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minervacasterly · 4 years

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Tudors, the Masters of Propaganda: When the Pen is Mightier than the Sword

The biggest winners of royal history because as far as European dynasties go are the Tudors. Let’s face it. There’s been no dynasty or group more successful in rewriting and shaping the modern world as the Tudor clan. “The story of our past is open to interpretation. Much of British history is edited and a deceitful account of events … The sooner you do a little digging, you discover it is a tapestry of different stories, woven together by whoever is in power at the time.” (Lucy Worsley in “British History’s Biggest Figs) ^This! How we see history is in accordance to our politics. Her first episode focuses on deconstructing the wars of the roses, presenting the facts and the different accounts that have come up of the men and women involved in this conflict, leaving the viewer to decide what might have likely happened. In regards to the Princes, in other pages I administer, some have said that it would be good to have the bodies that were found in the Tower of London examined to find once and for all who ordered their deaths. But assuming that the crown allows for DNA testing, allowing the world to finally know if they are the Princes in the Tower or not, supposing they are, it wouldn’t provide us with an answer. Like with Richard III, science would tell us how they died -and offer us an accurate description (based on facial reconstruction) on how they looked- but it wouldn’t tell us who kill them. Unless we were to discover a letter of Richard, Margaret Beaufort or any other suspect, declaring their guilt, the Princes in the Tower will remain one of history’s greatest cold cases. What is undeniable though is that the Tudors were crafty in making the people believe that they were chosen by God to rule over England. There were prophecies by the Welsh, made up ancestry, and of course a wedding that was promoted as the union between Lancaster and York that would put an end to the war and bring forth a dynasty that would last forever. “The line between fact and fiction often gets blurred.” (Lucy Worsley in “British History’s Biggest Figs) It’s true. Often fiction becomes the new history. Most of the times, it is because we have great storytellers who give us a simpler version that isn’t too complicated or convoluted, that it is easier for us to accept. The wars of a roses a turbulent period but it wasn’t chaotic. People were tired of civil war, and it might be one of the reasons why they were ready, after Henry VII put many rebellions down, to accept their new overlords. Not only that but fast-forward to the sixteenth century when religious tensions were at an all-time high, when there was divisions among Catholics and even Protestants, the Tudors were more desperate than ever to solidify their power. Henry VIII needed a son to secure a dynasty that many abroad still questioned its legitimacy, while also a tool to make themselves immortal. Henry VIII wasn’t a fan of Protestantism but he liked the idea of Kings being above reproach, subject to no judgment but God’s. Kings were no longer half-divine, in Henry’s mind, English Kings were now completely divine. What their conscience wanted is what God wanted. Going against the King was no longer treason but a sin as well. When Edward VI succeeded his father, his coronation pageant included many religious symbolism, primarily figures of the Old Testament like Josiah and Moses. These powerful visuals were meant to tell the people that their new King was God’s messenger on Earth and that he would turn England into an Evangelical nation. Then there is Mary I. Mary was seen as the great Catholic hope and to some extent she was but she soon proved that she her father’s daughter. And like her father she was determined to be the sole sovereign of her nation. She engaged in theatrics as her mother had done, playing the part of the dutiful wife to her Spanish husband, Prince Philip, King of Naples and Sicily, begging him not to leave, writing to him constantly about how much she needed him. But once he was with her, she proved that she was more like her Tudor ancestors than their Spanish ones. Mary was also compared to religious figures. These matronly figures helped her justify her reign before her subjects who weren’t used to the idea of female monarchy. When her friend, cousin and Archbishop of Canterbury, Reginald Pole, advised her to return Church lands to the Church, she pretended not to listen. Those lands had benefited many powerful subjects she didn’t wish to antagonize, not to mention that some of those lands were now in possession of the crown. Would Mary really give them all up after all the revenue they had provided her family? The answer is obviously ‘no’. When she confronted the rebels that were led by Wyatt, she inspected the troops as a King would, and gave a rousing speech, where she said that she was a mother protecting her children from harm, and that she would be ruled by her people rather than by her needs. Mary ended up pardoning many of the rebels but had no mercy for most of their leaders. At the end of her reign despite her efforts to cleanse the Catholic Church in England of corruption and restore a Humanist curriculum in the universities, as well as re-funding some of them; Mary suffered from Protestant propaganda and her own failure which was not giving the kingdom an heir to continue the Tudor line and her religious ambitions. As soon as Elizabeth I got her sister’s reign, she quoted one of the psalms where she said that “this is the Lord’s doing” and “it is marvelous in our eyes”. Curiously, it is recorded that when she said this, she was next to a royal oak, similar to what her ancestress, Elizabeth Woodville, when she reputedly encountered the Yorkinst King for the first time. As always, another Tudor monarch who employed great rhetoric, and used biblical and classical symbols to justify her reign. As she got older, she continued to dress extravagantly. While many people expected her to marry, she chose to remain a Virgin. Nobody knows the full extent of her relationship with her male favorites but given how strict she was with her ladies, it is safe to say that her religiosity wouldn’t have allowed her to be intimate with them. While supporting many Protestant groups overseas, she was quick to dismiss them when they preached about a Republican government. Elizabeth didn’t like this because that meant that the King was no longer close to God, but another public servant who was under strict scrutiny by his people. In various paintings, one can see Elizabeth being led to victory by classical goddesses, being given the sacred fruit. She is their chosen one, the one who will vanquish all of England’s enemies and is closer to God than anyone else. Using her single status, she became a substitute for the Virgin Mary. One whose virtue was no longer mocked but praised. But, in spite of this, Elizabeth I was also a pragmatist and as previously stated, when she found that some of her councilors were leaning towards more radical branches of Protestantism, she confronted them and fought them hard using her best tool: her words. Turning them against one another, and foiling their plans to institute Evangelical measures. When she died, she was hailed as one of the greatest. This is largely due to nostalgia. James VI of Scotland succeeded her becoming James I of England. He and his wife, Queen Anne were jointly crowned on Westminster Abbey. Despite James’ efforts to be a good ruler, people grew disappointed of him and soon began to look towards the past, transforming it into a place of beauty and mysticism. Despite some writers looking down on Catholic Margaret Beaufort and her son Henry VII, and his granddaughter Mary I, they made figures like Henry VIII and Elizabeth I into national icons. Henry VIII’s split from Rome and Elizabeth I’s defeat of the Armada became legend. What they wrote endured for centuries. Some will argue that it endures today, with many people still buying into the myths that these figures wrote about their reigns, proving that nothing is more powerful than propaganda. The pen is truly mightier than the sword. Recommended reading: Tudor by Leanda de Lisle; Wars of the Roses: Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors by Dan Jones; Armada by Garrett Mattingly, Elizabeth I: The Struggle for the Throne by David Starkey, Henry VII by SB Chrimes, Plantagenet Chronicles by Derek Wilson; Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen & The Queen’s Bed: An Intimate History of Elizabeth’s Court by Anna Whitelock; Blood Sisters & Game of Queens by Sarah Gristwood; The Myth of Bloody Mary & Tudors vs Stewarts by Linda Porter; Inside the Tudor Court by Lauren Mackay; The Anne Boleyn Collection by Claire Ridgway; In Bed With the Tudors & Elizabeth of York & The Six Wives and the Many Mistresses of Henry VIII by Amy Licence; Blood will tell by Kyra Cornelius Kramer; Margaret Beaufort by Elizabeth Norton; The King’s Mother by Elizabeth Norton; 1536: The Year that changed Henry VIII by Suzannah Lipscomb; Private Lives of the Tudors by Tracy Borman; The Woodvilles by Susan Higginbotham; The Wives of Henry VIII & Mary, Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser.In terms of documentary, there is the source quoted which comes from the first episode of the new documentary series “British History Biggest’ Fibs” presented by Lucy Worsley.I also recommend her six wives documentary which is currently being shown on PBS every Sunday on the US; Suzannah Lipscomb and Dan Jones’ documentary on the six wives and David Starkey’s documentary on them as well. They also have other documentaries that also focus on the wars of the roses and the Tudor era. Bits and pieces of some of these can be found on YouTube, while others you have to buy or watch if you have subscription on Netflix or Hulu.

#tudors #tudor history #dailytudors

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ageneraltheoryoflove · 3 years

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Modern critics of The Arnolfini Portrait painted by Jan van Eyck are baffled by some of its symbolism, and have engaged in debate about the symbols and meanings behind the double portrait for some time. Many have attempted to analyze these symbols in the context of societal norms of the time, and yet the controversy continues. I propose that there is another, most obvious, though scandalous, and even heretical viewpoint that could settle the debate once and for all.

Erwin Panofsky views the painting as a record of a "marriage by a marital oath, more particularly by joining hands," as the two figures in this double portrait are indeed touching hands in the very center of the image. He assumes the identity of the female figure to be that of Giovanna Cenami, whom a Giovanni Arnolfini living in Flanders at the time did not legally marry until 13 years after van Eyck's painting was completed (Chipps Smith, p. 102-103.) I believe this assumption to be a mistake, because it precludes other possibilities as to the identity of the female figure portrayed by the artist. I do believe that he is correct in the analysis that the painting is a record of some kind of societal contract, akin to a marriage, taking place in the private space of Arnolfini's domicile. I believe it to be more of an allegory to marriage, however, since the historical identity of this female figure remains a mystery, and for all of the historical evidence available, did not exist in live human form at the time that the portrait was painted, in 1434 AD.

Art historian Craig Harbison wrote about The Arnolfini Portrait that, as a wealthy merchant Giovanni Arnolfini was well known for a "pretension to noble status" and that "Arnolfini apparently spent much time courting the Flemish nobility." Harbison comments on the luxurious nature of the couple's dress to support this claim. He relays details of how their dress mimics that of Royalty when he writes, "The somber colors of the man's clothing, dark purple, brown, and black, appropriately mirror the taste of the duke of Burgundy. Cenami's pale complexion is no doubt due to heavily applied makeup favored by courtly women to give a refined impression. Her robe, while not made of particularly costly fabric, has an elegant white fur lining and enormous sleeves decorated with applied dagging." Harbison has overlooked, however, critical details of the female figure's dress that tell of how she is not merely attired luxuriously, but in the exact manner of the Burgundian courtly trends of the time. Isabeau of Bavaria, wife and Queen to Charles VI, was the first woman in recorded history to wear a linen petticoat, and this item was considered the ultimate symbol of luxury and status in her court. Burgundian Ladies, in an effort to display their status, would wear overcoats, the gender neutral houppelande, with cutouts and sleeves designed to give a glimpse of their luxurious linen undergarments. The truncated sleeve of the emerald green houppelande worn by the female figure in The Arnolfini Portrait performs this service perfectly. Yes, it is lined with white fur, as Harbison noted, but more importantly, it shows quite a good portion of the fine linen of her undergarment. Isabeau was also the Queen of wearing high headdresses, particularly heart in shape, and the architecture of palaces was altered to allow ladies of her court ease and comfort in traversing the walkways in their headgear. True to Royal form, the womanly figure that van Eyck portrays in this double portrait is adorned with an elaborate headdress, which accentuates her high forehead. The Burgundian courts valued high foreheads above all other adornments on a noble woman, and the feature was emphasized and valued in portraiture painting of the time. Like the symbol of fertility in gathering the houppelande skirts to one's waistline, the high forehead indicated survival of the plague that had wiped out viable brides of the Royal line. The combination of these details convey to the viewer that the female figure in this painting is of Royal descent, and is likely to continue the Royal bloodline. This figure was painted as if she were nobility, not merely imitating royal descent, and she is declared fertile by her dress. Harbison, like Panofsky, assumed her identity to be that of Arnolfini's future bride, Giovanna Cenami, but I do not believe that she would have worn these styles in exactly this way, having come from the burgher class herself. In fact, Wikipedia states that this marriage was assumed by art historians entirely, and that Arnolfini was never married a second time, as his first wife had deceased before this painting was commissioned.

