Realities.

 

 Realities.

What can be truer than reality? I see it and I believe it. Courts function on that principle. If a crime was committed, we search for eyewitnesses, or lately for camera footage showing what really happened. As I was growing up and learning to be a human being (we all do) science also grew. Humans materialized some of the greatest scientific discoveries just before I came to earth. I admired the people who were famous for their discoveries, like Albert Einstein in science and the Mahatma Gandhi in politics.

Just recently, people, or I should say, influential thinkers, began to question what we learned and took for granted. Some of it came from studying old writings that were not available until lately. Perhaps it was available but not understood. For example, in the beginning, there was the word, and the word was God.

How can God be a word? One likely explanation is: A word is an idea. Could it be that those who wrote the bible considered God to be an idea? There is no reason to believe that they didn’t. God can be anything, any place, at any time.

There are people now seriously doubting that reality itself is what we always thought it is. I touched upon this before in other articles. Life could be a dream. Some dreams are ridiculous and we know we are dreaming. Some can be so real that we don’t know they are dreams until we wake up. One philosopher said that all of life is a dream from which we wake up only a few times to know that it is a dream. We don’t have to wake up. Possibly when we die, we wake up.

It is possible that we exist only in the material world, and we are material beings. We could be like a caterpillar that turns into a cocoon, dies, and from it emerges a beautiful butterfly.  

Now there is a new idea becoming popular. My generation is shifting away from traditional religious beliefs and exploring new ways to understand our innate connection to a higher power beyond material things. Our senses, visual, hearing, touch, smell and so on — only detect what is in light or exists because of light. There is a side that we call “dark”, but only because we can’t see in it.

A bat, for example, doesn’t see in light the way we do. It uses ultrasonic sounds to see and exists very well. Much more of our universe is a dark matter than that which we see. The possibilities of life forms existing in it out of our spectrum are endless. A life form may be nothing like we are used to. It can be invisible to us, and we may, but not necessarily, be invisible to it.

One theory that now is the subject of many books appeals to me most. It became popular with the movie, The Matrix. We could be existing in the mind of a computer or a biological entity, that makes up our existence to be real to us.

All of what we call reality is orchestrated in our brains. What I see is visible in light. My eyes collect bits of light, converting them to electrical signals traveling in my skull to my brain. The brain interprets those signals into pictures that I use for creating my reality in my conscience. I learned to create reality with all its beauty and ugliness, and I do so all the time. It’s like the ultimate virtual reality, but we don’t know who started it and why.

To know more about reality, we first must answer the question, who we are. Sounds easy, but it’s not so. At church, we say my body or my soul. We admit that I am not either. If it’s mine then it can’t be me. Then, who are we?

I go back to the biblical story about Moses asking God to tell him His name. God said “I am” who I am. The bible often mentions that someone who died went to be with his past generations. His fathers. It could be his mothers also depending on how we interpret it.

I always lived in my reality, never doubting it. As I said, I see it, so I believe it. Other people say and do things that seem strange to me. The world is constantly in conflict between good and evil, but we disagree with which is which.

As I get older, I realize more and more that there is more than one reality for humans. It strikes me as impossible, yet it happens. As far as I can understand, people convince themselves that something is a reality. When we do, it is impossible to change. After all, each of us thinks, how can we change reality?

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.

A nice place in the mountains.

 

 A nice place in the mountains.

About 55 years ago, my family bought our first little car and went exploring our new country. On one of those trips, we ended up in a set of mining towns called The Crownest Pass. It was in the mountains but wasn’t impressive. There were some gas stations and restaurants, so we stopped for lunch. My mom ran a finger over the seat of a chair and lifted it marked with black dust. The server hurried up and wiped the table and chairs, saying something about it being a coal mining town, and we ordered our food. A local woman at the next table said something about how we should see the wash after it was dried on the clothesline.

The folks around us had a certain look to them. They were kind of gray, wrinkled, and their heads were bent forward. My mom said that it reminded her of some mining town she visited in her childhood in Europe. Miners, she said, were mountain people. They were good hard-working folks but didn’t live long. It's called here Black Lung, my father added. We drove around a bit, noticing stores, churches, and even a car lot, but there was no reason to stay. Next, we visited a farming town, Pincher Creek, and it was brighter and gave us a cleaner feeling. My dad said that it would be nice if Pincher Creek was in the mountains.

When I was about ten years away from retirement, I started looking for a little town to retire to. A co-worker mentioned the Crowsnest Pass. She said that there were no more operating coal mines, and the place was clean. There were some little towns to choose from and you could purchase a place in the mountains. In the more touristy places, one could only lease a place but not own it.

