When do you smile?

     Anyone can smile during a good day.  What I want to know is can you still smile at the end of a bad day?  It has taken me twenty five years of working on myself but I can say yes.  I can still smile at the end of a bad day.  At the end of a bad year.  At the end of a bad decade.  I can still smile.
     Did Joseph hate his brothers who sold him into slavery? Or his cousins who bought him and then resold him? Or did he choose to love God and then to smile?  Naomi lost everything in a strange land.  Yet at the end of her life she still smiled.   There is a non-canonical story about Jesus.  According to the story he danced on the way to his death.  Happy to die.  What did he know?
     Maybe he knew that sundown doesn't mean sunover.  Sundown doesn't mean sunout.  Maybe it  means sunrest.  Maybe it means sunpreparation.
    Yes it had taken me more than a quarter century to learn that I can still smile.  And I am still learning.  Learning to test the theories and theologies that are presented to me.  Learning to find my own way.  Learning to smile when everything around me says no.


In Love, Light, and Liberty,
Enoch

Pentad Shuffle

Sometime in the  last century.

Michael: Sorry, I'm late.  What's going on? Who called this meeting?
Metatron:  The old man did.
Michael: Really, why?
Metatron:  There's has been a reorganization.  I am the President now.
Michael:  That's not possible unless everyone or the old man-
Metatron:  Both.  I have the memo right here if you want to read it.
Michael:  I thought the old man was too far to communicate.
Metatron: Not anymore. He is in the fifth quadrant.
Michael: That doesn't even make sense.
Metatron:  "Fifth Quadrant" is the working name.
Michael: What does it all mean?
Metatron:  It means I am President and Raphael is Vice-President.
Michael: And me?
Metatron:  When we meet as a security council you will be the chair.
Michael: No more War Councils?
Metatron: For now, no.
Michael: Can I go now?  I've got work to do. Asia is starting to get hot.
Metatron:  Cut  back on the war Michael, peace is our priority now.
Michael: Very well, for now.

The Pentad:
Metatron-President (Executive Session Chair)
Raphael- Vice-President and Peace Commission Chair
Michael-  Security Chair
Gabriel-  Chief Justice (Judicial Chair)
Uriel- Chair when committee of the whole.

Staff:
Ariel - Assistant to the President
Samael- Secretary to the Pentad

The Pentad- The Supreme Council of Regency

In Case of my Death or Severe Injury

This will have to do for a living will/will.

If I am in an accident or otherwise wind up on life support, then I would expect my two sisters to consult with at least two doctors.  If the two doctors both agree that there is no hope for my recovery, then I would ask my two sisters to pull my plug.  Let me go in peace.  And know that I firmly believe in an afterlife.  If there is no afterlife, then I would still be at peace.  Don't hang on to me, hang on to my memory.

Ok, now that I am dead.  My sisters can divide my property as they see fit.  The stuff they don't want they can sell and give the proceeds to a charity or help someone finish school.  I want to be cremated and my sisters can do whatever they want to do with my ashes.  I would like to have a service of rememberance about three or four weeks after my death. So that everyone who wants to can attend. I would like to have a Unitarian-Universalist minister preside over my service.  Under no circumstance is a New Thought minister or a Christian minister to be allowed to be apart of the service.  I want to have psalm 121 read at my service.  I also want the Soul II Soul song "Keep on Moving" played at  the end.  I would also like to have family and friends share memories of me, if they want to.  Beyond that, my sisters can set up the service as they see fit.  Then everyone go out and "Keep on Moving".


The above is not legal.  But I hope my wishes will be honored as far as  possible.   This will do until I take  the proper legal steps.

Marvin Scott Edmonds
AKA Enoch327

My Ideal Day as a Minister

12 to 5 am sleep.
5 to 6:30  coffee, exercise, shower, dress, news
6:30 to 7 meditation
7 to 7:55 coffee, breakfast, planning
7:55 to 8 walk down the hall to my office.
8 to 12 noon  Closed office hours.  Study,  research, prepare sermons, etc.
12 noon to 1 pm.  light lunch, 15 minute nap, news update, etc.
1 to 5 Open office hours.  Meetings, counseling, being a chaplain, etc.
5 to 5:05  walk down the hall to my living quarters.
5:05 to 6 pm chores, prepare supper.
6 to 9  eat, TV, computer time, etc.
9 to 10 read.
10pm to 12  midnight. meditate and sleep.

I also want to block out time for one or two Toastmasters meetings a week.  Want to be a part of one energy healing circle a week. And of course being in Wed. night and Sun. morning services at church.  Would love to eat out twice a week.  Pretty boring, but that is how I want to order my life.

Holons are us.

