Martha Collins

One thing I’m guilty of and probably many of us are is praying in the morning and or night and forgetting about God in between. Because of this I felt off track in my relationship with Him and it began to suffer and eventually I started facing some spiritual warfare and lacking faith. I realized my relationship should be more than talking to the lord in the day and in the night before bed. It should be worshipping Him , listening to songs that praise Him on my way to work, giving thanks before I eat, delighting myself in the beauty and grace of Him the sunset and the sunrise, the beauty in the way the season changes and just marvelling at his creations, loving others (even my enemies), reading the word and trying to apply it in my daily life.

What helped me is reading books about related to faith. One book I’m currently reading and love is the “Well watered woman” 🌻by Gretchen Saffles. It’s about how seeking nourishment and refreshment in the Lord when we feel dry in our growth and faith. That’s something I needed as sometimes to be honest the bible can seem mundane but the book helped me acknowledge that’s where the truth is to provide us with nourishment and help us bloom when we’re going through difficult seasons. Reading the Bible shouldn’t be seen as a chore but it should be seen as our fountain of wisdom to quench our spiritual thirst and give us strength. ✝️

‭‭ “How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; And thou wilt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: In thy light shall we see light.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭36‬:‭7‬-‭9‬

Once you realize the concept of both a merciful/kind and just/wrathful God is possible, somehow the burden of believing becomes easier.

Because suddenly the burden is not on you to make complete sense of God. Ultimately you can’t because He’s beyond our capacities of understanding and but also, you don’t need to. Instead, we can trust God will act as His nature of Perfection dictates, which includes lovingkindness and grace AND exacting wrathful justice and retribution. In other words, thinking godly about God.

It also boils down to who calls the shots on morality and for us Christians, we believe God is the One who has established what is righteous and what is wicked. Not us. We can try and it might look like we have succeeded, but it will always fall short once God comes into the picture. In the end, He is just but also merciful and wickedness will never hold up in His presence.

That’s what makes Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection so important too. The burden is no longer on us to reach salvation and “avoid wrathful justice” by our own power through good works (edit: or even right theology), but rather He is the One who gives us the way to salvation.

FEEDING ON GOD'S FAITHFULNESS TO REDUCE SPIRITUAL DISTANCE

Psalm 100:4,5 - "Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations."

  Satan’s plan is to make us somehow accept, either through our upbringing, our experiences or through Church dogma that certain portions of the life of Christ are untrue or not valid in our case.  Every battle we face in life is over the word and whether or not we can build our lives upon the faithfulness and integrity of God.

Hebrews 10:23  - "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is FAITHFUL;"

Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Psalm 37:1-3

In this Psalm, David is instructing the children of God not to fret when it seems like everyone around you is prospering, especially the unrighteous. The antidote given by King David for "fretting" is to feed on the Lord's faithfulness.

Like Psalm 27:13 says, "I truly would lose heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord," nevertheless, there are more times that the worries of the world knock us out. This is why it is crucial that we feed on His FAITHFULNESS.

Yet, how do we do that? One of the primary ways is to feast on His Word -- for it is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).

RECALLING GOD'S FAITHFULNESS IN TRYING TIMES

In the third chapter of the Book of Lamentations -  the prophet Jeremiah, was suffering through God's chastisement along with his people. As a result of his distress, Jeremiah confessed that his soul was far from any peace, that he had forgotten what happiness was, and that his strength was gone. He felt that God shut out his prayers and had lost his expectant hope in the Lord through his terrible struggle.

Despite all his feelings of being forsaken, Jeremiah prayed again! He boldly said, "Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall" (Lamentations 3:19). The word for "remember" doesn't imply that God forgot His children.  The Hebrew word used here is zakar (Strong's #2142) and speaks of recalling something, meditating on it, purposefully pulling it up in your mind. Jeremiah was asking God to think on him, to focus His Divine intentions on him!

"My soul still remembers and sinks within me" (Lamentations 3:20). Yet, after praying again to God, something happened. Instead of thinking on his circumstances, he "turned to the Lord" and found hope. "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope" (Lamentations 3:21).

TURN TO THE LORD

"Recall" is connected to one of the primary words used for repentance, shuwb (Strong's #7725), and means to turn back or return. You see, Jeremiah was thinking on his distress and affliction, which was, in a sense PUTTING A SPIRITUAL DISTANCE BETWEEN HIMSELF AND GOD. All he had to do was turn his thoughts to the Lord, to return to Him.

 "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..." (James 4:7-8).

Jeremiah went from thinking on his circumstances to thinking on God. -- Lamentations 3:22-26  - "The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I have hope in Him.' The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the Lord."

