𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲

 

"Who am I?" That ultimate question is one for which there can be no answer. The question dissolves the questioner; the false sense of self. 

You know what passes for "identity"? ... Your history. What you do for a living. Where you live. Your relationships. Your family associations. What you own. How much you got in the bank. Like that. All those add-ons you were given and have chosen since the day you were born. Maybe even the traits that you came in with from your generational genetic lineage.

Then there's the shaping of the popular culture. It is full of images for us to choose our personae. Be like this! Look like this! Have this! Think like this! It's the broth of our social consciousness. That is, so saturated in the messaging and the themselves saturated messengers — "influencers" — that it's quite literally almost impossible to see outside that box, much less think outside the box. Even so, that we don't know we're in a box in the first place. Oy!

But, when you realize that it's just a box, then you're out. 

Then what?

Our Great Friend Nisargadatta Maharaj sums it up in his usual direct and elegantly spare teaching: "Discover all that you are not — body, feelings thoughts, time, space, this or that — nothing, concrete or abstract, which you perceive can be you. The very act of perceiving shows that you are not what you perceive. The clearer you understand on the level of mind you can be described in negative terms only, the quicker will you come to the end of your search and realize that you are the limitless being."

Even so, the voices to the contrary are loud, many, and ubiquitous. You won't be hearing about that you're the "limitless being" on the TV. Or TikTok. In school. Or, from a pol. Purely out of the hubris to maintain their own self-image, the voices of influence in the world broadcast daily the products of their own self-delusion. 

In fact, is that even a question you're asking? Well, see what I just did there? Now you know that's it's a question you could be asking. Your choice. 

Please. I'm for you being you. What you want to wear. Where you want to go. What you want to do when you get there. Even, how you want to "identify". If as a horny teenager I had known that I could have identified as a female and entered the girls changing room at the beach many of my frustrations would have been resolved. 

My peeve is that the popular culture seems to cap the matter of "who am I" at the level of consumer competence, social acceptance, and sexual preference. Go ahead, be a good consumer; be a good boy or girl; do what you want with what you got down there. But, fuck sake, just wake up to that stuff, and all the other stuff you can ornament yourself with; it's just camouflage. Dressing. Ornamentation.

Because, if that's the limit of your understanding, then the real you won't have a chance to show up. And, worst of all, you will go around not knowing who you are, and fucking shit up all around you by fronting with the phony pretensions you've accumulated like badges on a proud soldier's chest.

Ozymandias

Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:

And on the pedestal these words appear:

‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐈 𝐃𝐎 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓?!

WHAT SHOULD I DO ABOUT THOUGHT?!

"Whatever kind of thought arises,

Have the same reaction:

... 'Not me, not my business'.

It can be a good thought - or a bad thought.

... Treat them the same way:

'To whom are these thoughts arising?'

... 'To You'.

That means; 'You' are Not the thought;

... 'You' ARE 'The Self'!

Remain as The Self,

And don't latch onto anything,

that is not The Self."

~ Annamalai Swami ~

*Final Talks, page 84*

Solving the Political Divide ...the End of the Road

So from where I sit the political scene in the US of A currently in this election year 2024 is essentially an end point on the pairs of opposites thing. Not new for 24, just maybe more so.

"Pairs of opposites." It's the mental landscape where there are the good guys and the bad guys. It is the broth of our Western civilization. Right and wrong. Black and white. Like and dislike. Grasping and aversion. Past and future. Praise and blame.

That should be obvious on its face. Just a plain fact. If you dispute that, then please offer a comment. I'm attempting to understand the situation even as I try to lift the conversation away from the infinite circularity of arguing both sides of a worthless coin without any possibility of resolution. Oh, you say, there is resolution. One side wins, the other loses. That's the resolution. As if.

Politically we appear to be in a stalemate situation where each side of the aisle is firmly and unalterably convinced that the other side is wrong; so wrong, in fact, that whichever side in power it would be the end of Democracy, and maybe the world from the point of view of the losing side. Just now we have half the folks choosing one side; the half, the other. No one seemingly willing to budge. And, one side apparently so right about it's position and the direness of the other one winning that it is willing to break norms of decency and even legality to make sure they prevail.

Are we so wrapped up in the argument, like two guys in a street fight, that we don't see what's down the road if we continue to keep raising the stakes to a do-or-die end game? And, by the way, who's calling the game? And, why? Are the propaganda spinners so ignorant themselves that they don't see beyond the game? Or, are they smart enough to spin the game? What's the difference. What game? The difference is that you and me are being gamed.

