Nibbled News

Seven Percent Solution For Our World?

 

 

Prayer is co-operation with God. It is the purest exercise of the faculties God has given us - an exercise that links these faculties with the Maker to work out the intentions He had in mind in their creation.  ( E. Stanley Jones)

This is the time of the year when the winter blahs and blues seems to take its toll on many, many people. Feelings of depression slowly creep into a person's psyche. Many folks want to give up on the positive side of life and in its stead embrace a negative, hangdog pessimism.

The shorter days and the darker nights takes its toll on a person's mental health. There is a solution to this perennial problem. We are not doomed to suffer and flounder in a sea of doubt and pessimism.

The short video at the beginning of this blog offers a solution that many people fail to realize may be helping to shape thier lifes and destinies. It is an inspirational video clip. It tells all of us that we are not alone and that there is a benevolent , universal consciousness uniting us all.

Life is meant to be shared and the fruits and the joys in life may come to us through the efforts of others who care for us. Enjoy.

 

 

Letting Her Steady Boy Friend Sleep Over?

As a parent would you lose any sleep if your teenage daughter innocently and somewhat matter of factly one day asked you if her steady boyfriend could sleep over?

Would this issue raise your emotional hackles , concerns and neurotic fears as to the safety and emotional well being of your daughter?

A representative number of present day authors have stated that an increasing number of parents in Holland have already crossed this highly charged emotional sea of concern and do allow their daughter's "steady" boyfriend to sleep over but with certain stipulations.

According to one published report Dutch parents have normalized such sexual liasons in the hope of indirectly maintaining an infleunce in their teens lives.

In the U.S. parents feel they lack the overall moral authority to sanction such actions because they engaged in sex at an early age.

Lines of communication between parents and teens are not seriously strained as they are in the United States where parents at times feel guilty for having themselves engaged in sex at an early age.

Parents feel that they are losing control of their teenagers. The want to protect them from harm not realizing that their "children" are maturing and not really abandoning the nest as much as seeking support , understanding and guidance from their parents.

The parental "not under my roof" attitude often leads to unprotected sexual activity, increased teen pregnancy and the transmission of sexually communicable diseases. Sex is entered into hastily and the back seat of a car or a seedy motel room is the birthplace for many years of bitterness and tensions.

The Dutch approach to sex is not a laid back attitude promoting sexual license. The boyfriend must be the daughter's steady and must also fit into the family scheme of things. This is not a one night stand situation. It is more of a preventative measure to ensure that parents and teens communicate in an honest and open manner.

Parents in the United States at times  are way too squeamish to have the necessary sex talk with their children. Boys are coerced into being sexual beings way before they are emotionally prepared to be.

Girls are often routinely treated by their loving and doting parents as asexual beings ... daddy's little girl waiting for the right Prince Charming to come into her life. Mr Right seldom does show up.

This current "sleep over dilemma" is a situation that can be easily managed if parents and teens be honest with one another, keep their lines of communication and trust open and seek guidance from school, church or health professionals willing to assist parents and teens with this emotionally charged situation.

Concerned parents can consult Amy Schalet's book, "Not Under My Roof: Parents, Teens and the Culture of Sex" published this coming November. It is an informative read.

 

 

 

Should Friends Email Friends Chain Letters?

"A lady inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: "Husband Wanted". Next day she received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: "You can have mine."

Have you ever received a chain letter emailed from a long time and trusted friend that was so compelling, intriguing and inspiring that you seriously wrestled with the notion of whether or not to send out a copy of this letter to your own close friends and people you care about?

I recently received such an email invitation from an old friend I had worked with and trusted for the past 20 years. The subject line of the email read "thinking of you". The opening line of the letter instructed me to read the content carefully and pass it on to people I care about.

An effective chain letter is somewhat similar to the advertising content of an  infomercial viewed on television. The opening lines of the letter immediately attract your attention. The content is both visually appealing  and emotionally captivating. The message is repeated constantly and subtly throughout the body of the letter.

