Who Am I?

by The Other Schell, posted in Many Scriptures One Source

This writing is dedicated to my cousin Brian K. who has often been a shining light in my life.

 

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                 This article was written in response to a question posed to me by a friend. His question came as a response to an excerpt from the Tao Te Ching I posted on a social website which reads:               

“Hope and fear are both phantoms
that arise from thinking of the self.
When we don’t see the self as self,
what do we have to fear?” (Tao Ch:13)1

 

After reading the excerpt my friend asked: “If we don’t see the self as self, then what are we?”

                This question often comes to front and center when people reflect on their meditative practice. This is the beginning of the walk on a path that leads to spiritual and mental realization.  

Who are we?

                From the time of our conception we are formed by our social surroundings or what some call conditioned by our outer environment. The influence of our parents, or lack of parents, the influence of our siblings, the influence of our community, the churches we attended or did not attend, our teachers, mentors, civil authorities and political leaders, the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the books we read, the advertisement that we are bombarded with, basically everything in our outer environment, along with some personal choices, play apart in creating our personal identities.  

                If someone asks you who you are, how would you respond? I have heard people respond with reciting their name, “I am Jane Doe. I am a part of the Doe Family.” If they are at their work they may respond with their job title, “I’m a truck driver for Nestles.” If in a foreign country perhaps the response would be, “I’m an American.” At a sporting event the response may be, “I am a Blues fan.” In reference to a belief system one may respond, “I am a Christian” or, “I am an atheist”, etc. When we identify ourselves in this way we are speaking out of our personal histories exposing the influences from our past conditioning. In these histories is the story of the self.

                These self identifiers can be known as “tags”. These tags come with mental attachments and learned patterns of thought. We cling to these patterns dearly because these patterns, in a large way, are us. As we cling to them, many are oblivious to the notion that these “tags” can be confining to our growth. By the time we are adults we are covered with so many tags, many of which we did not choose for ourselves, that we have smothered any true sense of who we really are. “Is this really me or is this who others convinced me that I am? Is there a genuine, pure me underneath all this?”

                I often ask people within our meditation groups, “If you could swipe the mind clean of all past influences, family, country, religion, all of it, who would you be?” There must be something there because when you close your eyes and remove the thoughts from the mind something remains. What remains is the authentic you.

 

                                              The authentication of Paige Bradley 

paige-bradley-001                

                The virtuoso sculptor Paige Bradley (pictured above) describes this in a fashion that beckons my humbleness. In an attempt to remove the confines of the conditioned perceptions of her past she shatters a sculpture that she had been working on for months. She began piecing the fragments back together resulting in a work of art that clearly displays the light of the pure self inside of her and each of us.

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In her own poignant words she explains:

“From the moment we are born, the world tends to have a box already built for us to fit inside. Our umbilical cord never seems to be severed; we only find new needs to fill. If we disconnected and severed our attachments, would we shatter our confinements and expand beyond our shell? Would the world look different? Would we recognize ourselves? Are we the box that we are inside, and to be authentically ‘un-contained’ would we still be able to exist? This is the irony of containment. As long as we don’t push on the walls of our surroundings, we may never know how strong we really are.”

To view the original article and more about the Artist Paige Bradley click here .

Realizing who you are

                Lao Tzu, in the scripture reading quoted above, is separating the ordinary egoic self from the genuine self. When one privileges the tags that compose our understanding of the self over our obvious connection to all life, the world, and the divine essence of our Source, we begin to lose our true sense of self. As the practice of mind clearing meditation becomes habitual you start to peel away these layers of attachments that previously defined you. Simultaneously you begin reformatting your mind in a way that dissolves negative thought patterns and continues to bring your awareness back to your connection with the “big picture” of life. The egoic self shrinks and the genuine self expands. In some cases during these meditative episodes you no longer “see the self as self” but experience your being as fussed with  all else that is. This is what the Hindu scriptures call self-realization. Your thinking becomes less “me” centered or human centered and becomes Source centered. Hence, the stanza that completes chapter 13 of the Tao states:  

“See the world as your self.
Have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as your self;
then you can care for all things.”1