He fed on God's faithfulness!  God uses ALL distress and affliction for His glory to produce character in us. "...tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3,4).

Acts 16:25,26  -  "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God:  and the prisoners heard them.  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken:  and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed."

God's faithfulness is triggered by our faith, while praise brings us into His presence.  When we praise God, He raises us out of our situation.

When we find ourselves in trouble, we use praise as a key to unlock the "prison doors" of our circumstances.  No matter what is going on in our life -- we fill our mouth with the ADORATION AND GREATNESS OF GOD.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

A Lament over Zion

1 Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a spring of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging-place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.

3 They bend their tongue, [as it were] their bow, for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they don't know me, says the LORD.

4 Take you heed everyone of his neighbor, and don't you trust in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders.

5 They will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity.

6 Your habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, says the LORD.

7 Therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how [else] should I do, because of the daughter of my people?

8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceit: one speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he lays wait for him.

9 Shall I not visit them for these things? says the LORD; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none passes through; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the birds of the sky and the animals are fled, they are gone.

11 I will make Yerushalayim heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Yehudah a desolation, without inhabitant.

12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and [who is] he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? why is the land perished and burned up like a wilderness, so that none passes through?

13 The LORD says, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein, 14 but have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baalim, which their fathers taught them;

15 therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Yisra'el, Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

16 I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.

17 Thus says the LORD of Hosts, Consider you, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skillful women, that they may come:

18 and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.

19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Tziyon, How are we ruined! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.

20 Yet hear the word of the LORD, you women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and everyone her neighbor lamentation.

21 For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from outside, [and] the young men from the streets.

22 Speak, Thus says the LORD, The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung on the open field, and as the handful after the harvester; and none shall gather [them].

23 Thus says the LORD, Don't let the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, don't let the rich man glory in his riches;

24 but let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness, in the eretz: for in these things I delight, says the LORD.

25 Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that I will punish all those who are circumcised in [their] uncircumcision:

26 Mitzrayim, and Yehudah, and Edom, and the children ofAmmon, and Mo'av, and all that have the corners [of their hair] cut off, who dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Yisra'el are uncircumcised in heart. — Jeremiah 9 | Hebrew Names Version (HNV) The Hebrew Names Version Bible is in the public domain Cross References: Genesis 27:35; Leviticus 26:32-33; Deuteronomy 28:29; Deuteronomy 28:64; 2 Chronicles 7:19; 2 Chronicles 36:17; Psalm 12:2; Psalm 52:3; Psalm 55:6-7; Psalm 83:10; Psalm 107:34; Psalm 119:136; Proverbs 25:18; Isaiah 1:24-25; Isaiah 10:3; Isaiah 22:4; Isaiah 32:9; Isaiah 41:15; Jeremiah 4:19; Jeremiah 7:28-29; Jeremiah 12:6; Lamentations 3:48; Matthew 9:23; John 3:19-20; Acts 7:51; Romans 1:21; Romans 2:25; 1 Corinthians 1:31; 1 Corinthians 15:34; 2 Corinthians 10:17; Revelation 8:11

Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD. - Psalm 25:4-7 KJV

God keeps trying to lead and guide us, and we keep veering off the path. It is not just the sins of our youth that we need God to forget - It's the sins of our middle age and more. It is easy to get side-tracked. God keeps teaching, but the problem is, that we don't keep learning.

Sometimes, I think that the youth actually get it more than we do as we age. They know that they need to learn and depend on us to help them learn and not only the lessons they learn in school, but also the lessons they will need to learn for life. It is not good to give children bad example because they will follow us.

Over the years, I have watched many commercials on television, including retro ones from days of old, as they would often teach us both what to do and what not to do.

An old commercial showed a father and son and the son wanted to do everything his father did, so her pretended to shave when his father shaved, tied his shoes, etc., and pretended to smoke when his father did. It was an anti-smoking ad. If you swear and curse, so will your children. If you cheat or steal, so will your children, if you are kind and generous, so, too, will your children be.

God gives us guidance and we need to follow, and we also need to guide those who come after us. Jesus Christ gave us perfect example, and all Christians are called to do the same for others. He has given us the tools to follow Him. May He give us the will to do so. May we make sure that we give our hearts and lives to God and take time daily to seek and praise Him and share His Truth with the world. May the LORD our God and Father in Heaven help us to stay diligent and obedient and help us to guard our hearts in Him and His Word daily. May He help us to remain faithful and full of excitement to do our duty to Him and for His glorious return and our reunion in Heaven as well as all that awaits us there. May we never forget to thank the LORD our God and our Creator and Father in Heaven for all this and everything He does and has done for us! May we never forget who He is, nor forget who we are in Christ and that God is always with us! What a mighty God we serve! What a Savior this is! What a wonderful Lord, God, Savior and King we have in Jesus Christ! What a loving Father we have found in the Almighty God! What a wonderful God we serve! His will be done!

