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Sunday, June 30, 2013

Reflections: poetry, photography and art

I had been watching the puddle of water in the driveway through the window as I worked inside.  I purposely see the present as holding future possibility. What follows is an example of that proposition placed into action with a camera and consciousness at my disposal.

I decided to see if I could  improve upon the image and went outside.  The perspective was different. 



 
                                                                                Reflections fascinate me to no end. 
                                                                                 They conceal many possibilities..
 
 
 



Over the next few hours a bird flew overhead...


 
 
                                                                                         here's proof.


Other things happened over the next few hours including the evaporation of the puddle all the way to dry blacktop.. 

I used the third photograph to make the following picture.  I am pleasantly baffled at how something appears from something else in the process of working on the original photographs. 

To the image I added flames. 

It appears as if  a boot with flames of fire is one of the possibilities in a puddle of water.

 
                                                                                             
                                                                                                      The second shoe drops
 ... so to speak.



This image continued to morph all on its own . 
I found it lurking in the pixels. .


The image below of a Carbon Egg also appeared while working on the photograph of a  reflection of the sky in a puddle in the driveway.

Sometimes this process of breaking open photographs to find other content is like augury


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
To be continued.
 
Photography, poetry and art by David H. Roche (C) 2013
 
 

a Clear Running Water state of mind

 
 

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Re-evaluating the Christian Message In View of the Imminent Ecological Catastrophe Facing The Human Race

The USGS supplies environmentally centered news releases periodically.  One after another that I receive shows how our way of life is responsible for ruining the life sustaining abilities of the planet.  You can subscribe to these news releases free of charge. 





This reality reported by the USGS seems to anticipate the conditions spoken of in the book of Revelation with regard to the 'wrath of God' and the dispensing of plagues.  The plagues mentioned in Revelation are all or mostly made up of ecological catastrophes.



The plotline in the book of Revelation is inextricably associated with the disagreement the human race has with God and the replacement for God mankind created.The author of the Revelation of Jesus Christ indicates that this is shown by the activities of the governments of the world which God has a very low opinion of. The old Testament Seer, Samuel, related God's age old feelings on the matter of governments in chapter 8 of first Samuel. If you have not read it you may be surprised at what God himself thinks. 

Did you read it.  What do you think?  Is God right?  Did God describe government in a way that resembles reality today?



I think the reason God revealed his good news in this way is appropriate to the situation we humans find ourselves in at the present time. The reason for this plotline is to show man's hatred for Gods creation and consequently for God himself and, further, to let the people on earth know there are dire consequences for deciding to do what has been done.

God's message is to repent.  Repent simply means to change your mind.  This is what the gospel of the Kingdom of God is for.  The information in the Gospel of the Kingdom of God gives us the power, the ability to really 'change our minds'. The purpose of Christ's appearance on earth was to redeem, to restore and begin again what was taken from the future of the human race when it decided to leave God's care and set off on its own. His tool was information we know as the Gospel of The Kingdom of God. This word has the ability to transform your mind and set you free.




 The remedy God offers is the opportunity to change your mind about how you relate to him, your fellows on the planet and the environment itself. The Gospel of the Kingdom of God which Jesus revealed is able to enlighten you, change your mind and liberate you from all fear. Once a person understands Christ, he is impervious to all the spiritual weapons of disinformation meant to lead him away from his Creator.

There is an example of this lack of fear and those who do not believe in the Gospel of Mark. This is quite a scene.  In this chapter Jesus has spent the day giving out information about the Kingdom of God to thousands of people.  He has also provided free food for those who who had stayed to listen to him talk. After the day was over Jesus and his disciples went away in a boat. 

A storm came up.  It must have been quite a squall because the disciples of Jesus, men who earned their living by going to sea, were scared out of their wits.  On the other hand, Jesus was not bothered at all by the storm.  He was sleeping in another part of the boat. That's right, Jesus did not have a care in the world that disturbed him.

