taxicab

Hi Crystalclearblue, It's wonderful that you can appreciate anyone who is a Christian and loves God but can you appreciate anyone who may not be a Christian? There are a lot of wonderful people out there who aren't Christians. Why limit yourself? Enjoy the day!

It's an "opportunity" to be "profitable". I'm actually an agnostic. I don't know and I know that I don't know and I know that I'm fine not knowing.

No. I'm busy enjoying life.

There were some things that were "pofitable" for everyone to know. "It would really be pofitable for your life to abundantly share all your time and money."

I think you would have to be using "All Nine all the Time" to tell if someone had a white or black heart!

"Compassion and Empathy". Certainly as an educator of young children this is something I think about often. One of my young families at work adopted two children, one from China and one from Ethiopia. Another one of my families adopted a baby girl from Ethiopia but have not gone to get her yet; they're waiting to receive their travel date from Ethiopia. I have a picture of the baby hanging in my classroom; the waiting is difficult for the young family. The first family I mentioned has 2 biological children and the second family has 3 biological children already. For me, these families are the face of compassion. Have any of you heard of the company Tom's Shoes? The owner was moved by compassion to start his business. The video clip comes with a warning. It may provoke strong COMPASSION.

Billy, I don't see any posts by "Karen Armstrong". Perhaps you mean someone else's posts. Who are you referring to?

Thanks, I don't know if I've ever heard that version.

And Santana had a girlfriend who happened to be a "Black Magic Woman." Scary!

For me personally, I don't have to put the "whole puzzle together". For starters though, how about the "ETHIC OF RECIPROCITY." This is a web site that Charlene let me know about. I think many of you will enjoy it. www.religioustolerance.org Some "Ethic of Reciprocity" passages from the religious texts of various religions and secular beliefs: Bahá'í Faith: "Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not." "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha'u'llah "And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself." Epistle to the Son of the Wolf Brahmanism: "This is the sum of Dharma [duty]: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you". Mahabharata, 5:1517 " Buddhism: "...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?" Samyutta NIkaya v. 353 Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." Udana-Varga 5:18 Christianity: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Matthew 7:12, King James Version. "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." Luke 6:31, King James Version. "...and don't do what you hate...", Gospel of Thomas 6. The Gospel of Thomas is one of about 40 gospels that were widely accepted among early Christians, but which never made it into the Christian Scriptures (New Testament). Confucianism: "Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" Analects 15:23 "Tse-kung asked, 'Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?' Confucius replied, 'It is the word 'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'" Doctrine of the Mean 13.3 "Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence." Mencius VII.A.4 Ancient Egyptian: "Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do." The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, 109 - 110 Translated by R.B. Parkinson. The original dates to 1970 to 1640 BCE and may be the earliest version ever written. 3 Hinduism: This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you. Mahabharata 5:1517 Humanism: "(5) Humanists acknowledge human interdependence, the need for mutual respect and the kinship of all humanity." "(11) Humanists affirm that individual and social problems can only be resolved by means of human reason, intelligent effort, critical thinking joined with compassion and a spirit of empathy for all living beings. " 4 "Don't do things you wouldn't want to have done to you, British Humanist Society. 3 Islam: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." 5 Jainism: "Therefore, neither does he [a sage] cause violence to others nor does he make others do so." Acarangasutra 5.101-2. "In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self." Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara "A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated. "Sutrakritanga 1.11.33 Judaism: "...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.", Leviticus 19:18 "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary." Talmud, Shabbat 31a. "And what you hate, do not do to any one." Tobit 4:15 6 Native American Spirituality: "Respect for all life is the foundation." The Great Law of Peace. "All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One." Black Elk "Do not wrong or hate your neighbor. For it is not he who you wrong, but yourself." Pima proverb. Roman Pagan Religion: "The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is to love the members of society as themselves." Shinto: "The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form" "Be charitable to all beings, love is the representative of God." Ko-ji-ki Hachiman Kasuga Sikhism: Compassion-mercy and religion are the support of the entire world". Japji Sahib "Don't create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone." Guru Arjan Devji 259 "No one is my enemy, none a stranger and everyone is my friend." Guru Arjan Dev : AG 1299 Sufism: "The basis of Sufism is consideration of the hearts and feelings of others. If you haven't the will to gladden someone's heart, then at least beware lest you hurt someone's heart, for on our path, no sin exists but this." Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, Master of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order. Taoism: "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien. "The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful." Tao Teh Ching, Chapter 49 Unitarian: "The inherent worth and dignity of every person;" "Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.... " "The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;" "We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part." Unitarian principles. 7,8 Wicca: "An it harm no one, do what thou wilt" (i.e. do what ever you will, as long as it harms nobody, including yourself). One's will is to be carefully thought out in advance of action. This is called the Wiccan Rede Yoruba: (Nigeria): "One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts." Zoroastrianism: "That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself". Dadistan-i-dinik 94:5 "Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others." Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29 Some philosophers' statements are: Epictetus: "What you would avoid suffering yourself, seek not to impose on others." (circa 100 CE) Kant: "Act as if the maxim of thy action were to become by thy will a universal law of nature." Plato: "May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me." (Greece; 4th century BCE) Socrates: "Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you." (Greece; 5th century BCE) Seneca: "Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your superiors," Epistle 47:11 (Rome; 1st century CE)

