emphasis mine

The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him. I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death, I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech.

" 'I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.

" 'Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy.

Hebrews 3:12

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

Matthew 18:1-7

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

1 Peter 1:13-21

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Taken from Photo District News.

July 17, 2008

By Daryl Lang

A photographer who published pictures of dead U.S. Marines on his blog says his post led him to be ejected from his U.S. military embed in Iraq.

Freelance photojournalist Zoriah says he does not believe he violated any of the rules of his embed agreement. But he says Marine commanders were so upset by his photos last month that they promptly arranged for a convoy to take him back to Baghdad. He decided to return home to the U.S. several days later.

Click here to read more.
Warning: Contains graphic violent images from the aftermath of a suicide bombing.

Now I am inspired. This is one photographer who risks himself not for his profession or art but to show the truth as it is. This is the real deal. This is war photo-journalism.

Here's an excerpt from his blog which you can find here.

My hands still shake and my heart pounds despite my fatigue.  A combination of depression, fear, and adrenaline makes my thoughts race with the realization that a simple decision was the only thing that seperated me from a body count that grows daily.  I look at the images I took on the 26th of June, and realize they do nothing to capture the emotion of being an eyewitness to the aftermath of the Al-Qaeda suicide attack in Karmah/Garma... the smell... the sound of screams and crying.

I want you to observe and comprehend what others live through on a daily basis -- to see what the Iraqi civilians and foreign soldiers see.  I want people who follow my photography to understand that although I am able to bring images of war to the world in a form of art, what actually goes on here is horror.  My message is not that war yields great photography.  My message is: War yields human misery and suffering.

I salute Zoriah Miller.

I recently saw a review of a beautifully presented metaphysical movie. The essence of the review was "the movie was not good because I don't know what it is supposed to mean." After watching the film myself, I also came away without being able to say what it "meant," but did not find that to diminish the value of the movie at all. My spirit was very moved by the experience.

After all, what is the meaning of ecstasy? Of a sunrise? Do we really want to belittle anything that exceeds the scope of understanding of the conscious mind?

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life-Albert Camus

The attempt to codify the spiritual experience into a method or attribute meaning to it escapes me, especially if that attempt is with any idea of then reproducing that experience within ourselves or another-worse yet, to validate the experience. Whether in New Age or traditional beliefs, systematizing the Ineffable is the core of depersonalizing and therefore devitalizing your connection.

Religion is the best way to avoid a religious experience. -Joseph Campbell

Meaning seems often to be defined as that which the conscious mind/ego-mind can analyze/qualify and re-express into words that can be understood by self and another. In our scramble for meaning and/or understanding, we should be certain not to underestimate the importance or the value of pure experience-that which sometimes cannot be captured in "meaning" and defies conscious understanding.

The heart has no need of meaning. It feels; it experiences. The spirit has no interest in meaning-it simply IS experience. These two vital aspects of our existence cannot be appropriately explained/analyzed/qualified by conscious mind.. The Ineffable can be alluded to by words. But the true essence of the reference cannot be conveyed, only lived and incorporated into our being. We then become the only true expression to that which we are attempting to represent in words. The mystics of every conviction have always known this. The words/doctrine of their belief system were the launching platform of their experience, but was not allowed to confine their personal experience or connection with the Source.

Verse 1 -Tao Te Ching
The way of the word is not the Way

Words are simply too inefficient to precisely convey the actual experience of something like bliss. Any semblance of conveyance is merely the listener/reader revisiting their personal experience of bliss-or their preconceived idea of bliss-and assuming that is what was intended/expressed by the words. Meaning and method are crafty contrivances of the conscious/ego mind. It is a manner of naming/categorizing. Not always, but quite often "meaning" can be a distraction from or method of avoiding the experience itself.

