A Woman Named Miriam

During this week, where many Jews celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah I like to review a book a recently read: Miriam by LoisT. Henderson.

Even though the book is a novel, Ms. Henderson follows the story according to the biblical records.

Miriam is the older sister of Moses, who rescues the baby Moses after he was placed by his mother in a basket and floates down the Nile river in order to avoid being killed as the first-born son of the Hebrews. (Exodus 2)

 

The parents of Moses, Aaron and Miriam are Amram a Levite and Jochebed.

The novel tells the story of Miriam’s role preparing for the Exodus and staying with Moses and their brother Aaron, the priest, all through the wandering in the wilderness. 

Before that Miriam served the princess Hapithet who was the woman who became Moses’ mother, and raised him as a prince of Egypt until he leaves for Midian.  After Moses’ return, the two brothers and sister collaborate with other Hebrews to prepare for the Exodus. 

As a woman she is very assertive, but is also aware of her role to be obedient and submissive.  Her relationship with the princess gives her access to many privileges including comfortable living in the palace.  She is also the one who arranges an audience with the Pharaoh for Moses. 

Throughout the book, Ms. Henderson describes Miriam’s struggle for leadership.  As a widow she has no hope for children.  Her faith is constantly challenged, as she tries to interfere in the life of her nice, daughter of Aaron.  After Moses’ wife Zipporah dies, he marries again a Cushite (the land south of Egypt - Ethiopia) woman, in order to have more children.

That’s how Miriam’s biggest struggle came about.  After Zipporah’s death, she was caring for Moses’ two sons Gershom and Eliezer.  She loves them as her own sons but when Moses gets married again, she feels as if she lost her purpose.

Not only does she miss the children, but she is also jealous of the new wife of Moses and along with Aaron opposes Moses for his decision.  She is always wondering why God cannot work through her, too, since she has prophesied before.  As she is in her pouting stage, she suddenly becomes covered with leprosy. (Numbers 12:10-14) After a few days of internal struggles she finally surrenders herself renewed to God, and finds that she is healed. She hears an internal voice and learns to trust God.  She has to accept that God works through Moses who has greater authority with the Israelites.  She starts to talk to Him in a loud voice, sharing her heart, and God hears her because she had a change of heart.

I could feel with Miriam (the novel may just be a partial true account of what happened to Miriam) because she goes through the similar struggles we all go through.  With the help of her family she is able to overcome and is victorious.

Thank You!

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough."
~ Meister Eckhart (1260-1328), German spiritualist, philosopher, mystic, and theologian

During this week of the Thanksgiving Holiday I have been thinking a lot about the Ho’oponopono healing ritual. The four phrases of:

I am sorry, please forgive me, thank you, and I love you, along with a prayerful heart can correct, restore, and maintain good relationships among family members and with their God by releasing unwanted emotions and negative experiences.

 

I want to dedicate this blog to all the families of the United States and around the world who are celebrating the Thanksgiving Day, either in harmonious company, taking the round and giving thanks, or to those who quarrel and don’t want to sit at the same table with their brothers, sisters or loved ones.  We are all in need of ho’oponopono prayers.

Forgive, Love and Unite

In 1973, at the height of the Watergate crisis, Rev. SunMyung Moon called a special prayer and fasting condition for 40 days under the motto: Forgive, Love and Unite.

Since Rev. Moon is a religious leader, his message was based on deep prayer and spiritual concerns for America.  Unfortunately, he has passed on last year, but I feel he would once again encourage us to start a campaign with the motto of: Forgive, Love and Unite in the face of the political and economic turmoil this country is facing.

I personally don’t agree with the policies and the tactics the leadership of this country is pursuing.  I believe that the solution for the problems America is facing today is that she has turned her back on God.  When we asked for change, we didn’t consider that the change has to come from each individual; in the spirit of John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”   

 

 “Your willingness to forgive others is in direct proportion to forgiving yourself.”

 

Forgive

I believe most people have the wrong idea about forgiveness.  Forgiveness does not mean forgetting, rather cutting the emotional attachment to the act of wrong doing.  The spiritual laws of the universe will take care of the ‘judgement’ in form of indemnity. 
It is also called the Law of Karma.  When we violate the laws, the wrongdoing has to be corrected, we can either choose to do it willingly or we have ‘pay the price.’
 

 The Lord’s Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
~ Matthew 6:9-13

 

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."

