The Virus of Religious "Faith"

I will NEVER tell someone to stop believing in his/her religion. I have always respected someone’s believes.

But there comes a point at which I will say stop. And, for some reason, the fundamentalists and extremists, ESPECIALLY certain Abrahamic religions are very good at triggering that point.

I once met a boy and his father, roaming the MRT Station in Bishan (Singapore Train Station), spreading the "good word". They approached me, passed me a comic leaflet of Satan and Jesus, and being 'saved'. I was from a Catholic school, and was VERY open to learning about other religions. So I listened to what he had to say, since my friends were late.

I always liked to talk to people who are SO into religion. I like to see at which point they try to convert you. Especially extreme Christians are always at the verge of telling you how great Jesus is. Have you ever experienced that with someone who thinks of Buddhism as his religion? That's why it’s so interesting.

So, this guy man tries to wrap his head around my point of view which were pretty 'radical' because he was a 'frog in a well'. I believed that I could believe in Jesus and any other God. I kept explaining to him that I did believe in Jesus. He kept insisting that I MUST only believe in Jesus. There is only one God! My question to him was, how can a so-called mono-theistic religion believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, angels, a million saints, super angels etc, and STILL insist it's followers should only believe in ONE JESUS?!

I also told him about my impression that every Christian I’ve talked to thinks he has the right to claim a message. Every time they think to be an ambassador of something I wouldn’t understand until I come over and join their little meeting every ___day in Church. [Mind you, I loved chapel services in SJI(My catholic secondary school), HATED it in my Junior College (Methodist College). Same religion. Same Jesus.]

Guess what. He took his son and walked away.

This was about 10 years ago.

Blind faith is as damaging as a plague. Even if a BILLION people believe, they ALL can be wrong.

Richard Dawkins video about the "Virus of Faith" below is worth a watch.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7619161192220036050&hl=en

LaVeyan Satanism

The desire to feed my curiosity of the many religions that exist in our world today, has led me to the 'Dark side'. Yes. Satanism. Yes I said it. Now I'm going to burn in hell. I think not.

Reading about this fascinating, yet predominantly practical religion, has led me to one conclusion - there is always a flip side to everything. Unless we are able to detach ourselves, and observe from another angle, we are forever going to be ignorant.

"The highest form of ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about" - Wayne Dyer

Anton Lavey founded Satanism on very very practical rules/commandments.

The Nine Satanic Statements

1. Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence!
2. Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams!
3. Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit!
4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it, instead of love wasted on ingrates!
5. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek!
6. Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires!
7. Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his “divine spiritual and intellectual development,” has become the most vicious animal of all.
8. Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification!
9. Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years!

The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth

1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
3. When in another’s lair, show them respect or else do not go there.
4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat them cruelly and without mercy.
5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
   
6. Do not take that which does not belong to you, unless it is a burden to the other person and they cry out to be relieved.
   
7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.
8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
9. Do not harm young children.
10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they do not stop, destroy them.

