Thursday, 30 April 2009

GLOBAL LOVE DAY - MAY 1st, 2009.

A Poem for Global Love Day 2009,
by Mandel Rheems
with Love from Carol & Mandel
“One Earth Vision” - & -“Friends For World Peace”
Email: friends.for.peace@btinternet.com
* * * * * * * * *
“LOVE’S WAY”
Dare we lose it? Dare we give it away?
Dare we treasure it? Dare we cast it aside?
Dare we awaken to its wisdom? Dare we die for it?
Dare we greet a new morning? Dare we seek & not be sought?
Dare we live free? Dare we trust in love’s hand?
Dare we be guided? Dare we know of Brotherhood?
Dare we surrender? Dare we love until the last breath?
DARE WE GREET EACH OTHER AS ONE?
* * * * * * *

(Not copyright, share freely!)
The Day:
Let’s inspire one another and share our hugs, smiles, forgiveness and compassion and let the world know that love is indeed possible and present everywhere.

We currently have over 40 events listed from around the world. Along with these events, people are sharing their time and resources in creative and inspirational ways to help others in their community, gathering to meditate or simply celebrating and having fun. Links, ideas and updates can be found at:
www.thelovefoundation.com
Be a part of it - spread your love.

Love, light and peace,
The Board - Harold, John, Tam, Lanis, and Erik
Our Country and Regional Coordinators - Lydiah, Raphael, Magda, Martin, Emmanuel, Peris, Wendi, Keyvan, Julie, Shiva, Shed, Sahro, Zuberi, Karim, Falguni, Matthew, Kimiko, Ebrima, D. Amalraj, Wojciech, Melony, Roger, Deby, Mitzi, Darlene, Heather, Jana, Kaleemullah, Javier, Bishwanath, Zeina, Kelvin, Neabei, Godwin, Suraj, Tony, Benjamin, Balakrishnan, Alex, Rick and Alexander.

Latest Message from TLF Founder
Life is such a wonderful journey when we allow it to be filled with love. From the intimate focus within each breath to the infinite expansion of a starlit night, we are all part of this miraculous and magnificent adventure.
Our bodies are the vehicle in which our senses experience the changes of the seasons and the rhythms of our heartbeat, while our greater consciousness allows us to connect to the universal love that weaves its way through all creation.
The Love Foundation, Inc.

“Inspiring People to Love Unconditionally”
www.thelovefoundation.com

Think: Global Love Day
Feel: Love Begins With Me
Remember: May 1, 2009

Monday, 9 February 2009

HOW TO DESTROY A PEOPLE



 "EVERY NEW DAWN IS A BIRTH OF HOPE!"
 
"One Earth Vision & Mission" - "Friends for World Peace"


--- On Sun, 18/1/09, saikat mondal <saikatmondal_2004@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: saikat mondal <saikatmondal_2004@yahoo.com>
Subject: poem
To: friends.for.peace@btinternet.com
Date: Sunday, 18 January, 2009, 11:16 AM

Dear Mandel & Carol,
Good morning to you on this Sunday.

A friend has written very recently a poem
about the horror and carnage
ie going on in Palestine esp the killing
of innocent children.
If you like the poem please feel free
to put the poem on the blog.
I hope you are both doing well. Hoping to hear from you soon. Saikat.

The Poem: How to destroy a people
First of all, teach your own children,
with their mothers milk,
with the songs that you sing to them at night,
that they are entitled,that the land
has always been theirs.
Over and over again, until the other people
who share this land
are made almost invisible,
so that they become mere shadows
to be brushed out of the way of your sun.

Don't show your children the maps
which shows that other land subsumed,
gradually vanishing from year to year.
Justify what you do with the profound suffering
that your people endured;
Let that blind and deafen you to the
suffering of others.
Trap them into an airless corridor of land,
deny them access to their water sources,
tell your selves that you're entitled
to all their resources.

Destroy their olive groves,deny them the choice
of their own leaders.
Build up an army that leeches upon the hearts
of all your men;
create over and over again an enemy to throw
your fears upon.
Then when your enemies young men
break out of the anguish
that defines their days,
unleash your armies, send your obliterating bombs
that we finance, into the schools,the hospitals,
the playgrounds;
And then allow yourselves to weep
and send up prayers for the maimed
and murdered children that lie beside their
lifeless mothers, traumatized and dazed.
Israel, would you rather bring down the world,
than face up to the reality
of what you are doing to your own humanity?