                In the Christian scriptures, Jesus addresses egoic or human centered thought quit plainly in Mathew’s gospel. In this story Jesus informs his followers that he soon will suffer and be killed at the hands of Jewish elders. Peter, in an inflation of the egoic self, criticizes Jesus and arrogantly proceeds to tell Jesus how God should be involved with His people. The passage that includes Peter’s rebuke is as follows:

                 “Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” (Mat 16:23-24 NAB)

Then Jesus returns to the other followers who were there and reminds them of the sentiments of Lao Tzu;

               “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself”                                               

                Please keep in mind that Lao Tzu is not preoccupied with judgments of right or wrong. Lao Tzu’s focus is psychological. He is pointing to that which happens in the mind that robs a person of contentment and peace. Is it wrong to identify ourselves by our family name or by our country of origin? Not necessarily. If we could retrace our family lineage back to before the beginning of time there also would be our Source.

               I will close with Chapter 16 of the Tao Te Ching. Perhaps this will put this writing in perspective:

“Empty your mind of all thoughts.
Let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of beings,
but contemplate their return.

Each separate being in the universe
returns to the common source.
Returning to the source is serenity.

If you don’t realize the source,
you stumble in confusion and sorrow. 
When you realize where you come from,
you naturally become tolerant,
disinterested, amused,
kindhearted as a grandmother,
dignified as a king.
Immersed in the wonder of the Tao,
you can deal with whatever life brings you,
and when death comes, you are ready.”1

Notes:

1.All quotes from the Tao Te Ching have been retrieved from: Tao Te Ching: A new English Translation, Stephen Mitchell, Harper Collins, 2009

 

 

The Priest, The Buddha, and The Ant

by The Other Schell, posted in Uncategorized

On one day in May I meditated in the late morning as the construction work that I was scheduled to do that day was called off. After meditation I went outside with my niece’s dog so that she could run around the back yard as I drank a cup of coffee. I was in an extreme state of awareness. While sitting on the brick patio I noticed a small ant that was diligently carrying what looked like a flake of coal about the size of a clipped finger nail. The ant was struggling in getting this large piece across the bricks to her destination. There was a slight wind. The force of the breeze against the flat side of the flake accompanied with the weight and shape of the flake itself was causing the ant to spin around on occasion in order to hang on to her new found necessity. After the spin, the ant would stagger a bit while resetting herself on the path of her intention. As I watched the ant I felt connected to her in some way. I wondered what made me think in times past that what I was doing was more important than what the ant was doing on the occasions when we would cross paths. Both of our lives were necessary for the positive development of the world ecosystems. At the moment this animal seemed to be exercising more positive coordinated evolvement than I was.

As I watched this scene I recalled a sermon I had heard years before from a Catholic priest in my home town during a Sunday service. In the pastors talk he claimed the actions of the Buddha were “retarded” because he had read stories where the Gautama would walk with his head bowed being careful to step aside when he would come upon ants that where in his path. This enlightened spiritual master practiced such a reverence for all life that he did not want to disrupt the ants.

I had a difficult time reconciling the words of the priest in my current observation of the ant. The ant was tenacious in crossing wide crevices in the brick with flake in her hands. The ant did not seem to have much concern about what I was doing as she moved toward her colony. In a comparable size to weight ratio the ant did more in 5 minutes than I could have done in 4 hours with three men and a crane. If ants think at all like humans then this ant obviously experienced conscious mind activity in that she could exercise memory functions returning from whence she came. After marveling at the ant’s ability and finishing my coffee, I decided to test the priest theory about the actions of the 6 century BCE Indian sage whom over 500 million living humans claim to be one of the wisest men to ever walk the face of the planet. I spent some time researching ants.