     I am still not achieving my goals.  How many holons do I have to go thru?  I wanted to move to California.   I did the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical work and I still don't live there.  And I don't live there yet.  Why?
   There is the holon of myself.   Conciously I can affirm something and my deep mind can sabotage it.  There are parts of me that want to   move to California, parts of me are upset because I failed in Texas.  Texas beat me and I am a horrible loser.  So I need to align all the parts, all the selves.
     There is the holon of my family.  What are our obliagations to each other?  There is alot of tangled energy there that we need to sort out.   The success there has been marginal at best.  Again, I have more work to do.  
     There is the holon of Texas.  I was not welcomed here.  Not by employers and not by churches.  Not by the economy.  Not by the weather and climate.  And yet I was told it was my fault.  Either by sin or by negative thinking.  So when I agreed that Texas was my fault, no one wanted to help me move back to Georgia.  It was as if Texas needed me to repair the damage I had so called created.  I don't understand why the holon of Texas needs people here against their will. Again more work for me.
     The holon of Georgia.  The place I never wanted to leave.  Until the ministers started guilt tripping me.  You know you can't be a decent minister if your family is divided.  Make peace with your family and your ministry willl come together.  I did and it didn't.  Instead I have lost 2 family members and my ministry is no where to be found.
      There is the holon of California.  No place to stay there and no job.  You need 15 grand to make that move.  Puzzling. 
     There is the holon of religiion.  I have been told so many contradictory things that I don't even know what to believe anymmore.  Jesus told me to move to Texas, no he didn't.  Then Jesus wants me to leave Texas, no he doesn't.  So Jesus wants me to leave and stay.  Maybe I should pitch a tent stratling the border.  Religious Science told me I could have anything I wanted.  I want to leave Texas, oh you can't have that.  Do a science of mind treatment one time and it will come to pass.  No it didn't.  Very strange.
    I don't understand the holon of Earth.  How it all works.  What to expect and what expectations are unrealistic.  What my place is.  What my role is.  How much I should contribute and how much I should rely on the Universe.  
     All of this leads me back to the holon of psychology.   The serenity prayer and a question from the Course in Miracles.  God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.  From the Course in Miracles "What is my part in it?"   Hopefully, I can figure it all out before the final buzzer sounds.

Enoch

  

Music for the MLK Memorial Dedication

Here's the music I would select for the ceremony. 
1.  "America" performed by Marian Anderson
2.  "Precious Lord" performed by Elvis Presley.
3.  "We Shall Overcome" performed by the Morehouse Glee Club
4.  "Imagine" by John Lennon
5. "Dreaming" by Selena
6. "Reach" by Gloria Estefan
7.  "Impossible Dream" by Luther Vandross
8.  "Ain't No Stopping Us Now " Mcfadden and Whitehead
9  "Keep on Moving" by Soul II Soul
10. "Pride in the Name of Love"  by U2.

Four Acres and no Mule; Mlk Memorial Dedication

We are here today to dedicate four acres and no mule to the memory, message, and mission of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Four acres doesn't seem like enough.  Four acres doesn't equal the impact this man had. Seems like he deserves more real estate.
    And I said "No Mule".  The freed slaves were promised a mule once they got their freedom.  That promise was broken too.  But Dr. King got his mule or to be more precise two mules.  The mules that pulled the wagon that bore his coffin during the funeral procession.  I was thinking why two?  Why not one or four?  Then I remembered two is the most common configuration for plowing or pulling a wagon.  It is also the most common configuration for training mules.  A young mule is paired with an old mule.  The young mule gets wisdom and calmness from the old mule.  The old mule gets enthusiasm and energy from the young mule.
    Now, looking around here I see alot of old people.  None I would call mules.  Well, except for one.  I will call Andrew Young an old mule.  You see he was hit in the head and he got back up and kept going.  Just like an old mule.  Is that not stubborn?  Is that not tenacious?  Is that not determined?  Yes, some have gotten hit in the head and gotten knocked down.  But they got back up and they kept going.  They did what we have to do.  We have to turn our tears into tenacity.  We have to turn our disappointments into determination.  We have to turn our heartache into hardwork.   Sometimes we have to harness ourselves, just like a working mule. 
     And we have to mentor the young people, just like a training team of mules.  I'm afraid that the young people are not appreciating the commitment and sacrifices made during the civil rights movement.  Which is ongoing, by the way.  There is so much left to do.  So much Dr. King would be doing if he were here. 
      I said four acres is not enough.  It is not enough that streets, and parks, and buildings are are named for Dr. King.  NO SIR.  I say it is not enough.  There is more real esate I want dedicated to Dr. King. I want the real estate between our ears and between our shoulder blades dedicated to Dr. King.  I want our hands dedicated to Dr. King.  For there is much left to do.
      Dr. King ministered in two churches.  Dexter Street Baptist  Church in Montgomery  and Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Dexter means "right"and Ebenezer means "stone of help".  We have before us a stone of hope hewn from a mountain of despair.  And I say it is not enough.  The "right" thing to do is to turn that stone of hope into a stone of help.  It can't be done for us here.  We have to do it out there.  In the streets and fields and buildings all across our land. And all around the world.
     Let me conclude. We need to form a mule train.  For we have work to do.  Just like the Poor People's Campaign.  We need to become Drum Majors for peace, justice, and righteousness.  We need to become ministers of hope and help.  What would Dr. King expect?  He would want us to move.  For his sake and memory, let us build that world that he could only dream about. Let's do it now. Thankyou.

