Pesach

Blood on the door said it all. Screams rang through the city as another one dies. Cries of a mother. Cries of a father. Cries of another son is taken in the dark, hard night. The city howls as the King curses the G-d above.  He wails in anger. He wails in regret. The King wails as his first born lies lifeless in his arms. What god would take his only son. His is not the first this night. Nor is it the last. Every first born son is taken from every household in the land. That is unless they had blood. Yes, blood on the door was a good thing. Blood on the door served as a guide in the night skies. It served as a marker to Pesach.  It told the messenger to leap. To pass. To Passover. It said this family’s child is not to be taken. It said the family has not forgotten God’s mercy. 

Blood on the door was that of a lamb, a male lamb. A young male lamb. A sacrificial lamb with no blemish, no broken bones. Examined for four days and then slain in public. This was to be the sacrifice exacted to save the first born.  This is how the story goes.

So it begins again in a few hours. The Haggadah is read and so Passover begins. The family and communal retelling of the Exodus. The asking of the four question, the story when G-d delivers the Isrealites from slavery of Egypt. Out of respect, no leavened bread is eaten for seven days out to commemorate a significant time Jewish history. In a few hours, it marks the beginning of one of the holiest days In Judaic calendar.

Around the world begins Holy Week. For those following the Christian, Catholic practice, Lent has already begun sometime back on Ash Wednesday.  Ashes of burnt palm leaves are marked on one’s forehead to remind one that dust is where we began and dust we shall return.  Mardi Gras, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Stations of the Cross, Fasting, Washing of the feet and many more rituals will be practiced around the world to commemorate their love for the Big Smile. Saturday and Sunday around the world, there will be re-telling the story for the Passion the Christ.

My first time I remember attending a re-enactment of the Passion of the Christ was last year at Vasquez Rocks. It was something I would never forget. Easter for me was a time for egg hunts and picnics. It was the delicious Cadbury eggs. It was boiling dozens of eggs. It was dyeing them in a myriad of rainbow colors. It was hiding in hard to find places and it was searching for them in a hunter’s frenzy.

Not sure how the death and resurrection of Jesus transformed to the symbol of the Easter Bunny and the tradition of eggs hunting. But here it is.  We find ourselves far from where we started off. A little off in direction, in practice, in intention and we find ourselves far off the mark. Life now is certainly different from the Biblical times. Technology has changed. Civilizations have evolved (Some would say de-volved) I hope it doesn’t get so bad that we need to mark our homes with blood of a sacrificial lamb to remember the gifts given to us by the Big Smile.

Lessons got lost. Something was lost in tradition and meaning. We got lost in following the exactness of practices. We forget the meaning—the importance—of certain events in history. We stopped examining the meaning and significance of certain religious practices. It’s much like not visiting the relatives at the cemetery. At first, we were regular visitors when the passing initially happened, but time passes. Life happens and we slowly, but inevitably we visit less frequently. It’s like a birthday party. We have big hooplas with balloons, fireworks, and presents. As we get older, birthday party and presents become less celebrated. Think of the Fourth of July? What does it mean besides Fireworks? It is supposed to commemorate the birth of nation.  Do you know the significance of Dec 7? How about 9/11? How about April 15? If you are from the US, these dates may have some significance. When one thinks of Christmas, how many us automatically think of Christmas gifts and long lines at department stores of Black Friday? Thanksgiving? NFL Football game in Detroit.

We think of Easter and forget what happened. We concern ourselves of going on family picnics which is what we do. I would say it is fine, but I am not so sure this okay. Something gets lost in translation. Sometime it gets lost meaning.  The farther we get away from significance we tend to disassociate and lose connection. I think some people spend more time and energy on the Super Bowl Sunday than any other religious holiday. 

 

Too often, we forget. We forget who came before us and how they impacted our lives. Perhaps forgetting is the wrong word? Maybe it is more trying not to remember? It hurts too much to remember what we no longer have. We forget parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts.  We forget family and friends. We forget who they are and become what they were. Maybe this good? Maybe its bad? I am not your judge.