Thanks and glory be to God! Blessed be the name of the LORD! Hallelujah and Amen!

Q: Hank don't you think all those cucks out there really need Pema Chodron's Awakening Compassion and therapy and this and that and this and that and this and that and that and that and that too instead of you telling them to man up?

A: Yes they do but you see, i don't think they're intelligent enough to handle that stuff. also, i don't think they realise they need help. i don't think they realise anything.

if they don't respond to reason

then what makes you think i can use reason to get them into therapy or into Shambhala Buddhism?

they're cucks

so i mean you could explain to them that cuckmaster Jordan Peterson is anti-enlightment because he's late to the party on how i'm a former daily vacation bible school teacher with lots of spiritual and religious tracts under his belt

only i'm not so fucking stupid as to oppositionally talk about what i do as anti-enlightment because Jordan Peterson is pissed that Steven Pinker is a lot smarter than him

i think all you can do with the cucks really is stir the pot or get them to bust their butts a little more

Babycuck and Babybruce were deffo the sort of slacker who will not apply themselves in life unless a Liberal Faggot like you has surpassed them and then they'll try harder to swim a little faster in life

but that's about all you can do with em, they're never gonna be able to be folks you can have an adult conversation with or feel rivalrous or comaraderie with, it would just be a waste of my time... all that can be done with them is basically different forms of parenting or babysitting because they're not ready to join the adult world

they're living in the anti-truth world of vaccine denial, identity poitics denial, museumgoing denial, lovingkindness denial, all sorts of denials

they believe a conservative kick in the ass and dominace is a motivating dynamo so i give it to them

they're in charge that's what they want that's what they request of the universe, a dynamo of war to kick their ass so i give it to them

and my love goes to the people who believe in love who sure isn't themselves -- they know nothing of love, they believe in possession of toys WANTING THINGS not giving things

i'm just the babysitter with a Paolo Freire approach

if they didn't want the dynamo of combat to drive their lazy selves they wouldn't have asked for it and i wouldn't have given it to them

it's never nearly as effective as all the other dynamos i have to offer

but they wanted to learn the hard way so they have been and still are

learning and yet not learning

which is what they deserve and always been part of the plan

”Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh, that I had in the wilderness A lodging place for travelers; That I might leave my people, And go from them! For they are all adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men. “And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me,” says the Lord. “Everyone take heed to his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will walk with slanderers. Everyone will deceive his neighbor, And will not speak the truth; They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves to commit iniquity. Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them and try them; For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people? Their tongue is an arrow shot out; It speaks deceit; One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, But in his heart he lies in wait. Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord. “Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?” I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, And for the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation, Because they are burned up, So that no one can pass through; Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle. Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled; They are gone. “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.” Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through? And the Lord said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,” therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.”“

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider and call for the mourning women, That they may come; And send for skillful wailing women, That they may come. Let them make haste And take up a wailing for us, That our eyes may run with tears, And our eyelids gush with water. For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How we are plundered! We are greatly ashamed, Because we have forsaken the land, Because we have been cast out of our dwellings.’ ” Yet hear the word of the Lord, O women, And let your ear receive the word of His mouth; Teach your daughters wailing, And everyone her neighbor a lamentation. For death has come through our windows, Has entered our palaces, To kill off the children— no longer to be outside! And the young men— no longer on the streets! Speak, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Even the carcasses of men shall fall as refuse on the open field, Like cuttings after the harvester, And no one shall gather them.’ ” Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord. “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised— Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.”“

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭9‬:‭17‬-‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Grace, An Empowerment

I admit it. The first time I heard about God's lovingkindness, my heart was overwhelmed with unfathomable joy. A God who suffered, beaten, crushed and died on my behalf because my reckless actions and deceitful heart led me to a dead end and I cried for a Savior for a long time.

And I admit, that just because I have been saved by His grace, does not mean I need to walk this Christian journey by trying to earn and maintain Grace. Whenever I open my eyes in the morning to see the light of His mercy, I am still in awe of His goodness.

Why is He good? Because I have material blessings? Because I have friends I can rely on? Because my family is healthy? While it is “common” to base God's goodness on the good gifts, the unchanging truth is that God, the Giver, is good.

It is a roller coaster ride. To be honest, there was a time when I used grace to attract financial prosperity. But God, in His goodness, led me to attract wisdom instead. He introduced me the reality of life's hardwork and failures. That just because Grace is unmerited, I can automatically attract financial blessings while consuming it like a bigtime spender because I am poor and my Father in heaven is rich. Yes! My heart believed that. LOL. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we become against financial blessings and live in poverty, what I mean is, as Christians, we live in such a way that glorifies God. Live in such a way that we use His gifts to bring glory to His name and people wonder why: “Why is it that he/she still believes in virtues and principles to live a meaningful life.” “Why does he/she give too much to the poor?”