Heartssong 8th Jan 2009
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 8:18 PMSubject:
FW: Day 19 - Gaza Update from PSC - 1000 Dead and Nothing Said -
17 January National Day of Protest for Gaza

Sunday, 16 November 2008

OBAMA—THE SEARCH FOR AN IDEALISTIC HUMANE GOVERNMENT CONTINUES

It has been many years since the famous “I Have a Dream” Lincoln Memorial speech of 28th August, 1963 by Martin Luther King where he wished to see a United States of America where her people would be judged not by the colour of their skin but by the contents and strength of their character. Surprisingly or not so surprisingly whenever you heard anything about “I have a Dream” speech in the media it never went beyond the colour of their skin and the one about the strength and contents of your character was disdainfully dismissed.

Now what exactly is this thing called: the colour of your skin; the more appropriate word is skin tone - and scientifically speaking the melanin content of your skin or pigment. Each and every human being on this over populated planet of ours (i.e. almost 5 billions or 6 billions- too much already in any case!) have their own skin tone and most importantly it is not a fixed thing; i.e. prolonged exposure to the sun or complete lack of it will cause the skin to take various hues and shades of colour. The quote un quote “white” world spends billions of dollars on sunny beach vacation destinations to work on their tans and even super rich businessman or politicians who are always dropping the words “men and women of colour” in their conversations are often seen holidaying/relaxing on their yachts with a pot belly and a reddish brown suntan. It seems like they need the “men and women of colour” from all over the world to work hard so he can have a break and have suntan like his employees. Let’s also not forget thousands of suntan places doing brisk business all over America and the western world. The point I am trying to make here is the absurdity and the hypocrisy of this whole system based on the tonality of your skin.
The novelist Mr Joseph Conrad in his novel “The Heart of Darkness” observes caustically that Imperialism as nothing but plundering and enslaving of people and culture that possess darker skin a different hair pattern and slightly flatter noses. That they have those particular physical characteristics because of the proximity of the Sun to those equatorial countries is conveniently ignored. What an uninteresting drab world it will be if we all looked just the same. Thank God for our diversity and differences. It seems the ruling class or the ruling elite chose an arbitrary system to divide people to justify their exploitations - and hence the birth of racism and slavery. And then later on religion was added to justify and compound the problem. This vicious cycle of exploitation needs to be broken once and for all for human beings to evolve and move forward in consciousness.
If we look around in this world and here I thank profusely the Discovery channel Animal planet... Plant planet …so on and so forth we are overwhelmed and awed by the beauty and mind boggling range of diversity that stares us right into our face both in the floral and faun an world. And it is only when we come to the Human world this whole concept of diversity takes a back seat in the bus. Why? The answer is simple economics. Everything in this world can be boiled down to hard core economics which in plain English translates for the benefits and advantages of wealth certain people will go to extreme lengths to justify their heinous acts.

In the present times we are not in direct slavery anymore but we are still modern slaves, whether we are slave to technology, heavily dependent upon the economics, slaved and intoxicated by power and wealth… which always goes hand in hand….slave to wrong images as manufactured by the media and the advertising industry which has reduced masses of people to nothing but consumers of enormous amounts of not needed (unwanted) products. We are increasingly living in a very Americanised McDonaldised, televisionised world where more and more malls are being constructed and plastic soap operas and coca colas are thrust upon people who were very recently farmers and fishermen. They simply do not understand what is going on? A simple peaceful life of hard labour and living close to nature (where their main source of joy comes from!) has been replaced by concrete steel glass and plastic civilisation---If we can call that civilisation at all? The people living within that civilisation are themselves uneasy and unhappy and now we go world wide to dump that on simple indigenous people who frankly does not need our civilisation. On the contrary they may have many valuable lessons to teach us on how not to rape and plunder nature ceaselessly and make her barren and bald way before her time.
Now my readers you may ask what does it have to do with Obama as the New president elect of America in 2008 elections…patience my friends and fellow readers. It is America that holds the key to the survival of this planet and mankind. (We say Man-Kind but surprisingly so few in the present days of Ugly competition are actually kind or generous!). It is this very American spirit of can do attitude and nothing is impossible made the global imperialism of USA happen. Is it not possible (and I know I am going out on a limb here) that same spirit once properly inspired can bring about a different sort of change. The Change in people’s heart and attitude, his mind body and spirit. A feeling of Oneness, that we are in this altogether as one mankind one race the Human race. This endless exploitation of world resources to feed the frenzied whimsy of the super-rich and their lifestyle must stop. The world simply does not have enough resources for one billion Chinese and Indian people to catch up with their first world dreams and the life style that goes with it. What we need is to re-evaluate how we have been conducting ourselves and our businesses all over the world. Business as usual also equals to exploitation, poverty and misery as usual. A more balanced sustainable and ethical ways of conducting business is absolutely Imperative and urgent.

