You Will Know Them by Their Hearts

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You Will Know Them by Their Hearts

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For You.

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For I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me... What you did to one of the least of these, my friend, you also did to me.

- Jesus, The Gospel of Matthew

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give away; whatever austerity you practice, do that as an offering to me.

- Krishna

If you do not take care of one another, who else will do so? Those who would care of me should care for those who are sick.

- Buddha

The world can be turned over by that man who loves all people as he loves himself.

-The Tao

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Jesus could not have studied with Tibetan Buddhist lamas for the very simple reason that Buddhism did not reach Tibet until seven centuries after Jesus' death! Had Jesus gone to Tibet, he would have discovered not Buddhists, but shamans and practitioners of Bon, the indigenous religion of Tibet... Had Jesus gained his wisdom from Eastern gurus, he would be a much less imposing and religious figure. It is Jesus' uniqueness from all other teachers that has always made him important. Jesus, while being a mystic, was not a quietist, as the Buddha and most mystics are. He was a social revolutionary as well as a spiritual one. He stood up to the hypocrisy of those who publicly made a display of their religion, and he challenged the social order..."

- Richard Hooper "Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Lao Tzu, The Parallel Sayings"

Ascending Heart

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Welcome to Planet Heart

One day you were born and became subjected to gravity...

Welcome to Planet Heart!

You got a lot of love, you thought it was from your mother. You got a lot of tossing in the air and fun; you thought it was from your father. You had some craziness too! With a brother or a sister... One day you looked around and found yourself alone.

You saw you were more than just your fingers and toes. You saw you had eyes to see with, ears to hear; you could reach out and taste things with your tongue. You could rest your hands on objects, and sense and feel.

Then came a time you felt a deep sadness in your heart; you couldn't understand why.

Who put the barbed fence of thorns around your heart?

What part did you have in it?

Somehow you unplugged from your Higher Power.

Maybe you held your breath? Stopped breathing-in the light?

I sometimes think we lose connection with our child-self the minute we witness a lie.

It is the child-self needing to stay connected with Higher Power. If we talk to our inner child, we can assist him or her to re-establish connection, plug-in again.

And remember, Jesus, Our Lord, said "I AM the light, and the way."

We can use these technologies of prayer, right-thinking, and working with meditation to bring God's light back in our hearts.

This is a blog about shifting ourselves upwards, into our Higher Power. With this blog, I am doing a kind of psychic surgery on you, the reader. I am reaching out to sweep away the stiffness, and the pain. Be calm, and learn the ways of Christ's Sacred Heart.

With each word, you will feel me pulling thorns out of you.

With each prayer, you will find yourself burning, in spiritual fire.

No need to be afraid... You are bigger and greater than all this.

You can come here, be here any time... Day or night. It's up to you.

Come as a little child.

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We are here on this planet to learn how to ascend.

We are not alone!

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The Violet Flame
The technique, below, was shared with me a friend, Ruby Fire... It's called the Violet Flame. Whenever you see flames coming from a heart image, now you will know, it represents our abilities to transmute dead energy. The wings represent lifting ourselves up again, to rise above the pettiness of our thinking, our value judgments and egos.

The Violet Flame helps so much! Especially when you're alone at night and in pain? You can visualize it burning through your entire body... It is very calming, and will purging you of all loss and negativity. When the world has hurt you, turn this meditation over to God. It will help you, give you strength to start moving in the right directions, to ask for and get the right help you need.

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The following quotes are from a past lecture by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. She's speaking about things that tend to block the heart and keep it from opening.

"What usually collects at the heart chakra is what is called "hardness of heart," or the unmerciful heart. The unmerciful heart never forgives. It may say that it forgives... People may say, "Yes, I forgive you," but they hold bitterness and resentment, not only for one lifetime, but for many, many lifetimes."

"Hardness of heart is like a substance of concrete that encases the heart and doesn't allow us to send out love...[It] creates insensitivity to life. We no longer identify with another's pain, but we expect everyone else to identify with our sorrows and our pains."

"Opening-up the heart to the sufferings of humanity and to individual persons we know, providing comfort and care for them, is the beginning of the melting of that granite that can encase the heart so that it cannot expand. This is the condition of many today."

(Ruby) To work on opening the heart I use the Violet Flame. It really does work! I like to visualize the flame literally consuming the records of the past and all that has collected around my heart, all that is weighing me down. I visualize it consuming all hurt and pain, non-forgiveness and hardness of heart.

I use the mantra, "I AM a being of Violet Fire, I AM the purity God desires." (It's quick and easy to remember.) Also you can use any other affirmations you are comfortable with.

Afterwards, I give other prayers and visualize the light covering the world with healing, comfort and joy.

Sending love and light to all,
Ruby

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I knew I was dying. I still have days when the pressure on my brain makes me wonder if I'll make it. Well, at least if I don't, I will try to help someone today. I'll do something for someone out of kindness, even if they never notice. Or I will clear-up something ugly and make it right. I won't live in vain.

I used to sit in bed, reading the Tibetan Book of the Dead... Contemplating whether or not I would choose rebirth for my next lifetime. Is it time to give it all up?

Now I listen to music... Jim Morrison and The Doors, David Bowie, Todd Rundgren, Gino Vannelli; Joni Mitchell, Meshell Ndegeocello, Sarah Brightman and Stevie Nicks. Music heals me.

My wake-up call came with the sudden death of my younger sister; she was 39. She hadn't been well for a long time. Had we all been in denial? It was a brain aneurysm. Doctors had never been able to treat her adequately. She'd been on every drug imaginable; the drugs affected every aspect of her life.

We knew she lived a dangerous, reckless life; made some destructive choices along the way. Actually, she had never been "well" from the time she said, she was 8 years old. Certainly not in any time we could remember. Now suddenly she was gone! It was a week before Easter, when all the trees were just coming into bud. The landscape was emerald-green that day; the sky was misty and purple, filled with double-rainbows.

This must God? God was welcoming her Home.

I knew by the time we got to the hospital she was gone.

Soon after I found a psychologist, someone I could talk to realistically about my own life. He took me under his wing and kept me there. Now I know I would have died without his help and compassion.

I would not have lived without his compassion, because I hated myself. So his presence in my life is a consistent reminder that I have to be gentle with "me"... And have compassion, starting with myself.

He was the person who ushered me out of my lifestyle, into a space where I could finally find rest. He was my advocate when I couldn't speak for myself. He wrote letters, sent faxes, made phone-calls. He tolerated my insecurities; he assured me, comforted me, adjusted resources for me and called me on my shit. The man is an Angel.

Sometimes it takes another person to look into our souls when the pain is too much to bear. We cannot see ourselves objectively. We think we are naturally caustic and miserable, even!

We don't know where to turn, how to turn; we do things like walk into walls, bump our heads, have car accidents; run over small dogs. We forget to pick up the kids at school, where we put our keys, that today is our anniversary. Sometimes, it is just enough to focus on this moment.

If I can just get through this moment, then I can take this action, this project, this need, this concern on a moment-to-moment basis.

Well, the Dali Lama says it is like that... Dying. It feels like taking little baby steps. Time becomes suspended and you get to have glimpses of yourself throughout your life, little by little, acting like an ass.

Wo unto the person who lies to himself! You won't make it. It is too difficult to make it without a support system, and especially if you can't ask for it. Especially if you cannot own up to your mistakes, the idea that, you fucked-up; you got it wrong. Things are not working out.