I made another trip to the land beyond the Frank slide and it pleasantly surprised me. The Pass was clean and offered all the benefits of mountain towns, but at a reasonable price. There were fewer businesses and people, but a vibrant community. People describe Canadians as “nice” but here the people were nicer for some reason. I met another person who was looking at real estate and he said, “This is the place that time has forgotten”. Another said that I should visit when they do the Thunder in the Valley. Others in Calgary also described the great show of fireworks in the mountain valley.

I found my retirement place. Purchased some land and built a modest home. Originally, the people told me about great winds, a place where there is nothing to do, no cultural life, a depressed economy, and everyone running away. I don’t see any of it. Now I am an old-timer here. I can’t get over how blessed I am. The Pass economy picked up, new people are here and the local people no longer wish to leave the place as they did a while back. They see the value of where they are. Soon those who left in the early days will come back to retire here. After trying the rat race of the city, folks realize what we have here. We live in God’s country. All we have to do is open our eyes and see it.

In my 25 years here, I saw many folks leaving the place to be closer to family who moved away or to medical facilities. After a while, they come for a visit and they don’t look the same. It’s not only the natural aging, but being away from a great community and mountain air. While in the city they wait twenty hours at Emergency, here they get treated in the first hour. Kids get more attention in schools and there is hardly anything that we can’t buy here if we can wait for a week. You can sit at a local coffee shop and in a short while make new friends. It’s easy to join a club of like-minded people or watch local sports. People still go to their choice of church and treat the other religions with the respect that they like to be treated. It is no wonder that here we can meet older people living independently or with little help.

Across from my home, I see a holiday home that is often rented out. Our lives here always leave the visitors from near and far impressed. Some come down and talk to me. Often they express how lucky they think we are.

I think that what happened here is interesting. All the folks who wanted a busy life full of stress and constant competition left in the pursuit of happiness. Those who remained were people happy with simpler lives close to nature where we care about each other. Here, we cherish a different set of values. Less glitter and more warm hearths. Creativity stumps accumulation and relationships beat showing off.

Winter clouds set over the mountains, and the Pass is getting ready for another winter. The Plains First Nations used to come here for the winters. To me, it’s more beautiful here with the snow than in the hot parts of the world where there is no seasonal variation.

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.

The Romans renamed Israel Palestine.

 

The Romans renamed Israel Palestine.

When people know you were born in some country, they assume you know a lot about it, even if you left it as a child. Last Saturday, when the Hamas Palestinians attacked Israel, I was facing questions. People know I was born in Israel.

The attack was well-planned, meticulously carried out, and designed to terrorize a nation. Those who carried it out were well-equipped and prepared to die for what they believed was a just cause. We saw a bunch of murderous terrorists attack innocent people, but to them, they were martyrs giving their lives to save their people. They did it by exacting the highest possible price. They take being called animals, terrorists, or anything else as a compliment because it shows their bravery, skill, and commitment to their cause. All of them who were killed believed that their actions would deliver them straight to paradise, where God would reward them.

In that attack on Israel, many innocent people suffered and died. To me, they are the grandchildren of those I grew up with. The places Hamas destroyed look exactly like where I lived while growing up. The blood that was spilled joined blood from many generations of people who attempted to solve problems by force and war. In the Middle East, the law of the desert is strong. People believe that brutality is the only answer that will prevent people from hurting you. Here we have the same kind of people who want revenge to be a deterrent.

Israel, where I grew up, comprised of people who survived the brutality of the Second World War. The atrocities of Hitler, Stalin, and other colonial-minded leaders marked all my teachers. They told us, kids, how important it was to keep our humanity when others perform atrocities. I heard so often that “we don’t want to be like them”, the Nazis, or Soviets. They encouraged us to be civilized in dealing with the Palestinians who lived with us. I lived on a farm with a Palestinian family of shepherds and shared a desk in grade nine with a Christian Palestinian boy. They didn't sympathize with Hamas and were worried about the extremist Jewish nationalists now in Netanyahu's coalition. Those wish to rid Israel of other religions disregarding some biblical teachings to treat outsiders fairly.

Of course, other groups are against Zionism, wanting to live in the holy land in peace with all others. There are also many political parties representing a whole range of ideologies. The Jews who are not pro-Zionism are not very popular these days, but there are many.

During the planning stages of Israel under British rule, Zionists opposed Palestinians living alongside Jews because of concerns about democratic influence on the Jewish state. They had the numbers in their favor. Many Palestinians were warned about the upcoming independence war of 1948 and told they would be safe if they temporarily moved to Gaza and other areas under Arab control. Israel won and they couldn’t come back. Their young people started violent movements such as Hamas that the majority didn’t support. We Canadians had our FLQ and the Riel rebellion. It is always a fight for land and freedom and always exploited by some who want power. The innocent pays the price.

