers it!" ), one might call his or her Higher Power 'God', 'the Universe', or simply, 'Energy'. 'Love' even works! Some people, such as atheists, refuse to believe in ANY sort of Higher Power, such as the Christian 'God', who in essence is the Hebrew god. I acknowledge that the existence of this, or any 'God' at all, is difficult, if not impossible to prove. Here is where Faith comes into play. It takes some amount of Faith to believe that there actually IS such a Higher Power; it simply is beyond any real, or actual proof, no matter what some people say, for instance, those who claim to have spent time, to whatever extent, in some Afterlife 'Heaven' or some such. This is not to say that just because such a Being ( or Beings? ) cannot be proven 'beyond all shadow of a doubt', such a Being ( or Beings? ) does not or cannot exist, just that it DOES give one pause when considering their own Higher Power.

One's 'Higher Power' need not necessarily be 'God', 'the Universe', 'Energy' or even one of the traditional pantheon of Gods or Goddesses. One's own Higher Self will serve just as well ( or better ). Communion with one's Higher Self helps us to KNOW, rather than just believe, what is right & what is wrong ( one might well refer back to the biblical story of Adam & Eve here, and the apparent pettiness of the Hebrew 'God', Elohim ). If only we would learn to trust our Higher Self, Life would be so much simpler. Trusting our Higher Self may, according to some, require as much Faith as believing in a Higher Power, but at least we have proof that WE exist! That we each have this so-called 'Higher Self' may require a bit of a leap of faith, although the Lower Self is explained well by those who think with the wrong head, i.e., with their lower, or animal nature. 

"As Above, so below"; Love is the Way to Life; Fear only brings Death! Love of one's neighbor, for instance, which is admittedly just one of the Universal Truths of the Hebrew & Greek Scriptures, is simply common sense; if one loves his or her neighbor & treats them accordingly, most likely their neighbor will return the kindness ( not always, but most often ). Most importantly though & I cannot stress this enough; LOVE YOURSELF! This is truly man ( kind )'s all; as a friend of mine, who has since passed to the other side, said once; "Love God & do what you want!"

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

Becoming My Best Friend

To be totally honest, when this phrase first entered my thick skull, I was actually thinking about how I was starting to emulate the person that I love, that I live with, but really, this blogpost is about how I in particular, am realizing how I can be my OWN best friend or my own worst enemy! 

"Today, I am NOT my best friend!" You know how the saying goes, "Some days, I'm my own best friend!" Well, lately, that's not been true for me. In my intellectual capacity, how it's supposed to go; "I now release everything that no longer serves me!" That sounds all good & everything, but on the other hand, "What DOES serve me?!" What does that truly mean? Does it mean if something doesn't serve our sensibilities we should let it go? If it just doesn't FEEL right we should just let it be? ( by the way, there's that word )  

For the past several years, I have endeavored to 'let go' the use of the word 'should'; "Why?" you may ask. Because that is something that we have been taught, or programmed with, that doesn't necessarily always serve, or benefit us! Before we go too far here; let me just clarify that by advocating only what serves, or benefits us, "I'm not all saying we ought to be selfish about it & think ONLY of ourselves; just that we often need to focus on us & OUR needs, in order to 'recharge', as the saying goes. ( "If we're depleted; how CAN we serve others?!" )" Back to the word 'should'; if a truck is speeding toward us, we probably SHOULD get out of the road! On the other hand ( speaking of best friends ), it's tempting to think, "I SHOULD really say something, because I don't think this is the right way to do it!!" SHOULD we, though? Might not he or she know a better way of doing things? ( Or at least, what works best for THEM! ) Again, on the other hand, if we see ANYONE about to do something that goes against common sense, SHOULD we warn them, or SHOULD we just let them take their lumps?! This is where choice & Free Will are firmly seated. It might seem that warning them would be the kindest thing to do, but it usually isn't that simple! "What if they need to learn a certain lesson & by warning them ( if they HEED our warning, anyway ), they miss the lesson & therefore we end up harming them in the long run?!" 