It is said that Big Smile sent his messengers to remind us to keep our connection. He sent his only Son to take away our sins and start a new covenant. Identified by John the Baptist, “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” Peter said, Jesus Christ was a lamb without blemish or defect. Paul said, Christ, our Passover Lamb, was sacrificed for us.”  His Crucifixion was the blood on the door for the Pesach. The son of the Big Smile was that of a lamb, a male lamb, a young male lamb. A sacrificial lamb with no blemish, no broken bones. Examined for four days and then slain in public. This was to be the sacrifice exacted to save the first born, to save all of humanity. This how a Bible study guides explains it. Whether one accepts this interpretation or not, one has to be judge and decide for oneself.

I don’t believing in guilt-ing someone to do the right thing. I don’t think carrot approach is necessarily best course of action, either. Whether one is of the Abrahamic religions, whether one follows Buddha, whether one is a Wiccan, whether one chooses to be atheist—Our life experiences will guide us to wherever our story leads us. We can choose to follow or not to follow certain religious practices and tradition. We can choose to ignore certain things and hope that Pesach will occur. Some of us will cry. Some of us won’t. We can remember and have our heart open. Or we can have our hearts broken and then remade again.  

My interpretation of all religion lessons out there may be simplistic and naive. I admit my ignorance, but I don’t think the message is complicated. It is simply to remember and to love. How you choose to remember and how you choose to love is what really matters. In the end, I think what matters is that you did choose to remember and you did choose to love.

Scribbles before Fight

This will be a short post. Once my laptop reaches a 100% charge, I am Audi.

Sitting at the bridge between the two towers here at the Central Library earlier in the day.  Been wanting to come here for ages, finally did after going to Saturday mass. Needed to get some G Time. Haven’t done that for awhile. Think I will be coming more regular, may 2 or 3 times for morning mass. I think my soul can handle it. Actually, I backed off for a bit. Needed to get some space and time. Did my reading, and I gots me some understanding.

My mind wanders when sitting in church. A week back in Sunday Mass, and they had the statue of the Fatima. Mom came with me. When she saw the Fatima, she immediately got up and touched the statue’s feet.  She never did that before. The Fatima was on a visit from somewhere. I was a bit surprised. I lacked understanding.

Been researching the Fatima. Some stuff what I gathered.  This got me revved up again. Started visiting various other holy places from different religious practices. Wanted to go to the source for this Higher Power. Stopped by the LA synagogue. Went to a Buddhist temple. Spoke with an Iman. Stopped by the St Andrews Abbey. Also, visited San Fernando Mission again.

This Saturday mass, I started thinking of Manny Pacquiao Fight and Chess.  Used to play chess, a lot. The Bishop, the knight, the queen, king and so on. Why do people choose the roles they take? What possess one to do what they do? Is it evolution? Is it behavioral? Is it some unresolved stuff from a previous life? What is it?

Take for instance the Dalai Lama. He’s been reportedly  reincarnated a fourteen times. His presence has inspired many movies, Seven Years in Tibet, Kundun and so on. He’s a rock star. Supposedly, in some schools of Hinduism it says that we have 8 stages of life in Hinduism. 2 stages belong to the life before. 4 stages are your own. Last two stages are set ups for the life coming. Karmic law and Dharma and the rest.

General Patton believed in reincarnation, too. He felt he fought in the Italy before as a Roman. I mean, he was a hero to the People.  Like George Washington and Bruce Lee. Like Manny Pacquiao. What makes a person a hero?

Tonight, for example, Manny Pacquiao will be fighting Margarito tonight in Dallas, Texas. A classic hero, coming from the barrios of the Philippines, and makes good. Margarito, a fallen fighter, who is looking for redemption. Maybe, it is how 24/7 HBO depicts these characters. But all this is Joseph Conrad myth-making stuff.