Change we must (otherwise it will be forced upon us anyway!) in our attitude our thinking and our lifestyle—mostly in the Westernised democracies of the world to pave the way for a peaceful, tolerable Just and green world. What America does today the rest of the world follows. It is only in America people are not burdened down heavily with an obsolete past breathing heavily over their shoulders, and thus making quick dynamic movements almost impossible. This is what happens with other countries, they are burdened by their own past from India to China to Europe it is a heavy price to pay in the name of tradition and culture, - while America is light and quick footed always flexible, re-inventing and re-discovering herself since her birth of democracy (approximately 250 years ago) to the present times, as election of Mr Barrack Obama as the new President clearly proves. America is moving forward from a colour bound to a colour blind society. It is not that America is incapable of mistakes but it also knows how to rectify and learn from her previous mistakes. In an increasingly bifurcated world of haves and have- nots whether in America, UK India, Africa or Europe we need to set aside our superficial differences whatever they may be(nationality, skin tone, looks etc) and work together for the overall benefits of the Human race. I am specially calling out to good kind decent and well meaning individuals of all nations to work together for a Greater Good and to be honest our very survival and existence on this planet is at stake. (Hell folks we don’t have much time left!)

This beautiful blue white and green Planet Earth of ours which we call home which looks so wondrously beautiful from space yet fragile is screaming for Change---and it is up to us ----to All of US to make that change and transition from steps leading to a mass graveyard to the steps leading to a beautiful garden. I think to me the choice is obvious. What the world needs Right Now is Kindness and Compassion more Contemplativeness, Meditation, a silent Prayer to heal this broken world of ours. This does not necessarily mean that we sit in meditative poses folding our legs (though half an hour a day is not too much to ask surely?) but we have to integrate our kindness and compassion into the everyday world of workplace and practice it with all sincerity and earnestness. We are the keepers of our fellow brothers and sisters and then and only then can we become True care-takers of this world, this Planet Earth.

As I have mentioned in the title of this article “Obama—The Search for An Idealistic Humane Government Continues”…..but that cannot happen unless we ourselves become Human and Humane individuals.

PEACE ON EARTH….PEACE ON EARTH….MAY PEACE BREATHE IN OUR TROUBLED HEARTS AND SOULS.


P.S: A note to my readers, you may or may not have noticed I use the word human quite often in this article and I will continue to do so…it is a bit like drilling advertising slogans by TV people and I will continue to say Human----till one fine morning you wake up and you realise that you are nothing but a Human Being after all and all your false identities have been stripped away from you. I look forward to that particular Dawn.

(Aside: I do not mind if that defining moment happens in evening or noon-times, as long as it happens!)


This original article was authored and kindly donated (without copyright,) by writer & Poet: SAIKAT MONDAL. You may contact him personally with positive comments by Email: saikatmondal_2004@yahoo.com - it was at the invitation of Carol & Mandel Rheems, of the “One Earth Vision & Mission”, for WE ALL GATHER TOGETHER ALSO AS: “FRIENDS FOR WORLD PEACE”. You may contact us for further details or with positive suggestions by Email: friends.for.peace@btinternet.com.

PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY OF OUR ENDEAVOURS TO GATHER PEOPLE IN COMMUNITIES TO BRING PEACE THROUGH CREATIVE ARTS, MEDITATION, ENCOURAGEMENT, HEALING - AND SPREADING HOPE FOR THAT NEW DAWN OF AWAKENING TO ALL OF OUR PEACEFUL PURPOSE IN LIFE, TO RESTORE THIS PLANET FROM THE POLLUTED STATE, TO THE SAFETY, BEAUTY & JOY AS BEFITS & UPHOLDS THE SACREDNESS OF ALL LIFE, & PLEASE OFFER TO ADD YOUR GOOD WILL TO OUR WORK. THANK YOU. Carol Rawlins-Rheems.

