Dreams, and Surviving As An Empath

Bob Hayden is a fellow whom I met several years ago in Birmingham, AL at a Dreams Interpretation Workshop, which I attended as part of my own personal, spiritual growth and development.

Bob is a retired Episcopal priest who founded the institute which bears his name in Asheville, NC, which in the years since, has grown significantly in size, scope, and outreach, and now has a presence in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

Carl Jung in his study.

It was after attending that workshop that I began to understand the significant genius that Swiss psychiatrist/psychologist Carl Jung

Working In Absentia

Much has been written about the importance of a “ministry of presence” – of being with people in times of need. Important as presence is, there is also a “ministry of absence,” said noted spirituality author Henri Nouwen. We should never forget that it is

Time For Trial

Everyone experiences difficulties at some point in their lives. No matter how fortunate a person may be, going a lifetime without

How To Enjoy Early Retirement

Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622) led a full life, both before and after his relatively late decision to join the priesthood. In his era, a life of holiness was considered the domain of monks and nuns, certainly not of laypeople. But he believed God could and should be found in everyday life and was

It’s Your Call

Most of us are leery about accepting calls from unknown sources. In the happy age of Caller ID, it’s as if a virtual butler brings each visitor’s card on a silver tray into our drawing room. We can decline to be “home” to any undesirable contact. Still, people of

Healer, heal thyself.

“Caduceus,” recognized as a universal medical symbol, in this bronze representation by James N. Muir (b.1945, Indianapolis, IN) has become and Angel of Healing bringing love and peace upon the earth and all of its inhabitants. She is 12 feet high with a 9-foot wing span and includes fountain capabilities. This statue, featuring the artist, is in Sedona, AZ where he resides.

You may have heard the expression “wounded healer.” It suggests that you don’t have to be perfectly healthy to help others. But you have to be careful not to bring your unresolved problems into helping relationships with others, or you could do a lot of damage. Scripture makes it clear that taking care of your personal spiritual health should come first. Peter’s mother-in-law

Understanding Natural Spirituality And Religion

Tonight’s full moon is a “Wolf Moon,” which is the term given to the first full moon of the month, which ironically, this month occurs on the first day of the month, and on the first day of the year. Astronomers also tell us that tonight’s full moon is a “super moon” (an unscientific term) because of it’s closeness to Earth, which makes it appear larger than usual, and will climax around midnight. (I love that word, ‘climax’, especially in context of around midnight.😘)

The reason we’re able to see the Moon is because it reflects the sun’s light. The Moon also orbits Earth, though unlike Earth, it does not rotate on its axis, and “cycles” approximately every 28 days, meaning it waxes and wanes through “crescent” phases from “new” moon, which is unseen, because it is directly between Earth and the sun, through to full moon, and then wanes to a “new” moon.

When photographing the moon, one must expose as for daylight, precisely because it is reflecting the sun’s light. So instead of thinking it is dark, it is light. VERY light. Sunlight bright, in fact.

I have long called women “Earth’s natural time keepers” precisely because

Stretching Exercises

Exercise physiology experts tell us that our physical bodies should be “warmed up” before engaging in any type of exercise – that we should gently stretch our muscles before beginning any exercise routine or competitive event. It’s not uncommon to see athletes “warming up” before games, and baseball pitchers in the “bull pen,” and football players on the sidelines will stretch and move about to get their muscles accustomed to the rigorous vigor of competition. Similarly, being an example of

Should Churches Be Taxed?

In response to Lakewood Church, and Joel Osteen’s initial refusal to open the doors of that facility to be a refuge from the torrential storms deluging Houston:

If I’m not mistaken (and I could be), late former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace advocated taxing churches & other religious institutions.

I think there is genuine merit in considering the argument – pro & con – why churches should remain tax-free institutions, particularly given that their ostensible purposes include

Be Different

The routine nature of daily life can easily cause our hearts to grow dull. And when we’re feeling dull, it’s hard to be spiritually attuned and hear what Heaven has to tell us. Yet fortunately, it doesn’t take much to shake things up and get a new perspective. Just break out of a routine and do something different — take a new route to work, rearrange your furniture, clean out a junk drawer, or

Keep Your Horse And Your Heart Healthy: A How To Guide

In the late-1970s, a pioneering medication was discovered in Japan which was made from a single microorganism.

