ZEN 2013

ZEN 2013

Before en-LIGHT-enment:  Make coffee.  Check e-mails.

After en-LIGHT-enment:  Make coffee.  Check e-mails.

QUESTION: Anger?

ANSWER:  The Christian Bible, Jesus, a day at the temple (‘. . .cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers . . . ‘).

Once in a while even this Ascended Master couldn’t hold himself back when confronted with horrific hypocrisy gone mad, and blatant manifestations of materialism, consumerism, and abject greed taking up residence in a supposedly ‘sacred space’ — even to the point of physical violence.  Not his best day, no doubt, but this episode lets us know that even the most ‘evolved’ among us have the right to release our so-called ‘negative emotions’ when pushed over the edge by nefarious forces (a little righteous indignation anyone?). . . . .  Important Note:  Apparently the only ‘injuries’ were to peoples’ egos and maybe some furniture, not bodies.   But WOW, did this tiny explosion of emotion over MONEY illicit a powerful reaction from the Controllers of that epoch!  It appears that Jesus could go all over and preach whatever he damn well pleased, but Yahweh forbid that he mess with their truly sacred financial system!  The priests of his time couldn’t allow THAT, now could they?

P.S. — To be clear, money at its core is only a means of exchange between apparently separate beings in the lower dimensions of Illusion, and has no intrinsic value or ‘energy’ outside of what those beings give to it (much less anything that can be labeled ‘positive’ or ‘negative’), especially fiat currencies (paper notes and little round metal discs, neither with anything backing them up except an abstract idea, a mental construct, an agreement). It is the placing of money, or any material thing, ‘above’ truly important things in a person’s or society’s hierarchal list of ‘priorities’, that is the core issue.  Jesus was obviously rebelling against that, and not the peaceful and equitable use of financial systems in general (I feel), which can have a valuable, useful place in evolved societies — IF the right attitudes, checks and balances are firmly in place, of course.

PPS – In other words, the expression of anger in and of itself, no matter what the particular issue, is NOT necessarily a completely ‘non-spiritual’ event.  In rare circumstances, under very specific conditions and with zero real physical harm being done, the conscious and focused and managed ‘venting’ of that emotion is justified, and even called for (versus its repression, which can lead to much worse scenarios).  I mean, if it worked for Jesus . . . . .

LOVE IS MY RELIGION

Over the years, and especially lately (as I have been talking a lot with people about the subject), I have been asked countless times the truly loaded question, ‘What religion do you belong to/are you?’ In the past (since my late teens when I left the Roman Empire Catholic Church), I’ve always answered in basically the same way: ‘I don’t’ or ‘None.’ Once in a while I would add something like, ‘I AM a spiritual person, and engage in spiritual practices every day of my life; but I am not a member of, nor affiliated with, any organized religion.’

The other day, however, I opened up YouTube to check on my subscriptions, see if there was any fresh news or cool new videos to watch. Before I logged in, however, YouTube’s own list of new videos came up (that they are promoting and/or think would be popular). The first one was by Ziggy Marley and another guitarist doing a really colorful and expressive acoustic version one of his songs called ‘Love Is My Religion’. The title intrigued me (and I’m a big fan of his dad, Bob Marley, as well), so I clicked on it. I was in the mood for reggae anyway. . . . .

It was meant to be! In this song by Ziggy I found an entirely new and fresh and positive answer to that somewhat intimidating question about religion that I’ve been confronted with so many times over the many challenging years of my spiritual awakening. I’ve included the lyrics below so that you, too, can more clearly understand where I am coming from, and also choose (if you like, and if it’s appropriate of course) to refer people to this song any time in the future when somebody asks you the same question, as it makes several beautiful statements that reflect some of the relaxed, accepting, live-and-let-live harmony and peace that manifests within those embracing this particular ‘religion’:

Love Is My Religion, by Ziggy Marley

Love is my religion, Love is my religion, Love is my religion

I’ll take you to the temple tonight

All my days I’ve been searching to find out what this life is worth

Through the books and bibles of time, I’ve made up my mind

I don’t condemn, I don’t convert, this is a calling, have you heard?

Bring all the lovers to the fold, ‘cause no one is gonna lose their soul

(Chorus)

Love is my religion, Love is my religion, Love is my religion

Hey you can take it or leave it, and you don’t have to believe it

I don’t want to fight, Hey let’s go fly a kite!

There’s nothing we can’t cure, and I’ll keep you in my arms for sure

So don’t let nobody stop us, free spirits have to soar

With you I share the gift, the gift that we now know oh-oh-oh!

(Chorus)

Well I’m done searching now, I found what this life is worth

Not in the books that I find, but by searching my mind

I don’t condemn, I don’t convert, this is the calling, have you heard?

Bring all the lovers to the fold, No one is gonna lose their soul

= = = = = = =

Enjoy, and Be Well! And please remember a perennial truth that Ziggy slyly slips in to his live performance: Love is all we need . . . . .