The Nine Satanic Sins

1. Stupidity — The top of the list for Satanic Sins. The Cardinal Sin of Satanism. It’s too bad that stupidity isn’t painful. Ignorance is one thing, but our society thrives increasingly on stupidity. It depends on people going along with whatever they are told. The media promotes a cultivated stupidity as a posture that is not only acceptable but laudable. Satanists must learn to see through the tricks and cannot afford to be stupid.
2. Pretentiousness — Empty posturing can be most irritating and isn’t applying the cardinal rules of Lesser Magic. This is on equal footing with stupidity for what keeps the money in circulation these days. Everyone’s made to feel like a big shot, whether they can come up with the goods or not.
3. Solipsism — Projecting your reactions, responses, and sensibilities onto someone who is probably far less attuned than you are can be very dangerous for Satanists. It is the mistake of expecting people to give you the same consideration, courtesy and respect that you naturally give them. They won’t. Instead, Satanists must strive to apply the dictum of “Do unto others as they do unto you.” It’s work for most of us, and requires constant vigilance, lest you slip into a comfortable illusion of everyone being like you. As it has been said, certain utopias would be ideal in a nation of philosophers, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, from a Machiavellian standpoint) we are far from that point.
4. Self-deceit — It’s in the “Nine Satanic Statements”, but deserves to be repeated here. It is another cardinal sin. We must not pay homage to any of the sacred cows presented to us, including the roles we are expected to play ourselves. The only time self-deceit should be entered into is when it’s fun, and with awareness. But then, it’s not self-deceit!
5. Herd Conformity — That’s obvious from a Satanic stance. It’s all right to conform to a person’s wishes, if it ultimately benefits you. But only fools follow along with the herd, letting an impersonal entity dictate to you. The key is to choose a master wisely, instead of being enslaved by the whims of the many.
6. Lack of perspective — Again, this one can lead to a lot of pain for a Satanist. You must never lose sight of who and what you are, and what a threat you can be, by your very existence. We are making history right now, every day. Always keep the wider historical and social picture in mind. That is an important key to both Lesser and Greater Magic. See the patterns and fit things together as you want the pieces to fall into place. Do not be swayed by herd constraints: Know that you are working on another level entirely from the rest of the world.
7. Forgetfulness of Past Orthodoxies — Be aware that this is one of the keys to brainwashing people into accepting something new and different, when in reality it’s something that was once widely accepted but is now presented in a new package. We are expected to rave about the genius of the creator and forget the original. This makes for a disposable society.
8. Counterproductive Pride — That first word is important. Pride is great up to the point you begin to throw out the baby with the bathwater. The rule of Satanism is: If it works for you, great. When it stops working for you, when you’ve painted yourself into a corner and the only way out is to say, "I’m sorry, I made a mistake, I wish we could compromise somehow," then do it.
9. Lack of Aesthetics — This is the physical application of the Balance Factor. Aesthetics is important in Lesser Magic and should be cultivated. It is obvious that no one can collect any money off classical standards of beauty and form most of the time, so they are discouraged in a consumer society; but an eye for beauty, for balance, is an essential Satanic tool and must be applied for greatest magical effectiveness. It’s not what’s supposed to be pleasing: It’s what is. Aesthetics is a personal thing, reflective of one’s own nature, but there are universally pleasing and harmonious configurations that should not be denied.

Mostly practical......


It is a personal opinion that many people use religion as a shield (I've mentioned this before) to 'protect' themselves and others use it as a form of identity. Religion as a whole is boundlessly enthralling and fascinating. Rituals, on the other hand, have a lot to be desired. Charles Eisenstein writes about this is his book. "The Ascent of Humanity" - http://www.ascentofhumanity.com/chapter2-10.php

and Richard Smoley too - http://www.modernpaths.com/library/rituals/

Some people can accept it, some people can't. Such is life.

It was meant as a joke, but it may be very real - Why religion is STILL the static between You and God

A young monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to helping other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church by hand.

He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript. So, the new monk goes to the head abbot to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error would be continued in all of the subsequent copies.

The head monk, says, "We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son."

He goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the original manuscripts are held in the archives in a locked vault that hasn't been opened for hundreds of years. Hours go by and nobody sees the old abbot.



The young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall and wailing.

"We missed the R! We missed the R! We missed the R!"

His forehead is all bloody and bruised and he is crying uncontrollably.

The young monk asks the old abbot, "What's wrong, father?"

With A choking voice, the old abbot replies,


"The word was...
CELEBRATE!!!"

Sufism

A friend of mine asked me, what does Hinduism mean to you, do you believe God is one, do Hindus have different versions of God? I gave her an answer, but this 'war' of spiritual vs religious was actually playing out in my head. Any lay person can be religious. It's easy. TOO easy. It's a herd mentality. It's repetitive. It's outdated. It's non-relevant. It's become tiresome. It's become the act of doing without knowing.

Being spiritual, on the other hand, is TOTALLY undefined. It's personal. It's special. It's the road less travelled, because you're the only one really on it.

For some reason, I decided to find out about the most questioned religion at this point, to find out whether it is TRULY God who has directed all the evil that has happened, or whether Man has taken what he wanted from the scriptures, written by a messenger from God(Human) and caused all this mayhem because he ego deemed it right. According to "GOD" of course.....