This is a process of peeling away, layer by layer, everything you represent. This is a willingness to want to shed your skin and face a new day. It could mean a spell of drying-out. It could mean a spell of long sleep. It could mean a spell of tears, of being cut-into, of trying different options. It could mean a time of long dialogs with God. Certainly it is one of letting-go - people, things, situations that don't support you; jobs, money, friendships. Possibly even things like a leg or other body parts... Forcing you to learn how to use your body differently.

It is all worth it, if at the end of the process you get peace.

No need to hang myself off the banister today.

Either way, if I am here, then I am obligated to get my heart open again. I want to remember what it feels like to be happy. I have to stop and make a note of this every day.

I observed the eyes of the people closing around me in my pain. I saw their hands going up in the stop motion; forefingers coming up to their lips to "sshh!"

I saw how their eyes were diverted or completely closed; my pain was scaring them, reminding them... Hey! (They are also in pain.)

Some people are very caustic, negative and smug. They feign to be friendly... Deep down, you see, they are terrified of being alone. They take you out of your heart energy with their agendas, controlling, and attitudes. They work hard to take you down... What does that mean? It means, for them, to be miserable is "normal". By taking you to their level of normality, "normalizing the abnormal" - they will feel more comfortable. Everything is great as long as you are not disturbing their comfort-zone. It is all about them.

Other people actually feign to care, "pretending" they are hearing but not actually listening. They are not plugged-in, they are just going through the motions of smiling, posing, being politically-correct. You don't really get a heart-connection with people like that, you see; they are not sincere. So your heart will let you know!

And who the hell isn't hurting here?

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The Violet Flame - Surrender

If you feel burdened, blocked, distressed, depressed... These are signals happening in our lives where we may be being required to let go of control, to surrender. So much of what goes on in our daily lives is over-load; the Violet Flame is a technique to be used when it is time to un-load. I find myself loving to do this meditation in the early parts of the morning when it's still dark outside. However, you can use it whenever you need it! Refer other people you know to these blog pages if they need help, too; spread the word!

Take a moment to sit down in a comfortable spot... Ask your Higher Power to help you anchor in the Violet Flame. Close your eyes and look for a ray of Violet light above you, in your mind; now imagine it flowing down to Earth to create a beautiful bonfire of Violet fire. Feeling ready to feel better?

Begin to pile things into the Violet Flame that you no longer need... Possessions that no longer serve or support you; relationships, too. Any old habits or attitudes that are trying hard to die? Put those in the flame now. How about any systems of thought, philosophies, rituals, beliefs, fears? Are these ready to go? See them being consumed in the Violet bonfire now...

Ready for your new life? Take a deep breath...

You've got so much to do, don't you? Or do you? Go ahead and begin to pile all those activities and issues into the Violet flames. Burn the unresolved issues, the relationships you didn't get closure with, and the ones that confuse you.

Everything gets to become nice and toasty! Do you want to burn all your degrees? Your properties and bank accounts? Go ahead and throw all those in! Watch them burn away in the Violet Flame.

Feeling freer? Yay!

Go ahead and breathe...

Who have you hurt? Throw that situation into your Violet bonfire. Imagine all the things you have done that might have created difficulty in some other being's life? See those images getting splintered into pieces as you throw them into the Violet flames. Let it all burn. Do you need some help? Imagine there are resources in the flames burning, igniting to attract you in the most perfect timing... Do you need to forgive yourself or someone else? See those needs being consumed in the Violet Flames. You will be given everything you need in the most perfect timing, so for now, just trust... Let it go in the flames.

Who are you?

Are you a "mom", a "brother", a "doctor", a "lover", a "garbage man"? Are the roles and positions you have held in your life sabotaging? It's time to throw all that into your Violet bonfire now... See everything being transmuted in the purple flames, helping you to feel better and freer with each moment.

Can you feel it?!

What about your power issues and other titles? Go ahead and let those burn, too, rock star! Why not let them burn? Go ahead and burn 'em in the flames of Violet light...

Now it's time to burn everything you love! This is the best part!

This includes all your possessions, your pets, your cars, computers, cell-phones and ipods! Toss all those into the Violet Flames...

Can you feel your awareness of things being cleansed?

Doesn't this feel GREAT?!

Last, but not least!!

Don't forget to throw yourself in...!

Go ahead and step into your visual bonfire of Violet Flames.

See, that's not so bad, is it?

Take a deep breath and soak in the violet fires; allow them to consume every aspect of your being, good, bad and ugly. Burn, burn, burn all those little aches and pains! Trust you are going to get some resolutions here, the more your relax and surrender to the Violet Flames...
Don't forget to Toast your Heart
in the
warm Violet Light.

Can you see it? Can you feel it?
The light of God's love coming in?

Stay with this fervor for as long as possible...

And now, I will just say, you can maintain this ascension by being grateful, using gratitude to get on with the next phases of allowing more good things into your existence.

Gratitude is the key to the spaceship of your soul.

Slowly the flames will die down.

Be assured, you are making things better.

And don't you feel much better?

Yeah.

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Golden Heart

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The golden light of this heart
is the heartbeat of Mother Nature...
It represents our life force energy fully ignited.

As we connect to the planet through the food we eat for sustenance, and to one another for friendship and compassion, our energy can become golden light. We can receive this light by meditating in the sun, allowing light to flow into our bodies, also contemplating the relationship of Earth's gold to lead. We can "plug" into the center of the Earth during meditation, and draw Her fire up into our hearts through our breathing. I love to go and lay somewhere where the rocks or the sands are warm.

We can change the rate of our pulse and blood-flow by tapping into Mother Earth's gold. We can perform martial arts, heal the sick, shift-shape and travel through time...

The more we do this, the more we learn how to experience our bodies as "Soul Spaceships", so to speak.

Our bodies are putting out energetic messages all the time, and it is not just all about being "sexual". This is where some people are very messed up. Don't let anyone mess with you anymore in this arena.

I don't like to discuss it too much because people pervert things. If you start asking people how they feel about their bodies, of course they will relate to their pain or their sexuality. In other words, most people are walking around, seeing their bodies as being nothing more than containers... (As if our bodies are no more useful than a suitcase?! There's something wrong with that kind of thinking.)


My point is this: people don't just communicate with one another in words, we also do it through our body language.

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There are so many people out there practicing a kind of black magic with their body language... They don't even know they're doing it. They may think they are speaking in great truths? But they are not effective because their physical bodies are putting out a different message. If they are spiritual people who seek to understand their own intentions, yet they do this? Something is wrong.

An old woman I know likes to follow her friends to restaurants... Then she will just sit there without paying or leaving a tip. She will fold her hands under her arms and stare off into space, helplessly, with her lips buttoned. So then, her friends always foot the bill, or end up buying an entree' to share, enabling her while she sits there... Sending off a message to everyone in the place that she's "poor". This way, restaurant owners feel sorry for her.

She recently accused my friends of "not loving" her. Yet in knowing her (for 20 years now), I have observed she has never really been able to receive love! She is one of these people who runs away, darting left to right, always clutching her poisoned apple under her cloak... (Like all she really wants is to be enabled in her poverty-mentality.) I think this junk has made her heart grow small.

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The ancient teachings of alchemy were shown to direct us to the healing power of gold. Gold is a metaphor used for literally shifting the leaden blocks in our blood to lighter matter, and for healing and removing the gravity (lead) in our hearts. In this way, we build chi, or energy. We can meditate with, and use this gold light energy to connect to others. All we have to do is allow gold light to flow into our hearts whenever we want or need it!