The first study I came upon was from a professor at Ohio State University in regards to mentally grasping an ant’s physical strength. His team found that some ant bodies can with stand more than 3500 times their weight in pressure before they are crushed. To give you an idea of the weight to pressure ration this would be the same as placing a 3600SF, 2 story house on the back of a 170lb man before their neck would break.1 Ok, their physically strong. What about their longevity? Queen Carpenter ants can live up to 10 years. Some classes of ants can live for 30 years.2

ant-lifitng-twig-2016

What about their ability to function and evolve in their environment which is an accurate mark of intelligence? The study of other animals who don’t share a lot in common with human beings has been detoured in a large way due to our persistent, debilitating, man centered thought process. Often humans’ only understanding of intelligence is composed of perceiving the physical world as humans do. Ants display complex and intelligent behavior even by human standards. They navigate long distances, communicate with each other, avoid predators, display courtship, care for their young, similar to many mammals. Research that came out of the University of Sussex determined that when it comes to a sense of direction and the ability to move around in their environment, “ants use a variety of cues to navigate, such as sun position, polarized light patterns, visual panoramas, gradient of odors, wind direction, slope, ground texture, step-counting… and more. Indeed, the list of cues ants can utilize for navigation is probably greater than for humans.” The study goes on to conclude that in general the intricacies of ant brains are far too complex for humans to fully understand any time soon.3

What about evolution? Ted Schultz, Curator of Hymenoptera (Ants) for the Smithsonian Institute has been studying these extraordinary animals for over 30 years. In reference to ant evolution he stated that, “ants are arguably the greatest success story in the history of terrestrial metazoa (multicellular animals on the earth)”, this includes humans.4 This indicates that ants are positively evolving at a much greater rate than humans. Ants have been around for over 65 million years and survived mass extinction events. The oldest remains discovered called “human” only date back 195,000 years. On average ants monopolize over 15-20% percent of their habitat with an estimated population of around 10 quadrillion. 5 That’s 1.4 million ants for each human that occupies the same planetary space. Ants will work in coordination with other species of ants. They domesticate multiple types of fungi, their food source, like we grow plants and flowers in our living spaces. They will choose to grow certain fungi that are most beneficial for their nourishment and frequently transfer these types to other species. When ant habitats have been devastated by natural causes’ colonies have been known to join a neighboring colony and work in cooperation in a common garden.6

ant-cooperation

In some ways, many humans simply haven’t evolved to the equal intelligence level of ants. This is obvious by the fact that humans spend 1.7 trillion dollars on tools, training, and equipment, which destroys other humans and their habitats.7 Less than 2% of that amount would feed the 7.5 million humans who starve to death each year.8 I could not find any information that stated that ants destroy other ant habitats. Humans who inhabit many parts of the globe are trained from the time they are young that non-edible materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and paper with inked impressions of historical figures, are more important than other humans and in some cases more important than life itself. There have been countless documented incidences where people were completely willing to sacrifice their own lives for these materials which had no human physically sustaining value. Ants don’t typically involve themselves in activities such as these that are considered “de-evolutionary”.

Is it possible that the Buddha knew something that the priest didn’t? Perhaps the Spiritual Teacher was aware of the important role that ants play in maintaining a healthy planet. By digging tunnels ants aerate the soil allowing better water flow and bringing nutrients closer to the surface for vegetation. It is estimated that ants move over 50 tons of dirt per year in one square mile.9 Ants increase the dispersal, survival, and germination rates, of seeds by carrying them to new habitats away from seed eaters (birds) and drought. Ants prey on the eggs and larvae of other insects such as flies, cock roaches, bed bugs, and fleas. And this is only a few of the positive aspects of ants. The diversity of total ant species with in an ecosystem can be an indicator of overall environmental health. This contributes to the health of all plant, fungi, and animals (including humans), that share the environment.10

In regards to ants I am going to have to go with the Buddha on this. I remember some of a passage I read from the Pali Cannon that was attributed to the Buddha, in paraphrase it goes something like, “Believe nothing on the sole authority of your masters and priest. After examination, believe what you have tested and found to be reasonable. Then, act accordingly.”

