Sunday, January 30, 2011

Crystal Healing for the Solar Plexus Chakra




Crystal Healing for the Solar Plexus Chakra

The Solar Plexus Chakra it is located beneath the sternum, below the heart and below the base of the rib cage.


It has 10 petals


It's governs the organs of the abdominal cavity the stomach, liver, gallbladder and the small and large intestine.


The endocrine gland is the pancreas.


It is associated with the lower astral/mental plane.


Colour for this Chakra is Yellow.


Crystal for this Chakra is Aragonite.


The lower emotions based on fear- anxiety, insecurity, jealousy, and anger are generated here.


This is the place of the wounded child, it can also be found in the sacral and base charkas as well. Its energies also affect the digestive system, the diaphragm and so the breathing.


The solar plexus chakra is the ruling and governing chakra in most people.


This charka's energies are the most influential, as they tend to permeate and influence the consciousness of most people.


If it is unbalanced it can have the effect in most cases that people are predominately influenced and ruled by their own selfish desires.


It can hold a lot of negative energy, due to a weakness in the personality.


A balanced solar plexus chakra radiates the qualities of pure devotion love and radiates a power within.


Energies from the solar plexus transfer to the third eye. It vibrates to a bright golden yellow.


Disorders that can be associated with an unbalanced Solar Plexus Chakra are:


Coeliac's Disease Diabetes Digestive Problems Gallstones Hypoglycemia Liver Disease Muscle Cramps Peptic Ulcer Pancreatic Disease.



The Solar Plexus Chakra is related to self-worth, personality, ego the way we see ourselves and others.


It is also connected to Self-centeredness and the need to dominate.


It is the center of personal power and intellect also our perceptions regarding control, freedom and power.


It gives us our get up and go attitude to life.


POSITIVES: Alert-Cheerful-Confident-Good Humor-Optimistic-Skillful-Spontaneous.


NEGATIVES: Depressed-Distrustful-Inferiority-Jealousy-Over Analytical-Pessimistic- Sarcastic.
The Sacral Chakra gives us the energy to turn desire into action.


You know that feeling you get when you feel like your get up and go has got up and gone well this the Chakra that is causing that feeling as this is our center for our sense of personal power, we will need to get it back into balance quickly.


A quick way to do this if you do not have easy access to crystals is to use laughter and fun this Chakra responds well to humor you can also do activities like jogging and running and also I have found letting out a really good primordial Yell!! works wonders


Colleen is the Author of 3 Crystal Healing Books and also a Crystal Healer and Teacher.


Breakthrough all the mystery and frustration surrounding crystal healing.


Want easy step by step instructions? Discover the hidden secrets of your crystal healing at: Crystal Healing Vibrations


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Colleen_Simmons

What are the benefits of forgiving someone?

What are the benefits of forgiving someone?
Letting go of grudges and bitterness makes way for compassion, kindness and peace. Forgiveness can lead to:

■Healthier relationships
■Greater spiritual and psychological well-being
■Less stress and hostility
■Lower blood pressure
■Fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety and chronic pain
■Lower risk of alcohol and substance abuse

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/forgiveness/MH00131/NSECTIONGROUP=2

Saturday, January 22, 2011

The Good Life

Cosmic Law - Morality

Cosmic Law - Morality
This Law guarantees that supreme virtues will ultimately prevail for
Heaven on Earth.

Defined as the standard of "rightness or wrongness of an action",
morality is reflected through the human conscience. Conscience is the
inner reservoir into which the Soul pours timeless wisdom born of
Spirit, whether or not the intellect is aware of it.

An individuals conscience recognizes the difference between right and
wrong with regard to one's conduct, coupled with a sense that one should
act accordingly. It is an important inner sense for human survival and
advancement beyond the five physical senses.

When individuals and governments fall short of conscience-based
interaction, it's usually the consequence of intellectual considerations
over-ruling conscience in favor of practical, observable results. The
unintegrated intellect may argue that "the end justifies the means", and
it is by such misbased reasoning that wars, genocide, dictatorships, and
all other forms of physical force and violence, are often defended
although doomed to fail under Cosmic Laws.

When honoring one's own conscience, the sense of right comes clear for
universal application;

"Moral means to moral ends."

In the book "Ends and Means", author Aldous Huxley noted that wrong
means tend to become a part of, and corrupt good intentions;

"The end cannot justify the means for
the simple reason that the means
employed determine the nature of the
ends produced."

Doing wrong to try to correct wrongdoing only compounds the problem in
trying to achieve moral ends as the hypocrisy conflicts with the
principle of moral means. Might never made "right".

Moral human laws are enacted to provide a foundation for justice, not to
try to force moral conduct. Timeless wisdom explains that the
initiation of force by government will never achieve righteous goals,
desireable as they may be, because it goes against several Cosmic Laws
besides Morality, including Cause & Effect, or karma;

"Morality can never be advanced by
law or by force. Always labor to
persuade minds, but never dare to
compel them."

Human laws cannot advance morality since the unintegrated intellect
schemes to avoid them. By contrast, persuasion power is effective
through personal contact and example that touches the heart. "Love and
let love" is a means in full harmony with the Law of Morality and all
others as well.

Despite cyclical setbacks, humans forever evolve to more virtuous
choices as incarnated Souls, with multi-dimensional wisdom, integrate
the five-sensory survival-focused intellect. Barbarism gives way to
less primitive practices, enslavement gives way to equality, cruelty
gives way to more humane treatment.

Conscience works against killing as the non-combat status of
"Conscientious objector" is honored in times of war, less violent means
of applying the death penalty for crimes are sought, and the penalty
itself is challenged by moral reasoning;

"Why do we kill people who kill
people to show that killing people
is wrong?"

Under Cosmic Laws, elimination of a Soul's physical body by force
creates a new wave of negative karma for those involved in the act, and
creates a debt that sooner or later must be settled.

In the context of the Law of Morality, "sin" is a deliberate violation,
and "evil" is an unconscious violation by the unintegrated intellect.
The idea of "original sin" was a controlling and manipulative teaching
with no basis in Cosmic Law, tending to dismiss an individuals inner
powers, including conscience, to rise above it . But self-empowering
acts of displaying unconditional love, compassion and forgiveness, and
efforts to anchor supreme values in the foundation of human endeavors,
slowly triumph with time over their opposites.

Outstanding institutional moral progress has been seen throughout
recorded history in such things as England's Magna Carta and America's
Bill of Rights, as well as great humanitarian efforts undertaken by
various private organizations, and growth of spiritual awareness around
the world. Of special importance was a message from Spirit on October
20, 1996 to all Souls in human embodiment;

"Do not give support to that which
is evil or sinful."

As with earlier "commandments", the admonishment was a reminder that
causing death, injury or pain to others was not only a moral issue for
the individual conscience, but the collective conscience as well in
relation to government. Immoral policies and actions by government
would lose funding as taxpayers claimed the right of conscience to
direct their money according to the "golden rule" of morality;

"Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you."

