The Greatest Love of All

Yesterday as I was driving along, Whitney Houston’s song, The Greatest Love of All, came on the radio.  As I listened to the words, I was thinking about Whitney and what little I knew of her.  I was wondering what was going on in her life when she wrote the words to the chorus that say,

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone’s shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

Those words that I have coloured red, are key.  I think about them and wonder where exactly Whitney was at when she wrote them; what was she going through that caused her such pain (I sensed and felt pain) to go so deep within to find love.

I take issue with the words that it, “Is easy to achieve.”  I can only speak for myself and tell you that if those song words suggest that the greatest love of all is loving yourself – then for me it has been the most difficult challenge of my entire life, without a doubt.

I think about people we call famous; people who had everything by the world’s standards; people like Whitney Houston, Elvis, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gay.  All of those famous people had everything, and yet they were sad, depressed and in such darkness they took their own lives.  Maybe they didn’t say, “I’m going to kill myself.”  But, they did kill themselves with self-medication.

All of those people who wrote and sang like angels, such beautiful words of loving….other people….couldn’t find love for themselves.  If they had, they would still be with us in their physical bodies today.

I believe that the greatest love of all is everything that makes up every individual human being.  But, I also believe that the most difficult thing you will ever have to do in your lifetime, is to love yourself, no strings attached; love yourself as unconditionally as the Creator created you out of unconditional love.

Think about one day of your life.  Be conscious of today, after reading this blog.  If it is late in the day, then make an appointment with yourself to be consciously present and awake and aware of your every thought, word and action over the next 24 hours (or as long as you are awake; heck, even in your dreams if you recall them).  Are you really loving yourself every moment; with every breath you breathe?

Do you, for instance, get up and head to the bathroom and looking into the mirror as your brush your teeth, do so with great admiration and love?  Or do you, like I do, look in the mirror as I brush my teeth, and criticize…my teeth with thoughts like, “I wish they were whiter.  I wish they were straighter.”?  That is not acceptance and loving every crooked tooth that makes up who I am.  That is saying, “If my teeth were whiter and straighter then indeed I would love myself.”  That is placing a condition on loving myself; saying that physically I must be perfect – you know, just like the beautiful models in the commercials and billboard ads; flawless!

The greatest love of all, the best thing anyone can do for not only him/herself and the world at large, is to truly love him/herself unconditionally.  I disagree  with those words written by Whitney Houston.  It is not easy to achieve and it is a full-time job.  You don’t just (after a lot of self work or little) love yourself, and that’s that!  We are influenced every day by external factors that could cause you and me to re-evaluate and re-think how we think about ourselves.  Loving myself is a full-time internal, daily and some times moment by moment lifetime job!  But, unlike the jobs of the world, I like to think it is more a chosen career, and therefore if I love what I am doing (loving and learning to love my “self”) it becomes a joy and not a job.

How difficult has it been for me to begin to truly love my “self?” It would be easier for me to build a spaceship than it has been to love my imperfect self!  Just ask my engineer daughter how technically inclined I am not and you’ll get a pretty darn good idea of how pretty much next to impossible it would be for me to build a spaceship!

The good news is that I am aware and I thank Whitney Houston for this reminder that this is the greatest thing I could ever do for myself.  I also send out universal prayers and love to Whitney Houston who has disappeared off the radar.  She, like so many great artists, began their singing careers in church choirs…and have ended up on a road to hell and torment!  Why is that?  They were at peace and there was a contentment, but then the world got hold of them, and perhaps the simple answer is that they lost themselves.

My added prayer is that everyone of us (self included), if we have lost ourselves, will find ourselves and love ourselves.

Crystal Clear

As a Reiki Master and working with crystals; even thinking of “superman movies” and scenes where he is in caverns of crystals; all of these triggered by the words of yet another song that came to mind this morning, “Crystal Blue Persuasion” – well they got me to thinking about the word “crystal” and its origin and meaning(s).  Not being one to let go of that which has hold of me, I was so de-lightedly surprised to find the following mean in the etomology of the word “crystal”.  Go figure!

The word Iris, which we know as a flower and as part of the eye, is intricately linked with the word crystal.  And, don’t you just love it…contained within this word meaning is the wonderful rainbow.

• Iris – late 14c., flowering plant (Iris germanica), also “prismatic rock crystal,” from L. iris (pl. irides) “iris of the eye, iris plant, rainbow,” from Gk. iris (gen. iridos) “a rainbow; the lily; iris of the eye,” originally “messenger of the gods,” personified as the rainbow. The eye region was so called (early 15c. in English) for being the colored part; the Greek word was used of any brightly colored circle, “as that round the eyes of a peacock’s tail” [Liddell and Scott].

Really read the above definition and see all of the words that become associated with the word crystal, such as the eye.  We are told that the eye is the mirror of the soul.  Reference to the word circle, which is a completion – the circle of life.  For me, there is a volume of information in this one definition from the word etomology of crystal which could result in many writings and/or investigations.

The 6th Chakra is called the “3rd eye chakra” located in the brow.  When it is “opened” things become “crystal clear”; knowledge and wisdom and understanding are released.