The game is this: "Taking Sides". Fine for sports. Even fine for politics, when politics is about issues. Now, it's just for power. When you're right, there's really no use discussing. Just need to get your way.

Am I right?

On Forgiveness ...

"Forgiveness." It's one of those words we use rather too casually. We're assuming everyone has the same take. Assuming also we ourselves understand what it is. What it entails. 

"Love" is another one of those. "I love you!" "I love Sushi!" And then ... recently reading how scientists are looking into "consciousness" in the animal kingdom; using the term, but not in my reading explicating on what is the understood common definition of "consciousness'. 

So "Forgiveness". It's been on my plate of life learning for a long time. Not just looking for a complete and accurate definition, a convincing set of words; but for understanding what it is, and how to exercise the choice to forgive. 

Forgiveness is a practice. An act of courage.

Nisargadatta Maharaj makes the point crystal clear: 

"There is only one meditation — the rigorous refusal to harbor thoughts." Jiddu Krishnamurti put it another way when he said his biggest secret is that he doesn't "mind what happens". Not that he doesn't necessarily give a shit, but that he doesn't harbor thoughts. 

My take, when you don't harbor thoughts, the mind is open to get the right thought for the right moment. Otherwise, you're just spinning in your own juice. Shadow boxing with images on an imaginary mirror of memories of the past. Living with, and into, your own preconceived notions. 

Knowing stuff, that's good. Not bad when it comes to functional reality. Heck, we all know which way the faucet turns. What a red light on the road means. That you don't wear your shoes on your hands. And, we don't have to relearn which goes on what when we put on our shoes. Somethings, solid everyday things, are consistent moment to moment. Living things, Life, living Human beings are only as what we think they are. The world is as you see it. Take away the looking glass and see it for what it is. 

Forgiveness is also a letting go. Just what is it do we let go when we forgive? Mostly it seems when we talk about forgiveness we're referring to something bad that we experienced. Most often perceived as being from the hand of another. Too often we throw out the baby with the bathwater. That is, we "move on" from the issue and from the evil-doer. Out of sight, out of mind.

But forgiveness is not just over the bad stuff, but the good stuff too. The world seems to live in a constant flux between grasping for the "good" and pushing away the "bad". It's the ideas we hold on to about just what is "good" and what is "bad" that need to be let go. Why? So you can be present in the moment and look at what's so with a clear eye. Like I already said.

Nisargadatta: "Discover all that you are not — body, feelings thoughts, time, space, this or that — nothing, concrete or abstract, which you perceive can be you. The very act of perceiving shows that you are not what you perceive. The clearer you understand on the level of mind you can be described in negative terms only, the quicker will you come to the end of your search and realize that you are the limitless being."

A Course in Miracles is also a good reference. It's really all about forgiveness. As in, letting go of the past opens the present moment for creative options ... miracles.

ACIM puts it right there from the beginning: "What's Real can't be threatened. What's unreal doesn't exist. Herein lies the Peace of God."

Of course, if you don't believe in God, then fuck all that. Be like that. On your own. How's that going for you, Pilgrim?

Pulling the Plug

Pulling the Plug

I remember following the various commentaries during the Clinton era health care debate. What was so then, is still true. 

The conversation is all about financing. Paying for covering everybody, cutting costs in an industry in which technological and pharmaceutical costs just keep growing. On its face, those are great objectives. Just, notice no conversation about what is fairly well documented to be a mediocre to poor performance in terms of the actual delivery itself.

A medical doctor writing in the New York Times Op-Ed section back then wrote, "The American health care system is very good at keeping sick people alive." That statement stuck with me and I hear it from time to time from other sources. Please, when something is broken, there is nothing better than modern medicine and technology. But, in the main, we are the most medicated and technologically advanced society with, arguably, the least to show for it.

Which brings me to the point. If the general culture is one in which profits come first, and it's every man for himself, then doesn't it seem possible that a system that keeps sick people alive might decide to not want to do that any more? In other words, why spend so much money to keep a dying person alive. Dr. Kevorkian sounded the opening bell. "My dear patient, there's nothing medically that I can do for you. Why don't you kill yourself and save everyone the trouble."

When you add in a generation of adults schooled since childhood to avoid strangers, the ethos could evolve where so called "death panels" could become a reality. Factor in the growing eugenics industry where you can in-utero do a genetic profile on the fetus. If we see something nasty, abort.

So, when grandma's medical condition and costs to keep her alive get nasty, let's pull the plug.