A most blatant and common contradiction of the Law of Morality by
government is the initiation of physical force to achieve control over
people who threaten no physical harm to others. Humans appropriately
enact laws against using it amongst themselves, but governments have
been permitted to initiate unlimited force, even to nuclear devastation.
The Soul rebels at a human "lawful order" that conflicts with its
wisdom.

History and economics Professor Kenneth Schoolland made the moral point
in his book "The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible" (1995);

"The initiation of force to take life
is murder, to take liberty is slavery,
and to take property is theft. It is
the same whether these actions are
done by one person acting alone, by
the many acting against a few, or
even by officials with fine hats."

What is "wrong" for an individual is also wrong for a collection of
individuals calling themselves the "government". Involuntary payment of
money to an institution, like involuntary payment to robbers, is not a
policy born of the Law of Morality, but rather the "law of the jungle".

Under Cosmic Laws, groups identified as syndicates, mobs and gangs are
appropriately held responsible for wrongful acts. The forced
association of many people under government does not relieve them,
karmically speaking, of the same responsibility.

The bottom line is, an AUTHENTIC CONSTITUTION in harmony with the
natural Cosmic Laws of the universe, and producing High Moral Values and
Democratic Ideals, replaces negative coercive, forceful ways of
government with moral means to moral ends, positive persuasion and
voluntary support.

http://globalvisions.org/cl/swn/cosmiclaws/morality.html

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

What are incense sticks and joss sticks?

































Burning incense may be good for spiritual wellbeing but it could also be bad for your health.

The fragrant smoke, used in religious ceremonies and to scent rooms, contains a cocktail of harmful chemicals linked to a host of physical disorders, scientists say.

Chinese people believed that they could build a communication with holy spirits through the smoke of incense sticks. They burn slender stick in front of joss from which the name joss stick has originated. In India also, incense sticks have been used during religious rituals from centuries with believe that the soothing scent of these sticks enhance spiritual elements. The aromatic smell of these sticks heightens the spirits, enhance the surroundings by purifying the air and put an unusual soothing effect on the mind. Regular use of incense is said to prevent disease, promote longevity and enhance mental clarity.

Burning Incense Sticks and cones - General Safety Instructions

Though incense sticks and cones are very easy to use, certain amount of safety is required to avoid any mishappening. When lit, incense stick or cones are very hot, and could cause severe burn or fire if not handled properly. Some common safety measures are


1. Never leave burning incense sticks or cones, unattended.
2. Do not burn incense products in the presence of flammable fumes or in the presence of materials that can create
flammable fumes such as gasoline, acetone, varnish, etc.
3. Keep burning incense sticks or cones out of the reach of children or pets.
4. Never place burning incense sticks or cones near moving objects or draperies such as curtains.
5. Always use appropriate incense burner for the type of incense you are burning and place the burner on a flame-
resistant and heat-resistant surface. Never place burners on television, stereo or computer cabinets.
6. Do not fall asleep while incense stick or cone is burning. Do remember that incense creates smoke and may trigger
smoke alarms.
7. Always lit incense products in a well-ventilated area.
8. Incense sticks and cones are not edible and may represent a choking hazard, hence must keep them away from
children and pets.
9. When lighting stick incense, be sure to hold the incense away from your face and hair as some types of stick incense
ignite with a tall flame. Always hold the stick by the bare end and light the coated end, after lighting, gently blow out the
flame.
10. While burning incense cone, remember to place it in right burner, and burner should be placed on flame-resistant and
heat-resistant surfaces.
11. It is always advisable to consult your doctor if you have some kind of allergies, breathing or lung disorders
conditions, difficulties or illnesses, before using any incense product.

Spiritual Taoism is the 'core' of Taoist teachings.

Spiritual Taoism is the 'core' of Taoist teachings.
Only through spiritual cultivation, can we realize and achieve an understanding and feeling of the mystery of universe (Tao) on a personal level. This understanding cannot be achieved solely through classes (oral transmission) or by reading books.

Taoist Masters, Saints, and Prophets are all Taoist Spiritual practitioners. They passed down their spiritual methods to 'disciples'. However, the 'Follower' (Folk religious adherent) learned only Taoist religious theory and tradition.

In Taoism, the act of Taoist Spiritual Cultivation is called "Xiu Dao", which literally means;
1. Xiu = To Revise, Improve, Fix, Mentor.
2. Dao = Universe with its own law and all of the elements inside it.

So, Xiu Dao can be translated as "To revise your own self into perfection/immortality as a whole, in the Taoist way"

Therefore, The layers of cultivation in Xiu Dao cover all aspects of life. This can generally be divided into 4 parts;
1. Physical body
2. Conscious body (Mind/soul/heart & Spirit)
3. Subtle body
4. Righteous morality and Merit accumulation (Gong De)

==============================================================================
3500 BCE
Tracing the origin of Taoist teaching is impossible to do. According to the oral tradition, the basic fundamentals of Taoism have existed since 3500 BCE. During which time Emperor Fu Xi Da Di. Fu Xi Da Di was believe to be the individual that wrote the foundation of I Ching Book(Book of changes of universe). This book became a basic fundamental source of Taoist development. During this period, the term of "Tian"(Heaven) was used to describe the power of universe. Worshipping Shang Di (Almighty God / Jade emperor) were already popular. Taoist schools had not yet been formed.



Emperor Fu Xi Da Di


Fu Xi taught mankind many arts, such as the use of fishing nets, the breeding of silk worms, and the taming of wild animals. Furthermore, Fu Xi is said to have invented one hundred Chinese family names and declared that marriages could only take place between persons bearing different family names. Fu Xi is represented as a human being with the body of a snake. His wife is Nü-gua. In Taoist temples he is usually portrayed holding a panel on which the eight trigrams are inscribed.

2697 BCE
Taoist teachings became more organized during the reign of the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di); who is said to have ruled Ancient China in or about 2697 BCE. An oral traceable history of Taoism can be marked during this time. Huang Di contributed to the authoring a book of Medicine, the Huang Di Nei Jing, the first medical treatise in the history of China.

He is venerated as the person that opened the way of teaching Taoism. Furthermore, Huang Di is credited with the creation of mankind, the invention of writing, the compass, the pottery wheel, and the breeding of silkworms. He is also considered to have been a determining influence in establishing Chinese social order, in that he allocated a name to each family.






According to one tradition, Huang Di spontaneously came into being as a result of the fusion of energies that marked the beginning of the world. He created man by placing earthly statues at the cardinal points of the world, leaving them exposed to the breath of the world's beginning for three hundred years. When they were totally pervaded by the energy of that breath, the statues were able to speak and move. In this way, the various races of mankind came into being.

During this time, there was not a separation between Spiritual Taoism and Philosophical Taoism. There only existed the Ancient Taoist way of thinking and the method to cultivate in life. Taoism expressed the thought and concept of unification with life and freedom from groups or organizations. This basic Taoist concept influenced the life of the Chinese Ancestors that become the Chinese culture.


