Salome Valentine

42 posts

Salome Valentine is an American living near Puerto Vallarta, where she is the humble servant to two Mini Schnauzers. Her blogs are: Liberated Liberal Libertine, Conversations In My Mind, + Sensual Transcendence (NSFW). Email: [email protected]

Spirituality Corner: God, the Devil and the Void

“I believe that we are all spiritual beings having a human experience, and not the other way around.” — This is the fourth Spirituality Corner post in an ongoing series.

This post begins with the prologue to a novel I wrote in 2005 called We Are Stardust. It’s the story of a psychic who discovers via her visions that the Antichrist is the President of the United States. The President is equally psychic, and the two of them get locked in a battle of wills that sometimes is more of a tango of divine adversaries. I’m using this prologue as the starting point of a dialogue I’d like to open up, regarding (as the title says) God, the Devil and the Void. (The “Void” part is designed to let atheists and agnostics know that they are most welcome in this discussion.)

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” (1 John 3:18)

According to Christian prophecies of the End Times, the Antichrist in human form will function as Satan’s second in command during the apocalypse. It is widely assumed that he will ascend to a position of great worldly power through his promise of peace in a volatile era. Like his immediate superior, Lucifer/Satan, the Antichrist is frequently depicted as someone of infallible personal charisma.

Contrary to unrelenting dramatic portrayals in popular culture, the Antichrist will not arrive bearing the countenance of a maleficent, horned demon. Instead, since he is the shadow realm’s reverse doppelganger of Christ, he will incarnate fully prepared to emulate convincingly the hallowed, human qualities of Jesus Himself. Using a wealth of Christian aphorisms and references, the Antichrist will deliberately lead all but the most perceptive of his followers down the path of wickedness.

The term ‘Antichrist’ may also be associated with a collective or collaborative energy: dark forces or forces of evil. These malevolent influences fulfill an essential purpose in the cycles of creation. Corresponding to spirit collapsing into matter, they epitomize the proverbial fall from grace. The dark forces prevent humanity from rising up towards the exaltation of spirit, symbolized by the idea of ascension into heaven.

This spellbinding drama of Good versus Evil is universal. Throughout the ages, it has inspired some truly great theatrical performances (e.g., the collective works of William Shakespeare), as well as enduring philosophical debate, bewildering political diatribe and trite blockbuster action films that range in quality from abysmal to mediocre.

People who believe in the concept of Heaven endeavor to identify themselves with the principle of good. However, there are others without a moral or religious bias. While not condoning evil deeds or evildoers, these individuals’ inquisitiveness may predispose them to seek an objective comprehension of the motivations of evil actions.

Rejecting the concept of sinners consigned to Hell, these free thinkers subscribe to the belief that contrition and forgiveness are every human being’s birthright. They are the disciples of a radically extremist notion that preceded formal Christianity: the kingdom of heaven is within you – a quote widely attributed to the rebel Jesus.

Although good and evil are often considered polar opposites, more precisely, they are counterparts: the existence of one validates the other. Creation’s full spectrum unfolds in a cyclical synthesis of light and dark; life and death; heaven and hell; good and evil… each individual pair designed in perfect complement of each other.

Regardless of whether you believe in God, the Devil, or/and the Void, you most likely have empirical opinions about other absolutes: life and death, light and darkness, good and evil, love and hate/indifference, truth and deception, etc.

I believe that life is never black and white: it is varying shades of grey, and all polarities in manifestation. So while there may be a need for religious people to believe in an absolute good (God, heaven) and an absolute evil (Satan, hell), non-religious people may view the world through a completely different prism. To them, the concept that all we are is stardust, free-floating in the void, makes rational sense. As someone who believes in God but has never been a member of any religion, I find that I am often standing in the balance between these two worlds.

Witnessing the agony, turmoil, brutality, hatred and hopelessness that seem to be omnipresent, I have frequently questioned how any all-powerful creator could ever allow this. But witnessing the stark nihilism of some – very far from all, I must emphasize – non-believers seems equally nonsensical to me. For me, the middle ground is accepting my human insignificance while embracing the blessing of my human experience. I am fascinated to discuss spiritual subjects with people on every point of the spectrum of belief, because I want to understand what brings people to believe what they do.