A person has a difficult time deciding if the letter should be deleted from their mail box or saved and submitted for future reference. In this instance the sender's credibility had an impact on my decision.

This chain letter offered both a blessing and a warning. There were three pictures of religious content spread throughout the letter. If I read the letter, followed its directions and sent it along to people I knew and cared about I would be granted many blessings and good health.

If I decided to disregard the letter and delete it from my email there could be dire consequences for me. The chain letter had already been distributed to over 400 recipients all of whom had faithfully followed the email's instructions. Would I be brave enough to delete this message or wimp out and follow the crowd of believers?

The purpose of any chain letter is to inspire the reader to take some form of action either negative or positive. A few of the more dire consequences of  ignoring the letter were generously sprinkled throughout the middle of the letter. The positive side of following suite and emailing the letter was also highlighted. 

A person's gullibility, overall superstitious nature and in this instance religious beliefs come to play in making a decision. The reader notices that the number of past recipients is prominently listed near the end of the letter. This number could be fabricated since the person who sends you the letter cannot be a recipient of the same letter from you.

This type of chain letter is relatively innocuous and in a sense intimidating. You realize that a friend who cares about your welfare is sending you this letter.You also appreciate the fact that after you have read the letter you are left dangling there on your own and need to make some kind of decision.

Many chain letters are somewhat akin to the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The player tries to make some sense of the piece of the puzzle he/she has and tries to connect with someone else who may have the needed piece they need to complete their skewed portrait of reality.

In case you were wondering I deleted the email and appreciated the underlying sentiment involved from the person sending it to me. The intent of sending me the email was undoubtedly honest and caring. 

 Realize that other forms of chain letters can be much more manipulative and coercive in nature. It pays to use common sense when responding to these electronic messages.

 

Reflections On An Emotion Filled 911 Sentiments and Interpretations

"Anarchism is not a romantic fable but the hardheaded realization, based on five thousand years of experience, that we cannot entrust the management of our lives to kings, priests, politicians, generals, and county commissioners."    -Edward Abbey

 

Each period in time has had its own uniquely personal and individual interpretation of a 911 incident. The names of the places and players in the events have changed but the results have been the same.

 

Innocent people needlessly slaughtered, territorial conquests claimed, religious beliefs challenged and finally social structures altered forever. Hail the victor!

 

If we do not learn from the events of the past then there is no guarantee that the future will be any brighter for ourselves or our children. The legacy of knowledge and hope we could bequeath our children will only become a paltry dowry of fear, doubt, suspicion and ignorance.

 

Granted that the events of September 11, 2001 were horrific and  a planned act of terroism against humanity. The emotional pain and the personal loss of life and limb that day should be mourned and the victims' lives duly remembered each year. But let  the memorial celebration's overall theme be filled with love and hope and spiritual renewal.

 

Let's not have the memories of our loved ones serve merely as the theoretical  line drawn in the sand promoting hatred, bigotry, doubt and suspicion.  Memorials are meant to promote closure and acceptance and not encourage disparate lines of animosity hiding behind a public and much touted facade of caring and righteousness.

We can only hope and pray that the ever vigilant media news machine has learned to not throw caution to the wind whenever they cover emotion laden events which could ignite explosive public and global reactions down the line of time.

 

If ever vigilant and supposedly aware media outlet resources are easily duped by the chicanery and double dealing handiwork of either a conniving individual or manipulative self serving interest groups then what hope is there for the rest of us who depend on these informational sources to offer unbiased opinions and clarity of thought on controversial issues.

Tempest In Teapot Sparks Global Censure Media Coverage Adds Fuel To Inferno

" If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you;  but if you really make them think, they'll hate you." ---  Don Marquis

The Reverend Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center, is determined to stage a Quran book burning crusade scheduled for Saturday September 11th 2010 in Gainesville Florida. Thanks to a news hungry media we are all well aware of this fact.

His actions may be described as inflammatory at best and outright seditious when viewed in the worst possible scenario. He admits that this action will be an insult to those who practice the Muslim religion. He is not in the least embarassed to admit this.