1753 BCE (Shang Dynasty)

Unfortunately, recorded history can only be traced to this period (Sang Dynasty) since Emperor Qin She Huang (221BCE-206BCE) burned all the ancient books.

However, there is significant archeology evidence to the fact that the ancient Emperor from Hsia Dynasty actually existed and is not a mythical figure. The remains of this ancient Neolithic civilization were found the area near Hsian in Shanxi province and also in Jinan in Shandong province.

1050 BCE
Zhou Dynasty started

605 BCE

The official founder of Taoism is Lao Zi also known as Lie Er and Pek Yang. He was born around 605 BCE. Lao Zi (Old child) was born with white hair. In his old age, he created the famous Taoist book, Dao De Ching that consisted of 5000 Chinese characters, and then riding a green cow went toward the Himalayas from Han Kuk Kwan (North West of China Ocean) and disappeared. Some believed he went to India via Himalayan mountains.






350 BCE
Chuang-Tzu further develops Taoist teachings and left a book called Nan Hua Jing.

221 BCE
Qin Dynasty started. Construction of great wall in 214 BCE

150 BCE
Immortality Taoism develops; Taiping Jing is compiled.

142 CE
During Han Dynasty, Emperor Han Wu Di supported the teaching of Taoism. Due to this patronage, the root of Taoism became very strong.
During this period there was a Great Taoist Grandmaster, Zhang Dao Ling aka Zhang Tian Shi, who founded the sect of the Way of Five Bushels of Rice. He set a standard for Taoism. He contributed greatly to Taoist teachings by handing down Taoist Books, a stamp (In) and Kiam (Sword). Thus the standardization of Taoist sects officially began. In his old age, he settled down and established a Taoist school/sect in Mount Lung Hu San known as Tian Shi Dao
.


Zhang Tian Shi, hand painted by Dao Shi Yek Fa Pao

He also organized the Way of Five Bushels of Rice into religious communities, which become known as Taoism of Heavenly Masters. (Religious Taoism). He also handed down Spiritual Taoist to a few disciples.

206-220 CE
Han Dynasty started. Introduction Buddhism in China

456-536 CE
Tao Hong Jing develops the Shang Qing school.

500 CE
The first Taoist Book Compilation was organized, called Dao Zhang / 道藏. It consisted of many of the available 'open-Taoist-religious-books' (those volumes openly available to the general literate population) of the time.
However, most of the 'closed-Taoist-spiritual-books' were not included in the Dao Zhang. This is because most of the spiritual knowledge was only passed down to the disciples secretly. So different families/schools transmitted different collections of Taoist books, and none wanted to have their versions published.

618-626 CE
Emperor Gaozu built a great temple at the birthplace of Lao-Tze.

712-756
Rule of Taoist Emperor Xuanzong. Questions on Taoist texts become a feature of civil service examinations.

960-1279 CE
During the Song dynasty, Perfect Truth Taoism and Orthodox One Taoism arise and the Taoist canon is edited.

1600 CE
San Yi Jiao (Three-in-One Religion) is founded by Lin Zhaoen (1517-98) as a synthesis of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

1584 CE
Temple of the Three-in-One Religion is built.

1644-1911
During the Manchu Qing dynasty, new movements were founded within Taoism, Buddhism and Christianity in China. The Three-in-One Religion is persecuted. Many of Taoist spiritual masters immigrated to South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Taiwan).

1912 CE
China becomes a republic.

1919 CE
The Fourth of May movement is founded and seeks to stamp out religion using science.

1920-1930 CE
National Taoist organizations are founded. They tried to organize many Taoist sects and books. However, there are still many sects of Taoism that is not listed with them.

1928 CE
Taoist and Buddhist temples are dismantled.

1950 CE
Religions are tightly controlled by the Chinese government.

1970 CE
A Taoist Grandmaster living in Indonesia began teaching Tai Shang Men Sect Taoism to many disciples openly.

2005 CE
Taoist Tai Shang Men school established in the USA and it is available for all who have a sincere desire to learn.

http://www.studytaoism.com/history.html

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Cosmogony

Cosmogony
By: Arnold Keyserling & R.C.L.
Three Worlds, Cosmology, Evolution and Natural Symmetry












Semiotics shows the development of speech power, numbers and music the systemic frame of awareness; together they form the original code of the mind. But matter also follows the same structure by mathematical necessity. We live in three worlds, structured according to the dimensions:

Try and understand this concept by first considering the left row, then the right row, and only then the middle row. In this way the understanding mind can, so to speak, rely on its two feet to support the middle. The left row is spatial, the right row is temporal. Both go downwards as the descending rays of creation. The middle is the ascending ray of negentropy.

The left spatial ray of creation shows the involution of diminishing energy on a microcosmic scale controlled primarily by electromagnetism. Energy becomes more involved with matter and self organizes itself into ever larger and more constricted systems. Going from the zero to the fourth dimension energy becomes more symmetrical, diminished and predictable taking on the characteristics of solid matter. The microcosm world is unfathomably small, and is only visible to Man with microscopes.

The right temporal ray of creation goes down showing the dependency and interconnectedness of matter controlled primarily by gravity. The macrocosm pertains to size scales much larger than Man.

The middle mesocosmic row goes up as the counterpointal ascending ray to the microcosm and macrocosm. It shows the evolution of life forms of increasing complexity of Self Organization and decreasing symmetry. It pertains to information, number and language. The mesocosm is the size scale of the world of Man.

The quantum of action which begins the left spatial row has infinite potentiality and energy, but no extension. The first full step in the involution of energy into form is the Photon which has about a billion electron volts of energy.(1) It can travel in any direction, which can never be predicted, but it is submitted to the velocity of light, 186,000 miles per second. There is only one kind of Photon; it has unit spin and no charge.

Next are the Electrons which come in pairs with opposite spin to the other nuclear particles. While the exact position of an electron can never be predicted, even when it is trapped in an atom, its directions of travel are constricted by the shells of the atoms and by relations between the nuclear particles. The nuclear particles have half-spin and are charged either positively, negatively or neutral. The nuclear particles have more symmetry and less freedom than the Photon.

The next step in the scale is the atom. An atom has a nucleus and up to seven shells. The distance of the atomic shells follows the ratio of the central diagonal of the multiplication table. The simplest atom - the hydrogen atom - has about 10 electron volts of energy. There are around a hundred kinds of atoms with various kinds of chemical properties. Again the atoms have more symmetry and less freedom than the nuclear particles.

The final step in involution is the molecule. The average molecule has about 1/25th of an electron volt of energy and comes in three forms: metal, salt and crystal. It has total symmetry but comes in countless variety with many kinds of properties.

The molecular level is where the direction turns and life originates. With life consciousness begins an evolutionary trek backwards to less and less symmetry and more freedom. But where did all of the energy come from in the first place to begin the process of matter and then life?

