One Universal Mind

When I first went to American University in Washington, D.C., I explored further the concept of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Cosmic Consciousness and God as the One Universal Mind. More, and more, it began to make sense to me that this may be what God really is, the Universal Mind, especially after I studied some electronics and science of the Universe. All major religions have a practice of prayer or meditation. Now, you are an electrical engineer, and you know that our bodies, this planet, etc., and energy move because of electrical impulses. Without electrical impulses, the Universe could not continue to exist. When our heart stops and it cannot be recharged, we stop.

I have pondered this, along with questions about the nature of God, even before I started to college, and now we have the Internet, which I have pondered for the last 20 years. My thoughts have evolved to: If the Universe runs on electricity as do our brains, and we are connected through to Internet from our brain to other brains, could the Internet also be connected to a Universal Mind and, if so, how? Is the Internet the ultimate conduit to God? And, that's what I have now - only additional questions to explore. Getting this?

There is still one major problem I have with Emerson's concept of Cosmic Consciousness and One Universal Mind. He could not detach his Biblical Belief of an undefinable soul as our link to God, and he never solved that contradictory problem. The good news is, we know we have a mind, and we know where it exists in our brain. Therefore, I chuck the soul as an unknowable outdated concept, and go with the mind as the repository of God within us, and our ultimate link to God. Got it?

Okay, if you are with me so far, have you ever experienced thinking you have solved a problem in your own mind that has never been solved before, and low and behold, somewhere in the world, someone well known comes forward in a few days, or a month, with the same solution to the problem  - the very, or similar to, solution you hold in your mind? This has happened to me more than once.

I certainly cannot explain it. The way I see it, if God really is the One Universal mind then we are all part of God's mind, if we have made a successful connection to that One Mind. So, that would be billions of minds out there. Would it be possible not only to connect with God but to connect to other living human minds through that One Universal Mind? Does that thought blow your mind. It does mine!!  

LOVE IS ALL WE NEED

Dear one, worrying about religion, regardless of one's faith, can drive one insane. Relax. The god of no name (God, Allah, Yahweh) will reveal to each of us what that god wants us to know, or do, in that god's own time. Islam is a very young religion. It might be best not to get bogged down in its growing pains, but simply grow with it, and it is searching and growing.

I think I almost understand what you were trying to write. I heard Bill Maher (movie, 'Religulous') say in an interview that the Believer knows everything about religion, exactly what God requires, and are sure they are going to paradise (any name you want to give it). The Atheist is sure he/she knows there isn't anything to know because he/she knows a higher power does not exist. (Knows is the operative word here.)

So far, there isn't a term, as far as I know, for those who do not fit either category. Maher puts himself in this third category, calling himself a progressive, and I am beginning to think I fall there too.

I truly believe, as does Maher, that the teachings of Jesus, especially the Sermon on the Mount and the Golden Rule, plus the Ten Commandments, provide all one really needs to know and follow to live a useful, caring, productive, happy life, and find favor in the eyes of his/her god. If the God of Abraham (Ibrahim), and all those who came after him really exists, then any afterlife for any mortal is strictly up to that God whom we are told is kind, loving, just and good.

So, dear one, relax. Be happy in your circumstance, and grateful that you wake up every morning, breathe, eat, walk, learn, enjoy the humanity around you and our beautiful planet. I believe if we give compassion and love to everyone we encounter each day, we will receive compassion and love in kind.

Indonesian Movie an Antithesis to FITNA

An Indonesian movie is being touted as the antithesis of the Qur'an-bashing FITNA ("Strife," see previous post). VERSES OF LOVE (Ayat Ayat Cinta), attempts to show the compassionate side of Islam. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation.

More than three million people, including the president and top government officials, have flocked to cinemas to watch the Islamic romance, VERSES OF LOVE, released in the middle of January. The movie deals with many sensitive issues, such as Islam's treatment of women and multiple marriages, through the story of Fahri Abdullah Shiddiq, an Indonesian graduate student at Egypt's Al-Azhar University, and his struggle to deal with life's problems through Islamic teachings.

The filmmaker, Hanung Bramantyo, 33, who has won two Citra awards, Indonesia's equivalent of the Oscars, is quoted as saying his mission is to present Islam as a tolerant and peaceful religion, and that there are people who are hip, fashionable and capable of socializing, but at the same time do things in an Islamic way.