Freddie Roach, Manny’s trainer, said this may well be Manny’s last fight. Win or lose. WIN, OF COURSE. But certain people have been gifted. A Midas Touch about it them. From Poverty to Power in a short lifetime. What makes a person overcome Herculean Labors? What brings them to the top of the Mountain? This is so Rocky-ish. Is it some divine intervention? Is it pure will? Is it Darwinian’s “Most Fit” at play?  Our history is filled with these rags to riches. Secreteriat, Abraham Lincoln, Jackie Robinson, and so on. Overcoming obstacles are what heroes do. What separates the good from the great? What is the Gravitas? We all know it when we see it.

Back to church, I was thinking. A pawn is supposedly the weakest piece on the board. Can be taken out by a slew of other pieces. Rook, Bishops, Knights and Queens. However, once the pawn reaches its eight rank, then it can be transformed to a stronger piece. Sure many fall the waist side. They are cannon fodder.  Eight opportunities to reach the 8^th rank, then possibilities are endless.

Think about it. Some say being King is good. It is the piece that matters. Games ends and finishes with the King. It can go any which way. Up, down, left, right, diagonal. However, it is not afforded the range of maneuverability as his Queen. Plus, everyone and their mother are coming after you.  That is the whole basis of the game, Capture the King.

Being a queen is no picnic, either. Sure, it has the power of the Rook and bishop combined. But there is only one of her, compared the others. Plus, Queen is also on many people’s wish list. Furthermore, these lowly pawns at the end of the game, all want to be like her eventually. It’s a reverse sword party. No, perhaps, it more a it’s a Lilith Fair. By game’s end. I mean why would anyone want to be king. The queen has the most power on the board.

Still, I digress. Whether you are a King,  queen, Bishop, Knight . We all have some role we play in life. We are Mother, Father, Daughter, Son, Brother Sister, and so on. Actually, we die and are reborn. We go through rites of passage where we put childlike things away to become something more. To take our place in the community again. We become many things by necessity. It is built in. Hardwired in the DNA. Conditioned by Society with an ever changing system of reward and punishment.

We pursue many things. Evolving and devolving in order grasp these trinkets and ideals from the nethersphere.  Each role brings benefits and drawbacks. Like salmon, there is a drive, an instinct, a wish to reach the top of the mountain. Going upstream, battling each other, battling predators to survive. All in order to seed the next generation with our hopes, dreams, and DNA.

Things is. This is all okay. It has purpose. May not be the things one likes. We may delude ourselves with beliefs of grandiosity. Some things are true whether we believe it or not. Still, it is what we got. All this is the life stuff. This is the fun part. We fall in love. We fall out of it. We have our hearts filled with Joy and Love. We get our Hearts broken with no foreseeable reason.  We recover, then discover, “Let’s Do It Again.” We fight. We win. We fight. We lose. We do what we do because this is the thing we call, “Life.”  We need to be inspired. This is the Hero’s role. We need to be filled with something greater. We search for this “Feel Good.” We seek to be re-energized. To transform. To be Queened. 

Okay. Time is up. Sorry, this was longer than anticipated. Got in the Flow. My laptop is charged and it is time to watch another hero battle.  In life, we are all pawns. We are also Kings and Queens, too. And everything In Between. Okay, “Let’s Get ready to RRRUUUMMMMBBBLLLEEE!!! “ Go Manny Pacquiao.

Answer: In the Form of Question, Please.

 

I Can't Go On, I'll Can Go On

Just finished the last few minutes of BandSlam. There is a song in my head, "Everything I Own" I Will Give Everything I Own. . .Just to have ya.. ." Vanessa Hudgens, Kaprece’s former favorite singer. She’s into Usher and Taylor Swift. Boy meets girl. Girl leaves Boy. Boy gets back the girl. Happy ending.

If life were that simple. It is. No, I will be the first one to admit, "Life is not a movie." Nor should it be. One hundred minutes does not encapsulate a life. It is everything and more. It is the sum total of what we are, what we experience, how we filter these feelings, thoughts, and imaginations. To think that life is simply work, school, wife, family, and the rest. . .well, it is this and more.