Words used with the intention or accepted as an explicit conveyance of the spiritual provide a situation of mistaking the map/representation of the landscape for the landscape itself. Explicit conveyances (i.e. "this is THE truth") seem often to have been inspired by a true connection with the Absolute, but became bound by the attempt to define that connection with words/meaning, and what we have been left with is often little more than the sarcophagus of the original spirit. However, I would not say that any use of words to represent the spiritual is an inherent problem. I am inclined to believe that the symbolic use of poetry or fiction can be the catalyst to a shared connection. This is the same nature of a Zen koan, something unintended to contain truth, but rather to shake the mind free from any attempt to seize the "map" as reality in order to awaken an awareness of the true landscape.

...those profound truths of life...can't be transferred from one person to another with words but can only be genuinely known through one's connection to the collective unconscious. In this sense, we can only learn what we already know at the unconscious level.-Robert A. Johnson, Inner Work

As for the meaning of communion with the spiritual, meaning is the domain of understanding, and spirit surpasses all understanding.

copyright 2008 CG Walters

Words do not contain truth, but may reflect the truth that you hold within.
This is my truth. Only you can determine if there is any value in it for you.

C.G. Walters’s current novel, Sacred Vow is a metaphysical novel about a man who responds to the mysterious call of a woman, opening the way to redefinition of both himself and his understanding of the world around him…Highly recommended. —Midwest Book Review.

In celebration of CG’s upcoming non-fiction book, **Strike a Chord of Silence, for a limited time autographed/signed copies of Sacred Vow are available for $4.00US plus shipping!– or purchase as ebook or the Amazon Kindle version

This copyrighted article may be freely reprinted as long as the entire article and complete by line is included, without additions.

There is a story of a woman in India who was upset that her son was eating too much sugar. No matter how much she chided him, he continued to satisfy his sweet tooth. Totally frustrated, she decided to take her son to see his great hero Mahatma Gandhi.

She approached the great leader respectfully and said,

Sir, my son eats too much sugar. It is not good for his health. Would you please advise him to stop eating it?"

Gandhi listened to the woman carefully, turned and spoke to her son,

Go home and come back in two weeks."

The woman looked perplexed and wondered why he had not asked the boy to stop eating sugar. She took the boy by the hand and went home.

Two weeks later she returned, boy in hand. Gandhi motioned for them to come forward. He looked directly at the boy and said,

Boy, you should stop eating sugar. It is not good for your health."

The boy nodded and promised he would not continue this habit any longer.

The boy's mother turned to Gandhi and asked,

Why didn't you tell him that two weeks ago when I brought him here to see you?"

Gandhi smiled,

Mother, two weeks ago I was still eating sugar myself."

Gandhi lived in such integrity that he would not allow himself to give advice unless he was living by it himself.

This is a worthy summer reflection for those of us who give advice to others in the name of educational change.

pete

Note: I will be away for the next week camping at the beach. No electricity. No cell coverage. My best wishes to all for a peaceful and restful week.

Very LOUD helicopters!

Directly overhead! Going over our unit now!

Pilgrims now preparing for a night of prayer and vigil there....and it is very cold at night here.

And another!

And another!

9.13pm

And another!

As the sun sets
On battlefields
I hope you can save me
I hope you can save our wounded hearts

And distance (creation)
Makes my heart (eternity)
Go colder (enough for this to end)
And distance (creation)
Makes my heart (eternity)
Seem older (for you)
It's just enough to cut the air
From your lungs (from your lungs)

As the sun sets (we push and pull apart)
On battlefields (enough for this to end)
I hope you can save me (from our selves)
I hope you can save us from ourselves

Denial (forever)
In the arms of (we're stuck in here)
Of our saviours (enough for this to end)
And my heart (fills up with)
Is torn (into)
Into pieces (for you)
Its just enough to cut the air
From your lungs (from your lungs)

As the sun sets (we push and pull apart)
On battlefields (enough for this to end)
I hope you can save me (from our selves)
I hope you can save us from ourselves

With paper cuts
And bloody hands
In the middle, they would meet

With paper cuts
And bloody hands
In the middle, they would meet

(as the sun sets)
(as the sun sets)
(as the sun sets)

Haven't heard this song/hymn for years....Father We Adore You

By the way CJ left us after he ate...hard for him to take the service after all the inconvenience. He appreciates the history but cannot take the actual.....