Along these same lines is another phrase that has presented itself to me in the past number of years; "Beware lest you partake in other's Karma"! I'm pretty sure we've been down this particular road before, but let's talk about self-sacrifice for a minute. Our programming has taught us that it is a noble thing to help, or assist others at our own expense. While it IS a noble pursuit to help or assist others & is NOT in itself a bad thing, it is when it comes at our own expense, or to our own detriment that it becomes a major problem. "Why a major problem?" you ask. Let me answer your question with one of my own; "How are we supposed to help others if we cannot first help ourselves?" Another way to put it is, "If we are depleted ourselves, what then do we have to give to others?" When we take care of ourselves first, then we are able to help others as needed. Of course, 'Choice' comes into play here, for just because we see, or better said, maybe, "PERCEIVE" a need; there may not actually be a NEED, but simply a WANT. Perception is Key, for both parties, because one may perceive a need, while the other perceives that they have a need. Then again, one may, through their Intuition, understand that the other has everything they need, while the other sees their lust, or want as a need. Here is where we enter the spiritual side of the equation!

Having previously discussed ( quite a few times, actually ) the glorious fact that We ARE Love, we may dispense with that for now, though I WILL mention that because of this glorious fact, the limitations I mentioned earlier are based on our own perception. Programming is a major culprit here as well, for we have been taught that we are primarily human ( biological ) beings & thus subject to the limitations of biology. The Truth is though, that We, as primarily Spiritual ( Divine ) Beings, have need of nothing! Now, AS human beings, we DO have needs: Food, Water, Rest being the top three! I'm not saying that we can go without these for long, much less succor others, just that We, as Love personified, CAN give ( Love ) without fear of depletion. However, if our perception of ourselves includes limitations, as it usually does, then we must exercise great care in our administration!

I'm pretty sure ( "As above, so below" ) that most, if not everyone reading this knows what I mean when I talk about "Becoming My Best Friend": how exactly to do so may be a completely different matter! In my own life, I have an incomplete understanding of the phrase, logistically speaking & even less willingness, or impetus to do what it takes. Thus, I would not presume to tell anyone else what to do in their own life in order to make this dream come true for them. The reason for this, of course, is that everyone is different & thus would view being their own best friend differently. Earlier, without necessarily elucidating the question in these terms, I proffered the question, "How DOES one become their own best friend?" Does it necessarily involve, "as above, so below", letting go of whatever ( including people? ) no longer serves us? Let go of anger, yes, let go of negativity, yes, even false ( forced? ) positivity, but what even does any of this look like?! For me, it looks like anything & everything from lashing out at anything & everything to bawling at the drop of a hat ( or at least feeling like it ) to saying things like "people suck" ( "I'm fucking serious too!" ) All of the above involve feelings, of course, which, we're taught, cannot be trusted. To a point, I agree, for feelings can change like the weather, though we must understand that we have them for a reason. We ignore them at our peril, though rather than acting on them, we might rather consider embracing & exploring them. As we come to terms with Who & What We really are, we will begin to understand our Feelings more as Intuition, something ( Intuition ) which we will come to learn we CAN trust! ( "I'm still working on this!" )

"I don't FEEL like I'm Love!" "No shit, Sherlock", REALLY?! Maybe that's because your feelings, your emotions, come from the human part of you! Your Divine Nature IS Love, just as we were taught, "God is Love", but if you do not have communion with your Divine Nature, In Essence, are not in touch with your 'God-self', all you will have to lean on are your feelings ( that, or religion ( another subject, another day ). We ALL have our days, days when you like certain people less than other days, days when we feel less like being kind to ANYBODY, much less to those we DON'T like; point being, even when we KNOW, when we HAVE that Communion with our Higher Self ( "Personal experience" here ), there are days when we really don't feel like loving anybody, not even ourselves! These are the times ( mea culpa ) when we NEED to take a minute to readjust, to recharge our batteries, even if just for a minute. 