Let's not forget, "Jot and Tittle" and "Needs and Wants Parallel". Of course someone who wasn't interested in taking the PFAL class was a "GOAT". Then there were "Public Explainations" fondly called Public X. The reason we neeed those were to convince people that they needed the PFAL class.

When I was in-rez, Craig woke us up in the middle of the night to teach us about devil spirits. Obviously something really, really bad must have been brewing in the devil spirit world at the time. So what if hundreds of us walked around like zombies the next day, we saved the world from catastrophe. Who knows, if it wasn't for that teaching maybe there would have been another thunder storm!!!

TWI believed that The Beatles were the "Marxist Minstrels". Funny you should mention "Hot for Teacher" by Van Halen. I was at the Michigan/ Purdue football game on Saturday and the fans got to text which song they wanted the Marching Band to play. We were given 3 choices and the winner was.................drum roll please, "HOT FOR TEACHER."

How about "Holy Kiss?" Many of those holy kisses were a little less than holy!

I've been out for 16 years and rarely have my "Way Dreams" (nightmares) anymore but every once in awhile I still have one. My nightmares were almost always the same; I had to go back in-residence. I would cry to my husband that I just couldn't do it again. Of course there were different people involved and different reasons why we were going back in. They were very real and my sorrow and fear seemed very real. I had a lot of these nightmares when we were still involved in TWI because they were always talking about bringing Corps back in for "retraining". As far as I know they did bring some of the Corps back in. I seem to remember the 4th. Corps being in rez. when the 8th. corps were in-rez. So my nightmares were actually based on something that I was afraid might become a reality. Freedom is so sweet!

If I were you, I would question my intentions. I would ask myself why do I feel the need to start my own thing? What do I want to accomplish? Could I find a group that's already established in a community? Personally, I'm not involved in organized religion but many people that I know are very involved in their churches. There are churches that help house the homeless, feed the hungry, encourage International adoption, raise money for those who don't have medical insurance, help the elderly stay in their homes, teach God's love from the pulpit, etc. etc. So, couldn't you find a church to meet your needs, and share your "area of concern" or do you think that what you know from TWI is so important that you need to be the "top dog?" Again, I would question my intentions and leave my ego at the door. What is this special area you want to address? Just curious!

In a speech on the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Washington Times, Moon explained his motivation behind establishing the paper. "I founded The Washington Times as an expression of my love for America and to fulfill the Will of God, who seeks to establish America in His Providence," he said. "In the context of God's Will, there needed to be a newspaper that had the philosophical and ideological foundation to encourage and enlighten the people and leaders of America," he explained. So, it looks like Moon did get the "Word Over the World."

"I know that I know that I know that I don't know" and that's given me a lot of freedom.

From the Christian Family and Sex 1977 syllabus: "Man's quick arousal is one reason that he is the head of the wife, so he can control the climax timing" .

There's a "Used Copy" on Amazon for $19.99.

Or a six pack of beer!

CHRISTIAN FAMILY AND SEX CLASS 1977 SYLLABUS The original sin, the fall of man and the subsequent consequences. A. Scripture build-up 1. Trees represent people. Romans 11:24 a. People are the fruit of a relationship. Exzekiel 31:3 2. Clitoris and penis referred to as trees. Genesis 2:16; 3:1. 3. Tree in the midst-represents the life and center of man. Genesis 3:3 4. A tree to turn on = desire. Genesis 3:6. 5. Beguiled = seduced. II Corinthians 11:3. 6. Being deceived = taken in. I Timothy 2:14 a. Adam and Eve sinned. Eve because she was tricked, Adam because he loved Eve. b. sinned by masturbation - but the sin was treason, not masturbation. ETC. ETC. ETC. So how do you handle that? (pun intended)

Thanks to everyone who answered my original question concerning books we were encouraged to read in the Corps, Fellow Laborers etc. I don't feel as if this blog has been de-railed; it's just taken a couple of interesting turns.