8.44pm ...wait....that is .... silence...absolute silence.... that was wonderful....only sound was my husband snoring.......oh and just heard the helicopters within the silence

Also talking about how the interfaith leaders ...Muslim Jewish Buddhist etc etc came to the party [met with the Pope] yet the Dean of St Andrews Anglican Cathedral was spewing intolerance... almost religious superiority in the SMH online the other day.

Of course that could have been taken out of context...the full interview is there on video which I have not watched, of course he had already made his position clear in May this year.

Lighting candle made from wax from candles used in places all over the globe  .....the light of the world.....now twelve young people from Oceania lighting candles [torches]

Amazing dance and singing .....looks and sounds a bit like Guy Sebastian but is not....while the cross is being brought in by many young people.

Okay...fabulous costumes for all my yellow crafters

7.15pm Pope Benedict walks onto the stage [?]

Our children are our most important legacy to the world. However, our love is our most important legacy to our children. Here are seven ways to show love that will help children build sturdy foundations for the future.

1. Spend Time with Your Children.

Time is the most loving gift we can give to our children. It allows for the mutual exchange of ideas, emotions, actions, and words that help our children develop and learn to communicate.

Enjoy a toddler's tea parties as well as a teen's ball games. Help your children build things and create art. Begin new family traditions that you can enjoy together each year. Ample time spent in mutually enjoyable activities will create memories you will always treasure.

2. Be the Primary Role Model for Your Children.

Children need examples to follow. Teach practical values to your children by modeling those values. Admit when you have made a mistake and apologize. Model being committed to the ideals you embrace. Demonstrate the advantage of integrity over peer pressure.

We teach and influence children more through actions than words. We are our children's first heroes; the ideals that we live today are the ideals that will influence our children throughout life.

3. Listen to Your Children.

A child's message is one of his or her most essential gifts. We build self-esteem in children when we show interest in what they have to say. Children need to communicate their pride of accomplishment as well as their needs.

Get down at eye level with very young children and listen with your eyes, ears, and heart. Listen most of all to the feelings conveyed through a child's eyes and expressions. If you listen to your children deeply, they will grow up listening deeply to you.

4. Provide Your Children with Loving Discipline.

Children need guidelines and safe boundaries without being constrained unnecessarily. They need to learn the value of being accountable for their choices and actions.

Let your children know that you disapprove of hurtful actions but will always love them as sons and daughters. Loving discipline enables them to recognize the best in other people. It allows children the freedom to explore the world safely and reach their highest potential.

5. Give Your Children Encouragement.

Encouraging words are powerful emotional deposits of confidence and self-esteem. Verbally acknowledge your children's special talents and accomplishments. Catch your children doing something great, and tell them what a great job they have done.

Children need to know that we recognize and support their hopes and dreams for the future. Encouraging children to grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually provides the foundation for living a balanced life.

6. Share Your Experiences with Your Children.

We each have valuable stories to tell, unique maps of our journey through life. These stories tell how our reactions to events created the life we are living now. Sharing the benefit of your experiences — the roadblocks and rewards — is a very loving way to guide your children.

Your children may face many of the situations you faced. Your experiences can help them make informed decisions and avoid unnecessary mistakes. Among the most worthwhile possessions that we can someday leave for our children are journals filled with the stories that shaped our lives.

7. Love and Support Your Children Unconditionally.

Love is an unconditional gift from the heart; it is not a reward for good behavior. Let your children know that you will love and support them in any situation. This message creates a sturdy bond of trust. Your children will grow to feel safe in coming to you with any problem they face.

Children need the freedom to make decisions, try new things, and learn that life requires personal responsibility and persistence. They need the freedom to fail and learn from mistakes without being judged. Unconditional love helps them to acquire the decisiveness and resiliency required to become successful.

If you could sum up all of our children's needs, hopes, and expectations in one word, that word would be love. We share love when we play a central role in our children's world of learning and discovery. Our legacy of love will have a guiding influence upon our children and grandchildren for many generations.