The disciples woke him up and wanted him to do something to save them from their present existential circumstances which appeared dire to them.  Jesus said something to his followers which should speak to all of us.  "And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?"  Mark 4: 40.  Read the entire chapter here and get a feel for it. 

Imagine that, the apostles were without faith!  They had been with Christ, they knew he was the Messiah, or they hoped he was anyhow. But Jesus could say despite those affirmations on their part they still did not have faith. This, Jesus said, was the reason for their carrying on like a bunch of crybabies in the boat. 

Jesus knew the truth that he was in God and God in him.  Therefore he was not afraid.  His followers, being with him on a daily basis were in close contact with the truth but they had not grasped what it meant. They were horrified at all that was coming down on them.  

This is what Jesus, in the same boat with his disciples, understood to be the source of his lack of fear at the revolt of nature all around him.  He describes the reason why those with faith in him have all the reason in the world to be secure.  Read them in the following words from the Gospel of John chapter 17.

16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Faith in Christ rests on this as a reality as real as the sun and moon.



In the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, John a prisoner on Christ's behalf, while writing from his cell on the Isle of Patmos describes the heavens as being rolled up like a scroll. The rolling up of the scroll is the same as having finished reading a book and closing the covers. Such is to be the outcome of human history.

Christ is the Alpha and Omega in this myth; the beginning and the end of creation. It is here, in the Revelation of the Mystery of the ages, where significance regarding what it means to be alive may be found. It is this good news about the meaning of Jesus and his incarnation and appearance among us which can radically reorganize our way of looking at the world, ourselves and our place in it.  This information will truly transform the mind of those who have faith. You do not have to worry

Back to the present where  God's creation is under assault by the very means which mankind measures success. Does it look hopeful? Are you confident the men and woman who have made the world the hell we anticipate it becoming can be trusted to fix it? It might be time to change our minds and trust in God instead of the Beast.  What do you think. Have you had enough?





Think about this for a while. All these birds mentioned in the USGS report have toxic quantities of lead in them resulting from our way of life.   Toxic means they will eventually be adversely affected by lead. It is not likely these birds are the only part of Gods creation affected by the products of our way of life.    This topic is discussed in an article By Joe Romm on May 13, 2012   Click here you can read of more concerns raised regarding the environmental impact of our way of life.  This information is useful in helping see the problem and change your mind.

A similar situation was brought to the attention of the American public several decades ago by Rachel Carson when I was in high school.  The intervening years have made it clear no repentance has been forthcoming by those making societies decisions.  The leaders have not been transformed by the renewing of their minds. Serving worldly interests they cannot serve the Kingdom of Heaven.  





Imagine that one day you turn on the news and are told there is not enough food air and water on the earth that is safe to eat or drink or breathe. You can see now why nations will fight it out over the last natural resources when even the wealthy cannot get a safe plate of food or a clean drink of water. The book of Revelation indicates a scenario similar to this will be the case.  






Fortunately if you have faith it will all end well.

So there is good news after all.  But it requires letting go of what society values as its way of life.

The images in this article are art I have made as a result of contemplating the meaning of Jesus Christ as the beginning and end of human experience. It is a theme which possess me day and night.  If you are interested you may view more and purchase environmental art at my store  Art From Another Dimension at Zazzle.com.   

Below is a video I made on the topic:






God Bless and if you choose to change your mind you'll be glad you did.




Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Life Is Suffering: another look at Christ

To consider life we must of necessity consider our origins.  I begin with the understanding that I exist because of something smarter than me.  I have decided to look at the introduction of the 'Christ' into human history as a spiritual means  of coming to grips with being here and as an explanation for the fact of my existence.
It is clear I exist and you probably feel the same way about yourself. So what does your existence owe itself too?
In the revelation of the Gospel of the Kingdom there is an answer.  They did not teach me this in church.  I had to wrest it from the bible itself.  But in doing so I believe I have seen a vision of the God who was incarnated and killed after fulfilling his task in leaving the 'Truth' behind to mingle with human consciousness and to transform it.