I predicted the current war months ago when Netanyahu aligned with Israeli groups aiming to use military force to remove Palestinians from disputed territories. They provoked again and again, leading the more militant factions on both sides to take action, which they did. No one expected Israel to be caught flat-footed as they were.

What happened reminded me of Pearl Harbour and 9/11. Putin is the beneficiary since the world took its eyes off Ukraine. Now many Israeli peace-loving citizens are dead, and the poorest Palestinians are suffering like never before. Those remaining alive are told again to leave their homes and later come back. When they will try, I am sure there will be new conditions attached.

The Jewish people who suffered so much in other countries, were given the land of Israel as a “land without people to a people with no land”. The people on the land were called “natives” and considered less than human. The British and the West knew some who aligned with Hitler like the Mufti of Jerusalem.

Both sides in the Israeli conflict are partly responsible, but innocent people are suffering. The world is trying to use their suffering for political gains.

If I had a chance to tell the Israelis and Palestinians what I think they should do, what would I say? Very smart people have been trying for years to find a solution, and so far they haven’t. I am not that smart, so I try to get answers from the scriptures. Can I tell them to forgive and forget? To love one another? I can’t, since I don’t believe they could.

The best I could offer is that since Jews, Muslims, and Christians all believe in the Ten Commandments, they can follow them. Don’t interpret, or philosophy, just google it or look in your holy book and do what it says. You can’t fix the past but can make concessions for the future. Do it fairly and start again. Don’t take too long. Please pray for peace.

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.

What is it all for, anyway?

 

What is it all for, anyway?

She was 18 and went into labor prematurely. The people in the Kibbutz in Israel chose to send her to the hospital with a tractor instead of the horses. I arrived in the world. I couldn’t speak or do anything else, and I was naked. As hard as I tried, I could never remember that time. All I know is that I accumulated things.

A few years later we lived on a farm and a couple of my parents’ friends visited from the city with their boy, who was roughly my age. Our parents had us in my room and took all my toys out for us to play with. Arick, the other boy, started to sort my toys. He took them one by one, looked at them, and placed the nicest ones behind him, saying, “This is mine”. The cheap and broken toys he left on the floor beside me. I tried to get some back, and he pushed me hard, saying, “It’s mine”. My mom came in and saw tears in my eyes. What’s the matter she said? In the voice of a three-year-old, I explained, Arick is taking all my toys. I didn’t have many.

He had my wooden truck, my stuffed vinyl dog, Pluto, I used to sleep with, and a few more. Don’t worry said mom, he will not take them home. I was worried, and I wanted to play with my toys right now, but my mom told me to be quiet. I was learning one of the biggest lessons that we learn in this life. The world wasn’t fair. Later on, my mom cut the cake she made and gave Arick a bigger piece with more icing. I said I didn’t want cake, so he ate mine as well. So much for peaceful protest.

Life went on. When I was sixteen, my family emigrated to Canada while Arick and his family stayed in Israel. I started a new life accumulating things and knowledge. Arick remained in Israel and was killed in the next war. He was my best childhood friend. I felt guilty, but being a minor, I had to go where my parents went. My dad fought a few wars for Israel. I tried to join the Canadian army, but they couldn’t take me before I was a citizen. I settled for civilian life and, like everyone else, accumulated things. Luckily, for me, a priest I knew, convinced me to upgrade my education. Those were the good years in Alberta when Peter Lougheed was premier. Higher education was available cheaply, and we were building an educated workforce.

I earned a university degree, studied in a technical college, and worked hard for promotions that came one after another. My health wasn’t the best and again, luckily for me, the country accepted universal health care. Now came the period we call middle life. Building a home, raising kids, upgrading vehicles, and trying my damnedest to keep up with the ever-changing world.

A few years later, the now-advanced medical discoveries, saved my life. The doctors implanted a top-of-the-line Pacemaker Defibrillator in my chest, which gave me an extended warranty period. I was alive, but not young again. The question popped into my mind: why am I alive? I can no longer reproduce, and nature doesn’t keep creatures around when they don’t contribute to the genetic pool. Why are we alive?

My generation attempted to solve many human problems. We had the longest period without a major war. Went to the moon, prolonged natural life, saved for the later part of life, and gave human rights to some minority groups, the biggest of them women.

Now the Catholic Church is considering women clergy, and women in politics are common. Sadly, they are becoming like men instead of gracing society with a feminine perspective. My female premier is fighting against measures designed to improve our chance to remain alive on our only planet. She is enticing people with greed. The old Pope is working to convince us to do what we can to prolong human existence.