Current scientific understanding of the origin of the material Universe in time is called the "Big Bang" theory. It is the creation story of the "Myth of Science", the dominant belief system of modern culture. The Big Bang cosmology is remarkably similar to the ancient Hindu origin myth known as the "Breath of Brahman". Under the Big Bang theory the current space-time Universe was created in a unfathomably large explosion which occurred about 15 billion years ago. At the moment of origin all of the Universe, all matter and energy, existed together in total order and symmetry, called by scientists the "Great Singularity". Then the Universe exploded in the Big Bang, or exhalation of the breath of Brahman, and all started moving away from each other as the directions and time began. The Great Singularity began to break up and space and the different elements began to be formed. With this first breath a countervailing rhythm of arithmetic expansion and geometric contraction began.

We are still in the early stages of the expansion of the Universe where all Galaxies are receding from each other at the speed of light. This is the exhalation of Brahman. Expansion occurs as arithmetical electromagnetic growth. At the same time the force of contraction grows with the geometrical growth of gravitation.

Under one theory the expansion of matter and energy away from the center explosion point is preceded by black spheres. Where they meet, the Galaxies originate fractally. Billions of galaxies have been and will continue to be formed as the Universe expands. Within each galaxy billions of stars then form. In one such galactic arm, the Milky Way, our star the Sun is located. Around the stars planets are then formed and orbit the star. At this time it is not known whether all stars have planets, or only some, but it is known that many planets circulate around our star. The third planet from the Sun is our Earth. Most of the planets in turn have their own smaller bodies, or moons, which circulate around them. We have a single Moon which revolves around the Earth. This macrocosmic expansion process takes trillions of years, as billions of galaxies, stars, planets and moons are formed.



THE MYTH OF THE BIG BANG (a/k/a The Myth Of The Breath of Brahman)











Eventually the force of gravitational contraction will equal that of electromagnetic expansion. At that point the maximum size of the Universe will be reached, and the creative process wherein new galaxies, stars, planets and moons are formed will finally come to an end. The equilibrium point is the pause between the exhalation and inhalation of the Cosmic Breath. After that, the geometric force will begin to exceed the arithmetical, the direction will reverse, and the Universe will begin contracting. The inhalation of the breath of Brahman will begin. As all matter and energy converges, Black Holes will be created with greater frequency. Ultimately the entire Universe will be drawn together again into a single point, a vast black hole into which all space-time will inhale. This final Omega Point, the end, may in turn produce another Big Bang wherein Brahman begins a new breath, exhales again, and a new Universe is formed. If the law of fractal recursiveness holds true, the new Universe will repeat certain basic forms, but it will do so with new and unique variations and differences.

Microcosm and macrocosm are not causes, but parameters of evolution. The world of Man between the macrocosm and microcosm is called the mesocosm. Here living consciousness evolves into progressively higher levels of complex Self Organization. It proceeds from the mineral world, to plant, animal, Man, up to the Great Singularity, the subject of the Universe, God. These are stages of expanding integration of consciousness into individual being. The stages parallel the involution of energy according to the dimensions.

The ability to organize comes from within the conscious being itself, and is not imposed on the being from outside forces. For this reason scientists call this the Self Organizing principal or Auto Poiesis. Although the inherent ability to self organize is not predetermined, or governed by outside forces, at each level its evolution follows the patterns of one of the four chaotic attractors.

Point like Attractor - Crystal.

Circuit/Cycle Attractor - Plant.

Torus Attractor - Animal.

Strange Attractor - Man.


0) - The highest stage, beyond even the higher Man, is merger with God, the great singularity beyond name and form, as the real subject of Being, through synchronicity, love, and illumination: reaching the eternal moment.












The four attractors create cosmos out of chaos. God is both their origin and aim. The quantum after reaching the molecular stage is a parcel of God. Thereafter it incarnates as a separate self organized entity on the Mesocosmic level.

Self organized consciousness evolves upward on the mesocosm. It starts in the crystal form with viruses and the genetic code. Then it ascends to greater degrees of conscious integration. Entities organize themselves into ever more complicated and ornate systems. Life forms evolve, adapt, and bring coherence to larger systems in new ways. Thus the Universe continues to evolve and change. With each stage of the evolutionary ladder of self organization one direction of symmetry is lost and freedom gained.

(4) - The crystal in the fourth dimension has complete symmetry. The Point Attractors allow the energy in inorganic molecules to self organize as organic molecules. In this way they cross the bridge from the microcosm of lifeless molecules and energy, to the mesocosm of living crystals. With crystals, both organic and inorganic, everything is attracted to a single point, all line up in perfect order. All three axes, up and down, right and left, front and behind are the same. The molecules are in perfect symmetric order. The microcosmical geometric structure is balanced by the Moon, the weather it produces, and the four states of matter: solid, fluid, gaseous or fire. At the crystalline level the essential code controlling all further life formation is created, the DNA/RNA life structure. Life then uses these crystalline forms of amino acids to grow in size by cellular division, by scaling and multiplication.

(3) - The plant looses one symmetry: the vertical, up/down symmetry. The cycle attractors allow the simplest crystalline life forms to self organize to a higher form of consciousness where greater freedom is possible. The top of the plants, the crown, differs from the roots, and the two are connected by the stem. Now, only the left and right and front and back axes of a plant remain symmetrical. This is called radial or cylindrical symmetry: two axes of symmetry. Trees alternate between seed and gestalt, with the axis of all plant life pointing to the earth, and its energy received directly from the Sun through photosynthesis. There is also a vertical flow back and forth, from the leaves to the roots and visa versa, according to the cycle attractor.

(2) - Under the influence of the Torus attractors the next stage in the evolutionary ladder was reached: the animal. The animal has again freed itself of another symmetry, the front/back symmetry, with front as nourishment and back as excrements. The front and rear of animals are different, as are the top and bottom, but the right and left of animals remains symmetrical. This is bilateral symmetry with one axis of symmetry. The animals feed on plants and each other, and are directed by the four drives: nourishment, fear, aggression and reproduction in the double frame of survival and species instinct. Animals follow the Torus attractor, they engage in complex behaviors and are dependent upon each other and the environment in multileveled ecological systems.

(1) - Around 11,000 years ago the first Neolithic Man evolved from Paleolithic animal Man. From that time on we have had the potential to shed the last right-left symmetry by taming the Strange attractors. (2)

Since the human life stage is so relatively new, we are still born with the animals right-left axis of symmetry and must strive to attain true Humanity. Although there are some differences in the symmetry of the human face, overall we are as left-right symmetrical as the other animals. But with our neocortex abilities, our capacities of language and number, we can self organize out of this last constraint.

One of the keys to self organization is the coherent application of chance to ride the strange attractors. In this way we can use both the brains we are born with, the left and right hemispheres of the neocortex. The left hemisphere, turned to the cosmos and structure is digital, linear. The right hemisphere, turned towards chaos and chance has its origin in the nine numerals, the archetypes of fractal scaling. Each should be allowed to develop fully, to be different and totally asymmetrical. When the right brain is as strong as the left, a higher identity is created. The higher self follows the Strange attractors, epitomized by Mandelbrot set, z z¾ + c, and also corresponding to the musical octave and the Tao symbol.