We can also sit and meditate with a piece of gold.

The feeling is the kind of lightness you feel in your heart when you are in love.

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Jesus Laughing

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I had a teacher who used to say, we are not here on Earth for ourselves. In fact the anagram for "Earth" is "Heart". So she used to say, we are living here on Planet Heart.

Everyone searches for a reason to be alive, don't they? We run into all kinds of diversions as we go along, because here on Earth, we're in Life School. We get to keep repeating the same lessons over and over again, remember? We have to, until we learn them. Once we learn them, they are written inside us.

Relationships, however, are a little more complicated. For one thing, we left the Garden of Eden to experience things like choice-making and free-will. Are we getting it, God?

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The challenge is to see how every person is a brother or a sister; by befriending them in such a way, we might find something more. We might learn something about ourselves! We cannot ever really know ourselves unless it is through another human being. Isn't it ironic?

Sometimes it is not always possible to help someone or talk with them. Either way, we should pray for ourselves and the people we care about. Don't leave someone in the dark. If you need to postpone a conversation for a week to get them to think, do it. But don't abandon anyone if you know you can help them see the light. Try and empower others with tools and information and resources, if they let you. They are another You.

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I'm a big fan of Judge Judy. I think she rocks! I love how she gets into session and starts asking 20-questions. I love when how, someone tries to speak-over her, and she'll holler back - "I get to ask the questions here!" I think it's cool how she can catch anyone in a lie! Whenever I invoke my Inner Judge Judy? You can bet someone around me is breakin' the law.

Of course, when you are dealing with someone like Judge Judy? The intensity is deflating. There are some women out there with really negative or intense "inner-Judge-Judy's", ready to emasculate the first guy who comes along. Then she'll use your balls for ping-pong, boys.

You see many of us as being cougars and pythons?! Beware!

Because if you are one of those double-standard boys out there, playing the game of He's Just Not That Into You, you might go for one of us "older" babes.

Just be forewarned and wary: we'll be looking for what you believe in, and we will challenge you from every angle on it. We'll want to know from you about what it means to be a friend. We'll be asking you about your views on the differences between love and sex.

We weren't born yesterday, and we won't trust you or endure your foolishness and double-speak. We already know you're working with a forked-tongue and an f'd-up mind. We will work the 20-question-methods in order to squeeze the life out of you. Then? We'll suck out your brains. We'll leave you, pulsing in a husk, on the freeway of your life.

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Dang! Must I always be so punitive?

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Having gone through most of my life accounting for every stuck-fart on paper or otherwise, to every authority I've ever known... I've always hated that. I sometimes refuse to apologize for my bad attitude. Let's face it, most of the real compassion I've received in my life has been from the opposite sex. I'm meeting a lot of men who are more sensitive and active as fathers than their wives are as mothers. (But golly, there isn't anyone I haven't met who doesn't have "issues".)

Aren't people supposed to be presumed innocent until they are like, tried in a court of law?

I spent a lot of my career wondering - what did I do? Deeply questioning and searching the possibility that somehow I must be a bad person? Because I was educated by nuns, and always worked for punitive a-holes. That's where I learned all this!

So the other day a friend of mine (who is 30 years younger than me) pointed out - "why don't you try Mr. Rogers?"

I didn't think he meant it so literally. But as we began to talk, he simply said he learned during his life in the orphanage... People simply don't listen. And a lot of time they don't even want to. So he began to use Mr. Rogers as his role model.

Here we are, angling around one another's body languages... Twinging and latching onto other people's souls as if they are suitcases (not spaceships).

"If you don't want to be punitive, or sound punitive, I would recommend talking like Mr. Rogers," he said.

"Start by introducing what you want to say in 'I' and 'me' terms... Try telling them a couple of times. Then, if that doesn't work? Then do the Judge Judy."

Well, unfortunately, I missed out on Mr. Rogers somehow. (But he's still airing on PBS.) My friend had to teach me to say a few things like this:

"My feelings are hurt when you blame me for the mold on your shoes."

Believe me, I am gritting my teeth all the way...

"Wow, it scares everyone in the building when you slam the door like that..."

"Gee, I can't talk fast enough when you keep interrupting me. It makes me feel anxious..."

I'm getting the hang of it!

And also asking more questions instead of being accusing or blaming, like:

"Yikes! It's hard to laugh when you are hitting my grocery cart with your grocery cart. Is this supposed to be funny?!"

WHY?

I am learning more to ask "why?"

Instead of being like Judge Judy, and saying something like: "I don't wish to participate in discussions about my personal business!" I can ask: "WHY is it important for you to want to discuss my personal business?" and "Why must I participate in this discussion?" and "Why isn't dating you any fun anymore?"

I think I'm getting it...

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"I'm just a soul the on the planet;
I'm trying to do good, be good, feel good..."

-Meshell Ndegeocello
"The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams"

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Jesus Enlightenment

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Jesus, Enlighten Me

I trust in You, Christ,
to help me steward my sexual energy.
Help me to understand the nature of disease,
and the sanctity of my own sacred space.
Keep me focused on upholding
my personal standards.
Keep me from generating harm
to any other being
through the mis-use of my sexual energy or needs. Teach me to be patient and happy
during the long spells of celibacy.
Help me run my energy in positive ways.
Help me to aspire to a normal life, God,
in such a way that
I do not have to function
as another person's possession.
I love you, Jesus!

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Why did you hurt me?
You, who stole from me, lied to me, denied me, raked me over the coals?
Condescended and abused, leaving me bruised?
You who blamed and presumed,
copped an attitude;
tuned me out,
and
reduced me to begging...?

WHY?

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You know God?
That person was a miserable-fuck.
That's why.


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Orgasmic Heart

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The Orgasmic Heart
is a total opening-up of our body's energy...
The body has a system of energy centers. These centers were defined in ancient Hindu and tantric Buddhist cultures, where they were studied as "chakras".
There are seven chakras in the body,
which correspond to the colors of the rainbow.

harmanvisions.com

These views came into definition as shamans and healers studied our relationship to light, and found, our bodies respond to different levels of light... In the same way we intuitively respond to the colors of the rainbow. When we feel orgasmic energy, all that light rises up through our bodies and ignites our hearts. So tantra is a form of directing this energy into the heart consciously, as we inhale. In this way we can heal ourselves and others. We can send light out through our hearts as we exhale.

We can all become responsible stewards of our own energy. Yes, there are times we need help and need to ask for it... However, it is immoral for someone else to try and run you with their energy and negativity. Be prepared to call the person on it, because they are being biased and will be repeat offenders. Try to understand that their hearts are suffering inside.

Orgasmic energy is generally the first experience of this phenomena and should not be repressed. It is, in essence, our life-force energy.

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My sexual ethics are: sex, energy, plus meditation.

And it is the easiest thing to join them, because while making love, the moment you come to an orgasmic explosion, your thoughts disappear, time stops. Suddenly you have melted into the other. You are no longer an ego. And these are the qualities of meditation: no ego, no time, no thinking. Just pure awareness and a melting into the whole.

Where sexual orgasm ends, meditation begins. They can be joined very easily. The easiest thing to do is to join them, they are so close.

My own insight is that people came to discover meditation through sexual orgasm, because of these qualities. They could see that when thoughts stop, time stops, ego disappears and you are in a tremendously beautiful space. Although it lasts only for seconds, it has given you the taste of something that is not of this world, something of the beyond.