Another Dutch Filmmaker Inflames Muslims

Dutch politician and Islamic critic Geert Wilders launched his short video, FITNA, on the Internet last week. Fitna is an Arabic term sometimes translated as "strife." The video intersperses images of the 9/11/2001 attacks on the United States and other Islamist bombings with quotations from the Koran (Qur'an), Islam's holy book.

The video urges Muslims to tear out "hate-filled" verses from the Koran. It starts and finishes with an animation of a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad, a bomb under his turban, accompanied by the sound of ticking.

FITNA is 17 minutes, and you could have watched it on the Internet, but the sites have now taken it down because of threats. The Muslims consider it blasphemous against the Prophet, and many consider it in poor taste. Its message is definitely inflammatory and dangerous to the safety of the non-Muslim world.

The drawn cartoon, first published in Danish newspapers in 2005, ignited violent protests around the world and a boycott of products from Denmark by some Muslim countries. The Koran prohibits any images of the Prophet.

Even the Bible says, "Thou shall not make any graven images of the Lord, Thy God," but most Christians ignore this. Muslims, on the other hand, are offended because they regard any visual depiction of the Prophet as blasphemous against their religion.

Government officials and Dutch Muslim leaders do not wish a repeat of what happened in 2005 when militant Islamist rioted in Denmark. Previously, one murdered Dutch movie director Theo van Gogh on the streets of Amsterdam. He made a film accusing Islam of instigating and condoning violence against women. For that he was killed.

Last week, all parties immediately appealed for calm and called on Muslims worldwide not to target Dutch interests. The Netherlands is home to about one million Muslims out of a population of 16 million.

Iran called FITNA heinous, blasphemous and anti-Islamic. A spokesperson called on European governments to block any further showings. Pakistan's Foreign Office summoned the Dutch ambassador to lodge a protest. There was a small protest by dozens of Islamists in Karachi, demanding that Pakistan sever diplomatic ties with Denmark and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, NATO has expressed concern the film could worsen security for foreign forces in Afghanistan, including 1,650 Dutch troops. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said in a televised speech on Thursday, that he rejected Wilders' views and was pleased by the initial restrained reactions of Dutch Muslim organizations.

The current European Union president issued a statement: "The European Union and its member states apply the principle of the freedom of speech which is part of our values and traditions. However, it should be exercised in a spirit of respect for religious and other beliefs and convictions."

In Amsterdam, Saturday (29th), thousands of Dutch demonstrated against FITNA, trying to show the world that Wilders does not represent the country as a whole. Sunday (30th) ABC television news featured an interview with Wilders who stated emphatically that he is not a racist, but a realist.

His message is that the goal of radical Islam is to take over the world. Radical Islam is the only religious sect that offers rewards for violent acts against non-believers. Unfortunately, Wilders makes no distinction of radical Islam from the world-wide population of Muslims. He insinuates that all Muslims are radical and violent.

Wilders is trying to warn Western society against a force massing on the other side of the hill (Middle East and Africa), which is encroaching ever closer into Europe and beyond. A force that is determined to rule everyone according to its religious law (Sharia). Think what the Taliban did when they took over Afghanistan, and what the Islamic Revolution brought to Iran, and that is what Wilders envisions for the rest of us. He has already seen seeds of it in Denmark and in his own country.

This is the biggest threat to Western Civilization since World War II, but tanks, guns and bombs will not stop this force. Only diplomacy, eradication of poverty world-wide, education and medical care for all, and a coming together of world religious leaders within the three branches of Abraham's family tree to try and conjoin the Quran, Bible, and Torah into a book of religious tolerance to which all can adhere.

It would mean being realistic and putting aside some doctrines from each, but why should doctrinal concepts impede world peace and brotherly love? WWJD?

The 12 Opossums

The following is from a lady in Oregon, sent to me by a cousin. It is priceless. The Bible as explained by children. The more you know about the Bible, the funnier it is. The lady wrote:

"One of our favorite jobs has been leading junior church. We try to do more than baby sit during the children's time in our special junior church facility. We aim to give them a solid background in biblical history.

At the end of each year, we give them pencils and paper and ask them to chronicle what they have learned. This assignment never fails to elicit some intriguing responses. In case you're a little foggy on your biblical history, let our junior church students help you with this complete overview of the Bible, compiled from their essays . . ."

"In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one,' but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did. Then God made the world. He split the Adam and made Eve.

Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. Pretty soon, all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.