Why would art historians assume a marriage? I believe it is because they are too literal. Of much debate and mystery is the inscription that the painter placed above the mirror, between the eyes of the two figures, and at eye level in the composition. The inscription reads, "Jan van Eyck was here." It is also situated between the chandelier, which critics claim to represent God, and the mirror, which has been painted in great detail with scenes from the Passion of Christ. Essentially, the artist has placed himself as an authority between the Heavenly and the Earthly realms. Most art historians agree that this inscription is some kind of witness statement, but they cannot agree on what exactly is being witnessed. When I consider that the female figure in this painting is an allegory, a symbol unto herself, of the Burgundian courts and Royalty, I begin to consider that the painter understood that he had been commissioned to document an unprecedented moment in History: the marriage of the burgher class and the nobility. He may have understood that this was a fantasy in Arnolfini's mind, but he also recognized that it was a powerful political statement, and he wanted recognition as offering support to his patron in making this statement. He was indeed an authority to validate the marriage, for as a member of the burgeoning Flemish society of the time, he witnessed the economic exchanges with Royalty and the growing power of the burgher class, quite literally, and on a daily basis.

I believe that it is not an accident that this particular Flemish portrait of the Renaissance has survived, while others have not, for it carries meaning and power of great significance to the evolution of European economics and society. In commissioning Jan van Eyck to paint a portrait of himself marrying Royalty, Giovanni Arnolfini was claiming that his wealth and status as a merchant afforded him the same amount of sovereignty and religiosity of the rulers of the time. This painting documents the beginnings of New Money, and the destruction of the old system, as we saw with the entrenne, where money could not buy power or recognition. The Arnolfini Portrait is so named because it is actually the portrait of one man taking a revolutionary stand in society. The second figure in the double portrait is that of an institution, not an individual person. The allegorical marriage in the painting was conducted in private chambers, an act of defiance in itself, and an official statement that a commoner was procreating with Royalty, with or without sanction. Jan van Eyck was there, and his legacy lives on because he dared to join a contemporary burgher in fighting the status quo. I mean, the strategically placed inscription, which art historians call "odd," rendered him infamous, for centuries, as World War II graffiti can attest. The religious symbols abundant in the painting hint that the commission of this work was indeed sanctioned by a higher authority, a Bishop perhaps, but we lack evidence of this detail, and so the debate continues.

I have no doubt in my mind, however, after reviewing the writings of the aforementioned authors, and others, that Jan van Eyck documented the conception of Modern Capitalism with The Arnolfini Portrait. To take a cue from Vicki Saxon, this painting was more like the Royal Wedding portrait of Harry and Meghan than a Kardashian family portrait. The artist threw in all of those debated symbols of wealth and fertility specifically to inform the audience that they were viewing the birth of a New Age, one resilient with prosperity for the common man, not born to nobility, but married into it by wealth. Jan van Eyck was a master of hyper realistic detail, which was highly valued then and is now, but his genius is in his apparent knowledge of his place in History, as the midwife, or St. Catherine, of the Art World. One need only look to the era of Kilroy to see how the portent of this masterpiece played out. With oil barons buying up noble estates, and the daughters of shipping magnates salvaging the old family name, the Merchant and his Royal Bride were more relevant in the 20th Century than they were in the 15th. Somehow painter and subject were both aware of this, because the state of solemnity that Jan van Eyck painted on Arnolfini's face is so priceless, as he was a visionary looking to a future, centuries and centuries beyond his Worldly grasp. Those unknown figures reflected in the mirror? That is you and me.

Rachel Schultz

Course ARH361U : The Northern Renaissance

Portland State University

Spring 2020

#dark acadamia aesthetic #art in the time of corona #art history #mine #late capitalism #academia aesthetics #chandelier

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chriswantstostartareligion-blog · 5 years

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Why

We are living at a time in which atheism is more prevalent than ever. As science and skepticism rule we rightly question what has been taught to us for centuries.

But religion is essential to happiness.

And no, first off -- I have to make this thoroughly clear right away -- I am not trying to say that happiness is dependent on following a specific set of ethics prayed about in a specific room with a specific man in robes towards a specific direction while saying specific words.

Religion has existed for as long as humans have been distinct from our hairy ancestors and it has manifested in different forms, not always like the religions we see commonly practiced today. But there is a constant theme connecting all widely practiced religions: they inspire happiness, allow individuals to trust and love one another, and resolve existential questions. All people are different; you may or may not find happiness in attending a congregation of like-minded worshipers on some pre-determined schedule, but regardless of your feeling towards organized religions, you need the mental security they provide.

The reality is, as it is in virtually all endeavors -- and as we are seeing through the decline in religiosity in the population of the educated, science-guided world -- there is no easy route to what I want to provide the world. You cannot buy your way into “heaven” (or, rather, the heaven on earth I will later describe), heaven does not reside in a special building, it does not become clear to you through a “pure” lifestyle, nor will rejecting the ones who are not chosen take you to heaven either. These outdated notions of religion are no longer satisfactory.

The aim of my religion is nothing more than to make you wake up each morning excited to live. My aim is to make challenges exciting, pain temporary, and life seductive.

Too many around me are hiding their feelings, guarding their subconscious, embarrassed of their passions, diluting their true selves, and running from uncertainty. I do not present myself as a messiah. I have not emerged from the cave with the message of god, I have not risen from the dead, and I have not completed my 49 days of meditation under the bodhi tree. I am on my own path and I have not completed my goal, but I am already reaping the benefits! I may still hear the voices in my head that tell me I am useless, ugly, stupid, and wrong, but they are yelling from the bottom of a well that falls deeper and deeper every day.

I do not ask you to join me because I need people to fill my perfect society, for there is no new Israel waiting for us. I don’t believe I need to save you all from burning in hell. It is not my god-given mission to convert as many of you as possible. The one and only reason I feel the need to tell others my philosophy is because I would feel greedy if I did not share this wealth with others. It is out of empathy; I want nothing but to inspire the people of the world to become better versions of themselves -- to extend lives cut short by anger, stress, and depression.

#religion #love #spirituality #writing

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fatechica · 6 years

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100 Questions

Whee, I was tagged by @janes-mike and @dancingskygreen! This is a good distraction for while I’m sick, lmao.

1. What is your nickname? Jules or JP

2. How old are you? 34

3. What is your birth month? November

4. What is your zodiac sign? Sagittarius

5. What is your favorite color? Burgundy

6. What’s your lucky number? 1123, if pressed (it’s my birthday, lol)

7. Do you have any pets? I do! I have one cat who’s 15 years old and a curmudgeonly princess.

8. Where are you from? California (the SF area, to be precise, tho I live up in Sacramento, now)

9. How tall are you? 5′3

10. What shoe size are you? 7

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? Ok, so I’m the person who buys shoes but never wears more than, like, 3 pairs ever? So, I have, like, 20 pairs of shoes and my husband gets so mad that I mostly never wear them.

12. Are you random? What does this even mean? No? I feel like I’m too logical to be random.

13. Last person you texted? My friend about how awful my voice sounds rn.

14. Are you psychic in any way? Nope, not in any way, shape, or form.

15. Last TV show watched? Requiem

16. Favorite movie? Empire Records and Pacific Rim

17. Favorite show from your childhood? Out of this World (god, aging myself. does anyone here even know that show?)

18. Do you want children? Maybe? I still don’t know the answer to this question (and, as my mother likes to remind me, the end of my fertile years is coming up, so time may answer that question for me)

19. Do you want a church wedding? Haha, already married and we did not have a church wedding

20. What is your religion? I’m agnostic, but my husband is Buddhist, so...also Buddhist?

21. Have you ever been to the hospital? yes. the last time was when I sprained my elbow so bad I lost feeling in my fingers

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? Haha, NO

23. How is life? Eh? It’s ok rn. I’m sick and I have work tomorrow, but otherwise pretty good

24. Baths or showers? Showers

25. What color socks are you wearing? Haha, socks? LOL, no. It was 100 degrees today and I don’t like having my feet covered even when it’s cold.

26. Have you ever been famous? Nope

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? Yeah, no, no thank you. I like the anonymity

28. What type of music do you like? I’m a musician, so the answer is “everything”. Like, you hit shuffle on my iphone and you’re just as likely to hit Beethoven’s Sonatas as you are Notorious B.I.G. and everything in between. I’m the least partial to country, if I had to pick something I didn’t like (or, at least, don’t often listen to).

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? Yep!

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? Two

31. What position do you usually sleep in? I can’t fall asleep any other way but on my stomach, but I often wake up on my back, which is hilarious since I can’t fall asleep like that at all.

32. How big is your house? idk, normal size-ish? Like, 2000 square feet? We have a large lot, so it feels bigger than it really is.

33. What do you typically have for breakfast? Cereal (I’m a whore for cereal)

34. Have you ever left the country? Yes! Last time was a couple of years ago when the husband and I went to Puerto Vallarta

35. Have you ever tried archery? I have, back in summer camp ages ago (and, also, I could try it again any time I want since my husband does archery and there’s an archery target set up in our backyard. imagine my complete lack of surprise when he came home with 4 hay bales and was like “babe, i’m gonna build a target!”)

36. Do you like anyone? Lol, I’m married, so I sure hope so!

37. Favorite swear word? Hands down, it’s “fuck”. I use it all the time.

38. When do you fall asleep? Around midnight if I’m being good.

39. Do you have any scars? Yeah, I was a really active kid and got in a lot of scrapes and whatnot. My most notable one is the scar on my chin from where I split it open and had to get stitches.

40. Sexual orientation? Pretty straight.

41. Are you a good liar? Fortunately or unfortunately, yes.

42. What languages would you like to learn? I want to learn German and Mandarin, and I seriously need to re-learn Japanese and Spanish (I used to be mostly fluent in both).

43. Top 10 songs? Oh shit, uh...crap. Pass on answering this question unless you want me here all night figuring this shit out.

44. Do you like your country? I’m in America and...in theory, yes. At the moment? NO.

45. Do you have friends from the web? Oh yeah, absolutely!

46. What is your personality type? I’m super extroverted and assertive and headstrong (my MBTI is ESTJ and I have never related to a personality type SO STRONGLY).

47. Hogwarts House? Ravenclaw

48. Can you curl your tongue? Nope

49. Pick one fictional character you can relate to? Um, since most of my friends here are in the ST fandom, let’s go with that and, in that universe, I’d have to say Mike Wheeler. His sense of responsibility and knack of putting everyone else ahead of him is something I relate to so very much.

50. Left or right handed? Left

51. Are you scared of spiders? I have legit arachnophobia.

52. Favorite food? Macaroni and cheese (I’m such white fucking trash)

53. Favorite foreign food? Pho or (and I’m cursing my inability to add accent marks here) Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio, which is vermicelli noodles with bbq pork, eggrolls, veggies, and fish sauce and it’s so good (ok, i’m craving it now) (also, lol, can you tell my husband’s Vietnamese, or what?)

54. Are you a clean or messy person? Dude, I’m messy as fuck.

55. If you could switch your gender for a day, what would you do? Figure out what it’s like to pee standing up.

56. What color underwear? Like, right now, or in general? Because the answer to right now is “nothing” (because i’m in my pjs and i don’t wear underwear to sleep), but in general, black because i don’t like having to match anything.

57. How long does it take for you to get ready? 15-20 minutes

58. Do you have much of an ego? Situationally, yes. Like, when it comes to things I’m good at, oh hell yes.

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? Suck. I have an oral fixation.

60. Do you talk to yourself? All the damn time.

61. Do you sing to yourself? Yep!

62. Are you a good singer? I like to think that I am.

63. Biggest Fears? Spiders and the depth of the ocean (what’s down there?!?!?!)

64. Are you a gossip? Haha, yes.

65. Are you a grammar nazi? Oh yeah.

66. Do you have long or short hair? Medium-ish? It goes right past my shoulders, so I guess on the shorter end.

67. Can you name all 50 states of America? I can.

68. Favorite school subject? Math

69. Extrovert or Introvert? Extrovert!

70. Have you ever been scuba diving? No, but I want to so bad.

71. What makes you nervous? Not being able to live up to expectations.

72. Are you scared of the dark? No, I love the dark. I have really good night vision.

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? All the time. I’m annoying that way.