Energy Medicine; Jesus killed a fig tree.

There are two accounts of Jesus killinng the fig tree.  One in Mark and one in Matthew.  In one they notice they fig tree is withered instantly, in the other they do not notice until the next day.  Both could be correct.  Jesus could have killed the tree and some saw it on a psychic level, the rest saw it on the physical level the next day.   I have never fully understood this story.  Figs are not in season.  You are hungry, so you curse a fig tree.  And it dies.  Where is the sense?  It sounds like an arrogant leader not being green.  
    But what if Jesus knew that this fig tree would never bear fruit because it was a hybrid or a mutation?  What if Jesus knew that trees are natural storehouses of "chi" (the unniversal life force)?  What if Jesus needed that chi to drive out the money changers from the temple?   Then it makes more sense to me.  "Have faith in God"  said Jesus.  In Pranic Healing setting an intention is very important and very simple.  Could this be the faith Jesus spoke about?  Sometimes we make things harder than they should be.
     I am thinking of starting a healing ministry of some sort.  I could help people.  It would include what I love doing.  Speaking and ministering.  Studying and coaching.  Travelling and writing.  We'll see what happens.  I promise not to kill any fig trees, unless there is an emergency.

In Light,
Enoch

Travel Lessons

These are the top ten things I learned from my travels to California and back.
1.  It rains in New Mexico and Arizona in the summertime.
2. Driving has become fun again.
3. At 45 I am more welcoming of change then I was at 25.
4. I am stronger and more resilient than I thought I was.
5. I began studying a new healing modality.  Soon I will have a new implement in my toolbox.  For my wellbeing as well as the health of those around me. Pranic Healing.
6.Geography matters.  The place where you pray and the place where God can answer your prayer may not be the same place.  Sometimes to grow to your potential you may have to transplant yourself.
7.  My brother, in spirit, is still on my team.  There were times when I felt like he was in the truck with me.  Especially, when something prompted me to listen to rock stations. Rock music was his favorite.  Not my first choice when driving.  It may have been my imagination on a long trip.  But I choose to believe that it may have been my brother in spirit.
8.  West Texas smells like oil, has miles of windmills, and has plenty of sun to generate solar power.  It is energy country.  One way or another we Americans will innovate our way to energy independence.
9.  Have plans, but be flexible enough to change them.  I wanted to sleep in West Texas and drive through central Texas to get to back to the Houston area.  Instead I got a 3 hour nap in Abilene and drove thru the Dallas area.
10.  I don't plan to stop learning and growing until the death of my body, and maybe not even then. I know much.  There is still even more I need to learn and experience.  This trip has multiplied my hope. I still have a future.  And travel will be a part of that future.

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch

Why Chancellor?

      I love words.  I love "ch" words.  Church, Chaplain, Chess and Chicken are all "ch " words.  One of my favorite "ch" words is chancellor.  It has a long and storied history.  If the word were invented  today it would probably be called executive secretary or office manager.  And in some places that is still the meaning.  Today, it has meanings in the fields of politics, religion, law, education, and others
      The history goes back to ancient Rome where the chancellors sat at lattice work that separated judges from the people.  They were the original gatekeepers.  The Latin word for lattice resembles cancel as in to "X" something out.  From that word we get chancellor.  The original chancellors were secretaries.
     From Rome the use of chancellors spread throughout Europe.  They used to keep the books and symbols of power.  Books were written and finacial records.  They were basically librarians.  Most of the time they were clergy, because clergy were about the only ones who knew the three "R's".  The equivalent would be secretary of state for a state (like Georgia, or Kansas) or maybe county clerk.  In France, the King's chancellor was most often his chaplain.  The French chancellor evolved into what we would call attorney general.  In Sweden and Spain the office became basically minister for foreign affairs.  In Germanic countries it basically became the office of Prime Minister.  It is in England that we find the most varied uses of the term.
     The English Chancellor evolved into basically the Chief of Staff for the King.  He was the King's deputy in legislative, judicial, executive and other areas.  He could rule in the King's absence (like a crusade) or he could be sent to run a part of the country or an institution.  That is how chancellor became associated with education. The chancellor also made recommendations for the appoinments of bishops.  So next to the monarch he had  the most power in matters temporal and spiritual.  A very big job that has been whittled down to size in recent years. 
     Like the UK the USA has chancellors too.  They are mostly the heads of colleges or univeristy systems.  Some judges are called chancellor. And bishops have chancellors that are basically the lawyers for the diocese. There is one official chancellor of the US government.  He is chariman of the Board for the Smithsonian Institution.  He has a day job.  He is also the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
     In expanded versions of chess the chancellor is a piece that combines the moves of rook and knight.  This piece is the third most powerful behind the King and Queen.  As it  should be.  We also find chancellors at the head of some modern churches and as record keepers for some fraternal and military organizations.
    So that is what a chancellor is.  What a chancellor isn't comes next.  A chancellor is not a dictator or autocrat.  Chancellors are not very big in the military.  They are not the highest authority.  They normally report to a board, a head of state, or God.  This is what I like about the word.
     Chancellor is a wiggle word.  I can claim to be chancellor of anything and nobody knows what the heck I am talking about.  In fact, I ask people what it means to them and suddenly I can become that for them.  I see Chancellor as being an officer of a group that is the utility player.  The backup who fills in the gaps. Someone who steps up to lead on an interim basis until a permanent leader can be found.  So I am Enoch, Chancellor of the twittersphere and friend to many.  I have spoken.

