Natural Wonder Fellowship

Huh, I just noticed this. I never quite realized that blood magic and hexes were part of Christianity. I mean, I knew it but never quite recognized the significance of knowing it; you know what I mean? Not the prayers for this or that, or the you'll be damned and cursed for thinking this or doing that, but spoken incantations. Yes, many rituals too, but this is really magic. The blood sacrifice (animal and human), blessing by a 'priest', protection spell (benediction?), divination (prophesy?), hexing or cursing by a layman? Like the sample to the left, the words are inspired by scripture. I'm not sure if it qualifies as a protection spell; looks more like a curse. It is exactly the sort of thing that the sorcerers and seers (and 'priests') would provide, for a fee of course, in case you felt you needed that 'extra oomph' from a professional. This kind of generic spell casting is easily attributable to dozens of beliefs and religions that came before and ...

On these "troubled times" -- people demonstrating in the streets, making demands for equality, for change -- or, if you're a Fox News follower, people rioting and looting, trying to destroy the American way of life... How much of the injustice and prejudice we see around us is directly attributable to religious dogma? Deep, under the surface tensions brought on by poverty, by unemployment, by lack of health care, by extreme "law & order" enforcement policies, by rejection of social programs... how much has been justified in the name of religion? If a person can say their 'god says', they relieve themselves of personal responsibility for heinous acts taken in the name of  that god. Matthew 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. -- a particular special or chosen people 1 Corinthians 14:34 Let your women keep silence in the...

In my private rescue, I get way more inquiries ('is so-and-so still available' is my favorite -- no, s/he is on my 'adoptables' page because I need to answer more phone calls or e-mails; or 'can I get one of [bonded pair]?' rarely even gets more than an eye-roll) than I get applications, and I get way more applications than I get adoptions. The applications without really meaning it are the most disappointing. This happened again over the past couple weeks. Chan, Beau, Bitsy, Chip, Chad Nov. 2009 Adopted! Early 2010 Chip & Chad are male bonded litter-mates. There were 5 in that litter, and I actually had that mom, too (a calico cat who I called CeeCee). Three orange tabbys (Chad, Charlie, Chip), a Siamese looking male (Chan), and a little black female (Cherry). The kittens were about 4weeks old when I got them in October, 2009. Over the next couple months, the usual care was given (it's a lot more work than that makes it sound). Charlie showed ...

I found this a while ago. I am just now posting it here. Your loved one is no longer in pain, finally at peace, no longer suffering -- no longer there for you!! If you truly loved, hope you too, will have many scars.

It is a GLORIOUS day! Carrie used to mock me for saying that, hahaha. She was not (still isn't) an early riser. Dawn/sunrise right now is about 5:30 here. I grabbed this short video audio about 8:30 to share the morning symphony I am lucky enough to enjoy with my first few cups of coffee. Not a lot more to say -- I'm still working on a multi-part piece on the history of racism in America (it's much more involved than I expected). Image to the left is a still from the video. I so enjoy being surrounded by nature :) Brad manipulated the raw video from the tablet (Win10) so I could post it here. I think it's part of nature that when your partner does something considerate or helpful or otherwise thoughtful that you forget the dozens of times said partner has been a "turkey". It keeps you happier and prevents you from stabbing them in their sleep, hahaha!! A deliberately short memory may be (one of) the secrets to a good, long lasting relationship.

Ad hominem attacks do not help your cause. Inflammatory language propagated by biased news providers does not help your cause. WHY, why, why do people do this?  'The  city ’s mayor, Jacob Frey, has stopped short of vying [sic] to abolish the police department, although he said this week he supported “massive structural reform to revise a structurally racist system.” ' https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minneapolis-police-protests-reform/minneapolis-city-council-resolves-to-replace-police-with-community-led-model-idUSKBN23J2W5   Reuters and APNews are 2 of the main sources of news picked up by consumer outlets. Even Dailymail's page name ( https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8416087/Minneapolis-City-Council-unanimously-votes-replace-police-department.html ) was more accurate, but its body subtitle switched to the 'ABOLISH' language. No other daily used this language -- there's 'disband', 'replace', 'reform', 'create new' and ...

Do worms have genders? Who thought of that, and why? But oookaay, curiosity is a good thing. Question everything, learn something new every day. I went looking on google to try to understand the "Rowling transphobia" discussion. I've known gay people both male and female; I 've known men and women. I had an interesting discussion outside a mall public restroom with an apparent male in female garb. She seemed uninsulted when I asked my ignorant questions, and I answered when she asked me what I was waiting for. It seems people are labeling themselves, beyond transgender (gender dysphoria?) to include genderless and intersex (not even including hermaphrodite and similar in this discussion). Nowhere have I seen anything that says someone without a uterus can menstruate nor that a 'person who menstruates' is not a woman. That does not mean that all women menstruate. A transman would have a difficult mind fuch every month until that thing is removed (or he ages out...