74. Are you ticklish? Yes, yes I am (unfortunately)

75. Have you ever started a rumor? Nope...at least, not on purpose.

76. Have you ever been out of your home country? Yes!

77. Have you ever drank underage? God, all the time.

78. Have you ever done drugs? Yes, but only pot.

79. What do you fantasize about? Having the freedom to travel and do what I want without having to worry about money.

80. How many piercings do you have? Three on each ear (though I’m planning on getting a cartilage piercing soon).

81. Can you roll your R’s? Lol, I only took 10 years of Spanish, so I certainly hope so.

82. How fast can you type? Pretty fast

83. How fast can you run? Um, I average about a 13 minute mile, so not super fast.

84. What color is your hair? Auburn-red

85. What color are your eyes? Hazel

86. What are you allergic to? Mold and mildew

87. Do you keep a journal? Haha, I gave up that ghost years ago. The closest I get to that is this blog.

88. Are you depressed about anything? Not particularly at the moment (though I suffer from anxiety and that can quickly turn into depression if I don’t watch it)

89. Do you like your age? I do, I think. I can’t say I didn’t wish I was in my late 20s again, mostly because there’s the pressure to have done certain things by the time you’re in your mid-30s (like, have kids and whatnot), but I certainly don’t feel my age most of the time, so *shrugs*

90. What makes you angry? When people aren’t given a fair shot, or unfairly treated. I’m real big on equity of respect and it makes me so angry when I see people getting treated like shit or disrespected (bigots and racists and misogynists really piss me off). In that same vein, people not doing their fair share of the work also really piss me off.

91. Do you like your own name? Yeah, I do. I mean, I’ve had it for 34 years.

92. Did you ever get a foreign object up your nose? thankfully, no.

93. Do you want a boy or a girl for a child? I think, if I have kids, I want a girl.

94. What talents do you have? I’m a fast and adaptive learner and I have a near photographic memory.

95. Sun or moon? Sun.

96. How did you get your name? Ok, I’ve asked this question and the only answer I can get from my mom is “I don’t know, your dad and I just liked the name.”

97. Are you religious? I like to consider myself a spiritual person, but I’m not particularly religious. I’m fascinated by religiosity and tradition and I like participating in religious ceremonies, but I don’t know if I believe in a religion enough to be religious.

98. Have you ever been to a therapist? Yes, I have. I developed anxiety a few years ago and I saw a therapist for a few months to help with my issues.

99. Color of your bedspread? White with blue and turquoise dots.

100. Color of your room? Grey

Alright, then, I tag.... @mikeywheelerr, @formerlyjannafaye, @el-and-hop, and @linachupi

#whee!#this was fun!#i like answering questions about myself #i'm an open book

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mrlnsfrt · 5 years

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Religious or Spiritual?

I am not sure how many of you have wondered about the differences between spirituality and religiosity. Now I understand that not everyone agrees on the definitions of these terms, so I will give you the notion I get from those I have interacted with, this would be my personal working definition of these terms.

To be religious means to align oneself with a specific religion or denomination and its beliefs and culture. The more religious someone is the more they adhere to the norms of their religion or denomination, and these include beliefs, rituals, vocabulary, culture as a whole.

To be spiritual means to have a personal connection with God that goes beyond the religious rituals and formalities. People who consider themselves spiritual life beyond the confines of any specific religious practice, picking and choosing aspects they like from different traditions, denominations, or religions.

With this in mind, I would like to take a look at a parable Jesus told about the kingdom of heaven, then we will address the differences between the two in a bit more depth.

Matthew 13:44

In this very short parable, Jesus describes how the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. In Jesus’ davit was common for wealthy people to bury their treasures. This was a way to keep it from robbers who might come in searching for it, as well as a way to keep it from invading armies as you flee from your home. However, many times it would happen that the person would never return to the home, they would die or be taken as slaves, or get shipwrecked, or forget where exactly they buried their treasure, or they would never get a chance to pass on the information to anyone else, or just not give very good directions.

So every now and again, someone would be plowing their field and discover something odd, something different, that upon closer inspection proved to be a treasure! If you happen to be plowing land that didn’t belong to you, perhaps you were simply paying a fee to use it for a period of time the treasure would not belong to you, but rather to whoever owned the field.

Jesus describes this treasure as having such great value that the person who found it was happy to sell everything he had to buy the field and gain the treasure!

Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field.

The person who was idle, watching Netflix and chilling did not find the treasure.

Sometimes we are tempted to expect spiritual growth, salvation, a great treasure, to find us while we idly waste the precious time we have here on earth. We go through life wanting to be entertained, served, catered to. We want deep insights to come into our minds while we scroll mindlessly through social media. I am not saying that you are watching anything inherently evil. What I am trying to say that at best you're failing to grow.

Here is an opportunity to share some of the dangers I have noticed regarding people who declare themselves to be spiritual and not religious. They tend to stay comfortable. They do what they feel like doing and often tend to be tired, too tired to be involved with any structured ministry. They do the whole God thing when they feel like they need it, they just don't seem to feel like it too often.

The way that I see it, finding a treasure requires luck. By that, I mean that you don't know where the treasure is ahead of time. However, those who are out there plowing the field are more likely to find the treasure. If the treasure is the kingdom of God, a greater understanding of who God is and of His will for our lives. In my life, most of the moments of great insight I had were when I was engaged in what could be described as a religious activity. I was at church, listening to a sermon, or preparing to teach a class, or giving a Bible study. I have also had great insights during my personal devotion time, but even that was developed as a discipline, so I am not sure if it would be considered religious or spiritual, but I'll talk more about this as we go on.

My main point here is that religion when it is doing what it is supposed to be doing places people in a situation where they are more likely to discover the great treasure.

The person who was already wealthy enough and had no reason to work did not find the treasure.

This is a trap that both can fall into. The religious person can trust in their position or status within a religious organization or church and feel like they no longer need to work, to search, to plow, to be involved in mission or seeking personal growth. They may be tempted to believe that because they belong to the club, their membership guarantees them the treasure, that is, the kingdom of God.

In a different way, the spiritual person can also feel no need for any extra effort. She may feel that as long as she is not an evil person she is fine. As long as he is not breaking any laws or hurting anyone his treasure should be guaranteed. The "spiritual" person may feel no need for any further study or involvement with the mission because after all, he is not an evil person, she is not breaking any laws.

The person who feels no need to search and seek and knock will not find the treasure.

Jesus chose to begin the sermon on the mount with blessed are the poor in spirit for a reason.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5:3NKJV

The person who owned the field didn’t realize the true value of the field, didn’t realize the treasure that was buried there.

This is something that I believe the religious people are more likely to fall into. They can feel like they own the field, it is theirs, they know there are treasures buried somewhere, but they are fine owning the field. Meanwhile, someone who recognizes her poverty decides to plow and work the field and finds a great treasure!

The problem with the treasure

We fail to appreciate the treasure. We don't want to sell everything in order to buy the field. That seems too extreme. Because we fail to appreciate the value, the true worth of the treasure, we are unwilling to sell everything to buy the field.

In the time of Jesus, the religious leaders had everything they needed to recognize the Messiah. They had the prophecies, they had the temple and its services, they had history, they had more special revelations from God than any other people on the earth at that time. There was no reason for them to miss the Messiah unless the cost of following the Messiah was too high.

Accepting that Jesus was the Messiah, which there was more than enough proof for anyone honestly searching, meant giving up everything they had worked so hard for. Generations had sacrificed to build the temple, and they fell in love with it, with the work of their hands. The religious leaders had political power, and wealth, and status, and they were willing to follow a messiah that would give them even more of what they had already acquired.

"Thy kingdom come" had become "my kingdom come."

The religion they had built became more valuable than Jesus.

The religious practices became more important than the spiritual lessons they taught. The religious leaders had lost sight of the spiritual significance of their ceremonies. The ceremonies that should have drawn them closer to God and opened their minds to spiritual truths became an end in and of themselves. They began to live and exist for the sake of their religion losing sight of the spiritual growth their religion was intended to foster.

We must always be cautious to continually seek God. To not settle for mere religiosity. Turning completely away from religion can also be dangerous because you are less likely to be held accountable and to be challenged to grow. Religion has its place and is beneficial, so long as it serves the purpose of spiritual growth and the mission of kingdom growth. Religion should help you find the treasure Jesus has for you, but must never be confused with the treasure. Religion is not the treasure, it does not guarantee the treasure, but it should help you find the treasure in Jesus.

So what do you do when you find the treasure?

Are you willing to give up anything that comes between you and the kingdom of God?

Or will you allow tradition and religion to get int he way of what God is calling you to do?

#treasure #decision #luck #spirituality #parable #New Testament

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mideastsoccer · 5 years

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Walking a tightrope: Pakistan struggles to juggle multiple balls

By James M. Dorsey

A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts and Tumblr

Pakistan risks falling off the tightrope it walks as it attempts to balance its relations with rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Developments in recent days, including this weekend’s Baloch nationalist attack on a luxury hotel in the strategic port city of Gwadar and a legal dispute over completion of a gas pipeline against the backdrop of Saudi-Iranian-Qatari competition for the Pakistani gas market, suggest that Pakistan is caught between a rock and a hard place.

The South Asian nation’s seemingly unsustainable tightrope walk is likely to have consequences for the security of China’s massive US$45 billion investment in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a crown jewel of Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative; an approximately US$10 billion planned Saudi investment in a refinery and a copper mine in the troubled Pakistani province of Balochistan; and Pakistani hopes of getting a grip on political violence in a bid to attract further badly needed foreign investment and avoid sanctioning for inadequate counterterrorism measures.

The assault on the highly secured hilltop Zaver Pearl Continental Hotel Gwadar, part of Pakistan’s largest luxury hotel chain, in which four people, including three gunmen were killed, was the second incident since Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and Iranian president Hassan Rouhani last month agreed to step up security cooperation along their 959-kilometre long border.

Many Baloch, members of an ethnic minority on both sides of the border, feel economically disadvantaged and marginalized with a minority harbouring nationalist aspirations. Security-led repressive policies by both Iran and Pakistan have fuelled militancy and offer ample opportunity for manipulation by regional powers.

In an emailed statement claiming responsibility for the hotel attack, Baloch Liberation Army (BL) spokesman Jihand Baloch said this weekend’s attack targeted “Chinese and other investors who were staying at the PC hotel.” The hotel was believed to have few guests because of Ramadan.

In an earlier statement issued last week after an attack on a coal mine in which five people were killed, Mr. Baloch asserted that "Balochistan is a war-torn region and we will not allow any investments until the independence of Balochistan."

BLA operatives have in the past seven months hit various Chinese targets beyond the boundaries of Balochistan, including a convoy transporting Chinese engineers in Karachi and the People’s Republic’s consulate in the city.

Baloch nationalist militancy is not the only problem confronting Pakistani security forces in the strategic southwest of the country. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack last month on a market in the Baloch capital of Quetta frequented by Hazaras, a beleaguered Shiite minority, in which 19 people were killed and dozens injured.

Iran blamed allegedly Saudi and US-backed Balochistan-based Sunni Muslim militants for an assault in February on the Iranian side of the border that killed 27 Revolutionary Guards.

In an apparent bid to build confidence, Mr. Khan admitted during his visit to Tehran that militants operating from Pakistan had attacked targets in Iran but vowed to put an end to that.

Complicating Mr. Khan’s efforts to walk a fine line between Saudi Arabia and Iran and safeguard crucial Chinese and future Saudi investment is the fact that the Trump administration’s stepped up maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic republic is restricting the South Asian nation’s ability to live up to prior commitments to Iran and fuelling Iranian concern that Saudi Arabia is able to influence Pakistani policy.