Again, "Perception is Key!" Whether we FEEL like the other is not deserving of our Love, or whether we're just having "one of those days", it is simply our perception, NOT a Fact! Everyone is deserving of our Love ( whether we like them or not ), so if, for whatever reason, we choose not to share our Love with someone on any given day, WE are the ones at fault! If you don't like them, again for whatever reason, that falls squarely in the realm of Personal Choice; neither right nor wrong: "You don't have to like them, just Love them, even if loving them means keeping as much distance between you as possible!" 

"WHY?!"  "How is the convicted sexual predator living across the street WORTHY of Love, much less MY Love?!" First of all, remember that to love is not necessarily to like, or to agree with what your neighbor across the street does, or has done. Second, like it or not, agree or not, your neighbor is, by his or her Divine Nature, Love as well, though they do not realize it. "Is it our job then, to remind them?"There again, it's all in the perception. Some, for whatever reason, may understand that there truly IS no Other, that ALL people, though individual in their humanity, are by Nature Divine, that ALL are Energy, while others only see with their physical eyes, hear with their physical ears & think with their mundane minds. These look at what this predator has been convicted of & based upon their feelings, judge this person as not worthy, not worthy of love, maybe not even worthy of Life!

"Karma" What is it & why do people ( mea culpa ) say "Karma is a bitch!" ( Actually, 'Karma' IS a bitch; a friend of mine has a female pit bull that answers to that name ) But seriously, I'm pretty sure that my readers are all more or less familiar with the concept of karma, though if not, Google will remedy that PDQ. Another phrase I've coined is, "Karma's only a bitch if you are!" Speaking of the typical sexual predator mentioned above, though we may feel that they deserve no less than the death penalty, it is not up to us to decide whether they should live or die! Or is that just my own programming talking? Do we have the right to decide who lives & who dies? "Certainly NOT!" Most ( law-abiding ) people would immediately respond. But "WHY?" Why do we NOT have that right? Is it because we don't have a badge or a piece of paper that says we have the authority to make life or death decisions? Is it because the majority of people have not GIVEN us that right by electing us to a certain office?

The question of whether or not we may, in certain cases, take the law into our own hands is one that has entered, most certainly, the mind of every individual on this Blessed Earth, at one point or another! Why do the majority of people leave it up to either the elected officials or the hired guns ( LEOs )? 'As above, so below", why should THEY have any more right than 'We the People"? ( "DO they have more right than 'We the People'?!" ) The answer, in other words maybe, is that the average Joe ( or Jolene ) SHOULD NOT be able to make such a decision ( I understand that I've gotten off on a tangent here, but please bear with me ); "SHOULD NOT": there it is, "SHOULD". We SHOULD, or SHOULD NOT act a certain way, according to the programming that ALL of us have received, to whatever extent. "Should I do THIS, or should I do THAT? How do we decide? Religionists, whether Christian, Jew or Muslim ( to name just a few ) would most likely say, in other words maybe, "Our Holy Book tells us what we should & shouldn't do!" here's a question for my readers though, "Why SHOULD we listen to some outside source, 'god' or 'book', rather than what we KNOW within ourselves to be Truth?" The problem, as I see it, is that the overwhelming majority of individuals on this Living Planet ( this country in particular ) do not realize that THEY ( "We the People" ) have the Power! Now, I understand that not every individual out there, the average Joe or Jolene, may or may not have the mental capacity to make such a judgement, not being attuned to their Higher Nature. However, as the case may be, we have given most of our rights over to a select group of individuals, who have in turn, many of them anyway, been corrupted by that Power. "SHOULD we, or SHOULDN'T we?!" You be the Judge, but as for me, I will listen to my Intuition before I will listen to some 'god' or some 'book'!

"What does all this have to do with 'Becoming My Best Friend'?" My concern, as is probably the concern of most every awakened individual out there, is that, not just every individual reading this, but EVERY individual out there, become their own best friend! I wish for everyone, especially the typical sexual predator, etc. etc. would learn to have communion with their Higher ( Divine ) Nature! If only we could ALL just learn to get along, not because they SHOULD, but because they WANT to, because we NEED each other! 

