Unlock the Door!

    I consider myself to be an Omnist, believing that most religions contain some truth, but that none contains the whole truth; the whole truth being unknowable in this physical existence. Unlike many people who claim to be "spiritual but not religious" I do like to attend church for the fellowship and stimulation. I have attended a wide variety of churches in my lifetime, including Methodist, Presbyterian, Unitarian-Universalist, and Unity. In our new Wisconsin home Mark and I have been attending the United Church of Christ which I like for its progressive theology and it's comma logo, which "invites us to believe that God speaks through other people, nature, music, art . . . the Bible, and in so many other ways."

    Today's sermon centered on the story about Jesus entering the locked room where the disciples were sequestered after his crucifixion, and about Thomas not believing they'd seen Jesus until he saw the nail marks in his hands and put his fingers in his side where the sword had pierced him. When he had done this and proclaimed, "My Lord and My God" Jesus said, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed."

    Our pastor spoke about the way so many people are like Thomas, needing physical proof before they can believe something. I have always been comforted by the words, "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed," because I know people who have actually seen angels, spirit guides, and even Jesus, while I have retained a strong faith in the unseen side of life without having seen any of it myself. Pastor Christie also spoke about the symbolism of the locked room, something I had not thought about before. 

    The locked room can symbolize our minds; our creativity and imagination that so many keep under lock and key because we have not seen proof that anything exists beyond the limits of our senses and the acceptable beliefs of society. Jesus is the divine messenger of Love who can enter our locked minds when we seek spiritual knowledge as did his disciples. Divine Love can then release our creativity, our imagination, and our sense of wonder. 

    With open minds we can understand that Jesus was resurrected to demonstrate that life is eternal and always has been. If life is eternal there must be an infinite universe full of beauty and wonderful experiences beyond the confines of the world we know. Everything that exists began in the imagination. So let's unlock our minds and let our imaginations go wild!

    Astronomers estimate there are about 100 thousand million stars in the Milky Way and about 200 billion trillion stars in the universe. I can't begin to imagine how many planets revolve around all those stars, and how many are hosts to intelligent life. Not to mention the possibility of other universes that might be accessible through black hole portals (Black Holes Are 'Portals to Other Universes,' According to New Quantum Results).

    I know people who say it's silly to wonder about life on other planets when we have to take care of our own Mother Earth. I very much agree that we must take better care of our world, but I also believe that we must use our imagination to create a better world, and imagining a world where everyone lives together in peace and harmony can make us realize the possibilities for humanity. What would a world at peace look like? How would its inhabitants resolve conflict? With millions of worlds, there must be some where the inhabitants exemplify a peaceful life. Perhaps they want to help us and they're just waiting for the earth to become more hospitable so they can make themselves known.

    In addition to other physical worlds, we can imagine multiple dimensions right here in our own world. I know people with clairvoyant vision who have seen some of the nature spirits and other beings who dwell on other planes. I cannot see them myself, but my imagination reminds me that these invisible ones are helping my garden to grow and are doing their best to clean up the mess that we humans are making of God's creation!

    Once we unlock the door of our imagination, there is no limit to what we can discover about our universe and the possibilities for the advancement of the human race. I recommend these few books to jumpstart your imagination: 

    On Angels' Wings by Mariana Stjerna 

    Telos: Revelations of the New Lemuria by Aurelia Louise Jones

    The Real World of Fairies: A First-Person Account by Dora van Gelder

    There are many other wonderful books by authors who are not afraid to cross the boundaries of conventional thought. Feel free to share your favorites in the comments! 

Without Politics

    

    I have avoided any discussion of politics on this blog because politics are divisive and my posts are about building bridges of oneness. Yesterday I received a letter from Donald Trump and my husband, Mark, received a letter from President Biden. Comparing the two letters caused me to think about the divisiveness of politics and how difficult it is for the people of a country to understand one another and build bridges when leaders and media are doing their best to create conflict. 

    I would like to point out some differences in the two letters and leave it to my readers to consider how we can build bridges between parties in the United States, considering the ideas that are being promoted by politicians. 

    My letter from Trump began, "Dear Patriot," whereas Mark's letter from Biden began, "Dear Mark."