After all, it makes perfect fiscal sense. And, grandma isn't any longer a viable contributor to the economy anyway. Nothing personal, just business.

It could happen.

Here is a scene from Critical Care, a movie that puts a great satirical spin on the subject. And, another ...

Masquerade

Masquerade

From Talking to the Wild 

by Becky Hemsley

She buttoned up her jacket

And she headed to the ball

And hoped her masquerade

Would be enough to fool them all

But as she reached the party,

She found herself alone

For the masks had stopped her seeing

Who she did and did not know

Then amidst a trumpet fanfare

A VIP arrived

She’d heard about this special guest

The Master of Disguise

His outfit was astounding

And he moved with sleight of hand,

And he spoke in lots of riddles

That no one could understand

He had an air of mystery

That everybody craved

But when they got too close to him

He moved himself away

And as they tried to follow him

She came to realise,

That they’d never see beyond his mask,

His trickery and lies

And she knew it was the same for her

And everybody there

So she took the mask from off her face

And left it on a chair

And as she did, she noticed

That some others did it too

And she smiled at all the faces

That belonged to those she knew

And now no longer limited

By mystery and masks

They danced upon the tables,

They shared stories and they laughed

And we all do the same

We try disguising what’s within

We hide behind a role we’ve built

In hopes we’ll fit right in

And then we work the whole time -

We undo and readjust

We take off our disguises

For the people that we trust

See, we join the masquerade

But then stand wishing all the time

To be recognised for who we are

Behind our masked disguise

******

Masquerade is from What the Wild Replied

𝐍𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐨𝐧 "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦"

 

𝐅𝐥𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 ... 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐰 —

 

Flirting ... then and now —

Jules Duvelleroy's Language of the Fan ...

From Of Human Bondage 1934 ...

40 Year Old Virgin ...

From the Internet 2024 ...

𝐒𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐁𝐞 𝐀𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 ...

Sure, you’re creative. 

You wanna be an artist.

Answer me this?

 

How much of an artist you gonna be. 

Pretty pictures? 

Nice arrangements?

 Le mot juste? 

Innovative images and shapes? 

That kind of artist?

That's nice, but it's just "artistic".

Why settle. 

Go all the way!

Be a real artist! 

Be creative enough to love with all your heart. 

Even if it's been broken.

[Who's hasn't been ... join the club.]

After all, isn't it true you only give to yourself? 

So, why be less that you are. 

Stop looking at all those paint-by-numbers masterpieces you put together as a kid.

Stop decorating a prison cell of your own delusions. 

Start your day with a fresh canvas. 

In fact, start the next moment that way.

How?

There's a wellspring of creativity within you. 

Simply go there and draw from it. 

But, you won't get any water from a well unless you drop a bucket into it. 

Bucket? Drop?

Drop down within yourself. 

At first there might be some cobwebs and stuff.

Even broken bits.*

Keep going. Keep going.

You'll see ...

*[There's a simple fix for those.] 

But, please ...

Don't wait until the house is on fire to dig a well.

Be courageous!

****

Another clear-eyed perspective of great authority ...

"Our mind can be compared to a hand temporarily tied as much to the conceptual representation of an ego —  ego or self — as to the concepts and fixations derived from this idea. Little by little, with practice, egoistic fixations and concepts are eliminated, and just as a hand when it is untied can finally open, the mind opens, acquiring all kinds of operational possibilities. She then discovers that she has numerous qualities and skills, just as happens to the hand once she is freed from what binded her."

H.E. the Very Venerable Kalu Kyabje Rinpoche

 

" "𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠" "

In this wramble we're using the term "framing" as in the sense of how we see things and events; people. And, how things are presented to us. Context. With mixed in random amounts of present understanding, historical references, judgement, prejudice, triggers, assumptions, preferences, and tendencies. Even the way we see things according to how our mind is structured. Oh, you thought that all minds work the same way. As if. You think? Just look at the political landscape. Two sides, each firmly 'til-do-or-die certain of their rectitude. Mind seems to operate in a dualistic frame. But, Buddha Be Praised!, not inevitably. Or, necessarily. Let's hope so, because if the news of the day is accurate in telling on what's going on ... oh, boy!

But that's another topic. Never mind. And, FYI, I don't mind even if you do mind. According to those who know, when you look for the mind, guess what? There's nothing there. Empty. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

But, that another topic too.