One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people.

These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti.

Then, He gave them His top ten commandments. These include don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's bottom (the Bible uses a bad word for bottom that I'm not supposed to say. But my Dad uses it sometimes when he talks about the President). Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother.

One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua, who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell on the town.

After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me.

After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets, one being Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of the New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn, too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him

Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Republicans and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.

Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven, but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

There. Now you understand!"

Muslim Makes Jesus Movie

Iranian filmmaker Nader Talebzadeh has made a movie about Jesus, THE MESSIAH. It is his feature film directorial debut, and was shown at the Religion Today Film Festival 18 October 2007, in Rome, Italy. This is a festival sponsored by the Roman Catholic Vatican and the movie won an award for generating interfaith dialogue. I have not seen the movie, but researched it and used the interview of the filmmaker by Lara Setrakian, which is posted on abcnews.com.

Nader's Arian Jesus. How anthropologists think Jesus looked.

I shall refer to the filmmaker as Nader, because the last name is hard to pronounce and cumbersome to spell. Nader was born in Iran, educated in the U.S. and has spent the last two decades living in both the U.S. and Iran. See a short biography.

THE MESSIAH (or the festival title JESUS, THE SPIRIT OF GOD, Iran, 2007), is being trumpeted as the answer to Mel Gibson's PASSION OF THE CHRIST. That it is not.

It is a depiction of Jesus from the perspective of Nader's interpretation of the Koran (Qur'an), and what he thinks he knows about Christianity. The plot of the movie is, as is Jesus in the Koran, a rewrite of New Testament teachings and, therefore, most Christians will dismiss it immediately as blasphemous.

To start with, the movie follows the writings in the Koran, which state that Jesus was not the Son of God, and that he was not crucified. I have read some of the Koran, and it is my understanding that Muslims do believe in angels, especially Gabriel and Michael, and the virgin birth, but in the movie Mary gives birth alone under an olive tree, not in a Bethlehem stable under a bright Eastern star. However, in some of the portions of the Koran I have read, some of the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament are distorted in the Koran, at least in the English translation that I have.

They honor Mary and revere Jesus, always muttering, "Blessings be upon his name," each time they say the name of Jesus, just as they do when they say the names of Abraham, Moses, Mohammed, and esteemed Old Testament prophets. They believe Jesus was a prophet, but Mohammed was the greatest prophet of all.

Muslims consider Jesus to be the last great Jewish prophet. According to Nader, Jesus was not crucified. It never happened because Jesus was, " A beautiful man, a beautiful prophet. Why should he be bloodied that way?"

Muslims believe Jesus descended into Heaven, but he was still alive and it was during the Last Supper, which matches the movies' plot. The Koran says the one who betrayed Jesus was crucified instead and, according to Nader, Muslims assume that someone was Judas Iscariot.

Nader has a point about Jesus being a "beautiful person," but he is completely ignoring the Christian scriptures and what is known historically about crucifixions under Roman law. That law was absolute in all things and every prelate, including Pontius Pilot, was bound to follow that law. Even if Jesus was a homosexual, as some have alleged, that would not have been just cause for crucifixion under Roman law. Sexuality was not a problem under Roman law, or in Roman society in general.

Also, the Romans worshipped many gods, and it is doubtful they were concerned about the god the Jews worshipped. They were, however, concerned about keeping the civil peace, and the Jews were upset and close to rioting over an insignificant carpenter from Nazareth, who supposedly claimed he was the son of the Jewish god.

That in itself was not a problem, but it led to a bigger problem. If the claim turned out to be true that would make him the Jewish Messiah, and would mean trouble. The Jews believed the Messiah's purpose was to free them from Roman rule as Moses had freed the people from Egypt, and the Messiah would be the King of the Jews.

Thus, King Herod could have instigated against Jesus with the charge that Jesus was proclaiming himself King of the Jews, an act of treason. Herod could have been behind the mob action against Jesus. Here, Gibson would have been portraying the situation fairly accurately.

Pilot would have been bound by Roman law to order the crucifixion on the grounds of a conspiracy to overthrow King Herod. A charge for which Jesus had no defense because his disciples fled when confronted by the violent mob.

According to the New Testament, "King of the Jews" was on the sign hung above Jesus' head on the cross, the reason for the crown of thorns, and the mockery of the crowd. Treason is always a serious charge in any country, usually demanding the death penalty. So, it is not difficult to conclude that Jesus was crucified because he was branded a traitor against King Herod and, therefore, Rome.

