This looks like a bridge on Belle Isle.

Feb 8, 2018

Our society has been cheating the infrastructure of the United States for 40 years. While we grow billionaires we neglect bridges, sewers, and roads, and people, while the government continues to cut aid to states and cities. This needs to change, but how? I think the government needs to raise taxes tremendously on the wealthy to pay for the needed infrastructure and install the means to clean energy. But since no one likes to pay taxes, most especially the wealthy who can afford to search for and use loopholes, I suggest that those rich taxpayers should be able to choose what and where to put 50 to 80 percent of their increased taxes, as long as it benefits the country or humanity. It seems to me that the chief argument or objection of the ultra-rich to paying higher taxes is lack of control. I speculate that many individuals and corporations wouldn’t mind giving more for a good reason. Many already give generously to certain social needs, but it isn’t enough. If we are to make a turnaround, the funds need to be enough to repair what has been breaking for a long time.

Think about it. It doesn’t matter whether it is the government, individuals, or corporations who spend the money on roads or bridges or solar panels for every home in America. What matters is that it gets done, not as an investment, but as a contribution. Naturally, some of those higher extra taxes would need to go to the government to distribute because who wants to put their valuable name on a dirty sewer system. What really matters is that individual lives are improved by better education, that the infrastructure gets fixed, that people can earn a good living, and that hope fills every heart because there are opportunities aplenty.

This country needs to make an abrupt change and I believe it needs to start with a rapid improvement in where and how the money is collected and spent. Sorry to say, this idea is exactly the opposite direction in which we are now turned. Wouldn’t it be nice to make such a great change that the wealth of our country begins to benefit everyone.

I know. Many people ask the question:  Why should my hard earned money go to riff raff and lazy people? The answer is because, at any one time, we can’t help being a world half filled with children, and immature adults. (At my ripe age of 75, I think everyone under fifty is still a child). Everyone grows at a different pace.  Some people want to play while other people want to learn, grow and work hard. Some people get caught up in personal tragedies. I know one person who is an alcoholic but I learned that he had two children commit suicide. How does a person live with that? Also, the difference in growth patterns can be caused by bad upbringing or lack of opportunity. In an ideal society, everyone would have every opportunity and basic need supplied while growing up. In that ideal world, if some few are truly lazy do nothings, so what? It just means that they are slow to develop, lacking in intelligence, or not exactly sane. It wouldn’t hurt for us to pay their way as long as they are few and most of us are happily moving along.

Well, I am an idealist. I know that idealism ignores deliberate acts of evil, but I prefer to think that most serious evil is done by people with runaway emotions or are too selfish to know better.  I truly believe Jesus statement that we are meant to be gods one day. To get there we need to care for each other as he requested. It is a tall order that requires true maturity. I am not sure what true maturity means. It is hard to know for sure because few people can achieve it in the small number of years we have to spend upon the earth.

Yet, we try. Everywhere I look, I see great actions done for other people. The newspapers and churches and social events are filled with ways people care for each other and their country. So, it seems to me that we should give the extremely rich a proper nudge and encourage them to use more of their wealth for the greater good of this country.

Elon Musk is a good example of how to spend wealth on great things. His vision is to build a rocket ships that may take people to Mars one day. Microsoft spends huge funds to cure sickness around the world. There are too many examples to list here of the great things some people are doing for humanity. I think the idea of increasing taxes on the ultra-rich could multiply this kind of good exponentially. Everyone would profit.

A photo of the Falcon Heavy Rocket lift off

Feb 9, 2018

The other day, when I meditated, I tried to spread the idea of ‘truth’ around the country when I spread God light, but, as Jesus advised, everyone holds to their own version of truth. So instead, this morning, after calling for reinforcements, the group of us stood in the center of the country and spread the idea of honesty. I suddenly asked myself, “What is this perfect love from God? What does it consist of?” Pure, perfect love must, at least, be composed of honesty and virtue, as well as, the ability to heal the mind and body. Even our imperfect love shares a feeling of tenderness towards another, a wish to lift them up, an enhancement of well-being and goodness.