About The Author © Copyright 2005 by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve is a professional life success coach, motivational author, and the editor of Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, a popular mini-zine bringing great stories, motivational nuggets, and inspiring thoughts to help you achieve more in your career and personal life. Get the next issue by visiting http://www.AchieveEzine.com

Had a brief thought that I should be praying for safety as we are really close here....in the midst so to speak

Sky news is replaying Ray Martin's wonderful interviews from Super Thursday which my guys missed so that is great.....hop e some of the money raised here goes toward the places mentioned here...scholarships for disadvantaged youth etc

Whoops here goes the demon helicopter again..should not say that it might have the Pope on it....its gone quiet....wonder whats happening out there....Amazing Grace being sung on Skye by a disadvantaged aboriginal boy...what a voice....and Ray has still got it

When a baby giraffe is born, it struggles for several minutes to get on its feet.  The mother giraffe helps the newborn become steady on its long limbs upon its arrival into the world.  Shortly thereafter however, she takes on a different role - one that is equally protective.

She hovers over her offspring, and uses her feet to kick the calf to the ground.  Each time the newborn gets up, she knocks it back down.  This instinct is used to protect the young animal from predatory species.

There is no greater lesson in life for us - to develop the strength and courage to stand back up - no matter how many times we fall.

Watch this rare footage of a baby giraffe in Rome, Italy: 

[Photo]

You Tube [Source]

Policemen at the end of our road

Barricades at the end of our road

Palpable excitement outside as pilgrims and others walk down th ehill to the racecourse

Update....took me 20 minutes to upload that....

Blogger Liz Strauss has invited her readers to participate in an intriguing challenge: Put 25 words of advice or wisdom in a blog post. Having just come off a challenge to write 50 thousand words, I thought I could manage twenty-five. Twenty-five words is easy.

Smoothing her skirt and straightening her shoulders, the young woman faced the door to the boardroom, took hold of the knob, and entered with confidence.

To her surprise, the room erupted with applause: clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.

See? Easy.

But twenty-five words with meaning? That’s the challenge. Liz’s own offerings ring true, like insightful poetry. So I found myself pondering the subject for days, wondering what I could say.

Today, reading others’ creations, it came to me how much they resemble Twitter posts. And that reminded me of a moment of enlightenment I recently experienced—which I Twittered. I looked it up, added three words, and here it is:

It’s not enough to have, you also need to hold.
Whether love, talents, or possessions—
Love must be enjoyed,
Talents and possessions used.
Take action.

mousewords is moving to its own site soon--Subscribe here!
© 2008 Christine Taylor

OMG !!

Firstly!! 

I'd like you to meet my friend Gerry aka as Chole Poems. Gerry is one of my best friends and I would go as far as saying he is one of the people in my life that has taught me the most ,and got me to look at who Diane really is - in such a free inspiring way. We've taught each other so very much through our pain. No ! Actualy I have lots of people who teach me things - I'm very teachable. Gerry taught me stuff in a different way.

I have so much fun with this man. When I met him he blew my mind. I couldn't believe how quick and witty a human being could be - just off the top of his head. OH! The stuff that this wondeful man comes out with is.... I don't feel I have words to match his own to describe his talents so I better not say. I don't want to insult him. In fact - I have my moments to and I couldn't believe how I could keep up with him. Sometimes I could meet him on the role. I amazed myself.

I just want to say I love this man from all the senses and emotion one can I. I adore this man, I respect this man and if I didn't have him in my life, If I had never found this man - my life would no way be as full and as alive and as free for want of a better word. The conversations that Gerry and I have had are real, true, painful, loving, intense, inspiring, beautiful, wounding and healing - there just everything I need in a conversation.

You know !!

He has a poem called 'Life', my daughter Kerri was doing a presentation at work one day and she was asked to do a ten minuite kinda act/show. I don't know what they bloody do at work nowadays, she was doing something anyway. She wanted to speak Chole's words - Gerrys words. We searched this house high and low but couldn't fine it. We were crazy looking, We hunted. Unfortunatly we never found it and didn't put the effort in to ringing. Liz to get it. Never mind. Next time. Liz is Gerrys manager. she was, I don't know if she still is. She's his best friend anyway.