Isolated at the Kitasato Intitute, Tokyo, Japan, it came from a single Japanese soil sample, and has had an immeasurably beneficial impact in improving the lives and welfare of billions of people worldwide. And, despite continued research since, it has only been found in Japan.

While it was originally introduced as a veterinary medication and found to kill a phenomenally wide range of internal and external parasites in livestock and companion animals, it was quickly discovered to be ideal in combating two of the world’s most devastating and disfiguring diseases which have plagued the world’s poor throughout tropical regions for centuries. It’s now being used free-of-charge as the exclusive tool in campaigns to eliminate both diseases globally, and has also been used to successfully overcome several other human diseases, with new uses for it continually being found.

Few medications can seriously lay claim to the title of ‘Wonder Drug’, and penicillin and aspirin are two that have perhaps had the greatest beneficial effect on the health and well-being of Humankind. But this medication can also be considered alongside those worthy contenders, based on its versatility, safety and the beneficial impact that it has had, and continues to have, worldwide — especially on hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest people.

The medication treats

Take A Fresh Look

More than anything else, Jesus the Christ has one basic message: The kingdom of God is here right now. He proclaimed that it had begun and was on its way to fulfillment. In it is everything He was, taught, did, and wants us to learn and do: Love God –and- one another wholeheartedly, especially and particularly

Listen To Your Intuition

Some people seem to be born with the gift of deep faith. They appear to have an intuitive grasp of the spiritual side of life and know God is always with them. The rest of us must seemingly

Liberty Brings Blessings — And Responsibilities

If we sat down this morning and started listing the freedoms we enjoy as Americans, nightfall would find us still at the task. The legacy of the United States is a tremendous blessing to her citizens, and our example

National Sex Day Was June 9th: Are You Getting Any?

June 9th was National Sex Day.

Did you miss it?

While it certainly seems there’s more discussion and research about sex and sexuality now than ever before, there remains an alarming information gap between what science and researchers know, and what lay people know (first of a few unintended puns herein that seem to work). There are numerous good reasons to enjoy sexual intercourse, not the least of which is for what is contributes to one’s emotional well-being, and physical health.

Cindy M. Meston, Ph.D., Director of the University of Texas at Austin’s Sexual Psychophysiology Laboratory noted that the hormone prolactin is released during orgasm, and is at naturally higher levels during sleep, suggesting that orgasms may help sleep. Psychology Professor Stuart Brody, Ph.D., and other researchers at the University of the West of Scotland found that people who had intercourse at least once over a period of two weeks managed stressful situations better. Researchers at Southern Illinois University‘s Headache Clinic found that half of female migraine sufferers reported relief after climaxing, because endorphins (so-called “feel good” hormones) released during orgasm closely resemble morphine in chemical structure. And with females, uterine contractions which occur naturally during orgasm also (to some extent) eliminate cramp-causing compounds during menstruation. And yes, it’s perfectly fine to have sexual intercourse during menstruation… despite what any religious texts may say otherwise.

Edith Lees & Havelock Ellis

“Sex lies at the root of life, and we can never learn to reverence life until we know how to understand sex.—So, at least, it seems to me.”

– Dr. Havelock Ellis, MD, July 1897,
general preface to “Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 1“

According to

Rethinking Addiction

Perhaps you’ve studied the 12-Step program, or perhaps you’ve practiced it. I have done both. Practicing it was not as a matter of addiction, or any such thing for myself, but instead, was a part of my personal spiritual growth and development.

Over the years, I’ve heard commentary, or news features which interviewed people with divergent perspectives on 12-Step programs, most notably which were skeptical of them, and were thoughtfully seeking answers themselves for the “whys and wherefores” of substance abuse, whether it’s long-term or temporary, and whether it is a genetic fault, or if it is a personality or character flaw in response to external or internal stressors. In other words, it’s the classic “Heredity vs Environment” argument.