- Lewis B. Smedes

 

Love

Love is not only a virtue  but it is also the life-sustaining energy with which we cannot live without.  Believers say that God is Love.  When God is at the center of our relationships, love can flow easily and freely.  Without that center our relationships become master/servant-realtionships and one wants control over the other. When forgiveness is implemented, love can flow freely again and nourish us in the vertical way.

 

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

~ Corinthians 13:13

 

"United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative adventures. Divided there is little we can do."

~ John F. Kennedy, (1917-1963) 35th President of the United States.

 

Unite

There is an Aesop Fable called the Bundle of Sticks.  The story is about a father who had several sons who were always quarreling. He made them hold together a single stick into a bundle of sticks to prove that they can be very strong and unbreakable when they hold together like the bundle of sticks.  He proved to them that if they unite together they can solve any problem and protect each other against the enemy.

 

On this day some people gathering in Washington outside the White House to declare a 'SecondRevolution.'  We need a revolution of the heart recognizing that we are not each other’s enemy, that hate and blame does not bring any solutions, rather that the ego and self-centeredness of each individual clashes with the other.  That ego is a spiritual force (some people called it Satan) which can only be subjugated through forgiveness, love and service.

 
Dr. (Ihaleakalá) Hew Len has a very similar idea when he encourages us to practice Ho’oponopono which is an ancient Hawaiian technique for solving problems. He says that this routine goes beyond the “The Secret” and can solve spiritual, emotional, material, any kind of problems. When we let go and take 100 % responsibility, our life changes.

I know that this method is completely contrary to the way our society operates; it is also the very reason we cannot really bring any solutions but rather go from one problem to the other, accusing, blaming, criticizing and judging each other.

With the Holiday season approaching it is a good opportunity to reflect and prepare for the New Year with better intentions.

 

I pledge Allegiance

I pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

Every time I say this pledge, which is twice a month at our Toastmasters’ meeting, I get emotional.  There is something in this short sentence which moves me deeply.  I have been thinking of the word INDIVISIBLE which means inseparable, undividable or united. 

On this Veterans Day 2013, I want to call out to all patriots who love this country, let’s unite together to save this nation.  Let us forget our differences and come together to not just pledge allegiance to the flag but to the God who has blessed this nation and bestowed upon her a great responsibility. 

I like to share with you an excerpt from a talk I listened to, 40 year ago -- God’s Hope For America:

 

“America has been known as the "melting pot" where people of all colors, creeds, and nationalities are melted into one new breed. In order to melt anything, heat is required. Do you know who provided the heat for America? God was that heat. Without God, you could never have melted your people together.

America could only achieve true brotherhood through the Christian spirit, but when you begin to lose this foundation, America's moral fiber will deteriorate. Today there are many signs of the decline of America. What about the American young people? What about your drug problems and your juvenile crime problems? What about the breakdown of your families? I hear that three out of every four marriages in America end in divorce. The California state government is issuing more divorce certificates than marriages licenses. What about racial problems and the threat of communism? -- And what about the economic crises? Why are all these problems occurring? These are signs that God is leaving America. I can read the sign which says, "God is leaving America now!" If this trend continues, in a very short time God will be with you no longer. God is leaving America's homes. God is leaving your society. God is leaving your schools. God is leaving your churches. God is leaving America. There are many signs of atheism in this once God-centered nation. There have been many laws enacted that only a godless society could accept. There was a time when prayer was America's daily diet. Today you hear prayers in American schools no longer.”
~ Sun Myung Moon, Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC, October 21, 1973

I am grateful to President Dwight Eisenhower who in 1954, followed the suggestion of his pastor George MacPherson Docherty, to add the words UNDER GOD to the pledge and got the full support of Congress.

"From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty.... In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource, in peace or in war."

~ President Dwight Eisenhower, 34^th President, 1890-1969, a veteran who served his country proudly.

 

Discovering the Gap

In our society we talk of all kinds of gaps:  generation gap, education gap, market gap, etc. with the focus on the differences of opposites or the separation thereof.  In this article I want to focus on the meaning of gap in the sense of space or pause.

I was reading a book by Dr. Wayne Dyer “Getting in the Gap,” and how focusing on the interlude between words can bring us into contact with the Divine.  Dr. Dyer explains that the real meaning of our existence lies in the space between our thoughts.  In that ‘no-thingness’ or ‘no-thought’ we discover our inner creative energy.  Through meditation on that ‘void’ we come in contact with the Divine energy which will give a greater health, happiness, relaxation and creativity.

