It’s been a good week in some ways. First off, the wonderful T. Thorn
Coyle talks about the need to change a
Group
Mind (using the term egregore) in order to achieve change, in her blog post at
http://www.thorncoyle.com/blog/2014/09/01/opposition-prayer/.
It’s very affirming to see others talking about this concept / action as well,
and makes me feel less like a voice ranting in the wilderness of an inner city
suburb … She
(Ms. Thorn Coyle, that is)
also talks, in another post at
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thorncoyle/2014/09/becoming-leaders/,
found via
the Wild Hunt, about leadership,
and how the characteristics of that match the characteristics of adulthood -
which means others are talking about maturity
(and have done so long before I started waffling about it - e.g. the
Facebook them that John Beckett mentioned, along the lines of Jesus loves you,
Odin wants you to grow up).
On the downside, I am back working in an overheated, overstressed, air
conditioned office on the other side of the city :) , and I’ve been getting
some strangely worded candles lit on my online shrines. That’s happened before,
when a bunch of gamers somewhere decided to use the rune info and also leave
irrelevant and highly disrespectful
(offensive, in some cases) messages. With a bit of discouragement, they
went elsewhere, and I’ll see how the measures I’m taking about the current
problems go …
And on problems, I see that cutting off funds to QSIL
(with that acronym, I’m respecting the views
of a Muslim cleric who has asked that the group be referred to with acronyms
using Q, referring to its source, as the group is clearly not Islamic; on that, see here)
is being talked about - e.g., see
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29201319.
They get a major source of funds from selling oil from fields in Syria that
they have overrun, and allegedly much of that oil is sold on an illegal market in
Turkey. See here, for instance:
http://www.theage.com.au/world/turkey-fails-to-cut-islamic-state-oil-revenue-despite-us-pressure-20140914-10gpaq.html,
Note that there are suggestions Turkey doesn’t want to antagonise a hostile
military force on its borders, particularly one that holds so many Turkish
people as hostages.
It would be easy for those who don’t live in Turkey to judge that
nation, which has been experiencing turmoil on a range of issues in recent
years
(e.g., see here) as many Turkish people seek to improve their nation and their lives, harshly - possibly out of fear of what would happen to the person doing the
judging if QSIL is not stopped …
Pot
calling kettle black [2], anyone? Or, as they apparently say in
South America, a donkey talking about ears, perhaps? There is fear on both
sides of that issue.
More importantly, on this point, the people who are taking advantage of
the low priced oil are no different to many other people in the world elsewhere
who are seeking to live “better” for the amount of money they have . Ever
illegally download a movie or a song? Then you’re using exactly the same sort
of perspective that is happening in Turkey, and you have
NO right
to criticise them. In fact, your actions are directly contributing to the sort
of energy that leads to other people overlooking unsavoury connections in gods
they buy – legal or otherwise.
(From a
magickal perspective, this is sympathetic magick or “like unto like” – or the “Magickal
Principal of Harmony”, as I term it.) The only difference is that the
Turkish people are in an unfortunate confluence of geography and events.
Want to do something about QSIL? Then stop doing any illegal downloads,
or give up something and make a sacrifice to your quality of life somehow: then
you will have (a) taken steps to reverse the energy you have - quite probably unwittingly - sent in support of
QSIL, and (b) shown the Turkish people that you have some modicum of realistic
understanding of their situation, and a desire to share the loss they would
make on behalf of the rest of the world if they stop QSIL selling oil
illegally.
Of course, there is the issue of educating people about this, as well,
which is similar to the problems of
“Blood Diamonds” and
“Blood Minerals”. Once
people understood what they were supporting, cutting off that source of funds
to warring groups became easier – and education is going to be important in
fighting QSIL. The military is obviously an essential in this as well, and
there has been some debate about “boots on the ground”
(see here
and here,
for instance), but it is important for regional forces to be actively
involved.
A number
of nations have apparently pledged their support, which is potentially good,
but regional forces must take a key role if this is to lead to a lasting result.
And on that,
this
article by the excellent
Waleed
Aly points that this is a war of ideology and society as much as it is a
military conflict. To quote from Mr Aly’s article:
“... a
symbol as ghastly as ISIL can only prosper in a febrile atmosphere.
"Right
now is a time for calm," urged NSW police commissioner Andrew Scipione.
"We don't need to whip this up."
He's
entirely right, but even as he says this he must be asking himself a very scary
question: is that going to be possible? ”
It is worth reading that article, as it has some excellent insights on the
history that led to the formation of QSIL, including what I have referred to
previously as the Hydra effect.
Here
is another article on that.
On other matters, I note that Mr Putin is saying that action against
QSIL should stay out of Syria. Wrong Mr Putin, wrong. Time for Russia to stop
inappropriately flexing its muscle, and start doing some useful things – as it
did with the chemical weapons in Syria. At least there are
signs of hope in Ukraine.
There are also signs of hope around the Ebola epidemic in west Africa.
Again, education is a key issue, to overcome the distrust many have of medical
authorities – an aid team and journalists were recently killed. This can be
done – it has, in east Africa, for instance, where people realise the problems
around Ebola.
Some of the actions include Sierra Leone quarantining itself. I can
relate to some of what that does, having been through something similar
recently. Again, you, Dear Reader, can think of something to share the courage
of those who do such things
(one English village did something similar hundreds
of years ago, when the bubonic plague reached them), and the distress of those
who cannot farewell their loved ones because they then risk also becoming ill.
Find this depressing? Well, the wonderful T. Thorne Coyle has
something to say on that
here.
I won’t look at coming events or other sources this week: I have other
matters to attend to. But I will provide some reading links I’ve accumulated
over the week.