Notes:

  1. (Carlos Castro, Journal of Biomechanics, Vol.47 Is.2, Pg 497-504, 1/22/14;

Weight of house, http://hunterthehousehunter.com/tag/how-much-does-a-house-weigh/)

  1. (Steph Unna, Systems Biology PhD Student at the Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge University, http://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/2785/why-do-ants-live-so-long, 06/30/12)
  2. (Antoine Wystrach, Animal Behavior – University of Sussex, The Conversation, 09/03/13)
  3. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol.97 No.26, Ted R. Schultz,  14028–14029, doi: 10.1073/pnas.011513798)
  1. (Robert Gonzalez, http://io9.gizmodo.com/5880539/10-frightening-facts-you-probably-didn’t-know-about-ants)
  2. (University of Texas, Austin- Ant Studies, http://www.uni-konstanz.de/FuF/Bio/neuroetho/index/Adams%20et%20al.%202000a.pdf)
  1. (World military expenditure in 2012 is estimated to have reached $7.756 Trillion; http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending.
  2. (United Nations Estimate, http://borgenproject.org/the-cost-to-end-world-hunger/)
  3. (http://ant/ark.net/ant-facts/)

10.( Corrie Moreau, Ant Blog 08/26/12, http://www.antweb.org/antblog/2012/08/what-good-are-ants-david-panama-city-florida-usa.html)

  1. Buddha recitation, Pearls of wisdom, (http://www.sapphyr.net/buddhist/buddhist-quotes.htm)

 

 

 

Harvard neuroscientist: Meditation not only reduces stress, here’s how it changes your brain

by The Other Schell, posted in Meditation Practice and Benefits

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Buddhist and meditation teacher Tara Brach leads a Vipassana  meditation group at the River Road Unitarian Church in Bethesda.  (Andrea Bruce Woodall /The Washington Post)

Sara Lazar, a neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, was one of the first scientists to take the anecdotal claims about the benefits of meditation and mindfulness and test them in brain scans. What she found surprised her — that meditating can literally change your brain. She explains:

Q: Why did you start looking at meditation and mindfulness and the brain?

Lazar: A friend and I were training for the Boston marathon. I had some running injuries, so I saw a physical therapist who told me to stop running and just stretch. So I started practicing yoga as a form of physical therapy. I started realizing that it was very powerful, that it had some real benefits, so I just got interested in how it worked.

The yoga teacher made all sorts of claims, that yoga would increase your compassion and open your heart. And I’d think, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m here to stretch.’ But I started noticing that I was calmer. I was better able to handle more difficult situations. I was more compassionate and open hearted, and able to see things from others’ points of view.

I thought, maybe it was just the placebo response. But then I did a literature search of the science, and saw evidence that meditation had been associated with decreased stress, decreased depression, anxiety, pain and insomnia, and an increased quality of life.

At that point, I was doing my PhD in molecular biology. So I just switched and started doing this research as a post-doc.

Q: How did you do the research?

Lazar: The first study looked at long-term meditators vs a control group. We found long-term meditators have an increased amount of gray matter in the insula and sensory regions, the auditory and sensory cortex. Which makes sense. When you’re mindful, you’re paying attention to your breathing, to sounds, to the present moment experience, and shutting cognition down. It stands to reason your senses would be enhanced.

We also found they had more gray matter in the frontal cortex, which is associated with working memory and executive decision making.

It’s well-documented that our cortex shrinks as we get older – it’s harder to figure things out and remember things. But in this one region of the prefrontal cortex, 50-year-old meditators had the same amount of gray matter as 25-year-olds.

So the first question was, well, maybe the people with more gray matter in the study had more gray matter before they started meditating. So we did a second study.

We took people who’d never meditated before, and put one group through an eight-week  mindfulness based stress reduction program.

Q: What did you find?

Lazar: We found differences in brain volume after eight weeks in five different regions in the brains of the two groups. In the group that learned meditation, we found thickening in four regions:

1. The primary difference, we found in the posterior cingulate, which is involved in mind wandering, and self relevance.

2. The left hippocampus, which assists in learning, cognition, memory and emotional regulation.

3.  The temporo parietal junction, or TPJ, which is associated with perspective taking, empathy and compassion.

4. An area of the brain stem called the Pons, where a lot of regulatory neurotransmitters are produced.

The amygdala, the fight or flight part of the brain which is important for anxiety, fear and stress in general. That area got smaller in the group that went through the mindfulness-based stress reduction program.

The change in the amygdala was also correlated to a reduction in stress levels.

Q: So how long does someone have to meditate before they begin to see changes in their brain?

Lazar: Our data shows changes in the brain after just eight weeks.

