Miscellaneous

5.5.15

– “… to win the Gentiles to the obedience of faith (to the gospel) by the power of the Holy Spirit…”

– “Aligning ourselves with the (liberating & transforming) power of GOD through obedience to his revealed will, is how true freedom is gained.”

– Swimming training:
Relax, enjoy & focus – in that order!
Fuck failure.
Fuck the fear.
Fuck the frustration.
Just let yourself go into the embrace of the water. Let the spontaneous intelligence of the body express itself.
The (overly) serious are never (truly) successful……!

– “Be like water, my friend.”
Bruce Lee would be the best swimming coach!

– Wellness:
Physical (includes sexual)
Spiritual (includes moral)
Emotional
Relational
Intellectual
Financial/material
Occupational/professional
Cultural
Environmental

– Nelly Bly

– When push comes to shove,
Stick to your guns!

– “Atheists for Jesus”
“Rescuing Jesus from the Bible”
Rescuing the Bible from fundamentalism!

– Just war & unjust peace

– “Peace-keeping force”
Waging peace

– Enlightened self-interest

– Moral imagination

– “This is what I think is best for you in this matter…”

6.5.15

– Psychomotor retardation
Dysthymia

– Distinguish:
Introversion
&
Depression
Being reserved is okay, but being unhappy/sad to an extent that it negatively affects your usual functioning over a prolonged period is not.

– Branding – is there really such a thing as a melancholic personality type??
What an evil lie – fuck that shit!

7.5.15

– Can godliness & contentment go together?

– “The goal has to go!” – U.G. Krishnamurti

– Focusing on who we are (past) –> complacency.
Grasping for who we ought to be (future) –> frustration.
Embracing the moment –> transformation!
Memory – past
Imagination – future
Perception – present

– The opposite (& thus the cure) of capitalism is, first of all, materialism! The shift from money (financial speculation) to products (real economy) must happen first, before the move from things to people can be made…

– Ornery
Blithe
Pediment
Tomatillo
Placket
Lichen
Backhoe
Saffron
Limpid
Sui generis
Ineluctable
Chary

– “Either give me more wine or leave me alone.” – Rumi, Persian poet

– My daily 15 min. of silence, solitude & stillness must be spent outdoors (park, terrace, etc.)

– machinations

– Called (to him), by his excellent & generous greatness!

8.5.15

– Trying (very) hard to (fully) relax!

– Compare & contrast:
The experience of looking at someone else do something
&
The experience of doing it oneself
E.g. Swimming

– Maybe attending the swimming class is the best preparation for (conducting) the retreat!

– Swimming – First master the basic steps before moving on to the next step. Learn one thing at a time, step-by-step. Do not attempt the next step before mastering the more basic one’s.

– ” கவிதை எழுதுபவன் கவியன்று. கவிதையே வாழ்க்கையாக உடையோன், வாழ்க்கையே கவிதையாகச் செய்தோன், அவனே கவி.” – பாரதி

– Movies:
“Bharathi” (Tamil)
Definitely one of the best movies I have seen!
Is it possible to be great/inspired/passionate and also remain sane/alive/kind for long?

9.5.15

– “Stotram” – praise/hymn (Sanskrit)

– If Jesus is a Jew, then I am a Christian!

– “The Little Man does not want to hear the truth about himself. He does not want the great responsibility which is his. He wants to remain a Little Man…”
– Wilhelm Reich
Does the Judeo-Christian God want/require us to remain Little Men??

– It is no more difficult or easy for us today to believe in Jesus the Christ, than it was for the people who knew Him personally in ancient Palestine!

– Forgiveness for people includes ‘blotting out’ of (their) sins!

– Creation ~ resurrection!

– GOD: Father – Son – Jesus – Christ – Spirit

– Visible/material world & unseen/spiritual powers
Matter & energy??

– We have been released from the merry-go-round (endless cycle) of law-sin-death…
So, does conversion produce whiplash?!

– The teleology of all creation is to be found not in the Garden of Eden, but in the pre-existent Word!

– Eschatology is nothing but teleology fulfilled. Right?
But isn’t the potential for growth in a divine world, infinite?

– Where is the cosmic Christ in the (synoptic) Gospels?

– Pain >> doubt & anger
Pleasure >> disappointment & guilt

– The answer (not solution) to evil, suffering & death is found in faith, hope & love!

– Redeeming atrocity & tragedy

– John 14:19

– Meaningless pleasures

– Indulging in all pleasures, my mind still guiding me with wisdom…

– If monogamous marriage is the original created design, why don’t people have a problem with celibacy as they do with promiscuity?

– Seeking meaning apart from GOD, is like a chasing after the wind.

– Worldly goods are means, not ends.

– Refreshing without distracting.

– Have you ever written down your vision/purpose in life?
Have you established clear guidelines for the journey toward that goal?
What is your life all about?

– No meaning without morality!

– Any pleasure that jeopardizes the sacred right of another is illicit.

– Testimonies of dramatic conversions that produce guilt & shame!

– Only GOD is big enough to keep an adult in wonder.

– Godly success

– Is there a moral framework underlying reality?

– No wisdom without suffering!

12.5.15

– 3 years of marriage successfully completed!
🙂 WOW

– Movies:
“O Kaadhal Kanmani” (Tamil)
A too easy resolution of a genuine problem? But such (dramatic) transformations are also possible…..!