What I’d like to know in the comments – in addition to any critique regarding this post – is:

What are your beliefs regarding the concepts of God, the Devil and the Void?
How have your current beliefs been influenced by the inculcation of parents, teachers, clergy, etc. in childhood?
What other spiritual influences shape these beliefs in these “ultimate” themes?

The Meaning of Life

spirituality

In Praise Of Older Men

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While human and cinematic history is filled with May-December romances, in contemporary society they are relatively rare. In movies, there is rarely any mention of a large age gap between romantic leads, but I can say from experience that it can, in fact, be a significant issue on many levels. In a relationship involving an older man and a much younger woman, there is often an assumed implication: that she is bartering her youth and fertility for his wealth and security. That may be the case in some unions involving a difference in age of several decades, but in my case, it was love at first sight from the start.

Since I was a child, I’ve always sought out older people of both genders to befriend and advise me. My first real crush – aside from my passion for Underdog when I was 5 – was on my sixth grade social studies/PE teacher, who was 47 at the time. We shared a phenomenal intellectual connection and an effortless affinity. He inspired me to achieve my personal best in my studies and in my athletic pursuits, and we developed a mutually appreciative, very close yet utterly innocent extra-curricular relationship that would be impossible to maintain in today’s Law & Order: SVU-influenced society.

At age 14, I met a 29-year-old Christopher Atkins lookalike at a family wedding, and I came thisclose to dating him in secret. When I was 17, my I was smitten by a hunky, hip, obscure rock musician my parents’ age, who lived in our apartment building. He confessed to me once that if not for my mother’s watchful eye, he would have invited me up to his apartment eagerly.

At a spiritual retreat near Woodstock, I met my first lover, a tantric adept, when I was 19 and he was 40. (We are still close friends, 24 years later.) Between the ages of 19 and 26, I had lovers ranging in age from 18 to 60. I met my boyfriend and companion for the last 17 years when I was 26 and he was 57. Like other much older men I’ve been attracted to, one of the things which intrigued me most about him was that he was uncomfortable with our large age difference. It’s proven much easier for me to bridge the gap in life experiences with someone who is not seeking a token or trophy to reminisce his own lost youth.

My present relationship calls to mind the enduring marriage of (early 20th century film icon) Charlie Chaplin and Oona O’Neill, pictured above. They met when she was 17 and he was 54, and their union lasted until his death, more than three decades later. Chaplin caught a lot of flak for the woman he chose to be his wife. But if he had ever listened to any of the prurient gossip and made a different choice based on it, he would have missed out on sharing the truest love of his life.

When love finds you, age, sexual orientation, racial/ethnic, or religious backgrounds really don’t matter. As the world becomes more diverse, there is more acceptance of individual choices which seem to be outside the norms of society. In being true to yourself, you are never alone.

Test.

Spirituality Corner: “I’m Sending You Love, Asshole!”

“I believe that we are all spiritual beings having a human experience, and not the other way around.” –

This is the third in an ongoing series of Crasstalk posts regarding spirituality.

In the comments of another post, I joked that I could write this column while being an asshole. I got so much encouragement for the idea that I decided to try. Since I’m really not that good of an actress, instead of being a bitch, I decided to write about when spiritually-oriented people are assholes, and vice versa.

First, I’d like to dispel the myth that people on a spiritual path must be kind, nice and even-tempered 100% of the time. A great teacher of mine once told me that her path to loving all beings was fraught with challenges, and that the most spiritual she could bring herself to be in traffic was to flip off drivers who cut her off and scream, “I’m sending you love, asshole!”

Personally, my patience is tested when it comes to anything political. It is a Sisyphean task for me to not profoundly judge people who are anything other than liberals (to the left of Dennis Kucinich). The most intensive challenge for me is acknowledging our common humanity. In truth, my boyfriend has had to remind me numerous times that hate is not a spiritual tool.

