Archive for the ‘Spirituality’ Category

Over the past three years I have written several posts referencing talk radio host Glenn Beck. The very mention of his name causes a visceral reaction in most people.  You either love him or you hate him.

Loving him, of course, will do no harm. Hating him will destroy you, not him. Hate works that way. Always.

What I find so fascinating about the negative reactions to Mr. Beck is the almost universal absence of facts upon which such vehemence is predicated. There is a voluminous amount of ignorance and misinformation about him. This is because most people only know him secondhand. They have seen video clips or quotes taken out of context and they believe distortions told them by others. Either way, they have abdicated personal responsibility in failing to gain firsthand knowledge of what Mr. Beck espouses or supports. I have not.

For the past 4 years I have listened to his radio broadcasts, watched his nightly show previously on the Fox Cable Network, attended the 8/28 Restoring Honor rally in Washington, D.C. and watched the most recent Restoring Courage events from Israel. You may conclude that I am therefore, by definition, a Glenn Beck “Groupie.” You would conclude wrongfully.

I am a former lawyer who, although deeply spiritual, deals in facts. Facts, I might add, gathered and analyzed by me.  Such has been my methodology in drawing conclusions about Glenn Beck.  Allow me to share them with you.

Glenn Beck is a capitalist and a talented entertainer.  He is also knowledgeable, truthful, sincere and honorable. He is proud to be an American, motivated by a commitment to individual freedom and personal responsibility, and sustained by his personal connection to the Source of All That Is (a/k/a/God).

Today on his radio show, Mr. Beck said the following regarding the public positions he has taken and the mission he is on: “I am standing in a place where I don’t have many friends.” I would suggest a different conclusion witnessed, admittedly, from a different vantage point. The best of humanity is standing in a place where it has few friends as courageous or certain as Glenn Beck.

As for my personal findings regarding Mr. Beck’s character, don’t believe me. But don’t believe anyone else, either. Seek out the truth for yourself. Listen to him with your own ears, process what he is saying with your own mind, and draw your own conclusions. Such an approach would be the actions of a fully conscious, personally responsible, and ethically honest human being.

Does that sound like you?

 

If you watched Glenn Beck give the keynote speech from Jerusalem this morning, you experienced a glowing moment in human history.  If you missed it, it’s not too late. The intention and purpose of the speech can be summed up in two words: Rights and Responsibilities.  I say it’s not too late because, if you understand what those words truly mean, its not too late to go live them in your own life.

As for Rights, for more years than I care to count, we have treated them with disregard.  We have failed to understand their source and, by so doing, acted as if our individuality and the power of self-determination rests better in the hands of a “capable” few over the many.

As for Responsibility, we traded our dignity and the very connection to one another that makes us uniquely human… to make free willed-based choices and live with the consequences of those choices… for the illusion that if we did not look under the rock, nothing sinister could possibly be concealed there.

We were foolish, adolescent, myopic and flat-out wrong.  The refusal to acknowledge the Source of our freedom and the willing abdication of what action freedom demands of us, has brought us to this moment. Now we must take the more difficult road home… but it is the only road worth taking… for all others lead to enslavement.

We have two choices in life. Always. To be in service or to be en-slaved.  For several thousand years we have periodically been enslaved. More so than not. This is not the first time. But it may well be the last time.  There is an expression among people who believe in reincarnation. “You do it again ‘til you get it right.” It presupposes endless chances.

I am not so sure. Sometimes we run out of “do-overs.” Such may be this time.

The technology has outpaced spiritual and social development. Violence has reared its ugly head. The world is looking for scapegoats. It has looked before and found them before…as  too many turned a blind eye and a deaf ear thereby allowing the slaughter of millions. Repeatedly.

Glenn Beck’s message is more than we can “never forget.” His message is that we cannot permit blindness, deafness and the violence that inevitably accompanies them to… this time… define who we are or to silence open acknowledgment of the Source of All That Is.

Know your rights, their Source, and the responsibility that being blessed with them requires of you.

Yes, the burden is great but the reward is greater. And just as devaluation of rights leads to enslavement… so too does refusal to bear the burden of personal responsibility lead to a world wherein violence and destruction reign by fear unopposed.