Having said that about other topics, chew on this:

Something from the Real frame of Nisargadatta Maharaj: "The mind is the wife of the heart and the world their home —to be kept bright and happy. Truth and love are man's real nature and mind and heart are the means of its expression"

The frame surrounds the view. Eliminate the frame — can you even do that? — and you're looking with naked awareness. Unfiltered. "Naked Eye." Plain. As it is. Not how you think it is. Or, your reaction(s). And, framing isn't just for the eyes. The ears too. How we hear things. Can you look, listen ... without adding anything? The added part, that's the frame.

The TV screen is a frame. No brainer on that point. Literally, huh? And, the contents we view on that device, and our other viewing devices; also frames. 

And, basically, what we're watching is something how somebody who we may or may not even know, how they see it. What is given us to watch. We give credence easily when what is being presented matches our real world experience. Or, are amused, when the presentation is off kilter, or screwballed comedically. And — Alert! Alert! — when biased presentations match our own biases. "Bias Confirmation" is what it's called. 

Then there's the more basic framing which has to do with what is made available for viewing. In the Internet Age, this may seem moot since we can just about call up whatever we want at the push of a button. But we do look a lot at content which is based on some other one providing that content. News, for one. SNL even.

And, by the way, the future is soon to arrive where with the proper chip you'll just be able to think it and it'll show up on the screen. Future, future ... think it, and it'll show up in a virtual field right in front of your eyes. And, a word of caution on that wonderful Brave New Word possibility: that chip ... it's a two way street. For the convenience of translating thinking to image making, such tech could ever so easily also reverse the connection and literally put thoughts into your own head. Think about that. 

See, right there. That's my frame. A frame that casts things in the light of conspiracy theories. But, consider it. There are machers working as we speak to finagle such chips like that. You heard of Elon Musk? Musk is too ... much. First iterations are for to have the blessings of medical science. What could go wrong. Extend the idea further and imagine where it can go. 

Then there's AI.

Artificial Intelligence will give the "thought leaders" the tools to jigger the algorithm to get just the right thoughts into the right brains. Sit back and relax, we know what's good for you. What is that, Big Brother? It's what's good for me! You can see it well enough for yourself. Just go and search something to buy. Darned if some ever so helpful, anonymous techie hasn't jiggered into your frame of view all sorts of ads for just what we know you're looking for. And, you are welcome. Just trying to be helpful. But also let's make a buck whilst we're saving the planet.

The news is a perfect example of unnoticed, subconscious framing. Somebody has to decide what is news, and what of all the news is going to go into the time slots. The NY Times motto: "All the news that's fit to print" says it in plain English. Just who is deciding what's "fit". And, who the fuck are they anyway? And, by what lights are they living their lives, and attempting to influence mine? And, who frames the frame they frame? Who's you Daddy!? By the way, the word "kosher", it means "fit"? If you're a reader of the newspaper of record you might refigure their motto as, "All the news that fits". 

Argh! It can give you a fit.

But wait, not only is it a decision on what to present as news, but the biases that editors and their minions process into their presentations are also present. If you don't know what that is, just watch the news. Pick your channel. Quite obviously, there are differences. Politically. And, you can bet also based on unabashed self-interest. That earnest and assertive overly made-up and coiffed with the tight fitting dress isn't just a patriot delivering the news of the day, there's a career on the line don't you know. Compounded by they're quite possibly a bunch of doodoo heads in front of and behind the camera.

So what do we make of all that? Well, I acknowledge that I just did some framing. But, the framing is about framing. 

The frame I'm attempting to hold up for your viewing is to suggest up-leveling our awareness to become aware of the framing being presenting in the media. Not to denigrate it. Or, to go on endlessly arguing over what frame is the right own. Choose the frame that suits you. But ... just acknowledge that you're looking with a frame. See it for what it is. That it's there, coloring things. When you do that then you can step out of the frame and be responsible yourself for shaping the frame. 

The warring in the world should be enough to suggest that a new frame is necessary. Unless, of course, you like to fight as a way of living. Because, if you do, the guys that make a living from you living with war as the ordained state of things all to happy to oblige.

If the world is as you see it ... and you want to do something about it ... change the frame. Change the prescription on those "glasses". Also, spend some time quietly and unplugged. Not just from the medium and its messages, but from the chatter in you keppe. You know, that little voice going on in your head that we so easily take to be who we are. You say, "There's no voice in my head!" Oh, really. Says who?

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 ~ 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐮 𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞

The Four Levels of Obscurations ~ Kalu Rinpoche

The failure of the mind to recognize its own nature is what is meant by the term "ma-rik-pa," or ignorance, the first level of obscuration or defilement in the mind. As a result of this ignorance, there arises in the mind the imputation of an "I" and an "other," something that is other than the mind. 