Then I remembered something.... in the midst of all the furor of Islam and the questionable practices by the crazy fundamentalists within their people, there had to be a shining light..... the mystical Sufism....

Sufism – What is it?

Sufism (Sufism) may be best described as a mystical practice that emphasizes certain unique rituals for guiding spiritual seekers into a direct encounter with God. Muhammad is considered their chief prophet and many consider Sufism to be a mystical brand of Islam.

Sufism is a difficult term to actually define because its meaning is supposed to have derived from various words, with differing connotations:

• Bishr ibn al–Harith has said that, “the sufi is he whose heart is sincere towards God.” Thus, one of the words from which Sufism is supposed to have derived is safa meaning pure -- this due to the purity of the sufis’ heart.
  
  
• Others have derived sufi from the word saff; this refers to the sufis’ “first rank” before God. Sufis believe that they are in a prominent position in relation to God. The term suffab -- meaning, “People of the Bench” -- and the word suf which refers to the Sufis habit of wearing wool are two more popular supposed derivations of the word sufi.

These two latter definitions gained acceptability because they quite accurately described the observed behavior of the sufi. Sufis, being people who are neither possessed or possess were as the People of the Bench (people who lived in the time of God’s Prophet) -- people who had fled the world, wanderers, without this world’s goods, not clothed in soft raiment but dressed in coarse wool.

Sufis teach that Sufism may be practiced with any religion -- it is the “heart” of religion. No one faith or belief is questioned; each can follow his own church, religion, or creed.

Sufism – What do Sufis believe about God?

Sufism holds a doctrine of God which is extremely lofty. Here is an excerpt taken from one of their descriptions of God:

“. . . ‘before’ does not outstrip him; ‘of’ does not vie with him for precedence; ‘from’ does not accord with him; ‘to’ does not join with him. . .”

When attempting to decide whether or not God is still in the act of creating, some Sufis are at odds; some say yes, he continues to create since Creator, Maker, and Former (one who formed) are his eternal attributes. Others say he did not become creator, maker, and former by performing these tasks; otherwise he would have been eternally deficient, only becoming complete through the act of creation.

Sufis believe that God is responsible for everything they do, every act that they, as his servants perform. If not, then they would be equal to God, doing whatever they wanted. Thus God is responsible for every thought and deed. God can do with his servants whatever he wills, whether it is to the servant’s advantage or not.

One of the important rituals in Sufism is the zikr. During a zikr, one remembers God through meditation, chant, and movement -- certain attributes of God are repeated until the seekers become “saturated” with God. This ritual supposedly, shatters and transforms them. As they spin and whirl around for hours, they reach a state of ecstasy and purity where the heart is only conscious of God. The seeker surrenders his or herself to total abandonment -- a total emptying of self.

More to come.....

The truth about being alone....

We can be alone in a room, yet not FEEL alone.

When I am engrossed in a good book I do not feel alone. When I am exercising or writing I do not feel alone. When I'm watching TV, I do not feel alone.

The human species is designed as a social species —we interact with each other in nearly every aspect of living. So, the desire to socialize comes up even if our personal activities are fulfilling to us. Loneliness is felt when we have become dependent on someone or something outside of our own being to 'provide' personal happiness.

Being alone, and also feeling lonely, comes when we have not yet discovered that our personal fulfillment comes right out of our depths, right from our depth of consciousness, from communion with our Source.

Contact with our Source is socializing with the Presence that is always with us as a listening ear, that warms and energizes us with feelings of harmony, spurring us on to be positive and productive in the world.

"In contact with our Source we are never alone
The unseen presence our infinite and daily companion..."

To develop consciousness of the Unseen Companion, listen to the soft wind within, developed in meditation and carried out into daily living. When we learn how to socialize with our Source, we will find that we always have a companion with us, that we are really never 'alone'.

"Being alone without being lonely happens
when we discover the Divine Presence within
And our fulfillment lies in taking the gifts of this Divinity,
warmth and energy, peace and contentment
into our social interactions"

As we improve the quality of our character, we become more aware of our state of happiness—the state of happiness hidden from us till we consistently act for the best of each situation.