As I have come to view it, there is validity for both sides, but I think the stronger case is made for a combination of environment and character flaw, instead of genetic defect.

—/—

“In his recent book, The Sober Truth: Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs and the Rehab Industry, Lance Dodes, a retired psychiatry professor from Harvard Medical School, looked at Alcoholics Anonymous’s retention rates along with studies on sobriety and rates of active involvement (attending meetings regularly and working the program) among AA members. Based on these data, he put AA’s actual success rate somewhere between 5 and 8 percent. That is just a rough estimate, but it’s the most precise one I’ve been able to find.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/

The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous
By Gabrielle Glaser, April 2015 Issue
Its faith-based 12-step program dominates treatment in the United States. But researchers have debunked central tenets of AA doctrine and found

Spiritual Food For Thought: Becoming Closer To Heaven

Here’s food for thought for the spiritually minded and religious:

As humans, we are often found despising change.

Honestly, we hate it, and wish it never happened.

We like awakening and knowing our socks & underwear are going to be in the same drawer, in the same dresser, in the same location as yesterday, last week, last month, and last year. There’s comfort in that thought.

And yet, we are found as

To What Extent is the American Economy Propped Up by Arms Sales?

What should one expect when the whole damn defense industry has been whored out to arm the krazees of the world?

In a very prophetic manner, in his Farewell Address to the nation, January 17, 1961, then-President Dwight David Eisenhower warned about the “military industrial complex,” saying:

“We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United State corporations.

“This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence-economic, political, even spiritual-is felt in every city, every state house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

“We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

—

US sells $11 BILLION worth of arms to Qatar

Published time: July 15, 2014 09:46
Edited time: July 16, 2014 12:55

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel (L) and Qatar’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs Hamad bin Ali al-Atiyah (C) arrive for a weapons sales signing ceremony at the Pentagon on July 14, 2014 in Washington, DC. (AFP Photo / Mandel Ngan)

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel (L) and Qatar’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs Hamad bin Ali al-Atiyah (C) arrive for a weapons sales signing ceremony at the Pentagon on July 14, 2014 in Washington, DC. (AFP Photo / Mandel Ngan)

Washington and Doha have signed the largest arms deal of the year, preparing to enhance Qatar’s military capabilities with $11 billion-worth of Apache assault helicopters, PAC-2 missile defense complexes and Javelin man-portable anti-tank missiles.

The deal has been signed on Monday in Pentagon by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Qatari Defense Minister Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah. Altogether Qatar is buying 10 batteries of Patriot missile defense systems and 500 Javelin anti-tank missiles manufactured by US defense industry giants Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, and 24 Apache helicopters made by Boeing, an anonymous US official told the AFP.

Fraud, Waste and Abuse… in the Pentagon. Is ANYONE surprised?

Here’s the one-liner you’ll remember, albeit one with significant truth:

“There’s more pork in the Pentagon budget than a Smithfield corporate hog farm feedlot in North Carolina.”

Or, if you prefer:

“There’s more pork in the Pentagon budget than a Paula Deen Christmas recipe.”

And if the Pentagon budget were a recipe, it’d be a recipe for disaster.

The budget for the United States Department of Defense accounts for very nearly 6% of our nation’s budget. It is THE SINGLE LARGEST BUDGET ITEM in the entire budget. The amount of money sifting through the Pentagon’s hands is more than the combined defense budgets of the world’s top 15 wealthiest nations. And, it accounts for 4.7% of our nation’s economy. Late former President Dwight David Eisenhower was spot-on accurate in his Farewell Address to the nation 17 January 1961 when he warned us saying:

“This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet, we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved. So is the very structure of our society.

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

“We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

None of this is to say, of course, that any kind of spending on national defense is somehow a bad thing, for it is not. Yet Eisenhower specifically warned about even the spiritual implications of the DoD spending “Gone Wild.” However, the last time the people, the Congress, the President or anyone else – including the Comptroller General, the Office of the DoD Inspector General, or the Secretary of Defense ever said anything about being budget hawks on the use of the people’s taxes was September 10, 2001 when SecDef Donald Rumsfeld spoke to the Department of Defense, and announced that the Department of Defense “cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions.” Not only was that money MIA, but he added that…

“The technology revolution has transformed organizations across the private sector, but not ours, not fully, not yet. We are, as they say, tangled in our anchor chain. Our financial systems are decades old. According to some estimates, we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions. We cannot share information from floor to floor in this building because it’s stored on dozens of technological systems that are inaccessible or incompatible.