We Have No Control

Forces around us play havoc in our lives. Whether it is an unappreciative teacher or boss. Maybe it is the unloving and uncaring other. Maybe it is the economy and the Evil forces over there, in some distant land. We, at times, feel like a puppet being played by some marionette master. At times, we are that.

We Have Control, I Am Captain

Still, we must remember, we are the Captain of our own soul.  The body we have is a transport on who we go through during this life’s journey. Sometimes, the body gets banged up. Still, there is more. We are also the construct of what the brain creates. Mind. Our perceptions on how we see the world. They say the line between genius and madness is a thin line. 

Yet, the programming that mind creates, the heuristics, the sum total of what we know can get flawed, outdated, corrupt. At times, we need to reboot new software to the shell of the programming. Windows 7, Vista, 3.O and the like. Think, of the people with Alzheimer or Autism. Are they no longer the person we think they are because the mind is broken? INVICTUS, Poem by William Ernest Henley

Human Potential, May Be Limitless

Problems, Challenges, Opportunities

Person would quickly discard others as defective, broken, . . as being special. Well, they are. We all are. We each are more than the stuff we can perceive. Sometimes people go to a higher power for answers. At times, we need to pray. We do. 

I Believe. . .

However, there are unbelievers. Well, I am not sure entirely that this without cause. A lady close to me who denies certain things exist and pooh poohs this as ridiculous. Do I think there are other life forms not of this planet? Sure, it is big out there. “It would seem like an awful waste of space. . .” to think we are the only ones. Do I believe ghosts and afterlife? Sure, I am sure each one of has had or knows someone who has had an experience with an afterlife. Do I believe in God? Yes, I believe and love God. 

We each have a destination. All on its own time and situation.

Only One Answer, More Than One Answer,

Am I religious puritan? Hardly. Do I think there is more than the Bible? The Koran?  Bhagavad Gita? Yes. Think of all the many religions out there. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Wiccans, Hari Krishna and Sikhs. Could go on with other religions? But. . .this is not my point. There are certain truths we have face every single day. We are faced with decisions to make, do, believe, feel, and think. Sure, some are ridiculous. Sure, some are well thought. There is more. 

Muhulland Fountain

True Today. True Tomorrow. Never Was True. Always True

Paradigms are just body of beliefs that are relevant at the time. There are many truths have laid hidden. Some facts are suppressed, repressed, destroyed , manufactured in order to hold on to certain truisms. Logic for one has been used to justify certain life events. Religion has been used as weapon for horrible acts.  Laws have all too often been legal, but immoral. History is littered with atrocities

Nietzche

I used to enjoy sports. I used to enjoy politics. Comics, movies, books, and the like. I still enjoy many of these things. However, being locked to certain beliefs and feelings have been more of struggle these days. We need Heroes, real and imagined. At times, villains win. Sometimes, the Celtics win (Just kidding, I like Larry Byrd, Danny Ainge, and the Chief) Faith is at time hard-earned. Many problems are man made. So are many of its Solutions.

Facebook Fatigue

Sitting out at the Grind again. I find that there has been a certain fatigue. Been thinking of a concept of facebook fatigue. Many people I know personally have been cocooning. Not wanting to share stuff out there. Totally understandable. Putting one’s life thoughts, actions, beliefs, feeling, hopes in a post is tiresome. In many ways, it has been purely voyeuristic. Reading others thoughts, clicking like and adding oneself to a fan page. It has been somewhat exhibitionistic, broadcasting to the world. Look at my picture. Check out where I am. See how many miles I have done, read my ads, join my group because I know the good life. Perhaps, this is true. Don’t want to judge. Takes too much time away from enjoying where I am and who is with me.

Del Negro: Former All Star, Coaches Clippers

Go Both Ways

We have a duty.  I believe, we must give what we take. We must continue to provide guidance and patience for others to make way. Sure many will fall down. Many will not reach their dream this lifetime. That is okay. It is supposed to be that way. Many will not have the same dreams and wishes that you had. They are not supposed to. We are not our parents. Nor our kids us. We must face whatever is ahead of us with the body and knowledge (and insights) to respond.