Did God allow me an additional lifetime to join the fight? My priorities are my family, my faith, and my country. None will survive if we don’t act decisively now. Are old insignificant people like me expected to fight for the world? Where are the young people?

Young people have robust bodies and accumulate things as we did. They look for new experiences and security that they rarely have. Old people know that the Universal Mind doesn’t act on words. The world is unfair. God senses emotions and intentions. We, the old people, now with extended lives have those.

At the end of life, when we will go back naked as when we were born, we no longer do all things for ourselves. That is when we are honest and send the right messages to the invisible mind that formed and controls the universe.

Prayers can work better than physical effort, but only when originated in the right way. Fear, unconditional love, self-sacrifice, and other pure emotions influence reality.

I honor all religions and see something good in all major political ideas. Life is a gift of time in which I can get things and give them away. I can make changes with emotions and intentions. I can’t explain how.

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.

Note: The above article was written before the latest war began.

A story with no end.

 

A story with no end.

I woke up just as the sun was making things visible. From the living room window, I observed a bear running by the base of the hill across. He ran until there was a slope going up and continued at the same speed up the hill. Just a few years ago, the hill had bears, moose, deer cougars, and smaller animals. Now it’s full of houses. Should I call anyone to trap and possibly kill the bear? He could be dangerous to people, especially if they feed and try to pet him. A wild bear is not a good prop for taking selfies. Is it more important to stay safe or to let nature do what it has been doing for generations? Who’s hill is it, anyway?

There is a rock ball hurling through space at tremendous speed and on it many life forms, human beings are dominant. For some unknown reason, it made itself just perfect for our existence as we adapted to it. We slowly learned how to thrive, but the invisible power seems to disagree with our methods.

Life for some of us is great, but not for most of us. That includes the animals. The Earth, spinning and speeding through the galaxy, is able to provide all that its creatures need, but the Universal Mind demands cooperation. Humans, unlike other life forms, must use their intellect to survive. The more we know, the more we must do. Nature designed us to be competitive and improve through evolution. Works for everything else, but not for us.

Just like the natural competition between males and females, we can’t exist without each other. When we fight, we come to a point where it becomes obvious that we will destroy ourselves, be gone, or start again from scratch. It happened before and will happen again. We have an almost equal split on most issues.

Humans developed technologies and machines that can perform tasks that were once considered miraculous a short while ago. Much of the recent development has been to prolong our natural life, improve health, produce food, and save us from pain. Much more is added each day to make our lives easy and save us from doing work. Lives in the advanced areas of the world improved and communication increased exponentially. Now people around the world know how much better it is to live in the developed world and the majority who are not wealthy see and envy what the others enjoy.

Many people are trying to join the good life peacefully, even if they perform the undesirable tasks that others refuse to do. This doesn’t work for their children who are born into wealthy environments. They expect returns for their sacrifice and hard work, without needing to cheat or steal to get it. While this is happening, others are risking all to join in. In the poor places, there are wars and insurrections that filter into our country.

Just a short time ago, we had to break up a fight between opposing parties from Africa. Canada is dealing with diplomatic issues over past crimes in Ukraine and Poland, and a scandal from India. We have problems to solve over the treatment of our own First Nations when the country was being formed. There are still many people around who wish to restart the conflict between the French and English Canadians. Others are fighting over sexual variations, sex changes, and abortions. Just as many people are looking for fights as those wanting peace. We have the most fresh water in the world and now we are fighting over water. Global Warming is causing unexpected conflicts.

People find things to fight about everywhere. In some places like Afghanistan, it is about religious practices. Other places fight over political ideologies. Many more are at war over economic issues. The rich want to have more money and the poor wish to have some and divide it amongst many. Very often, conflicts arise about raw power and domination. The biggest war ever was between a few powerful men who wanted to dominate the world. When they do, people fight for freedom and independence. Anything scarce causes people to fight. Gold was the main reason for Europeans taking over South America.

As far as I can see, the biggest reason for fighting is to dominate portions of the planet and do on it what the inhabitants wish or must do to stay alive. People get violent about their native soil and often have some ideas about getting some of the ground that others occupy. Bears and other animals feel the same about their territory. With animals and some people, we feel justified in killing them and taking their land. Take for example the Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh or people in parts of Ukraine.

In my birth country, Israel, Jews have been fighting Palestinians for thousands of years. It is clear to see if we want, that there is pressure from somewhere to teach us we can only win by cooperation and not by fighting and winning. Will we do it, or die fighting? The answer remains unwritten. The story needs an ending.

We must have Democracy and use it to benefit all.

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.