Most of us are still right left symmetrical because our left brain so totally dominates the right. We have to shift our emphasis from cosmos to chaos, from left brain dominance, to right brain balance. Then the right is not just an imitation of the left, it is different, unique. The last symmetry is gone and now the two asymmetrical sides can cohere in a new singularity. The ego, subject of the left hemisphere, becomes the organ of the Self in the right hemisphere. It attains this by establishing true contact with the Other.

Right brain coherence comes through receptivity to the workings of the Strange attractors, to constrained chance. In the moments when this is realized, when we are in a coherent flow with the unpredictable turbulence of the World, we have attained the birthright of Man. We have realized the potential to self organize to a higher stage of evolution. As a whole being, in touch with both sides of ourself and others, we transcend the left-right animal symmetry. With two fully developed, yet distinctly different brains, we are autonomous, asymmetrical, truly free from outside manipulation. We have attained a higher inner coherence, a self organization in the midst of chaos. To animal man we seem like Strange attractors indeed. On the surface, and in the moment, our actions may appear haphazard and foolhardy, but over time the wisdom and beauty of the Human Man will be apparent to all.


The five stages correspond to the dimensions and mind layers:

Zero dimension Awareness makes possible integration of the four dimensions and the four states of consciousness. It allows Man to enter the fourth dimension and gives him access to the fractal forces of the Strange attractors.

By moving from the left to the right brain in regression you can relive past lives, past evolution, back to the origin of the Universe in the Great Singularity, and the exploding force of the primal Fire-Quanta. This regression back to the original primal Quanta puts you in touch with the source of Self-Organization, the Power of CHI. This opens you to the energy and force needed to maintain coherence in the fractal chaos of the fourth dimension.



















Now let us look at all of the energies together which can be understood as an energy field of Cosmic Mind. The following correspondences appear in Cosmic Mind today to make up the basic Myth of Science. Myth is not used in a derogatory sense, as just a myth, but in the sense of a true belief system which gives meaning to life. Science has largely replaced the old religious myths which were in tune with the feudal and ideological structures of the past. The following chart summarizes the overall cosmology of the myth of science and shows the relation of the five layers and the seven constituent parts.

The radiation of the photons is awareness through seeing and sensing. The electromagnetic energy of the electron allows awareness through smelling and thinking; the thermodynamics of the atom through tasting and feeling. The fission of the Galaxy becomes conscious by the power of speech, of the spirit creating new entities out of entropy. The fusion of the sun is the basis of the synergy of the soul, interpretation and reading, the creation of meaning. The gravitational energy of the earth is accessible through the sense of touch.

The mathematics of the molecular forces represents the basic structure of the Will. With living forms Will is the capacity for growth and reproduction through the genetic code. The subject self organizes and grows based on the strange attractor. New beings arise through fractal scaling according to the overall structure of the Cosmic Mind using the energies and mathematics of sound, the molecular vibrations or movement of matter, soul and spirit. With Man this process of the growth of being using free will was described by Buddhists as the creation of the immortal Diamond Body or the Golden Flower. By using free will in tune with the Strange Attractor and the energies of sound, our associative consciousness can change into Cosmic Awareness. The subject moves like a fractal in scales from the lower self imprisoned in deep molecular sleep, to the transcendent light of zero synchronistic awareness. This is the final aim of evolution, making sense of life and becoming co-creators of the manifoldness of the Universe.

METHODS/EXPERIMENTS: Further background reading and reflection on these ideas may help your understanding of cosmogony and assist in your escape from the last bondage of symmetry. The ideas of the Big bang theory are well known, see for instance the beautifully illustrated book by Colin A. Ronan The Natural History of the Universe. The ideas presented here on the corresponding dimension levels in the microcosm and mesocosm, evolution and change in symmetry are presently not as well known. These important insights were discovered by Arthur M. Young, the inventor of the Bell Helicopter. He founded the Institute For the Study of Consciousness in Berkeley, California and has authored many books on this and related subjects, see for instance his work: The Reflexive Universe: Evolution of Consciousness. His ideas on symmetry and cosmology represent a major breakthrough in scientific thinking. An earlier pioneer in this field is D'Arcy Thompson with his book On Growth and Form.

For more information on the rapidly expanding discoveries concerning Self Organization, see for instance Paul Davies The Cosmic Blueprint, Erich Jantsch The Self Organizing Universe. For a visual representation of the scaling of the universe, from the near infinitely small to near infinitely big, with Man's place in the middle, see the book: Powers of Ten by Morrison and Eames. There is also a film by the same name by Charles and Ray Eames available from Media Magic.

For Cosmogony to be meaningful, far more than intellectual understanding is required. There needs to be an existential apprehension of the dimensions on all three phases: micro, meso and macro. Here transpersonal psychology can help. Transpersonal psychologists have developed numerous regression exercises to allow a person to access the deepest levels of memory, even memories of times and events which occurred before they were born.

By using PrimaSounds and other tools and methods of guided imagery and active imagination, you can have a conscious transpersonal experience of: your past human lives, past pre-human lives back down through evolution, animal lives, dinosaurs, plant, first molecular life on earth, minerals, earth and moon formation, molecules, atoms, sun formation, electrons, photons, galaxy formation, quanta and even the Big Bang itself.

Through guided active imagination you can also have vivid experiences of future evolution projection: advanced intelligence, peaceful exploration of space, contact with the children of other suns, then other galaxies, up to the pause before Universe contraction, the final maturation of all beings in the Universe in a growing field of love, up to the black holes and the final omega point of cosmic-orgasmic unity of all with all, and then on to next Big Bang of a new Universe. Most regression exercises require a friend to assist you in the experiment, sometimes the guidance of a trained professional is necessary.

The new insights gained from Chaos research and fractals discussed in Chapter Two suggests that an alternative cosmology to the Big Bang theory, called the Infinite Universe theory, may receive further serious consideration and experimentation. Under this theory the Universe is like a fractal, it is infinite. No matter how close you look, how much you magnify, you will still find new smaller layers of form. Between any two numbers, no matter how close, there is an infinity of additional numbers. There is no building block, no ultimately small particle upon which the rest is built. There is only self similarity over scales spanning an infinity of ever smaller forms. In the same way no ultimately small elementary particle of matter may be found to exist. There may instead exist an infinity of ever smaller particles before the pure quanta of energy is reached. The same may hold true on the larger scale. There may only be ever larger clusters of galaxies and clusters of clusters, ad infinitum with no limit. If so, there was no Big Bang; the Universe would be infinitely large with no beginning point and no end


http://www.chanceandchoice.com/course-overview/cosmogony/

The Lawyer's Craft as a Spiritual Way

The Lawyer's Craft as a Spiritual Way
By: R.C.L.

The common laws of psychology, religion and philosophy can be applied to unlock full human potential.