His overall motivation and stated personal goal for wanting to do this is to publicly protest the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in which scores of people perished.

He appears to be a citizen who is "tired" of being bullied by both governmental and religious factions. Is he driven by other personal considerations not publicly expressed in either press or pulpit? Does he have a hidden agenda devoid of religious underpinnings?

In effect he is going to launch his own personal jihad against those believers who do not share his theological viewpoints and biases. He has labelled these individuals as evil and sees his actions as justified based on his own religious principles. He stated he is waiting for an answer from God as to what he should do. In his own unique way he is a true believer.

The First Amendment guarantees his right to freely express his opinions and beliefs without restriction. With the help of an ever present news hungry media network this apparently disgruntled individual has been catapulted onto the world stage and given more than his 30 minutes of public fame and glory.

Even though an individual is able to freely express his beliefs there ought to be certain situations wherein this right may be legally curtailed especially if that individual is attempting to incite global or regional unrest among people of certain religious groups and differing political persuasions than one's own .

Reverend Jones appears to be a politically frustrated and religiously driven individual seeking to voice his viewpoints onto the world stage. He should realize that his plan to stage such a religiously inspired campaign could be deemed as being seditious. The safety and security of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and worldwide could be placed in jeopardy.

His own homegrown brand of religious fervor shares nothing with the Judeao Christian ethic he was ordained to promote. Religious leaders from Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths have condemned his proposed plan outright.

This obviously tormented pastor prays daily and awaits direction from his god. He seeks a course of action to follow. Perhaps a compromise will present itself to him before the planned book burning debacle.

The media should voluntarily place a news blackout on the reverend's planned event. A responsible media network would appreciate the seriousness of such a boycott and would not be willing dupes to further the religious hatred and intolerance such an event will surely inspire.

As of late Thursday afternoon September 9th it was reported that Reverend Jones had cancelled the planned book burning and will travel to New York. He issued a no burn order to any and all planned Koran burning  activities. He said that "this was not the time" for such activities.

 

 

 

Bio Friendly Funeral Arrangements Herald In The Start Of A Trend

"It is hard to understand how a cemetery can raise its burial costs and blame it on the higher cost of living."   --Anonymous

Could you possibly visualize and personally accept a growing market demand for bio degradable , earth friendly caskets and perhaps even the return of the reliable pick and shovel to dig a burial plot? 

Imagine how much quieter and cleaner the world would be if the loud and always polluting backhoe engine were silenced once and for all for this most solemn occasion.  Man made energy, sweat and muscle power replacing the current grunting and groaning operation of a motor driven tractor with backhoe.

Many people these days are seriously committed to the concept of going green with the hopes of saving the environment by taking definite steps in their own personal life to accomplish this goal. They constantly urge their friends and neighbors, family members and co workers to recycle  whenever possible to save the planet.

 

The more dedicated environmentalists consider having  their casket and burial arrangements complement their going green lifestyle. Sturdy biodegradable construction materials for caskets and people manually excavating the burial plot  using a pick and shovel are some of the methods being proposed and seriously discussed.

 

This novel way of thinking about final life preparations may mark the start of a new trend or perhaps be a mere faddish idea that will soon soon be abandoned. The sky high cost of a casket --  sometimes in the range of $5,000 and higher --- which will only be displayed for a short time and then placed deeply into the ground is tempting many people to consider cremation over burial.

 

One woman I spoke with on the topic said that she had never thought of this before but admitted it would be a great idea. Many die hard save the earth supporters could have the chance do something positive and revolutionary to save the planet.

 

She said that her husband and herself are personally opting for cremation because they "never wanted to take up the final six feet of real estate required for burial nor pay $5000 for a box that's going underground".

 

Has anyone ever really calculated the amount of land that is totally devoted to house a person's casket and final remains? The answer might surprise and startle you. I would surmise that millions of dollars have been spent on final resting areas and that funeral homes currently making a killing on final rest plots would regret  the new wave of bio thinking.