We don't know who discovered meditation, perhaps thousands of years ago. In the East we have books at least ten thousand years old describing methods of meditation. But any method brings the same qualities.

This is my feeling, without sexual orgasm nobody could have been able to discover these three qualities. Once they discovered these three qualities, people of intelligence must have tried to experience them without going into sexual orgasm. Is it possible to attain to such a consciousness? Somebody must have succeeded, and since then millions of people have succeeded.

The whole of humanity lives in misery for the simple reason that they have the wrong kind of sexual ethics... A kind which teaches them to repress it. And the more you repress your sexuality, the farther away you are from meditation. The more you repress it, the closer you are to madness, not to meditation.

And now it is a fact established by psychoanalysis - by the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud - that repressed sex is the basic cause of human misery, of all kinds of perversions, of all kinds of mind sicknesses. But the religions still go on preaching the same thing.

Sigmund Freud should be remembered as one of the milestones in the history of man. But his work is only half. He simply fought against repression; his work is negative. In itself it takes you nowhere; it is fighting against darkness.

My sexual ethics are a completion. Repression has to be dropped. And a deep acceptance, a deep friendliness towards your own energies, a loving intimacy with your own energies so those energies can reveal all their secrets to you... And joining them with meditation, orgasm becomes the door to the temple of the divine.

To me, if sex is the creative force in the world, it must be nearest to the creative center of the world - whatever name you give to it. Creative energy must be closest to creation, to the creative source of it all.

People should be taught the art of converting sexual energy into spiritual enlightenment.

- Osho, The Path of Mystic, Chapter 21

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This is a Mandala, below,
which shows the energy chakras of our physical bodies...

The red center is at the spine and the sphincter...
Balanced, it is strong and sensual; imbalanced it will feel numb, dense, disruptive and destructive.

The orange center rules the genitals...
Balanced, it brings power and energy; imbalanced, it brings control issues.

The yellow center is below the belly button,
giving power to make commitments to life; imbalanced, it will bring up emotions of anger and greed.

The green center is the heart center!
It rules compassion, and is peaceful and soothing. Imbalanced, it will create depression and feel oppressed.

The blue center is ruled by the throat, face and our psychic center, the "third eye"...
Balanced, it is clear and honest; imbalanced it holds denial, and is chaotic and reactionary.

The purple center is the crown of the head.
Balanced, it brings feelings of lightness, music and ecstasy into the body. Imbalanced, it will bring delusions and madness.

Meditation with white light links these chakras to the Universal Energy centers... And yoga is used to keep these areas of the body clear, balanced, and resilient.

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Star Mandala

The Five Universal Energy Centers
c) 2009 Orandon

These categories are derived from my personal studies in Buddhist art, and the use and theories behind meditating with mandalas. We use meditation with mandalas as a way of traveling through time and space, beyond the three-dimensional.

I am placing two mandalas on this page... The one with the sky and clouds is a Star Mandala. It represents the flight of masculine and feminine energies uniting. The other is the Kalachakra Mandala. It is the Dalai Lama's personal mandala, and can be found in other areas on the internet for more info. It represents the UNITY of all things.

All beings have five basic energy centers outside their bodies... These energy systems hold such things as vibrations, memories, body language, heat, cold, other frequencies of emotion, light and darkness. The health of these energy centers varies throughout a being's life, depending on the condition of their personal health. Drug use rips "holes" in these energy centers, and is not condoned for that reason.

Center of Action,
relative to our immediate bodies, is the immediate environment in/or through which one has taken action and generated movement. (The effects or presence of the physical body are generated as vibration, into the environment... But also taken into account are objects owned by the physical body - such as garbage.) MASCULINE SPIRIT GUARDIANS spend a great deal of focus in this realm of our lives. This energy center carries cause and effect vibrations (karma) which erroneously touch the lives of many other beings.

Center of Atmosphere
is tied-in to the presence of a person or being. It is representative of places where one has been and left "residue". Atmospheric energies are generated by fragrances, dust, dirt or skin flakings, hair and DNA. (Please also include here bio-hazardous products as well as those used for the disposal of blood and sperm-filled prophylactics.) FEMININE SPIRIT GUARDIANS (also known as divas and dakinis) spend a great deal of focus in this realm of our lives. This energy center generates psychic awareness, and the erroneous effects one's presence has physically on many other beings. This center is attributed to the DREAM TIME of the collective unconscious.

Center of Solar Radiation
connects to the time and place of birth (as in the map of the astrology chart). This energy center represents your birth position, and where the stars were when you or another being was born. It corresponds to other souls who share the same astrological birth signs or attributes - and to the common programs being fulfilled in the coarse of life by these beings. SHARED SPIRIT GUARDIANS commonly show whatever needs or lessons are required by collective groups of individuals for proper soul growth. It is a normal phenomena here to experience one's personal Spirit Guardian's sudden presence in another person. Just know that you have attracted this phenomena by Law of Attraction; it may not be authentic unless you are.

Center of Universal Radiation
is representative of a star system one feels attuned to. As an energy center it holds information gleaned from the rapport with/and any beings who were or are there. TRIBAL SPIRIT GUARDIANS we might recognize from mythology and religions, who effect the course of groups of people/beings. Exploring this realm can be dangerous and should not be explored through experimental drug use, nor by those who are untrained. (In his youth, Jim Morrison spent a lot of his time putting his awareness in this center... As many poets do!)

Center of Divinity
is represented by our Higher Power, also known as the Holy Guardian Angel, the Eternal Self or the "Megaphone of the Soul" (as written about by Chris Griscom)... This is the sound of our own guiding voice, which speaks forth from deep within. Accessing this energy is the attainment of MASTERY through LOVE.

Kalachakra "Unity" Mandala

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Jesus, I am Your Child, Too

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Jesus...

Thank You for investing Yourself
in someone like me...
Help me step back and be mindful of my own needs,
because I am Your child, too.
Help me become aware
it was not okay to grow up
in a verbally and physically abusive home,
and not accept that in my life from others.
Help me treat others with excellence, Lord.
Help me add to their lives, not take away.
Help me be mindful,
I do not have to be willing, acceptant
nor an active participant of other's negativity;
I can walk away.
Help me to see-through their suffering, Lord.
Help me to become aware
of when I am being undermined
by someone trying to run me with their energy.
There are so many people out there
struggling with jealousy, stinginess and greed, God!
Please keep me mindful,
they will not be good friends.
If they think I am rude, then I know
they are not doing their homework.
If I can inspire, encourage and help them,
I will.
If they don't want my help,
show me how to move on.
Time is becoming too precious, Jesus!
I don't have time to assume or presume
I know what's going on with others God.
I can't read anyone's mind.
All I can do is ask You help me
stay in my own meditative mind.
I am claiming the peace I need in my life
through You, Jesus.
Because I am Your child, too.
Amen.

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I want people to know there is a difference between humility and humiliation.
Some people think these two words are the same thing.
Some people are unwilling to be humble
because somewhere in the back of their minds
they must feel they are taking a risk in being "humiliated".

Isn't it a shame to consider how all human beings have experienced some sort of humiliation in their childhoods? Some situations may have been fun, or funny, or accidental; others may have run into something that was painful and purposeful. Some people never grow out of this! It's strange to look back on these times in our lives.