We may think that happiness is an acquisition, and therefore buy more and more things. Soon we observe that depending on the momentary high experienced in an acquisition is truly temporary, and that in order to stay happy all time, we would have to acquire a never-ending stream of objects. We also might think that another person gives us happiness by paying attention to us. Again, this would mean a person would have to be focusing on us all the time, in order for us to feel happiness all the time. (The infamous 'neediness' shown in many a couple, who depend on each other for happiness,existence,identity,meaning....)

Neither by trying to acquire a stream of possessions, or by constantly expecting or trying to coerce a person to focus all their attention on us, do we experience a baseline of happiness.

We all want happiness—so where is happiness?

Happiness is the outcome of harmony. And, harmony is the outcome of living moment to moment in alignment with the highest good of the moment. When we live peacefully and usefully, we are living harmoniously—we feel happy.

So, happiness is with us all the time as a state of our own being—brought to the forefront in our lives when we are living harmoniously in the world. In this realization we can see that each of us has happiness ever available, from within ourselves, experienced when our attitudes, decisions and actions are in harmony with peacefulness and goodness. Once we are able to live with ourselves, independent of anyone else's influence or presence, and are able to comprehend the true magnitude of our Presence; once we make peace with the One within, we are truly able to live in happiness.

Simply put, Harmony = Happiness; Happiness = Being able to be alone with YOU!

"Happiness brought to the forefront of our lives
when we improve the quality of our character
through acting harmlessly in the world
by acting with care in the world"

The Eclipses

The Three Eclipses in July and August 2009

By Janet Moon
Website: www.SparrowMoon.com

The Eclipses Are Coming - A Triple Wallop! July and August, 2009

July 7, July 21, and August 5, 2009

Eclipses bring changes, good and bad. Usually they come in pairs twice a year, but this summer we will have 3 eclipses: a lunar, a solar, and then another lunar.

Most of us find changes difficult, even if they are positive. With all the changes we have been dealing with over the past year due to the collapse in the economy, I'm not sure any of us will really want to deal with any more. Well... like it or not, change is coming. Do we want to sit around and cry, or do we want to accept the challenges and grow into richer and more spiritually healthy human beings? It's our choice.

The first two eclipses will be in Cancer and Capricorn, and the third will reflect between Leo and Aquarius. (I have good news for Leos and Aquarians; this will be your last set of eclipses. It will be another 8 years before they come back to your signs.)

The lunar eclipses will be penumbral eclipses, which means that just the edge of the earth's shadow will be crossing the moon. But, the solar eclipse on July 21 will be a total eclipse, so it will pack a strong wallop.

The first eclipse will be a lunar eclipse on July 7th at 5:38 AM EDT. If we were only dealing with the eclipse itself, we may find that the event would be less dramatic. But, there will be other stellar aspects happening over the days leading up to the eclipse, so get ready for drama. The eclipse will consist of the Sun in Cancer at an opposition to the Moon in Capricorn, and Saturn over in Virgo will be making a positive aspect between the two. Normally I would say that there could be some positive changes in business and at home if we've been working hard. But, Mars the ruler of energy and sex will be fighting with Neptune and Jupiter, and Venus, the goddess of love, will be upset with Pluto. There could be lots of fights, disputes, auto accidents, jealousy, and financial losses on top of the eclipse energy.

The second eclipse on July 21st (July 22nd Europe) at 10:35 PM EDT will be a total solar eclipse at 29 degrees Cancer. The 29th degree is a karmic point, and it can bring out the heroes. People born with their suns or rising signs at the 29th degree of any sign often like to rescue people. This time, not only do we have a powerful eclipse at a karmic degree, it's also going to be aspecting Uranus and Pluto. And, we have other planets doing their things at the same time. There is a good chance that relationships will breakup and investments will show major losses around this time. But, there is also a chance that some will "take the bull by the horns" and initiate major changes in their lives. Some of those changes will be absolutely brilliant, but some will be dealing with major losses. It's not unusual that people who are ill and tired often pass over during eclipses, but this eclipse may bring even more deaths... and some not anticipated.