Well !!

The reason I have put this clip here is :

My blog friends are American and I wondered what he had to say, as the title had 9/11 appeared in it. I was drawn to look obviously , my friend really does use freedon of speech.  

Anyway !!

To my amazement, my absoulte amazement, he recietes my favourite poem of his. I have to put this video here and I'm so sorry if it's going to offend any-one. I am a spiritual person and Gerry is but I thought this poem was absoutly fucking amazing. It's called I wanna be fucked by Jesus.

I have actualy read this poem to a priest when I worked in the prison. I read it to the prison priest - he was never the same with me again. Hey Ho! When I read it to him his reply was ; ' He must be a very angry man' Hehe!! Fuck the priest, that's what I say, Oups ! Sorry.

I wanna fuck the priest. hehe!!

My daughter and I used to read this poem to each other when she was 11 She loved it to. When we had visitors she would always ask me to read the poem to them. hehe!!

So !!

How wondeful and not very strange that I find my favourite poem in the way I did. ( always magic and beauty ). It was the title 9/11 and Annies pictures that got me to this post.

Gerry is coming to visit me with another one of my best friend Liz. OMG ! Do I love Liz. I have to say, I think that Liz is my most favourite person ever. OMG ! I have put that woman through some shit. My addiction encompassed on her life for a little while and brought this woman so much pain. All's she did was love me and give me a home, she deserved none ot it.

It was so hard for my friends when I relasped, so hard for me. They'd never seem me using. I'd been clean for a lot of years.Liz actualy became mother to my son for four weeks as I tryed to dettox in some mental hospital. This woman took full responsibility for my son for four weeks. Four weeks of Jack. I love this woman, she loves me - we both know that.

It got very painful for both of us, an act of desperation on my part brought me to abusing my best friend kindness, I broke her heart, I broke my heart. That act got me into a treatment center the next day.

Liz and Gerry are coming to visit me soon. We've not spent time together for over fours years now. I have so much beauty to share, so much love to give them and I have  to share me and my personal achievemnet to. I've been clean for a good few years now and I want to share my spirit with them.

Liz and Gerry supporetd me when I was dying. They saw death. I can't wait for them to see life. I am actualy dying but just in a differernt way now. We're all dying arn't we. Thats what gives us life.

For Liz and Gerry and Darling Chloe and Me.

I love us.

Always.. No matter what

Di X

Study the Bible to be wise; believe it to be safe; practice it to be holy.

Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.

Most books fill a place in your library. This one [the Bible] fills a place in your life.

What makes the difference is not how many times you have been through the Bible, but how many times and how thoroughly the Bible has been through you.

The Bible grows more beautiful, as we grow in our understanding of it.

When I was in college (yeah, you know you like to drop that line every now and then too), I did a semester-long project where my professors compiled for us a list of several contemporary individuals and groups that they felt were innovators and leaders in their respective fields. The project was to take the artists, create a fake event or happening or concert or whatever, as long as it included a poster, a ticket, and a direct mailer/postcard. It was extremely open-ended which forced us to do a MASSIVE amount of research to find something that was unique, and true to that artist. We dug deep, son... so deep... deep as the abyss...

The list included such beasts as:

• film director Michel Gondry, 
• designer/art director Tibor Kalman, 
• dance troupe Project Bandaloop (youtube them...bananas), 
• fashion designers Victor + Rolf, 
• architect Zaha Hadid, 
• film director Pedro Almodovar, 
• designer/art director Stephan Sagmeister, 
• writer Paul Auster, 
• fashion designer Walter Von Beirendonck, 
• designer/thinker Bruce Mau, 
• and a few more... 