This dualistic clinging, something that we have had throughout beginningless time, and that never stops, is the second level of obscuration, the obscuration of habits. 

Based upon this dualistic clinging arise the three root mental afflictions: mental darkness, desire, and aggression. Based upon those three afflictions are the 84,000 various mental afflictions, the third level of obscurations, called the obscuration of mental affliction. 

Under the influence of this, we perform actions that are obscured in their nature — the fourth level, called the obscuration of actions or karma. 

These four levels or types of obscurations are the cause for all sentient beings to wander in samsara. If these are removed or cleaned, then the inherent qualities of mind's nature, which we refer to as wisdom or "yeshe," will naturally manifest and spread like the rays of the sun. 

The word in Tibetan for the removal of these obscurations, "sang," means "cleansing," and the word for the spreading of the inherent qualities of the mind that occurs as a result of that is "gye," or "increasing." "Sang-gye". These two words together, is the Tibetan word for a Buddha. Therefore what is meant by Buddhahood is the recognition and realization of the complete purity of the mind.

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐲

This is how the April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse looked like at near totality at 3:45 p.m. in Montclair, New Jersey. 

Plenty to see?

1. Presence — Awesome...

The Crescent of the Sun. 

2. Absence — Fearsome ...

The Abyss of Blackness. 

3. Setting Sun — World ...

The Red Glow [of the Earth On Fire]. 

 

4. Rising Sun — World ...

 Noticing so much Daylight even so.

5. Hope ...

Looking for the Light.

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓? — 𝐍𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐣

Nisargadatta Maharaj

WHERE IS YOUR REAL INTEREST?

M: Liberation is not the result of some means skillfully applied, nor of circumstances. It is beyond the causal process. Nothing can compel it, nothing can prevent it.

Q: Then why are we not free here and now?

M: But we are free ‘here and now’. It is only the mind that imagines bondage.

Q: What will put an end to imagination?

M: Why should you want to put an end to it? Once you know your mind and its miraculous powers, and remove what poisoned it -- the idea of a separate and isolated person -- you just leave it alone to do its work among things to which it is well suited. To keep the mind in its own place and on its own work is the liberation of the mind.

Q: What is the work of the mind?

M: The mind is the wife of the heart and the world their home -- to be kept bright and happy.

Q: I have not yet understood why, if nothing stands in the way of liberation, it does not happen here and now.

M: Nothing stands in the way of your liberation and it can happen here and now, but for your being more interested in other things. And you cannot fight with your interests. You must go with them, see through them and watch them reveal themselves as mere errors of judgement and appreciation.

Nisargadatta Maharaj, I AM THAT ch. 88

Knowledge and Knowing ...

All those philosophers who are learned in western subjects such as science are able to identify that which is invisible to ordinary people. Nevertheless, although they see and extract that which is precious among the external four elements, have made medical discoveries that cure diseases, are able to benefit and protect their own direction and deliver that which is harmful to others, are expert in discovering substances that bring both benefit and harm into this world; their capacity to be omniscient is still extremely limited.

 
If we compare that to the omniscience of the Buddha, then from a spiritual perspective the capacity of the Buddha is equal to space. There is not even a hair’s worth of anything that cannot and is not known. That is called being fully and completely omniscient.

 
If you come to understand the Dharma that is taught by such an omniscient Buddha then your own mind will become like the sky and will never be rigid. Your entire being will be open and free. Since the teachings of the Buddha are full of such temporary and ultimate benefit to yourself and all others, if you can learn even a little bit of this Dharma that will bring tremendous achievement. Please hold this advice deep within your heart.

~ Yangthang Rinpoche

Ghosting ... From Bree Jenkins, LMFT

From Bree Jenkins, LMFT ...

Ghosting is not a new term, but very common since the social media age. Here’s some food for thought about what it is, why people do it and how damaging it can be:

Ghosting is often seen as an immature or passive-aggressive way to end a relationship. In other instances, it may even be a form of emotional abuse.
There are two primary reasons why a person ghosts another, and often it's a combination of the two.

The first is that some find it's way easier (in the short-term, anyway) to ghost someone than to have an awkward, uncomfortable heart-to-heart about why you’re not interested in maintaining contact.

The person doing the ghosting often wants to avoid confrontation or dealing with someone else’s hurt feelings, so they simply cease all communication and hope the hint is delivered.

