avidya

avidy� is a Sanskrit word meaning Ignorance, delusion, unlearned, unwise. It is used extensively in Hindu texts, including the Upanishads.

maya, in Hinduism, term used in the Veda to mean magic or supernatural power. In Mahayana Buddhism it acquires the meaning of illusion or unreality. The term is pivotal in the Vedanta system of Shankara, where it signifies the world as a cosmic illusion and also the power that creates the world.

at this moment in the Ukraine it is minus 15 degrees Celsius and the government still has the heat off, two weeks now, because some people have not paid their bills... all suffer for the few who can't afford...

at this moment in Africa, children are dying or starvation, an AIDS epidemic our government and news media ignores...

at this moment in Iraq, lies continue to kill people...

at this moment on the streets of the most prosperous country in the history of mankind, children are lost, cold, abused, hungry, and ignored...

and I want to believe that we all want to believe that we sincerely wish each other a Merry Christmas or some sort of Happy Holiday and a Healthy New Year...

it is not easy to inject some hard cold reality into the festive holiday season and some might consider this sort of timing disrespectful to the religions, but I intend it to be a wake up call for all the people who think they care about others and hopefully, with defenses down due to the holidays, a reminder for the heart that when we unwrap the presents of our gaudy and extravagant society, we should not overlook those who'd be thrilled with lumps of coal if they even had a tree and a home to warm...

like it or not, you paint a clear picture of what religion does to people in this world... from my perspective, it is all about power - divide and conquer... a long time ago there were religions that divided the 'heavens' into many different gods... now there are large groups dividing one god into many different religions...

all in all, all religious are too political, power hungry, controlling, hypocritical for me to take seriously except as the serious threat to world peace and actual spiritual enlightenment that could be attained without them... I think all religions stand in the way of true enlightenment (or the mind of god) because they are duplicitous and manipulative and not open to it...

but be that as it may be, we still live in a world where religious forces can destroy us all, especially when they are politicized and have physical armies (which is the fundamental reason and value in the separation of church and state that few countries even tried and the USA is failing at miserably of late, in spite of it being a founding principle and law of the land)...

maybe the best we can do is what you are doing, read diverse opinions with an open mind and share your knowledge and opinions... I thank you for taking the time to research and write about this... you inspire hope that humanity might still overcome fear and actualize the love that every heart wants, that the god concept is based upon, and that every religion is supposed to be based upon...

yay you :)

I believe that there are no evil people... there are confused people who believe hurting others and cruelty is ok... there are frightened people who believe killing others is the only way they can survive... there are weak people who follow or ignore the cruelties and killing... there are mentally blind people who believe what they are told... there are misinformed people who think or act based on ignorance and wrong information... there are a whole lot of people who need help mentally and/or physically... and some people are so afraid and blind and misinformed that they refuse help and will kill before they dare open their mind and learn something new... I still don't think there are evil people, but I will do my best to avoid most of the people I mentioned above unless they voluntarily come in for therapy... I just wish there were so many of them... and I wish we all, me included, weren't so susceptible to some of the thoughts... you are beautiful :)

much YAY! :)

I so agree (but the yay was cuz of how you expressed yourself, agreement is just icing on the cake for me)... I understand how those uncomfortable with being online or communicating through words can be bad mouth myspace.. it is, in many ways, a reflection of our world... get enough people together in one place and there will red light districts, intrusive sales pitches, phonies, elitist snobs, small-minded judgmental control freaks, some proselytizing, some condemning, some laughing, some crying, and even the fringe like hate-filled bigots and, well humans...

most of all, the world is full of people too busy to stop and smell the roses, too worried what others will think to be individuals, too insecure to do much more than follow the herd, too afraid to open themselves to the creativity inside...

so whatever the flavor of the month might be, glitter hearts or overloaded audio and graphics, pop idols or porn, the winds that blow through our culture offline follow the crowd online... the bigger the crowd, the more likely it'll reflect society as a whole...

when I go out into the world to socialize offline, I see places where people gather to get drunk and forget their inhibitions, places where people look for companionship and often end up settling for sharing some naked passion, people putting on a show trying to impress other people putting on a show trying to impress them...

and most people stay home and watch TV...

what I do is look for the few who dare spread their wings without needing to be blind to what they are doing... I look for the artists, the poets, the few to know acting is creative and fun, but being real is what life is all about... there are about just as many down to earth secure people online as off... and those who focus on the mass of human fungus, those who prey on others fears or needs, or the superficial, see what they want to see... and the rest of us can find the diamonds in the rough, the beautiful trees among the forest of billboards, and the people giving honesty, sincerity, and a serious smile a fair shot...

a lot of what we do, online and off, is done on faith... I take a leap of faith and reach out to people, believing in the potential for goodness, kindness, and maybe something that takes the greatest leap of faith of all, an honest conversation... even if it doesn�t last forever, it�s real and for me, a whole lot better than most of the alternatives... the irony is, as it is with most everyone else, I usually find, on myspace and in the world, what I am looking for...

thanks for inspiring me to think about this... and hope today was a great day in your world :)

I know I am an idealist and may be in one of my more idealistic (less realistic) mindsets at the moment, but it saddens me that we humans must continue to even have these discussions about gender equality (as it saddens me to have to see people emphasizing the coaches of the Superbowl teams were black men - and I agree with Vincent about the game itself, but still observe the social phenomenon that the Superbowl has become)... as long as we have to keep reminding ourselves and each other that equality is balance is peace is bliss is that end we all seek, we are not actualizing and far from enlightenment (I did mention that I am in a rather idealistic head-space :)

perhaps it's even sadder that I feel any cause to explain or joke about the idealistic space my head is in at this moment... I believe you and others might understand what I mean... may we all (or at least may we be lucky enough to find one or a few to share) focus on the positive and find ways to overcome the fears that lead to judgments and labels and divisions that attempt to explain or control or avoid the fears that keep us from opening our minds and expressing our true selves to each other, no less actualizing our true selves...

I wish this wasn't considered such pie in the sky floaty spacey (even 'flaky') philosophical reasoning in this world today... I hope it won't be long before it is more acceptable as the reality we can achieve and share :)

thanks for inspiring me to think about this :)

full circle.

PS... this time, we began here...

. o O ( NOTES ARE THE NEW HAPPY PILL ) O o .
(just let me know you were here)