Jeddah-based Arab News quoted Mobin Saulat, the managing director of Pakistan’s state-owned Inter State Gas Systems, as advising his Iranian counterparts that US sanctions were preventing it from completing the Pakistani leg of an agreed gas pipeline despite statements by Messrs. Khan and Rouhani that they were seeking to enhance connectivity between their two countries.

Iranian suspicion of Saudi covert activity in Balochistan as well as the kingdom’s ability to influence Pakistani policy stems from multiple factors that Tehran sees as indicators.

These include massive Saudi financial assistance to help Pakistan avert a financial crisis, question marks among international oil executives of the economic rationale for the kingdom’s plan to build a refinery in Gwadar, a plan published by a Riyadh think tank calling for the fostering of an insurgency among Iran’s Baloch minority, reports by Pakistani militants of Saudi funding for anti-Shiite and anti-Iranian Sunni Muslim militants in Balochistan, and evidence of broader segments of the Pakistani population buying into Saudi-inspired ultraconservative interpretations of Islam as a result of the kingdom’s decades-long support of religious and cultural institutions as well as media.

Iran’s province of Sistan and Balochistan hosts the Indian-backed port of Chabahar, a mere 70 kilometres up the Arabian Sea coast from Gwadar. A shadowy militant Sunni Muslim group claimed responsibility for a rare suicide bombing in Chabahar in December.

Pakistan scholar Madiha Afzal noted in a just released Brookings report that “Saudi Arabia has succeeded in changing the character of Pakistan’s religiosity in a bid to expand its influence in the Muslim world, and in its mission to counter Iran.”

While US sanctions may have, at least for now, given the death knell to the Iran-Pakistan pipeline, Saudi influence appears to have failed in stopping Pakistan from entertaining a gas deal with Qatar, another of the kingdom’s nemeses, despite an almost two-year old Saudi-United Arab Emirates-led diplomatic and economic boycott of the Gulf state.

Qatar recently lowered the price in a bid for a major Pakistani liquified natural gas (LNG) contract in an effort to outcompete Saudi Arabia, that last month sent a delegation to Islamabad to discuss the South Asian nation’s gas needs.

The competition is about more than commercial advantage. While Qatar sees its gas exports as part of its soft power strategy, Saudi Arabia views the Pakistani contract as part of an effort to establish the kingdom as a major trader and marketeer as it strives to position itself as a significant gas exporter over the next decade.

Pakistan’s ability to maintain its tightrope walk could be further endangered if it fails to convince the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international anti-money laundering and terrorism finance watch dog, that it is doing sufficient to meet the group’s standards.

Pakistan was last year grey listed by the group and risks being blacklisted if it fails to convince FATF in talks later this month that it has substantially improved its controls. Blacklisting listing would significantly curtail its access to international finance at a time that it is seeking a bailout by the International Monetary Fund. (IMF).

Juggling multiple balls is proving to be an increasingly difficult act in which Pakistan may be the country out on a limb but many of its partners have a stake in ensuring that it maintains its tightrope walk.

Dr. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture.

#pakistan #balochistan #iran #China (PRC)#china #saudi arabia #saudi #qatar #Trump #Iran sanctions #iran news #islam #muslims #terrorism

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watchilove · 5 years

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Today I continue my stories about SIHH 2019 with Part 2. If you skipped the first part, you can read it here. I left my story at the preparings for the first day of SIHH 2019. Let’s continue…

The first day of SIHH

Bowties, traffic and parking spaces

The first day can be tricky. You have to be there early enough to pick up your badge without queuing too long, prepare for the first meetings and so on.

So I wake up at 6:30 to get ready. The suit was prepared, the only worries in the morning being reserved for the bowtie. The bloody thing is gorgeous (I like bowties, without being one of the guys wearing one with religiosity, like some of the fellow journalists. No, I will not give names… Who knows, knows…) but so complicated to tie. Especially when you used it just a few times per year.

Preparing for the Salon 20 minutes, arranging the bowtie another 20 minutes, traffic for Monday morning another 20 minutes. Ohhh, I am so much late… But not for what one might expect!

Arriving at Palexpo it is easy, just a few kilometres away and the morning traffic. Finding an empty parking slot in which my car gets in, another story. I usually have two situations: I block one of the sides near a pillar or block both sides by parking in the middle, between two other cars blocking. Why they have so small parking slots? It’s not like they come cheap. I was lucky enough to find a slot close to an emergency exit, so my driver side should remain theoretically free. That was for just 5 minutes until a car parked on the forbidden space. But did not blocked me. I just thought: “Let’s see until the evening”.

Badges, orange juice and Lamborghini

Look OK, parking OK! Now I need to go in… A ginormous queue to get in. The security was checking every bag and every device, just like at the airport. Metal detectors included. “Great, I feel safe!” I do actually agree with the increased security. It gives me a good feeling. With the last events all over Europe, you can never know when someone decided it is the time for you to die.

After the guys have checked to my entire equipment with some untrusty look: “That is yours? Your entire equipment?”, I get to get my badge. I had to choose between the girls, which one should make my badge. I just picked the cutest one and proceed with the papers and stuff. The first badge was an error. Being registered to a later event at IWC made me appear in the system as an IWC guest. But I was an accredited journalist… After another 2 minutes, a full press badge was on my neck.

And now running to the press corner. Why? Because there are less than 200 lockers for more than 1000 journalists. But I was lucky. At around 8 o’clock there were still a few available. The same amount of lockers as of fingers on my hand. So I locked part of the equipment and asked for an orange juice. There was almost an hour to kill until the first presentation. So I have made a quick tour of SIHH and made some photos with my phone to put on Instagram.

Roger Dubuis booth held a Lambo. “Can I take it home? No! Aaaah, just for the show…”

The first conference was held in Auditorium by Roger Dubuis. People from Roger Dubuis and Lamborghini talked about their collaborations. Rather impressive.

Meetings and failures

The first real meeting was with Christophe Claret. Lovely booth, nice timepieces… The new cable fusee is something out of normality. The time display with rubies is a nice touch – I like rubies.

I have met with the Gronefeld brothers. I love those two guys. The new Principia is like an entry level for the brand – in the Gronefeld style.

Then another conference in Auditorium – “The genesis of a new complication” with Christian Selmoni and that girl from Revolution that knows about watches more than I will ever know in my lifetime. You can see the conference here:

I head it to the lockers to pick up the video lights and stands for the interview with Stephen Forsey. What can I say? Prepared everything, did a great interview only to discover after that the camera stopped after one minute. Did I prepare a B-roll? Of course not… So I died a little bit inside… Stephen stormed away from the room. Probably not to kill me ’cause he lost 30 minutes of his time. The perks of working alone.

I managed to photograph the novelties… So it was not a complete waste of time.

The dark clouds and my disappointment were fast away. I had another interview with David Bernard, from Time Aeon Foundation. Lovely time, great discussion. The interview will follow in the next days. Stay tuned for some horrible sound (noisy background) and poorly placed camera. I still have so much to learn.

I ran to the Vacheron Constantin booth to meet the girl from the German press. I promised her we meet for a drink (working drink, you know – business meeting) and I was more than half an hour late. I managed to find her, kind of pissed of. But she was right, I have made her wait in a time and place where there was no time to spare. Thank you, A-M, for understanding. I owe you…

Swiss SIM, German dinner

So after the crazy first day was over. I ran to my car. Paying the 20 CHF for the parking was painful. So again on the Genevan roads to try to get a SALT boutique to buy a SIM card. I was lucky to have one relatively close. I was there 10 minutes before the store closes. I managed to get the desired SIM. The prepay system has unlimited Internet with 2 CHF per day. Necessary to post on media and to keep in contact with my loved ones (roaming was like 5 Eur per 150MB traffic – too much for too less).

Now was the time to meet and greet the colleagues from the German press at a hotel nearby. I will be honest, it was nicer than expected. Nice people, good conversation, good food. Since I was driving, no alcohol.

After the “social duties” were over, I drove back to the hotel to get some sleep. It was already midnight.

The second day of SIHH

The second day was less stressful. A tie, easier to tie than the bowtie, no hurry to get a locker…

Meeting, people & watches

My first meeting was with the girls from Roger Dubuis. Now that I knew them from the German press dinner, everything was quite a pleasure.

The next meeting was with Hautlence. Interesting implementations / variations of an older design.

Some ice to cool a hot day

The booth also hosted the H. Moser & Cie – crazy pieces. “Go green!” sounded in my eyes and ears. I am an avid fan, not only of their watches but also of their campaigns.

Is the year of the green dials?

Is green the colour of this SIHH?

The Piaget press conference amazed me with some gorgeous ladies pieces. Again, green was present in some lady watch and in the Polo.

That mother of pearl… that diamond set…

The Richard Mille was an explosion of colours. A strange thing: I was asked to send the pictures to headquarters before publishing something… To get the approval. Hmmm, forgot to send them so no pictures for you. You got to believe me, it was colourful.

The next appointment was with my close to heart JLC. Not all the pieces were available for me to photograph. But it’s ok…

That tourbillon enclosed by a translucent enamel… Gorgeous!

Audemars Piguet was an interesting stop. I had read some articles and seen some of the videos pre-SIHH and I was curious to see the C.O.D.E.11:59. The watches look much better in reality. Seen straight from above, the dials don’t breath the AP’s individuality. But I am not an expert in AP to judge that.

That sapphire though…

The Girard-Perregaux appointment ended with a tour of the booth and the presentation of the watches. There was, unfortunately, no time to photograph them. I have to tell you: the new perpetual calendar and the Girard-Perregaux Cat’s Eye Plum Blossom – gorgeous pieces.

After the photo session with Piaget (yes, first a presentation and later a photo session), I ran to Vacheron Constantin booth to catch the novelties in my hands. Here, I was again firmly convinced that, for SIHH 2019, there is a battle between green and blue. The new shade of petrol blue from VC is gorgeous.

The new Overseas in an interesting shade of blue

Singer and Krayon

After all the meetings from SIHH were over, I drove to Geneva’s centre to meet some friends. One and a half hours to cover 6 km. The traffic in Geneva is terrible. The only good thing was that I arrived after 7pm and I could park on the street, for free.

A new concept from Singer Reimagined

I got the chance to meet Rémi Maillat and his interesting Krayon. More about that in a separate review.

A white gold case, exquisitely decorated – Krayon Everywhere

My second day of SIHH ended. I was tired, kind of hungry and eager to have some proper conversation with my wife. So I head it to the hotel and tried to rest…

But was not the case. I prepared first some press releases. A lot of brands sent me the PR just after SIHH started. How was I supposed to prepare them? Even copy paste the text and upload the pictures needs at least half an hour…

But enough for today. Enjoy your weekend.