This is a do-over.  Let’s get it right this time.

Katy Perry did a good thing.

Then she did a fearful thing.

Yesterday, Katy Perry tweeted that her prayers were with the people of Israel.  According to Perry, the tweet was in response to a request by a follower on Twitter to pray for Israel.  Perry gave what appeared to be an innocent and seemingly heartfelt response to the request.

That was the good thing.

Following Perry’s tweet, she was barraged in her Twitter account with hateful and threatening tweets by other followers who clearly took offense at her offering up a prayer for the wellbeing of Israelis.  So, the pop artist quickly sought to undo what she had said by explaining that her tweet was merely in response to a request and that she opposes violence everywhere.

That was the bad thing.

Not that opposing violence everywhere could be wrong, in fact it’s commendable.  What was wrong was for her to be so intimidated, either for her physical safety or for a potential decrease in her fan base, that she retreated and sought to distance herself from her original comments.

We are moving out of a world where the “powers that be” have ruled by the use of intimidation and fear for thousands of years.  We will only succeed in that effort by refusing to be manipulated by fear any longer. It is only by knowing, with certainty, what we value and then being willing to stand for those values no matter who or what opposes them, can we hope to make the real and lasting change we desire in moving toward a more humane, compassionate and peace-filled world

Whether or not I am a fan of Katy Perry’s music (my teenage daughter is although I have, on occasion, deleted songs from her mp3 based upon Perry’s lyrics) Perry is none-the-less a role model by nature of her fame and demographic.  Therefore, how tragic that what she has exemplified by her backpedaling is cowardice and expediency rather than courage and principles.

My understanding is that Katy Perry comes from a traditional Christian home.  If that is in fact the case, she needs to return to the founding principles of that faith and stand fast in them. That will surely bring her more lasting success than either her lyrics or fan base ever will.

Today I watched Part 1 of Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Courage” rally in Israel. Before I tell you anything more, in respect of full disclosure, I’ve got a dog in this hunt. I’m a Jew.

As such, you can infer whatever you like about any bias in my observations;  however, I’m much more a mystic than I am a religious person so any bias you may think I bring is more likely your own.  It is sort of like me telling you I grew up in the 60’s, a Jewish, suburban, upper middle class girl and you assuming I’m a feminist, a Liberal and a Democrat. Sorry, I never got feminism, am somewhat politically conservative and a registered Independent. See. You’d have made that mistaken assumption, too!

So, now that we can set aside all that potential rush to judgment, back to Glenn Beck and Israel.

In April of 2011, I wrote a blog post in which I referred to Mr. Beck as, perhaps, a prophet of sorts.  At the time, I clarified that I didn’t necessarily mean it in the biblical sense.  Now I wonder.

Moses gave the Israelites the vision and courage to leave behind a world they knew ( an oppressive one albeit with certain creature comforts) to head out into the unknown.  It was, as almost no one would dispute, a turning point for humankind.

Glenn Beck has also provided millions (my estimate) with a vision and the courage to leave behind, if not literally then figuratively, a world they know and head into equally unknown territory.  In this instance, what is being left behind is not so different than what the Israelites relinquished.

We, like the Israelites of ancient Egypt, became enslaved to materialism. To having our physical needs and wants reasonably met while losing sight of our spiritual ones. We too, established false idols…Alan Greenspan, various political leaders, the U.S. dollar.  But with the passage of time, we came to remember that while golden calves glitter, the glare is temporary and blinding.  In that blindness, we yearned for something more, something lasting, and something real.

Enter Glenn Beck.

Mr. Beck is a visionary (I’m still mulling over the word prophet).  He saw where we were, where we needed to go, and he said, “Okay, if I can see it, I guess I have to lead the way.” Like all true leaders, he has been a reluctant one.  For that he will surely be rewarded when and how it counts…whether or not we appropriately acknowledge our gratitude for his foresight and willingness to serve.

Glenn Beck is shining a light upon the Light that is Israel.  He and others regardless of religious affiliation, who are connected to Source in their hearts, know one of the most important messages Moses reminds us in Deuteronomy: When the Jewish People are exiled from the land, not just the land suffers but the whole world suffers.