    Both letter writers are requesting money to support their respective political parties. Biden says: "If we want to get more meaningful legislation passed that's going to move this country forward, we need a fully funded DNC working to hold and expand our Democratic majorities in this November's midterm elections."

    Trump writes about Biden's failed leadership and how we are "a laughingstock all over the world." He says: "We can't let this happen! The only way to stop Biden is to elect Trump Republican Majorities to the U.S. House and U.S. Senate in November."

    Biden's letter only refers to Republicans once, to point out that they are trying to make it harder for Americans to vote. He never refers to Trump, whereas Trump's letter makes numerous derogatory remarks about Biden and the Democratic party, referring to "Marxist Democrats," "their allies in the Fake News Media," Biden's "Far-Left puppet masters," and "the radical Socialists/Communists who are hell-bent on ruining our country."

    Biden is asking for an investment in the Democratic National Committee. Trump is requesting funds for "Trump Republican Majorities."

    My thought is that we cannot build bridges between the people of our own country if we listen to leaders who use propaganda and name calling to further their goals. 

    By the way, Mark and I are not sending money to either party. We prefer to support the causes and individuals whose goals we believe in.

Pray for Ukraine - Pray for Peace

 

                                        Archangel Michael is considered the patron saint

                                          and spiritual guardian of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.

                                                              May peace prevail.

    This morning when I woke up to the news of Russia's attacks on Ukraine, I cried tears of anguish, thinking that all hopes and prayers for peace had come to naught. After wallowing in despair for awhile, I was reminded by my online friends that now is not the time to give up hope. 

    War gives us the opportunity to pray harder than ever. It's heartening to see posts popping up from all over the world, demonstrating the solidarity of the world's people of goodwill, all praying for peace. 

    Yes, most of us were praying for peace before today. We were praying that Putin would not attack, and yet he did. Some will now say that prayer is useless. Others realize that prayer is often not answered the way we want it to be, because we cannot see the whole picture. 

    The reasons for war and many and complicated, but the end result is always the same. As someone wise once said: “War does not determine who is right — only who is left.”

    More people than ever before now recognize the futility and evil of war. I am encouraged by the many prayers for peace being lifted up all over the world. Being faced with the evil of war, as we are today, even more people are raising their voices and spirits in prayer, bringing us ever closer to the Era of Peace for which most of us long. 

    Here is one of the prayers I found today, posted by Unity: 

    In this moment of emergency for Ukraine and Russia, we call ourselves to God-consciousness. We speak the word for harmony. We speak the word for order. We recognize no person, situation, or force greater than the power of God, the source of strength, wisdom, and courage.

    And here is a prayer from Marianne Williamson: 

Dear God,
Please send miracles
to the people of Ukraine.
Send angels to minister unto them.
Bring calm and peace to their frightened hearts.
Awaken in Vladimir Putin
the truth of who we are.
Soften his heart and remind him of his soul.
Please God, may there be peace.
Amen

    There are many ways to pray for peace. Choose your way. Let us pray without ceasing until peace prevails. 

myr (Ukrainian)

mir (Russian)

pax (Latin)

This icon for peace was created by a Russian designer, Natasha Alimova. 

For the Love of Birds

 

    I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy watching birds fly overhead or perch on their birdfeeders. Lots of people from all walks of life put out birdfeeders, nesting boxes, and birdbaths to invite these feathered friends into their yards. True, birds can be a nuisance. We all grumble about bird poop on our cars, and I'll never forget the time I started out on a walk, then had to run home and wash bird poop out of my hair. But those are small inconveniences compared to the joy of seeing goldfinches, nuthatches, and woodpeckers feeding from the seeds and suet we put out for them. 

    We can build bridges of oneness with birds, because people from every culture and background love them. Most of us recognize the ways that birds benefit us and the environment. Birds spread seeds, pollinate plants, and control pests. They reduce weeds and fertilize the soil. You can read more about the benefits of birds here: Benefits of Birds. 

    We should all be concerned about the decimation of the bird population. In North America alone, there are about 3 billion fewer birds than there were in 1970. Almost 1,500 bird species are threatened with extinction across the world. Over 100 species have gone extinct in recent centuries.