I can't believe I remember them all. Well maybe because I had to hear and see their names every single day for 4 months... and at the end of the semester, everyone did a 10-15 minute presentation or whatever on their artist or group... Eventually I had gone back and done my own research in my spare time on most of them. It was really a good look on my Professors' parts because they definitely schooled us to some new shit that most of us weren't hip to at the time. If you have a couple of days, look these artists up, they're really amazing. Sorry, but I was too lazy to make links, plus...no one made links for me back then!!! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeett.......

Back to my point...

So the artist who's number I drew out of a hat was the legendary David Byrne.... Well, at the time, he wasn't the LDB to me, he was just that guy that sang in the Talking Heads. I actually had no idea why the hell he was on the list, minus the band... I had a whole semester to find out.

Long story short...

Started my research as most would...online. Found out about his music-Talking Heads (that's all I listened to for like 3 months straight on my ipod), Brian Eno collabos, solo joints,  'world music' ventures, etc... I bought some cds, downloaded some hot traxxx, found out he started the label Luaka Bop Records, etc... Learned about his fine art projects and gallery showings... He did all of this while being photographer-slash-writer-slash-video director-slash-everything else on the side... Dude had his plate full-and was hungry at that. 

Anyway so that was that... the project lead me to a new favorite band, a bunch of books on David Byrne, a new way of appreciating an artist's body of work, a not-so-awesome-anymore project, and something to blog about 4 years later...

But really, I'm still a HUGE fan (NPI/NH) of Mr. David Byrne... big enough to revisit him here. 

Originally, the whole point of this post was just to post a couple of images and talk about his book The New Sins, but it's late. I'll just hit y'all off with some links...

LiNk bLaSt!!!

1. www.davidbyrne.com - The New Sins, suggested reading 1 & 2

2. www.davidbyrne.com/radio/index.php  <- Doesn't matter what kind of music you're into... he covers almost all of it except for hip-hop, but that would be corny anyway if he did. His current playlist called "Avant-Pop" includes James Pants, Lykke Li, Bat for Lashes, SantoGold, Chromeo, CocoRosie, MGMT, etc...

3. www.luakabop.com <-- Os Mutantes, Nouvelle Vague, etc...

4. MORE LINKS!! <-- My easy way out of thinkin' n' linkin'....

I'll stop here because at this point I feel that I'm sharing too much.

Gotta keep some for myself!

Peace!

BV

There is a true story that is not well known in the world about a hero.  He was a member of the clergy who served his ministry in a remote part of the world. His heroism came about because of his integrity during a period of extraordinary circumstances.  His name was Jesus Baza Duenas.  He was known in the island of Guam simply as Father Duenas.

Born on the island of Guam in 1914, young Jesus grew up under a very Roman Catholic Spanish tradition.  Like many young native Chamorro boys in Guam, the enjoyed the carefree island lifestyle with the strong extended family culture. It was an idyllic setting away from the troubles of the world.

When he completed elementary school, he was sent to the Philippines where he entered the seminary to study for the Priesthood. This was a great honor for his family and for Guam. He became the second native Chamorro to be ordained a Catholic Priest.

After his ordination, he was assigned to Guam under the direction of Bishop Miguel Olano, the last Spanish Bishop of Guam.  Duenas was posted in the village of Inarajan at St Joseph’s Church.

He quickly gained a reputation as a priest known for his kindness and love for the people in his parish and in southern Guam.

His popularity and independence were so strong that when the Japanese invaded Guam in 1941, they saw him as a threat and put him under constant surveillance. He was made Pro-Vicar of the church when Bishop Olano was removed to Japan as a prisoner of war.  Olano had instructed to Duenas to defend the Chamorros against the Japanese.

Father Duenas was determined to advocate the needs of the local people in terms of food, shelter and medicines.  He would meet often with the Japanese military to negotiate items.

Behind the scenes he did what he can to destabilize the Japanese by encouraging the native people to disobey the Japanese wherever possible. Duenas knew the United States would be back to reclaim its territory one day.

More significant that all of this effort was how Father Duenas was fearless in keeping faith alive among the people.  He would often ride his famous white horse to remote areas of the jungles and other areas to hold masses, bless people, babies, crops.