The third eclipse will be the final eclipse in Leo and Aquarius on August 5th. It will be at 8:39 PM EDT, and it will be visible from about the eastern 2/3 of the US. I would call it more of a normal eclipse, since it won't be aspecting any other planets. And the other planets of the zodiac will not be at war with one another. It's still going to be an eclipse, and there will be changes to deal with. But, after the previous 2 eclipses, this eclipse may feel more like an aftershock. And, if you want to do something different, with Leo and Aquarius involved, throw an eclipse party!

Okay, now it's time to pull out our natal charts and see how these eclipses are going to affect us personally. First off, look and see which of your houses the eclipses will be occurring in. That will be the major determiner of what area of your life will be affected. Next, if the eclipse makes an aspect, especially a conjunction or square, to a power point (ascendant, nadir, descendant, or mid-heaven), it could bring some tremendous changes. If any of the eclipses aspect one of your inner planets (Mars, Venus, Mercury, Sun, Moon), then the changes will be personal. Which planet is being aspected and the house that the planet is located in will determine what aspect of your life will probably be dealing with those changes. If the eclipse is at an aspect to one of your outer planets, it will probably affect you more on a community or generational level. (Like, maybe a bunch of the baby boomers decide to retire early. I have not examined the ephemeris that closely to give any absolute predictions.)

The eclipse on July 7th will be at 15 degrees 32 minutes Capricorn. That means the Moon will be at 15 degrees Capricorn, and the Sun will be at 15 degrees Cancer. Any planets or points between 13 and 17 degrees (within a 2 degree tolerance) in Cancer and Capricorn are going to be dealing with the biggest changes. Planets or points in between 13 and 17 degrees in Libra and Aries are going to be dealing with unwanted changes, and some of those changes may be forced upon them. Planets and points between 13 and 17 degrees in Scorpio, Pisces, Taurus, and especially Virgo, may find that they actually initiate some wanted changes.

Our total solar eclipse on July 21st will be at 29 degrees 26 minutes Cancer. Cuspy Cancer/Leo's are going to be dealing with a lot of drama during this time. Any planets between 27 degrees and 1 degree on the cusps between Libra and Scorpio, and Aries and Taurus are not going to be happy at all. Be careful, there could be accidents. Planets or points between 27 degrees and 1 degree on the cusps between Capricorn and Aquarius, may find that they are doing the rescuing. The points and planets on the cusps between 27 degrees and 1 degree between Scorpio and Sagittarius and Pisces and Aries may actually see some positive changes from this eclipse.

And, the final eclipse on August 5th will be at 13 degrees 35 minutes Aquarius (with the Sun at 13 degrees 35 minutes Leo). Planets and power points between 11 and 15 degrees in Aquarius and Leo will be dealing with the biggest changes. Planets and points between 11 and 15 degrees in Scorpio and Taurus will be griping about the changes they have to deal with. Planets and points in Sagittarius, Aries, Libra, and Gemini could be dealing with fallout from other people's changes.

We can often feel the effect of eclipses up to a month before the actual eclipse, and to give you a perspective, its been said that the energy of an eclipse is approximately 10 times that of a full or new moon. If you are not sure how the eclipses will be affecting you, contact an astrologer. Even a 10 or 15 minute reading should clear up most of your confusion.

About the Author: Janet (Sparrow) Moon is a professional psychic and astrologer. You can visit her web site for more articles about upcoming events in astrology, and to subscribe her daily astrology general tendencies forecast. Website: www.SparrowMoon.com

Home Remedies or the Doctor?

It's the Swine Flu pandemic.... most of us are sick. Whether we've actually got the Swine Flu, only a Doctor can tell us, after he or she runs his million tests. Who's got time for that now, during exams??? Please....

So you've got a cough? Dry? Chesty?