"Should we let go of what no longer serves us, in order that we might become our own best friend?" Depending, of course, on what your individual perception of 'letting go' is, it is doubtless necessary, "as above, so below", to let go of anger, etc., etc.

"What does all this have to do with "Becoming My Best Friend'?" Imagine a world, if you will, where EVERYONE is their own best friend, instead of their own worst enemy! If everyone were to realize that THEY have the responsAbility to choose whether to view the Other as a potential enemy, or as a Brother or Sister, we MIGHT start to see peace in our Time! "To be continued......."

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

The Mother of All Living

 But the Lord is the true God;
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth will tremble,
And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.

Jeremiah 10:10, New King James Version of Hebrew Scriptures

 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve,^[g] because she was the mother of all living.

Genesis 3:20, New King James Version of Hebrew Scriptures

 

Not forgetting the covenantal nature of the Hebrew Scriptures in particular, it must be noted that the word "earth" in the second half of the passage from the Book of Jeremiah might better be translated "land", as referring to the Land, or even People of Israel. 

I, as many of my readers no doubt were, was brought up in a fine ( strict ) Christian home that had swallowed, hook, line & sinker, the notion that when the Bible said that Eve was "the mother of all living", it meant that literally, as in, she was the first female ( human ) being on Planet Earth. As I grew up in Christianity, especially toward the End of my Journey therein, I came to understand this in a more covenantal sense, as in, Eve was the Mother of Israel. In the greatest sense, of course, Eve was the Proto-Mary, or the Mother of Jesus, who became the Christ, or Messiah to Israel, who could not seem to figure out how to save themselves! In a more arcane ( "mundane"? ) sense though, it could said that Eve was the Human Manifestation of the Earth Herself, "As above, so below", in the covenantal sense, whereas "the earth brought forth grass, the herb [ that ] yields seed according to its kind, and the tree [ that ] yields fruit, whose seed [ is ] in itself according to its kind" ( Genesis 1:12 ). 

I've often said, for the past 5-10 years, "Mother Earth is tired of being raped!" When this notion first crossed my mind, it was during the height of the fracking industry over in the Dakotas. In the most physically graphic sense, this involves drilling into the very Womb of Mother Earth, but it also refers to things like Joni Mitchell wrote about, "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot". In the relatively short history of this great nation, the good ole' U.S. of A., there can be found one glaring example after another of Humanity's greed being sated, at least temporarily, at the living expense of Mother Earth. Now yes, Her resources ARE there for us to benefit from, but at what cost? How long can we continue to drill into Her, extracting Her precious lifeblood, without consequence, either to Her, or to ourselves?! ( In case ANY of my readers are wondering, "YES", I AM a 'tree-hugger'! )

Well, of course; after a comment like that, I really MUST say a bit about those most noble & hardy ( even majestic ) creatures! While wood, depending on the species, the age & certain other specifications, I'm sure, is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful, if not versatile building mediums available; it is by far not the least expensive, either for humanity, OR for our Mother Earth! Referring to the lyric from Joni Mitchell's 'Big Yellow Taxi', multitudes of our majestic earthbound brothers & sisters have ignominiously been removed from their roots in order, not only to "put up a parking lot", but to make more room for multi-million dollar mansions. I'll be the first to admit that much of this intrusive destruction of our forest lands, both for lumber & lots, is put to good use, for example, low income housing & the like, but the majority of such 'land-grabs' come down to one thing; GREED!

Speaking of construction, the technological advances of at least the last 50-100 years have shown us some building techniques that are not only less expensive, particularly in the long run, but much more sustainable! Hemp is one such material that is much less expensive as well as way more sustainable. A quick Google search on the subject will show that its uses range anywhere from a type of fiberglass ( tougher than plastic-based ) to a lighter, stronger type of building block, to a much less expensively produced toilet paper. Hemp grows much faster than trees as well, so in that sense, if no other, it 'wood' be more sustainable & make a lot more sense!