In a mindfulness-based stress reduction program, our subjects took a weekly class. They were given a recording and told to practice 40 minutes a day at home. And that’s it.

Q: So, 40 minutes a day?

Lazar: Well, it was highly variable in the study. Some people practiced 40 minutes pretty much every day. Some people practiced less. Some only a couple times a week.

In my study, the average was 27 minutes a day. Or about a half hour a day.

There isn’t good data yet about how much someone needs to practice in order to benefit.

Meditation teachers will tell you, though there’s absolutely no scientific basis to this, but anecdotal comments from students suggest that 10 minutes a day could have some subjective benefit. We need to test it out.

We’re just starting a study that will hopefully allow us to assess what the functional significance of these changes are. Studies by other scientists have shown that meditation can help enhance attention and emotion regulation skills. But most were not neuroimaging studies. So now we’re hoping to bring that behavioral and neuroimaging science together.

Q: Given what we know from the science, what would you encourage readers to do?

Lazar: Mindfulness is just like exercise. It’s a form of mental exercise, really. And just as exercise increases health, helps us handle stress better and promotes longevity, meditation purports to confer some of those same benefits.

But, just like exercise, it can’t cure everything. So the idea is, it’s useful as an adjunct therapy. It’s not a standalone. It’s been tried with many, many other disorders, and the results vary tremendously – it impacts some symptoms, but not all. The results are sometimes modest. And it doesn’t work for everybody.

It’s still early days for trying to figure out what it can or can’t do.

Q: So, knowing the limitations, what would you suggest?

Lazar: It does seem to be beneficial for most people. The most important thing, if you’re going to try it, is to find a good teacher. Because it’s simple, but it’s also complex. You have to understand what’s going on in your mind. A good teacher is priceless

Q: Do you meditate? And do you have a teacher?

Lazar: Yes and yes.

Q: What difference has it made in your life?

Lazar: I’ve been doing this for 20 years now, so it’s had a very profound influence on my life. It’s very grounding. It’s reduced stress. It helps me think more clearly. It’s great for interpersonal interactions. I have more empathy and compassion for people.

Q: What’s your own practice?

Lazar: Highly variable. Some days 40 minutes. Some days five minutes. Some days, not at all. It’s a lot like exercise. Exercising three times a week is great. But if all you can do is just a little bit every day, that’s a good thing, too. I’m sure if I practiced more, I’d benefit more. I have no idea if I’m getting brain changes or not. It’s just that this is what works for me right now.

This article was was written by Brigid Schulte and published in the Washington Post on May, 25th 2015. To view the original article click here.

To watch a 4 minuet excerpt of an interview with Doctor Sara Lazar discussing the science behind meditation click here .

Educating Mindfulness

by The Other Schell, posted in Meditation Practice and Benefits

 

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Wisconsin elementary-school teachers are incorporating simple mental exercises in the classroom to promote well-being, thanks to a partnership between the Madison Metropolitan School District and the Center for Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Center worked with fifth-grade classroom teachers and other personnel at Glendale Elementary in Madison, Wis., during the 2014-15 school year, sharing practices with teachers and students to improve attention and students’ emotion regulation skills.

To watch an 8 minute video how on this works and the effects click here.

 

Proof that meditation can change the world

by The Other Schell, posted in Meditation Practice and Benefits

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Meditation has the potential to literally transform the world. In 1978, what is known as the “Maharishi Effect” took place when a group of 7000 individuals over the course of 3 weeks were meditating in hopes of positively effecting the surrounding city. They were able to literally transform the collective energy of the city which reduced global crime rates, violence, and casualties during the times of their meditation by an average of 16%. Suicide rates and automobile accidents also were reduced with all variables accounted for. In fact, there was a 72% reduction in terrorist activity during the times at which this group was meditation.

Almost 50 studies have been done further confirming the benefits of global meditation and it’s direct impact on everything in the world, even so far as to have the results published in the Journal of Crime and Justice in 1981. We know meditation has endless health and psychological benefits, but it is now being explored by politics and sociology because of its undeniable energetic impact.