Home Remedy #1 - Egg Coffee

-Break an egg in a cup, and add a tablespoon (or two, if you've got a sweet-tooth) of condensed milk
-Beat the mix with a fork
-In another cup, add coffee powder (as much as you want), and boiling hot water, till about 3/4
cup.
-Pour the egg-condensed milk mix into the coffee, and stir well.
-Drink this HOT!!!


Sore Throat???

Home Remedy #2 - Honey and Lemon

-Squeeze half a lemon (no seeds) into a cup
-Add a bit of honey in
-Add boiling hot water and mix
-Drink this HOT!!!


Stuffed Nose???

Home Remedy #3 - Vapour Treatment

-Use a pail preferably
-Add boiling hot water till half way
-Add a few fingerfuls of Vicks Vapour Rub (Or Mentholatum)
-Place your head over the pail and cover with a towel (So you get the full vapour treatment)


If all this hardly does anything, then,well, you're probably scr***ed! Go see the Doc! :)

Psychology VS GOD-o-logy

Psychology isn't a solution. It never is, it will never completely solve anything. It provides an outlet, a vent, a temporary relief. God bless the souls who persevere everyday and try and help, but unless we choose to REALLY help ourselves, we won't be getting anywhere. Long term, long lasting solution? GOD-o-logy. I'm not preaching. Neither am I philosophising. This is by no means a quick fix. It takes heaps of work, energy, commitment, discipline and belief.

Some of us have gone through so much of hurt/pain/anguish in our lives, we feel we are undeserving of EVERYTHING. Fair enough. What irks/irked me is/was when I hear the words "I don't deserve GOD" Who is ANYONE to tell you, you are undeserving of GOD? Who are WE to deem us undeserving of GOD?

Most of our parents teach/have taught us that we are undeserving. In the raising of children the word "No" is heard usually far more often than the word "Yes." This may be a natural consequence of raising a child and trying to teach the child what is right and what is wrong. But over time the "Nos" add up to such a great discrepancy against the "Yeses" that a child may develop low self-esteem. When one has low self-esteem, low confidence, vulnerable and down one does not feel deserving.

This is a general non-deserving feeling. With the "Nos" echoing in our head, everything we turned our desire upon, the first thing that came to mind consciously or unconsciously was a denial of that desire. This desire or holding off or away, came to feel like it was God holding us off or away.

And then some others who were/are in religious establishments that told/tell us that we were unworthy of God's love. We were to gain God's love by believing a certain way and or living a certain way. If we did not do this, we were outside of God's love. Being outside of God's love we began to feel as if we were undeserving. Obviously, this does not engender a close feeling with God.

You've got to come to realise that being a child of the Divine, a product of the Divine, you are always going to be accepted by God. And part of acceptance means that you are always loved by God. When you are loved by God as a daughter or son, then all that God has, is yours as well. And if you are loved by God as a daughter or son you are deserving. It cannot be any other way. You must decide to believe this. This decision to believe is an action step that you can and must take. You need to take back control of how you feel about yourself.

When you feel you are deserving, and you are, you will feel a closeness to God returning.

What can you do to demonstrate to yourself and that you are deserving? Simple - Working from the inside out. When you truly feel you are deserving on the inside, what would you do on the outside to demonstrate that to yourself? Certainly you can treat yourself to a special something. But don't overdo that and come to feel bad about yourself another way. Helping another person whom you know feels undeserving? Wouldn't that be a way to reinforce and demonstrate to yourself how deserving you are? Volunteering some time at a place where needy folks gathered? You are honouring other persons as deserving though they are down on their luck and this shows honour to yourself. Think about what you can do to honor the deservedness you find within yourself. Do it today. Do it now. And you will see that, as much as the next person deserves God, you do too!

Footprints

One Night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonged to him and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you you'd walk with me all the way, but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

The night is darkest before the dawn....

"Human pain does not let go of its grip
at one point in time. Rather, it works its
way out of our consciousness over time.

There is a season of sadness.
A season of anger.
A season of tranquility.
A season of hope..."
– Robert Veninga

_____________________________________________________________________

Two proses/poems that were penned during dark times.....

