My husband received news last night that his Aunt Gussie passed away.

She was elderly and had some of the many health-related problems that come with advanced years.  She'd just had a  knee-replacement surgery and came through it with flying colors.  Rather than using general anesthesia, her surgeon ordered a "nerve block" to her leg so that she would remain awake during the procedure.  The doctors and nurses had her up and walking as soon as possible after her post-surgical rest.  She had to take things slow-and-easy, of course, but seemed to be doing well.

From all the information that we received last night, it appears that she attempted to get out of her hospital bed by herself yesterday to go to the bathroom.  We do not know if she was too stubborn to ring for a nurse to come help her, or whether she wasn't thinking clearly because of the medications and her age.  At any rate, she fell to the floor, hit her head on something, and that triggered hemorrhaging which the doctors could not stop in time.

My husband would go by the nursing home where she was staying and spend some time with her occasionally, visiting as well as discussing her current financial concerns (an area in which he dutifully assisted her for many years).  I know he feels a sense of loss that she is no longer in this world.  Even though the two of them weren't incredibly close, he appreciates the value of family.

Odd as it might seem to some people, I never met Aunt Gussie — he and I haven't been together all that long, and I always thought it best to let them spend their time with each other one-on-one rather than my tagging along and mucking things up.  From all that I have heard, though, she had a colorful personality, loved to shop, and thrived on excitement right up to the end.  Sounds to me like she had a full life, one that should be celebrated rather than mourned at her passing.

So, goodbye, Aunt Gussie — I hope there's a good place for you to shop where you are now!

© 2008 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com

Do you believe in God?

It always amazes me when people ask the question, "Do you believe in God?" The amazing thing is that when this question is asked, the querent usually is not actually asking what they are really trying to determine. What they really mean is, "Do you believe in the same God in which I believe? Is your image of God the same image as mine?"

Any hesitation to give an emphatically positive answer is usually met with a sad shake of the head and the presupposition that — conveniently enough — some demon is "clouding your vision," preventing you from seeing things their way (which, of course, is the only "proper" way). Then, the querent usually states that they will pray for you, presumptuously, without ever asking permission to do so.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "evangelism" as:

1. the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ
2. miltant or crusading zeal

The same dictionary defines "militant" as:

1. engaged in warfare or combat
2. aggressively active (as in a cause)

Warfare? Combat? Agression? Why does any religion or spiritual path have to be "aggressive?" If their message is actually the Truth, then everyone will clearly see that it is Truth, and no aggression need be involved. Aggression is only necessary when there is resistance and doubt. Warfare, combat, and aggression are tools that help you to force others into submitting to your desires.

Truth is spread through Peace. Lies are spread though aggression.

And speaking of the narrow-minded "my way or the highway" mentality, why does any religion or spiritual path purport to have a limited view of the Divine? Isn't that really a contradiction in terms? Looking again to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, we find the definition of "God" as:

1. the supreme or ultimate reality, as the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe

Wow! How can mere, mortal mankind wrap Something as vast and humanly incomprehensible as "God" into one tidy "this is it!" package?

The Hindu religion believes in one God, called "Atman." They further believe that "Atman" is so incomprehensible that there are literally thousands of "faces" which this Being has chosen to show Itself down through the ages. Some of these faces are masculine, such as that of Brahma or Vishnu, and some of these faces are feminine, such as Parvati or Laxmi. But the Hindus do not worship many gods — only that one, Atman, for everything is Atman, deep down inside.

I, too, believe that "God" can manifest in different ways — as "YHWH" to the Jewish people, as "Allah" to the Muslims, as "God" to the Christians, as "Ra" to the ancient Egyptians, as "Gaia" to some of the Pagans, and as a vague "spirit of Universal Consciousness" to us Buddhists.

Do I believe in God?
YES!

Do I believe in your image of God?
Probably not. Any way that the Divine has manifested to you is perfectly valid, but it might not necessarily be the same image with which the Divine has manifested Presence to me.

I spread this writing in the spirit of PEACE and loving-kindness towards ALL viewpoints that do not aggressively try to extinguish another. In Peace, so mote it be.

© 2008 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com

betterPropaganda

I like music.
Lots of music.
Different kinds of music.

Someone recently linked me to a site that has free — and legal! — MP3 music files on it and I'm having a blast with that site! According to their "About Us" page, they are "...an interactive, multimedia music magazine showcasing artists from more than 600 independent and major labels."

A lot of the bands there are indies that fall into the "garage" category, which is always a wonderful grab-bag of eclectic sounds. However, there are more mainstream artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Ani DiFranco, Garbage, Green Day, Radiohead, Red Snapper, and others! w00t! Give a listen!

http://betterpropaganda.com



© 2008 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com

As a Buddhist, I watched several of the shows in Bill Moyers' Faith and Reason series with great interest.  I was impressed by several of the shows, but wanted to post a couple of quotes from one of them here, mostly so I would not forget them.

That show featured Pema Chödrön, a Buddhist nun and author.  I have one of her books, by the way, and it is outstanding. One thing she said on the show that was particularly noteworthy was:

"It isn't the things that happen to us in our lives that cause us to suffer, it's how we relate to the things that happen to us that causes us to suffer."

In response to Bill Moyers' question, "How do you experience 'god?' Ms. Chödrön answered:

"That open space of mind that allows for ultimate possibilities and doesn't narrow down into a security-based, or fear-based, view where my way has to have precedence."

That is all for now, but I might post other quotes from the series in the future.



© 2008 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com

Music Player

There is now a "Flash" music player on the "Music" page (under "About Me" on the menu) of my personal Web site. I have loaded the player with some favorite tracks from my personal music collection. By hovering the mouse over different sections of the listing, you can scroll up or down to see what is there and select an individual track. You can also just click the "Play" button and let the music roll while you do something else!

There is a variety of music there because my tastes in music are so varied. My personal music collection ranges from Beethoven to Bananarama, from Black Sabbath to Bob Marley, from BT to Blondie, from Basia to Butthole Surfers. You can expect the selection of songs to change periodically as new songs are added and others are retired.

To check out the music player now, click on the image to the right of this blog entry!

© 2008 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com

Anti and the Gods

One of the peeps on my "Friends List" on MySpace has started a "band" page and uploaded some of his music! The compositions lean towards the "electronica-industrial-grunge" genre, and I find them to be very creative! I am anxious to see what he comes up with next!

Click on the banner below to check out his page. If you like his work, please "Right-Click" on the banner to save it to your computer and then use it on your page/blog or in a "Bulletin" to help spread the word!

© 2008 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com

Pimp your feet!

MySpace (and other free sites) are free because of advertising, so I don’t mind occasionally clicking on the nicer-looking advertisers’ links to see what they have to offer.   If the occasional clicks help keep MySpace free, then it is well worth it!  The ad below really caught my eye because the shoes are cute-as-heck!

The parent company is "Run Athletics," which according to the "About Us" info on their site was "launched in fall 2003 by Hip Hop visionary Russell Simmons and his brother Joseph Simmons, (a.k.a Rev Run) former member of rap group RUN DMC."I always thought RUN DMC was cool, and these shoes are super-cool!  I don’t think I would ever pay this much for a pair of sneakers, but hey, they’re awesome to lookit, at least!

© 2008 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com