I don't try to live a meaningful life. God alone is my reason, and His meaning and purpose for my life follows.

Grace has been defined an unmerited and unearned favor. Some people, I believe that there are still “Pharisees” living among us, accuse that the Grace we preach is a licentious to sin! Good thing Paul knew what to answer to that. I remember it clearly from a passage: Romans 6:1-2,

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?

Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

Exactly! People who have been truly impacted by God's grace will be empowered to repent and allow God to change them inside out. But people whose hearts are harden may use it to grant them the liberty they want and redefine Grace. They may sound and act humbled but through the years of living by their own definition, one can never deny the result of their thinking.

I believe that Grace is more than unmerited and unearned favor. It is a popular view of God's grace, but I really believe it's more than that. While there are some truth in that, it makes people believe that they don't need a change, have growth or become mature because “God loves us just as we are.” This kind of thinking limits God's work in a person and denies empowerment. I like what Charles Capps defined it, Grace is “God’s willingness to use His power and ability on our behalf even though we don’t deserve it.”

It is His willingness to do in us, for us and through us that which we could never do on our own ability. Grace is an action, not an attribute. If we say God loves us simply without a payment for the penalty of sin. Action is denied, suffering is in vain and His holy image is just an accessory. Then we ask: “How can a loving God put someone to hell?” the answer we never want to hear is because: “We want a “kind” of god who is loving but has no truth in him.” A kind of god who wants me to stay in sin is not a god but a toy we hug for comfort, you will feel comforted but you will not be empowered.

Grace is God's love in action.

If God tolerates sin, then how can He be called a righteous God if He has tolerance to what contradicts His nature?

Isn't that why a mother looks out for her child so much that she goes worried if her little one has done something he/she shouldn't have that may harm him/her as a consequence of the action?

Isn't that why a father has to put limits and disciplines a child so that his little one may grow in love and in wisdom?

Everything a loving person does is for the benefit of their love ones.

I am going to share what I have read from a book:

“When we read and hear that God hates sin, we must know that it is not because God is a judgmental and spiteful God would put us in situations that ultimately lead us to His destruction of us. God hates sin because He loves us, and sin causes us to be unaware of how much He loves us and how His plans are way greater than ours. God does not hate sin because He wants to throw lightning bolts at us. He hates sin because sin hurts us.”

Titus 2:11-14 says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Grace is an empowerment to live victoriously with God's provision. Not an entitlement to squander the riches of our Father.

Hmmm, 16 and 31 please!

16. who was your first crush? 

Just listen to this on repeat for three hours and you’ll have the sum of the experience, I think.  That’s not entirely true- I made the classic mistake of falling for a straight friend in high school, and there was some associated drama about it- but, you know.  It’s always a bit messy.  Haven’t talked to the crush in over a decade, but that song still makes me think of him.

The biggest clusterfuck was that my little sister had a crush on the same guy.  I told him about it in front of her, which is one of the meanest things I’ve ever done to anybody.  We were jumping on a trampoline at the time, I remember.  It was jealousy, in retrospect, though she couldn’t have known that at the time, and I only barely did.  I don’t have too many acute regrets in life, but that’s one of them, and only partially blunted by the knowledge that children should be forgiven for almost anything, and that kindness is a skill that takes decades to learn.

She forgave me, eventually, if only because she’s the better of us.  These days we talk often over the phone still, and we’re playing Baldur’s Gate 3 in tandem and talking to one another about our choices.  The lockdown has been rough for us, but like the queen says, we will meet again. 

31. who is/was your favorite teacher?

When I was 21, I took a “History of Western Music” course as part of the university’s desperate attempt to culture its engineers some.  This project worked, marginally, though I wouldn’t actually pick up the trappings of true liberal education until much later- mostly it gave me plausible deniability about taking subjects for the sake of their beauty.  The music professor began with monks and their choirs, as one generally does in this sort of class, and skipped lightly through baroque and the romantics; if I was wiser in the ways of the world, I would have seen the warning signs of a teacher that loves modernist composition.

We spent roughly the second half of the semester on the twentieth century- this professor, now a jailer, waxed lyrical about chromatic scales and atonality.  A terrifically poor choice for non-music-majors.  At the time I just assumed he was a bit of a bubblehead, but having spent more time on the other side of the classroom, in retrospect it was probably more that he was out of shits to give.