Athletes and artists experience that creative force where thinking stops by focusing on the task at hand.  We may have glimpse of this silence when we are in some activity like gardening, or being in nature.  Meditation can help to stop all thoughts and to pay attention to that gap.  In the book Dr. Dyer introduces the japa meditation which includes the sound of ‘Ahh’ when we are pondering the gap.  Describing the gap takes us away from it (thought form); we need to experience it and will feel the presence of God.

Here is a video, depicting the gap: 

 

I am happy that I discovered the gap because it gives me another approach to experience my relationship with God.  This is just another way to be intimate with my God.

 

 

 

 

Jack-O’-Lanterns – a Halloween Tradition

I am not a great supporter of the Halloween traditions, especially regarding all the candy the kid get and eat, and sometimes even get sick from (not because they were tricked but rather because too much is not good for the young bodies).

I found one tradition of Halloween which I like: carving pumpkins.  It invites the creative side of the carver, and we can even use the seeds to eat after roasting them.

I didn’t realize how much folklore there is around carving this simple gourd, but apparently, it is popular in many Western countries.

I found this origin of pumpkin carving from Ireland most intriguing:

The Legend of "Stingy Jack"

People have been making jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "JackO'Lantern."

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the “jack o'lantern” tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack-o'-lanterns.

From: History of Jack-O’Lantern

This Halloween, when you carve your pumpkin into a jack-o’-lantern, you may want to say a prayer for Stingy Jack that he may finally rest in peace.

Proof of Heaven

The book is the personal encounter and testimony of Dr. Eben Alexander, a neuro-surgeon who had a near-death experience (NDE) while in a coma for 7 days due to a severe bacterial infection caused by meningitis. 

He describes his personal history before and after the coma and explains in length his experiences in the other spiritual world.  This vast happening took him into realms which humans can only experience after they pass from this world, but he was told by his celestial guide that he would learn a lot but that he would return to his life on earth.  The condensed message is:

 ·       You are loved and cherished more than you will ever know

·       You have nothing to fear

·       You can’t do anything wrong

One insight which Dr. Alexander perceived was that the purpose of evil exists for man to exercise his free will.  Even though, it seems a common Christian idea taken from the Bible, I don’t agree with it.

“The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil.”

~ Proverbs 16:4

Some people do believe that God created evil, and it is part of the dualities like up and down, left and right, and positive and negative.  Since God is only good, He could not create evil.  God can only create what is in HIM.  God cannot relate or change evil.  That is one reason why He cannot change the evil ways of man.  People often asked, “why isn’t God doing anything about wars, or why did this disaster happened, or why is the weather so strange?” God created laws and principles which rule the universe and He gave man free will to become the Lord over creation.  He also gave us an additional commandment which we were to obey until we became mature enough to rule the universe. 

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.  And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

~ Genesis 2:15-17

Is says that in the Garden of Eden, there were two trees, one was the Tree of Life representing Adam, and then there was another tree, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, representing Eve.  Unfortunately, Eve made a bad choice by disobeying the commandment: do not eat of this tree unless you shall die.  For whatever reason, a similar story has appeared in many religions and cultures around the world. Through the revelation given to the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, we learn that Lucifer, the angel of light and truth who was to help and serve Adam and Eve while they were immature, misguided Eve and lied to her. 

 

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

“The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”

~ Genesis 3:1-7

Because of this disobedience and betrayal the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil represented by Eve brought evil into the world and murder was committed within the first human family.

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

~ Gen 4:8

 

One repeating thought I got from Dr. Alexander’s book: NOW is the time that people have to hear this message that God, the Um, or the Divine Creator is reaching out to us humans.  Like never before in all of human history He wants us to know the meaning of love and how this lesson can bring unity among all people, all religions, and even between the scientific and the religious world.  God in all of his infinite attributes is more human and understands human nature better than any of us (He is the creator of us after all).  Man needs to know the nature of the unseen, spiritual world and the principles which govern this other realm while we are still in this physical body with a brain and the potential of reasoning.  Although many other people have had NDEs before and spoken and written about it, his experience as a scientist is specifically important.

In that way Dr. Eben Alexander became a modern day prophet, revealing many deep secrets of the unseen universe.