For example, a day-by-day study of a two-month assembly in Israel during August and September of 1983 showed that, on days when the number of participants at a peace-creating assembly was high, the intensity of an ongoing war in neighboring Lebanon decreased sharply. When the number of participants was high, war deaths in Lebanon dropped by 76%.

When the study was repeated in Wales, they got amazing results. In 1987 Merseyside had the third highest crime rate of the eleven largest Metropolitan Areas in England and Wales; by 1992 it had the lowest crime rate. 40% below levels predicted by the previous behavior of the series. There were 255,000 less crimes in Merseyside from 1988 to 1992 than would have been expected had Merseyside continued to follow the national crime trend.

The secret of the Global Maharishi Effect is the phenomenon known to Physics as the ‘Field Effect’, the effect of coherence and positivity produced from the field of infinite correlation—the self-referral field of least excitation of consciousness—the field of Transcendental Consciousness, which is basic to creation and permeates all life everywhere. Meditation takes your consciousness to the implicate levels of existence where your intentions have consequential effects on the explicate level that we interact with before it even manifests. Consciousness gives rise to the material. The key idea is that all of existence emanates out of a field of universal consciousness, called the Unified Field or Super String Field.

“I think the claim can be plausibly made that the potential impact of this research exceeds that of any other ongoing social or psychological research program. It has survived a broader array of statistical tests than most research in the field of conflict resolution. This work and the theory that informs it deserve the most serious consideration by academics and policy makers alike.”

David Edwards Ph.D., Professor of Government, University of Texas at Austin.

This article was originally viewed on in5d.com. To read original article click here.

 

 

Contemporary Prophets

by The Other Schell, posted in Unnecessary Suffering
ortiz-dianna-mae-2013
Dianna Ortiz O.S.U 2013 -Is a member of the Mount Saint Joseph Ursulines

02.08.17          3:30 am

WARNING: The Surgeon General has determined that digesting the following words could affect your mind in a way that causes you to think, feel, and act, differently. Proceed with extreme caution!  

            Why is it that some of the most clear thoughts come to one as they awaken in the middle of the night. It’s as if you are alone, unhindered by the noises of a busy world and your mind is free to think and remember all the times in the past when the wise ones of the ages spoke to you in person, or through their written words. Everything makes so damn much sense. So as I sit and listen to the popping noise of my fingers hitting the lap top computer; I imagine all those lights from the past and those still present who were put here by some divine force to guide humanity in a direction that will perpetuate the regeneration of human life on this ball in the sky. I imagine them standing around me, mentoring my actions to a place beautiful and unknown.

            I was told once by the poet U.N. Known, that there are rules of engagement, so to speak, when you attempt to write something that others may consider reading. The first went something like, always write as though you are on your death bed and these are the last words that anyone will ever see from you. Your last testament as they say. The second, never forget that just because you read a few books and you were fortunate to enough to be involved throughout your life with some of the  most brilliant minds of your time, that this doesn’t make you the final authority on any subject. A true writer is a humble and compassionate soul that recognizes that in the blink of an eye she/he could be sitting next to the homeless person that you pass everyday on your way to the grocery store. Third, Keep in mind that your perceptions about life are always limited to some degree and that you could be wrong in the way you are describing what you “think” you see. Never be afraid to trust another set of eyes, especially those of one who has nothing to lose by telling the truth. Some of the most profound words ever spoken and seldom heard came from people who were destitute and seemed to be on their last breath. They are the ones who hold no fear of what others think of them or what is to come because soon all of that will not matter anymore and they will be gone from this world. I have heard people call these sort visionaries or prophets.

            The word ‘prophet’ has been considerably beat up over the last millennium or so to where some believe the word to identify a person who could tell the future. This is a slight distortion from the original meaning. Within the Hebrew tradition the term comes from the word “nabi” which means something closer to one ‘who speaks for another’. I define the word in another way that indicates someone who is telling you, “stop doing what you are doing or bad things will continue to happen.”  The reference in the ancient writings from various traditions often included one who would speak for those who had been forgotten by the rest of society, the marginalized. Using this criterion there are many contemporary prophets who are shouting about the regrettable state of affairs of the marginalized and it would do one well to listen to their words. When I tell people about the misuse of the word prophet I often remember a character in a story recited by Homer many tears and many years ago. Her name was Cassandra who was given the gift of prophesy by a god in exchange for sexual favors. When she denied the god, Apollo, his desires he took revenge by assuring that none of her prophecies would be believed. This unbelieving is of course a common occurrence among prophets even to this day.