With the reestablishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the world began an unprecedented economic and technological expansion. During that same period, the world lost its spiritual and moral compass. Those two realities have led us to this moment in time when the dark forces of the world want to annihilate the State of Israel to once and forever drive the Jews from their land.

Glenn Beck saw this convergence on the horizon but more importantly, he has done something to impede its design.  The world would do well to heed the message he brings and, if it’s not too much to ask, to also thank the messenger.

Permit me my moment.

Thank you Glenn Beck.

 

As if there were not already enough “chaos” to deal with… London is in flames.  That’s the bad news.  From here on out…it gets optimistic. Really.

Let’s start with chaos.  Chaos is not a bad state of being. It’s merely an as yet unrecognized pattern.  What that means is that when we go through change (something we do more than anything else in or lives) there is always a period when we’ve move out of the familiar but are not yet fully into the new pattern.  It’s that “moment”, as we walk into the unknown, there is a feeling of uncertainty and resistance as we re-familiarize ourselves with what’s new and  reestablish our footing, so to speak.

That’s where we are, globally.  It’s actually the “Change” of “Hope and Change” that so many asked for and got.  They just got it in the way the Universe thought it would be best… which turns out to be somewhat different than what was sought.

Which is where the expression “Be careful what you ask for because you’re liable to get it” comes from.

What we wanted was change without stress. Well, change doesn’t cause stress. Resistance to change causes stress.  So what we really wanted was change without any disruption to how we do things and what we have.

That was kind of juvenile… don’t you think?

As for London… less than 1% of the population is causing the destruction and violence.  This is important to note because to make changes in a society or situation, statistically it takes about 10% of the total population.  So, if 1% of the population can cause such disruption and harm… imagine what just 10% of us can do, globally, in support of peace.

Let me leave you with these two conclusions.

1.        Get comfortable being uncomfortable.  Change requires that and if you do, change will come more quickly with less stress.

2.        Become part of the 10%.

Oh yes, keep breathing and smiling.  That helps too.

As our elected officials continue to struggle with the futility of attempting to apply depleted energies to problem solving rather than embracing spiritually-based, co-creative thinking…each of us must hold onto the core belief that we can directly influence the outcome of unfolding events by how we think, speak and act individually.

It’s my favorite saying:  “There is only One of Us”

Once you surrender to this concept, choices become clearer.

“Surrender” being the operative word here.

Generally, we are pretty adept at seeking a higher power. It’s surrendering to it when we encounter it that trips us up.  It’s one thing to yearn.  Many of us do that in our personal lives. We yearn for relationship…we yearn for a partner…we yearn for love. Then, when we find those things, we spend the rest of our lives resisting surrender to the very thing we sought and, miraculously, found.

We are no different when in search of a Higher Power. Of Source.  Of God.  Of The God Within.  We seek and yearn and explore all sorts of avenues to find that connection that will bring us inner peace and give our lives profound meaning. Then, on those occasions when we get a glimpse of such Power, we manufacture all sorts of reasons why it cannot possibly be as we experienced it (a/k/a/ denial) …or… why it just makes more sense to go on our merry way living life as we always have (a/k/a ego- directed).  And so we wind up back where we started and the merry way of the merry-go-round goes… yes…’round and ‘round.

How do we get off this ride?

Surrender!

Surrender does not mean relinquish your individuality. Nor does it mean relinquish power (with a small “p”) over creating your best life.  Surrender means letting go attachments and outcomes. Instead, leaning to accept and receive what life brings you in each and every moment with certainty that whatever that may be it holds the potential for your highest good.  The key to getting there is being fully conscious and fully aware in the present moment so that you can access inner guidance to handle that which is in front of you.

You’d be pleasantly surprised at what you can know when you are present and aware. Knowing is certainty… and certainty creates reality.

So while the politicians fiddle as Rome burns… know that The Phoenix rises from the ashes…and so to shall We…  All of us because …wait for it…

There is only One of Us.