"There was a time when one of the Japanese soldiers told him, ‘You know there is no way you can leave this place,’ and he said ‘I want you to move.’ He was almost beheaded at that time and he said ‘Just move, please, because I need to do what I need to do.’ And the soldier didn’t want to. He got down and he just scuffed the guy away, and he got up on his horse and he went on."  (http://www.pacificworlds.com/guam/memories/memory3.cfm)

The Japanese were do paranoid of his power, that sometimes they would hold a gun to his head throughout an entire mass.  They even brought two Japanese Catholic priests into Guam to try to lessen his influence.

His popularity grew stronger.

Finally, the Japanese started accusing Father Duenas of assisting in hiding a U.S. Navy man on island named George Tweed  (  who hid in Guam for nearly two years). These accusations led them to take Duenas through several series of public meetings.

These beatings did not break the Chamorro spirit.  It strengthened it and made them loved their priest even more.

Father Duenas never wavered in his commitment to not give any information to the enemy.  Then the following happen: 

“On July 8, 1944, the Japanese police went to Inarajan and arrested Father Dueñas and his nephew, Attorney Edwardo Dueñas, for not informing them about Tweed's whereabouts.  They were interrogated and tortured. After three days of torture, Father Dueñas was offered a possible chance to escape.  He refused, telling the men who hoped to aid him, "You must know what would happen to our families if we escape. I'm positive the Japanese will retaliate against them. Go look after you families. God will look after me. I have done no wrong."

In the late hours of July 11, the police gave up and put Father Dueñas and his nephew in the hands of the Kaikuntai--the execution squad.  Father and his nephew were taken to Tai in Chalan Pago.  Minutes before sunrise, Father Jesus Baza Dueñas was beheaded.  He was 30 years old.” (http://www.fatherduenas.com/history.htm)

On the site that Father Duenas was beheaded there now stands an All male Catholic High School named in his honor.  That school has produced many of Guam’s Governors, Congressmen, and business leaders.

His martyrdom is more than one of faith; it was one for the people- his people- the Chamorros.  Against a powerful enemy, he stood up armed only with faith and conviction. 

This hero from Guam is really a hero for the world.  He is Father Jesus Baza Duenas.

Dalam level action, kecerdasan daya tahan mental merupakan salah satu faktor penting yang berpengaruh untuk kesuksesan seseorang dalam mewujudkan mimpinya (cita-citanya), seseorang tersebut harus tahan banting dalam melakukan action-actionnya agar mimpinya (cita-citanya) bisa terwujud. Diantara beberapa hal yang termasuk dalam kategori kecerdasan daya tahan mental adalah ; mental pantang menyerah, mental tidak mudah putus asa, mental pantang mundur, mental tidak merasa puas sebelum mencapai impiannya terwujud, mental nyaman berada pada zona yang tidak nyaman (zona tantangan), mental perubah yang tidak mau berada secara terus-menerus berada dalam keadaan stagnasi, mental pendobrak bahwa dunia harus mengikuti mimpinya bukan sebaliknya, semangat dan spiritnya terus menyala untuk mewujudkan mimpi-mimpinya (cita-citanya).

Namun agar tidak membabi buta, maka kecerdasan daya tahan mental / kecerdasan kehandalan mental / adversity quotient (AQ) perlu diimbangi dengan kecerdasan lainnya yang kita miliki yaitu Physical Quetient (PQ), Intelligence Quotient (IQ), Emotion Quotient (EQ) dan Spiritual Quotient (SQ) sebagai satu kesatuan yang untuh 5 kecerdasan yang dimiliki oleh manusia.

Lalu dalam level mimpi (level quantum) apakah juga dibutuhkan kecerdasan daya tahan mental ???

Awalnya kehidupan manusia dimulai dari mimpi, dalam kisahnya di surga Adam merasa kesepian sehingga bermimpi memiliki seorang pendamping yang akhirnya oleh Tuhan diciptakanlah Hawa sebagai pendamping yang diambil dari tulang rusuknya Adam. Dan sudah diketahui bahwa Tuhan tergantung persangkaan hambanya, atau dalam istilah lain all in the state of mind, we are what we think, atau we are what we feel, atau ada pendapat ahli yang mengatakan bahwa imajinasi lebih kuat daripada ilmu pengetahuan.