            One case in point is the story of Dianna Ortiz, a Catholic nun who was working as a missionary in Guatemala aiding women and teaching Mayan grade school children. On November 2nd,   1989 she was abducted by Guatemalan military units funded and trained by the representatives of the US government. They took her to a secret prison in Guatemala City where she was tortured and repeatedly raped during questioning for the next 24 hours. She eventually escaped but before she did she was told by the American consultant who was in charge during her torture session that it was by her own fault that she was captured and tortured for not heeding the written anonymous threats that were sent to her.

            After she was back in the United States Sr. Ortiz told her story. According to her testimony given in September 2005 at the Call for Justice conference in Washington D. C. she stated that at first, “I was labeled a liar, a crazy women” by many people who did not believe her. This unbelieving, plus her insistence to speak for others whom she knew had suffered the same fate and did not survive, many of whom were women and children, are the ear markings of a contemporary prophet. Her courage to speak for others when so many were willing to kill her to maintain her silence moves beyond the description of a beautiful human being of integrity.

            There is one other item of importance that I would like to mention about Sr. Ortiz. When she was interviewed by John Pilger in 2007, she remarked:

            “I’ve heard people say that what happened in Abu Ghraib (US prison in Iraq from 2003-2004) is an isolated incident and… I have to just shake my head and say, ‘Are we on the same planet? Aren’t you aware of our (the United States) history? Isn’t history taught in the classrooms about the role of the US Government in human rights violations?’” To watch this interview click Here.

It is blatantly obvious that these types of histories are shielded from the view of many Americans. Accurate history is available, but you have to go find it.

Continue below to learn more about the US Government’s involvement in torture programs.

Please be advised. Some of the images in the following video’s depict graphic violence and may not be appropriate for some viewing audiences.  

To watch the Dianna Ortiz interview with John Pilger click here.

To watch a history of the US Governments involvement in the torture and deaths of religious and others click here.

To watch a history of US torture centers in Iraq click here.

To view and read about ten infamous US operated torture centers click here.

To watch an interview with the former UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan on the US use of the torture center there click here.    

  

The Law of Love in Our Hearts

by The Other Schell, posted in Many Scriptures One Source

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One of the many benefits gained by people who regularly set down the busyness of their lives to practice thought clearing meditation is that you become equipped with the ability to place a mental space between you and negative thought cycles. As this is happening spontaneously your physical and mental sensations expand to include sensing the life around you.

In the environment outside of ourselves people and things are ordinarily perceived and defined by their differences. Within the stillness of our inner environment, once your eyes are closed and your mind is clear, thoughts that recognize differences begin to fade and the commonalities between you and others becomes enhanced. People often forget that humans have much more in common than they do differences. In this sacred environment you begin to experience people on a level playing field with equal value and equal capabilities. As your senses expand to include the life that surrounds you, you begin to merge with others and consider them as part of yourself. In this “inclusiveness experience” written laws that govern our actions become quite unnecessary in light of the fact that we are all connected and to harm another would only cause harm to one’s self. Caring for and protecting the environment that surrounds you and the people in it becomes a matter of course.

This understanding is not new but has been expressed throughout history in the sacred scriptures of many of the spiritual traditions that have induced devotion. It is defined as the law imprinted in each person heart. From the Chinese tradition it is stated in the Taoist scriptures:

“If powerful men and women
could remain centered in the Tao (the Infinite),
all things would be in harmony.
The world would become a paradise.
All people would be at peace,
and the law would be written in their hearts.” (Tao Te Ching V.32)

It was recognized in the Hebrew tradition through the prophet Jeremiah:

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“ I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,” (Jeremiah 31: 33-34, NIV)

These two writings appeared in different parts of the world around 2600 years ago. This weave of similar ideas cropping up in many spiritual traditions across the world not only reinforces the connection between all forms of life but indicates that life itself is the product of the same Source even though people use different labels to describe it.