Movie Review Epiphany

I recently watched the movie, Children of Men. The movie details a world where humans are no longer able to procreate. It sounds so morbid. What is also evident in the movie is a world that pits the common citizen against the government. If you are not WITH the government then you are labeled a terrorist.

I happen to think we are moving toward that kind of world. A world where infertility becomes the norm. With vaccinations being pushed on us at every turn and our total inability to verify what's in the vaccinations, infertility could very well be the result along with every other disease that is spreading like wildfire. I also believe that many diseases are engineered in a laboratory then tested on humans without consent. Think of the HIV/ AIDS epidemic that proliferated in the late 70's. Odd that it only affected a portion of the world that included the poor minority (third world), the homosexual, and the drug addict. This then turned into a moral judgment, by a good portion of the general population, on those that had become infected. Where did the virus originate and could it have really been isolated within the poor, gay, drug addicted community? The topic is something I think about in the face of my own inability to conceive.

The main characters of the movie stand in opposition of the government. They are labeled "terrorist" and are all in a concerted effort to get a pregnant woman to a safe haven. In the safe haven, scientists are attempting to figure out why, for 18 years, all pregnancies resulted in miscarriages and then eventually no pregnancies, then... no children.

I find the terrorist label to be something that already exists in this era, as it appeared in previous periods of history. Just after World War II Americans were afraid of "communists" and now it's the "terrorists". I think it's safe to say that ANYONE that doesn't support the government has the possibility of ending up on the governments naughty list. If you sit back and think of some of the most admirable characters in history, you'd find that most of them have been imprisoned at some point in their life.

There are two conclusions that I draw from this. The first is that man's law (the government) is faulty. If they imprisoned good men/ women that promoted higher ideals and higher moral codes of conduct, what does that say of the institution that locked them up? A few names that come to mind:

Jesus... and his disciples.

Nelson Mandela.

Gandhi.

Assata Shakur.

Biblical -- Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego (my favorite bible story).

The last ruling monarch of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, Queen Lili'uokalani.

The second conclusion I make is that I refuse to be on the "wrong" side just because it's easier. The easier path, for most people, is to comply with the powers that be. I imagine that it probably would have been easier for Jesus to succumb to the will of the Jewish majority and the Roman government. His disciples, as revealed by stories in the New Testament, had a tough time in affirming their connection to Jesus. And yet, Jesus persevered and did what he came to the earth to do.

You can select any name from my list and attempt to prove me wrong. (You probably have more that you could add to this list.) They were revolutionaries and I admire them for their courage and I desire to align myself with them.

The entire premise of this post was two-fold. First, to express my vaccination woes. Second, to point out the obvious relation between revolutionary leaders being pitted against the government. Please, never be on the wrong side.

I don't think that I am more apt to believe all the bad things in the world. I wholly believe in the good in the universe and that we, human beings, have the capacity to rise above the lust for power and greed. We have the power to use our minds, our souls, and our hearts to make correct decisions that will direct the course of our eternal lives. It is our duty to steer others from a life that is void of free will. May your path always seek to preserve free agency for all!

Who Is God?

"I want to have a lasting experience of God," I told him. "Sometimes I feel like I understand the divinity of this world, but then I lose it because I get distracted by my petty desires and fears. I want to be with God all the time. But I don't want to be a monk, or totally give up worldly pleasures. I guess what I want to learn is how to live in this world and enjoy its delights, but also devote myself to God."

Ketut said he could answer my question with a picture. He showed me a sketch he'd drawn once during meditation. It was an androgynous human figure, standing up, hands clasped in prayer. But this figure had four legs, and no head. Where the head should have been, there was only a wild foliage of ferns and flowers. There was a small, smiling face drawn over the heart.

"To find the balance you want," Ketut sple through his translator, "this is what you must become. You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two. That way, you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look through your heart, instead. That way, you will know God."

I love this passage from the book, Eat Pray Love. Many people pass through this life without having a true desire to know God. We get bogged down by our parent's view of God and take on their religious views without really asking ourselves the question: Who is God?

Early on in life, my mother took my older brother and I to church EVERY Sunday. I'm sure that many of you have had the same experience. My father joined us when he wasn't working and eventually when he did get Sunday's off all the time, he became a devoted attendee. For fear of severe punishment, I never asked my mother or father if God was at church but it was always in my mind. I don't remember my mother pointing Him/Her/God out to me or telling me where I could find him. So many of us travel through life never asking the question: Who is God?

My teenage years saw me leading the youth group at church and devoting an hour before school, every morning to the study of scripture. The culture of my religion had me on the right path to becoming a contributor to humanity. Yet, in the back of my mind and at the seat of my soul was the question: Who is God?

We are creatures of habit. Some of us never deviating from the path that our parents placed us on. Then there are some, born to break the ties from which they were born into. Jesus broke the Jewish mold from which he came and spread his gospel message and told the world that HE was sent from the Father, God. The Buddha departed from the beliefs that his father imposed on him. Rather than sitting in ignorance to the suffering of humanity, the Buddha yearned to ease the suffering of all nature. Muhammed, touted as the discoverer of Islam and the restorer of the true gospel of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Noah, etc., went into a cave to meditate and ask the question: Who is God? Joseph Smith, founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (The Mormons), knelt in a grove of tree's and asked the question: Who is God?

There are many more spiritual guru's who have dared to ask the question: Who is God? There will be many more to come. And my job, your job, everyones job is to find God and get to know him. To have a "lasting experience of God". To put aside the "cultural" practices of religion and search for the meaning and the Source from which we all have come from.

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Sunday Sermon

My favorite passage of scripture in the King James version of The Holy Bible is found in St Luke, chapter 7, verses 36 - 50.

36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. and he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointement.
38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed the feet, and anointed them with ointment.

I am particularly drawn to this particular verse (38) because of the imagery.

39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him for she is a sinner.
40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

Verse 39 points out how judgemental the Pharisee was of the sinner woman. People all around us do this daily, several times a day. In my own life, having experienced such a colorful past, I was thoroughly aware of the people who whispered about me. I find myself doing it from time to time and have to remind myself to be compassionate.

41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou has rightly judged.

This is such a simple parable to understand.

44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavesT me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not cease to kiss my feet.
46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth litte.
48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

This passage of scripture has pulled me through my sinful ways into the brightness and light of goodness.

The hardest, most difficult part for a sinner to do is to step back into the light. We are afraid of all the people judging. I remember folks telling me, "Did the chapel fall when you walked in?" That made it more difficult to come back the next time.

I had a Bishop stand at the pulpit and tell the entire congregation that the church is like a hospital and they don't make hospitals for people that are well. Bring them in who need Jesus! That forever changed how I view the church and humbled me. I became unafraid of those criticizing my awkward steps back into the light. And I shed tears and washed the feet of Jesus with my hair. And I kissed his feet! And in those moments, I gave up my sin for the forgiving touch of the Savior. And the most beautiful thing is.... YOU CAN TOO!

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