In any case, there was one day that broke the mold.  The topic was musical indeterminacy, also called aleatoric composition.  At first it was just like any other weird day- almost exclusively focused on John Cage.  I recall him showing a video of ‘Inlets’ that wasn’t this one, and a few other things, which the class took about as well as you’d expect.  But right towards the end, he showed a performance which I haven’t been able to find since  (if you know it, by all means please tell me where I can find it!).  It was just an interview with Cage himself, discussing his philosophy and his theory of music.  John Cage being John Cage, this was intercut with video and sounds of collapsing construction sites and equipment, which would sometimes drown him out.  I have no recollection whatsoever of the words.  All I know is that somewhere in the process of watching that interview, I got it.

‘It’ here is, I’m afraid, not something I have the chops to explain.  When I try, it looks something like this:

Those chasing philosophical enlightenment in the Eastern sense tend to agree that it happens all at once; to be enlightened is structurally like getting a joke, not like studying math.  But they disagree about the best ways to prepare for this.  One of the points of disagreement is sometimes labeled ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ enlightenment, that is, whether practices like mindfulness, virtue, and lovingkindness should be used to make the transition more comfortable, or whether a student should just be thrown in the deep end and taught to deal with the crisis afterward.  Proponents of the so-called ‘dry’ side, the sudden unprepared catastrophe, are epitomized by the school of Zen Buddhism, famous for their koans and other such tools designed to provoke abrupt enlightenment.

John Cage was a Zen Buddhist.

After listening to the video and the end of class, I spent the next little while absolutely fascinated with sound.  Instead of going to my next lecture, I just wandered around the engineering building, letting the chaos of footsteps and half-heard conversations wash over me.  I’m sure I must have looked drugged, and speaking from experience, it was about as dramatic a psychological state as a half-dose of psilocybin, and much less transient in its consequences.  In the end, I passed the time standing under a sycamore on the south side of the building, looking up at the blue sky through its branches and letting the world pass through me.  

It wasn’t enlightenment proper, at least I don’t think so- at a guess, a practitioner would have called it a jhana.  After an hour or so it passed away, albeit leaving behind a significantly expanded relationship with the notions of cognition and sensation.  That sycamore tree is still a pretty good candidate for my favorite teacher, though.

Power Study A 44 - Notes

Luke 9:23 - "And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

Luke 14:27 - "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."

Colossians 3:3 - "For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

John 15:5 - "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

We do not try to crucify our self life. Instead, we access the ascended life in Christ and live from that perspective.

By abiding in Christ (basking in His love flowing into our hearts), engaging and developing a lifestyle of intercessory prayer, and praising and engaging in adoration to God through the scriptures, we maintain our daily walking in the Spirit.

The Psalms is a good source for this as they engage the 7 petitions in the Lord's prayer. Look for the particular Psalms that focus largely on adoration to God -- then personalize them and make them a part of your prayer life.

Example - Psalm 100: I make a joyful shout unto the Lord now and forever, I serve the Lord in my Christ calling with gladness, I come into His presence with singing. I am a son and heir of His Kingdom, I enter His gates with thanksgiving,, and His courts with praise, I give thanks to Him and bless His name, For the Lord is good and His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to eternity.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

Liveblog: Rewatching Trigun, Episode 10

-- I'm singing along with the intro music...

-- Who is Vash talking/narrating to? Not that I'm complaining. Tell me everything!

-- Bedhead Vash = adorbs!

-- Wow, Vash talks to birds! Just like a Disney princess! 

He's not very good at it, though. They just fly away.

-- It's appropriate he calls it the mayfly of love because mayflies are delicate and don't last long...and probably hard to catch... (Ok, obvious metaphor is obvious; I probably didn't even need to say anything...)

-- Ah, there's that meditation line that's been bothering me so much.

Life and love in 3 seconds. Those are topics you can devote your whole life to, and every lovingkindness meditation I'm familiar with takes longer than 3 seconds, just saying.

-- Dead girlfriend named Eileen? Clearly he was making things up, but how much was based on truth?

-- Vash missed his chance to sing Michelle Ma Belle.

-- Talking about a dead girlfriend and introducing yourself as the Humanoid Typhoon...yeah, that's not gonna get you a date.

Ouch. Shut down.

-- "A lecture! You've got to be pretty lame to take that kind of abuse." Ouch.

-- Aaaaand cock-blocked by Wolfwood, lol. Isn't knocking the table over a bit extra, though?

-- "It's a long story, even though it's kind of a short one." A Wolfwood classic

-- lol, Wolfwood imitating the voice and even the facial expressions of the criminal. I want to hear him tell more stories.

-- Wolfwood certainly likes getting all up in Vash's personal space. Trying to make him uncomfortable so he'll give in faster, or what?