As you can imagine (or know from personal experience), ghosting can have a real psychological impact on the person who’s being ghosted.

It’s almost like sudden loss [or] grief, especially the first time you’ve ever been ghosted. You are shocked, and you’re in denial, thinking things such as ‘maybe they didn’t see my text.’ Then you feel anger.

Jenkins adds, “Next, the feelings of depression [can] kick in along with feelings of poor self-esteem as you mentally reexamine your relationship and last conversation for possible warning signs."

Ghosting is inherently ambiguous because there is a lack of explanation for why the relationship ended. For the person who has been ghosted, it can lead to significant feelings of rejection, guilt, grief, and shame.

A person who has been ghosted may be left wondering what this type of behavior says about them, but it is important to remember that ghosting says more about the person who cuts off contact than the person who is ghosted.

Pope Francis' new prayer for the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi:

Pope Francis' new prayer for the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi:

Saint Francis,

man wounded by love, Crucified in body and in spirit,

we look to you, decorated with the holy stigmata, to learn how to love the Lord Jesus and our brothers and sisters with your love, with your passion.

With you, it is easier to contemplate and follow Christ, poor and Crucified. Give us, Francis, the freshness of your faith, the certainty of your hope, the gentleness of your charity.

Intercede for us, so that it may be sweet for us to bear the burdens of life, and in trials, we may experience
the tenderness of the Father and the balm of the Spirit.

May our wounds be healed by the Heart of Christ, to become, like you, witnesses of His mercy, which continues to heal and renew the life of those who seek Him with a sincere heart.

O Francis, made to resemble the Crucified One, let your stigmata be for us and for the world resplendent signs of life and resurrection, to show new ways of peace and reconciliation. 

Amen.

The Pope recited the prayer, which will be prayed at the Chapel of the Stigmata in Verna, as he met Friday [April 5, 2024]with Franciscan Friars Minor of La Verna and the Tuscan Province in Italy.

He blessed the Franciscans present with a relic of St. Francis' blood.

𝐑𝐱 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 ...

~ Paramahansa Yogananda

“Nature will survive with or without us. We can choose to be her ally, or allow greed and ignorance to drive us into extinction. Either way nature will restore her equilibrium and rid herself of parasites if necessary in order to do so. 

“I believe a time will come when, in greater understanding, we shall have no boundaries anymore. We shall call the earth our country; and we shall, by a process of justice and international assembly, distribute unselfishly the goods of the world according to the needs of the people. But equality cannot be established by force; it must come from the heart... We must start now, with ourselves. We should try to be like the divine ones who have come on earth again and again to show us the way. By our loving each other and keeping our understanding clear, as they taught and exemplified, peace can come.”

"𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧"

"Demonization"

If you follow what's presented as "news" in this year of The Lord 2024 you no doubt have witnessed more than a little unmasked and unbridled demonization being served up. 

Question is, who does that serve? And, by the way, not just currently, but going on now for a long time.

Witness the 24/7 non-stop assault on Donald Trump by the Dems and their media supporters. The Republicans warnings about "socialism". Biden calling Putin a "butcher", a "war criminal", a " mass murderer". Trump, well, he is past master of the withering put down. The Israeli leadership labeling Palestinians "non-human". Many Muslin countries regarding the US of A as the "great Satan". [Which, by the way, we might want to consider their point of view, not just toss it off as they're jealous of our way of life. In fact, they may just most likely see the West as threatening their way of life.]

Mr. Trump is currently as of this writing, he's selling Bibles. The irony being that the castigation of one's opponents is now ratcheted up to "biblical" proportions. Never mind if it is laughable to you that book even fits in his hands. Donald! What would Jesus do? It's in that $60 book you're peddling.

What are they thinking? If I'm convinced that one or the other of the candidates, if they get in office, it's the end of the world ... then, what would you expect it to look like if a whole bunch of us hoi polloi get that in our heads that that is a possible reality, not just political rhetoric? What do you think a citizenry all cranked up to a fever pitch level would look like out on the mean streets? What are they thinking? 

Never mind the global game of chicken in Eastern Europe. Or, the ever escalating carnage and destruction in the Middle East. Just to name a few on a very long list of shit storms going down around the world as we speak.

Oh, you say, it would never get out of hand. You think It is out of hand! Just, maybe, let's assume we can contain it to where it's at, and not on our shores. What could go wrong. So, vote the right one in, and prevent armageddon and the annihilation of Humans and the Planet.  