SIHH 2019 Impressions – Part 2 Today I continue my stories about SIHH 2019 with Part 2. If you skipped the first part, …

#sihh 2019

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pitz182 · 5 years

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Alcoholics Anonymous: A Different Perspective

I recently read an essay on another recovery-oriented site, a site whose focus is on people in 12-step recovery yet who are disinclined to religion. The topic was “moments of clarity.” Now, this phrase, for those who have spent years in the 12-step subculture, has obvious connotations. Having the knee-jerk, familiar response to the phrase is one of those cult-like behaviors which make me happy I am no longer an AA member, no longer speaking the lingo nor “drinking the Kool-Aid.” For this free-thinking addict/alcoholic, 60 years old and having spent more of my life in recovery than out, it brought to mind something very different from what was intended. This was a profound and life-changing experience I had, in which the following truths hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks:I am an atheist.Alcoholics Anonymous is a religion, like Christianity and Islam.Such religions tend to impede the development of scientific knowledge regarding natural phenomenon.Alcoholism, addiction, and the process of recovery are entirely natural phenomenon.AA has a very low success rate.Before going on, I should make clear that I am not merely another AA-basher. I am a former long-term member and Alcoholics Anonymous was central in my life for decades. I learned a great deal, much of which I utilize to this day. I also mean no disrespect whatsoever to the author of the original essay, and I apologize for being tangential. I have problems with the “program,” but not with any individual members. My focus is on all those who suffer because, like myself, they are forced to choose between the rock of active addiction and the hard place of joining what is essentially a Christian sect.Alcoholics Anonymous as Religion“If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…”Twelve Steps The chapter We Agnostics is a thinly veiled effort at proselytizing by a devout Christian. Its goal is to use the concept of “open-mindedness” to convince readers to buy into the dualism of old-time religion, with its antiquated belief in the existence of both a natural and a supernatural realm, complete with supernatural entities or “higher” powers. Attaching “as we understood him” to a couple of steps is similarly disingenuous. It is nothing more than a manipulative sales pitch by a professional salesman, one which pales in the shadow of the heavy-handed religiosity of his “12 steps of recovery.” So, for example, in Bill Wilson’s steps you will find: God four times,Him or His four timesPrayer and meditationSpiritual awakening andA power greater than ourselves.Surrender of the personal will, faith in God, confession, prayer and meditation, ultimately even proselytizing and missionary work are promoted as essential attributes of recovery. Here again, the steps promote religious dualism, with its denial of the value of naturalistic, or scientific, knowledge. Even in the 21st century I distinctly recall hearing this erroneous, anti-science perspective espoused in meetings, with god and the supernatural realm presented as the source of all the good stuff, while the natural realm and the animal known as Homo sapiens served as the source of all the bad.Scripture The highlighting, underlining, and prodigious dog-earing; treating the book as a sacred object like the Quran; studying and re-reading, with study groups like the Bible; carrying it everywhere; quoting and citing as if anything between the covers is self-evidently true or “gospel,” so to speak; and the unwillingness to change a word of the first 164 pages: all of these attest to a belief in the Big Book as the kind of scripture or divine word which serves as the foundation for religious traditions like Christianity, Islam, and others. I can recall many times in the rooms when I heard the view that the Big Book was divinely inspired, the ludicrous notion that a supernatural entity was speaking through Bill Wilson when he wrote Alcoholics Anonymous.TraditionRather than seeking knowledge through scientific methodology to gather more and more evidence regarding the factual attributes of successful recovery, AA emphasizes scripture, tradition, and the word of authority figures. These are the criteria that many religions use to justify “knowledge” as they understand it. Ironically, even though America is one of the greatest scientific nations in history, we also suffer a populace which is largely hostile to science and academics. The members of AA comprise a microcosm of this larger population.Faith is NOT a VirtueFaith is claimed to be a virtue, but in the 12-step context it is actually the acceptance of something for which zero evidence, facts, or data exist. That is, the adulation of ignorance, a trait which walks hand-in-hand with America’s mistrust of science and of academics more generally. This approach teaches us to be mistrustful of science, yet obedient and sheep-like with religious authority. The main reference to science in the “first 164 pages” is one line which states that “science may one day cure alcoholism, but it hasn’t done so yet.” Importantly, this one reference is often read sarcastically, with derisive snickers and mocking asides, illustrating a cocky certainty of its implausibility.Authority and ObedienceAs with religions like Christianity and Islam, unquestioned obedience to authority figures is of the utmost importance in Alcoholics Anonymous. We are all familiar with the phrase “take the cotton out of your ears, and put it in your mouth.” In some places this is an actual rule, with newcomers in their first 30, 60, or 90 days advised to only listen. Unquestioned obedience to authority is a major distinction between religious perspectives and secular, humanist, and scientific approaches. The adulation of Bill, of Bob, of circuit speakers and old-timers, of sponsors, the use of quotes as meeting topics, and the current emphasis on temporally-measured sobriety, encouraging both pride and the development of a hierarchy, all convincingly mirrors the religious emphasis upon blind faith and obedience to the words of authority figures.ConservatismConservatism in this context means a profound reticence to change. I believe that the Catholic Church recently apologized to Galileo, only 450 years overdue. Both Christianity and Islam still treat women as if we were living in Biblical times. This intransigence, this resistance to progress, is one of the primary characteristics of Alcoholics Anonymous. AA causes people to become narrow-minded and inflexible, unable to consider new, different, or contrary approaches to treatment methods. When I have broached these subjects with current members, they have consistently become defensive and “circled the wagons.”Religion as Impediment“So what?” you might ask. “So what if AA is a religion?”The problem is, as a result of their fundamental dualistic nature, these types of religions stand in the way of us acquiring knowledge and, in particular, cultivating a more naturalistic, scientific understanding of addiction, alcoholism, and the truly essential attributes of recovery.Problems and SolutionsYou admit you have a problem. Then you find a “spiritual solution.” What do you do? In AA, as with Islam and Christianity, you are discouraged from seeking an alternative solution. You are even encouraged to proselytize, to go out and “spread the good news.” Religious converts, recipients of the “one true word,” are trained to be blind, even hostile, to alternatives, particularly naturalistic ones, while enthusiastically promoting the one and only true supernatural solution.So around 8 or 10 years into sobriety we go and get our counseling certificates, then get a job working or volunteering at a nearby treatment center. The faculty, staff, and volunteers at the facilities, and at the couple of behemoths in the addiction treatment field, are largely AA members, AA trained, and generally convinced that with the 12 steps and our “spiritual solution,” the problem has been solved. I believed this too, for many years. This fundamentally biases the treatment process, leaning it towards 12-step and away from any alternatives.Conservatism RevisitedAnother consequence of AA’s conservative bent is that people in the program become so convinced that the Big Book and the program are perfect exactly as they are, that they do not hear what atheists or skeptics like myself have to say. This is a form of cognitive bias called confirmation bias, which simply refers to how, even when confronted with facts or data challenging their beliefs, people will nonetheless cling to their original views. In fact, people will even double-down on their faulty original position when confronted with fully rational, fact-based alternatives. This bodes ill for our efforts to update recovery by embracing more empirical, evidence-based knowledge, especially if it conflicts with AA tradition, scripture, or authority.Anti-Naturalistic ThinkingThese religious traditions started out as pre-scientific efforts to understand ourselves, the greater cosmos, and our place within it all. Their most significant error was the introduction of the afore-mentioned dualism, an imagined schism between the natural and the supernatural. Ever since Darwin, we have known that the 100% natural animal Homo sapiens builds new knowledge on top of old knowledge, accumulating knowledge over time until we figure out how to solve all manner of worldly, natural problems. This includes curing diseases that were once deemed completely beyond our comprehension or scope, requiring prayer, sacrifices, and incantations to mysterious gods.Rather than attributing meaning to the words “bless you” when someone sneezes and seeking to bring supernatural elements to bear on the demonic entities which allegedly cause a person to become sick, we have instead discovered the germ theory of disease. I am simply suggesting that we stop thinking in such medieval, archaic terms when it comes to addiction, alcoholism and recovery and instead fully embrace empirical, scientific methods which might yield more fruitful results.God of the GapsThe strongest argument for religion as an impediment would be the “god of the gaps.” For millennia humanity has inserted supernatural answers into the gaps in our knowledge. If a hurricane blows or an earthquake hits, god (or, if you prefer, a higher power) did it. However, over time, naturalistic answers have replaced supernatural answers, one by one, consistently, and with far more accuracy.Complex psycho-social maladies like ours are particularly mysterious and therefore highly prone to such supernatural interpretations. AA’s founding fathers were steeped in a social context in which radical personal transformations were deemed mysterious and supernatural. We had absolutely no idea what was involved, so we labeled such experiences as “psychic” (Silkworth) or “spiritual” (Jung), which merely perpetuates the fallacious dualism, as a result of both the unclear meanings and supernatural undertones of such key terms.Over the course of human history our questions have found their best, most accurate answers not in the supernatural but instead in knowledge gained through approaches emphasizing the scientific method. As atheist author Greta Cristina and others have wisely observed, there exist precisely zero accounts of this process moving in the opposite direction. Nonetheless, AA remains an obstinate hold out.It’s time to embrace facts and data, to give science a real shot at addressing this global scourge. AA members must become more open to approaching the problem anew. If, when confronted with Galileo holding that the earth revolved around the sun, the church had simply said “well, let’s check out what the evidence says,” that would have been great. But they did not. Instead, like AA members have done to me—and I’m no Galileo—they cry “trouble maker” and play hear no evil, see no evil…Alcoholics Anonymous as a FailureNone of the above would matter if Alcoholics Anonymous really, truly worked.But it does not.I was told by the senior counselor in my second treatment center that only 10% of us would “make it”. That’s an admitted failure rate of 90%. This was not merely manipulative sales-speak. Such extremely poor success rates are similar to what a variety of differing studies have found. We all know this, anecdotally. If you look, you can see that the only thing busier than the coffee pot at an AA meeting is the revolving door. And such disheartening research does not even scratch the surface of our failure, as most of the world’s millions of addicts and alcoholics never even darken the doorways of AA in the first place, for a number of very good reasons.“It works if you work it” is a classic example of the kind of un-falsifiable claim which characterizes religious traditions. Scientific claims, on the other hand, are characterized by falsifiability, which simply means that they can be tested. Then we can either discard them, modify them, or build upon them. It is by utilizing precisely such scientific approaches that we have discovered cures for polio, small pox, malaria, and so much more. The more complex, psycho-social disorders, such as depression or bi-polar disorder, are likewise yielding to our efforts to address them as purely natural phenomenon.By any and all measures, there is a staggeringly large amount of room for improvement. The religious perspective merely serves to block our way at this point in history. In the short time it took you to read this essay, thousands of lives were shattered or ended. It’s time to move on and aggressively seek empirical, naturalistic solutions to this deadly global scourge. Thoughts? Rebuttals? Please share in the comment section below.

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emlydunstan · 5 years

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Alcoholics Anonymous: A Different Perspective

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alexdmorgan30 · 5 years

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Alcoholics Anonymous: A Different Perspective

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nycreligion · 6 years

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John Wesley United Methodist Church. Photo: Tony Carnes/A Journey through NYC religions

Bible studies in a bar, car shows in the church parking lot, reconnecting by tele-visiting the incarcerated – these are some of the pathways to survival being forged by churches in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

Leaders at Mount Lebanon Baptist Church sought out new connections with their younger neighbors in the Therapy Wine Bar. Less than a mile away, Antioch Baptist Church has set up an annual car show on Greene Avenue designed to bring men and boys into mentoring relationships. John Wesley United Methodist Church is trying to reconnect kids with their parents through remote television hook-ups. In Central Bed-Stuy, Mount Pisgah Baptist Church has fuelled its congregation by inviting veterans to a dramatic re-telling of the origins of Memorial day.

Car connections for Antioch Baptist Church. Photo: A Journey through NYC religions

African American church leaders are faced with members aging out of church activities or moving away from a gentrifying flood that has hit Bed-Stuy. The glory years of the local African American churches are writ by their peaks of spectacular architecture, but the pews are not as full as they used to be.

Bed-Stuy, especially, was the home to a large number of African American churches for the better part of the last century, and, in the 19th Century, a haven for fugitive slaves. African American Christians sustained the long growth of religious activism in Brooklyn that made it heralded as “the borough of churches.” History professor Clarence Taylor grew up in Brooklyn hearing about the many famous preachers and wrote a remembrance of their huge role in faith and politics in his book The Black Churches of Brooklyn.

A Journey through NYC religions

The author observes that Bed-Stuy still has some of the most prominent African American churches and pastors in the country. A Journey through NYC Religions estimates that there are “well over 300” churches in the neighborhood. Some of the churches are still flourishing.

However, the population of African American residents has rapidly dropped in Bed-Stuy.

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A shrinking community of African Americans in NYC

In 2010, the United States Census found that the neighbourhood had about 107,000 African American residents, 70% of the 153,985 residents. By 2016, the proportion of African Americans had dropped below the 50% mark for the first time in decades. African Americans numbered about 73,000 out of the 148,237 residents in Bed-Stuy, according to the estimate by the American Community Survey. These demographic shifts, along with a dip in religiosity among African-Americans, have led to dwindling African American congregations, says Taylor.