I think of something that is crystal as being pure, the ability to see through with no blockage; clarity, understanding.

I am currently studying for certification as a Crystal Reiki Master, and of course in my readings of the course material and literature, we are working with crystals.  I think this is what really got me going; seeking to know the answer to the question, “Why crystals.”

Think about the saying we often use  in a sentence, “crystal clear”such as,

“I was thinking about the subject of XXXX and the answer became crystal clear.”

It means that all of the fog got lifted and you received your answer.  Was it a crystal blue persuasion; all of a sudden it was crystal clear and out of the blue you were persuaded that was the answer?

Amazing, isn’t it, when we dig beneath the surface, the pebbles of wisdom we find!  Again this reinforces for me the need to dig beneath the surface meaning of a word, as it is understood and used today.  I learned a long time ago, that even today a word might mean one things in Canada and something completely different in England – and, both countries have English as their primary or native mother tongue.  If that is the case now, then I am convicted it is extremely important for me to investigate and understand the meaning of a word as it was used, say 2000 years ago.

Closing off, I share some quotes where the sole criteria was the word crystal.

• Mahatma Gandhi – In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in an clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.”
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – All the means of action – the shapeless masses – the materials – lie everywhere about us. What we need is the celestial fire to change the flint into the transparent crystal, bright and clear. That fire is genius.
• Oliver Wendall Holmes - A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used”

Leaving My Home – Toronto

I have been planning on moving from this huge city of Toronto for the past couple of years.  Last Fall I made a decision that it would be this coming September 2012.  The criteria in choosing that date was, as always and again, money; I wanted to ensure I had saved sufficient to keep me going for a while as I resettled in my new home.  That plan has been changed and for a couple of reasons.  First, more and more each day I have been finding myself ancy and just wanting to go.  More and more each day I seem to see things I dislike about living here and the scales of dislike seem to be far outweighing the scales of like.  The second reason was that in a dream a few weeks ago, I was having discussions with some people about my pending move and in that dream it was settled in myself that the date for the move would be April 30th, 2012.  Although that date was as clear as crystal, I did not just jump and say, “Okay.  That’s it.  It’s settled.  I am moving on April 30, 2012.”  I have thought about it on and off for the past several weeks and the more I thought about it the more it felt right.  It settled in my soul.  April 30th; I am moving on April 30th.

As I gazed out my bedroom window earlier this morning, the subway trains were clanging by 29 floors below; the lake was beginning to glow with the rising red sun and a couple of stars could be seen in the somewhat cloudless sky overhead.  Inland the city was lit up like a Christmas tree; tall highrises, houses and street lights all glowed in the still somewhat dark skies.  The golf course was empty, as far as I could see, and I smiled to myself thinking about leaving Toronto.

I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to live in a city like Toronto with its over 5 million people.  It is a city that has afforded me the opportunity to travel the world, without leaving home.  I doubt there is a nation in the world that is not represented by a small, medium or large contingent of its peoples here in Toronto.  Most cultures try to ban together in different sections of this massive city.  Toronto has given me the chance to meet, greet and eat from every country in the world.  It offers free programs all summer long with its outdoors downtown blues music playing at lunch time in the office tower concourses and parks.  It has food fares where every culture offers up a taste of its wares, either free or inexpensively.  There are parks upon parks upon parks amidst the concrete office towers that house millions of people Monday to Friday.  You can get out on a lunch hour and return to nature in the parks and well groomed lawns and gardens.  The evenings offer everything for everyone with all of the theatre, musicals and the Mervish productions that are put on in Toronto.  These things go on year round and if you are culturally inclined and love the theatre and arts, I doubt that you would lack for something to do.

Talking about theatre, I still smile regarding Toronto’s reputation of being the LA movie centre of the (great white) north.  Several years ago American movie makers were up here filming in Toronto (something that is such a common thing these days, we don’t even think about it).  They liked to film in Toronto because of what it has to offer by way of structure, culture and a host of characters and nationalities to choose from as extras for their sets.  Primarily, however, they loved filming in Toronto because the cost was so much cheaper.  Back then there was an huge Canadian dollar differential with the American dollar, i.e. US$1 = CDN$0.60.

What the American filmmakers disliked about Toronto was that it was too clean.  They used to get pi**ed off when they would return to the set the next day to continue filming (outdoors) and find that all of the garbage and waste they’d so carefully strewn and laid out the night before, for the next day shoot, had disappeared.  Toronto city workers had, as always, cleaned up the streets while the rest of us slept.

So, yes, though I no longer have a like or deep affection for Toronto, it is a great city.  It is changing, but who or what is not changing.  For me, my time is up. The ocean calls ever loudly for me to come home.

For all you old, newer and yet to come Torontonians, Toronto has a lot to offer no matter your taste.

If you’re ever down by the sea, that’s where you will find me. At home….where my heart is….for now.

I wonder if my friend Earl the Eagle will travel along with me.  Perhaps he will remain to guide another soul on his/her journey.

3 Stages of Marriage in Yahshua’s Day

I am continually amazed at how I so easily and without thought apply my understanding of a subject or thing as though that is the way it has always been.  Such is the case on marriage.  Today’s generations date, get engaged (betrothed) and get married.