    There are numerous reasons for the decrease in bird species. One of the biggest reasons is loss of habitat. Habitat loss occurs when land is converted for agriculture, development, resource extraction, and other uses. We can create habitat for birds in our own yards by reducing our lawns and planting the native trees, shrubs, and plants that provide the berries, insects, and pollen that birds need. Bird feeders are great, but birds need other food sources.  Baby birds, especially, require insects and caterpillars for protein and nourishment. Caterpillars: It's What's for Dinner.

    If you use pesticides on your lawn or garden you may be contributing to the demise of birds. First of all, the birds need insects for their diet. And second, some of these chemicals, such as neonicotinoids are toxic to birds as well as to insects.

    Free-roaming cats are responsible for 2.4 billion bird deaths in the United States each year. Please keep your cats indoors to save the birds!

    Learn more here about how to save the birds: American Bird Conservation

    This spring I am going to plant a native serviceberry tree and some native shrubs and plants to help feed the birds. What are your plans for saving the birds?

A New Year, A New Beginning

 

    A new year has begun and people all around the world are wishing one another a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2022. Many are praying for a more peaceful year in which kindness, compassion, and generosity prevail. People are making resolutions to be a better person in the coming year. Some are greedily planning how to oppress others in order to gain more money and power for themselves. I truly believe that the majority are wishing a better life for all of humanity. As more and more people visualize a better world, the sooner it will manifest in reality. 

    

    The most beautiful and hopeful words of welcome for this new year come from the pen of poet Amanda Gorman. 

"New Day's Lyric"

May this be the day

We come together.

Mourning, we come to mend,

Withered, we come to weather,

Torn, we come to tend,

Battered, we come to better.

Tethered by this year of yearning,

We are learning

That though we weren’t ready for this,

We have been readied by it.

Steadily we vow that no matter

How we are weighed down,

We must always pave a way forward.

This hope is our door, our portal.

Even if we never get back to normal,

Someday we can venture beyond it,

To leave the known and take the first steps.

So let us not return to what was normal,

But reach toward what is next.

What was cursed, we will cure.

What was plagued, we will prove pure.

Where we tend to argue, we will try to agree,

Those fortunes we forswore, now the future we foresee,

Where we weren’t aware, we’re now awake;

Those moments we missed

Are now these moments we make,

The moments we meet,

And our hearts, once all together beaten,

Now all together beat.

Come, look up with kindness yet,

For even solace can be sourced from sorrow.

We remember, not just for the sake of yesterday,

But to take on tomorrow.

We heed this old spirit,

In a new day’s lyric,

In our hearts, we hear it:

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne.

Be bold, sang Time this year,

Be bold, sang Time,

For when you honor yesterday,

Tomorrow ye will find.

Know what we’ve fought

Need not be forgot nor for none.

It defines us, binds us as one,

Come over, join this day just begun.

For wherever we come together,

We will forever overcome.

The Greatest Country in the World?

 

    Recently, Hillary Clinton read her 2016 acceptance speech on "The View." (The speech she didn't get to give to the nation, obviously.) I don't watch "The View," so I heard only a few lines. I happened to catch the one where she claims that "America is the greatest country in the world." That one line gave me something to ponder for the rest of the day.

    Growing up in the United States, I learned in school that we are the greatest country in the world, and as a child I never questioned this assertion. Now I have to wonder what gives us the right to claim this title when children in other countries are probably being taught that THEY live in the greatest country in the world.

    I just found an article on "Soapboxie" that gives three reasons for the USA being the greatest nation in the world. The first reason is our Constitution which gives us more rights and freedoms than people have in other countries. I don't know enough about the governments in other countries to say whether ours is the best or not, but I do appreciate the freedoms that we enjoy. On the other hand, I regret that so many Americans are irresponsible with these freedoms. I have to wonder if we carry it too far when we allow people the freedom to do whatever they please, even when their actions are harmful to others. 

    Freedom is highly valued by many Americans, but some people might value other things. For instance, I value peace and non-violence. According to the Global Peace Index for 2021, the three most peaceful countries in the world are: Iceland, New Zealand, and Denmark. The United States doesn't even make the top ten. Some people might rate countries according to their health care systems. According to the World Population Review the United States ranks eighteenth in health care. On the other hand, the World Giving Index ranks us first in generosity (by individuals, not the government), something I can be proud of. 

    There are many different ways to rate countries, depending on what one thinks is most important; so you can only claim to live in the "greatest" country if it is greatest according to the value that is most important to you. 

    My question is, why does it matter? Someone claiming to live in the greatest country reminds me of a child saying, "My dad is stronger than your dad," or a consumer boasting that "My car is fancier than your car." So what? Why would I care when my focus in life is the building of bridges between countries, between peoples, and between heaven and earth? 

    In Matthew 23:11-12 we hear Jesus say: "The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." 

    If we apply this lesson to the nations, we see that the greatest country is the one that serves the others, in order to create peace, justice, and prosperity in all of the world. I'm not sure which country this would be, but I would like to see the nations of the world make this their goal. Rather than acting like children who have to be "the best," "the strongest," "the biggest," or "the richest," I look for the day when every country strives to be the kindest, the most compassionate, and the most peaceful. 

    Thinking about the greatest country in the world reminds me of one of my favorite hymns, "This is My Song." 

THIS IS MY SONG * 

This is my song, O God of all the nations, 

A song of peace for lands afar and mine. 

This is my home, the country where my heart is; 

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine; 

But other hearts in other lands are beating 

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine. 

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean, 

And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine. 

But other lands have sunlight too and clover, 

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine. 

Oh, hear my song, O God of all the nations, 

A song of peace for their land and for mine. 

*To the melody of Finlandia *Lyrics by Lloyd Stone

    

A World Without War

       

    My first memory of war - not one that I lived through, but one that destroyed the peace of my childhood innocence - was the movie, "War and Peace" that I saw on television at age ten.  The images of violence and suffering broke my heart and I went to bed crying and praying to God for a future without war. 

    My next memory is of an evening news report when I watched the flag-draped coffins being unloaded from a plane from Vietnam. The coffins came out, one after another after another. Why did all of these young men have to die? It didn't make sense to me at age eleven, and it doesn't make sense to me fifty-seven years later. 

    I know that many people believe war to be a necessary evil. People have been at war with each other for as long as history has been recorded. However, I share a belief with many others that it doesn't have to be this way. Project Ploughshares is one organization that holds the vision of Isaiah 2:4:  God shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.

     World Beyond War is another organization that calls itself a global nonviolent movement to end war and establish a just and sustainable peace. World Beyond War was founded in 2014 by David Hartsough and David Swanson. Swanson is the author of War is a Lie in which he details all of the wars in which the United States has been involved, and how not one of them was necessary for the good of our country or humanity. In his book, Swanson presents all of the reasons people have used to justify war over the centuries and systematically refutes every one of these arguments. If you need convincing that war is a barbaric crime against humanity, I highly recommend this book. 

    Wars are fought based on the lies our leaders drum up to convince young people to sacrifice their lives for a false cause. This strategy was glaringly obvious when the USA declared war on Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 tragedy even though the perpetrators of that attack came from Saudi Arabia. The excuse given for bombing Afghanistan was that the The Taliban were sheltering Osama bin Laden in that country. But the Taliban repeatedly offered to negotiate for the handing over of Osama bin Laden, before and after 9/11/01, and "President George W. Bush rejected these offers and continued bombing." (Jeremy R. Hammond, 'Newly Discovered Documents Shed More Light on Early Taliban Offers, Pakistan Role,' Foreign Policy Journal, September 20, 1010.)     The excuse for attacking Iraq was an even more obvious lie. Mark and I knew long before the attack on Iraq that there were no weapons of mass destruction there. We heard Scott Ritter, former United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, speak at the state college in Oneonta, New York. During his time as an inspector he and his colleagues never found any weapons of mass destruction. Never mind the fact that many countries, including the USA, do harbor weapons of mass destruction and it has never been a legitimate reason for another country to attack that one.     This brings me back to my premise that there is never a legitimate reason for war. Some people say we will always have war because we have always had war. This type of thinking lacks imagination and faith. I would ask these people to try imagining a world without war and how we can implement it. And I would ask them to have faith in humanity and faith in the divine plan that promises peace on earth and harmony among all people. 

You can sign the Declaration of Peace here: https://worldbeyondwar.org/individual/