In Light,
Enoch



  
     

"All the flags are for me"

That is what my papaw (grandfather) said to me sometime in the 1970's.  In small town Clinton, Tennessee every business and home put out Old Glory on flag day.  Or as my grandfather wanted me to believe, in honor of his birthday.  Papaw Keith was born on June 14, 1908.  Flag Day was proclaimed an observance by President Wilson in 1916.  So my grandfather had memories of his birthday when there were no flags.  Someone maybe told him when the flags came out that they were all for him.  And he passed the joke on to me.  He was born Theodore Benjamin Keith, but everyone called him "Red"  because of his hair.  (Thankyou Scotch Irish genes).  His initials were T B.  Also the initials of the disease that took his father's life and I think one of his brothers.  So he legally changed his name to Benjamin Theodore.  The Benjamin came from president Harrison and the Theodore came from President Roosevelt.  Good GOP names for a good old GOP family.  (I guess I broke the trend.)  BT Keith graduated from the sixth grade, Glenn Alpine grammar school.  Farming was more important than school.  So that was the extent of his education.  Yet he read the newspaper every afternoon.  Maybe that's where the news hound in me comes from.  And he walked everyday down to the corner store to buy the paper. I love to walk too.   I spent my meditation this morning with some memories of my grandfather. He died in 1988.  He made eighty with a bad heart and some alzheimers.  I saw him one time in dream after his death.  He was lying in a hammock.  The face was the old man's face I remember, but the body was that of a healthy thirty year old.  Like he was telling me it was him and that he was okay. When he was alive he would quote Benjamin Franklin without attritbution.  "Once a job is first begun, never stop till it is done, be it labor great or small,do it well or not at all." Sometimes when I want to take a short cut at work I hear those words and most of the time I don't take the shortcut.  He had this strange habit of picking up pennies and saying "We may need this penny to pay our taxes."  What a great guy.  And he is still with me in memory and in spirit.  Maybe all those flags were for him.

In Light,
Enoch

All Possums Great and Small

As nutty as my mother was at times, she consistently demonstrated a love of aninals, all animals-even possums.  My mother the atheist.  Now, I have a "Christian" coworker who prefers to feed her cats at night and outside.  Possums are eating the catfood.  No problem, her husband sets traps for them and then he drowns them.  So far they have murdered 14 possums.  She jokes "the poor things can't learn to swim."  My mother, on the other hand, always put out extra food for possums, racoons, birds, squirrels whatever.  Now I ask you who is more spiritual?  My  late mother the atheist or so called Christians (who use as their justifications the fact that Jesus killed a fig tree) who murder little defenseless animals who pose no danger other than to eat excess catfood?  I think you can kill an animal for dinner or if you are in danger.  Why else kill? 
   We had a possum die on our property the other day.  He was sick and he drug himself between my father's house and my house.  Strange place to choose to die.  I think in a strange way he was trying to say thankyou.  You see, we always fed him.  He was old and somewhat lame.  I would pretend not to see him as hid behind a bench waiting for his dinner.  I would put the food out and go back into the house.  Then I would watch him eat. With the cats, sharing.  We buried him in the cat graveyard. And we will feed whatever family he has left.  In honor of my mother and against the wishes of sicko "Christians".  Dead possum, say hello to Mom.  She has a place for you in her heaven.

In Light,
Enoch

Church on the Rocks; I support everyone.