“We maintain 20 to 25 percent more base infrastructure than we need to support our forces, at an annual waste to taxpayers of some $3 billion to $4 billion. Fully half of our resources go to infrastructure and overhead, and in addition to draining resources from warfighting, these costly and outdated systems, procedures and programs stifle innovation as well. A new idea must often survive the gauntlet of some 17 levels of bureaucracy to make it from a line officer’s to my desk. I have too much respect for a line officer to believe that we need 17 layers between us.”
-Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, September 10, 2001

He discovered $2.3 Trillion in the DoD budget of taxpayer monies which had no accounting. It was “Missing In Action.” The next day, the World Trade Centers suffered terrorist attacks. We never heard anything ever again. [Read the text of his speech here: http://www.defense.gov/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=430]

Here’s a video of the CBS news report.

And now, here’s a jet plane that is the veritable aircraft version of a Jack-of-all-Trades-and-Master-of-None, which our nation’s military has previously said they do not need, and already have other more durable, reliable and operable aircraft. And this is a thing that they have continuously said they want, rather than need.

Wants and needs are two entirely different things.

And not only that, but that the entire bidding process related to Defense contracts is fraught with cost overruns, late deliveries and more – all of which would NOT be, and is NOT tolerated in private enterprise. And yet, we somehow think that the sacred cow of Pentagon spending is somehow exempted from the normal rules of operation.

And now, with the budget items heating up again, it would be ludicrously preposterous to presume that the sacred cow of Pentagon slush funds slop trough is in pristine condition.

Other agencies, like American businesses and families throughout, have learned to live within their means, and make do with less.

Why can’t the Pentagon?

—

F-35 Marine Model Stress Testing Halted Over Cracks

By Tony Capaccio – Jan 12, 2013

Durability testing on the most complicated version of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s (LMT) F-35 was halted last month after “multiple” cracks were discovered in the fighter jet, according to the Pentagon’s testing office.

The previously undisclosed halt in high-stress ground testing involves the F-35B,

On Marriage, Human Relations, and Society

At it’s core, marriage is a state of human affairs permitted and governed by the state.

In this context, the word “state” refers to governmental authority. Governmental authority in the United States is defined as being the will of the people as determined by the ballot.

Why does the state regulate human affairs?

It is because of an overriding sense of justice, an overwhelming sense of right and wrong. It is because to “do wrong by” another person is a transgression of an inherent social contract that occurs at the very core of humanity, one which is by its very nature unspoken, yet fully known in the human heart.

Why, for example, on any playground the world over, can we

Reflective Reflections Reflecting Reflectance; Reflectometer

The following is a collection of thoughts meant to inspire my continued observations, and from which you, hopefully, may take some encouragement and thoughtful repose.

• Having recently attended a Memorial Mass for a former pastor of my parish, I was impressed with a the homilist’s description of the late priest’s latter years. He was in constant pain from injuries – then unknown – which he sustained in an automobile wreck earlier in his life. Though he NEVER ONCE complained, he would let others know he was in pain. Analogously, the homilist referenced the day’s scripture verse, Malachi 3:2b-3a “For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3“He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver.” He recollected how one woman in his own parish had sought to learn about the process of refining silver, and had shared the silversmith said the silver MUST be held IN THE FIRE CONSTANTLY to purify it. She asked, “How do you know when it’s pure?” His reply was, “When I look into it and see my reflection.”

• I have endured hardship in my life, and historically,

A Letter to My Friend

K,

I thought I’d share a brief note with you about what’s going on in my life.

It’s almost Easter, and I’m almost complete with the RCIA process – Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, the process by and through which one becomes Catholic. Everything culminates on Easter. And though at this point