When I was about 5, I used to feel very embarrassed by my mother's red lipstick. There was something about that red lipstick? When it came on it changed my mother's face. I found her to be cruel and embarrassing to be near. But it was funny when my brother took that red lipstick and smeared it all over his face! We got the biggest kick out of that! (Mom didn't think it was so funny.)

When I was 7, I was in Catholic school when Sister Theresia called me up in front of the class. She turned me towards the blackboard and hit me around the shoulders with her yardstick. I had the worst trouble getting math! I remember doing everything to fight back my tears. It was even more difficult to turn around and face the smug expressions on the faces of my classmates. I ended up in the hospital with an ulcer that year.

Certain levels of humiliation have a sobering effect on one's life. This is why so many people can be a drag to be around.

We get all-up in ourselves about it. We think we have to go through all kinds of posturing in order to be accepted by others. Whether that happens through socialization, or religion or traditions, it can be hard to break free from. Is it any wonder human beings come to see themselves as entitled?

No one wants to be made fun of. No one wants to take a lesser place, or be a have-not... In our own ways, we overcompensate for this pain by working very hard to be "special". Oddly, over time we might outgrow those efforts. I think this is the real challenge of mid-life, when people hit their 40's, for example. What happens to our passion for life?

Humility, learning when to be humble, quiet and graceful, is a way of helping ourselves find more grace in our world. We have to be able to forgive ourselves before we can forgive others.

Instead of adding to another person's suffering, instead of chastising and pigeonholing people, instead of needing to be right, we can simply be quiet and decisive. It is possible then, to recognize who and what we want to include in our true passions about things. Living our lives would not feel like a waste of time...

For me, humility is like a tai chi movement... A simple one, of getting out of my own way, and allowing God to work with me a little more. So, when I feel good? I can be more decisive about what really matters!

The goal in life should be to feel good about life.

Everyone should feel entitled to make decisions about their lives, then stand on those decisions. That's where the real power rests.

Instead of dodging the balls people throw your way, you can let them fall to the ground if you're being hurt or humiliated. Maybe those games aren't for you. With some practice and awareness, you can just move on.

Instead of going through the motions of dodging the balls of the competition around you - once in awhile you could decide to pick up your own game. Get your own ball; play! Play something new.

And when you do? Let it be something you feel passionate about.

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Zen Heart

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The Zen Heart is a Melting Heart...

personaltao.com

The Zen Heart has crashed itself along the hard shores of life so many times...! It has completely disintegrated, and become one with ALL life.

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You can have attitudes about anything. Once you have attitudes, your innocence is destroyed and those attitudes start controlling you. Zen is neither for anything nor against anything. Zen says whatsoever is ordinary is good. To be ordinary, to be a no one, to be a nothingness, to be without any ideology, to be without character, to be characterless...

When you have a character you have some kind of neurosis. Character means something has become fixed in you. Character means your past. Character means conditioning, cultivation. When you have a character you are imprisoned in it, you are no more free. When you have a character you have an armor around yourself. You are no more a free person. You are carrying your prison around yourself; it is a very subtle prison. A real man will be characterless.

What do I mean when I say he will be characterless? He will be free of the past. He will act in the moment according to the moment. He will be spontaneous; only he can be spontaneous. He will not look back into the memories for what to do. A situation has arisen and you are looking in the memory - then you have a character. Then you are asking your past, "What should I do?" When you don't have any character you simply look into the situation and the situation decides what has to be done. Then it is spontaneous and there is response, and not reaction.

- OSHO

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Oh... Um... About me...

I still cannot believe I have been living with paralysis.

I am so grateful to have my Tui Na healer get to it and work it out! By this time I have consulted nine doctors who could do nothing.

I have felt degrees of paralysis throughout my life, starting when I was about 7. You see, it is all generated by anxiety. My body cannot conduct adrenaline correctly.

But I know the left side of my head and face have been paralyzed for at least four years.

The most difficult part about this? It feels like I am living with a concussion. I have had to get used to the sensation of living like this, you know? The world is perpetually-warped and slanted. That includes the faces of people here. Strange smells are in the air, burning my eyes. Animals talk in their own painful languages and such.


It's very Bosch and Van Gogh. (I would say, on the good days it's more, Van Gogh.)

I believe my spirit refuses to take any more shit from people. I believe it's my spirit's way of protecting me, keeping me from bringing that weird, untamed energy into myself.

I feel things... I internalize. When I was young, people would tell me I'm psychic. Then I trained as a psychic and taught workshops and helped people for many years.

My feeling is, they should try it for themselves sometime.

I feel my spirit loves her inner world here. If I can share some of that with others, that's a bonus. And if someone can share with me? That's the icing on the bonus.

I am a practicing Buddhist. I am all about intention, and peace. I was born and raised Catholic. I became interested in Buddhism in my 30's. I took my vows when I turned 35. It has helped!

You see, no one can see anything wrong here. To some extent I am still expected to function as if I am "normal" - unless I start telling people. I can always count on being met by denial.

I have had to learn how to talk around it, inside and upside down in it, bust it down, break it out, and penetrate through all kinds of discussions of it... To the point I can't see straight; I hate talking anymore.

This has been the greatest hurdle living with this condition - how society would want me to normalize the abnormal. I hate that. I think sensitive people have a tough time, in general. Many become smokers, many try to protect themselves with food, and layers of fat. Nothing is normal; everything and everyone is unique. So it is inhumane to normalize the abnormal. You have to stop and DECIDE how much energy you are going to put into situations. Then you have to stand your ground, because people are still in denial and will try to coerce you.

I think I was always an angry person because of this. I'm sure I'm not the first.

As I approached my 40's the anger began to harden me... To the extent it could have killed me if I let it! I'll be 50 this year. I don't know what happened to my 40's. My doctors say it is more difficult to manage this condition as people get older.

Doctors have tried to talk me into viewing this condition as being something else... Every medication we tried made me feel violent. My body has to run her own energy. It is an adrenaline-heart-brain thing. I knew all this when I was 14!

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We have to learn how to be very careful, very gentle, and walk softly on the planet. We have to understand what pressure is, and not abuse it! Is that so hard?

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I know Jim Morrison was very hard on his body... He used drugs and drank; it was his way of coping with this same condition. He used to have panic attacks in High School. He often passed out on the floor in the hallways. He had severe panic attacks on stage, too. You know, I think of him as the big brother I never had? I am sad to have never had the chance to see him in person. People said he was a shaman.

Well, I think he just went about his death a little quicker, that's all. He was trapped in a lifestyle, trapped in his ego. He wanted to live, and live blatantly in the face of conformity. He did not want to be a hypocrite.

He was outrageous. He didn't know how to get out of it before it was too late! I know, he tried. The world forces us to get caught up in things - and that becomes fate. I'm sure he wouldn't have done it any other way.


When you live with a condition like this? You're not allowed to have an ego. The only thing you are allowed to have is reality. A lot of people can't deal with it, so they just choose to check-out.

You have to be as honest with yourself as possible. That includes your limitations, your desires, the supposed gifts and "talents" you think you have, which others encourage you to pursue - you have to learn these things don't and can't define you.

You have to conduct a ritual of stopping often, looking in the mirror, and checking with yourself to see if you're lying. You have to become extremely present with the idea that you're human... A human-being, not a human-doing. Or no one will help you.

That's what I know about me.

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P.S. Ray, Happy Birthday!

Secret Desert Heart

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I'd recognize this heart anywhere...

This is the heart of someone who has gone through a horrendous experience, and who harbors that experience in their heart as if it is some sort of lost jewel or a treasure (when it is junk). Now you want to become a teacher, a preacher, a healer, a social worker, a mother and a father based on that experience?