-- Why is Vash acting so reluctant to help? I mean, it fits because he seemingly gets dragged into dangerous situations a lot. But this is exactly the sort of thing he’s been volunteering to do. Is he enjoying Wolfwood laying it on thick and guilt tripping him?

-- "Will you treat me to something?" "I'll have to think about it." Yep, there's Millie trying to scrounge and Vash not liking to say no.

-- "You haven't got a single clue, have you?" What does Millie mean?

-- That guy has the best trenchcoat. Too bad he’s just a bit character in this one episode.

-- Who is that man behind the curtain? Is he going to appear in a future episode?

-- Apparently Vash has blood type O. I know blood type is symbolic in Japanese culture...what does that say about him?

-- If Vash didn't want to be part of the competition, and is concerned about his reputation causing problems, why enter as himself? Why not make up a pseudonym/alias?

-- Can’t explain further, I just love this dialogue: "Aw, come on, you planned it from the start." "But I apologized."

-- "There you go smiling again. Looks good on you." That's so sweet I'm even grinning and blushing now.

#they’re at their best together #and when they smile I smile and melt like a squishy marshmallow

-- Wolfwood catching the girls eavesdropping, lol. Vash is usually the one to notice things. Guess he didn't want to make things awkward. Wolfwood doesn't gaf.

-- Oh Meryl, you've got to learn to express your feelings. What if Milly isn't there to act as your mouthpiece?

-- Oh, Milly, the life of the party. Just how much did she take off?

So far we have Wolfwood as the storyteller of the group and Milly as the wild one. Meryl is probably the Mom friend. Vash is the one who leads them into trouble adventures and has to get them back out.

-- "How come you're good?" Milly has a way with words. (And a good point).

-- Did Vash drink too much deliberately in order to lower his own acuity so his shooting skills would stand out less? Then blame Wolfwood for getting him "plastered?"

Notice that he suddenly stops wobbling around blurry-eyed and just goes for it once everyone can see how good a shot he is. The camouflage is no longer necessary.

-- "You really are the humanoid typhoon." I'm onto you Wolfwood, this is just an excuse to put your hand on his shoulder and get up in his personal space again.

-- I love how Vash turns the tables on Wolfwood and signs him up, too. 

-- Vash threw that stone before the gun even went off. He knew where the bullet would go before the gun even fired.

-- I love how Vash interferes with all the other fights. And Wolfwood knows, lol. They almost look like conspirators.

See what I mean?

-- How did they both do the Tabasco sauce trick at the same time without coordinating it? Did they plan this beforehand or are they just that good?

-- Vash's “wut” face when Wolfwood does the thing. Amazing.

-- Really? Now Vash objects to injuring people? He's been doing it the entire show so far in order to disarm them. What else are he and Wolfwood supposed to do to people trying to kill them? I think the real problem is that Wolfwood seemed like he was out of control and enjoying it.

-- I keep waiting for Wolfwood to argue with Vash about their different philosophies, but so far, the most he's done is grumble a little bit about not killing people. Maybe manga!Wolfwood is blending together with anime!Wolfwood in my head?

Robin. Aries. My trauma has me tied in knots, and I feel like I've just been going in circles for years. Do you think I'll ever be able to break away from it?

Hello, Robin. I hope this reading finds you well and you’re able to get the supports you need.

The Nine of Pentacles

The Nine of Pentacles card symbolizing communicates multiple things - we have a naked person, with their back turned towards us, and a red-tailed hawk on their shoulder. They are sitting amongst blooming flowers (our pentacles), shaded beneath a tree, and in the distance we see the silhouette of a home.

In accordance with Jewish tradition, the hawk symbolizes vision and to blossom or spark*. In this deck’s illustration, the hawk is cited to symbolize intelligence. Being the nine of pentacles, nine is associated with the sefira Yesod - sometimes seen as the birth canal, as it is the connection in which all of the channel of divine energy and wisdom is brought into Malkhut. Yesod is known as “foundation”, and the drive to want connection with others and bond. When out of balance, this could lead to obsession or unhealthy attachment.

In regards to your question, what the Nine of Pentacles says in response to your question is that yes - you will break out of this cycle. However, this must be enacted with a shift in perspective and to change the foundation beneath you. When approaching your trauma, try to bring forward tiferet - balance and beauty. Tiferet is the synthesis of chesed and Gevurah, requiring both healthy boundaries and lovingkindess. Just as much as you should cultivate boundaries with others, begin to cultivate them with yourself and approach your trauma and your situation from the place of understanding and lovingkindness, instead of judgement and frustration.