Me, We or Me, Wheee

I think back to this saying. Muhammad Ali (the Manny Pacquiao of his time to those that don’t know) gave the speech at a prestigious university. All in attendance screamed for the former fighter to give them a poem. He was poet, a great storyteller. He said, “Me, we.” I heard of hit in a movie, “When We We’re Kings.” I thought what a magnificent social leader. Me, we are part of a bigger community. We are all in this together. Recognizing individualism and collectivism in a short two word poem. Later, I read somewhere another attendee , “Heard it this way. Me, Wheeee.” Meaning it is a good life and I am enjoying as best as I can. Both powerful possibilities. Both credible interpretations.

Guiding Light, Prometheus and Epimetheus

My point is this. Whatever fundamental truths are learned in the experience and totality of everything before and future, it all has meaning.  Sounds like gobbledygook (yes, this is a word) It may be. We must look to both the future and past for insight for decisions we make today. Both are relevant and irrelevant.  We must decide to hold on to certain values and truths and we must decide to go a very different way if the past is holding us back on who we need to be. We are decider of our personal realities. Prometheus and Epimetheus

Your Question, Your Answer, Your Life

Truth is this. . . 

(Enough Said)

Cycle Begins Anew. . .

Time for Change

Spending time to write this month. Making a more concerted effort. Its time to re-invent this blog. Hero’s journey seems a bit cliché-ish. It seems to run its course. Like a comic series that has finished its run. The good ones lose readership. Others re-invent itself and finds a new vein to explore. It feels this way for me. The journey that I have ventured feels a  bit tired. A long trek with various highs and lows feel like a Tour de Something.

Thing is, where should the adventure begin? What demons need to be conquered? What road should be traveled? Don’t want to head off in the deep, blue sea without a metaphorical mountain to climb or monster to vanquish. Where do want this adventure to take us?

This blog has transformed. This exploration has become one of Spiritual discovery. Used study as my vehicle of exploration however, this does not seem enough. Took courses in Bible as Literature and Philosophy of Religion. I’ve visited some Missions and seen some temples. Read more on the Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. I’ve met with priests and watched DVDs on various religions like Mormonism, Christian Science.

Archetypes

Every new religion I’ve liked. Every new one has parts that is soul touching. I'm ready to be a proselyte. Ready to be a priest. Ready to convert. This may be blasphemous. However, is this any different reading a good book in the library? A good spy novel. A new graphic novel. Themes of falling, themes of redemption, themes of death and re-birth. These are just many stories in the holy books. In the Koran. In the Bible. In the Book of Mormons. In  Talmud. All these Heroes and Heroines battle some oppressor. 

How is any different than a good movie? Movies cite each other building on the modern mythology of cinema. Digging deeper in the old cinematic arts it seems to be revision of something already done.

New Hampshire. . .Its What's New

Today’s movies and video games are just a re-interpretation of something already done. A-Team. Get Smart. Mission Impossible. Inception (Matrix). And so on and so forth. New movies are just remakes of old comic book storylines. Avengers, Thor, Spiderman, Iron Man, Hulk, Green Lantern Fantastic Four, SuperMan, BatMan. Not saying that this is wonderful, being a former comic-philiac, it is just that there is certain ho-humness.

Guess, this alright. Certain continuity expected with all the heroic figures gracing our creative, heroic worship-sphere.  Like prophets sharing the word of the One. Like denying three times the task of evangelizing, then eventually acquiescing to the Call. Battle upon battles, conquering and losing, surviving and thriving. 

Guess it the challenge of looking at events with new eyes. Looking at the moment right here and now is the really battle. Battle of ennui. Battle of fighting corporatism. Battle of cocooning and exploring the world out there. Some people explore the past to learn  the future ahead. Some people explore the future in order to create a past. Whatever ones calling, there is a certain transitory nature that cannot be ignored.

Fires Are Good At Times

Guess, this is the reason for my adventure for exploring the past. Perhaps there is an answer that will reveal itself for a question that I have not asked yet. Maybe Shiva will come and make some much needed room for renewal. Well, this post has met its end.