In mythology, gods and goddesses maintain or gain power by the worship they receive. Really fervent worship by the greatest number of worshipers is required for a god to stay stronger than the neighboring god. Worship may include approved rituals, giving gifts, and much, much periodic (daily or maybe hourly) praise and glorification to the god (or goddess). Gifts may be  of money, jewels, oils,  animals, food stuffs, young children [infants for who knows what (eating??, just to steal the innocence??, to show how much the parent is willing to sacrifice -- what kind of insecure sadist is this god??) or prepubescent or teen girls or sometimes boys (for sex for the leaders??, for what/why??).  We've heard about the Inca mummified children found in the 1990s, believed to have been a sacrifice about 500 years ago. The bible story of Jephthah's daughter is similar - to thank the god for winning the battle.] -- almost anything considered valuable in the culture of the time could ...

Matthew 6:6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Matthew 18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Luke 12:3  Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. You don't need crowded mega-churches to pray or worship your god -- you are told to do it quietly, privately, or in even small groups. This is based on the Bible (KJV); is there some other writing that demands large gatherings in a specific location? So what's up with the demands to open the "houses of worship"? The social gathering is something most people are missing in these days of SARS-CoV-2, from chess clubs to book clubs to the Met... anywhere you spend more time with other p...

Another day of "us" versus "them". Another day of a white woman threatening a black man with a police presence, in New York City; because, you know, who are they gonna believe? Another day when police mis-handle a citizen so badly a black man ends up dead at the hands of the very people who are supposed to protect and serve the public, in Minneapolis. Another day of rising tensions, rhetoric, and disagreement among the two main political parties' federal representatives, over everything from whether to wear a face mask outside their homes to whether to pass another monetary relief bill to assist the citizenry (you know, the ones they're supposed to work for).  Another day of being considerate of your neighbors by wearing a face mask to help protect them from you, and the " I don't have to, it's an infringement of my rights" citizens. Another day of truth from the scientists and doctors vs lies from those in charge. Another day of the c...

What is Sikhi (sometimes called Sikhism)? This one of my personal policy "Learn Something New Every Day" items for today. The first thing I learned is that I've been pronouncing it wrong -- it is not double-e (seek) but more like short "i" and really hard "k"(sicK). The first video is a brief overview and introduction including the disappearance and reappearance (after talking to 'god') of the first guru. I found it an interesting story. It did not cover any distasteful beliefs or practices, so I don't know if this religion succumbs to any.  This second video presents a fuller, more complete (in spite of its cartoonish look) description and explanation of the practices of the Sikhs of (most of) the world. There are some different practices among geographic areas. Engaging, easy to grasp concepts. I did see women are equal to men -- there are no second class citizens (Indian castes) in the tenets as presented here. I liked that. ...

In these days of a new highly contagious respiratory virus, greetings like hand shaking, kissing, and hugging have become transmission vectors for disease. We will determine a new way of greeting that doesn't involve physical touch.  Based on some of what I've recently discovered, that probably should have happened long ago.  I've only recently found out that many people do not wash their hands when we expect they would (or should). " We want to go to the movies and sit down in restaurants and yell expletives at football players in packed stadiums and hug friends and decide to not wash our hands after using public restrooms because that's what we've long done " (emphasis added)  -- an aside thrown into a piece about eating meat . A BBC piece  may enlighten you as much as it did me. I was really surprised (and grossed out). And no, I'm not talking about people in areas that lack basic "facilities" either.  How did handshaking come about, a...

Not the same as good, or accurate information. Some outlets have begun calling it an "infodemic" -- unending purveyors of dozens of already debunked or refurbished medical and scientific claims. We have ' Plandemic ' from a few years ago rearing its ugly head again. We have a  herbal remedy (related to the daisy family -- my favorite!!) being touted as a remedy for covid-19. This herb is used, in conjunction with another, throughout Madagascar in treatment of malaria. There is no evidence either drug is effective in treating or preventing covid-19. We have postulates on a private board that deficiencies in some vitamin or mineral is a contributing cause of getting the disease, or a new therapy may be just around the corner ---- so far, I've seen the disease is due to lack of selenium, maybe in conjunction with vitamin E (I think); lack of vitamin D; a "breakthrough" is found when Israel isolated a "monoclonal neutralizing antibody"...  Without...

We all want the facts. We don't want a partial, twisted or bent to someone's point of view subset of facts. We are inundated with "news"; some of it true, some of it outright lies (fake), and some of it kinda, sorta, in a limited way, or only if looked at a certain way, then *may* be true. We must make the effort to know what we're talking about; to know the real issues not only those formulated to appeal to the reactionaries among us.  Democracy depends on an educated, informed electorate (public, populace -- whatever you want to call "we the people"). We must elect informed, educated leaders. Our leaders work for us, spending our money. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it's that we are all in this together. We must know the real arguments for and against methods of controlling spread of the virus. It's not just a matter of personal choice or rights or privacy. We must make the effort, have the willingness to be informed, productive memb...