    1995 I got a letter telling me about a meeting to determine whether or not we should retain our pastor.  His wife had filed for divorce.  In the Baptist church at that time a separted man was not considered to be fit to pastor a church.
    Charles Stanley had been pastor of First Baptist Atlanta for nearly 25 years.   He spoke at the downtown location.  His son Andy Stanley spoke at the North campus.  I considered Andy to be my pastor.  Of course I had kept up with his father for years on the radio and TV.  Dr. Stanley would not allow a divorced man to be deacon or be a teacher in his church.  The Bible is clear- a leader is to be in full control of his family at all times.  Then it happened to Dr. Stanley.  His wife, Anna, suffered from depression and was tired of being the "second wife".  Dr. Stanley's ministry came first.  He had been President of the Southern Baptist Convention.  His was the second largest TV ministry in the world.  
     I got to the North Campus one morning.  Andy started his sermon by saying how strong his marriage was and then he resigned.  Like he wanted his Dad to do.  First Baptist had fourteen thousand members.  The bylaws were written in the 1840's.  According to those bylaws if seven members signed a letter they could call a business meeting, that was done.  And I spent 12 hours in church, on a hot August Sunday, wondering what was going to happen to Dr. Stanley. I saw people I never saw before and people I would never see again. I had decided to keep Dr. Stanley no matter what.  He wanted reconcilliation.  In fact, the Church had set up a committee on reconcilliation to monitor the Stanleys. One young lady tearfully begged the church not to turn Dr. Stanley out.  She had gone through a divorce she never wanted. I was prepared to speak.  I was going to use Moses as an example of a man who was separated from his wife and was allowed by God to keep his ministry.  I  didn't have to.  We voted to keep Dr. Stanley by 93 per cent. He promised to resign if hs divorce became final.  I left that night lamenting the fact that TV cameras had surrounded our church.
    I supported Dr. Stanley.  I supported his wife in prayer. Then I supported the son as Andy started a new church.  I kept my membership at Dr. Stanley's church and I attended Andy's church without joining it.  I never felt so divided in my life.  People quit the church. Including the girl I had a crush on. I never saw her again. 
    To make a long story short,  the divorce went through, Dr. Stanley didn't resign, there are two mega churches where there once was one, both churches have thriving divorce recovery programs.  And I moved to Texas vowing to never give a woman veto power over my ministry.  God works in mysterious ways.

In Light,
Enoch

The Cost of Osama and the Benefit

Today has been a mish mash of emotions for me and I suppose for our nation.  Mostly my mind has been flooded by memories of the last ten years.  What we have lost thanks to Osama Bin Laden.  Those losses amount to the cost to take out Osama.   When do we get our young people back?  When do they get their arms and legs back?  When do we get our jounalists back, the ones who placed themselves in harms way without so much as a pen knife  to protect themselves?  When do we get Peter Jennings back?  He was a casualty too.  When do we get our economy back?  I knew people who had  to change careers because of 9-11.  People whose industries were devasted.  I know people who had to go back to work because their retirement funds were destroyed.  People who had to postpone retirement for the same reason.  I watched as young people bury their friends when they should have been partying with them.  I saw young people age five years in a week as they sought to understand their world.  People who slept through social studies had to grasp the meaning of social studies.  When do we get the last ten years back?  When do we get our innnocence back? Our sense of security?  Can Presidents Bush and Obama have back the respect that is do to anyone who serves as Chief Magistrate?  Can the Dixie Chicks and others have their careers back?  I saw kids go to war when they should have gone to college.   It infuriates me when I hear that we didn't pay a tax for these wars, for the pursuit of this mass murderer.  We have paid with a portion of livelihoods and our lives.  Is that not tax enough?  The total cost can never be measured. 
     So was there a benefit? All of the above.  Most of us became willing to sacrifice whatever it took for as long as it took for our values, our campatriots, and the memory of those lost.  I am proud of our young people who voluntarily sacrificed for our country.  I am grateful for all of those who love the nation and expressed  that love in 300 million different ways.  We are stronger because of 9-11, not weaker.  Today at work I saw little kids.  I hope they will not have to deal with an Osama.  Yet, I reality I know they  most likely will.  I think we have given them an example and the resources to do  so.  Our Republic endures!  We face our challenges and overcome them.  Always.

Enoch

Disapointments

Where to begin?  Somewhere in 1997 I decided to move to Texas.  I need to start before that.  In 1989, my family decided to move to Texas.  I was 23 and thought it was time to move out.  My mother who had urged me to move out changed her mind and asked me to move as well.  The best thing for me to do was to stay in Georgia.  So I did.  I began figuring out about my family.  My Dad is an agnostic, my mother was an atheist.  Neither encouraged my spiritual pursuits.  I started going to church and reading.  I made the decision to write my family off.  Then the sermons started.  About forgiveness.  About putting my family back together  so that my ministry could come together.  There was no distinction between forgiveness and reconcillatiion.  To the the four ministers I listened to they were one and the same.  In fact I was the one designated to save my family from the firey furnace.  So after eight years of homesickness and ministerial guilt trips I moved to Texas.  The plan was for me to live with my parents until I could find an apartment.  That never happened.  I lost my job at Foleys,  because I had transferred my pay rate from Atlanta.  Atlanta has a higher standard of living.  I was overpaid.  To make a long story short, I am disappointed in Texas and my former Lord, Jesus Christ.  And also the New Thought movement that  I had started studying in Georgia.  Texas was not the  place I thought it was.  My friends in Georgia warned my about Texas.  I laughed them off.  I told them Houston was just another suburb of Atlanta.  I told them I would have my life the way I wanted it in six months.  After all I had the leadership of Jesus and the tools of  New Thought.  How could I loose?  Well, Texas ministers have a different spin on things.  They blamed me for moving here, but would not pray for my return to Georgia.  By the way I lost my Georgia friends.  I had to revoke the invitation I had extended them.   And I couldn't afford to call them long distance.  So I am not bummed out on God or religion.  Like Naomi, Joseph, and Job, I have had to develop a new way of looking at God and Religion.  I have found two types of religion that do not work in Texas.  I am grateful for what Christianity did for me in  Georgia.  And for the lessons of New Thought that also worked in Georgia.  But now I am not interested in part-time religions that work in limited geographic areas.  I am interested in a fresh start in a new locale with a new religion.  I am going to California.  My new religion is psychology coupled  with education.  Soon I will have another chance at my dreams.  

