Questioning Us

“Heal yourself with the light of the sun and the rays of the moon. With the sound of the river and the waterfall. With the swaying of the sea and the fluttering of birds. Heal yourself with mint, neem, and eucalyptus. Sweeten with lavender, rosemary, and chamomile. Hug yourself with the cocoa bean and a hint of cinnamon. Put love in tea instead of sugar and drink it looking at the stars. Heal yourself with the kisses that the wind gives you and the hugs of the rain. Stand strong with your bare feet on the ground and with everything that comes from it. Be smarter every day by listening to your intuition, looking at the world with your forehead. Jump, dance, sing, so that you live happier. Heal yourself, with beautiful love, and always remember ... you are the medicine.”

-- María Sabina, Mexican healer, poet

Why am I content or have no emotion while my life is falling apart?

Perhaps to subconsciously realize life must fall apart in order to rebuild. During my divorce, my life was ripped to shreds. My female lawyer gave me sage advice… give her everything. Once you have nothing it is like a clean whiteboard. You can start from scratch. Don’t worry about what was written on it before, that is now gone. Better to concern oneself with what is happening now. The choices and decisions we make now will help to form whatever future we face. Make good ones, and learn to be happy always!

What would define a loser in the political world?

“The useful idiots, the leftists who are idealistically believing in the beauty of the Soviet socialist or Communist or whatever system, when they get disillusioned, they become the worst enemies. That’s why my KGB instructors specifically made the point: never bother with leftists. Forget about these political prostitutes. Aim higher. They serve a purpose only at the stage of destabilization of a nation. For example, your leftists in the United States: all these professors and all these beautiful civil rights defenders. They are instrumental in the process of the subversion only to destabilize a nation. When their job is completed, they are not needed anymore. They know too much. Some of them, when they get disillusioned, when they see that Marxist-Leninists come to power—obviously they get offended—they think that they will come to power. That will never happen, of course. They will be lined up against the wall and shot.” -- Yuri Bezmenov (1939-1993), former Soviet journalist and KGB informant

Can perfectionism commonly trigger impulsive acts? If yes, why?

I’m going to give you an, “If no, why?” One would negate the other. An “impulsive” act would not be something a perfectionist would consider as it might trigger something other than perfection. In this context, then, a perfectionist who claims to make “impulsive” choices or decisions would be a hypocrite, also not considered as perfection. Many members of the League of the Perpetually Offended might be offended at this since they consider themselves above everyone else, more perfect than the rest of us.

"We can choose to be perfect and admired or to be real and loved." 

-- Glennon Doyle Melton, author

Do you believe that your name influences your success in life, and if so, have you been tempted to change yours?

No, and no. Your choices and decisions influence your success in life. You are responsible for your own life, no one else is or can be. If life is shit, make it better. If your job sucks, change jobs. If your significant other pisses you off, find a new one. Bad friends, find better. No money, work harder. Our excuses hold us back. Blaming others holds us back. wallowing in misery holds us back. Better you should own your life and strive to be happy always!

How do we know reality is real? How can we prove what reality is or isn’t by turning to math and science? Is it even possible or worthwhile trying to do this?

We don’t, not at this moment. And, if we don’t, how will “turning to math and science” possibly help us? We can use math and science to “prove point-nine times infinity equals one” even though we know it to be pure nonsense. The equation works because they add an x-factor, an unknown, in order to make it work. Einstein used an “unknown” factor to make his equations work. He knew there was stuff in the universe acting on other stuff, and you had to allow for that “unknown” stuff. Reality is like the afterlife and God. All must be taken on faith, that belief we have in those unknown things for which there is little or no proof, yet.

Would you describe yourself as a cup half full or a cup half empty, and why?

Always a cup half full. Every day I keep adding more new stuff to it. Just when I think it might be full, I get a bigger cup, just in case. 

“Forget about what you might have lost but instead focus on what you have room to gain.”

-- Lindsey Rietzsch

It really makes me feel little when I see little 10-year old geniuses finishing A-Level Math Class, participating in Math Olympics & winning them, thinking that I could have done so if I had someone to guide me! Is it right to feel so?

Someone guiding them? I’ll bet, for the most part, the parents are probably just as flabbergasted as the rest of us. Youngsters who possess these abilities, unbeknownst to them, have probably lived many lives developing their abilities and bringing those abilities forward with them, subconsciously, into their next lives. I don’t feel little when I witness them, I feel amazed at this glorious life we share.

What are some ways we should be reverent to those who have busy lives?

I’m not sure why we need to be reverent of those who choose to have bust lives. This is the choice they made. Good for them, they made a choice. More importantly, are they genuinely happy with the choices they’ve made? If so, they are more successful than most. I choose to be reverent of those who give selflessly, and I show my reverence by giving of myself to assist when I can.

Is it healthy to track how much people owe you?

Monetarily, yes. If you do them a favor, no. Doing a favor for someone should be done selflessly. Don’t do a favor if you expect the favor back, including money. A loan is a loan, but favors are supposed to be from the heart. If you start being “mercenary” in the things you do, it will become a habit, and then it will become who you are. This is not healthy.

“If history shows anything, it is that there's no better way to justify relations founded on violence, to make such relations seem moral, than by reframing them in the language of debt—above all, because it immediately makes it seem that it's the victim who's doing something wrong.”

-- David Graeber (1961-2020), anthropologist, author

What do people hope to find by the question: what is life?

An answer. What they’ll really find is a multitude of answers, some right, some wrong. The good thing, however, is that we also have a multitude of lives to figure it out.

I feel like there's a limit to human enjoyment yet no limit to human suffering. Do you agree or disagree? Is there something wrong with such a mindset?

If you’re the one enjoying or suffering you might agree. The limits to enjoyment and suffering are entirely up to the humans involved, so there can be no limit to either. Being happy or miserable is a choice each of us must make. You can stand by and do nothing or you can make a difference in your life and the lives of others.

What is real happiness and how do we separate it from mythical happiness?

You don’t. Mythical happiness doesn’t really exist anywhere but in the mind, but if it makes you feel really happy isn’t this enough? People who escape to mythical happiness do so because they have no real happiness in their life. They end up living in a mythical world of non-reality where they don’t have to face their problems, yet the problems are still there, festering. It is better that we face our issues and get rid of all the drama so we can find true and real happiness in our lives.

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate.” 

-- Carl Jung (1875-1961), psychiatrist, psychoanalyst

 

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as a chaplain at the regional medical center.