With this, also know you are not alone. I will not make judgements or assumptions of your spiritual life or theology, but in mine, this hawk is Hashem - that G!d (or what you may call spirit or universe or love) is by your side, and is the divine spark deep within you. Tapping into this, a sign of vitality and rational intelligence, may help you approach the spirals you find yourself in as the ‘weak chain’ you can use to destroy these knots.

These pentacles, the blooming flowers, are what lays in your future. You will encounter beauty, greenery, but all growing of such flowers requires patience and adjustment - too much water or too little sun can damage the growth of a plant, and so here too different solutions may or may not work. Do not give up, as the harvest is bountiful. Even though the figure had to step outside of their home to find this, it is still within sight - so this is a sign you will not have to uproot everything to do this.

Please let me know if this speaks to you or is helpful for you, if you’re comfortable, as I am still learning how to use my intuition and read cards.

—————

Disclaimer for Divination:

**Note on how I view divination and interpretation: Through a Jewish lens, in the Babylonian Talmud the sages say that dreams follow that which what an interpreter says - which means I take this very seriously, and that it is understood there are multiple interpretations to a situation. As personal theology, I come to understand all offerings and answers found come from Hashem.

*Source - The Magic of The Ordinary by R. Gershon Winkler

Meditation for Everybody: 7 Styles to Try

If you've thought about using up reflection yet do not know where to begin, start below to find the method that's right for you.

A bargain of aura has grown around reflection, yet it is just one of one of the most natural of our human capacities. You believe had minutes in your life when you were not believing or analyzing your experience, yet simply 'going with the circulation.' In these moments, there was no previous or future, no splitting up in between you and what was happening. That is the essence of meditation.

Contrary to an usual misconception, reflection is not a limiting or tightening of our attention even it is a concentrating on just what matters. Our focus can be narrow, as in observing our breath, or wide, as in cooking a five-course supper. When the mind is able to concentrate on just what pertains to exactly what is occurring currently, we experience ourselves as going to one with just what we regard. This experience is deeply happy, as we become without the illusion that we are different from every little thing else in the cosmos. Actually, reflection isn't a withdrawal from life but a deeper, fuller presence in life.

Another preferred misunderstanding holds that meditation is simply regarding the mind. As a matter of fact, reflection triggers genuine physiological results that have been measured by scientists. It has been shown to decrease oxygen intake, heart price, respiratory system price, and also blood stress as well as boost the intensity of alpha, theta, and also delta brain waves-- the reverse of the physiological modifications that happen throughout the stress and anxiety action. Many intriguing, research study performed in Japan in the 1960s showed that veteran meditators not only experienced an increase in alpha waves (suggesting a state that is both kicked back and also sharp) however might likewise maintain that state with their eyes open-- something nonmeditators generally can do just with their eyes closed.

It is this capability to be both very kicked back as well as alert that finest defines the introspective state. Countless specialists over the millennia have actually uncovered that they could achieve this state with the growing of focus and also existence-- simply puts, concentration: not teeth-clenching resolution but instead gentle addressing the item of attention.

7 Meditation Styles to Try

Sample the adhering to basic practices and also you'll no uncertainty find that the opportunities are limitless. Choose a method as well as give it a dry run for a week or more before attempting another. Put on hold for the time being any kind of judgment or uncertainty, and also deal with whatever adverse responses emerge as simple thought patterns to let go. After that, if you like, attempt another technique. Ultimately, you will probably wish to commit to one and also go right into it wholeheartedly.

Conscious Breathing

This is a fundamental yet profound focus method. Simply bring your focus on the experience of the breath as it enters and also leaves your nostrils. Keep your understanding on the duration of each breath, and also when the mind wanders from the breath, just observe that as well as bring your attention back to the experiences of the breath. If the mind appears very distracted, you may discover it helpful to identify each breath 'in' or 'out' and also each assumed 'thinking.' Attempt not to manage your breath or picture it, just keep in mind the feeling equally as you really feel it.

Mantra Recitation

Mantra, one more reliable means to cultivate concentration, has actually been used by many spiritual traditions. Concepts can be one word or syllable or a phrase. Christians commonly utilize the concept 'Christ commiserate,' while the Hebrew Shma (listen to) is used by lots of practicing meditation Jews. Various other typical mantras include Om, Amen, and Om mani padme hum (definition 'The jewel remains in the lotus'). If these feel also 'spiritual' for you, choose an easy word like peace as well as see how that works. With rule method, you could simply maintain duplicating the concept silently, or you can synchronize it with your breath.

TRY Kathryn Budig's Surge + Shine Mantra Meditation

Visualization

Visualization needs you to develop your internal vision by first staring at an easy geometric shape (such as a circle or a triangular) then closing your eyes, attempting to hold the picture in your mind's eye. At some point, you could deal with yantras and mandalas (elaborate geometric figures that have been used given that ancient times as reflection tools) or you can imagine a spiritual guide or being that has significance for you. You could likewise simply imagine a tranquil room that you could rest in while meditating.

