Death is coming

The closer death creeps up upon me the less I am able to understand the reasons for life or living.

Yes I have experienced a close family member dying and unlike television it takes decades to handle such a thing. To think I am going to put my family through such a thing when I finally leave is more horrific to me than the thought of death itself.

My life was and is still a learning experience but when all said and done what am I to do with all this accumulated learning over my lifetime if I just die. There is no logic or reason to this.

Long ago I became aware that the God story that is sold to the majority is just a nice story to give mankind with a message of a basic layout of how nice life could be if everyone followed these ideas. Not many in life do and if one thinks about it the good and evil structures actually depend on each other. The good that can be experienced in life is only understood as good when there is it's opposite to compare it to. This is not rocket science only common sense in reality. I am not saying we need to experience bad but understanding in it is needed to appreciate the great things many of us can have in our lives. From birth to death there are many ways mankind helps his fellow man. How many ways can you help?


Saturday, August 20, 2011

Who Is The "Hero" In The "Hero's Journey"?

By Leland Poliks


During the past thirty years, much has been (rightfully) made of Joseph Campbell's breakthrough research in cultural anthropology, most famously published in "The Hero With A Thousand Faces." In this book, Campbell examines the many cultural expressions of the heroic role model, and in doing so helped to establish the universality of human hopes, dreams, and lives.

Hollywood, in particular, has embraced this vision, which powers dozens of films a year, and has become clichd wisdom in development executive suites all over Southern California. Of course, the question of the nature of heroes enters other arenas as well. In the political arena, shaping doctrine around strong leader figures is one way to promote ideas to the public. Heroic firefighters and soldiers appear in ads for one party or another, and our elected officials trumpet their military service-or are criticized for their lack thereof, or are called cowards or even traitors if they disagree with the plans or opinions of an opponent.

Whether one wishes to understand the "Hero's Journey" as a tool for fiction, or desires to rise above the rhetoric a bit, it's useful to define just exactly what a hero is. This is, after all, the human face of the story. If the "Journey" is important, even more so is the person taking it. If we, as a culture, tend to worship and follow heroes, it is vital to have a definition of exactly what this is.

Of course, each of us should search our own hearts for the definitions that help us guide our lives. With that understanding, I'd like to present a definition that has worked for this writer and citizen for many years.

"A hero is a man or woman who holds to their deepest values, regardless of the stress or pressures."

This applies to soldiers in combat, teachers in the inner city, mothers sacrificing for their children, artists resisting commercial demands, teenagers resisting the call of drugs or alcohol or premature sexuality. It demands that the "Hero" understand his or her deepest values, and often, the entire purpose of a story is to force them to confront these deeper truths, stripping away superfluous ego-identity.

Culturally, this means that a person of Heroic dimension doesn't necessarily share our point of view, our political beliefs, even our morality. To understand this is to understand how an apparent moral monster can be lionized by his followers. When we disagree with a leader, and are forced to dehumanize him in order to justify our own position, we diminish our capacity to understand the human condition.

We must hold to our values, and be clear about them. The entire world of advertising-whether Madison Avenue is selling cereal or an unpopular war-is based on anchoring some goal to basic human drives. Those who are uncertain of their values are like straws in the wind, blown by whoever plucks their strings. No wonder we cherish those who seem clear and strong in their identity, who stand by their choices even under stress. No wonder we respect these men and women even as it becomes clear that flexibility and compromise might be the better way. At least they believe in SOMETHING!

If we are to grow beyond sheep needing a shepherd, we must be strong ourselves. We must know ourselves deeply and honestly, and find the bedrock of our own morality. From this place it is easiest to determine when a leader is truly worthy of emulation or admiration or obedience. When we walk this road of self-discovery, we become heroes ourselves, experiencing the adventure of our own lifetimes.




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Love Psychic Readings: Lessons from Virginia Woolf

By Tana Hoy


Love psychic readings come and go in so many varying ways. It may appear as an advice, a glance into the future. Nevertheless, it is associated with what troubles a person. So many times, when we are hurt, or let down, we run home, lock the door, turn off the phone and just start avoiding life.

Love psychic readings are particular with what you have in mind. That is understandable during our healing time. However, did you just stay there? Have you stopped living? You cannot find peace by avoiding life, says Virginia Woolf.

She should know all about avoiding life. She had numerous nervous breakdowns and periods of depression throughout her life. She even had to be institutionalized for a short period. It has been said that her mental issues were due to the sexual abuse she suffered by her half brothers.

She left us with so many notable stream-of-consciousness literary works, and yet, she could not live in this world. She ended up committing suicide after her home was destroyed in the Blitz, during World War II. That was her final straw.

Are you scared to open your heart back up to someone new because love has hurt you so badly in the past? Are you fearful to try IVF again because the last times have failed? Are you avoiding dealing with your own sexual abuse issues from the past? Have you just stopped looking for that new job, that new house, that new car or that new friend? How are you avoiding life?

I propose that for today, we all look at our lives and find five new things that are working, that are good, and/or that fulfill us. We can go around avoiding life, or we can start to embrace the parts of it that work. We cannot fix the past, but we can create the future.

Let love psychic readings help you out. Let us grab the good by the horns, smile and be thankful for our lives. No more avoiding life...lets LIVE!




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