Was the crucifixion God's plan? Only God knows. If not, why didn't God rescue Jesus? Even Jesus asked God why he was forsaken.

There was a professor at Boston University School of Theology, whose name I can't remember at the moment, who drew an analogy that has always stayed with me: If I get in my car and drive well over the speed limit, lose control of my car, go off the highway and hit a tree, should I cry to God because he didn't move the tree?

Most of us know the motor vehicle laws where we live. Most of us know God's laws through study of scriptures, and at least rudimentary scientific laws that govern the universe through the study of science. Jesus lived in a world torn between God's laws and Caesar's laws, as all of us still do.

He even admonished, "Render unto God what is God's and unto Caesar what is Caesar's." In the end, Jesus was rendered unto Caesar. I think theological answer is that God did not intervene, because God would not break the established order of His universe, even for his own Son.

According to the New Testament, "King of the Jews" was on the sign hung above Jesus' head on the cross, the reason for the crown of thorns, and the mockery of the crowds. Treason is always a serious charge in any country, usually demanding the death penalty. So, it is not difficult to conclude that Jesus was crucified because he was branded a traitor against King Herod and, therefore, Rome.

Now, I know some of my Christian readers may rip me apart about some of this. Some of my Muslim readers may do the same, but before they do, especially Khalid, please try to understand I am writing to try and assist my readers in understanding this clash of these religions.

Nader also bases some of his movie on The Gospel of Barnabas, which was left out of the Christian writings assembled into what is now the New Testament (or, at least mostly so) at Roman Emperor Constantine's Nicene Council (or Council of Nicea) 312 A.D., the sole purpose of which was to unify the various divisions about doctrine within Christianity. Constantine ordered a compilation of certain Christian writings to bring union out of derision, whereby he could justify his decree that all his subjects (pagans) convert to Christianity.

That act legalized Christianity as a religion in the Roman Empire, thus stopping the persecution and killing of those living under Roman rule on the basis of their being a follower of Jesus (e.g., traitors), and provided one statement to which all Christians would be required to swear, The Nicene Creed.

The Nicene / Nicean Creed affirms the Trinity - God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, all in one. The Barnabas Gospel, or at least what is evidently left of it and can be read or downloaded at barnabas.net, does not support the Trinity. Barnabas knew Jesus, traveled with Paul, but split with him because of those who were, ". . . preaching most impious doctrine, calling Jesus son of God, repudiating the circumcision ordained of God forever, and permitting every unclean meat: among whom also Paul hath been deceived."

In other words, Barnabas was among the Jewish Christians based in Jerusalem, and Paul was not, although he was a Jewish Rabbi. The Jerusalem group, headed by Peter, required the keeping of Kosher laws. Paul tried to enter the Jerusalem group, but was snubbed, so he discarded the Kosher laws and directed his mission toward the gentiles, i.e., pagans. Paul's power base was the pagans and his mission was to convert them, as was Constantine's.

The movie, if ever shown in the U.S., will definitely generate a dialogue, but it may not be a constructive one. It will be adapted into a television series to be shown on Iranian TV later this year, and will probably prove to be popular there as few Iranians have read the Judeo - Christian Bible, as few Christians have read the Koran.

Personally, it struck me that outside the Iranian connection, my bio reads much like Nader's, albeit they are approximately 20 years apart. I was born 23 December, and I, too, received a B.A. in English (mine in English Literature) from American University. I lived and taught school in Virginia for about 10 years, my youngest daughter being born there. I attended and taught in film school, but at the University of Southern California, having received a M.A. in Communication at the University of Central Florida with a thesis relating to the communicative power of film.

I was acquainted with the late Syrian - born producer / director Moustapha Akkah who was killed along with his adult daughter in the suicide bombing of an Amman, Jordan, hotel in September 2005. His daughter graduated from Southern Cal (USC), but after I had left there.

I agree with Nader when he says, "The misunderstanding of the past three decades really burns my heart. There's so much misunderstanding about Islam today. . . . I thought, we should work on talking through something that's much more dear to us than other things. I thought that, through art, you could do a lot more than with the politics."

He states that, "One of those key missing links, that would bind the chain together, is Jesus Christ." My thought on that is, Jesus, yes, but not necessarily Christianity as it exists today. Islam and Christianity are two individually entrenched religions. It is more than a split over the divinity of Jesus and the Trinity, and I don't see another Emperor Constantine on the horizon who can join the two.