We should be having a shit-in-your-pants moment if we're reading the news these days. But, apparently not. We're all up over who wore what at the Oscars, and who won the awards. And, what's her name and her publicity linked footballer boy friend having been seen holding hands at some swell restaurant. Or, what some high profile twat is wearing showing off so you can get your eyeballs on her "charms". I bet some reading this are more offended by the use of the word "twat" than any of the stuff actually going on in real time. If so, what does that make you? A cunt. Which being offended by that, proves it!

So ... "demonization". What's it good for? Apparently, for votes. Like war, what's that good for? Who said it, "Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity".

So, Pilgrim, let me ask you this: Are you all wrapped up in the back and forth over who's your "demon"? Who's your Daddy? With all the justifications you've certainly come to on your very own without any influence by the manufacturers of consent with their so skillful propaganda narrative machinations? Are you? That is, so wrapped up at that level of black and white, good and bad, our way or the highway, that you miss the game itself. It is afoot. Missing it, the foot's up your ass. But, maybe it's clenched so tight you forgot that it wasn't there to begin with. Just sayin'.

Never mind for a moment being invested in taking sides. The game itself, not that. The game of  "demonization". Just another spin on "Taking Sides". Never mind the justifications. If you can't read this without simply seeing the game itself, then I don't know what will get you out of the game. Games are fine. They are played, then they're over. The game of demonization has an end-game too. And, it ain't gonna be pretty. Maybe not like in sports where we watch then go to other business. The end-game currently on the world collective screen has no winner. And, hell to pay for the losers and the winners.

Time to call the game. And consider playing something where we all can win. Zero-sum is so over. Profit at another's expense. How about a world oriented to service. What can I offer my fellows ... the Planet.

We may be in a moment of "cultural shift". A fin de siècle of the Cartesian dualistic game board with which we've been playing good versus evil. Or, as we also call it in this permutation, "demonization". Same thing. Just, the latter, writ horribly large and mortally threatening. 

So, you want to consider "cultural shift"? What to do?

Do this: Take stock. 

Spend some regular time away from the daily grind and look at what is it that you want in life. What is important to you? What you want for your loved ones; for all every one of us God's children? What ideas do you hold so close? Prejudices? What agreements have you made with yourself, with others, that are set in place? 

Do that with no judgment. Just a simple honesty with yourself. Know that all of that, it's based on choices. Some still applicable, some maybe need to be modified or tossed out altogether. Consider choosing a world you would want; not just what some smarty pants or pol climber says you should have and you believe them because they're wrapped in the flag and besides the other guy is a bona fide bum. 

You have choice.

Stop playing the game. Start living into your best self. Trust you basic goodness. Maybe even pray.

𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬’ 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐢 𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐫𝐛𝐢 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒.

Full Text of Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi Blessing for Easter 2024.

Source: Catholic News Agency 

On the morning of Easter Sunday 2024, Pope Francis presided over Mass in St. Peter’s Square before delivering his Urbi et Orbi message and blessing from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica in the presence of an estimated 60,000 people.

“Urbi et orbi” means “To the city [of Rome] and to the world.” It is a special apostolic blessing given by the pope every year on Easter Sunday, Christmas, and other special occasions.

Here is the full text of the pope’s blessing:

Dear brothers and sisters: Happy Easter!

Today throughout the world there resounds the message proclaimed 2,000 years ago from Jerusalem: “Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, has been raised!” (Mk 16:6).

 The Church relives the amazement of the women who went to the tomb at dawn on the first day of the week. The tomb of Jesus had been sealed with a great stone. Today too, great stones, heavy stones, block the hopes of humanity: the stone of war, the stone of humanitarian crises, the stone of human rights violations, the stone of human trafficking, and other stones as well. Like the women disciples of Jesus, we ask one another: “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”

This is the amazing discovery of that Easter morning: The stone, the immense stone, was rolled away. The astonishment of the women is our astonishment as well: The tomb of Jesus is open, and it is empty! From this, everything begins anew! A new path leads through that empty tomb: The path that none of us, but God alone, could open: the path of life in the midst of death, the path of peace in the midst of war, the path of reconciliation in the midst of hatred, the path of fraternity in the midst of hostility.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is risen! He alone has the power to roll away the stones that block the path to life. He, the living One, is himself that path. He is the Way: the way that leads to life, the way of peace, reconciliation, and fraternity. He opens that path, humanly impossible, because he alone takes away the sin of the world and forgives us our sins. For without God’s forgiveness, that stone cannot be removed. Without the forgiveness of sins, there is no overcoming the barriers of prejudice, mutual recrimination, the presumption that we are always right and others wrong. Only the risen Christ, by granting us the forgiveness of our sins, opens the way for a renewed world. 