Imagine Bed-Stuy as an African-American city-state larger than Syracuse, New York. New settlers are concentrated on the periphery of the community but rivulets of their settlements are working their way toward the center.

The non-Hispanic African Americans are made up of two groups of people. On the one hand, there are large swaths of the neighborhood settled by educated, highly employed residents. For example, in some of the most heavily African American areas, 85-97% of the men and women are employed. The highly employed African Americans offer a cultural milieu into which newly arrived young professionals could join.

However, even for the affluent African American, the situation is deteriorating. A story by the real estate blog Yimby NY reports that a Center for NYC Neighborhoods study found that home ownership for African Americans in Brooklyn is dropping because of “shady loans,” high taxes and repair costs, the “soaring prices and a tight lending environment.”

There are also poor neighborhoods in which employment is scarce. This condition seems to impact most the African American males in the areas where their employment rate shrinks to 25%. Usually, the lowest employment rates for African American males are for those who live in public housing projects like the Brevoort Houses.

Such concentrations are probably not conducive to building the social networks and economic savvy necessary for moving up economically. The disappearance of the working and lower middle classes in the city also means that there is no ladder to go up. These classes are unrecognized keys to fighting poverty.

However, it would be a large misunderstanding to see the poor unemployed as problem to get rid of. An asset-based approach would ask a different question, how well are the faith-based groups that ring the housing projects connecting up and drawing upon the strengths of the poor, particularly of the unemployed males?

Non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics (of all races) are increasing their numbers in Bed-Stuy. Collectively, they now form over 43% of the neighborhood, almost on par with the population of African Americans. Hispanic Christians have founded several flourishing congregations.

The non-Hispanic Whites include large numbers of younger professionals and Hasidic Jews. Some members of the Hasidic community have been actively buying property in the center of Bed-Stuy to build new multi-story residences, schools, and worship sites. Only a small number of Asian Americans have moved into the neighborhood.

In some areas along the border of South BedStuy, African immigrants have concentrated to such an extent that they sometimes make up 20% of the residents on the blocks. At home, the Africans may speak English, Amharic (Ethiopian), Ibo, Twi, Yoruba, Banta, Swahili, Somali, Arabic, or French. However, most live further south, just over the community district border running along Atlantic Avenue. In Bed-Stuy, their religious sites tend to be scattered in the cheaper Eastern section. Some of their growing congregations are facing the constraints of disappearing community space in the hot real estate market.

Mural at Antioch Baptist Church, “And you have made us kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:10. Photo: A Journey through NYC religions

The impact on African American churches

Westminster-Bethany United Presbyterian Church now sees a maximum of only 10 congregants at weekly services in its 10,400 square feet property. Its leaders rent out part of their premises to another African American church, Grace & Truth Gospel Temple, which sees about 100 worshippers on Sundays. Members of the public can also book its basement for ad-hoc activities, like birthday parties. Mr Aubrey Holder, an elder at Westminster-Bethany, says half of its members are in their 70s. “Sometimes you would wonder, ‘How does the church even exist?’ But we believe this property is here for a purpose,” says the 82-year-old.

Mount Lebanon Baptist Church is a 113-year old sprawling Romanesque Revival-styled landmark – complete with an arched entrance, conical turrets, and a red terra cotta roof. It set up a museum to celebrate its 100th anniversary. According to members, the church used to pack a thousand people on Sundays. But now it sees only 300 congregants each Sunday, about the same number as it did five years ago. Many of them are in the advanced years. “We need to find new ways of doing church without detracting from our mission,” says its pastor, Reverend Shaun J Lee, 40. Hence, the effort at doing Bible studies in a bar. A former pastor reached out by sitting on the stoop offering to play chess with locals. African American leaders have tried many ways to reverse the receding tide of church attendance.

Mount Lebanon Baptist Church. Photo: A Journey through NYC religions

Mount Lebanon’s mission twins the promotion of a gospel-friendliness in the church with compassion for those in need outside the church. More recently, it has been throwing back-to-school barbecue parties in its courtyard for children in the neighborhood.

In an effort to better utilize its 21,000 square feet premises, John Wesley United Methodist Church along Quincy Street — which saw its congregation halve to about 70 from 135 during the last six years — recently partnered with community organization NuLeadership to hold youth-centered activities, including a mentorship program and a tele-visiting service for children to maintain contact with their incarcerated parents.

Rev Ebenezer Aduku, who has been leading the church since 2012, stresses the need to “inject a shot of energy into this building.” The church, which was established in 1988, also boasts steep peaked roofs and broad Gothic arches. Nowadays, it sees only a tenth of the chapel occupied during its weekly services.

While he acknowledged that maintaining the sprawling premises is financially challenging with a smaller congregation, Aduku is adamant about holding onto the property. “Even though we own the property, insurance alone is a huge price tag. But we are here not for money. We want to constantly be in contact with the community, to serve them physically and spiritually,” says the 65-year-old.

Up for sale

Other congregations, like Living Stone Baptist Church along Pulaski Street and Greater Works Deliverance Church along Tompkins Avenue, have put up their properties for sale.

Jack Lerner, who advises religious leaders how to optimize the use of their premises, says many traditional churches also wrestle with infrastructure that are not elderly-friendly. He pointed to the lack of elevators as an example.

The religious property guru, who co-founded Ecclesiastical Realty Advisory Services, adds, “Many sit on a large parcel of land but two-thirds of the church is empty. For some, we advise them to make use of that vacant excess land by selling air rights. Others sell their entire properties. Yet others decide not to do anything because not every church has a need for millions of dollars.”

Unlike most churches buildings here which have subdued brown or reddish hues, Mt Pisgah Baptist Church on Tompkins Avenue dons a colorful exterior awash in terra cotta and mosaic detailing. The building is also not weighed down by any debt. “We have completely paid off this building,” says Reverend Joel R.Youngblood, assistant to the church’s lead pastor. It has revamped its weekly services to include “vibrant elements” like dance and drama. Yet, the excitement under the steeple has been constrained. “Because it is almost 120 years old, maintaining it is as much as footing a mortgage,” Youngblood observes.

Rev Johnny Youngblood. innovative and tireless senior pastor of Mount Pisgah Baptist Church. Photo: Tony Carnes/A Journey through NYC religions

The church will be relocating to a smaller and more affordable venue in Jamaica, Queens within three years, says Youngblood. This year, the church sold its property to a Hasidic Jewish group, a sort of New Testament – Old Testament partnership to keep faith alive in Bed-Stuy.

Mount Pisgah Baptist Church. Photo: Tony Carnes/A Journey through NYC religions

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Bibles in a Bar? Bed-Stuy’s African Americans reinvent, consolidate, & move churches

Bibles in a Bar? Bed-Stuy’s African Americans reinvent, consolidate, & move churches Bible studies in a bar, car shows in the church parking lot, reconnecting by tele-visiting the incarcerated – these are some of the pathways to survival being forged by churches in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

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minervacasterly · 7 years

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#Tudor Tuesdays! Tudors, the Masters of Propaganda: When the Pen is Mightier than the Sword “The story of our past is open to interpretation. Much of British history is edited and a deceitful account of events … The sooner you do a little digging, you discover it is a tapestry of different stories, woven together by whoever is in power at the time.” ^This! How we see history is in accordance to our politics. Her first episode focuses on deconstructing the wars of the roses, presenting the facts and the different accounts that have come up of the men and women involved in this conflict, leaving the viewer to decide what might have likely happened. In regards to the Princes, in other pages I administer, some have said that it would be good to have the bodies that were found in the Tower of London examined to find once and for all who ordered their deaths. But assuming that the crown allows for DNA testing, allowing the world to finally know if they are the Princes in the Tower or not, supposing they are, it wouldn’t provide us with an answer. Like with Richard III, science would tell us how they died -and offer us an accurate description (based on facial reconstruction) on how they looked- but it wouldn’t tell us who kill them. Unless we were to discover a letter of Richard, Margaret Beaufort or any other suspect, declaring their guilt, the Princes in the Tower will remain one of history’s greatest cold cases. What is undeniable though is that the Tudors were crafty in making the people believe that they were chosen by God to rule over England. There were prophecies by the Welsh, made up ancestry, and of course a wedding that was promoted as the union between Lancaster and York that would put an end to the war and bring forth a dynasty that would last forever. “The line between fact and fiction often gets blurred.” It’s true. Often fiction becomes the new history. Most of the times, it is because we have great storytellers who give us a simpler version that isn't too complicated or convoluted, that it is easier for us to accept. The wars of a roses a turbulent period but it wasn’t chaotic. People were tired of civil war, and it might be one of the reasons why they were ready, after Henry VII put many rebellions down, to accept their new overlords. Not only that but fast-forward to the sixteenth century when religious tensions were at an all-time high, when there was divisions among Catholics and even Protestants, the Tudors were more desperate than ever to solidify their power. Henry VIII needed a son to secure a dynasty that many abroad still questioned its legitimacy, while also a tool to make themselves immortal. Henry VIII wasn't a fan of Protestantism but he liked the idea of Kings being above reproach, subject to no judgment but God's. Kings were no longer half-divine, in Henry's mind, English Kings were now completely divine. What their conscience wanted is what God wanted. Going against the King was no longer treason but a sin as well. When Edward VI succeeded his father, his coronation pageant included many religious symbolism, primarily figures of the Old Testament like Josiah and Moses. These powerful visuals were meant to tell the people that their new King was God's messenger on Earth and that he would turn England into an Evangelical nation. Then there is Mary I. Mary was seen as the great Catholic hope and to some extent she was but she soon proved that she her father's daughter. And like her father she was determined to be the sole sovereign of her nation. She engaged in theatrics as her mother had done, playing the part of the dutiful wife to her Spanish husband, Prince Philip, King of Naples and Sicily, begging him not to leave, writing to him constantly about how much she needed him. But once he was with her, she proved that she was more like her Tudor ancestors than their Spanish ones. Mary was also compared to religious figures. These matronly figures helped her justify her reign before her subjects who weren't used to the idea of female monarchy. When her friend, cousin and Archbishop of Canterbury, Reginald Pole, advised her to return Church lands to the Church, she pretended not to listen. Those lands had benefited many powerful subjects she didn't wish to antagonize, not to mention that some of those lands were now in possession of the crown. Would Mary really give them all up after all the revenue they had provided her family? The answer is obviously 'no'. When she confronted the rebels that were led by Wyatt, she inspected the troops as a King would, and gave a rousing speech, where she said that she was a mother protecting her children from harm, and that she would be ruled by her people rather than by her needs. Mary ended up pardoning many of the rebels but had no mercy for most of their leaders. At the end of her reign despite her efforts to cleanse the Catholic Church in England of corruption and restore a Humanist curriculum in the universities, as well as re-funding some of them; Mary suffered from Protestant propaganda and her own failure which was not giving the kingdom an heir to continue the Tudor line and her religious ambitions. As soon as Elizabeth I got her sister's reign, she quoted one of the psalms where she said that "this is the Lord's doing" and "it is marvelous in our eyes". Curiously, it is recorded that when she said this, she was next to a royal oak, similar to what her ancestress, Elizabeth Woodville, when she reputedly encountered the Yorkinst King for the first time. As always, another Tudor monarch who employed great rhetoric, and used biblical and classical symbols to justify her reign. As she got older, she continued to dress extravagantly. While many people expected her to marry, she chose to remain a Virgin. Nobody knows the full extent of her relationship with her male favorites but given how strict she was with her ladies, it is safe to say that her religiosity wouldn't have allowed her to be intimate with them. While supporting many Protestant groups overseas, she was quick to dismiss them when they preached about a Republican government. Elizabeth didn't like this because that meant that the King was no longer close to God, but another public servant who was under strict scrutiny by his people. In various paintings, one can see Elizabeth being led to victory by classical goddesses, being given the sacred fruit. She is their chosen one, the one who will vanquish all of England's enemies and is closer to God than anyone else. Using her single status, she became a substitute for the Virgin Mary. One whose virtue was no longer mocked but praised. But, in spite of this, Elizabeth I was also a pragmatist and as previously stated, when she found that some of her councilors were leaning towards more radical branches of Protestantism, she confronted them and fought them hard using her best tool: her words. Turning them against one another, and foiling their plans to institute Evangelical measures. When she died, she was hailed as one of the greatest. This is largely due to nostalgia. James VI of Scotland succeeded her becoming James I of England. He and his wife, Queen Anne were jointly crowned on Westminster Abbey. Despite James' efforts to be a good ruler, people grew disappointed of him and soon began to look towards the past, transforming it into a place of beauty and mysticism. Despite some writers looking down on Catholic Margaret Beaufort and her son Henry VII, and his granddaughter Mary I, they made figures like Henry VIII and Elizabeth I into national icons. Henry VIII's split from Rome and Elizabeth I's defeat of the Armada became legend. What they wrote endured for centuries. Some will argue that it endures today, with many people still buying into the myths that these figures wrote about their reigns, proving that nothing is more powerful than propaganda. The pen is truly mightier than the sword. Recommended reading: Tudor by Leanda de Lisle; Wars of the Roses: Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors by Dan Jones; Armada by Garrett Mattingly, Elizabeth I: The Struggle for the Throne by David Starkey, Henry VII by SB Chrimes, Plantagenet Chronicles by Derek Wilson; Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen & The Queen's Bed: An Intimate History of Elizabeth's Court by Anna Whitelock; Blood Sisters & Game of Queens by Sarah Gristwood; The Myth of Bloody Mary & Tudors vs Stewarts by Linda Porter; Inside the Tudor Court by Lauren Mackay; The Anne Boleyn Collection by Claire Ridgway; In Bed With the Tudors & Elizabeth of York & The Six Wives and the Many Mistresses of Henry VIII by Amy Licence; Blood will tell by Kyra Cornelius Kramer; Margaret Beaufort by Elizabeth Norton; The King's Mother by Elizabeth Norton; 1536: The Year that changed Henry VIII by Suzannah Lipscomb; Private Lives of the Tudors by Tracy Borman; The Woodvilles by Susan Higginbotham; The Wives of Henry VIII & Mary, Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser. In terms of documentary, there is the source quoted which comes from the first episode of the new documentary series "British History Biggest Fibs" presented by Lucy Worsley. I also recommend her six wives documentary which is currently being shown on PBS every Sunday on the US; Suzannah Lipscomb and Dan Jones' documentary on the six wives and David Starkey's documentary on them as well. They also have other documentaries that also focus on the wars of the roses and the Tudor era. Bits and pieces of some of these can be found on YouTube, while others you have to buy or watch if you have subscription on Netflix or Hulu.