The greatest obstacle of anyone endeavoring to pursue an inner life is anyone or anything that tests his or her longstanding beliefs. Paradoxically, your worst enemy may turn out to be your most profound teacher, because those most unlike ourselves often teach us more than those with whom we have much in common. A good friend of mine has a favorite line that he uses on people who either come at him with unbridled animosity or adoringly heap praise upon him. He replies simply: “I’ll bet you say that to all the mirrors.”

Since I was very young, my innate tendency has been to try to understand where other people are coming from. I don’t revel in confrontation, and if someone attacks me personally I will usually try to diffuse it: a kind of spiritually tolerant aikido. But I don’t suffer fools gladly, and if someone crosses me after I’ve given them the benefit of the doubt and the magnanimity of my kindness, I unceremoniously cut them out of my life without looking back.

I am always pleasantly surprised when someone whom I have perceived as intrinsically shallow or bitter turns out to have become that way purely by circumstance. As with the examples above of when spiritual people are assholes, when assholes are spiritual it’s often out of character and somewhat jarring. Just as I laughed at and learned from my teacher’s self-deprecating admission which now titles this post, I’ve also received rich insights from people whom I thought for sure wouldn’t know a burning bush if it blew up in their face (Don Henley’s lyrical turn of phrase).

Thanks for reading and commenting, assholes.

Spirituality Corner: Tao Te Ching

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The Tao Te Ching is the best-known and most-translated work of the Taoist spiritual philosophy. Even in ancient China, the work enjoyed a great popularity and was studied both by Taoists and Confucians. For those that don’t speak any of the Chinese languages or dialects here is a pronunciation guide.

*Chinese*	*Sound*	*Meaning*
	Dao	The Way
	De	Virtue
	Jing	Book

The Book

The book consists of 81 short chapters. The goal of the Taoist philosophy as explored in the Tao Te Ching is to become one with Tao – loosely translated as “the way” or “the flow” of life – inwardly attaining a cosmic return to the source. For this purpose, the seeker has to achieve a state of emptiness and to consciously practice non-doing.

I first discovered this book when I was 19, and nearly a quarter century later, it still resonates deeply within the heart of me. Following are some of my favorite chapters. I have taken the liberty of putting them in the order than best conveys the crux of the spiritual teaching that I am seeking to share.

I recommend anyone who is interested to get the translation by Gia Fu Feng (with stunning black-and-white nature photographs by Jane English). In my estimation, this captures best the essence of the philosophy of “following the flow.”

Without going outside, you may know the whole world.
Without looking through the window, you may see the ways of heaven.
The farther you go, the less you know.
Thus the sage knows without traveling;
He sees without looking;
He works without doing.

The softest thing in the universe
Overcomes the hardest thing in the universe.
That without substance can enter where there is no room.
Hence I know the value of non-action.
Teaching without words and work without doing
Are understood by very few.

Look, it cannot be seen – it is beyond form.
Listen, it cannot be heard – it is beyond sound.
Grasp, it cannot be held – it is intangible.
These three are indefinable;
Therefore they are joined in one.
From above it is not bright;
From below it is not dark:
An unbroken thread beyond description.

It returns to nothingness.
The form of the formless,
The image of the imageless,
It is called indefinable and beyond imagination.

Stand before it and there is no beginning.
Follow it and there is no end.
Stay with the ancient Tao,
Move with the present.

Knowing the ancient beginning is the essence of Tao.

Pronunciation credit from here.

It’s (Not) The End of the World

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“They say that the world will end in December 2012. The Mayan elders are angry with this. The world will not end. It will be transformed.” – Carlos Barrios

(Title changed because of an insight that Arken made in the comments.)

In 1999, at the height of the pre-millennial Y2K panic that had seemingly swept the U.S., I sought out a deeper understanding of the apocalyptic mindset that was behind this widespread collective fear I was witnessing at the time. I find it to be quite relevant as we approach the time of many prophecies: the year 2012.

To be clear, this is not science or any kind of factually-based theorizing. It is my interpretation of the writings of a man that comes from a long history of Mayan wisdom.