With that thinking, I’ve applied the same understanding of a marriage for all generations, no matter how long ago it might be.

I’ve just discovered through the writings of author Laurence Gardner that a marriage in Yahshua’s time was totally different.  I choose to accept what Gardner has shared.  His book has a Bibliography that is 7 double-sided pages in length.  His research in writing is very indepth.

What  I have seen because of my misunderstanding, is just how incomplete and erred is my understanding of even those words found in the Bible.  For example, think about the first miracle we are told that Yahshua performed.  The Bible says it was at a marriage ceremony in Cana.  John 2 (KJV) reads:

¹And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

²And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

³And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

⁴Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

⁵His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

Have you ever wondered what gave Mary the right to order the servants around and who was Yahshua to be serving up the wine?  I “assumed” they were “guests” of the bride and groom.  But, according to Gardner, that is not the case.  He explains that word we see in the KJV is incorrect.  The word should read that it was a “wedding feast” not a “marriage ceremony.”  So, what’s the difference?  The difference is that in Yahshua’s time there were 3 stages to a “marriage”.  This is key and very important. It definitely threw a whole new light on things for me, giving me a lot of “Ah Ha! That makes so much more sense now!” moments.

When we are told in Scripture that Mary was “espoused” to Joseph, I thought it meant “engaged” or betrothed; they were going to get married.  The word espoused as used referred to “contractual wedlock”.  They were married.  Because Mary was married to Joseph who was a dynastic husband (by the way, he was not a carpenter), Mary was governed by regulations applicable to Messianic (anointed) lines.  These dynastic rules were not the typical Jewish marital norm.  They provided like:

• dictating a celibate lifestyle except for procreation of children, and then only at set intervals
• 3 months after a betrothal ceremony, a First Marriage was formalized in order to
• begin the espousal in the month equivalent to September
• physical relations were allowed after that but only in December to ensure (as best they could) that any resultant
• dynastic birth occurred in the following Atonement month of September
• if the bride did not conceive, intimate relations were suspended until the next December
• once a probationary (the 3 month period was probationary) wife conceived a
• 2nd marriage was performed to legalize wedlock.  This was in March, but this wasn’t the end of it,
• the wife was still considered almah until completion of the 2nd marriage
• the 2nd marriage qualified and was celebrated when the wife was 3 months pregnant to allow for the possibility of a miscarriage
• if a dynastic husband’s wife miscarried, he could legally put her off (divorce) in order to maintain the dynastic blood line

Mary was with child and the 2nd marriage had yet to be performed.  Joseph and Mary were married (had gone through the 1st marriage) and it was then that Joseph had the legal right to put her away, not go through with the marriage.

Now, let’s get back to Yahshua and Mary at the wedding feast.

The Qumran Scroll of the Rule provided how wedding ceremonies were to be conducted.  It was the rule of the day that the “service of the wine was the prerogative of the presiding priest.”  We know Yahshua had no “priestly authority”, so for him to do what he did would be considered a breach of the Rule.  The relevance of all this is that apparently only fully initiated Levites were entitled to drink ceremonial wine.  All others were restricted to a “purifying ritual with water”.  John 2:6 confirms this with its wording, and yet, until now I never really “saw” what it said:

⁶And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

I have always referred to this scene at Cana as being Yahshua’s first miracle; that he turned water into wine.  I don’t think I am alone in this “ass-umption” of mine!  He wasn’t turning water into wine.  He was performing the purification ceremony as was the tradition of the Jews of the day.

As for the actual ceremony, it was a betrothal.  The custom of the time was as follows (who can or can’t do what):

• there was a formal host who could be in charge of proceedings
• secondary authority rested in the bridegroom and his mother (remember Mary’s words I quoted above, where she instructed the servants to ‘obey’ whatever Yahshua asked)
• no guest had any such rights of command

So, what do you draw from this?  Could it be that this was the betrothal of Yahshua and Mary Magdalene?  Both he and his mother behaved in such a way that it would lead one to think that Yahshua was the bridegroom.

Bishop John Shelby Spong of Newark wrote a treatise on Mary Magdalene.  He discusses the wedding at Cana and makes observations about other parts of Scripture.  Bishop Spong poses some serious questions concerning Mary Magdalene.  First let me share with you by way of example, the order in which Mary Magdalene is referenced in just one Scripture that managed not to be changed or removed.  It is found in Matthew 27 and reads:

⁵⁵And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: ⁵⁶Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedees children.

Bishop Spong asks:

1. Why is it that Mary’s name is always first in the lists, if she is not the consort of Yahshua?
2. How would Mary have the right to claim the body of Yahshua for taking away if she wasn’t Yahshua’s next of kin?
3. Why would Mary presume the wifely duty of anointing Yahshua for burial if not his wife?

Personally speaking, I have never given any of these questions thought.  It now makes sense to me to be asking them.  By what right did Mary Magdalene do any of the things that we are told she did?

I hope that this perks your interests to dig deeper as we seek to know Truth.  I know I’ve enjoyed uncovering these things and always enjoy sharing them as food for thought and further input by others.