This person has the potential to bring a lot of chaos into the lives of others... Because s/he refuses to get the proper and appropriate help to get healed, herself. He or she may be extremely talented and gifted, with a profound ability to remember and retain knowledge. But that livelihood will ricochet if caution and intention are not there.

We all have to get clear in our intentions for wanting to be with someone else. That's why we live in a world full of contracts.

We all go through many painful, repetitive lessons dis-covering how it is our strengths also become our weaknesses, and how to balance that!

The spiritual lesson of the Secret Desert Heart is, you cannot go through life hardened, and expect to be loved. You cannot harbor a hardened heart and, at the same time expect to be effective or good at what you do. It doesn't work that way.

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"I wonder what Halal food is?" I thought, walking past the little restaurant on the corner from my healer's place. That cafe is always crowded, packed with people and many others coming and going in the cars out front. I headed to the bus stop, fearful of hanging out too long in The Hood.

That night I had a wonderful dream! I had a flying carpet - and I rode it everywhere, skimming the surface of the planet and all your houses.

Yes, I saw some of you are homeless, too, living in the streets and alleys, and forbidden byways where you stay just to get a little shelter from the storms and fires... I was able to edge myself to the border of the carpet, and look over and see you trying to rest there. I want you to start making some wishes, okay? To feel better, choose to feel better, because that is a choice. And there's a lot of magic in that. It's going to happen for you. It is just a matter of asking God.

My carpet, as if by will, took me up towards the sky where I found falling stars and opened my arms to them! They came falling to me, filling my hands and mind with light. As I rode through the night I looked down to my hands and saw they were filled with jewels, so many falling from the stars I could not fit them all into my pockets or blouse.

I had to circle around, and drop some into your hands; you can start making that wish now. Do something good for someone else today, and keep believing.

The next day I found myself in a shop holding a large amethyst jewel, bevelled and crystalline, rainbows pouring out of my hands. I got to take it home...

"I wonder what that Halal food is all about?"

I pondered it again, walking past the little cafe on the corner. It is always packed full of people. I laughed at the thought of my flying carpet... With the pretty threads of black, red and blue. I remembered how I rode it all night! And it took me home as the sun was rising and the birds were waking, and the leaves on the trees were fluttering like my heart, flittering, fluttering.



"I need to learn more about these people..."

I began to collect versions of "Arabian Nights", and videos like "Aladdin" and "Sinbad". Wow! I was thinking it would be fun to have a Genie. How do you get one? I was curious. Surely, I've seen some awesome Genie Bottles, but how do you get a Genie inside one? Looking on ebay, I saw lots more bottles, but thought - why not just search? I typed in "Genie Bottle" and found Babayaga Hauntings on ebay! With real and true Genies - in Bottles! How exciting is that?!

"I want to try this food," I told the owner of the little cafe on the corner. He gazed at me from behind the counter, his eyes large like saucers.

"Sit down, my lady," he said.

He brought a large glass of water with a little ice. He brought a crisp salad with tomatoes, onion, cucumbers and creamy dressing. He brought succulent, juicy shish-kebabs from lamb and chicken; marinated in lemons and garlic and spices. He brought a meso kebab, all this char-broiled and resting on a bed of lemony butter rice. He brought pita bread and hummus and baklava. OMG!!!! President Obama should be eating this food.

Everyone in the place raves over his food.

"I am here every day," said one guy. All the guys are very friendly, and I'm often the only woman in the place. But the people come and go in waves.

After my first meal, I lost 3 nights of sleep. For 3 nights I tossed and turned, unable to think of anything but that food. Naturally I've been back several times since!

"Please, I just want to take these few pieces home for my altar," I asked for a to-go box. He got a faraway look in his eyes.

Imagine being able to feel the LOVE from a place to the extent that you can sense it, without ever going inside. You can stand outside, 8 yards away, and feel the living energy there. That is the talent and intention coming from this man. I am so happy he's here, in Seattle, Washington, the U.S. of A.!

So I felt very surprised and blessed today, when the shop cleared out and he and I were the only ones in the place. In a moment he disappeared; then came back out holding, of all things... A carpet.

It was just a little carpet, very ornate with threads of black and red and blue. Fit for a little child, really.

He placed it down in the far north corner of the room, and began to pray and do prostrations. This lasted about 15 minutes; and then it was time to go.

"Tell me, my friend, what does Halal mean?" I asked as I paid.

"That is the way the animals are cared for, bred, raised and slaughtered," he said. "You know? We have been doing these things in my tradition for thousands of years, never knowing or understanding why," he added. "And only in the last few years we have been learning about the mad-cow disease? When our ancestors have been telling us about this forever! They knew! So I am just taking care of my customers."

He's adorable.

He makes for a darling Valentine Stimulus Package!

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Riyadh pressured on death penalty Gulf News
Saturday, Feb 07, 2009

Gulf News

Geneva: Western countries Friday called on Saudi Arabia to halt floggings and amputations, allow religious freedom and abolish a system of male guardianship sharply limiting women's rights.

Britain, Canada, Switzerland and Israel challenged Riyadh on its high number of executions. Saudi Arabia executes murderers, rapists and drug traffickers, usually by public beheading, and judges sometimes give the death sentence to armed robbers and those convicted of "sorcery" or desecrating the Quran.

A Saudi delegation defended its record at the United Nations Human Rights Council, saying the country was cracking down on domestic violence by men who abused their roles as guardians and beat their wives and children.

Zaid Al Hussain, vice-president of the state-affiliated Saudi Human Rights Commission, told the forum much remained to be done to ensure that individual followers of Islam upheld human rights standards, as required by Sharia law.

"Consequently, we do not claim to be perfect, nor do we reject criticism, which is welcome provided it is objective and intended to preserve human rights and dignity," he said.

The 47-member Council began regular reviews of all UN members last June in a bid to avoid charges of selectivity.

Al Hussain said non-Muslims could follow their faiths in private in the kingdom, but it would be difficult to allow non-Muslim houses of worship as "Islam is the final religion".

The oil-exporting Gulf country, a major US ally, has paid $100 million (Dh367 million) in compensation to people detained in terrorist cases who were later found to be innocent, he said.

Israel accused Saudi Arabia of "severe discrimination against women and minorities, corporal punishment, torture, forced labour, and the sexual exploitation of children".

It should "abolish corporal punishment, and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in general, and public floggings, eye-gouging, flogging of schoolchildren, and amputation of limbs in particular", Israeli ambassador Aharon Leshno Yaar said.

British envoy Peter Gooderham urged Riyadh to "abolish the guardianship system which severely limits the rights of women to act as autonomous and equal members of Saudi society".

Canada recommended that Saudi Arabia "cease application of torture" and other cruel treatment.

The United States did not take the floor in the three-hour debate. The Obama administration is reviewing its policy towards the Council, which the Bush administration had essentially boycotted since last June citing its "rather pathetic record".

Riyadh Despite stringent measures being taken by Saudi authorities against domestic violence and child abuse, official figures continue to reflect an alarming rise in such incidents in the country.

Hospitals in Riyadh alone received more than 50 cases of domestic violence last year, most of the victims being women and children, according to a source.

"The actual figure of such cases could be many times higher than the reported ones. This is because in most cases the victims were afraid of informing others about such incidents," said Dr Saeed Gharamullah Al Ghamdi, head of the Family Protection Team at the Health Department in Riyadh.