The legal perspective and craft of law, the skills and techniques of a lawyer, can be a Spiritual Way. Anyone who can think can use the skills and perspective of the Law to create a thinking bridge between science and religion. On this bridge the natural laws of the cosmos and human development - the Laws of Wisdom - can be put to practical use. The common laws of psychology, religion and philosophy can be applied to unlock full human potential. Lawyerly thinking is the key.

If you learn how to think for yourself, then the essential legal knowledge for self realization, the Laws of Wisdom, can be applied to enhance and improve the quality of your life. The book attempts to teach you how to "think like a lawyer" in the best sense of the phrase. This does not mean to just be "rational," disciplined, stiff and linear. On the contrary, a good lawyer thinks creatively, flexibly, both analytically and analogically. To think like a lawyer means to think holistically, skeptically, objectively, independently, clearly and concisely.

Lawyers are trained to base their thinking on evidence and proven precedent. Perhaps most important of all, after a few years of practice in professional thinking, every good lawyer comes to understand quite well the inherent limitations of thinking. A lawyer knows better than anyone what the law and rationality cannot do. From countless human dramas and legal contests the lawyer comes to understand the limitations of thinking and reason. They see the significance in life of chance and stray choices. Lawyers, especially the ones called upon to serve as judges, know from hard experience that on some occasions justice and fairness demand that the rules and reason be bent. Thinking is a reliable guide, but it does not always lead to justice. When it does not, good lawyers are trained to go beyond the law, to create new law, so as to serve equity and fairness.As Marcus Cicero, the great Roman Lawyer said: The people's good is the highest law.

A highly developed thinking ability is in accord with our higher sensitivities and capacities, not cut off from them. Such thinking abilities are the natural birthright of all humanity, not the exclusive domain of lawyers. Unfortunately, most people are indoctrinated into various forms of pseudo-thinking as a child. In order to fit into the particular culture in which they happen to be born, they accept the beliefs and thinking of that culture. As a result they become stunted, warped and entranced. As an adult they never really learn how to think independently or creatively. They never know themselves, nor realize their full potential.

The thinking inculcated by a culture is essentially designed to perpetuate the culture. It is usually very limited, compartmentalized, repetitive, rigid and dependent. On the rare occasions when thinking is taught, only the analytic and logical aspects of thinking are considered. The analogic and holistic sides are ignored. The western tradition and culture of the Law is unique in encouraging creative, well rounded and fully developed thinking. Law schools, unlike other graduate schools, focus on learning methods of thinking, rather than learning a body of knowledge. For that reason only law schools utilize the Socratic method of teaching where questioning of students is emphasized, rather than lecturing. Yet anyone, not just law students, can wake up from their consensus trance and rid themselves of pseudo- thinking. Our natural thinking abilities may be stunted by cultural indoctrination, but they are not killed. With the help of this book, you too can think like a lawyer to tackle the toughest questions of life.

LAWYERS AND THE LAW

In modern western society lawyers are people who know the laws of society, how they relate with each other and how to use them. Lawyers do not learn the laws for academic reasons. They spend long hours researching the law so they can use the laws for practical purposes. Purposes such as the peaceful resolution of disputes, or the structuring of business transactions. Knowledge of the law is always directed to action, to making decisions, solving problems and getting things accomplished. The ends to be accomplished, the goals, come from the client, not the lawyer. Lawyers serve clients by applying their knowledge of the law to help clients attain their goals. Lawyers give advice and make recommendations, and in the process frequently help clients clarify their goals. The final decisions are made by the clients who are free to ignore the advice of their lawyers, and for better or for worse, they frequently do.

Lawyers are legal counselors. They tell their clients what they need to know of the particular laws which pertain to the client's situation. The unique facts and people involved are critical to evaluating the equities and determining which laws govern. The law is never applied in a vacuum. It is always molded and shaped by the evidence. So a good lawyer carefully investigates the client's situation before reaching any conclusions. Once a lawyer understands the facts and the law, he or she then analyzes these laws and determines how they apply to the client's case. The lawyer's basic tool is independent thinking, both analytical and analogical. By such thinking legal opinions are made and actions are taken.

The lawyer's craft can also be applied to the universal problems and opportunities faced by everyone who confronts their psychological depths - those who try to make sense of life and understand their place in it, who seek to understand the totality of their self, who they are and can become. The solution to the philosophical problems - the life and death issues of fulfillment of human potential - can not be found in the laws of Man and State. The lawyer who seeks answers to these ultimate questions must research altogether different fields of "Law." Law in the sense of a natural universal order, defined for instance by Montequieu in 1748 in his landmark book The Spirit of Laws:

Laws in their most general signification, are the necessary relations derived from the nature of things. In this sense all beings have their laws, the Deity has his laws, the material world its laws, the intelligences superior to man have their laws, the beasts their laws, man his laws.

In contrast to the laws made by Man, the Laws of Wisdom are those laws by which Man is made, the laws with which Man can find fulfillment. The term "wisdom" is here used in the Socratic sense as a kind of dynamic flow state or level of consciousness. Wisdom is profound self realization, an individual's unique fulfillment of their special potentials. It is the goal sought by the knowledgeable and presumed by the ignorant. The universal laws which govern the attainment of Wisdom can be found in many areas of natural law - science, philosophy, psychology, myths and religion. Legal research in these areas is much more difficult and time consuming than research of the laws of Man. Still, with help from older, more experienced searchers, sufficient data on these Wisdom Laws can be found to provide meaningful answers to life's basic questions.

BOOK OF THE BASIC LAWS OF WISDOM

Having spent the last twenty five years researching the common laws of psychology, religion, physics and philosophy, searching for the esoteric rules which govern the realization of full human potential, I know just how difficult the search can be. As a lawyer, the methods and disciplines of my profession have aided and affected my approach in many ways. This book - like the law - follows precedent. Yet it is based on independent thinking, both analytical and analogical, left and right brained. The book covers a broad area of scientific, psychological and spiritual laws, disdaining the limited compartmentalism of customary thinking. The laws included are the ones which the precedent known to me suggests are the most relevant and material to human development. The essential Laws of Wisdom are introduced, concisely explained and analyzed in a systematic manner. Wherever possible the Laws are illustrated by charts and diagrams with some references to accepted authorities. Many fields of Law are discussed in a broad synthesis. For that reason some of the details and complexities are omitted to make the Laws easier to understand.

An abstract presentation of the Laws of Wisdom alone does not suffice to convey the meaning of these Laws. Just as the laws made by Man cannot be fully understood without looking at the unique facts and the personalities, the people involved, the Laws by which Man is made cannot be fully absorbed without similar considerations. For that reason this book will also include case histories of the lives of some of the men and women of this century who have discovered and clarified these Laws. Their intriguing stories will help articulate the meaning of the Laws with which they are associated. As the great law professor and legal realist Karl Llewellyn said in during a famous lecture at Columbia Law School (collected in Bramble Bush,1929), the way to study the law is to look at its cases and, visualize the initial transaction between the parties. Who were they? What did they look like? Above all, what did each one want, and why did he want it? ... if you can see these desires and feel them in the light of who the parties were and of their situation - then and only then will the case become real to you, will it stick in your head, will the words speak, and set your mind to working.

