Free Will

The fact that I desire the Creator and feel nothing back leads me to the most important act of free will, to CHOOSE to turn to the Light despite any feelings of presence.  "How much easier would life be if the Creator were not concealed from human beings, but were clearly perceived and seen by each and every one of us!" (Rav Laitman)

I didn’t find Kabbalah; Kabbalah found me.

Kabbalah notes

I attend an ongoing online class in Kabbalah.  Yesterday we were invited to attend a global class from Israel.  I was interested in asking a question, and it happened to be asked online:

"As a beginning student, how do I introduce concepts that I understand already to friends/relatives that might be interested?"

My teacher, Michael Laitman's answers to these questions...

1. The world is global--we are connected to everyone on the planet via globalization
   
2. The Kabbalists said the world really started to feel the Kabbalistic concepts from the early 1960's
3. So today we finally see the connection.
4. Nature needs to be in a state of balance.
5. The stories and facts are alright to share.

Probably the most important answer for society today is #1:  we are connected to everyone on the planet via world globalization; he was emphatic about this.  So he answered my question first by giving me the message that should be conveyed, then by saying that it's ok to share these ideas.  Until we reach a critical mass of people in the world who will subscribe to this idea, until we realize that the root of all problems in the world is the fact that we don't recognize that our egos get in the way of connecting with our neighbors we will not have peace.  This is so basic and so logical, but until all 7 billion people on the planet realize this we will NOT have global peace.  As a matter of fact, things will get worse before they get better.

I was on cloud nine when they announced my name for a question:  "And Jay from St. Paul MN, US Learning Center has a question."  I never thought my question would get through the hundreds of thousands that were being asked at the same time.  I don't believe in coincidences; I need to ponder the reason for my question being asked over everyone else's!

Elsewhere on the same pathetic page...

I get SO frustrated with the Catholic religious right wing.  There's something wrong with the church who says on one hand that we have a priest shortage, and on the other, we will not ordain women or married men.  Below is a quote from the same blog article as mentioned before.  I have spoken to Bridget Mary Meehan on the telephone, and find her to be a breath of fresh air, along the lines of Joan Chittister.  I hope she DOES get ordained...more power to her!

It has just come to my attention that one of the women to be "ordained" this July 31 in Pittsburgh isBridget Mary Meehan. 

Bridget Mary Meehan, D.Min., a Sister for Christian Community, will be ordained a Roman Catholic priest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 31. Dr. Meehan is currently Dean of the Doctor of Ministry Program for Global Ministries University, and is the author of 15 books, including "The Healing Power of Prayer" and "Praying with Visionary Women.". Dr. Meehan can be reached at SofiaBMM@aol.com. The website is Roman Catholic Womenpriests. (Source: The case for women priests, Guest Commentary By Bridget Mary Meehan,Global Ministries University)

I JUST CAN'T LET THIS ISSUE PASS...

Elsewhere on Blogger...Comments on Catholics for Obama

 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 04, 2008

News Updates, 11/5

Catholics Go For Obama (Rev. Thomas J. Reese)
Catholic voters ignored the instructions of a group of vocal bishops and delivered 54% of their vote for Barack Obama as president of the United States. These bishops, led by Archbishops Charles Chaput and Raymond Burke, argued that abortion was the most important issue in the election and that no other issues outweighed it. As a result, they argued, Catholics could not vote for a pro-choice candidate....
[Are these Obama "Catholics", in fact, Catholic at all? I think not.]

Not to Vote Pro-Life Is to Participate in the Culture of Death: Archbishop Burke
“A good citizen must support and vote for the candidate who most supports the inalienable dignity of innocent and defenseless life, and the integrity of marriage.” 
[Polls indicate that the Catholic vote was split, generally, among both McCain and Obama. It is deplorable and repugnant that any Christian, Catholic or otherwise, would vote for a candidate for the office of president who supports legislation which allows the destruction of innocent human life, the murder of babies in the womb or outside the womb. I am so sickened and saddened that we, as a once God-fearing people, have failed miserably in the sight of Almighty God and his precious little ones by electing leaders who have no regard for life. We now reap what we have sown - especially if 'The One' follows through on his promises to undue the years and years of arduous work over the past 35 years in trying to right a monstrous and wicked wrong. Let us pray for Divine Intervention and mercy and ask our Blessed Mother and all of the Saints to pray for us as well. God suely knows that we need help!]

Repugnant???  

I think it is "deplorable and repugnant" that for the past 8 years we have been in a war that has gone nowhere, and that we have consistently used might before diplomacy.  I think it is "deplorable and repugnant" that Poverty in the United States is cyclical in nature with roughly 12% to 17% living below the federal poverty line at any given point in time, and roughly 40% falling below the poverty line at some point within a 10 year time span. In terms of pre-transfer absolute poverty rates, in 2000 the United States ranked tenth among sixteen developed countries;  In 2006, the poverty rate for minors in the United States was the highest in the industrialized world, with 21.9% of all minors and 30% of African American minors living below the poverty threshold (Wikipedia). WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS??  AGHHHHH!!!

I think it is "deplorable and repugnant" that more than 19 million women are uninsured in this country, and women are more likely than men to delay or not get medical care because of high costs; one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime--family violence accounted for 11 percent of all violence between 1998 and 2002. That the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last twenty years.  My God in heaven, the list can go on and on--and ON.

I agree...in my Catholic worldview, abortion is a sin.  But "not to vote pro-life is to participate in the culture of death?"  Come ON Bishop Burke.  I did vote pro life in the last election.  I voted for Obama who addresses ALL of these issues, not just one.  I am not a single issue voter!