 

Periodically Audit Clergy Members For Alleged Moral Misconduct

"I will cause you to walk in the straight way...
I will open to you the gates of righteousness..
For whoever finds Me, finds life"
  - Psalm 118:19; Proverbs. 8: 35-6

 

Should members of the clergy ( priest, minister or rabbi) be periodically audited and evaluated by a non denominational committee to determine whether or not they are still psychologically and morally dependable and competent enough to guide their flocks during times of stress and uncertainty?

The Catholic Church these days has admittedly had more than it's share of errant priests who have allegedly strayed from its religious teachings and engaged in some form of sexual abuse involving children.

Some ordained members of the Anglican church have also reportedly engaged in questionable acts of misconduct unbefitting  an individual charged with the moral guidance and spiritual well being of its parishioners.

In the continuing battle of papal infallability versus moral righteousness the Catholic Church has managed to adequately cover up those questionable acts of ordained members of their religious community who have been adjudged to be less than perfect.

Delinquent priests in the past have traditionally been reassigned to different parishes in the hopes that their questionable behavior will correct itself without the public and the new parishioners discovering the true reason for the reassignment.

A recent poll indicated 46 percent of respondents felt the Church to be a tight knit organization with a vested interest to protect its own and thus not readily disposed to reveal any acts of wrongdoing by its members no matter how well  documented the evidence.

Apparently a well trained cadre of religiously indoctrinated  priests and bishops are at the ready to provide damage control should an incident of wrongdoing be reported.

Fifteen percent of those polled felt that the child abuse issue was a matter that affected the Catholic Church only and did not affect the rank and file of their own religious denomination.

Another 15 percent on the respondents believed that any evaluators appointed by their own religious group to investigate alleged acts of moral misconduct would present an impartial and unbiased assessment of the situaton.

A whopping 54 percent of these polled believed that those members of the clergy proven guilty of moral misconduct involving child sexual abuse should not only be defrocked but also placed on a list of potential child abusers and distributed to any area which the guilty priest may decide to eventually reside.

The traditional approach of relocating a member of the clergy deemed guilty of any sexual wrongdoing should be abandoned and the public should have the right to know why their most recent religious leader was sent to their church to guide them.

Protecting the reputation of one's church or synagogue is important. Protecting young children from the unsolicited advances of sexual predators is more important.

 

 

Easter's Promise of Hope and Personal Change

The symbols of Easter, which have traditionally been both adopted and adapted from many pagan rituals, include eggs, baby animals and everything that is decorated and drenched in the dynamic colors of spring's first blooms. It is a season of renewed life, hope,  growth and change.

Other well-know symbols of the day include the cross, the Easter candle and of course the Easter rabbit. Chocolate eggs, jelly beans and other assorted sweet treats are also included in the modern day Easter basket.

Beyond the jelly beans and the commercialized marketing hype the true meaning of the day....redemption, sacrifice and salvation ...the religious connotations of the meaning of Easter have a tradition and a meaning all their own.

It is probably no coincidence then that Easter and the return of spring and warmer weather share the same spotlight on the calendar. It's a time of rebirth , fertility and renewed hope not only in ourselves but in the world around us.

The current symbols used to celebrate the holiday include the lily, the cuddly bunny and the multi-colored Easter egg. A renewed life , vigor and redefinition of the old and familiar transforms it into something that is new and different, exciting and unexpected. It is a time of challenge and opportunity.

The most recognized symbol of Easter the rabbit, is the totemic symbol of the day.....the humble egg , the symbol of fertility recognized in many diverse cultures. At best the other symbols used to represent the day are a mish-mash of cultural practices and beliefs from around the world.

In Lithuania the symbols of the day are the egg, rabbit and chicken. The lamb and the yellow chick are also equated with the promise of the new season.

The hope and the promise of the day and the season should inspire us to reevaluate our lives and perhaps make some changes to improve our situations. I realize that traditionally New Year's Eve is the time to think about changing our lives but this is also the ideal time to contemplate changing our lives and evaluating our life goals and objectives.