The entire life story need not be given for each of the scientists, psychologists, philosophers and religious leaders included in this book. Only that portion of their life which is related to the laws they helped to discover, that case, needs to be examined. A review of the facts of the particular transactions and the personal desires and motives behind the discovery, will allow the laws they found to become real, to "stick in your head."

For some not conversant with these areas of the law or with holistic thinking, LAWS OF WISDOM may set the mind working at a difficult pace. Nevertheless, study of these laws is worth the effort because the information presented is directed to pragmatic action, not knowledge for its own sake. The laws are described not as an academic exercise, but as legal counsel designed to attain a practical end - the awakening and development of you the reader.

There are thousands of different methods to apply the Laws to realize your full potential. A few of these "legal procedures" are referred to in the book, but not in any detail. Legal procedure is difficult if not impossible to teach in a book. It is something you learn by doing, and usually requires personal instruction and group work. For information on the legal procedure I know best in this area, one that employs music meditation, see my book with Professor Keyserling: Chakra Music: the Story of PrimaSounds. It is important to find and try some of these procedures, to apply the Laws in your own life. You can do so alone, but for most it is easier in a group. In the last chapter specific reference is provided to one such organization of groups, The School of Wisdom. No matter how you do it, or with whom, practical application of the Laws of Wisdom through some kind of spiritual exercise is imperative.

Later as you employ your favorite procedures, you will want to return to this book as a reference. You can consult it from time to time as you "get your head together," become even more awake, think better and grow and mature as a person. The statement of essential Laws in the book, and other books in the School of Wisdom Series, can help you to understand the changes that you will naturally go through on a path of personal evolution. As you progress, your understanding and comprehension of the essential Laws will grow. The interconnectedness of the Laws will become ever clearer. Eventually when your thinking is at full capacity, these Laws will appear simple. You will have mastered them. But this can only come through applying the Laws, through spiritual exercises, practices and discipline. As any lawyer will tell you, knowledge of legal procedures is as important as knowledge of the law itself. So you are advised to find and use a procedure which suits you.

Of course, you the client are free to follow this advice or not. Better yet, with the help of this book you can learn to think like a lawyer and advise yourself. You can then use the Laws introduced in the book to make sense of your life. This book can help you to hear the lawyer's voice within yourself, the objective counsel of your higher self. Then you can weigh the opinions of law made in this book and elsewhere and truly judge for yourself what to do. Once the innate human ability of autonomous thinking is awakened, with the knowledge of the fundamental laws here presented, you can craft your own answers to life's ultimate questions, forge your own path.

THE REALLY BIG QUESTIONS

By virtue of being human we all know that we are alive, and are more or less aware of ourselves as separate entities, as beings. Moreover, unlike almost all of the animals, we are aware of our own mortality. We know that some day we must inevitably die. We know that death means our body will cease to have life, will no longer function, but beyond that, we are not really sure what death entails or means. It is the greatest mystery of mysteries. Our common situation of self awareness and knowledge of impending death creates in all of us a universal human curiosity about the "really big questions."

These big questions consider life and death as both a problem and an opportunity. The basic problem with life is to figure out what to do with it, why you are alive. The opportunity is to live it joyously, with satisfaction and fulfillment. The problem with death is to learn how to prepare for it, to live courageously in spite of your awareness of death. The opportunity is to possibly conquer death, to survive as a conscious entity after the body ceases to function. Self realization comes from living life with your own answers to these questions, true answers in accord with natural common Law, answers that work, that solve the problems and bring love and inspiration. In the words of the great American jurist, Benjamin Cardoza:

Three great mysteries there are in the lives of mortal beings: the mystery of birth at the beginning; the mystery of death at the end; and, greater than either, the mystery of love. Everything that is most precious in life is a form of love. Art is a form of love, if it be noble; labor is a form of love, if it be worthy; thought is a form of love, if it be inspired.

There are many ways to express the fundamental issues, to pose the really big questions: What is the meaning of life? Who am I? What is the meaning of death? What happens at death? How can I find peace and fulfillment in my life? What is the purpose of my life? How can I make sense of the chaos of my world? Where was I before I was born? How was the Universe created? What is my mission in life? Is there a God? If there is a God, what is my relationship to God? What is a divine He or She like? What is truth? Is there life after death? How can I be happy, content? How can I avoid death and attain immortality? How can I attain maximum self realization, love and enlightenment? What are my unique potentials? How can I fulfill them?

Then there are a series of secondary questions for those who not only dare to ask the really big questions, but actually try to answer them. These questions include: How can I know myself? How can I really know anything? How can I find out the meaning of life in general, and my life in particular? What is wisdom? What happens to "me" every night when I go in the unconsciousness of deep sleep? What happens to me when I dream? What do my dreams mean? What should I do to find my mission in life? How do I go about finding truth? When do I know if something is really true or not? Then there are a series of issues related to those secondary questions, such as: Can another person tell me the answer to any of these basic questions? If another person claims to know, how do I know their claim is valid? Is another person's answer valid for me? Is there a divine being who will give me the answers, or do I have to figure them out for myself? Can anyone else at least tell me what to do in order to find out the answers for myself?

CANNED ANSWERS TO THE REALLY BIG QUESTIONS

There are literally hundreds of belief systems that purport to provide you with ready answers to the really big questions, the secondary questions, and more. Any religion will gladly tell you the purpose of life in general, and yours in particular. There is an established view, a simple formula answer or dogma for everything. In this way you do not have to face the really big questions, or think for yourself. Just do as they say and you will attain heaven or enlightenment. Independent thinking is not allowed, it is counter-productive.

Science as a belief system, as opposed to a method, is not much better. Its "sophisticated" answer is that no answer is possible to the big questions, so don't even try. Self realization and peak experiences are non-existent fictions, delusions; or better yet, just psychotic states. With either dogma, Science or Religion, the really big questions are avoided.

In the law easy, simplistic answers to complex questions are derogatorily referred to as "black letter" rules. They are the general rules or statements of law contained in a simple law text, called a "hornbook." No lawyer worth their salt ever accepts hornbook law as the final answer. Black letter rules or hornbook law are only a starting point of legal analysis. If you accept hornbook law as the answer, you avoid grappling with the nuts and bolts of the issues. The law only uses hornbook rules as teaching lessons for law students, and as starting points for legal analysis. It is not accepted by the courts unless independent reasoning shows that the general rule in fact applies to the particular case at hand. The law demands that analytical and analogical reasoning be employed to test a proposed rule of law, to determine if its application is just. The complexities of the unique facts of each case require the exception to, or modification of the black letter rules in a hundred different ways. Only in this way can justice be done. For a lawyer the ready answer, the black letter hornbook law, is automatically suspect, and is usually the wrong answer. Reference to hornbook law - the established dogma - is the beginning point of legal analysis, not the end.