Not Seeking. It Will Be Revealed

Where do I begin? Feeling troubled of late. Not sure if its me or if it is others. 

“Yesterday opened your eyes in many ways, the biggest of which was the fact that your current relationships need some tweaks. You may even be thinking that it's you, not the others, who need to make those changes. You've been thinking of little else since, and you're willing to put Stage One into operation yourself. Asking for help with Stages Two, Three, etc., certainly couldn't hurt and might be part of the solution.” My Aquarius Horoscope

This was my horoscope for the day. Actually tomorrow. Used to be an avid reader. Used to believe on getting a heads up for tomorrows adventure. Then I realize that I didn’t want to know the future. It took away from the excitement of living everyday as if it was your last. It took away because these generalization would be true whether I believed them or not. It was true in that I would do the opposite to make sure that these events the horoscope forecasted would not become true.

Learned of thing called self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believed certain events would happen, then consciously or unconsciously they would happen. Used to get déjà vu all the time. Got the feeling I’ve been here before all the time. The events of life moments seemed so familiar.

Well, I read the horoscope of the day before to see if what happened or not. I mean I still keep my birthday horoscope each year, but the power of horoscope once held no longer interest me. It seems a bit tired. I read once in awhile, but now no longer. They mystery of the day unfolding via the daily horoscope has passed.

Sure things of the future I am fascinated by. Walked by the New Age section of Barnes & Nobles and it was covered with 2012 stuff. Read stuff on Yahoo about the Sun being inactive and the next few years could be a turbulent times. Even picked up a dvd from the library about the rise and fall of Mayan and Incan civilization. They say that an increase of earthquakes would be signs of Armageddon ahead.

Perhaps my bout with Diabetes and CHF have made me get more spiritual. Seems a bit crappy I think. However, in my defense, I did not cry to God to help me because I had these illnesses. I did seek spiritual solace in my mistakes I’ve made. Found myself going to church weekly and daily. Visited churches and mission up and down the LA area. On my trip to SF, I wanted to visit all these missions. Started reading about Islam, Hinduism, Judaism. Still doing that now. Watched videos on Mormonism. Catholicism, and the such.

I attend church regularly, and I find that I thank the Big Smile more and more every day. Read snippets of many religious practices. More and more I read, I find myself wanting more. Learning more. Each religion I found very sensible and very uplifting. What I’ve been troubled is with a lot of the humanness and frailties that take the Word and distort the message by the messenger. Catholic priests and child abuse. Muslim terrorists and plots against Americanism. Christian zealots attacking same-sex marriages. It seems many conflicts and wars were religious based.

Live this way to reach Heaven, Nirvana, and so on. Live another way and you will go wherever.

I read that in “Everything You Need to Know About Judaism” book that Abraham as child destroyed all the statues in his father’s shop except the big one with a hammer. When his father asked, Abraham said that the big one destroyed the others. Here is where monotheism begins. In another book about Buddhism, it said that Brahman also believed in the monotheism centuries years before the Lamb of God and Prophet Muhammad. Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva were all facets of the same ultimate being.

Guess a little knowledge is dangerous. Guess, I am deadly. Lots of little knowledge here and there. Immerse myself in all and everything. I am learning nothing.

All this reading, experiencing, and discovering I have asked question and the answers are coming. Intuitively, there is a higher purpose, a higher being. Intuitively, I believe there are reasons for things happening. Intuitively, I believe in a Flow.

Do I believe in Muhammad? Do I believe in Joseph Smith? Buddha? Dalai Lama? Jesus Christ?Of course I do. They all preach a lesson of God’s Love. All preach be good to one another. All preach a Higher higher.

So this spiritual journey, this quest, this moment of my life finds me not looking for answers. These answers will be revealed to me.

It’s funny sitting here at It’s a Grind a Bible study is forming. Twelve people are surrounding all around. I may say something. It’s funny how things manifest itself. Well, guess, I will listen and pray.  Answers are being revealed.