Battlestar Galactica

Perhaps my favorite show, BSG is going to be over in a few weeks. The concept is that they are searching for Earth, and they've found it now, but there are lots of loose ends to tie up. I think I will go through BSG withdrawl when it is over! Here's a quick synopsys of what has happened so far:

The new story begins with 2 episode MiniSeries nearly lasting 3 hours and shocking enough to make you yearn for more. (This yearning will be addiction later on) The MiniSeries starts with all 12 colonies of human population nuked and just one Battlestar and few civilian ships left behind. So, Galactica is the remains of the 12 colonies start their journey in search of the 13th colony which has dwelled to an unknown planet called "Earth".

The series deals with a question scratching your brain "What defines a human being?" The cylons which have their own feelings, thought, beliefs and motives, leaving you thinking of "how can a human life be more valuable than a cylons?" The main axis of the story is walking around this confusing and one of the favorite question of science fiction. (My favorite movie Blade Runner also approached this question)

The characters of the series is strongly developed. Main character Adama is the one of the strongest charact ers ever written, a man who can stand solid even when whole human population is about go extinct. Starbuck is a wild character that can't be tamed. (In the original series the character was a man but now a woman for the reasons I will explain in following paragraphs) Lee Adama, son of admiral is trying to prove himself (which is kind of hard for being the son of most solid character ever) and we analyze the father-son relation evolving through out the series. Laura Roslin is the president of 12 colonies who became president as only remaining government official. She is the only one who can challenge the authority of Adama. Through out the series we are told the story by analyzing the relationship with those main characters.

The plot is built in a co mplex structure which differs from reality that the series are simulating world in different conditions, making us think "What if the world was like ...". We can say that there are signs of matriarchy in the series where president Laura Roslin is a strong woman like Starbuck who is displayed as a woman unlike the original series. The concept of God is highly present in BattleStar Galactica. The humans are polytheist, they believe in 12 Gods representing colonies while cylons are monotheist believing in one and only God. BattleStar Galactica has many references to

the real world. The names of the twelve colonies resemble the 12 zodiac signs: "Aerelon, Tauron, Gemenon, Canceron, Leonis, Virgon, Libris, Scorpia, Sagittaron, Caprica, Aquaria, Pykon". The name of characters are resembling myths; Adama for Adam (First man) , Helena Cain for Cain (first murder in the Bible).

So that all being said (I did have some help from the internet) there are many moral questions to consider about Galactica, which I'll add as time moves on!

Kabbalah

"Kabbalah is a 4000 year old living wisdom that is meant for everyone, regardless of their religious background, nationality, or level of study."  

             ~from The Kabbalah Centre International

I have been studying Kabbalah off and on for years--even before Madonna espoused the practice.  It is not a religion; it is a technology, a way to learn about our Creator and getting in sync with the light which emanates from the Creator.  There are no restrictions on who can study Kabbalah.  It's teachings have come out of hiding in the 20th century because the world has reached a critical mass...globalization.  We are coming to realize that we need each other.  What I do here in St. Paul somehow affects someone in China, and vice-versa.  Until we all realize this we will not know peace.

Currently I am taking a free online class in Kabbalah at the Bnei Baruch Learning Center.  The class meets twice a week for an hour and a half each; the first lesson is a technical lesson, and the second is a philosophical lesson.  If anyone is interested the link is provided here at the right.

Last week sometime, I bounced some Kabbalistic ideas off some friends, and they had NO idea what I was talking about; I could have been from Pluto for all they knew!  But, somehow this is a sign to me that I'm actually starting to understand some of the information I'm studying.  They say that even within one minute you will totally grasp an idea and in the next moment be completely lost...which is true.  The purpose of me sharing this at this time is that it is giving my life balance.  A couple weeks ago I attended a workshop hosted by The Kabbalah Centre called Kabbalah: The Best Kept Secret--Wisdom to Transform Your Life.  It was held at the Hyatt, downtown Minneapolis.  Truly great stuff!  I enjoy the partnering of the Kabbalah Centre and the Bnei Baruch Learning Center.  The first is a little less technical.

At the same time as studying Kabbalah, Isaac and I are studying Hebrew on the Shalom Channel On Demand.  This has been a blast as well, studying with Isaac.  He is picking up the Aleph-Bet faster than I am!  Leave it to young minds...I only wish I had that opportunity when I was his age.

I will post some things that I have learned here and there in this new blog, primarily for my own processing and learning.  I will include Franciscan thought, Kabbalistic thought, Christian thought, and other ministerial reflections I may have...Thanks for reading!

February 23rd

It was 24 years ago (I think) to the day that Molly and I started dating. I remember sitting up talking all night, walking all over La Crosse, and ending up watching the sun rise by Brophy Nursing Center at Viterbo. Ah, how romantic. I even remember eating Lay's sour cream and onion chips in the lobby of Marian South sometime that evening. We met in band the previous year; we served as president and vice-president of the band for the last 2 years of college. I remember Earl wanted to be the one who ended up dating Molly, but I guess it was my charm (ha ha) that won out in the end. We married on April 26th, 1997. We have two boys, Isaac William who was born on April 2nd 1999, and Samuel Aaron who was born on February 12th 2001. Currently they are in 4th and 2nd grade at the school that Molly teaches in St. Paul.

We moved from La Crosse to the Twin Cities in 2001 when I took a job at Faithful Shepherd Catholic School in Eagan, MN. I was the music teacher/band director there until leaving a year and a half ago--I've already mentioned these circumstances.