Did I Stutter

Yes, Parker, you did. But so slightly and negligibly, it was far more endearing than vexing. Take a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iICFjbIAs7Y

Ever and always others will highlight your shortcomings. Too big, too small, too short, too tall. Too blond, too red, too starved, too fed. Too curly, too straight, too early, too late. Too black, too white, too loose, too tight. Too wild, too tame, too cool, too lame. When and where does it end?

Parker stated; "Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will." We know this though--we covered it way back in October of 2012. Read again...

http://wpgrogan.blogspot.com/2012/10/not-good-enough.html

It is time to take it to heart.

Book of Padrac

You would do well becoming less anxious about things. Learn to anticipate what it is you want rather than being anxious of what you fear.

Book of Padrac: Section 1 Discourse 2

Heaven or Hell

(the fact of the matter I'd choose the latter)

Lend me your ear
'Cause I want to make it clear
That I fear you'll miss something
If you don't listen to me
It's free, won't cost you a dime
Just a little time, so listen...

I was spending all kinds of mind time
Searching for God, was he a fraud?
Was it a lie, this guy?
And how 'bout the devil
Was he on the level?
I was determined to find out, about
Heaven and hell
Well it happened in May
On the twenty-second day
That through some mysterious way
I found myself in the park, right after dark
And there, for all to behold
Was a fellow sold
On the Golden Rule
With Bible in hand
He had taken a stand
Against that evil dude
And I started to brood
Was Satan so bad
Such a miserable cad
That he deserved such a verbal lashing?
It wasn't right, I was getting uptight
And I asked for positive proof
Something to act as a roof
To shelter and protect
Against possible defect
In this man's house of belief
And it was with relief that he answered me
Young man I'm glad you asked the question because:
I've come to tell a story
I've come to tell a tale
I've come to stretch the truth
More than Jonah and the Whale
With that he tapped his Bible
And swore that he'd stand liable
If one falsehood, deception, concealment, distortion, and or misrepresentation of the truth so much as crossed his lips-
Then he launched
With faith true and staunch
Into the story of a carpenters' son
Who had played in early AD
Near a sea called Galilee
But it seems this Jesus had
Provoked the prevailing fad
And crossed a number of Jews, who's views
Differed somewhat in their technical aspect than his own
The outcome of course, resulted in force
And the trial that was set was a fix
Without much ado
They said, "we want you
And let Barabbas go free."
The verdict was in
King of the Jews his sin
And they tortured the man on a cross
Laid him for dead under moss
But it is now a fact
This was Christ's second act!
And not the close of the show at all
For it seems he arose, bid adios
And returned to his home and his Father
But he left word for his friends to make amends
And be sure to live their life's in love
For above, that's what it was all about
He did also state, on some later date
He'd return to adjourn the world as we know it
But never to fear, he's near
and hears our thoughts and prayers

Well! It seems as that man spoke, I suddenly woke
From a life filled with sin and corruption
With no doubt in my mind
The course that I'd find
Was one in the footsteps of Christ
The rest of my life was one filled with strife
As I struggled to stay in good standing
Just imagine the weight
Of supporting the freight
That a man of virtue must carry
When my life had played out
Due to a case of the gout
I was weary and ready to go
Then picture the shock
As the gates were unlocked
And the scene before me revealed
The heaven on high was a terrible lie
And nothing at all what I thought
Foreseen as serene, but boy what a dream
This place was laced with presumption
The insolence they wore was quickly a bore
And the greatest of all was the Christ
His haughtiness in fact, was devoid of all tact
And in his greeting to me, he explained you see
"The lowly aren't holy, and off limits to all personnel."
Without a moment to waste, I turned in all haste
And beat a retreat to the gates
But Peter in glee, had hidden his key
And it looked, as if I were booked
For a long term engagement...

Reports would come in
On the Kingdom of Sin
And the party they were having below
All the friends that I knew
Lived in that Paradise of red-hue
Burning, but learning, how to enjoy
And though I did not sweat
You could make an odds-on bet
That if I had a choice, I'd rejoice
To be there with them
For my days are filled with loneliness
My nights are just as bad
Spent in contemplation
On all the fun I might have had!
So let this be a teaching
If but one of you are reaching
For salvation as you know it, please forgo it!
For the final truth is found
Six feet underground
But by then it's much too late
Once you reach that pearly gate
The lesson that you'll learn
It's a helluva lot nicer just to burn

~WPG

(Parody: treating a serious subject in a nonsensical manner, as in ridicule)

Immortality

Because there aren't any written records, (excluding cave art if we expand the definition) all history before (circa) 4000 BC is speculative. It is similar to you sitting in your house and hearing the squeal of tires followed by the sound of metal on metal. Without actually seeing the car accident, you can deduce that there HAS been a car accident. It is the specifics that must be generalized. By the same token, if you come upon the accident 5 minutes after the event, SEEING certain things (i.e. the extent of the damage to the cars, if a fatality was involved) other information can be generalized. (relative speed of one or both of the vehicles) So it is with us moving from the Neolithic period (10,000-4000 BC) to the beginnings of recorded history. (Uruk; 4100-3800 BC)

One deduction is, during the Neolithic Age (if not much earlier) man formulates a worldview (religion) of "animism." (anima = soul; Latin) It is the idea that everything (including inanimate objects) have a spiritual essence. "Most animistic belief systems hold that this spirit survives physical death. In some instances, the spirit is believed to pass into a more leisurely world of abundant game and ever ripe crops, while in other systems...the spirit remains on earth as a ghost, often becoming malignant (evil) in the process." Further; "From the belief of the survival of the dead arose the practice of graveside rituals such as the offering of food or of lighting fires to honor the dead...(that) later became an act of full fledged ANCESTOR WORSHIP." ~New World Encyclopedia

If you think I paint with too wide a brush, there is this: "Animism was originally the religion of all Hunter-Gathers, our ancestors for most of the last 200,000 years. How do we know that? Through archaeological traces of our ancestors and comparative anthropological studies of present day hunter gatherers ALL of whom are animists. ~Introduction to Animism  Lanie Johnson, M.A. and Ken Fischman  Ph.D.