All belief systems with ready, simple answers ask you to accept their answers to the really big questions, to have faith in their dogma. You have an instant - one size fits all - black letter Law answer for everyone. This gets rid of the questions. You can then go about your business, tending to material subsistence questions, such as food, money, supporting the ones who gave you the answers, and the like. This unthinking reliance on the answers of others is the traditional way of religion and most cultures. It still seems to work for some people. But for others the black letter rules don't work. They are no longer persuaded by the canned briefs. Without ready answers, many are left alienated, unhappy, rebellious, drifting without meaning and purpose, depressed, anxious. The answers of the established belief systems, both orthodox and unconventional, no longer work, and so their doubt grows and they lose faith. They don't believe the answers, even though they purport to come from God Himself. They are instead forced to join those who approach the really big questions independently, like a lawyer.

The numbers of would be spiritual lawyers appears to be growing every day. This book is dedicated to those few who seek their own answers to the really big questions. Accordingly, this book will not answer these questions. If I inadvertently suggest an answer, know that this is just my answer, not yours. It may or may not work for you. There are as many correct answers as there are people. Everyone is unique and, potentially at least, has their own special insight into reality. I try only to suggest answers to the secondary questions, the practical "know how" questions of how to find your own answers to the big questions.

With the tools of analysis provided in the book, you can take the black letter substantive rules from religion and science as a base to reason out your own solutions. Once you know the Laws, you can select and apply the Laws to your particular life situation. You can then formulate answers to the universal questions that make sense to you, answers that work, that solve the problems and fill the opportunities of life and death. It can be attained, but only you can do it.

http://www.lawsofwisdom.com/course-overview/opening-statement/the-lawyers-craft-as-a-spiritual-way/

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Only religious thugs love blasphemy laws

Only religious thugs love blasphemy laws
Blasphemy is not a protector of religious freedom, as the UN maintains, but its mortal enemy

by Nick Cohen
The Observer, Sunday 9 January 2011
Article history

If the circumstances were not so hideous, the successful attempt by Pakistan to persuade the UN Human Rights Council to condemn blasphemers who defame religion would have been a black comedy. Every word its diplomats used in 2009 to protest against Islamophobia turned out to be a precise description of the prejudices the Pakistani state was appeasing at home.

They told the UN it must approve a universal blasphemy law to protect religious minorities from "intolerance, discrimination and acts of violence". If they were not the hypocrites they appeared, but honourable men, who wanted to help all minorities and not only Muslims, they must now accept that Salmaan Taseer was butchered for protecting Pakistan's religious minorities from its own blasphemy law.

Taseer did not go so far as to assert that the Qur'an, like the Talmud and the Bible, was the work of men, not God, or criticise the teachings of Muhammad. His crime was to stand up against the persecution of Christians in Muslim countries, a subject that the media of the supposedly warmongering, culturally imperialist "crusaders" of the west barely mention for fear of causing "offence". He denounced the treatment of Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five. She had argued with Muslim women who refused to drink water she had carried because she was impure and therefore the drink she carried was contaminated. They told the local cleric she had taken Muhammad's name in vain.

That was enough for the judge to order that she be hanged by the neck until she was dead. Not much respect shown for her minority rights, then. Nor for the rights of Salmaan Taseer, whose last sight on earth was of Constable Mumtaz Qadri firing 26 bullets into his body, while other members of his bodyguard stood by and let him do it.

"Defamation of religion is a serious affront to human dignity leading to a restriction on the freedom of their adherents and incitement to religious violence," thundered the Pakistani officials to the UN in 2009.

Mutatis mutandis, Pakistan has become a country so scared of the inciters of religious violence that liberals stay silent for fear the assassins will come for them; a land so benighted Jamaat-e-Islami and other mobster theocrats can get away with blaming Taseer for his own death and treating his killer as a hero for enforcing the will of god.

"RIP Pakistan," sighed Salman Rushdie after Taseer's murder. "What should one say of a country in which an assassin is showered with rose petals while a decent man lies dead?" Despair is a reasonable response to a failed state. When Islamists have penetrated the bodyguards of leading politicians and threaten one day to capture nuclear weapons, it may be the only response. But the relativism which asserts that human rights are all well and good for us but not for the peoples of the poor world is no response at all.

Pakistan is not a land apart, living in another century. Notice how it was able to dress up its assault on freedom of speech in the modern language of human rights. Notice, too, that the UN Human Rights Council approved its duplicity. Admittedly, the council is not so much a black comedy as a sick joke, whose members include China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and many another human rights abuser. Nevertheless, it remains astonishing that a United Nations the gullible still see as a moral arbiter endorsed blasphemy.

It is the most pernicious of attacks on free speech because defendants can never know the nature of their offence. Who is meant to be their victim? Are they meant to have injured the feelings of believers, whose faith is so weak mockery and doubt can threaten it? Perhaps they stand accused of assaulting whatever god or gods the faithful follow. In which case, are the deities in question so feeble and thin-skinned they demand that criticism be punished with human sacrifices?

In November, Freedom House published a report on the abuses of power that follow the endorsement of such a nebulous offence. It documented how Islamic states and religious vigilantes use blasphemy laws to persecute Christians, Ahmadis and Muslims who believe that Muhammad was not the final prophet and, of course, ex-Muslims such as Rushdie who decide to change or renounce their faith, as free men and women should be entitled to do.

In Iran and Egypt, blasphemy is used to prosecute political opponents of the regime. And everywhere the malicious call on it to pursue petty vendettas, as poor Mrs Bibi learned to her cost. Blasphemy is not a protector of religious freedom, as the UN maintains, but its mortal enemy. If free speech is absent, citizens are not free to argue for and practise their beliefs without the fear of state or clerical intimidation.



Let us forsake pretence and acknowledge that that same fear has caught our tongues. We, too, are scared. But instead of acknowledging our fear we dress up our refusal to speak plainly in woozy therapeutic language. We talk of our "respect" for diversity and our determination to protect "the other" and fail to notice that we are abandoning "the other's" victims and aiding and abetting their enemies. Islamists threatened Ahmadis in Surrey, but the story passed virtually without comment in the British press.

When Ireland published a law that said it was a crime to "outrage a substantial number of the adherents of [a] religion", the Organisation of Islamic Countries took up Dublin's dangerously vague definition to help in the oppression of their own people's freedom of thought. And it is not only brave politicians and intellectuals such as Taseer and Rushdie who suffer.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing the marvellous Norwegian singer Deepika Thathaal (Deeyah). To Norway's shame, religious thugs harassed her and her family and drove her out of the country for the crimes of being glamorous and sexy and singing about freedom.

She came to Britain, and to Britain's shame, our religious thugs called her a "whore" and threatened to kill her too. She fled to America and told me that if white racists had driven an Asian singer from two countries, her case would be a cause celebre. As it was, the bigots who persecuted her had brown rather than white skins, so Europeans looked away.

She has learned what many dissidents from the Muslim world already know: it has become an act of some courage in the 21st century to make the sensible point that there is no god and we should grow up.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/09/nick-cohen-blasphemy-laws-inhuman