 

Life is suffering for a most unusual reason.   A second look at the Mystery of Christ.

Why does life hurt so much?  Poverty hurts, disease hurts, loss hurts, war and oppression hurt.  Even though these are grievous experiences all of them together are not the reason the life is an inexplicable hardship.  Sometimes what is worse than all the rest is the underlying sense of discontent, the feeling that life isn’t worth it despite its offsetting pleasures. 

In our heart of hearts we understand something is not right. Perhaps there is a vague nagging, an irresistible sense of dissatisfaction in understanding that we are alive, it hurts for a while and then we die. We know the same fate waits our children, and their children.   We are all, apparently, on a ceaseless trek to the grave. 

This is not a morose morbid theme it is a meditation that appears in humanity throughout history.  Throughout the making of history mankind has asked the questions about his origins, his existence and what it means.  The Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes is a classic example.   The book of Job discusses present  loss and suffering against a cosmic backdrop.  Click on the hyperlinks to read texts. 

Job is one of the most misunderstood of the biblical books and this misunderstanding has produced some of the worst commentaries on the topic of suffering imaginable.  As a result many believe that the goodness of God obligates Him to relieve suffering and when he does not do so then the love of God is thought to be unreal, a fable.  This is not so, I would argue that the love of God means something quite different, as Jesus pointed out. 

But here we are in life, we do our best and nothing is able to extinguish the knowledge of our personal appointment with death.  That destiny may be eclipsed by daily activities.  But it is always nearby.  Someone you know dies: a grandparent, a parent, a school friend.  Happiness, which we all value and desire, is found to exist in a mixed bag of pleasure, pain and sorrow. 

The reason for this is almost impossible to find.  We keep trying.  Circumstances may improve, but all the more energy is needed to retain what has been gained.  The harder you work the harder you have to work to keep what you have gained.  This situation has been called a rat race.  If it is, it is a rat race on a treadmill because no one crosses the finish line before they get to the grave.  Or so appearances confirm.

And so, there is good reason to feel dissatisfied.  It’s a dissatisfaction a thousand electronic gadgets and sales gimmicks cannot make disappear for very long. It’s a sense that lies beneath your happiest moments keeping you aware that something is fundamentally wrong with the way things are.  You feel guilty for not enjoying what you have.  But you can’t, you always want more and that’s making you frustrated with the whole mess. You cannot get enough to make the dissatisfaction go away.

But in your heart of hearts you feel there is more.  That is because you are right, there is more to being human than what you have been assured can be satisfied by purchases in the marketplace and experienced within the context of only three dimensions.

The reason for dissatisfaction with life is that we have forgotten who we are.  It is not us who have forgotten, or our parents, or their parents either.  No, long ago in history man began to think of himself as identified with his present experience of life and death.   Norman O. Brown's book "Life Against Death: the psychoanalytical meaning of history" published in 1959 is a resource explaining this phenomenon. It is recommended reading.   Identification with this experience became perceived as the reality of the human race. And it is. But only because of forgetfulness and determination on our part.

There is a story told by Jesus which explains the situation of the human race in a cosmic setting. It’s a story about a prosperous farmer with two sons.  The story begins with the younger of the two sons asking for his share of his father’s wealth now rather than having to wait for him to die to receive it as an inheritance. The father agreed.  Shortly afterward the younger son left his father and brother and took the wealth his Father had given him. 

Take the time and imagine the young man loading up camels and choosing from his father’s slaves before saying his good-byes and taking leave of his father’s house.

Jesus describes the young man as going to a ‘far country’.  There he goes, disappearing over the horizon into another life, a life of his own, with his camels and slaves. Once there in a strange land with no true friends he spends the riches his father had given him.  He spent it all and found himself destitute, friendless, homeless and starving.