Hurt/Pain/Reason Enough to Walk Away

04 May 2009 at 02:13

Maybe I’m tired of this bullsh*t,
Of the way you’ve been treating me,
No matter what I say,
You don’t seem to see,
All the things you do and say,
Have burnt me on the inside,
Sometimes I feel like drowning you,
In all the tears I’ve cried,
Because most of those tears,
Are all because of you,
Of the hurtful things you say,
Of the hurtful things you do,
I don’t WANT to care anymore,
I just can’t help that I do….

You were never my friend,
And here I was, who once thought;
Our friendship would never end.
You’re a/an ______,
I feel like I should hate you,
But then again, I’m forced to flip,
And find that I really can’t.
I can’t seem to run,
I can’t seem to hide.
I have to face you,
You and your sharp tongue.

There is nothing you seem to do that changes anything,
‘Cept your words, that either seem to pierce me
Or make no difference ‘cos they seem so fake.
You’re a horrible person,
And a spoilt little brat.
I want you to wake up one day,
And see, maybe feel, all you have put me through,
That when I said what you did hurt,
You’d know what I said was true,
And when then one day comes,
you’ll be all alone in your room,
Listening on the phone
Having someone say,
“He’s really gone, really gone for good….”

You won’t know when,
You won’t know how,
But when you weren’t looking,
When you chose not to care,
I’ll just walk away,
Away from all the hurt and pain
People will talk,
Heck, you can even cook up some excuse
Others can say whatever they want to
Cos they wouldn’t have a clue,
Only you will know that me leaving;
Was ultimately caused by YOU.



Anger

28 April 2009 at 02:09

Anger turned my heart into a toxic waste ground.
Without a chance, without a fight.
Mercy was defeated, Trust was destroyed
Love, murdered, Hope then faded
Out of mind, out of sight

It ruined everything that was built,
on the foundation of my being
Anger became immortal,
draining the life from all my thoughts
and from all that I had within.

Mercy was so weak
or maybe unsupported,
but the loss of feeling, the loss of love,
was the greatest victory
that anger had over me.

There was no time
no strength, no will or power,
to cast away this monster,
that had imprisoned me,
in this poisonous hellhole.

Oh, anger, stab my dying nature
and set me free of you,
stop living inside this rotten corpse
and turn yourself into a spot of dust...

If life were that easy....we would be oh-so-lucky

But as we know, there lies a greater force…..
A force of nature, a force of God,
A force as brutal, as it is forgiving,
A force to cleanse, a force to heal,
A force that teaches, a force that disciplines,
A force that destroys every ounce of ego you may have

So you can fight, you can scream,
But when the time does come, and it WILL come,
No force, however great it may be, stands a chance
For Karma, baby, is as hungry, if not, more hungry….

She’s that rabid bitch that comes around…
And come around, she will. For sure, she will.
And she will give back, tenfold what was dished out.
You will die fighting her, or you get beaten down just enough to learn.

I’d rather you learn, like all of us do always
Because dying is the coward’s way out,
And you’ve shown more than enough to prove you are one.

A coward, a pussy, a low-life, a fake,
A whiner, a loser, an abuser, a trouble maker
Not a man, not a woman, not a f*ked up mother or a b*st*rd father,
Not a friend, not even a foe, not even worthy of the dirt and grime in the slums of slums.
Your existence is a lie, yet the damage you caused is irreversible.

I was weak, so you seemed strong.
You took full advantage, but you were so wrong,
To think you could run after all that you had done.
Turn around buddy, Cos Karma, she comes,
To strip you of your happiness, your peace,
Your lie of a life, your illusion of any love
To take your blood, your sweat,
Your tears and Your ALL……..

When you feel the pain, when you feel what I feel,
When you have cried and when you have cringed,
When you have felt like your insides on fire,
When you have experienced hell on earth,

ONLY THEN
Will Mercy triumph, Will Trust return,
Will Love emerge, Will Hope prevail.

So laugh all you want, smile all you can,
Live the lie you’re living, enjoy what little you can.
For till you taste your own medicine, all the bitterness of it,
You are nothing, no one, nonexistent, a mirage….
Just a figment of my imagination, plain ol' Maya....
What the ego has fueled and filled...

Live and learn....