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch

Half and Half or All in All

I finally finished watching all of the "Half and Half" episodes.  I would have liked to seen it go on for a few more seasons.  But it didn't and I want to address why I think it ended when it did.  It got to a good stopping place.  The series starts out with the two sisters in conflict.  Mona is bitter over being a second class citizen in her own family.  She is insecure. DeeDee wants  to make up for that and have the sister she never had.  The last time we see Mona she is decisive, confident, and smiling.  She is more Rose than Thorn.  DeeDee has the sister she never had and is secure enough to go back to having her own life.  Mona follows the advice of her once distant father "Make your own decisions".  That is a mild form of a theraputic double bind.  If she ignores his advice she has made her own decision and if she follows his advice she has made her own decision.  The NLP people would be proud. Both of the major characters have completed a major portion of the Hero's Journey- the monomyth Joseph Campbell wrote about.  They have arrived at a place of peace with themselves, each other, and their world.  Why not stop there?  By the way, Mona chose Chase over Lorenzo.  Lorenzo is the loser boyfriend from her past, Chase is the successful boyfriend in her future.  Of course the show could've gone on.  More adversity to overcome, challenges at work and in the family.  I look forward to a reunion show when the time is right.  Till then we have the show as it is and the lesson it teaches everyone- keep growing and loving.

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch

Wisconsin Teachers

I stand today with the teachers of Wisconsin and really teachers all across America and the world.  It strikes me as funny that the pundits in New York and Washington DC would impose in what amounts to a tax on teachers in Wisconsin.  Perhaps the pundits should pay more taxes and leave the teachers to their main task of preparing our future.  These same pundits talk about how important education is, yet they would undercut the main pillar of education.  Why should teachers pay the price for bad economic decisions, both from government and the private sector?  Why should teachers be demoted to second class citizens?  Why are their families less worthy than the families of Fox news journalists and commentaries?  Isn't strange that in our nation today  public teachers make more money than their counterparts in the private sector. Seems to be a failure of capitalism.  I am  not against capitalism, niether am I for socialism.  We just need to put a bridle on the horse of capitalism so that no one gets thrown off.  We pay more for Lady Gaga to hatch our of an egg like a chicken than we do our teachers to develop the next generation.  Mr. Sean Hannity you will have to explain to you daughter why that is so and why you think teachers deserve paycuts.  Don't be surprised if you daughter imitates Lady Gaga not her math teacher.  You are showing her where the money and prioties are.

Enoch

Twitter Problems

Something is bad wrong with twitter.  I don't know if it has been hacked by a foreign power or if they are shifting capacity to Northern Africa and the Middle East where it is needed.  I do know there needs to be a backup twitter.  I guess Facebook is the defacto backup.  Who would've thought that a social networking site would have national security implications?  But now it does.  I hope they get the problems solved soon. 

Enoch

Libya

I suspect in a few days we will hear about the death of Gaddafi or the beginning of a civil war.  I don't see him flying off into exile.  I think this one will fight to the death.  We are not getting news now.  But I think there will be a record of his brutality.  The question now is how do we smuggle the internet into peninsulas of Asia? And how do we make so that it can't be government controlled?

Enoch

Team California

I am moving to California.  I am shooting for early spring of next year.  That should be enough time for me to plan and prepare for a move.  The Georgia of my past doesn't exist, the Texas of my present is a living hell. So I want a new deal. A new chance.  That is Califonia. 
       Toward that end, I am putting together a team that will encourage my move.  People that will support me on a spiritual and emotional level.  The simple question is: "Will you support my move?"  Family is out.  When I think of how little my family supports me it makes me angry.  Of all the times I spoke at church or at Toastmasters not one relative showed.  What a pleasure it would have been for me to look out into an audience and seen a relative.  I think of the endless practices, ballgames, and concerts I attended in support of my family. But they don't have time for me or my dreams.  So now it is my turn to say no.  I will treat you as you have treated me.  So no family.
     Also no clergy.  Four Christian ministers told me that if I put my family back together, my ministry would come together.  They prophesied that by moving to Texas I could convert my atheist mother and agnostic father into Christians.  They were wrong. Instead I lost my faith in Jesus.  Psychologists tell us if you take a person  out of a sick family he will get well.  If you put the person back in he gets sick again. Baptists and Presbyterians believe just the opposite. The Christian is supposed to rub off on his family.  This time it didn't work.  Religious Science ministers are no better.  You get blamed for everything.  Everything from the negativity of parents, to the economy, to being taken advantage of. Everything except the weather-there is no way we can affect that.
    So I am putting together a team for Califonia.  It has two members so far. Me and God.  JFK said that constitutes a majority. I will add others that will support my dream.  You dream crushers stay the heck away.  You know who you are.