Well, this is what we tried to send out through the ocean waves of love this morning. I sent out honesty and clarity of thought through crystal clear air that sparkled with love. Then I went to specific individuals who seemed to need a boost. I went to a large lady who lives on a farm and wrapped her in a rose petal from the center of my being. I hoped to clear up her confused thoughts. I went to numerous other people. I also tried to concentrate goodness and love in the center of Detroit, as an added enhancement of the many churches do a good job. Still, too many people avoid this extra help in their lives, this lift of spirit that they could get from going to church. Each week, the philosophy of live by is reinforced through the gospels and other readings as well as the friendliness of the people I meet. I sorrow for those who lack such social constructs. It is a gift given freely with hardly any effort.     

I also went to a few people to wrap them in comfort with a rose petal. One skinny man was shivering with cold and I felt like my rose petal might give him a feeling of temporary warmth. Perhaps by sharing concern and love, he would be more able to find shelter some place. There are too many people who lack shelter and other basic needs in this land of the rich.

I shared as much spiritual love as I could until the rosary cd ended. As I go about each day, working, writing, painting or just sitting, I try to hold on to the feeling of the rose with God light in the center of my being. It is my hope that one day I will be able sense the rose all the time. In other words, make my whole day a walking meditation. I still have far to go, but that doesn’t matter. It is the desire that pulls me forward.

This image from Hubble looks like a butterfly

2/17/18

Those of us with likeminded thoughts gathered in the center of the United States this morning atop God’s Holy Mountain. I reasoned:  What better place to image God’s Mountain than in the center of the most wealthy and most influential nation on the planet. (Although, according to Revelation, if we are not careful, it will soon become the most hated nation on the planet. Up until a year ago, I couldn’t imagine how this would come to be, now I can).

We stood there holding hands and called others to come and join us for these few minutes. I felt awed at those who showed up upon the Mountain of God. Young Catholic priests, members of Baptist ministries, Monks from every religion, Sufi’s, Catholic, Buddhist, Orthodox, and others wearing their identifying garments. All of us filled with intense God light, turned and sent the light out in front of us as we stepped down off the tall mountain pushing the light before us. God had created a thick blanket of love-energy for us to carry around the world.

God’s blanket of love contains within it truth, honesty, healing, awakening, and hope.  As we walked pushing and pulling the thick golden blanket in front and behind, we picked up other people during their meditation in California and then Japan. When we stepped into the Pacific Ocean we picked up the mind and concerned thoughts of whales and dolphins. As we walked all around the earth with the golden blanket soaking through every life on the planet, many animal minds and the essence of tree-mind and fauna tingled at our passing.

I met a person in Japan who meditates with Zen who looked at me as he joined the march around the world. I met people in various nations who did the same, even Russia and Syria. All people who pray are invited to join us for those few minutes we spread the wealth of God’s love.

When I returned home to America, I went to a young man who is the leader of a tough gang. I enclosed him in a rose petal of love and spoke to him for long minutes about how he could do something nice and useful for his area.

“You have great leadership abilities,” I told him. “People follow you. You could choose to protect the children in your neighborhood, or clean up the graffiti, or keep your area clean, or take care of the elderly, or anything else that you see in needs doing in your neighborhood. You could become a bigger person, a well-known person making a change for good. Then you could instruct your many followers to do the same. They would be astounded, as would the people in your area and maybe the whole world. Think about what you might do.”

By now the rosary was ending and I hugged this young man and hope I gave him something deep to think about. I pray he isn’t too far gone to the other side to listen to my plea. I suspect that if he does decide to make this change, that many gang members and perhaps even rival leaders from other gangs will follow suite. They won’t want to be left out of this new great effort of doing good for their fellow citizens.

I know that Jesus and his angels are talking and teaching wisdom to any and all of us who will listen and even trying to speak to many who won’t or don’t know to listen. I can detect the underlying results of their effort.  Their effort seems small to begin with, but put it all together and soon the wisdom Jesus teaches will be write large. He instructs each of us according to what we are able to except, and it moves us forward, bit by bit.