#documentary #history

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bemyaficionado · 7 years

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Yeah! Money has always been there, it’s just that people don’t know how to get it (including me ). Recently, I read a very popular book by Napolean Hill, titled Think And Grow Rich. I’m a strong believer of the Idea that universe is there to give what you ask for but never knew the concept behind that as in HOW & WHEN am I going to get what I desire. This book really gave me an entirely new way to think about it. In this, author talks about the seven principles of getting rich and achieving success in whatever you do. I have listed down all the seven principles of financial freedom in this article and tried to summarise each one of those principles as stated in down all the seven principles of financial freedom in this article and tried to summarise each one of those principles as stated in the book Think and Grow Rich. Here are those principles,

Desire

Faith

Autosuggestion

Specialized Knowledge

Imagination

Organized Planning

Sex Transmutation

There are sure a lot of things mentioned by the author but these are the necessary few. As you might know that humans need a scientific approach to understanding things around them and this book will do the same for you. This book has given me a scientific approach towards the concept of making wealth through the process of mere thinking. All the above-mentioned principles are very practical and make sense, you will know it when you read it. He explains each and every single principle by relating it to a real person’s life as an example and that is what makes you click about the fundamentals of this world. In this article, I’m going to give you a summary of these fundamentals without polluting them with my thoughts.

I strongly recommend you to buy this book and read it by yourself. This article is just a summary of the book so that you can be sure of what you about to buy. I have kept a book link flying to the left of this article all the time. Whenever you feel that you need to read this book, simply click on the link and it will take you directly to Amazon’s landing page of Think and Grow Rich.

Read to know about Napoleon Hill

Desire

Very first Principle of Think and Grow Rich

Of all principles of the book Think and Grow Rich. Hill has put the principle of desire at the top and infact it is the first principle that will open the gates for other principles in the line. Hill has given a lot more weight and importance in Desire and has made a clear distinction between a Desire and Wish. The Hill’s desire is not about wishes, as wishes may or may not come true. Also, wish depends on the external actions for it to come true. A desire is different. Desire is wanting something truly, it is then a human being can make actions towards attaining it. Where wish is undefined and noncommittal, a desire(wanting) is very well defined and committable. It evokes a person to take a course of action towards attaining it. Once you have developed a wanting for something and that wanting is in your subconscious mind and working for you 24×7 then you have the desire.

This is usually what every other self-enriching books say to do, but Hill has given a clear step as to how you can develop your desire. To ensure that you have a desire, he says about having a clear and concise statement of the desire. Your desire must be clear and specific. Infact, it should be very clear in all aspects otherwise it is just a wish. For example – If you want to have a lot of money, then try to be very specific as how much money (figure) and how exactly are you planning to get this money (actions). Hill also argues that it is very important to specify how much you want and how exactly are you planning to get it. What services or goods are you planning to exchange in return of that money? All of this things comes together as an action plan that helps your mind to think in the right order and do things in the right way.

My Thoughts

I personally think that money cannot become someone’s desire. It is not a desire for me. What money can do for you is the actual reality that we all wish for. You just have to find a way to turn your wish into a desire. First of all you need to identify whether it is that you actually want. If you do not want something then it is just a wish. Some people wish for a super fast sports car but in reality, it is not something that resonates with their thinking pattern. They don’t actually have goosebumps if they imagine themselves driving a sports car. You first need to identify that thing which actually motivates to take a step. I wrote an article some time back about Law of Attraction where I discussed the power of Desire.

Grow Your Desire

Great you have done half the job. You know what you want. Now, the main ingredients come into the picture, How exactly are you planning to own it. Here you need to actually come out of your dream world and think what exactly does it take to accomplish it. You will be shocked to know that often times it is not the money that you requires in order own something. The only thing here is that you need to actually think in the right direction. At the end, you will have a complete action plan setup in front of you. This is what a desire really is.

Faith

Your faith can move mountains and your doubts can create them

Napoleon Hill was not at all religious but still, he speaks of the Faith and puts it right next to Desire. According to Hill, faith is a type of self-confidence that borders on religiosity. It was a principle that he once learnt from his mentor, the steel magnate millionaire Andrew Carnegie.

Read about Andrew Carnegie

“What happens when a man knows what he wants, has a plan, puts it into action and meets with failure?” a young and inexperienced Hill once asked Carnegie. “Doesn’t that destroy his confidence?” Carnegie replied: “I believe that every failure carries within it—in the circumstances of the failure itself—the seed of an equivalent advantage. If you examine the lives of truly great leaders, you will discover that their success is in exact proportion to their mastery of failures. Life has a way of developing strength and wisdom in individuals through temporary defeat.” “Most people aren’t going to believe that every failure has an equivalent advantage when they are overcome with the adversity,” Hill said. “What does one do if the experience destroys one’s self-confidence?” “The best way to guard against being overwhelmed by failure,” said Carnegie, “is to discipline the mind to meet failure before it arrives.”To this end, disciplining the mind to meet failure before it arrives, Hill developed a self-confidence formula in five steps to be committed to memory and repeated aloud. But, more importantly, Hill felt that Faith would come on its own two whoever mastered the other twelve of his principles. Whether that is true or not, the importance of psychology, in the shape of self-confidence, encouragement and positive language, for achievement is well-known today.

My Thoughts

Faith is something which holds a person together when he cannot see any other way. It is one of the most important ingredients in the quest to success. Every great man has once taken a move in his life which is not possible if he would not have the faith to accomplish. I think it is very hard for me to describe in words of what I think faith is. But I have a wonderful illustration of it. Take a look at below slideshow from the beginning.

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This is faith. Without faith, you would have surrendered to the crushing stones or infact you have not made the big leap that is required. Sometimes, you just have to surrender yourself to the higher self and believe that everything is going to be alright. You do not always have the blueprint for life. If you are going to create your own destiny then you will have to experience the hidden. At that time, faith is the only thing that could help you get par. At the end, you will be OKAY! 🙂

Most of the time we fear doing things even if we know that it is going to turn out right. Here’s my explanation on fear and what I make of it.

Fear is not real, it is a product of our Imagination

Autosuggestion

Autosuggestion is saying one thing over and over again until it becomes fruition.

This idea is not new. I’m sure many of you already know about it in the form of positive affirmations and visualization. It is a technique which lay down the foundation for Desire and Faith. As Hill once put it: “If you do not see great riches in your imagination, you will never see them in your bank balance.” Hill’s techniques of Auto-suggestion are quite traditional. He suggests repeating the mission statement aloud morning and evening while visualizing the goal in mind. If you desire to have money, see yourself in possession of that money.

However, there is one thing that is different in Hill’s AutoSuggestion mantra. He talks about the other side of the coin as well. The side which is often neglected in success literature. If you are visualizing yourself with the possession of money then you must also visualize how you got that money. Basically, the root of rendering that money is equally important. It kind of completes both the side of the coin. You must visualize what you give in turn of that money. In Hill’s world, it is not enough to just wish for riches, you must also fill yourself with the willingness to work for those riches, and make sure that the effort and reward are so closely linked that you never lose sight of what you should be doing.

My Thoughts

Believe it or not this techniques works. I have used this technique and it has helped me in every aspect of my life. Everyone has a different way of using these techniques. Some time back I devised my own technique to Autosuggestion. I also wrote a descriptive article on the same. I used Whatsapp for this purpose and you can do it to. Follow the article below,

Use WhatsApp to become successful

Specialized Knowledge

Specialized knowledge is the key to every great achievement in this world.

This principle is the foundation of the modern day starts ups, blogs or any business. They all seem to get distil in this one principle. The Principle of Specialized Knowledge is nothing but having a niche as known by many in today’s world. As with most of Hill’s principles, Specialized knowledge goes further than its modern counterpart. On the one hand, Hill expresses the necessity for having a niche. No man, he says, grows rich on what he calls general knowledge. On the other hand, by Specialized knowledge Hill also means the actual knowledge necessary to fill a niche. That knowledge must be somehow acquired and organized.

As with most of Hill’s principles, Specialized knowledge goes further than its modern counterpart. On the one hand, Hill expresses the necessity for having a niche. No man, he says, grows rich on what he calls general knowledge. On the other hand, by Specialized knowledge Hill also means the actual knowledge necessary to fill a niche. That knowledge must be somehow acquired and organized.

Hill does not feel that the niche must be something which you already know. According to Hill, you must first know what specialized knowledge you need and then acquire that knowledge in an organized way. Sometimes the specialized knowledge is not what you think it is. You may have the required education in the field but there is always something more and you must learn to find it. Also, knowledge is not just acquired from books and education. Sometimes specialized knowledge can be acquired from the people around you.

Hill admired Henry Ford for this fact. Ford was a man of no education and yet he has all the specialized knowledge he needs for the job. He got that knowledge from the network of people he had around him.