Demikian juga adanya kita karena adanya mimpi ayah dan ibu kita, menikah (termasuk hubungan seksual) adalah mimpi global manusia, karena kita dikaruniai dorongan seksual oleh Tuhan sehingga lahirlah kita yang sebelumnya kita hanyalah merupakan mimpi kedua orang tua kita, mimpi kedua orang tua kita adalah membina sebuah rumah tangga yang dilengkapi oleh kehadiran anak-anaknya melalui hubungan seksual. Pada awalnya mimpi kedua orang tua kita adalah membentuk keluarga yang tenang, penuh cinta kasih, penuh kasih sayang, bahagia dan sejahtera (sakinah, mawaddah, warahmah), namun dalam perjalanan waktu mimpi tersebut akan menghadapi berbagai ujian, cobaan dan godaan. Nah seberapa besar kecerdasan daya tahan mental yang dimiliki kedua orang tua kita dalam mensikapi segala persoalan hidup ???, jawabanya dikembalikan kepada beliau berdua dalam mendayagunakan 5 kecerdasan yang sudah dikaruniai oleh Tuhan.

Jadi dalam level mimpi pun kita harus mendayagunakan 5 kecerdasan yang kita miliki terutama kecerdasan daya tahan mental agar kita tidak kehilangan fokus dalam mimpi, agar kita tidak mudah terombang-ambing oleh mimpi kita yang mudah berganti-ganti, sebab kalau dalam level mimpi (level quantum) kita tidak konsisten, tidak komitmen, tidak istiqomah, tidak ada fokus, yang menyebabkan kita tidak memiliki keyakinan yang bulat, maka di level action kita juga akan mudah ikut terombang-ambing mengikuti level mimpi kita, bahkan kita juga bisa terombang-ambing terbawa oleh mimpi orang lain yang lebih kuat mempengaruhi kita.

Jadi dalam level mimpi kita sangat membutuhkan kecerdasan daya tahan mental, mimpi pun butuh mental pantang menyerah. Agar kita fokus, komitmen, konsisten dan istiqomah terhadap mimpi kita, sehingga muncul keyakinan yang bulat dan di level action mental tersebut akan terbawa terus sehingga antara mimpi dan action menjadi satu kesatuan yang harmonis.

Untuk itu marilah kita membangun mimpi yang positif sehingga action kita juga positif, jika seluruh bangsa Indonesia memiliki mimpi yang positif untuk membangun bangsanya, kemudian fokus, konsisiten dan komitmen pada mimpi positif tersebut maka akan menjadi action positif yang sangat dahsyat, walaupun saat ini kita hanya baru bisa melihat setitik cahaya, namun jika masing-masing kita terus pantang menyerah berada dalam mimpi yang positif maka suatu saat akan terbentang kilauan cahaya yang menyinari seluruh hidup bangsa kita.

Marilah kita mempunyai mental pantang menyerah dalam memimpikan menjadi seorang entrepreneur, sekurang-kurangnya kita memilki jiwa entrepreneur dengan latar belakang profesi apapun dan memulai dari sekecil apapun semuanya akan berdampak pada action kita, sehingga dalam kondisi apapun kita akan tetap fokus, konsisten, komitmen dan istiqomah terhadap mimpi (cita-cita) kita.

Jika perasaan dan pikiran kita selalu positif dan yakin bahwa hidup ini indah, hidup ini penuh dengan solusi, hidup ini penuh dengan kebahagiaan, hidup ini penuh dengan keberlimpahan, kemudian kita fokus dan komitmen untuk mewujudkannya, maka di level action perasaan dan pikiran tersebut akan menjadi magnet yang menarik kita untuk mewujudkannya dan Tuhan akan mewujudkannya untuk kita seperti Tuhan menciptakan Hawa untuk Adam.

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