In Peace, Love, and Light.
Enoch

Puzzling Prayer Partners

When I moved to Texas in 1997, I had the prayer support of two of the largest churches in Georgia.  First Baptist Atlanta, where I had my membership, and North Point Community Church , where I attended. Both are pastored by a man named Stanley. That is a different story. It was a prayer network that easily could have contained 15,000 people.  We supported each other in prayer.  Sadly, that support failed me when I moved to Texas.  The prayers of fifteen thousand people failed.
     I got the latest issue of Science of Mind Magazine this week.  In it is an article on prayer partners and how well they work.  Or work for him.  They have failed me.  When I moved to Texas, I joined a Religious Science church (Science of Mind/New Thought).  I was told that everything in my life was my fault. (Except for weather-this minister believes that nothing we do affects the weather.) That included my decision to come to Texas. When I agreed that coming to Texas was my fault, I asked the minister to pray for my return to Georgia.  He instead prayed for me to have "options."  My words are not supposed to come back to me void but in this case they did. Another failure of a prayer partnership. 
     When I left Georgia I considered myself a Christian-plus.  I was a Christian yet I studied other things, mainly New Thought writings.  Oprah Winfrey could probably be put in that category.  I felt like I had the perfect combination of spiritual support. Again, sadly all of that failed me.  It should have worked.  I had knowledge and support. I get told by my Baptist and Religious Science friends that the bad Houston economy is my fault.  I can't find a decent job in Texas because of my sin and negative thinking.  Evidently moving across state lines constitutes sin and negative thinking. The obvious solution was for me to move back to Georgia, where I had a great job.  But they wouldn't support me in prayer for my return.
     So I basically have two problems with prayer partners.  They only seem to work in a limited geographic area.  Secondly, if they don't agree with your goals you don't get any support-only guilt trips.  But I have not given up.  I now have a prayer network that is national.  I rarely ask for locals to pray for me.  I go to websites where they don't judge my goals, they just pray for me.  They don't consider me a sinner or a negative thinker- they simple pray for me as a human being.
    So that is my two cents on prayer partners.  If they work for you continue on.  Make sure your partners are truly on your team. Remember that you and God constitute the best prayer partnership there could be.

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch

Venting of steam

I need to one blog just to get off some steam.  I am so stupid when it comes to electronics.  Really anything mechanical.  My twitter is messed up.  They are blaming my computer, but every other website is working.  If it were my computer, I should be having issues inn other places.  My father's internet connection sucks. He has ATT, it is a high speed connection.  And it throws me off every five minutes.  I dropped ATT.  My main phone is Verizon.  So far so good.  The final thing I am pissed about is my Dad.  I spent the evening with him last night.  He doesn't realize it, but he is like a vampire.  He doesn't like to meet people.  He expects his family to be his socializing.  It is starting to suck.  Our family is dying.  My brother and Mom.  Out of the four children there is only one grandchild.  So much for family.  My Dad is so stubborn.  He pushes people away and he doesn't even realize it.  Okay I feel better time for my calm blog.

Enoch

Why I am Still Single

There are many reasons why I am still single.  The fact that I can come up with many reasons may be the biggest reason.  But tonight I want to focus on one.  The short answer is that my Venus is in Virgo.  (I share that with JLo).  The slightly longer answer is that I am very picky.  My criteria for a wife has changed over the years.  When I was a Baptist I wanted my wife to be very submissive.  I was going to be the controller and she the controllee.  Barefoot and pregnant would have been okay- she could wear flip-flops for cutting the grass.  But I have evolved.  When I decided that I wanted to be a minister my model for a wife became Corretta Scott King.  Someone strong and beautiful.  Someone who could have a career in her own right and yet also take my mantle should something happen to me.  Someone like Mrs. King would be perfect.  If anyone guaranteed Dr. King's legacy it was her.  While the SCLC was discussing what to do she did something.  She started the King Center and basically got the King Holiday created. Could there be a better partner?  That is my word partner, not puppet.  True partnerships are hard to maintain. Lots of face time.  There would have to be alot of understanding.  (Who needs that in a marriage?) We wouldn't talk about every decision.  What difference does it make if we have Italian on Friday and Chinese on Saturday?  On questions concerning her areas of expertise I would defer  to her. I hope she would defer to me where I had more knowledge. There is one class of decisions I would retain for myself.  I would not allow my wife to make any decisions where she would feel guilty if she made them.  For example, our dog Spunky got hit by a car. The surgeon says that he can save Spunky, but that his life will be a living hell. I would be the one to decide Spunky's fate. Either way it is tough decision.  But otherwise we talk alot.  There are more and more women like Coretta Scott, so maybe I will find mine.  Now that my career choice is Public Speaking I would love to have a wife that could introduce me and also speak with me.  ( I have an idea for an introduction that would give my wife the laugh line.) JLo has found her life partner so mine must be out there somewhere.

