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

Friday, April 22, 2005

"The worker is worth his hire..."

There is the 'whether' question, and then there is the 'how much' question. Just about everyone gets into a tangle over the matter of payment for spiritual services. Some resolve it by adamantly declaring it inappropriate to pay for or be paid for such services. Others devote their lives to the business of reading and healing, and have no trouble charging big bucks for what they do. Those who object on biblical grounds usually point to Jesus tearing up the money-changers tables in the Temple,... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 1:59 PM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

My Resume

I just wrote this up for someone who wanted to know*, and thought it might be high time I submitted it to you who have been reading this blog... I have been reading actively for the past 35 years, from beginning with Tarot at age 17, to learning about reading auras, pastlives, and spiritual healing at the Washington Psychic Institute, the seminary of The Church of Divine Man, from 1978 until my graduation/ordination in August 1983, putting in about the same hours as I had in earning a BA in... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 12:58 PM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Proof of God's Existence

Down among the earliest posts in this blog I described what God has to be, to be God. My opinion, my conclusions--read the disclaimer in the side-column again, if you like... It's on the first or second page, if you want to go check it out. In very brief, God = Everything + Consciousness. The proof that such an Ultimate Being must exist lies in the fact of Consciousness, and is predicated on the understanding / belief that personal consciousness survives the death of the body. The thing about... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 12:47 PM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

How things feel is not necessarily how they are. And other unequations

Intelligence isn't necessarily smart. Beauty is not always attractive. Education isn't the same as wisdom. Power-over is not the same as power-within. Superior is not necessarily better. Product is not the same as accomplishment Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 11:54 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

People who believe in God-given Free Will don't kill it in their kids.

(reprised from an earlier prose blog) Cut&Pasted from the Headlines! Well, no, just from a comment I left in someone else's post, but upon reflection thought it worth making the same point in a more visible place. This is a topic I have felt strongly about for some time, and it's about time I put some words around my thoughts on the matter. The post I responded to was about the predominance in our society of adolescents who invest heavily in Bible study and Bible groups, as if this is a good... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 11:46 AM | add or view comments (0) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, April 18, 2005

The Only Candle on the Altar

There is that urge to be the only--or failing that, the brightest-- candle on the altar Who has not felt it? To stand alone in the spotlight, glowing with specialness! I think it has to do with wanting reassurance that we are indeed special, that everyone, and especially God knows who we are, particularly, and knows how brightly we shine! We don't care to be 'just another' anything... We are not inclined to sharing... We want to be admired by strangers and friends and family, and especially... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 4:06 PM | add or view comments (13) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, April 16, 2005

Oceandancer's Glowing Hands

Once upon a time, at the first ESP Fair that I went to as a practitioner, I met a charming elderly lady who sat down in front of me for an energy tune-up. She confided shyly that she came to events like this because she was very interested, even fascinated, but she was not at all psychic herself, so this was how she could at least get close to it. I fell into the bit about how we are all psychic-- she just smiled, and knew better. A few minutes later, she asked, suddenly and with most sincere... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 6:46 PM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

About ape behaviour... Inspired by a post by Emptyhanded painter...

A few years ago I had the great privilege of meeting and hanging out for a while with some chimpanzees that have been part of an on-going ASL project since the 1960s. What I learned there is that not all people are human. A recent post by Emptyhandedpainter brought up the subject, and I want to clarify some things. I would be interested to know of any documented case of chimps stealing and killing human infants for food or any other purpose. That they rarely but occasionally kill and eat chimp... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 11:13 PM | add or view comments (17) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Affirmations Don't Just Affirm: Words and Beliefs

Hello, again! Grounded? Centered? "Can you hear me now? Good!" Lenny Bruce did a bit about the emotional power we give to words, along with a suggestion that we exercise a bit more conscious control over that dynamic. If you want to see it, Dustin Hoffman recreated the act in the film, Lenny. The 'parts' of self that drift around in the unconscious mind are esssentially fragments of our conscious selves that, like pearls around grit, we have formed around our hard-earned truths: The tougher the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 3:40 PM | add or view comments (2) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, April 10, 2005

An Open Letter About Death

I'm so sorry for your grief... Death is hard even when one has comforting beliefs about it, because those beliefs are about spiritual truths and death is a matter that goes to the bone... There is no way to soften the loss of a dear friend's physical presence even if you believe that they remain with you spiritually, even literally. The body still yearns for the immediacy of the hug and the hand-in-hand... I don't fear my own death so much as I dread the deaths of those near me, and even more,... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:35 AM | add or view comments (10) | 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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