 

As a former undergraduate Sociology major at Villanova University, I know something about gathering and compiling statistics.  As a former lawyer, I also know something about making an effective argument that presents the facts in a light most favorable to support your point of view.  While the combination and resulting conclusion of these two skills can be highly compelling and persuasive, it does not mean they are necessarily true.

There is a difference between effective presentation and truth.

Juan Williams, in a FOX.com opinion piece praising President Obama as a “national treasure and role model” for good parenting, quotes Roland Warren of the National Fatherhood Initiative. “Research shows that kids with absent fathers are two to three times more likely to be poor, to fail in school, to be teen parents and become involved with the criminal justice system” said Warren.  Warren has an agenda and so he is using one of many possible statistical gatherings to support it.

I take issue with Juan Williams’ opinion of the President as role model.  Further, I take issue with the statistics Warren cites in supporting his own agenda.

As for Warren’s statistics, it’s not a numbers game. One parent is perfectly capable of doing that job.  Is it harder alone? Yes. Would having both a father and a mother present be an improvement?  Maybe.  It would if it’s not a dysfunctional couple with all sorts of ongoing problems.  But if the choice is between an emotionally healthy single parent able and willing to be an involved positive role model or two people who are miserable together then “no.”

As for the President being a national treasure and role model because he is an involved father, as a parent I can assure you it’s about much more than just showing up.  As a single mother of an 18-year-old daughter, I can also tell you that it’s entirely possible to raise a teenager who is not failing in school, pregnant or involved with the criminal justice system. You do that by not becoming a parent until you are ready to be one,  living the principles and values that you hope to teach and by being involved enough in your child’s life to know when and where they are off track.

Regardless of his politics, President Obama did not work for the job he now has. Not in the traditional sense. He had no relevant experience. He played a political game and through his connections he got there.  He deceived the voters as to the direction he intended to take the country, and he has isolated and removed himself from the issues that are of most concern to the people he governs. National treasure and role model? Really? Or is just showing up enough?

We have many social problems in this country and admittedly the breakdown of family life is high on the list.  But I am certain that I could take up this blog, and a few more, listing remarkable individuals who have made positive and significant contributions to history who did not have the benefit of two a parent household.

It’s too simplistic to say that two are better than one… or that showing up is all that needs be done.  What is needed first and foremost is an ever-present and engaged parental role model who teaches by example truthfulness, respect, compassion, personal responsibility, diligence and patience.

If you can times that by two…great.  If not, no harm done.

My 18-year-old got all A’s, isn’t pregnant, doesn’t use alcohol or drugs, and is headed off to an international program that is part academic courses and part community service.

She’s my statistic.

 

Today, Conservative talk radio host Mike Gallagher posed the question of whether it was right or wrong for people to deliberately default on their mortgages simply because the value of the house had decreased since purchase, and was now “underwater”… meaning the outstanding mortgage balance is greater than the market value of the house. Mr. Gallagher made it known at the outset that he thought it was ethically and legally wrong to do so.

A horrified, and truly shocked, Mr. Gallagher discovered that 99% of his callers disagreed with him. Putting forth various reasons and rationales (some might say “justifications”) the callers saw nothing wrong with deliberate default.

While I may be as dismayed as Mr. Gallagher, I am not shocked.

When people have been frustrated, lied to and make to feel powerless long enough, anger and vengefulness become the retaliatory means of choice.  Add to this almost an entire generation bent on materialism at the expense of ethics, values and spirituality and you’ve got a recipe for disaster… and perhaps violent revolution.

Such is the precipice upon which we as a nation now gaze.

I have no desire or intention to laud people who knowingly and willingly violate the law. After all, I’m a former lawyer. However, because I will not condone such behavior doesn’t mean I don’t understand it.

When Ivan Boesky told a Stanford graduating class in1987 that “Greed is good” he started (or significantly accelerated) the downward slide towards an abyss we are rapidly approaching.  You simply cannot make materialism, acquisition and power your sole benchmarks for success without destroying all that is good in humanity.