I came upon the writings of a Mayan historian and anthropologist named Carlos Barrios, who had been studying with traditional Mayan elders for over a quarter century, since the age of 19. As I read his main article on the subject of apocalyptic predictions – which is very hopefully entitled “The World Will Not End.”

Mr. Barrios is a historian and anthropologist. Many years ago, he began studying with traditional elders (at the age of 19). He and his brother Gerardo began a deeper inquiry into the various Mayan calendars. They studied with many teachers, and Gerardo interviewed nearly 600 traditional Mayan elders to widen their scope of knowledge.

The Mayan Calendars’ comprehension of time, seasons, and cycles has revealed itself to be expansive and sophisticated. The Maya understand 17 different calendars, some of them charting time accurately over a span of more than ten million years. The calendar that has steadily drawn global attention since 1987 is called the Tzolk’in or Cholq’ij.

According to Mr. Barrios’ interpretation of what his Mayan elders taught him, from that 1987 until now, we have been in a time when much of the materialistic world is disappearing, slowly but inexorably. We are on the verge of an era when peace begins, and people live in harmony with Mother Earth.

As we pass through a time of transition there is a colossal, global convergence of environmental destruction, social chaos, war, and ongoing Earth changes. All this, Mr. Barrios says, was foreseen via the simple, spiral mathematics of the Mayan calendars.

“It will change,” Mr. Barrios has said. “Everything will change.” He said that Mayan elders view the Dec. 21, 2012 date as a rebirth. This process has already begun, Mr. Barrios suggested. “Change is accelerating now, and it will continue to accelerate.”

If the people of the earth can get to this 2012 date in good shape, without having destroyed too much of the Earth, Mr. Barrios said, we will rise to a new, higher level. But to get there we must transform enormously powerful forces that seek to block the way.

According to Mr. Barrios, we are living in the most crucial era of the Mayan calendars and foretellings. All the prophecies of the world, all the ancient traditions, are coming together now. The spiritual ideal of this age is conscious action. Many powerful souls have been born in this era, with a lot of power. This is true on both sides, the light and the dark. High magic is being utilized by the light and the dark.

Mr. Barrios received a message from a Mayan elder in the mountains of Guatemala, who called for human beings to unite in alignment of life and light. Right now, individually and collectively, we are all going our own ways. The Guatemalan elder said there is hope if the people of the light can come together and unite in some way.

Elaborating on this, Mr. Barrios explained that we live in a world of polarity: day and night, man and woman, positive and negative. Light and darkness are a balance for each other. The dark side is very strong, and clear about what they want. They have their purpose clearly held. On the light side, everyone thinks they are the most important, that their own understandings, or their group’s understandings, are the key. There’s a diversity of cultures and opinions, so there is competition, diffusion, and no single focus.

As Mr. Barrios sees it, the dark side works to block unity through denial and materialism. It also works to destroy those who are working with the light to get the Earth to a higher level. They like the energy of the old, the materialism. They do not want it to change. They do not want unity. They seek to unbalance the Earth and its environment so we will be unready for the alignment in 2012. We need to work together for peace. We need to take care of the Earth that feeds and shelters us.

Mr. Barrios says that we are at a critical moment of world history. “We are disturbed,” he said. “We can’t play anymore. Our planet can be renewed or ravaged. Now is the time to awaken and take action.” He offered suggestions to help people walk in balance through the years ahead. “The prophesied changes are going to happen,” he said “but our attitude and actions determine how harsh or mild they are.”

Following is a guide that he recommends:

• Meditation and spiritual practice are good, but also action. It’s very important to be clear about who you are, and also about your relation to the Earth.

• Develop yourself according to your own tradition and the call of your heart. But remember to respect differences, and strive for unity. Eat wisely. A lot of food is corrupt in either subtle or gross ways. Pay attention to what you are taking into your body. Learn to preserve food, and to conserve energy. Learn some good breathing techniques, so you have mastery of your breath.

• Be clear. Follow a tradition. It is not important what tradition, your heart will tell you, but it must have great roots.

• Go to the sacred places of the earth to pray for peace, and have respect for the Earth which gives us our food, clothing, and shelter. We need to reactivate the energy of these sacred places. That is our work.

