Blasphemy is Blasphemous

"Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God, to religious or holy persons or things, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable." ^(Wikepedia)

Blasphemy is a loaded word. The French banished blasphemy as a punishable crime thanks to the French Revolution circa 1789. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are ideas that underly the entire American Constitution and were inspired by the Enlightenment philosophers of France. 

The major media groups in the USA have been taken over by 4 conglomerates with a hidden agenda - insuring the bottom line of multinational corporations. Yet, when one looks at North Korea or countries under Shariah law, where freedom of speech delivers a death sentence, we in the West undoubtedly have greater liberties.

The 1,500,000 strong Unity Rally in Paris today underscores such liberty, with world leaders marching arm-in-arm. It affirms respect for life and underscores the ultimate blasphemy of the terrorists who killed in the streets of Paris: their disregard for the sanctity of human life.

Now, will the real God please stand up?

It is me, it is you, it is in every breath that we breathe as we share one planetary atmosphere. It is in the plants, the animals, the insects, the water, the rocks, and every other molecular construction of the universe. It is in every person, tribe, and nation on this planet.

I am both a French and American citizen - a child of the West. But let us not crow over the success of this amazing day of unity, impressive and historic though it may be. Remember! In recent centuries, it was the Western powers who colonized much of the world for its riches, who invited their subjugated peoples into a European homeland as a kind of "perk" for having had their lands raped for profit.

Terrorism, killing, is the ultimate blasphemy. And the law of karma will deliver with unerring precision a reminder of the blasphemy we committed against so many brothers and sisters in foreign lands.

What goes around comes around. Let a higher unity be the future of globalization.

The Power Behind the Throne

"The power behind the throne" refers to women who exert mighty influence on their significant others, usually male, who occupy more visible positions in society. Apparently, it is such a common trend that this aphorism has survived multiple decades.

Leaving aside women who actually sit on the throne, such as Queen Elizabeth II, ample evidence exists to prove this theorem. Take General Petraus, for example, who was not only the head of the C.I.A. but the Supreme Commander of the armed forces in Afganistan. The government is seeking criminal charges against him for disclosing classified information to his mistress. 

And then there was the dude I dated back in the early 1980's who claimed to have worked for the US Government in Russia and was seduced by Svetlana, the gorgeous blonde KGB agent. He boasted of having enjoyed their pillow talk without disclosing state secrets; however this might have been an apocryphal tale.

The most astonishing example to date was given by an "expert" on the Jihadist movement and the role of women (not the ones in black birkas firing kalashnikovs through the peepholes of their shroud). Those to whom he referred are the wives, mothers and/or girlfriends of the martyrs, often said to be the backbone of resolve urging their men to kill infidels who dishonor the prophet.

This expert claims that when their men falter or question a mission, the women often turn up the heat to give them the juju to do their duty. 

As a feminist, my first thought: I am amazed that women have some influence in the strictest Islamic cultures. My second sardonic and wily female thought: what a clever strategy, my devout Islamic sister, to get rid of that domineering male who dictates your every move.

 As Martin Luther King Jr. once proclaimed, "Free at last, God Almighty, free at last!"

Retail Terrorism

A news reporter refered to the Charlie Hebdo and kosher grocery story attack in Paris as "retail terrorism," to be distinguished from "wholesale terrorism." Apparently, "retail terrorrism" refers to acts committed by individuals as opposed to "wholesale terrorism," which is state-sponsored.

The monikers assigned to these murderous acts are astonishing and tip us off to the real problem underlying an epidemic of radical fundamentalism. "Retail" and "wholesale" are terms used in the marketplace...the human moshpit where there are winners and losers in the contest for money, power and resources.

The political Rubiks Cube that has led to this dismal state of affairs resembles a bar brawl. One intoxicated person with unresolved anger takes a swing at another bloke, and in no time the whole joint is fighting. And nobody knows why.

Tracing the roots of our current state of world affairs would take us back to the dawn of civilization; history is replete with accounts of one civilization over running another - wholesale war. But now, with the ready availability of deadly weapons to the public (the retail market), we have a democratic movement. Anyone can get a gun and kill at will, without a draft or an enlisted army to oversee wholesale extermination. 

The fundamental problem lies in a misplaced emphasis on the dark side of human nature: the side that lives in fear of survival and must always be on alert for marauders who would take away their security. 

But there is also a bright side of humanity -  a basic goodness that recognizes the universal desire for happiness and harmony, a knowing that we are all the same at the core.