HUMANITY DIVIDED IN BOTH ACTION & REACTION

HUMANITY DIVIDED IN BOTH ACTION & REACTION
“All that we will outwardly manifest rises from within our hearts/and sins of deeds have their seeds in the sins of our thoughts”
“The scenario below could be applied not only to a actual wars (Civil or between Nations) but also to the field of Sport where we celebrate the moment of our “Victory” or “defeat” of our National & Local teams in Athletics or football, as in other aspects of group competition, with our use of “out of date language” derived from more barbaric times”
Always we responded to the News of the “Victory”
in our opposed and opposite ways,
to some of us a success greeted joyfully,
to others despair, ill-boding for our future days
we were not all involved in the actual divisive action:
but all were involved in the aftermath’s divise reaction
what seemed to matter most was who had lost & who’d won,
rather than peace, at last, restored at a bloody setting sun;
of course, all the bereaved there mourned their dead-
the least you could say we all had that in common!
But we should have celebrated a new chance, instead
to end all our divisions whoever had “lost” or “won”
for this emotional division in most hearts lived on,
ensuring that the old war would be re-begun!

Re Religious & Political Disputes
It’s high time that we left “God” out of this!
All our disputes are between but ourselves,
He, It may be our judge in the after-life
but gives laws for our conduct while on Earth we’re alive
which all must equally obey – the jury is still out,
nothing gained by that emotional ranting and shout-
for “God” is not “on your side” nor “on mine”
but on that of a greater Harmony Divine!
All have done some wrong, but have done some right
and the best way to decide is not with each other to fight
for Peaceful negotiation brings Heaven but fighting brings hell
for all involved that in “disputed areas” dwell
and “God”, above all, gave us all rational “Common sense”
so to learn our best Wisdom from experience!

Is “The Truth” Really Nothing But a “Myth”?
“Theories & hypotheses that go unquestioned can often end up being taken as ‘facts’!”
We can believe in the most surreal, bizarre things,
like the Romans that they were refugees from the Fall of Troy
that the Hebrew Ark of the Covenant is an African Drum*
and Abraham begat all the tribes of Israel,
for our beliefs become like holograms
projected outwards from our imaginations,
as once I dreamt that the Spirit of a girl that I loved
used to walk with me in the darkness of the wood, like I, as a child, believed in Santa Clause,
till scepticism made me from such beliefs to pause
and asserted that what is could be only what I see,
all the rest an alluring Movie Fantasy-
fiction or fact? What is “myth” and what “truth”?
I AM, WE ARE, our only living reality on this Earth!

* The Lemba Tribe of South Africa believe this & that they are descended from a lost refugee Tribe of Israel according to a Channel 4 TV Documentary.

THE QUIET, GENTLE WORK OF DAWN
As Nature so Man wakes on a perfect, clear morn
for the gentle, quiet work of a new dawn
for the preparation of sowing new life’s seeds,
as Mother Nature strews hers, to meet all creature’s needs,
with no resounding speeches, as in our human halls,
as the ageless music of bird song on our ears falls;
we have the illusion in our abstract speech
that we’re changing the world as our words others reach,
but each day these quiet tasks await
as the myriad silent ones work in Eden’s gate,
all done, by hand, in every place and land,
thus created what we witness wherever we stand
so let this be a quiet one’s hymn of praise
to be these Wise Ones as we create that upon which we gaze,
each, all who are anonymous can contribute the notes
to a symphony of New Creation that we all, together, compose!
Everybody’s Poem Can Be There Own Little Garden!
There could be as many little poems & gardens as people,
collaged, filling out world everywhere with beauty,
and every one’s own poem or painting or garden,
their own romantic, shrine-like corner of Heaven,
their retreat wherein to find their own Inner Peace
where music and colour flow on without cease;
yes, of course, there are those great & prolific poets
who can create entire landscapes and sagas:
but what matters most is that we each, all create
our own fertile, cosy spaces, our Soul-Needs to meet,
even as our New Renaissance is such a landscape of a myriad small gardens,
fragrant with flowers and the Nine Muses’ perfumes,
in which we like birds, in song, take wing,
added Rainbows of joy or melancholy to bring!

DANGERS OF INTROSPECTION
When one sinks and thinks too deeply, into the experience of one’s own life, one can become like a deep, dark well in which one loses sight of the world beyond and in which no one else can see or hear you,
even if, at the bottom of that well, one might tap the Spring Eternal of the God within.
David Allen Stringer (16/4/2008)