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch

MLK Pictures of Hope

There's alot of crap going on isn't there?  Dr. King would be the first to address it. Wars, terrorism, poverty, discrimination.  He would bring it to our attention.  Yet he would also call us toward hope and optimism.  He who had helped so many to overcome so much would urge us to do the same one more time- or as many times as it takes.  There are two images stuck in my mind from today.  His granddaughter standing in the front of the tomb of her noble grandparents.  Grandparents she will never know on the Earthplane. It is cold and yet she is beaming.  Hope, optimism.  The next image is of two daughters serenading their mother on her birthday.  The mother just happens to be the First Lady of the USA.  Again they are beaming.  Hope and optimism.  Could those be two of the ingredients to solving our problems?  We need those spiritual bifocals that Pastor Peter Marshall talked about so long ago.  We need to see things as they are and we need to see them as they could be.  Through the eyes of three little girls. Through the eyes of hope and optimism.  Dr. King would expect no less.

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch

The Pentad of Archangels

I had a dream one time.  In my dream I was taken up to heaven.  I was directed to an office.  In this office were the five archangels. Micheal, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Metatron each had a bank of electronic stuff.  Faxes, computers, teletypes etc.  Each of the angels were frantically answering prayer requests.  They were incredibly busy.  "I want to see God" I demanded.  They ignored me.  I walked up to Metatron and grabbed his arm.  "I need to see God, now!" He replied "Look partner, there is a three month backlog.  File a request like everyone else." I could see I was going nowhere.  I turned and saw a door marked "God'.  I thought to myself "Ah, God hides in his office while the Angels do all the heavy lifting."  I started to grab the door knob when Michael yelled "No- don't open that door!"  Too late Buddy.  I opened the door.  I had discovered the ... broom closet.

What if there is no God? What if there is just a hierarchy of beings who are trying to fill in the gap.  Angels trying to make sense out of confusion?  There is a school of Buddhhist thought that says that the existence of God is not an important question.  That doing the spiritual practices are important. When we do the practices our answers will arrive.  I think there is a common ground (if not higher ground) that atheists, agnostics, theists, and deists can agree on without arguing about God's existence.  We who are concerned about Earth and our Earthmates have a job to do.  It doesn't matter if our orders come from God or from inside ourselves.  Let us serve one another, let us be compassionate toward each other.  And as we fix the problems our answers will come.  I believe in God, yet I can not prove his existence. So I will not argue for it.  I will continue to do the spiritual practices.  We can all agree to that, can't we?

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch

Puzzled by Palin

In 1913 Leo Frank was lynched in Atlanta Georgia.  To my knowledge he is the only Jew to be lynched in America.  In 1955 the Jewish temple was bombed in Atlanta Georgia.  I would like to thank Sarah Palin for removing the Anti-Jewish stigma from my home state of Georgia.  Her comments today were insensitive and self-serving.  Instead of talking about the merits of her argument, Palin resorted to an appeal to raw emotion and fear.  Maybe that's because her aguments have no merit.  She redirected us from considering her old mistakes by creating new mistakes for us to ponder.  Isn't it funny that she believes that her words do not impact mentally instable people, they impact the sane.  Maybe, Governor, it is in fact the opposite.  You need a new speech writer and a new attitude.  You hate socialism.  Do you realize that the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was written by an avowed socialist?  Tonight's ceremony was begun by the playing of "Fanfare for the Common Man" be Aaron Copeland- a gay composer.  Sarah do you hate gays?  On a Sabath morning when she could have been at Temple, Congresswoman Giffords was doing the people's business.  A Catholic Judge coming from mass was shot dead.  A  Catholic child also lost her life.  Sarah, we are not a nation of WASP's, but a nation of diversity. E Pluribus Unum the Latino said.  The president and the nation applauded.  Atlanta has become the city too busy to hate.  Maybe Sarah you are just too busy.  You had a chance to be noble today.  You blew it. You are just another thing we have to overcome in our stride toward peace, justice, and human rights. May Gabby Gifford's principles prevail and not yours.

Enoch

My Spiritual Pledge

"I Pledge Allegiance to: One God, having many expressions. Two wills-mine operating under the authority of God's. Three faiths; faith in my God, myself, and our relationship. Four loves; God, myself, humanity, and the universe.  Five spiritual practices; prayer, meditation, study, service, and giving. And the Celtic Cross representing all of the above: one emblem comprised of two symbols, made by three strokes, having four quadrants and five intersections."
The long version continues "Six sources of Spiritual Knowledge; scripture, tradition, reason, experience, intuition, and inspiration. The seven classic heavenly bodies and the rays they represent. The eightfold path of Buddha. The nine fruits of the spirit, namely -love, joy, peace, kindness, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  And the ten commandmants."

 I am indebted to John Wesley, Sandra Kynes, and others for inspiring me to adapt their ideas.

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch