McCain: America is a Christian Nation

McCain: Christian Nation!

I recently read an article where Sen. John McCain basically said that, “…this country was founded on Christian principles and that we should remain a Christian country.” This got me thinking…..

Gee, that’s funny, I seem to recall the founding fathers (and mothers!) coming to America to escape the religious rule and persecutions of the land that were prevalent at that time in Britain and elsewhere in the world. (Not that I was there, of course!) I also thought that our county was built not on the ways of the Christians but more on the ways of the old Greek teachings of democracy. Basic human rights are not the exclusive domain of the church!

More importantly, though, is that McCain is saying that we are a Christian nation and that we should stay a Christian nation. Now, I have nothing against Christians, having been raised in a Catholic house and all, but I do seem to recall a little thing called “separation of Church and State” somewhere…OH yea, in that neat little thing called the CONSTITUTION!

I believe one thing that what makes the states special is that (supposed) “Separation of Church and State.” It means that no one faith will be established as the law of the land. Nor as the faith of the people. We are free to choose our own. Furthermore, because of this, it’s the melting pot of faiths in the country that enables one to read about, learn about and discuss the various views of life. Maybe even to grow a little? To change for the better? I know that I did. Look at the counties around the world that are of one faith and the mess and havoc they have or have created. The words “freedom of religion” is not in their constitution…

Personally, I could care less what your “beliefs” are. It’s not my job to control your thoughts or to tell you what to believe in and I know that it’s definitely not the government’s job either.

Now I know that John McCain is a politician and that he’s not going to be elected President, so his comment should be taken with a grain of salt; however, his statement is actually a look into the thoughts of many hard core Christians who could influence the election (see GWB) and would change the constitution in a minute - thus, imperiling the basic fundamental rights of many citizens of different faiths – if they could. (Some hard core “robots” even believe that all “non-Christians” should be deported from the country.) I’m not aware of any other faith in this country that wants to change the constitution and make this a Muslim Country or a Jewish Country or an Atheist Country. How would the Christians like to have the shoe on the other foot? All faiths are equal in this country and no one faith should reside above another. We are a multi-faith country. Period!

Jews, Mormons, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Atheists and even Witches are all welcome in my house and will be embraced with open arms. I will offer them all a beer or a glass of wine. I will sit and listen patiently as they tell me their stories for they have all made contributions to the advancement of mankind through their diverse views and writings on humanity and the soul. We should all be thankfull for it. Like the various colors of the rainbow, it’s the various beliefs that make this world a great place.

We are all the same, yet we are all unique and special in our own way. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Follow your heart with confidence and you will find your way.


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THE little THINGS

the 'L I T T L E' things.

As you might know, the CEO of a company survived 9/11
because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was
His turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her
Alarm clock didn't go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
Because of an auto accident.

One of them
Missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to
"take time to change".

One's
Car wouldn't start.

One went back to
Answer the telephone.

One had a
Child that dawdled
And didn't get ready as soon as he should have.

One
Couldn't get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man
Who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
Took the various means to get to work
But before he got there, he developed
a blister on his foot.
He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.



Now, when I am:
Stuck in traffic,
Miss an elevator,
Turn back to answer a ringing telephone...
All the little things that annoy me.
I think to myself,

This is exactly where
I was meant to be
At this very moment..

Next time your morning seems to be
Going wrong,
The children are slow getting dressed,
You can't seem to find the car keys,
You hit every traffic light,

Don't get mad or frustrated; It
May just be that

Some one is watching over you?



This was sent to me by my "friend", Stu.
Best wishes to all the 9/11 victims, survivors, friends and relatives.

right or rong?

I'm Divine?

Recently read the good life blog, which is about...(drum roll, please) "the good life" (no surprise there!), and it reminded me....

What's that old saying?

To forgive is Human

To forget is Divine.

If that's true, then I must be Divine because I'm always forgetting!!

How can I be "Human" if I've forgotten what to forgive?

So, I must be divine...mmm..... :)

Right or Rong?

Negative People

The other day, I came across a friend who was complaining about a friend and this got me thinking....

Negative people. I'm talking about those people who are always negative and critical of other people. You know the type. They are always commenting on others and seem to only have critical comments of other people. They HAVE to put others down. Why is that?

I believe that most of these people really can't help it. They have such a negative view of themselves, that they have to attack others in order to verify their own existence. It makes them feel good. Why? There are many reasons why but I think the majority were probably abused, verbally and/or physically, while growing up or later on as an adult. They might be "ugly", or overweight, or have been in abusive relationships. They might have had verbally abusive parents who were always put them down, always telling them how "wrong" they are or how "bad" they are. Their spouse or partner might have been the domineering type who always kept them under the thumb. There are many possible reasons why they are this way but deep down inside, I think its the same for all of them. They have no positive self worth. They simply believe they are "bad".