The turning point in the story is described by Jesus with these words:   “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.” Luke 15:17- 19

 Jesus’ parables were conceived with the purpose of opening the listeners mind to the Kingdom of God.  He claimed it was his purpose to disperse this information where human consciousness might find it.  Once they understood the information they would be able to come to them-selves. 

 Jesus’ words in the parable “when he came to himself” open the door to the mystery of the kingdom of God.  It is in this mysterious Kingdom of God where we find our true identity, where we come to ourselves.  Making this discovery liberates and saves us.  This is why in the book of Revelation the redeemed are given a new name.   A change of name in situations relating to God is  related to a change in the relationship of the person with God.  It is the way it was with Abram when God changed his name to Abraham.  
 
The story Jesus told of the Father and his two sons is a story about the human race and God.   It is this Father which gives us our identity and to which we return. The passionate apostle and visionary Paul of Tarsus understood the nature of the gospel to reveal an unexpected state of affairs.  He referred to those relating to their present experience through the knowledge of Christ as being a partner in “…the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God,” Ephesians 3: 9. 


“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.John 17: 20-24 KJV.

Do you see it?  Do you begin to understand the mystery of life as opposed to the rat race of life?  The spiritual teaching of Christ reveals what was forgotten.  We are children of God who have been brain-washed out of our identity.  We must come to our self.  If we do not identify our self accurately we are doomed to tread the rat race forever.

In the incarnation Jesus reveals the astonishing intent of God.  “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,” … “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:…”  “predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,…” “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,..”  “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:” “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;” (quotations from KJV book of Ephesians)

To be chosen something must already exist.  I cannot choose a Cadillac if Cadillacs do not exist.   According to Saint Paul, God was able to choose us in Christ long before we were born on this earth.  That is definitely mysterious.  What does it mean that he chose us before we were born?  Does it mean we existed before we were born?  Or does it mean that God in his all seeing eye knew we would be coming down the pike in need of help?  Another way of looking at this is also possible.  According to the way our reality is set up all time exists simultaneously.  Past present and future are equally accessible if this is the case.  That fact may help to make this plausible. 
There are other ramifications to this as well.  One striking feature of this reality is that death is not what it seems to be anymore than life is not what it seems to be.  If God has predestined us before the foundation of the world, it is reasonable to understand that we existed before the foundation of the world.  You cannot choose something that does not exist even if you are God.  God can make it, but if it is selected it must have been in existence. So the conclusion is if God chose it, it must have existed. Some will argue with this to no avail.

It is reasonable to understand given the knowledge available in Christ that before the foundation of the world we did not exist as human beings such as we are now but that we in fact did exist in some genuinely real way simply because we were chosen.  We could not have been chosen if we did not exist and since we did not exist as the human we know as ourselves now this is truly a mystery.

I have decided to examine what this means in the context of the Christ Event, the redeeming appearance of Jesus, as explained by Jesus himself and those who had insight into what his appearance meant.  My primary resource will be the Bible, but other authorities are not left out. 
The situation mankind finds itself in can be seen to have a different connotation than ordinarily understood by looking at human experience through the lens of Christ.  Most denominations have given lip service to the idea that In Christ is all knowledge.  Most have made this knowledge unattainable by turning it into ‘doctrine’ which effectively makes insight into the mystery difficult or impossible.  The New Testament points to Christ as the answer and I will do my best to ruthlessly understand what it means. If Christ is the light of the world, knowledge of him is necessary for understanding what it means to be here now.

Jesus claimed that he, himself, was the ‘Truth’.  I will approach this ‘Truth’ as an intellectual construction rather than something codified into a doctrine or set on an altar to worship.  ‘Truth’, as I perceive the notion,  is a living medium by which the Spirit activates the mind giving faith allowing its genuineness to become self-authenticating.  Truth in this context is alive.
 



Saturday, June 08, 2013

PRISM: the days of Noah,hatred and love





That's all she wrote folks. These are the days of Noah.



