How the Universe looks from here

By Ciel - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Religion & Spirituality

Sunday, January 9, 2022

"Is religion a good or bad thing for the world?"

That's the question posted over on Facebook. This is my response: There is going to be religion, regardless. The distinction between religion and spiritual connection, is the same as the difference between packaging and content. Youngsters love the shiny package, the glamor of ritual and the comfort of believing someone knows better than they do what's real, what's important, what's going on. They have faith in the package-wrappers. They enjoy the strength of congregation, the feeling it gives... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 8:14 AM | add or view comments (1) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Randomness that could have been posted anywhere...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKbT59RCLgs This was my best Christmas present! Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 6:32 PM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, November 21, 2021

"...Walk slowly, and bow often."

Our Adnohr posted this poem by Mary Oliver on FBook this morning, and it moved me not only for my appreciation of trees, but for what it offers about gratitude for the simple presence of beautiful things in this difficult and confusing and confounding world. When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save me, and daily. I am so distant from the hope of... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 6:54 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, November 12, 2021

On Death and Mortality

Thinking about death a lot lately. Sending Embers out of this life and on to whatever comes next, tears come so readily, and I know they are not for her, but for my own loss. I don't know what's next for our animal companions. I know what fits my beliefs, and what I would like to believe. All I am certain of, is that when I think of her bright glowing fire-colored eyes, I grieve for losing them from my presence. I am certain she was in pain from her illness, that she was hungry, she was weak and... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 5:42 AM | add or view comments (2) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, September 20, 2021

Isolation

Is loneliness real? Spiritually, no. Never. But living in a body, where boundaries of time and space, of skin and gender and thought, abound... we experience being apart, alone--and sometimes it is a good thing, solitude. Other times, it is that feeling of being cut off, insignificant to others, even abandoned: loneliness. We can shift perception to the spiritual, and find comfort there, when we are feeling too alone. But I can't help but think that we are here to experience such things, to... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 6:35 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, September 13, 2021

Looking at dying and death

"I am standing on the seashore. A ship spreads her sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean. I stand watching her until she fades on the horizon, and someone at my side says, She is gone. "Gone where? The loss of sight is in me, not her. Just at the moment when someone says, She is gone, there are others who are watching her coming. Other voices take up the glad shout, Here she comes! "And that is DYING." I don't know yet who to thank, who to credit this to, but it is beautiful! Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 6:03 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, August 27, 2021

There is mostly only believing.

Everyone believes something. Some people think they know, but in fact, it is all beliefs. We can know very little. Especially when it comes to philosophies and religions. ⁠ So, you can believe there is a God, you can believe there is not a God. You can believe humanity cannot thrive without religion, you can believe that no one needs or benefits from religion. ⁠ I believe that Free Will allows us to choose to believe things, to test beliefs, to evolve wiser beliefs as our understanding and... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 10:34 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, July 19, 2021

"You're the one who's rude first!"

In cultures where courtesy and 'face' are of greatest value, this is a vital justification for violating the rules of courtesy. It is the simple confrontation between two people, and the more complex ones involving whole clans, whole countries. Here's the thing: Rudeness is always a matter of perception; Perceptions are always a matter of expectations; Expectations are the result of social/cultural programming. Unconsidered programming determines how we react emotionally, feeling entirely... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 7:43 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Walking Meditation

Meditation does not always have to sitting down, feet on the floor (running energies) or folded in a lotus position (TM). It doesn't always have to be passive. Once one has a sense of one's own experience of the meditative state, "walking meditation" becomes a practical solution to the problem of having, or taking no time to sit quietly for an hour or half an hour, or even 20 minutes once or twice a day. There are several variations of meditative technique that are called walking meditation, and... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:22 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

NEXT TIME...

Next time, I want a life in more dimensions. Not just for- and backwards, Not bound so tight to time. I want to live not only walking on the earth but soaring, eagle-high, or flitting among leaves and boughs, or swiftly coursing distances between the trees, the rooftops, the ledges of great canyons, coasting on warm rising airs... Or I will live more slowly, cruising with the waves and diving deep and deeper into the pressing dark... I'll go leaping towards the sky to crash back down again with... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:08 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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About this Blog

I've been asking the Universe to explain itself to me since I was about 11 years old. I asked specifically how to reconcile God with Science. Now and then, I seem to tune in on an answer. All that I write here represents not Truth, but what I believe to be true.I have my reasons, and I like to believe, my reason. ///Everything of my own words and/or pictures that I post on Blogit is copyright by CLRedding 1972-present, all rights reserved.///

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