The mind is most powerful. Mind over matter. And, if the mind constantly tells you that you are wrong or bad etc... it becomes lodged in your psyche and can become a lifelong burden. Changing it is hard and is sometimes impossible to do. However, it can be done. It's not easy, and could require years of hard work or therapy, but it can be done. The mind is the most powerful. Feed it constantly with positive thoughts and eventually it MIGHT become lodged in the psyche. Hence, a change for the good.

On the other hand, there are also those who have chemical imbalances (that's a whole other post!) that cause them to be negative. It's when the chemicals in our body are so out of whack, it causes one to act and think completely irrational. This chemical imbalance effects our brain and it's thought process. Remember, our body is made up of chemicals and it has to have the correct balance to function properly. The chemical imbalance can be caused by many factors. The above factors could cause it, stress can cause it as well as many others that I haven't mentioned. However, A chemical imbalance can cause some really bad behavior and/or even criminal behavior. It can also cause one to lose their self worth, hence a negative view of themselves and the world around them. Depressive and manic depressive people have a chemical imbalance. It is more prevalent nowadays than is known.

How to change it? I would think that by changing the diet, one can cause change in balance to bring it more into the "acceptable" range. This seems simple enough, but it's probably not. Meditation is another possible way to change our chemical make up. Of course, most people don't even know the structure of the chemicals in their body. Why? Most regular doctors don't think about it when dealing with an illness. Most have been trained to prescribe medication rather than having the blood checked. (the band aid approach) Also, I'm not sure this view is even accepted by the "regular" medical community or given its proper respect.

I have compassion for these people. REAL compassion, not that fake "Bush Compassion" garbage. Now, I don't necessarily want to hang around them because I like to surround myself with positive people but I do feel sorry for them. I feel sorry that they are not able to enjoy life. I feel sorry that they are not able to "accept themselves" (see last post) as they truly can be. I feel sorry that life is so hard for them. I wish I could help them.

So, when you come across these "negative" people, try to understand where they are coming from. Show a little compassion even in the face of their negative comments. Just don't tell them you feel sorry for them! Remember, it could happen to anybody: You, me, anyone. I sometimes tell myself how lucky I am.....

We all know people like this.

Negative People.


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Let it go....

On Saturday, I was reading a post in Sophia’s “light of the world” blog (I recommend it) about thoughts. In a nutshell, it talked about avoiding negative thoughts and keeping the positive thoughts. Well, that got me thinking….

When I was younger (long time ago!), I went through a phase where I took a good, hard honest look at myself and where I was at, as far as my character/personality was concerned. I said to myself, “OK, here are your strengths and here are your weaknesses. The positive points, I don’t have to worry about because, THEY ARE POSITIVE!” Duh! It seemed like a no brainer to me at the time. Continuing, I thought, “Ok, now these are the negative aspects about me. These are what I will concentrate on. These are what I need to work on. I want to work on changing these negative points into positive ones. If not changing them into positives, I will at least get rid of them.” So, I spent the next couple of months concentrating on the negatives. On an almost daily basis, I was thinking of these negative points and how I could change them.

Can you guess what eventually happened?

No, they did not change as I had hoped. Eventually, thinking “negative” every day finally caught up to me. Mentally (and physically, too) that is. I noticed that I had developed a negative outlook toward life and had become depressed. Why? It finally dawned on me. I was only thinking negative thoughts. Day in and day out, I thought about the negative. In my honest attempt at change, I was only concentrating on the negatives and had put the positive aspects of me in the background. I was not a happy camper!

So, at that point, I made a change. I no longer looked at the negatives about me; No longer thought about my negative aspects. No, I didn’t just think “positive” thoughts either. No, actually, I got rid of both the negative and positive! (Detachment?) I just stopped worry about changing. I LET IT GO!

I decided that I was a good enough person, that inside my heart, I meant well and hey, that was good enough for me. After all, I was a human, and it’s human nature to have some flaws in our personalities. To have some faults. Right? No body is perfect and neither was I. Why then should I spend so much energy in trying to become “perfect?” More important, to me, was that “goodness” in my heart. I knew that I was “good enough” and that I meant well in all my actions.

So, since that day, I no longer worry about it. To this day, I still don’t worry about the minute details of my character/personality etc... Whatever you want to call it. Instead, I prefer to focus on the “Big Picture” (will address that in a future post) because in my heart, I know that I am “OK!”

Do I still want to improve? Of course! Do I want to be perfect? Who doesn’t? But, it comes down to accepting ourselves as we are. Mistakes and all. Another benefit: when we accept ourselves as we are, it’s also much easier to accept others as they are. Then, we can live a less stressful life - a more peaceful life with a serene mind. Furthermore, with that serene feeling inside, it also becomes easier to “hear” the signs coming from our soul as it prompts us for growth and “growth” is the key to the purpose (future post) of our lives.

You have to take a good, hard honest look at yourself in determining ones strengths and weakness’. After all, who knows us better, really, than ourselves? And then …

LET IT GO!

(Sing along…. ”Oh, Let it be…”)

right or rong?