Also, I believe that Jesus is in contact with the greatest spiritual minds from Tibet and elsewhere, including monks and nuns in monasteries in every nation. Jesus has hinted that an evil influence has tried, and often succeeded, to take over nations on earth and that it is a most serious problem that needs to be fought against. For this reason, Jesus has asked those of us who gather upon the Mountain of God to pull the blanket of love-energy around the earth every single day, not just once a week as I do. I will try and remember to join them every day, at least during Lent. I think Jesus would prefer that we do this every moment of the day, but to me that seems impossible. What is most important is that Jesus’ wish implies that God’s blanket of love, however weak it seems, is working. That our effort is truly spreading God’s love around the globe, a love that includes healing, honesty, and all the good virtues.

We have all learned much and if we keep up the struggle there might be great hope for us in the future. And speaking of future, Jesus told me we will start traveling in the universe again this spring. I look forward to it. I enjoy sitting amid the greenery of spring and smelling the fresh air while I visit and travel with Jesus.

I took a photo of this rabbit a few years ago in my side yard.

It is still around because I saw its prints in the snow this year.

2/26/18

I have two favorite phrases at opposite ends of the spectrum that sum up my feelings about empathy. The first is: Evil is banal. When I first read a quote of this phrase, I cried deeply. It was in reference to an excuse spoken at the Nuremberg Trials after WWII. The man said he was just doing his job. In other words, the severe, unbelievable agony that the Jews suffered in Nazi Germany was mostly done to them for no other reason than workers wanted to keep their jobs, so they dared not disobey.

Everyone in America intent on cutting food stamps should watch the secret film footage taken in Germany for the purpose of propaganda. It was buried because it showed too much of the truth. If anyone thinks that a human consisting of almost skin and bones can’t lay down starving and die in front of a bakery blowing out the smell of fresh baked bread, think again. While he lay there, one dead body among many, a women wearing a mink coat and high heels stepped over the body and entered the bakery.

We, in America, can hardly comprehend the possibility of a person truly starving from lack of food. I watched this event on that film, (probably from Netflix), and even felt sympathy for the bakery owner. With so many people dying in the streets, what can one bakery do? How should they continue? How did it come to the point that in order to keep your business you must close your eyes to people laying down and dying in front of your store?

Could it happen to us? Possibly. We need to stop the potential for cold hearted atrocities before it begins. We don’t want to put ourselves in the same place as the people in Germany were put during the war. Millions of people were treated as livestock to be slaughtered or disregarded as worthless.

Also true of slavery in our own country 150 years ago and, as a nation, we have yet to recover. Did the people of the south use the same, lame excuse of needing a job? All because they were caught up in a financial system created by their rich leaders? Ignorance reins.

Jesus tells me he is talking to and teaching numerous people today. I can only speculate on how hard it might be for Jesus to teach someone who believes in their own goodness, yet doesn’t follow Jesus prescription to “Love your neighbor.”

I watched Lincoln by Stephen Spielberg. What a wonderful movie. The actors were at the top of their form. I intend to watch it again in six months. While I watched the movie, I thought about the idea of Jesus watching it too, and for all we know, being there at that pivotal moment in America’s history. What did Jesus think of those Christian people who believed in enslaving people of color?

Today, what does Jesus think of good Christian people who believe they should reduce SNAP and Medicaid and Medicare and other safety net programs? I know Jesus is walking the earth right now. I know Jesus is speaking to people to help them grow beyond their current understanding. I know this because Jesus has been teaching me for many years. I have learned much and my empathy has broadened considerably during those years.

Which brings me to my second phrase:  Compassion Fatigue. We humans can only empathize with a small number of destitute people. Crowds of needy refugees, people running from war, millions losing homes, thousands in flood waters, all happening now, all visible on our television screens, and all too much to take in. Large tragedies tend to slide past our ability of our hearts and minds to truly feel the people’s plight. Horrors enough, to be sure, but our emotions grow weary of too much visual pain. It becomes too much to think about.

Most news agencies know this which is why they zero in and focus their photos on just one or two of the destitute humans or animals. The photo of that little boy refugee laying on the sandy beach is one example. It caught at all our hearts. The same with the recent video inside the Florida school that gave us the sound of gun fire. I was frightened beyond words, while sitting in my chair in front of the television. It hurt. And so does my feeling of guilt when I can’t feel deep empathy for the plight of millions of people displaced by war and hunger. But then, I am only human, so I will do as Jesus suggests: “Keep pushing.”

Note-I could have chosen other photos, such as Slave with a scarred back, but couldn’t look at them let alone put them on my web site.