Lovingkindness Meditation

Lovingkindness Meditation (metta bhavana) strengthens focus while additionally growing insight as well as changing just how we connect to ourselves and others. Metta is the Pali word for 'love,' as well as bhavana essentially implies 'farming.' In this method-- which was shown by the Buddha and is located in Theravada Buddhism and some Tibetan Buddhist traditions-- you direct love and compassion first to yourself, after that to loved ones, neutral people, hard individuals, and also all beings throughout the world.

To do this method, it assists to center on your own with some mindful breathing. Drawing your focus to your heart facility, recite to on your own phrases such as, 'Could I be happy,' 'Could I be tranquil,' and also 'May I be cost-free from experiencing.' When you have exercised with on your own for a while, you can bring the photo or sense of several enjoyed ones to mind, and guide the expressions and power of love to them: 'May you be delighted,' 'May you be serene,' and more. Next off, removal on to neutral and afterwards tough individuals-- it assists to deal with those who have actually caused minor discomfort prior to collaborating with the really challenging ones! Try radiating lovingkindness to all beings.

TRY Metta in Activity: Lovingkindness on the Mat

Vipassana

Vipassana asks you to transform your focus to bodily feelings, after that feelings, assumptions, and thoughts. Professionals frequently label any thoughts, emotions, or feelings that turn up-- for instance, 'Having a frightened thought.' This method is in some cases referred to as choiceless awareness, as you do not pre-choose a things on which to concentrate. Rather, you focus on whatever develops in the field of recognition, without reacting by resisting or sticking to it. (The need for strong focus comes to be apparent: Without it, it's hard, if not difficult, to observe strong feelings without reacting to them.)

Vipassana, which is understood to be deducible back to the Buddha yet flourished in Southeast Asia, is said to produce a much less responsive, more responsive state of mind when practiced over the lengthy term.

TRY Vipassana Meditation

Vedantic Meditation

Vedantic Reflection, part of the yogic ideology referred to as Vedanta, has actually been referred to as utilizing the mind to exceed the mind, via the regularly duplicated method of soul-searching as well as self-remembrance. This is not a specific type or technique, so it resists any kind of generalizations. To practice self-inquiry (one of the most prominent kind of Vedantic reflection), merely trace your thoughts back to their resource, maintaining the question 'That am I?' to life in any way times-- not merely duplicating it to yourself like a concept but constantly maintaining a penetrating, questioning attitude. If you locate yourself feeling tired at an offered minute, you could ask, 'That is it who is feeling bored?' This line of query is intended at freeing the specialist from a minimal, self-concerned identity as well as stimulating a feeling of oneness.

Moving Meditation

Moving Meditation, of which there are lots of kinds (such as hatha yoga, tai chi, qi gong, and strolling meditation), could be an attractive method to engage in meditation technique if you're not anxious to rest still for an extended period. In strolling reflection, you mosey to and fro along a path or in a circle, matching your breath with your steps. As the inbreath enters the body, you raise the heel, after that the sole, and also lastly the sphere of the foot. Step the foot ahead as the breath continues. With the exhalation, position the foot on the ground, changing your weight into it, as well as prepare to raise the various other foot with the following breathing. Remember, this is not a workout in movement, it's a method of mindfulness that makes use of activity to establish higher awareness.

TRY Removaling Meditation: Focusing Breath

Ahead: Inner Peace

Many individuals are turned off by reflection because they start with a technique that either is too tough for them or doesn't suit their temperament. Whichever strategy you pick, keep in mind that continual effort is necessary, the mind is clever and also stands up to clearing up down. (Feeling in one's bones that this mental uneasyness is normal is a wonderful alleviation to numerous who occupy reflection and assume it's simply their mind that is so insane!) Start with five or 10 mins every day and also dedicate to practicing consistently.

Meditative awareness is not an intellectual exercise, however it brings a clarity that lays bare the functions of your mind. Having cultivated an alert and also loosened up mind, you end up being complimentary from reactive conditioning, even more able to respond artistically, as well as more in consistency with the means points are. You could concern reflection to end up being devoid of the unsafe results of stress and anxiety on your mind and body, which's penalty. But be prepared for your motivations to change as you expand in self-awareness and inner tranquility. Meditation does not just transform you, it could change your life. What mindfulness technique progressively reveals is that eventually, your entire life could be reflection in action.

Frank Jude Boccio is an interfaith minister, a yoga teacher, a reflection teacher, and also the author of Mindfulness Yoga.