Speaking to Gulf News, Al Ghamdi said sexual assault figured in quite a few cases of domestic violence. Seven cases of sexual assault by a father had come to light, he said, adding that another five cases involved culprits from outside the family circle.

Some 15 women had been subjected to violence at the hands of their husbands, the official said. There were also 11 cases involving non-Saudis.

The Ministry of Health has constituted a special family protection team comprising consultants and specialists to supervise the formation of committees at almost all the hospitals in the Riyadh region, Al Ghamdi said.

A total of 35 panels have been formed so far.

"Domestic violence cases against women and children are on the rise day by the day in various parts of the kingdom. This prompted the concerned authorities to form such specialised committees besides holding seminars and campaigns to create awareness in a bid to fight domestic violence and child abuse," he said.

Several Saudi newspapers carry reports about domestic violence against women and children on a daily basis. One such report recounted the tragic story of a Saudi girl aged 12 who succumbed to her injuries after being tortured by her father.

The girl, with serious burns on her face and bruises to various parts of the body, died before being brought to the emergency unit of Al Iman Hospital in Riyadh last week.

Her younger sister, aged 9, had also been taken to the hospital with serious injuries caused by her father. A source at the hospital told Gulf News that the medical team at the hospital found several scars, old and new, on the dead girl's body.

There were also horrific burns on her face and several bones had been exposed after the man poured boiling water over her head, the source said, adding that it was the hospital staff who had informed the police and later shifted the body to the morgue.

A source at Riyadh Police said that the girls' father had been taken into custody for interrogation, and that they were awaiting the post-mortem report to ascertain the real cause of death.

"Immediately after the incident, a team of investigative officers and experts reached the home of the girls, where they found the two younger brothers (aged 7 and 8) and sister (aged 9) of the dead girl.

The younger siblings had also been subjected to beating and torture. The boys were allowed to leave with their paternal uncle after receiving primary treatment from the Riyadh Medical Complex.

The other injured girl, who was still in Al Iman Hospital, told police that she and her siblings had been mistreated by their father.

Police informed the Department for Preventing Domestic Violence at the Ministry of Social Affairs about the incident and the case was transferred to the Investigation and Public Prosecution Commission for further action.

The case of Zahra, a girl aged 8, who was subjected to domestic violence also received widespread attention. According to press reports, she was subjected to incessant torture, both physical and mental, by her parents, who forced her to go out and seek alms.

Zahra was forced against her will to beg on pavements and in front of commercial centres. Whenever she refused, the girl was tortured with a vengeance and she eventually fled her home to escape from her parents.

Warning against the rising cases of domestic violence in the kingdom, Dr Mufleh Al Qahtani, president of the Saudi National Human Rights Society, said the watchdog would soon release its new statistical report about domestic violence cases.

There were several cases of domestic violence that never came to light, Al Qahtani said. "These include sexual abuse of girls by their fathers, reckless divorce, girls being prevented from continuing their education, and inhuman torture," he said.

Dr Rashoud Al Kharif, professor of social science at King Saud University, said there were very few studies about cases of domestic violence in the Kingdom.

"Some of the studies showed that about 90 per cent of the culprits in such cases were men, and most of the cases happening against wives," he said adding that generally women were the first victims in all such cases.

© Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.

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Saudi Blogger Detained for Recording Conversion to Christianity
By Dibin Samuel
Christian Today Reporter
Sat, Feb. 07 2009 09:17 AM EST

A 28-year-old blogger who recorded his conversion from Islam to Christianity has been detained by authorities in Saudi Arabia.

Hamoud Bin Saleh was arrested last month, according to International Christian Concern (ICC), and detained at Eleisha political prison in Riyadh for expressing his views on Islam in his blog "Masihi Saudi" atchristforsaudi.blogspot.com.

The arrest came just five months after the killing of a Saudi official's daughter who converted to Christianity. She was burnt to death by her father who cut her tongue after learning of her Christian faith, which blossomed through the internet.

According to ICC, Bin Saleh, who was arrested in November 2008, was released by the government, during the Saudi-initiated interfaith dialogue held at the United Nations in New York. However, after the conference, the officials chose to re-arrest Bin Saleh because “the entire world is busy following up on the aggression on Gaza, and the Saudi authorities may seize the chance to make an example with nobody watching."

Bin Saleh's blog, which has been blocked by the Saudi authorities, contained his spiritual walk and Christian faith after witnessing the public beheading of three Pakistanis convicted of drug charges.

“I was convinced that the wretched Pakistanis were executed in accordance with the Muhammadan laws just because they are poor and have no money or favored positions, which they had no control or power over,” he wrote.

“My mind was persistently raising questions and desperately seeking answers. I went on vacations to read about comparative religion, and I got the Bible, and I used to give these books to anyone before going back to Saudi, as going back there with such books is considered an unforgivable crime which will throw its perpetrator in a dark jail.”

It was the life of Jesus that inspired Bin Saleh to convert to Christianity. The story of Jesus forgiving a woman condemned for adultery drew him closer to the Bible.

“Jesus ... took us beyond physical salvation as he offered us forgiveness that is the salvation of eternal life and compassion,” he wrote.

Saudi Arabia has been criticized for its oppression of religious and political minorities. Freedom of speech and the press are restricted to forbid criticism of the government or endorsement of "un-Islamic" values.

Islam is the official religion. The government prohibits the public practice of other religions in the kingdom.

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feminist wire | daily newsbriefs
February 9, 2009

UN Human Rights Council Urges Saudi Arabia to Give Women Rights

At a meeting late last week, members of the United Nations Human Rights Council urged Saudi Arabia to actively work to end pervasive human rights violations in the country, particularly those against women and children. According to Reuters, Britain, Switzerland, Canada, and Israel spoke against Saudi Arabia's current practices. Israel's delegation reportedly accused Saudi Arabia of "severe discrimination against women and minorities, corporal punishment, torture, forced labor, and the sexual exploitation of children."

Women's rights in Saudi Arabia are currently limited on a number of fronts including marriage rights, freedom to travel, property ownership, education, and work. According to Human Rights Watch, although some human rights laws have been introduced in Saudi Arabia, little implementation or enforcement of these laws has occurred.

Prior to the UN Human Rights Council review, Human Rights Watch's Middle East Director Sarah Leah Whitson, said that "The international community should ensure that its review of Saudi Arabia does not just produce more promises, leaving the Saudi people empty-handed….The Saudi reply to inquiries about rights violations or legal developments is typically total silence."

Media Resources: Reuters 2/6/09; AFP 2/5/09, Human Rights Watch Press Release 2/4/09

Saudi Arabia: Kingdom Human Rights Report Discussed

The Vice-President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission Zeid Al-Hussein has delivered a speech during the fourth session of the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review Working Group which reviewed the Kingdom's report on human rights.

Al-Hussein said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not only an Islamic state, but it is also the cradle of Islam and its civilization, the land of the Two Holy Mosques and the destination of Muslims around the world. Therefore, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has to take care of Islam, perform its rituals and serve its sanctities.

From this perspective, the universal periodic review is in line with the guidance of Islam. The national report was prepared in accordance with Universal Periodic Review (UPR) guidelines, Al-Hussein added.

All Government authorities and civil society institutions in the Kingdom were fully involved in the report. One of the Kingdom's main peculiarities is its rapid transformation from a tribal society, characterized by conflicts and widely dispersed and totally unconnected regions where people lived in isolation and forms of economic and educational backwardness, to an advanced phase of its political, economic, social and cultural life.