Jesus alone opens up before us the doors of life, those doors that continually we shut with the wars spreading throughout the world. Today we want, first and foremost, to turn our eyes to the holy city of Jerusalem, that witnessed the mystery of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and to all the Christian communities of the Holy Land.

My thoughts go especially to the victims of the many conflicts worldwide, beginning with those in Israel and Palestine, and in Ukraine. May the risen Christ open a path of peace for the war-torn peoples of those regions. In calling for respect for the principles of international law, I express my hope for a general exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine: all for the sake of all! 

I appeal once again that access to humanitarian aid be ensured to Gaza, and call once more for the prompt release of the hostages seized on 7 October last and for an immediate cease-fire in the Strip. 

Let us not allow the current hostilities to continue to have grave repercussions on the civil population, by now at the limit of its endurance, and above all on the children. How much suffering we see in the eyes of the children: The children in those lands at war have forgotten how to smile! With those eyes, they ask us: Why? Why all this death? Why all this destruction? War is always an absurdity, war is always a defeat! Let us not allow the strengthening winds of war to blow on Europe and the Mediterranean. Let us not yield to the logic of weapons and rearming. Peace is never made with arms, but with outstretched hands and open hearts. 

Brothers and sisters, let us not forget Syria, which for 13 years has suffered from the effects of a long and devastating war. So many deaths and disappearances, so much poverty and destruction call for a response on the part of everyone, and of the international community. 

My thoughts turn today in a special way to Lebanon, which has for some time experienced institutional impasse and a deepening economic and social crisis, now aggravated by the hostilities on its border with Israel. May the risen Lord console the beloved Lebanese people and sustain the entire country in its vocation to be a land of encounter, coexistence, and pluralism.

I also think in particular of the region of the Western Balkans, where significant steps are being taken toward integration in the European project. May ethnic, cultural, and confessional differences not be a cause of division but rather a source of enrichment for all of Europe and for the world as a whole. 

I likewise encourage the discussions taking place between Armenia and Azerbaijan, so that, with the support of the international community, they can pursue dialogue, assist the displaced, respect the places of worship of the various religious confessions, and arrive as soon as possible at a definitive peace agreement. 

May the risen Christ open a path of hope to all those who in other parts of the world are suffering from violence, conflict, food insecurity, and the effects of climate change. May the Lord grant consolation to the victims of terrorism in all its forms. Let us pray for all those who have lost their lives and implore the repentance and conversion of the perpetrators of those crimes. 

May the risen Lord assist the Haitian people, so that there can soon be an end to the acts of violence, devastation, and bloodshed in that country, and that it can advance on the path to democracy and fraternity.

May Christ grant consolation and strength to the Rohingya, beset by a grave humanitarian crisis, and open a path to reconciliation in Myanmar, torn for years now by internal conflicts, so that every logic of violence may be definitively abandoned. 

May the Lord open paths of peace on the African continent, especially for the suffering peoples in Sudan and in the entire region of the Sahel, in the Horn of Africa, in the region of Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in the province of Capo Delgado in Mozambique, and bring an end to the prolonged situation of drought, which affects vast areas and provokes famine and hunger. 

May the Risen One make the light of his face shine upon migrants and on all those who are passing through a period of economic difficulty, and offer them consolation and hope in their moment of need. May Christ guide all persons of goodwill to unite themselves in solidarity, in order to address together the many challenges that loom over the poorest families in their search for a better life and happiness. 

On this day when we celebrate the life given us in the resurrection of the Son, let us remember the infinite love of God for each of us: a love that overcomes every limit and every weakness. And yet how much the precious gift of life is despised! How many children cannot even be born? How many die of hunger and are deprived of essential care or are victims of abuse and violence? How many lives are made objects of trafficking for the increasing commerce in human beings? 

Brothers and sisters, on the day when Christ has set us free from the slavery of death, I appeal to all who have political responsibilities to spare no efforts in combatting the scourge of human trafficking, by working tirelessly to dismantle the networks of exploitation, and to bring freedom to those who are their victims. May the Lord comfort their families, above all those who anxiously await news of their loved ones, and ensure them comfort and hope. 

May the light of the Resurrection illuminate our minds and convert our hearts, and make us aware of the value of every human life, which must be welcomed, protected, and loved. 

A happy Easter to all!