Be good to your neighbor no matter what happens. The chance of your neighbor being an enemy is slim and if you know the truth as it is in Christ you love your enemy anyway because you understand the nature of things.



Enemies are real problems for those who do not know Christ. It costs them a lot of money. Look here since 2001 American taxpayers have spent all this money on enemies. Click the link, the war debt is climbing continuously and you have to pay this if you are an American taxpayer. That's the privilege of being a citizen. It sucks doesn't it, and not in a good way.

If you knew Christ you wouldn't have enemies you worried about. People would hate you but you would be impervious to them on the basis of the knowledge of Christ.

Check out Christ, lose your fear and start to love. Love your enemy the way you love yourself.

Faith in Christ is rebellious because the faithful do not hate.

Thursday, June 06, 2013

Privacy or Security? It's Your Choice

This poster is completely political in outlook responding to current events and the way freedom, privacy and liberty are being redefined and administered.

When I saw the photograph I was struck with the quandary Americans are in today. The last two Presidents and the overwhelming majority of elected representatives have redefined privacy and the essential meaning of what it means to be free. That's what I thought that when I saw the image.

The kitten is a feral waif I rescued. I did so because life is hard for feral cats.

Outside he would be free and fending for himself. Inside he gets three squares a day. But you can see what he gives up for the security of being domesticated.

The situation of everyday Americans is much more serious than that of the kitten. He doesn't seem to mind. My question is, "Do you? Do you mind giving up your privacy?"

Hang the poster on your wall and let your thoughts wander over the themes of privacy, liberty, freedom and security. Think about what you were taught and what you now know to be the reality. Just click on the image.



 
Find other designs of Art & Posters at Zazzle.com
 

You may also want to express your sadness at the mess your elected representatives have made of things by wearing this Tee Shirt. Both the poster and Tee Shirt may be purchased at Zazzle.com by clicking on the image of your choice. Speak while you are still allowed to speak. Don't just settle for the liberty to go shopping. Privacy tops shopping any day of the week.


By wearing this you may discover that others feel the same way about losing their privacy. Remember privacy is the lock on the door that protects many of the rest of your civil liberties. You should not let thieves have the key.


I was saddened to watch Democracy Now on the 6th of June.



If it wasn't for freedom loving constitution loving whistleblowers we would not have a clue about this. This means whistleblowers are providing useful information which will enable voters to make better choices. Read a full report on this revelation of the United States government activity against its own people in the Guardian by clicking here. I think it is proper to feel this activity requires an impeachment and those responsible brought to trial. The American people may be susceptible to this form of deceit but they are not so stupid as to be unaware something is terribly wrong when private communications are gleaned for personal information by government employees.



It pretty much tells us what we do not want to consider has already overcome us. Can you really be free and have a democratic society when privacy is eliminated? I made the following video with the same lament in mind.





Many will remember "Easy Rider" one of the several ground-breaking films of the 60's.


Easy Rider is a classic conversation on the conflicting prerogatives of individual freedom and society. It may be worth watching again 45 years later. Often things are understood with more clarity and seriousness with the passage of time. That's because you got smarter in those years. Just think of the cavalcade of bozos beginning with Nixon and culminating with the present Bozo created situation. Have they really done a good job? Would you hire them again? The present situation is what they have achieved. It's a real pile of crap for the most of us. But it is real good for some.

Many share Mario Savios feeling today:



I hate to be seeing this happen but it is. That's the facts. Your elected representatives sold you and your future. You didn't know they could do it, did you. And if you knew they could, you never imagined they would. But they did. They sold you like Christ was sold and you were hung for display on a cross constructed on Wall Street and erected firmly in the Golgotha of bankruptcy courts throughout the nation.

I hope they got a good buck cause your freedom was worth a lot.

Remember this, Christ rose from the dead.



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A practitioner of the art of living with the intent of learning how to die without fear.