But this is the least of our worries! You might have heard rumors, or even more than rumors, that the recent weather issues in the Carolinas, North in particular, have been engineered by a certain shadowy organization, in order to acquire the lithium deposits in that area of the country. "How much, if any Truth is there in such rumors?" You must be the Judge, but again, a quick Google search will provide you with much more information than I have given my readers here. One quick note, then I will leave it to you to decide for yourself. This may fall into the category of 'Conspiracy Theory', but knowing what we all do ( or should ) about the capabilities of our own Government ( "Technology" ), it would not be a great leap to imagine that such a 'Shadow Organization' exists & is actively engaged in these matters.

I very seriously doubt there is a single one of my readers who is unfamiliar with the phrase 'Global Warming'! While there is doubtless something to the notion that humanity's greed is behind this travesty, much of what is occurring on a global level can be attributed to the cycles of Mother Earth, which, by the way, has been around a LOT longer than what many of us have been led to believe! For instance, my family and I watched one of the 'Ice Age' movies the other night; you know, the one where all the ice caps were melting ( "Hmmm; sounds familiar, right?!" ), BUT this was before things such as 'greenhouse gases'! There were barely any humans around & definitely NO modern technology to detrimentally impact the ozone layer! Oh, wait..................."Dino Farts"?! 

But, "Seriously", 'Global Warming'?! Unless one actually believes the Story that the Earth is only 6,000 or so years old, then it should not be hard to imagine that much of the 'Global Warming' we see is not something new, but is simply part of the cyclical nature of the Living Planet we call Home. Don't get me wrong, 'greenhouse gases' are doubtless as much of an issue as the crazy weather patterns that our country, not to mention, other parts of the world ( "Thanks, HAARP!" ) has been experiencing of late. However, with that being said, we could be treating our loving Mother better. As to what I said earlier, about Her getting tired of being raped; you might well wonder if I'm saying that She's actively 'fighting back', like She's a Sentient Being or something! Again, you must judge for yourself, but I would unequivocally answer with a resounding "YES!" When, for instance, New Orleans, Louisiana experienced that dreadful hurricane & subsequent flooding back in 2005, some people claimed that 'God' had brought it on the City because of its 'Sin'. If you know anything of the history of the City, you might understand that it was formerly more swampy than Washington, D.C.! When a hurricane as lethal as Katrina hits, you're damn right you're gonna see some flooding! Whether you believe that a 'Loving God' such as Christianity tries to portray brought this tragedy on those poor people because of some perceived 'sin', or that Hurricane Katrina just happened to hit the City at just the 'right' time. The people of New Orleans learned a valuable lesson; "Ignore the Laws of Nature at your peril!" ( I'm by no means saying that New Orleans got what it deserved, but I WILL say this, "If indeed New Orleans was paying the price for their sins; it was for 'sins' against Mother Nature, not some imaginary 'God"! )

Some might question my quotation of Jeremiah 10:10 at the beginning of this post. I must admit to some 'cherry-pickin' on my part, so, in the way of explanation, one thing I will tell you, "I'm not exactly sure!" I can tell you this for sure, though. I may not have picked a better example of how vindictive the 'God' of the Bible is! I probably could have, but to tell you the truth, this verse also shows 'Him' as just about as petty of a king as any human king EVER was! "What does this have to do with the price of tea in China?" you might be asking; "Read on!"

I must admit a bit of vociferousness when it comes to Christianity! Whether or not this comes from my singular experience ( "maybe I'm really down on myself for letting myself be fooled for so long........" ); I now see the error of my ways. What I used too attribute to the 'god' of Christianity, I now understand to be simply the outworking of the Laws of Nature! Our Mother, in the biological sense, is the Earth Herself ( the only 'mother' in the Bible is Mary, the Mother of 'God', or Jesus ). Our biological bodies, from the time they are formed in our human mother's wombs, to the time when they return to the Womb of our Mother Earth, are nourished with food & water that come from Her plenteous Womb. Maybe without realizing, those who acknowledge this Sacred Bond worship Her in Spirit & Truth! I say "worship", because in the etymology of this word, it simply means 'to ascribe worth'. She IS Worthy, for She has given Life to all Living, including plants, trees, rocks & hills!

Sage Charles