I’ve found a few this week via the good ol’ invaluable
Wild Hunt:
- I’ll begin with this, which I will caution that the adage that “we
train others how to treat us” should always be kept in mind when considering
being forgiving: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/agora/2014/09/queer-of-swords-a-prayer-for-compassion-toward-z-budapest/;
- http://www.patheos.com/blogs/asenseofplace/2014/09/de-colonizing-ourselves/;
- in response to http://wildhunt.org/2014/09/alchemical-capitalism.html,
came this: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2014/09/the-commodification-of-humanity.html;
- and turning to other sources, I like this article’s suggestion of
adding impact to considerations of risk and return, and it is a useful lead
into the next set of articles. Unfortunately, it is on LinkedIn, and I
apologise wholeheartedly to those who cannot access it: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140915124646-211889-how-we-can-be-the-invisible-heart-of-markets?trk=nus-cha-roll-art-title;
- I consider the suggested revised way of viewing history is a very
useful notion, and look forward to something being published on it. For my
part, I’ve got a novel planned which, in part, looks at history from the point
of view of everyday people and their lifestyles, rather than what was happening
or not happening amongst the rich and powerful elites: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/anti-war-rethinking-the-20th-century/5615782?section=ww1;
- This next set of links is about World War part One, beginning with
this: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/worldwarone/what-happened-to-conscientious-objectors-during-ww1/5553002;
- http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/worldwarone/how-do-germans-feel-about-the-first-world-war/5552554;
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Marvingt;
- http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-04/world-war-i-teenage-girl-stowed-away-on-troopship/5687202?section=ww1;
- http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-26/priest-addresses-social-issues-in-eyebrow-raising-signs/5698310;
- I’ve posted on this before: http://www.dailylife.com.au/health-and-fitness/im-fat-and-im-an-athlete-you-shouldnt-be-surprised-20140916-3fuhj.html;
- I’ve more or less done something similar to this using pot plants - and
have interesting chats about small gardening with my boss at work (i.e., my day
job), who has a one square metre block of dirt: http://www.lifelink.in/blog/man-who-makes-instant-forests;
and, finally ..
- a suggestion for a changed attitude towards voting. I can’t say I agree
with this (although I do favour what is termed optional preferential voting,
and would like people to have the option of ticking a box saying “none of the
above”), but it worth a read and a think: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/18/if-democracy-is-broken-why-should-we-vote.
[1]
BPLF = Balanced Positive
(spiritual) Light Forces. See here and here for more on this.
Love, light, hugs and blessings
My "blogiography" (list of all posts and guide as to how to best use this site) is here, and my glossary/index is here.
- One
size does NOT fit all.
- Don't
be mediocre - seek to excel.
- Gnwmythr's
Stropping Strap: Occam's Razor only works if the simplest solution is actually
recognised as being the simplest, rather than the one that best fits one's
bigotries being labelled 'simplest'.
- Our
entire life experience, with all the many wondrous and varied people,
places and events in it, is too small a sample for statistical reliability
about Life.
- May
the world of commerce and business be recognised to be a servant, not a
master, of the lives of people.
- Ban
the dream interpretation industry!
- A
home is for living in, not feeling, becoming or being rich or a “better”
class than others.
- Being
accustomed to interacting via certain rules makes those rules neither
right nor universal.
- Like
fire to the physical, emotions to the soul make a good servant, and a bad
master.
- Expertise
at intimacy and emotional happiness is generally not the same thing as
spiritual growth.
- Any
person, male or female, who has neither a serious health issue, dependents
nor an agreement about study. yet expects their partner to work to support
them, is, spiritually speaking, little more than a parasite.
- The
means shape the end.
- BPLF
restraint of uncooperatives is NOT an opportunity for revenge or getting
even - even unconsciously.
- As
words can kill, the right to freedom of speech comes with a DUTY to be as
well-informed, objective and balanced as you can be.
- My
favourite action movie of all time is "Gandhi",
although I've recently come across "Invictus"
and might put that one in to that category. However, I
loathe the stereotypical action movie - and, for similar reasons, I loathe
many dramas, which are often emotionally
violent, more so in some cases than many war films.
- All
of the above - and this blog - could be wrong, or subject to context,
perspective, or state of spiritual evolution ...
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be
stronger [people].
John F. Kennedy (who was
quoting 19th Century Episcopal Bishop Phillips Brooks)
Jesus loves you. Odin wants you to grow up.
We make our decisions. And then our
decisions turn around and make us.
F.W. Boreham
Females, get over 'cute'. Get competent.
Get trained. Get capable. Get over 'cute'. And those of you who are called
Patty and Debby and Suzy, get over that. Because we use those names to
infantalise females – we keep females in their 'little girl' state by the names
we use for them. Get over it. If you want to be taken seriously, get serious.
Jane Elliott
The only thing necessary for the triumph of
evil is for good [people] to do nothing.
(based on
writing by) Edmund Burke
The significant problems we face cannot be
solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.
Albert Einstein
We didn't inherit the Earth from our
ancestors, we only borrowed it from our children
Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the
personality and eats away its vital unity.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
True compassion is more than flinging a
coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an
edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Too much and too long, we seem to have
surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation
of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America
by that -- counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to
clear our highways of carnage. ... Yet the gross national product does not allow
for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of
their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our
marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public
officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor
our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it
measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile."
Robert F. Kennedy 1968
There are risks and costs to a program of
action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of
comfortable inaction.
John F. Kennedy
If we could change ourselves, the
tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so
does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see
what others do. (Often degraded to “Be
the change you want to see in the world” – see here)
Gandhi
Tags:attitudes, conflict, energy work, forgiveness, harmony, history, magick, peace, violence, war,
First published: Laugardagr, 20th September, 2014
Last edited (excluding fixing typo's and other minor matters): Saturday, 20th September, 2014
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