We are not human beings.  The term connotes a noun…a static thing.  We are, instead “Being human”… constantly in a state of change and evolution. As such, we are known by our choices.  We are known by how we choose to Be human.  If our choices are no more complex than to satisfy our every material and carnal need with total disregard for others, or the long term effect of our behavior, then we wind up where we are:  Ruled (not led) by leaders and institutions that have been corrupted by default as we failed to concern ourselves with who they really were or what they really aspired to because we were too busy tending to our own material and carnal needs without giving thought or energy to ethical, moral and spiritual considerations.

Are we too late?  No.

Not if you hurry.

Start today.  In your home, in your office, at the supermarket… wherever.   Demand of yourself in every moment honesty, compassion and humility.  Leave who you were yesterday behind you for that is, in fact, where it is.  You are new today, defined anew by your choices.  You have never mattered so much nor have you ever had less time to realize that simple fact.

Is it wrong to deliberately default on your mortgage?  Yes.

Do we understand the frustration and anger? Yes.

Are those people crying out from frustration and anger? Yes.

Is there an irreversible storm on the horizon? Maybe

Can you do something to turn it around? Yes.

Will you?  ____.

 

If you can’t see this one… you are likely overdue for an eye exam.

Within the last year, recently disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) made it his mission to lead a personal assault against Glenn Beck in an attempt to destroy Mr. Beck’s career by undermining his sponsors.  In particular, Congressman Weiner accused Beck of an “unholy alliance” with Goldline, alleging the company was a “multimedia rip off” and that Beck was using his radio and television shows to manipulate listeners into investing with the company.

Weiner’s attack was designed to destroy Beck by raising questions, through innuendo, about Beck’s integrity, truthfulness and motives.  It turned out there was no factual basis for the Congressman’s allegations and he likely knew there was no such basis when he made them.  The charges faded into oblivion.

The Congressman himself was not so fortunate.

With the now infamous photos of Congressman Weiner and his shameful “sexting” revelations, he has become what he set out inflict upon Beck: a pariah whose integrity is revealed to be nonexistent.

(If you cannot see the Divine aspect and irony of this reversal you need to stop reading and call your optometrist to schedule that eye exam).

I have been listening to Glenn Beck for several years and am certain of a few things as a result.  He loves his country, does his homework, is sincere, and is the bearer of Light in a darkened world.  I call such people “Lightworkers.”

It’s a fulltime job with no days off.

Congressman Weiner, by his actions, has demonstrated that he represents the antithesis of what Glenn Beck stands for.  The Congressman, it turns out, is a participant in, and therefore a promoter of, Darkness.  Now there’s the real “unholy alliance” in this story.

As with all darkness, the Light shining upon it reveals it for what it is.

Congressman Weiner has inadvertently served his country well.  He has, by his actions, given credibility and added strength to Glenn Beck’s purpose and thereby empowered the Light.

In the final analysis, this was a classic and eternal clash of opposing energies.  It has always been the case and always will be that Light reveals, and thereby transcends, all that is dark.

 

 

It’s the day after, so what can I say about Congressman Anthony Weiner that hasn’t already been said? Well, I’m not certain.  But I have a few “off the beaten track” remarks to make and so will try and put this sordid story to rest here by making them.

1.  Those women who participated with the Congressman in sexual references beyond that first “tweet” or Facebook exchange are as culpable as the Congressman, and for them to claim duplicity, victimization or embarrassment is its own shame.

2.  Predatory sexual practices, whether male-female (the most notorious), male-male (i.e. the Catholic Church); female-male; female-female or adult -child are reprehensible and speak to the emotional illness, moral depravity and lack of character of the perpetrator.

3.  Accepting responsibility for reprehensible behavior, absent a consequence, is an empty gesture with no redeeming value.

4.  As adolescent and perverse the Congressman’s sexual preferences and behavior may be, it is his willful and knowing decision to lie and deceive his friends, colleagues, and constituents that make him unfit to hold public office and thereby, public trust.

Every day, each of us is confronted with opportunities to confront or deny behavior in ourselves and others that is the basis for a degenerating society.  What we do in these moments is our personal contribution to the world in which we live.  If each of us is not ready, willing and able to stand and resist the perpetual lowering of the bar for acceptable behavior, then no politician or bumper sticker will save us from self-imposed and self-selected destruction.