Recently, a refugee from religious/political violence explained that we need to focus on educating the children - the little ones whose minds have not yet been poisoned by delusional adults. While it may be impossible to untangle the knots of twisted adult minds, in the best of all possible worlds we could teach our children to love more and fear less. Then, when they are teenagers that want to shop, they can go to retail stores to buy smartphones instead of kalashnikovs.

Je Suis Charlie

Due to the horrific killings in Paris at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, Americans will have learned a little French. Having domiciled with a Frenchman for decades, I learned a wee bit of this hard-to-learn language.

Without the guidance of my expert, I am going to venture recklessly into a linguistic analysis. There is a nuance in the phrase "Je suis Charlie," which translates literally as "I am Charlie." Technically, to introduce oneself by name, one would say, "Je m'appelle Charlie." 

Thus, when the native French speaker says "Je suis Charlie," it has a deeper ontological meaning: Charlie and I are one and the same being. What happens to Charlie happens to me in an interdependent universe.

As language follows consciousness and vice-versa, this phrase accurately reflects a new world order: we stand together as human beings, not tribal/religious identities that see "others" as disposable. 

The Dreaming Life

It has been said that the departed often use the dreamtime to communicate with the living, as the veils are thinner when one has parked the thinking mind in sleepy-time mode. Thus, a question often asked of me:

"Has Michael come to you in dreams?" 

The answer is yes, but...

My first dream after he passed was like all the other dreams from the 30 years we were in the physical together - a recurrent dream taking place in public spaces with lots of people surrounding us; we were always running hither and yon to accomplish an amorphous task. 

The second time he appeared in dream was as it is should be according to the mystics: cosmic, divine, and with a message. For the first few months after his death, I had been waking up with the desire not to wake up; my self-talk went something like this: "Oh shit, another day." After thinking thus for a few months, it dawned on me that a more positive message would serve my life on earth better. So upon awakening the next morning, I said to myself, "I love my life!"

Granted, it seemed like the consummate lie to tell myself, but the morning after, once again I proclaimed my love of life (not). Low and behold, Michael appeared to me in a dream on night #2 of such life-affirming proclamations. He was standing in a field of light, and his eyes were large green saucers emitting rays of golden light. The message: YES TO LIFE, you're getting it now!

One would think all is well after such an affirmative appearance by angel Michael. And yet last night, six months after his passing, I had a nightmare. We were thirty-something and he had decided to switch his affections from me to another woman of similar age. The entire night, my poor dream body was chasing him all over the place, trying to convince him to come back to me...to no avail. Even now, as I write this blog, the remains of the nightmare sound a sour note. Go figure.

No matter what dreams may come, whether they be prophetic, habitual, or fear-based, we still have to carry on. The landscape is in perpetual motion and flow with it we must.

Nature's Balm

Ten miles up a winding country road high in the Rocky Mountains, nestled in a panoramic spot, there lives an elderly couple who found their way out of Third World hell to a paradisaical mountain lifestyle. 

As a guest in their Shangrila for a few days, I was unaware of the subtle power of the wilderness until descending again to the freeways and byways of Denver (which hardly qualify as "city" compared to the likes of New Delhi or New York).

To put it succinctly, I was floating in blissful peace for at least five hours once back in "civilization." Had it been the fresh mountain air? Or the energetic force of Nature,
unencumbered by human pollution? Or the company of seasoned human beings that have known suffering and created peace instead?

Even if my own abode hardly resembles a hell realm, the distant hum of traffic, the leaf blowers, the cookie cutter lawns - not to speak of the mundane complaints of the well fed - all subtly erode the core of well being with a persistent drone.

Those who fight to preserve open spaces, refuges for wild life, clean air and fresh water are on to something. We must replenish the pristine nature of Mother Earth; only by being in tune with her power will all be well.

Emotional Contagion

This  might sound ridiculous but the other day I got angry that two of my friends were angry at each other. I was only a casual onlooker to the altercation, and it was over something totally inane.

I got angry because what they were angry about was so trivial, so stupidly egotistical, and most of all unnecessary.

Then again, what was I thinking to carry that poisonous feeling for three days?

Anger is contagious. Someone may not vomit their emotional dross on you directly but the stench pervades the space around it. It now makes perfect sense how wars start. It begins with petty emotions that are not checked but rather fanned into larger and larger flames until a conflagration is upon an entire society.

So today I will put on my anti-anger shield - compassion and forgiveness - and mind my own spiritual business!