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Free discussion group : War in Iraq
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This forum began just after 9-11. Events in reaction to that attack have led us to our current state of affairs. This discussion traces the history of that evolution of consciousness in reaction to this New World (Dis)Order. The most recent comments are focussed on the War in Iraq...What do you think ? Leave your comments here...
NOTE: Not totally free speech - NO SPAM! No curse words or hate messages allowed - they will be deleted. Thoughtful, serious, artistic messages only.
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Subject Voices of Sanity Say LOVE not Hate (9/17/01)
Date
Author M. Record, et al
(tribalbeat@bigplanet.com)
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The messages today come from the Science of Mind Foundation, a "New Thought" spiritual group. (For their beliefs see:http://www.somfoundation.org/somfpage8.html)
There are actually some wonderful spiritual/religious groups that are offering
words of inspiration to follow our "Higher Consciousness". If we truly want the
world to become a better place, we must MAKE CHANGES in our everyday
life. The wake-up call of tremendous loss of life should be honored, the result
being a world that is connected spiritually - from the heart & mind - so no
more sacrifices are necessary. By offering himself as the ultimate sacrificial
lamb 2000 years ago, Jesus became the root of a movement to end animal & human sacrifice to "appease God(s)"...sacrifices done to CHANGE THE
FUTURE FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE. Jesus brought a new ritual into
existence that replaced cruel, outdated practices.
The New Millennium (Age of Aquarius) has begun and now it is time to make
our changes and get rid of the cruel, outdated policies of nations (humanity), replacing them with New Thoughts & Actions that will lead us towards an epoch of caring and sharing. This is the Beginning. There is much work for all of us to do, both as individuals and in community. But it is this work that deepens our life. To see a perfect example of a time of caring & family, watch the video "Little Women"(1994). Let's surround ourselves with positive influences and feed our souls...they're hungry.
Melody Record
Think HUMAN RACE, not Rat Race.
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Dear Friends,
In my book HEALING THE SOUL OF AMERICA, I wrote about an experience I had in a hotel lobby in New Delhi during the mid l990’s. It resonates deeply for me today. An Egyptian diplomat, whom I met while taking a break from leading a spiritual pilgrimage to India, came up to me and gently, kindly said these words:
“I do not mean this as a criticism of the United States. I know the Americans are good men and women. But please try to make them understand: many people in my part of the world feel that they have been forced to try to keep up with you, in a race that we do not really care to run. Your technology is amazing, but America seems spiritually polluted to many of us. Your ways are not our ways, and while we were tempted for a while to think that your ways should be our ways, we do not think that anymore.
This is the problem, Ms. Williamson, and there will be terrible consequences in the world if America does not come to understand this. Islamic terrorists have had such success- if you can call their campaigns a success -- because they have been able to persuade millions of peasants that America is bad. It is not too difficult to do, Ms. Williamson. All they have to do is describe the television programs you export to this part of the world, and millions of people are very horrified. America often comes across to us as very arrogant and uncaring.
Your government does not understand. They do not see how the people feel. We need the American people to understand. Perhaps you will bring more Americans to our part of the world. If they come to understand us, then they will respect us. We would feel that respect, and then I don’t think that the terrorists would have such success. This is not a job the CIA can do. It is only a job which people can do.”
His words have rung in my ears over the last few days, and I thought that perhaps they would ring in yours. They reveal important information, which I hope we all take to heart.
Peace and love to all of you,
Marianne Williamson
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Dear Friends,
In this dimension, tragedies do occur, but they neither reflect nor modify the ultimate truth of who we are. That is why those who died in this tragic situation, lost their bodies but they did not die. While the body is destructible, the spirit is not.
Therefore, when we ask “Where was God in all this?” the answer is that He was and is right here, keeping every soul safe in the palm of His hands. He did not cause these events, nor did He will them. This tragedy reflects choices made by those who had turned their hearts from love. He heals the world not by interfering with the effects of our lovelessness, but by calling us back to love.
Let’s not forget: God did not do this. People did.
I have heard people say, concerning the current crisis, that the idea of holding to love in our hearts seems to work well in terms of an individual’s life ? job, family, home etc. but that it doesn’t seem to work well on a large planetary scale.
My response to that would be: how would we know? Have we ever tried it?
The basic metaphysical law of Creation is the Law of Cause and Effect: Love brings back love, and fear brings back fear. That law holds true whether for an individual’s life, or for a collective life, and individuals are not spared the consequences of actions taken in its government’s name. Clearly, it is in our own best interest to foster compassion in the political realm. We know in our personal lives that love is a healing and reconciling
force, yet when has any government -- including our own -- ever made love an organizing principle of domestic or foreign policy?
Does love guide our government’s actions around the world? And given that the answer is so often “No,” has the fear which dominates our foreign policy created for us a world that works? Is it working now? And most painfully but perhaps most significantly of all, is it not possible that some of our own government’s behavior has not contributed in major ways to the trial that we face now?
The people who perpetrated these terrorist acts are neither rational nor sane. They are full of hate for us and for our children, and they must be dealt with in appropriate ways. But at the same time, there are millions of others ? who are not irrational, who are not insane ? who deeply resent what they perceive to be America’s arrogance and unjust attitudes when confronted by any questioning of our right to economic dominance throughout the world. While those people would not attack us as we have now been attacked, the intensity of their often valid resentments must inevitably contribute to attitudes of violence towards us.
Our President has said that we’re going to “whip those people.” The presumption is that we will find all the terrorists, route them out of the world, and then the problem will be solved. But that kind of thinking is both simplistic and dangerous at such a time as this. The President’s attitudes are like someone saying, “I know I have cancer. Just give me enough radiation and chemotherapy, operate on me and take it all out. Then I know I will be okay.”
Sadly, the case is not often that simple when it comes to cancer and it is not always that simple when it comes to politics. Every terrorist was once a child, and it was in childhood that he or she was first taught to hate. If the United States now makes its primary response to our current crisis the complete annihilation of any part of the world which has in any way conspired with terrorists, then we will contribute to the emergence of a generation of people whose numbers, and intensity of hatred toward the United States, will be even worse than what we face now. It is to be noted that if such a situation is to occur, then it will not perhaps be us ? but surely it will be our children ? who pay a terrible price for years to come.
Of course we want to DO something; it is so painful to think that there is not some one big display of power that will rid us of the horror we feel now. Yet it is our capacity to BE with that horror, and ask God if there is anything He would have us learn from it, that is the key to our deliverance, both personally and politically.
The love in our hearts is more powerful than bombs. If enough of us remember this, we will have a miracle. If we do not, God help us all.
We pray
Not only for those who love us,
But also for those who do not.
May all our hearts be awakened now
To the common bond of our humanity.
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