Please Read Post On My Other Blog

Please read my post, "More Hate Mail Directed At Muslims," posted today 24 January 2008, on my Boggling the Mind blog. It is about hate e-mail, "I'm better than you" Christians, the Koran, Bible, the dark side of Christianity, plus God, Allah, Yahweh -- all in one. It also includes a number of facts of which many are ignorant. So, take a look, and feel free to comment. Thank you.

AL GORE WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

The Nobel Committee awarded their 2007 Peace Prize to former Vice President Albert Gore, Jr., and cited his, "strong commitment, reflected in political activity, lectures, films and books, [that] has strengthened the struggle against climate change. . . [he is] probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted" to combat climate change. The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was named as a joint winner of the prize.

Gore plans to donate his half of the $1.5 million prize money to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan nonprofit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion worldwide about the urgency of solving the climate crisis. The last American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, or share it, was former President Jimmy Carter, who received it in 2002.

Gore won an Academy Award® (Oscar®) earlier this year for the documentary, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, a warning about global warming and what can be done about it.

I don't think G.W. Bush will ever win a the Nobel Peace Prize, and certainly he will never win an Oscar. He may have gotten the title of President of the United States through dubious means, but I do not think any educated person will ever use his name and peace in the same sentence, unless the connotation is negative!

So, what words of congratulations did G.W. offer the man who was once considered the next President of the U.S.? None. Instead, according to ABC News, he issued a terse statement, "Obviously it is an important recognition, and we're sure the Vice President is thrilled." Sour grapes?

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NEW ADDITION: After I posted this, I watched "Saturday Night Live" (NBC). One of the segments I try not to miss is "Weekend Update." Last night, Amy Poehler said, "Yesterday, Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the environment. The Supreme Court immediately reversed that decision and awarded it to G. W. Bush."

Also, they did a sketch about Gore's awards, and I realized I had forgotten to write here that Gore was awarded an Emmy last month in a new category, "Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Television" for founding and implementing the first Internet interactive online network, Current TV, which he co-founded with businessman Joel Hyatt. Actually, the award was awarded to Current Network, but everyone knew it was for Gore and Hyatt who accepted on behalf of the network.

However, Current is suspended for improvements and will have a re-launch 16 October, it will be known only as Current.com, losing TV in the name. It is headquartered in San Francisco. G.W. never responded to this Emmy win.

I doubt G.W. even knows how to turn on a computer. Had Al Gore been able to assume the office of president to which the majority of American's voted he do in 2000, there is no doubt in my mind that I, living in a rural area, would now be able to access the Internet using a better connection than 45 kpbs dial-up. Yep. I'm bitter.

GORE'S FILM 'AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH'

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH is a documentary film about global warming. However, it is not a story of despair but a rallying cry to protect the one planet we all share, a message former Vice President Al Gore has been expounding for decades. Critics generally agree that Gore's persuasive argument is one whereby we can no longer afford to view global warming as a political issue - rather, it is the biggest moral challenge facing our global civilization. It is, after all, the only home we have.

I am convinced that global warming is real! It is caused by humans simply going about everyday activities, even the simple act of exhalling emits carbon dioxide (CO2), the most detrimental of the greenhouse gases (GHG). See GHG Chart on Wikipedia. The warming is escalating as the population escalates, and as humans burn more and more fossil fuels, i.e., coal and oil, causing more build up of CO2.

Read reviews of the documentary, comments and more at: Mimi at the Movies.

Bottom line about this film? Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly asks," Which way on God's green earth would you want to err?"

Comments anyone? Have you seen this documentary?

TOM WOLFE'S "THE HUMAN BEAST"

Author Tom Wolfe (The Bonfire of the Vanities, A Man in Full, and I Am Charlotte Simmons) delivered a lecture last Wednesday at the National Endowment for the Humanities' annual Jefferson Lecture in Washington, D.C., that may shake the world as violently as Darwin's 1859 The Origin of Species.

Wolfe spoke with Scott Simon on NPR's Weekend Edition this morning, and I was transfixed. For years I have been wrestling with what I call the possible "Big Universal Lie." I never thought I would write this because I really don't like Wolfe's writings, but thanks to this lecture, I have begun to gather one of the loose threads of my evolving beliefs.