My Thoughts

I have been an admirer of Sandeep Maheshwari and in one of his session, he also spoke of the same thing. It is not the knowledge that makes you stand out, it is the specialized knowledge of anything that you want to pursue. He always said, if you want to do something then first learn how the masters do it. Do not try to check the water levels with both your feet. You cannot directly jump into anything unless you have a good knowledge about that. You must first acquire the sufficient knowledge of the field so that you can manipulate it in your ways. Specialized knowledge is the key to success in every aspect of your life. Next time, whenever you are about to do anything, first get a first-hand knowledge of it. Get the specialized knowledge and then dive. You will surely succeed. Just remember,

Success comes from experience and experience come from bad experiences

Imagination

Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality

It has been said that man can create anything he can possibly imagine. The imagination is one of the most important parts and once you read the book Think and Grow Rich, you will find that it has been repeated by Hill again and again. Imagination is crucial, it is a part of autosuggestion without which it would be difficult for Faith and Desire to sustain. Where desire is the catalyst for achievement, Imagination is necessary to give it physical form.

Hill divided imagination into two distinct types-

Synthetic It is a type of imagination which uses old concepts, ideas or plans into new combinations. Nothing new is created in this way. One may argue that if something which has never been built, made or even seen is invented by the inventor, then is it not new? Well, Hill doesn’t agree with it. According to Hill, the creation job was already done at the time the thought or an idea was created.

Creative The imagination is the source of creative thinking. The inventor needs a creative imagination before he can synthesise that into a reality.

Hill’s concept of creative imagination is closely linked with the concept of Infinite intelligence, an idea closely resembling the wider interpretation of Jung’s Collective unconscious, a sort of universal world mind that all humans can tap into.

Organized Planning

“You are engaged in an undertaking of major importance to you. To be sure of success, you must have plans which are faultless.” The concept of Organized planning is so integral to Hill’s teachings that he embedded it in his very first lesson on Desire. The necessity of having a plan in order to successfully see something through is probably quite evident to most readers, but true to his style Hill incorporates a few more concepts into this principle. One is the concept of leadership. According to Hill it is up to each man to decide whether or not to be a leader or a follower. While the word follower has negative connotations to us now Hill emphasizes that there is no right or wrong choice in this matter – it is, however, clear that to Hill one is somewhat better than the other. “It is no disgrace to be a follower,” Hill writes. “On the other hand, it is no credit to remain a follower. Most great leaders began in the capacity of followers. They became great leaders because they were intelligent followers.” A leader must be many things and many of the qualities of leadership are directly lifted from Hill’s earlier work, The Law of Success. A leader, according to Hill, has courage, self-control, a strong sense of justice, definiteness of decisions and plans, a pleasing personality with sympathy and understanding, mastery of detail, a habit of doing more than paid for, and a willingness to cooperate and to assume responsibility. Hill also discusses a concept of the QQS rating. QQS stands for Quality, Quantity and Spirit of service. A leader is mindful of all three as Quality and Quantity of service alone are not sufficient to stay in business.

Sex Transmutation

Learn to channelize your energies more efficiently

In a quite Freudian way, Hill identified the libido with vitality and drive in general. “There emotion of sex contains the secret of creative ability,” he writes. “Destroy the sex glands, whether in man or beast, and you have removed the major source of action. For proof of this, observe what happens to any animal after it has been castrated. A bull becomes as docile as a cow after it has been altered sexually.” This is why, Hill argues, successful men are often highly sexed. It is also why men are rarely truly successful until they are at least in their forties when they are less preoccupied with chasing women and more capable of using their sexual energy for other creative endeavours. And that is what Sex transmutation is all about: harnessing sexual energy and redirecting it.

My Thoughts

The meaning of the word Transmutation is changing from one form to another. This is exactly what Hill mentioned in his book Think and Grow Rich. Napoleon Hill put it this way:

“When driven by this desire, men develop keenness of imagination, courage, will-power, persistence, and creative ability unknown to them at other times.”

If you could find a way to channelize this sexual energy into something meaningful, you will be able to put your courage, will-power, persitence and creative ability to make accomplish whatever you picked in the first place.

The thought of sex is a powerful stimulant for the mind. It keys up our enthusiasm, creative imagination, and creates an intense desire.

Do you know what else stimulates the mind to nearly the same degree?

A burning desire for something, such as fame, power, or money.

“When harnessed and redirected along other lines, this motivating force [sex] maintains all of its attributes of keenness of imagination, courage, etc. which may be used as powerful creative forces in literature, art, or in any other profession or calling, including, of course, the accumulation of riches.” – Napoleon Hill

To achieve this state, you must be enthusiastic about the things you pick up. Let your desire and passion grow for that thing to the extent that you would be willing to die for it. Just like a lover is willing to die for his girl. You must heighten your desires to such levels. If you can do it, you will surely have the power to turn mediocrity into genius.

To conclude this article which has already grown more than 3000 words, I would say that a very precise way of thinking is what you need to achieve anything. Our mind is bound with the physicality of this world and we do not have the power to manifest something from thin air just because our belief system prevents it. Nothing is impossible in this world but to make something possible which seems to be an impossible thing, you need to channel all your energy in a way which can affect the very fabric of cosmos and you can do this through the ways mentioned in this book. I strongly recommend everyone to read this book at least once. This will open a source for something totally different for you.

You can grab a copy from the link below, Think and Grow Rich

If you are book lover then follow this link,

Think and Grow Rich: The Original Classic

I know you have a lot of questions after reading this article. Please shoot all your questions and suggestions or anything that you would like to share or talk about. I’m more than ready to take part in such an interesting conversation. If you liked the article then do share it and do not forget to subscribe 😉

And one more thing, If you liked the article then do share it with your friends and family and do subscribe to BMA 😉

Become Wealthy: 7 Principles of Financial Freedom Yeah! Money has always been there, it's just that people don't know how to get it (including me ).

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nicemango-feed · 7 years

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The Beast of Blasphemy Takes Another

Mashal Khan…

A young bright-eyed Mass Comm. student at Abdul Wali Khan University, who called himself a Humanist…was shot and beaten…his body was still being beaten after it had stopped moving.

I made the mistake of clicking on one of the blurry videos circulating. It's something I can't ever unsee.

Mashal is one of the latest victims of Pakistani religious extremism. My heart breaks…every time. And every time it’s harder to pick up the pieces and move on.

There have been so many victims, taken by the same monster…the same darkness that resides in too many Pakistani hearts.

It’s time to ask ourselves, how many amongst us think ‘blasphemy’ is a crime…

It’s time to *really* ask what the state’s contributions are to creating an atmosphere ripe with hatred, intolerance and extremism...

Full story here

In a land where diversity is not accepted, where we have to denounce Ahmedi’s before we can even get a passport…

From the blog. Yes this is what we have to sign to get a #Pakistani passport. In this century. http://pic.twitter.com/P5JgENmpF9

— Eiynah -- (@NiceMangos) June 18, 2015

In a land where ‘blasphemy’ is officially a crime, punishable by death or imprisonment…don't you see...?

The seeds for this are sown already.

Where politicians simply questioning the blasphemy law are murdered again and again…

(articles linked above)

Their murderers celebrated by thousands of people.

Full story here

Funerals like Mashal’s empty, Imams refuse to lead the funeral prayer…

Full story here

And in stark contrast murderer's funerals are heavily attended, mourned, showered with rose petals

full story here

This is what Pakistan has become. This is what it’s viewed as on the global stage.

Youtube stars snuffed out, Singers murdered..journalists attacked…children slaughtered…all at the hands of these religious extremists who’s thirst for religiosity is never quenched. They threatened the now late singer turned preacher/evangelist Junaid Jamshed too.

Full story here

*He*...a right wing Islamic preacher fled the country amidst accusations of blasphemy.

No one is immune, no one is safe…there is no legitimate reason for this law to exist. It can be used against anyone, any time. Even it's supporters…like Junaid Jamshed were not safe from having it thrown back in their face.

A warning to all those who support blasphemy punishments now…this can and will come for you too.

All this happens in an environment where the Prime minister himself supports blasphemy punishments. And then we act shocked…"how did this happen?" We say… come on… you know how this happened.

There are now rumours that these accusations of blasphemy were purposely floated about Mashal Khan to silence his criticism of university admin. I don’t know how true this is, but sadly it wouldn’t surprise me.

Do read this thread on how the false accusations against #MashalKhan were just a means of silencing his rightful criticism of Uni admin https://t.co/gVIo50iAbR

— Dr. Naveed Alvi (@Nav_Derm) April 17, 2017

***

What chance does someone like Mashal have when these charges are brought against him, when it’s so easy to whip up a furious mob intoxicated on religion in Pak-istan, ’the land of the pure'.

It doesn’t even matter if those charges are true or false. That is completely irrelevant, but sadly it’s been a huge part of this story. Well intentioned people…desperately trying to prove Mashal was a non-blasphemer, a pious ‘good Muslim’, in who’s dorm room they found prayer mats, and other religious items.

Things I found in #Mashal Khan's room today: 1. Prayer Mat (Jai Namaz) 2. Quran-e-Pak 3. Picture of 4 Quls 4. A picture of Surah-e-Rehman

— Mansoor Ali Khan (@_Mansoor_Ali) April 15, 2017

Buying into this ‘good Muslim/bad Muslim’ dichotomy is where the problem begins in the first place. Why can’t we be a people that leave matters of religion in the private sphere, why can we not tolerate even slight differences in opinion? Why do words and questions fill so many with murderous fucking rage? Why can’t we teach our children to celebrate our differences?

And…whats wrong with blasphemy? If you believe in an all powerful god, then he should not need you to stomp out the life of anyone who so much as breathes a word questioning that god’s prescriptions. Can he not withstand even minor scrutiny, this all powerful god?

We have to ask questions to progress, we have to stop glorifying religion. Dial it waaaay down…Pakistan exists perpetually on a tipping point. It tips every day…and innocent lives are lost. That’s on us - it’s time to speak out, throw your hat in the ring, make your mark…do your part for a liberal and tolerant Pakistan. Speak up for minorities, speak out against injustice.

I’m sure that poor, dear Mashal was a good Muslim…all the evidence points to it. But I wish we lived in a world where this just. didn’t. matter. to Pakistanis. People who are not following Islam the way you want them to are also good people, so are people who don’t follow it at all, and so are people of each and every minority faith that exists in Pakistan. In fact the worst people you will find in Pakistan are those who think there is only one rigid way to follow religion, and that is their way, coincidentally. Those are the one’s who try to police the thoughts and words of others.

Everyone has a right to exist in safety…it’s sad that this even has to be said, no one should be murdered or punished over words and differences in opinion.

Pakistan is the country that produced Malala, but it is also the country with the harshest rejections for her.

If Pakistan wants to exist in an increasingly globalized world in the 21st century, where different opinions and sources of information are at our fingertips, its going to have to pull itself out of this sinkhole of extremism, otherwise it will continue to fail.

That’s an effect on all it’s people collectively.

It’s time to rid ourselves of the mindset that thinks a backwards blasphemy law should exist, it’s hurting us all.

I have seen another argument floating around Pakistani Twitter that disturbs me. It’s the “Blasphemy laws are being misused/manipulated against innocents” - No. That’s garbage…there’s no legitimate way to use a blasphemy law. Blasphemy is as simple as ‘a difference in opinion’. If you use this argument you are indirectly condoning some instances of punishment for people with differing opinions on religion.

Some day you could be that person, depending on the group judging you.

We are all Mashal Khan, because that could be any one of us..no matter how religious you think you are, it’s not enough to satisfy insatiable blasphemy laws.

We are all Salman Taseer

We are all Asia Bibi (not killed, but imprisoned)

We are all Shahbaz Bhatti

We are all Sabeen Mahmood

Do not forget these names.

***

Important to remember: yes, while those who have killed people like Mashal Khan and Salman Taseer are Muslim, often the victims too are Muslim. It is voices like theirs we must fight for. Those who generalize and demonize Muslims are not doing that, In fact they are part of the problem.

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From a western, ex-muslim Pakistani-Canadian perspective like mine…it’s getting harder and harder to have this conversation on an international level, because there’s always some who will jump on our voices and use them to cast our own loved ones in a bad light. I feel like i’m forever walking a tightrope. Call out illiberalism on all sides, abandon tribalism so we can have these conversations honestly.

***

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