The religious particularities, as correctly viewed in Islam, supplement rather than undermine international human rights standards.

Saudi Arabia derives its values from all sources provided that they are compatible with the objectives called for by the Islamic Shari'a, Al-Hussein said.

Islamic Shari'a pays special attention to the rights of vulnerable groups such as minorities and non-Muslims. The Sharia granted women extensive rights.

The government of Saudi Arabia acknowledges that there are some human rights violations attributable to individual practices.

Many of these violations fall within the context of domestic violence, he added.

During the past two years, great efforts have been made to bolster rights of children and women and promote the role of the family in the society.

Women's awareness of their rights has been considerably increased in recent years through the social development centers, women's associations and the National Society for Human Rights which has adopted a policy of disseminating and promoting a legal culture, in general, and women's rights, in particular, he said.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also sought to achieve a balance between requirements of the campaign against terrorism and the need to respect human rights.

From the beginning of the terrorist problem in the Kingdom to the end of 2008, about $100 million in compensation had been paid to persons detained in terrorist cases and who were later found to be innocent, Al-Hussein added.

There are more than 1,000 other civil society institutions concerned with issues relating to the protection of human rights.

Since the submission of the UPR national report, the Shoura (Consultative) Council approved a law governing the activities of these institutions and ensuring their fulfillment of their duties independently, he said.

In Islam, rights are derived from the Holy Quran and the Sunna of the Prophet, which constitute the source of all legislation and a comprehensive way of life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he added.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has adopted promising plans of human rights, which included the adoption of a comprehensive programme sponsored by the Human Rights Commission and which included the participation of all governmental agencies and civil society, Al-Hussein said.

Like other States, Saudi Arabia was not exempt from certain manifestations of human trafficking and the Government was taking rigorous measures to combat such violations and had conducted numerous symposia and training courses have been held in collaboration with various local and international bodies, he added.

These endeavors culminated in the drafting of a Prevention of Human Trafficking Act designed to eradicate this phenomenon.

The Saudi Human Right Commission is in close conformity with the Paris Principles and achieves its objectives within the limits of its mandate, he added.

Regarding not allowing the establishment of worship places for non-Muslims in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we believe that Islam is the seal of religions and that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the cradle of Islam, the land of the Two Holy Mosques, the place where the Seal of Messengers was buried and the destination of 1.5 billion Muslims.

Therefore, the religious particularities make it difficult to establish worship places in the Holy Land. However, non-Muslims in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are completely ensured the freedom of worship and can practice the rituals of their religions in their own places.

In terms of freedom of religion and belief, the aims of the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for dialog among followers of the predominant global religions and cultures were to promote mutual understanding among them; to highlight the beneficial aspects of these cultures; and to affirm the importance of common denominators and the need to use them to develop human civilization and pave the way for universal peace and harmony.

In conclusion, Al-Hussein said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia appreciates the initiative taken by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in organizing a symposium in October 2007 on the difference between the freedom of expression and incitement of religious hatred. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hopes that other steps would be taken as a follow-up to that symposium.

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Unhook and Unpin

Ever notice how much junk we've got going on in our lives? What a challenge it can be to get some relief, even, when every time we turn on the TV or try to relax we get bombarded - with junk? I'm a big advocate of getting un-hooked and un-pinned.

Part of this comes from working for years in academic environments... Where everyone around me was all-up in their heads and their egos? Everything was a "process" (including the need to take a break to the restroom). There was so much posturing, so much "political correctness" going on! It was the very thing that made me the madwoman I am today! It was polarizing. It made people around me manic and hostile. And then? We got trips laid on us too, about how we had to speak in terms of "I" and "me" so we didn't sound as if we were blaming anyone. Okay... That's all cool. (So not all of us grew up with Mr. Rogers.)

I was working with a prominent teacher... She was a feminist and political activist; she pulled me aside one day and encouraged me to think in terms of withdrawing my support of things and people I didn't believe in.

"If you don't believe in them, just withdraw your support, and they will fall down. They will go crashing down and be ruined by their own accord."

That was 20 years ago.

Funny, I no sooner began to do that (in very passive ways, I might add) when people started telling me I had problems with authority figures. To this, all I can say is - GEE, You Can't Win! Well, maybe you can win, but you'll have to kiss somebody's ass all the way. (If you decide to go that route, just make sure it's the right person's ass. And you might want to read my other blog - the section on being a people-pleaser.)

Maybe Jim Morrison or Neitzche, or whoever the hell said it, was right? He said, you will always have problems with authorities until you become an authority.

I say, we need to learn how to get rid of the junk in our lives. Boot-it.

Sure, you have seen those episodes of Oprah where she brings in someone to help organize somebody's closet, apartment, or house? And they come in and boot all the person's valuable junk? And the person is screeching all the way. But do you think that's enough? It's only the first step.

It's only the first step, you see, because we have needs, and nature abhors a vacuum. So we have to make room in our lives for the more important things to come in.

Since our lives are cluttered with junk, we have to get rid of it. It can be as literal as cleaning out closets, getting rid of and passing on stuff you haven't used in awhile. I categorize things in terms of 7 years, 3 years, and 2 years, by order of importance. But if it is just hanging around on my energy? not serving me? not making me happy? It's a nuisance! Time to unpin myself from it.

Some people can become your literal hook-ups, okay. What's with that?

Man, I feel sorry for kids today! I mean, my generation was in there, sandwiched between our headphones for years. Fine. But this generation is dealing with something altogether different with say, text-messaging addiction. How could you?

I mean, don't you know how much better it is to be sitting with someone in person? looking into their eyes?

I mean, like the lover you don't actually sleep with? And he's down the hall with his blackberry and you're up the hall with yours? That's just idiotic. A spasmodic mis-use of energy that is ready to fry-you. If the pattern is frying you, unhook from it.

Dare yourself to start unpinning and unhooking from junk and lies.

No, wait! I dare you!

One useful little ritual I have is to imagine "it" as a piece of paper I can just crumble up and toss. I'm un-hooked. People will bring their "stuff" to me; their lies, for instance. You know, people like that are just messing with you, unhook from them. People, say, who have emotional hang-ups? They are HUNG-UP, for cryin' out loud! See that for what it is. It might not be for you, okay?

At one point someone in the media began to dish Barack Obama junk about his former preacher... By this time Obama had just been elected President, and he just shook his head and laughed. "You're just messing with me," he said. "We addressed all that stuff before I was elected, now let's move on!"

If someone else tries to hang their junk and their lies on you... You can choose not to participate. You can also let them know in these very terms I am describing. "Thanks for asking, but I don't wish to participate in discussions regarding my privacy, my sexual orientation, my political party, my religious practices or what kind of butt-wipe I use."

And while you're at it? It doesn't hurt to talk to them in a very soft, kind voice, like Mr. Rogers would do. Then, they don't feel threatened.

I know that sounds dumb, but people generally only hear what they want to hear.

Let me retract back to the butt-kissing syndrome: most people don't actually listen to anything you say. They may act like they hear you, but they are not listening. There's a difference! If someone is actually listening or not, you will feel it. Truthfully, learning the difference between hearing and listening could define a lot of your success in life! Just ask Oprah!

If you feel you must only tell others what they want to hear, it might not hurt to unpin yourself from that person, conversation, cell-phone, email or text message.

You could just be talking to yourself.

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