Wolfe said in the lecture, "The Human Beast" that, ". . . by the time [Emile Zola, The Human Beast, 1888] and Darwin got hold of it, evolution had been irrelevant for 11,000 years. Why couldn't you two see it? Evolution came to an end when the human beast developed speech! As soon as he became not Homo sapiens, 'man reasoning,' but Homo loquax, 'man talking'! Speech gave the human beast far more than an ingenious tool. Speech was a veritable nuclear weapon! It gave the human beast the powers of reason, complex memory, and long-term planning, eventually in the form of print and engineering plans. . . . One of Homo loquax's first creations after he learned to talk was religion."

Also, according to Wolfe, "Culture is the product of speech." He refers to culture as an "irritating matter".

He continues later in the lecture, " Book One, first verse, of the Book of John in the New Testament says cryptically: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' This has baffled Biblical scholars, but I interpret it as follows: Until there was speech, the human beast could have no religion, and consequently no God. In the beginning was the Word. Speech gave the beast its first ability to ask questions, and undoubtedly one of the first expressed his sudden but insatiable anxiety as to how he got here and what this agonizing struggle called life is all about. To this day, the beast needs, can't live without, some explanation as the basis of whatever status he may think he possesses. For that reason, extraordinary individuals have been able to change history with their words alone, without the assistance of followers, money, or politicians. Their names are Jesus, John Calvin, Mohammed, Marx, Freud--and Darwin. And this, rather than any theory, is what makes Darwin the monumental figure that he is. The human beast does not require that the explanation offer hope. He will believe whatever is convincing. Jesus offered great hope: The last shall be first and the meek shall inherit the earth. Calvin offered less. Mohammed, more and less. Marx, even more than Jesus: The meek will take over the earth now! Freud offered more sex."

So, culture is the product of speech, and there can be no religion without words? Can it be, then, that religion is, after all, the product of culture and little more? I shall refer to this again later, as I continue to contemplate about the Universal Eternal Mind, and the possible Big Universal Lie that is, if Wolfe is on to something here, culturally induced.

Transcendental Peace Palace for Missouri?

Transcendental Meditation Peace Palaces in Missouri? The article linked in this Title refers specifically to Cape Girardeau, but "Palaces" are planned for other Missouri cities, including St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia. I'm interested in this because I was raised in, and currently live in, Missouri.

The project, headed by David Zimmer in Cape, is affiliated with the organization led by Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who introduced the ancient ways of meditation to the world about 40 years ago. He's the guru who taught The Beatles.

Peace Palaces are used primarily to practice and teach Transcendental Meditation, or TM, a technique described by practitioners as a way to calm the mind. The Palaces will also sell related music, books and clothing. Courses will also be offered on diet and health.

Most evangelical Christians in the U.S. are opposed to TM, but Scott Moon, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau who teaches world religions at Southeast Missouri State University, said he sees no harm with Transcendental Meditation as long as it doesn't take the place of a Christian's faith in a Biblical God. He maintains that meditation is a time-honored tradition within Christianity.

I say, anything that can calm the minds of Americans can't help but be a good thing, especially when many evangelical Christians are being brainwashed by "patriot pastors," and commercial television's Christian "evangelists," many preaching bad Christian theology. Have you ever noticed that when most evangelical Christians pray, they do all the talking? God can't get a word in edgewise, or any other way. So, how can God give them that revelation they are seeking?"

Furthermore, if Americans spent more time meditating than watching the inane programs that commercial television is broadcasting, numbing their minds with video games, alcohol or drugs, they might be amazed to see what a big wonderful world God has given them. If the majority of American sat quietly 15 minutes two or three times a day, considering the wonders God has wrought, they could be pleasantly surprised to find themselves living in an enlightened world rather than a dogmatic one, because they enlarged their minds, and changed their behavior for the better through meditation. What a wonderful revelation that would be for all! I think I'll go meditate about that. . . .

Wiesenthal and Rove

Occasionally, a person with an outstanding mind, past or present, will be mentioned on this blog. One of the great minds of the Twentieth Century left the Universal Chain this week. I am referring to Simon Wiesenthal who died yesterday at the age of 96. Wiesenthal, "The Conscience of the Holocaust," is credited with finding and bringing to justice over 1,000 Nazi war criminals, including the Dutch official responsible for arresting Anne Frank.

