Today I wanted to share a whole mishmash of things with you.
I know that it was Sacred Life Sunday
Magic vs. Mystery (Faith): Father Groeschel said that magic was something that we can perceive with our senses that isn't really there, like a woman being cut in two---it seems like it's happening, but it really is not. That's Magic. Mystery or Faith (he uses the two terms interchangeably) is something that is really there but we cannot see it. Again, we are being fooled, but the opposite way. I don't know why this has stuck with me so strongly, but it has, and I can't stop thinking about it.
Next, here is a cartoon from David Hayward, a progressive pastor from Canada, with the blog nakedpastor:
I am a big fan of "The Secret" in many ways, but I think that sometimes we can take things too far and end up not being loving in our application of what we think of as truth. I absolutely believe that we attract things into our lives; however, I believe that there are many, many things about this process that we don't understand at all. Blaming others for their misfortune is never loving, and even when true, isn't useful at all, imho.
Keeping with the general theme of miscellany, I'm including this wonderful article on blanching from Start Cooking.com. What I love about this blog is that there are pictures for each and every step, making following them easy for people who struggle with cooking, people like me. Later this week, I am hoping to tackle Chicken Marsala, an uber-favorite of mine. Another wonderful food site to visit anytime, but especially this post on rice salad lately, is Gluten-Free Girl. I ordered the rice. I'm making the rice salad...soon.
~Photos by LoveHubbie Mark
13 comments:
Hi Olivia! I love the magic v mystery quote. I'm a great lover of magical realism in both literature and art and I feel it constantly in my day to day life. Some people just can't see it, but it's there!
However, do lepers really attract leprosy? I do believe we have the power to attract or deflect both good and bad energy, but genetics or exposure to the wrong germ must play a role here - I am also very pragmatic! And you are so right about there being more to the process than we can ever know about.
Great post O, I will check out the cooking, I could use some inspiration too!
Hi, Patty,
I'm glad you liked the quote; it just haunts me since I've heard it.
As far as leprosy goes, there are people who believe in the Law of Attraction who would maintain that indeed we do attract every illness we have. I do think that this goes way too far. Some people would disagree with me. Perhaps on some metaphysical level we do, but I think that balance and usefulness are most important here. And love, of course.
Thanks, Patti, for your kind words. It is always so good to "see" you here.
Love, O
xxoo
O--for me, the power in the Law of Attraction is that it demonstrates our entitlement and capacity to change where we are and what we are doing, and thus our entire lives. I don't see it as justification for looking down on others or blaming them somehow for their woes.
And, I am in agreement with you and with Patti that there is far more involved with universal forces than we and our little brains can comprehend. Yet, we don't have to understand it to the nth degree to take advantage of the power so many of us seek to deny.
So, the Hamrick corollary to the Law of Attraction: use it to move your dreams into your reality. It's not a tool for judgment, as the universe doesn't even make such a tool. It's purely an ego-based element.
Not sure about the quote. I'll have to think about it some more. Maybe it's just the use of the word "fooled " that's rubbing me the wrong way. :)
The Law of Attraction. Hm. There's too much judgment attached to it, especially in western culture which prefers the harsher approach to the more gentle approach. We do bring the things into our lives that we need to learn the lessons required in this incarnation - but it's really not something for anyone else to judge, weigh, measure or quantify. Our job, in my opinion, is to be compassionate to all who are on their paths, to alleviate suffering whenever and wherever we can.
I liked your comment on my site about boundaries. It makes me feel a bit better about being assertive on that issue more than I have been.
Rick,
I totally agree with you about the LOA. That is a great way of looking at it, absolutely. Thank you for explaining it in this context; it's easy to think about it, and simple.
Peace and love, O xxoo
Chani,
It's more of a stolen idea than an actual quote and the "fooled" is my word, not Father Groeschel's. It's more in the context of magic, I think; it really wouldn't fit with respect to faith, would it? Sorry about that!
Thanks for the continuing provocative posts on your blog, Chani...
xxoo, O
"Blaming others for their misfortune is never loving, and even when true, isn't useful at all"
Well said!
Thanks, Lori-Lyn :) xxoo, O
with my two hands i hold (and embrace) magic and mystery!!!
Yes, Carmen! xxoo, O
What you write abut the folks who created the film, book and etc. titled the Secret is incorrect.
The law of Attraction does not blame. It does suggest you look at where you are, what you can discover about yourself and the world from that place, how to see the blessing in all of it and move forward from there.
For instance, in my case that meant understanding the blessings from the debilitating illness I experienced most of my life.
Grace is seeing the good/god/ in all of it.
The law of Attraction suggests that while you are there, riddled with leprocy or whatever ailment, you can attract the best health care, the most compassionate volunteers, and appreciate the beauty of all that is good in your life, till the blessings are in the forefront.
Also, the law of attraction does not ever say- Gardener, go tell your plants to grow. It says, enjoy the soil and be grateful for the seeds you've planted there. Bless the watering process and share the bounty at harvest.
I'm here via Patti's blog. the women who is so vehemently against and sensitive to sexism I use my ghetto slang and sometimes offend folks in the suburbs with it.
Find the beauty in it. It's there if you look.
Just ask Saint Thomas.
oh
and I am an active member of the Spiritual Center that helped create the Secret and several other books and DVD's that support the Law of Attraction.
Dear grace,t: Thank you so much for your your response to my post. What you wrote is very beautiful, and I do agree with it.
I think that "blaming" would be better attributed to some of those who advocate the LOA and who perhaps don't understand it very well (perhaps...like me!) rather than upon everyone who follows it.
I do appreciate your clarification. You write beautifully. I am honored to have you as a visitor from Patti's blog. Thank you very much for your comments.
Blessings and continued joy,
O
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