Article Source:

Manatak American Indian Council

http://www.manataka.org/page1578.html

SEE ALSO: “2012 is Fiction” by plmyshkin

http://crasstalk.com/2010/12/2012-is-fiction/

Doggie Love!

56 comments

Earlier today in the comments, I shared a video clip (link below) – Wendy Francisco’s beautiful song “God and Dog.” Since it was so enthusiastically received, I am writing a whole post around it.

First, I’d like to address the word “God” – as there was some debate in a recent post when the word came up. I invite those who do not believe in God to just substitute whatever word works for you. I would hate to have the pure beauty of this song and the point of this post to be lost in semantic disagreement.

Many Crasstalk readers are familiar with my profound passion for dogs – my dogs; dogs I’ve rescued who have moved on to new owners or passed on; every dog I have ever known. I feel a deep affinity for dogs that is sometimes echoed in my relationships with people. (My favorite people, of course, are dog lovers.)

Often, I mourn for the millions of dogs who are euthanized in shelters in America alone each year for want of caring owners. But even more, I celebrate my small victories, in caring for my dogs well, in helping to rescue dogs who are living on the street here in Mexico, in online activism for many animal rights groups.

Dogs aren’t referred to as “man’s best friend” by accident. The bond between dog and owner – I call myself a dog-parent, but admittedly, I am a little weird – can be a profound one for both participants. The relatively short life span of dogs makes the bond even more bittersweet. So cherish your doggies while you can, and adopt a shelter dog if you’re able.

I’d like to mention two organizations that you can help out just by internet clicks:

Freekibble (www.freekibble.com) and The Animal Rescue Site (www.theanimalrescuesite.com) both give food to homeless dogs across the country.

God and Dog

Spirituality Corner

129 comments

This is the first in what I hope will be an ongoing series of spiritual quotes and themes I’d like to share and invite comments on.

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It never was between you and them anyway.

CORRECTION (thanks to Bad Karma):

Mother Theresa didn’t write this, but she did have it hanging on the wall of her children’s home in Calcutta.

To give credit where it is due, it was written by Kent M. Keith, and it is both from a poem and a book titled “The Paradoxical Commandments.”

Hitler’s Flying Saucers?

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The image at the beginning of this article is of a site in Germany known as The Henge (Fly Trap) where a magnetic levitation device – aka flying saucer – known as The Bell was reportedly developed by German scientists in the late 1930’s.

I watched a program the other night which I was surprised to see was not on the SciFi (SyFy) network, but on Canada’s History Television, one part in a series on the subject of extraterrestrials. What follows is the network’s description of this episode.

Ancient Aliens: Aliens and the Third Reich

If ancient aliens visited Earth in the remote past, could they have given us advanced technology, passed down through human history?And could this technology have helped the Third Reich build mysterious weapons and crafts far beyond the limits of 20th century science?

During World War II, there were reports that the Germans built an operational flying saucer, known as the Hanebu, which was said to use mythical technology found in ancient Indian texts. Another craft was rumored to have been constructed with the help of psychics and mediums who claimed to have received detailed blueprints from extraterrestrial beings.

Is it possible Hitler’s quest for world domination was aided and abetted by ancient extraterrestrial technology that was rediscovered? And could the allegedly rebuilt alien devices developed in Germany have played a role in America’s ability to land a man on the moon?

The program posited that a number of Nazi scientists were recruited by the American government after the fall of the Third Reich. According to the show, these scientists were almost entirely responsible for the technology that resulted in the U.S. space program and putting the first man on the moon, aided in part by alien intelligence which had been passed on to them. They cited Adolf Hitler’s devotion to occult mysticism as the impetus for the extraterrestrial contact.

The episode ended by purporting that many Nazi officers who disappeared after the fall of Berlin had actually been whisked away in a time machine. As if by means of validation they mentioned that Albert Einstein had deemed time travel to be theoretically possible.

My questions to you interesting – and hopefully interested – folks are such: (1) Why was this on a history channel? and (2) How fine is the line between genius and insanity?