So what can we state with some assurance? Homo sapiens believed from the beginning they would have an afterlife. The concept of heaven (abundant game and ever-ripe crops) and devils/demons (a ghost, often becoming malignant) emerges. Totemism (early form of statue or idol veneration) and Shamanism, (the priesthood) both "off-shoots" of animism, draw a more complete picture of how religions evolved.

The rest, they say, is history. Which it is...because we have a written record. The emerging civilizations (Sumer and Egypt) bear testimony to the truth. The only question remaining is, why? Why do humans believe in immortality? Here is one possible answer.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140127164835.htm

End of Series

In Focus

Starting to get the picture?

http://humansarefree.com/2014/03/stonehenge-is-5000-years-older-than.html

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/gobekli-tepe/mann-text

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-12/dna-shows-clovis-people-as-ancestors-to-native-americans.html

(note: reading previous posts 4-27-14, 4-30-14, and 5-7-14, provide context)

Kanpai

Photograph by Paul Whitton, Miyajima Torii
(as appeared in NationalGeographic.com) 



Well, it finally happened. After 77 days, we had a visitor from Japan! Beginning February 12th and stretching through the 19th, I logged 5 posts in an attempt to entice someone from Japan to this site. Yesterday, between 10 and 11 AM, (PST) he or she showed up. Arigatou! I would absolutely love it if you (provided you come back and see this) would comment on the circumstances that brought you to this website. (blog) And to the Jamaicans, Spaniards, and Chileans (see full list at the post; Wakarimasen 2-12-14) that came aboard shortly after those Japanese orientated posts, you are most welcome here. Just because you weren't the specific object of intention does not mean you aren't valued. Serendipitous events are always enjoyed and appreciated.

To some trivial matters: I have mentioned I have not retained rights to the domain name. So I doubt your continued access to the website proper after July 3rd. (the blog is a separate identity) I would encourage you to make copies of the other sections. (Home--Gift--Gratitude et al) The time might come when you would wish to review them. This also means there is little time left to purchase The Last Enchanted Forest in PDF. (which I believe superior to other options--you can make copies!)

The picture that appeared as you came on this post is "implanted" because of Gwenn Jones. I asked her if she would be so kind as to place the picture rather than you having to link to it. Wonderfully aesthetic, I find it a testimony to the whole effort of "bringing Japan on board." (I suppose I would have felt the same if Ireland hadn't been among the earliest visitors) The larger point is how appreciative I am of Gwenn. I've never met someone as gracious giving than Gwenn has been to me. You can read all about her at the 7-13-13 post.

Though I wish to leave it an "open parenthesis" as to posting after July 3rd, I am doubtful I would continue. After reconsideration, I believe the name of the site is too limiting. To the secularist the name is easily dismissed. (religious "pie-in-the-sky" crap) To Christians, once they see where I'm actually coming from, not at all what they had in mind. I believe it has left me with an exceptional audience who already know what it is I am sharing, but one so narrow and confined as to (seemingly) invalidate the effort. Of course we know better--all is a gift. And I am grateful if, for no other reason, we can revisit the quote from That Man is You: "Genuine confidence doesn't say; Oh, well, too bad this didn't work out but I am reconciled to the idea. Instead of that, it maintains, what seems a poor shot still hit the bulls-eye."

Back to the Beginning

To view the possible beginnings of spring festivals, we have to peer back in time. (prehistoric--prehistory--before recorded [written] history) Here is the archaeological record.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/becoming-human.html#becoming-human-part-3

Sometime in the last 50,000 to 100,000 years, man learned to control fire and bury his dead. More important was the advent of language. The action of scooping water (for instance) could be enacted by a fallen hunter (perhaps a broken leg in a hunting accident) to express the IDEA that he was thirsty and desirous of a drink. It isn't difficult to imagine grunts and gestures incubating and developing into language. Even today certain people are described as "talking with their hands." But things really begin to reveal themselves 30,000 to 40,000 years ago. Discovery of cave art is evidence that man understood concepts and symbols. Humans display non-linear thinking.

http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/chauvet/chauvet_cave_art.php

"Thus cave art was thought provoking, and the thoughts it provoked provided the impetus for men and women to lay the foundation of theories of life, and of the universe. Precisely because of its non-material, its metaphysical (beyond the physical) qualities, art became the father of religion." ~ Paul Johnson   Art: A New History

I would add a caveat to Johnson's idea: dreams and visionary plants. (hallucinogens)

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081104-israel-shaman-missions.html

"The tendency to perceive reality in the terms provided by the SACRED marks a fundamental difference between primitive and modern Western societies, where the distinction has been destroyed. The openness to the world as a sacred reality is probably the most pervasive and common meaning in all forms of primitive religion and is present in definitions of time, space, behaviors and activities." ~Charles Long   Primitive Religion

http://www.robertschoch.com/sphinxcontent.html

Following the rational for the Sphinx being 9000 to 11,000 years old, we know the reason it points east; the spring equinox. This then, is the genesis for spring festivals: death and resurrection. (i.e. immortality)

http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/gem-projects/hm/0102-1-pyramids/page03.htm

Contrary to accepted thought, we have a much longer cultural history than acknowledged. It is time to surrender to what we don't know, or won't believe...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pf5-0FhGY4

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10657023.htm

To Be Continued