However, his greater legacy may be establishing the Simon Wiesenthal Center so that generations to come would never forget the terrible things the Nazis did in the 1930s and 40s. Wiesenthal said, "If we forget, we open the door to repetition."

Unfortunately, if rumors circulating the Internet are even partially true, he missed one. I am referring to Karl/Carl Heinz Rover/Roverer who died in 1942, a partner and senior engineer of Roverer Sud-Deutche Ingenieurb AG. They built Birchenau, the concentration camp in Nazi Germany.

One of the share holders in the company? Prescott Bush, G.W.'s grandfather. Heir Roverer is purported to have been the grandfather of Karl Rove. Yes, the same "Brain of Bush" with an office in the White House's West Wing. Does that partly explain the Karl Rove/G.W. Bush bond?

It has also been reported that Rove has a dual citizenship with Germany. In fairness, it seems that no one can find any definitive information at all on Karl Rove, his supposed father, and little about his mother. It is as if all his official records have been "washed." Furthermore, there is no evidence that Karl Rove is descended from any Nazi official. In fact, it appears that Rove does not even know who his real father was, let alone his grandfather. But, is what is known, the truth?

According to a 2004 article in the Guardian UK, Rove appeared as a volunteer at the Democrat's campaign headquarters in Chicago in 1970. He worked only long enough to steal official letterhead and send letters to smear the candidate, Alan Dixon. Oh, the article goes on from there to Rove's supposed father walking out on his family; Rove's mother committing suicide alone in Reno, NV, about 1991; how he suddenly appeared in Republican politics in Texas; and to the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson.

Little has been said or written about Rove's involvement in the Plame Wilson "outing" since Mid-July. Colin Powell resigned, and now it's off the burner, so to speak. Rumor has it that the then Secretary of State was pushing for Rove's indictment. Solution? Powell out. Condee in. Now, Powell is MIA and, apparently, so is Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. Anyone heard about, or of him, lately?

At one time I found an official biography of Rove on the whitehouse.gov Web site. That biography was exposed as having been "embellished." Can't find it, or any bio now. Did find a press release (8 February 2005), announcing Rove's appointment by G.W. as: Assistant to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor. After that date, Rove officially moved into the West Wing.

That release states, "Since 2001, Mr. Rove has served as Senior Advisor to the President, overseeing strategic planning, political affairs, public liaison, and intergovernmental affairs at the White House."

"Prior to joining the Administration, he served as chief strategist for the Bush for President Campaign. From 1981 to1999, he was President of Karl Rove + Company, an Austin, Texas-based public affairs firm. Mr. Rove attended the University of Utah, the University of Texas at Austin and George Mason University."

Now, go compare what the Rove biography that the U.S. Embasy in Stockholm published 9 August 2002 says. Notice that, "He has taught at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and in the Journalism Department at the University of Texas at Austin" stated in this biography, is not included in the Press Release of 2005. Notice, also, that Rove never graduated from college, and that has been established.

Also go to the White House Site and search for "Karl Rove," or even "Rove," to your heart's content, and you probably with find no official biography. Nada. Zilch. I didn't. So much for total disclosure.

What is Karl Rove up to now besides his usual smear propoganda campaigns, and writing double-speak speeches for G.W.? Well, it has been reported that he has been directing the White House's strategy for the Katrina disaster from before the hurricane struck the Gulf Coast. Could it be possible that the dispersal of the majority of Black residents of New Orleans all over the U.S., and not allowing them to return, may have been a "master plan" hatched in Rove's office in the West Wing?

One thing is certain, we could use a mind in Washington like that of Simon Wiesenthal's. Come to think of it, we could use someone in the White House with a mind. Period.
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Disclaimer: I do not know if any of the above about Karl Rove is true. I am only reporting what I have read on the Internet, or articles published in the media. The deductive opinions expressed here are solely mine.

Enlightening the Mind

Ah, the Age of Enlightenment in 19th Century American Literature, also known as New England Transcendentalism. This blog is dedicated to that group, founded by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Emerson abhorred "the foolish consistency of a hobgoblin of little minds," and maintained there was One Universal Mind. However, he was a Unitarian minister, so he could not stretch his own mind beyond Christian concepts, especially that of a Biblically based God.

That was perfectly acceptable in the 19th Century, but it is not enough for the seekers in the 21st.The purpose of this blog is to move the concept of Universal Mind forward. Please notice, I did not write, "A" or "One". The reason I did not will be explained in subsequent posts.