In my world, where I spend a lot of time studying and discussing different Religions, I am so often amazed with just how much semantics play into the discussions.

If I talk about "The Secret" or the Law of Attraction to my Christian friends, I am speaking the words of Satan and guiding people into Hell since I am discussing how to manifest in one's own life. Now not every Christian believes in it, but many teach what has become known as the "Prosperity Gospel" which is actually nothing more than the Law of Attraction expressed in Christian terminology.

The teachers from the East, Buddha, Krishna, Rama, Siva, etc., all have one thing in common, they warn us of the enslavement of the Spirit, though not always called that, to Ego in one form or another. I have always thought that if the Creator gave it to us, then it must have some purpose in the grand scheme of things.

The best reasoning that I have heard, which made surprisingly good sense to me when I first heard it, was that the ego started off as a warning system for the body to notify the Spirit that it was in need of something. Bodies do tend to be needy little creatures, always needing food or shelter or something.

I really have no interest in writing about politics, as far as I'm concerned George Carlin got it right years ago;

Poli: Latin for many
Tics: Small blood sucking creatures

In today's world though, politics and religion have become so intertwined that to talk about the one requires thinking of the other (just where did Separation of Church and State go?!?).

In some ways, I guess the current religio-political nightmare has shown some improvement; in the election of John F. Kennedy it was wondered about electing a Catholic and now we have a Mormon running and making it through the "Christian Litmus Test" (that may have more to do with the Mormons being overwhelmingly Republican and voting in line with the Christian Right than with Christian acceptance).

The Creation of the Modern Neo-Conservative Republican/Christian Alliance

"The 99" are the people that have been left behind by the few with all the money and power in our country, though I suspect it has become a cancer throughout our modern world.

Sadly, there are a third who have drunk so much of the Kool-Aid that they will never be willing or able to see that they are slaves in the deepest of bondage. In the days of African slavery in this country, there was the expression of the "House Nigger" who believed they had the best their life could offer, maybe they did for the world and time they lived in, but they were so tied to this belief they would never be willing to act against their bondage.

This third will listen to their Corporate Masters and do as they are told for a collection of reasons that will mainly be nothing but justifications of their fear of rocking the boat, their belief that they do have some life and their fear that it could be worse. It very well may be that they are eternally lost; that their belief in what has happened to them is truly just, they are to be pitied and held up as examples of what the 1% has done, do not hate them for they are lambs that have succumb to the indoctrination they are for slaughter on the alters of greed and power.

"The 65" can change the nation!

I was brought up with the idea that the Devil was out there in a spiritual war with God and that all people were the pawns in this cosmological warfare. Later I learned about how I would spend eternity in either Heaven or Hell based upon how I fared in the above battle. I also became aware that unless I turned into Linda Blair's character in "The Exorcist" that a comedic punchline of my youth was impossible, "the Devil made me do it."

Short of possession, the Devil, or any other spirit, cannot make you do anything, at best they can suggest, lure or tempt. Think about it for a moment, if you are possessed, you are not in control, so how can you be responsible for your actions, the possessor is.

The awkward fact is that we are responsible for our actions because, like it or not, conscious or not, we made the choice to do the act. This choice is why we are "damned" by our actions.

I reread my last blog entry and I realized that it expressed some of my frustrations with the world of 21^st Century America (the rest of the world is jumping onto the bandwagon as well), but I did not really express why I was putting them out into the world.

For all the altruistic reasons that I can think of, the simple fact is that there were (and are) only three reasons.

1. Those items are some of my personal favorite facepalm moments. We are supposedly an intelligent species, I keep wondering when we will begin acting like one.
   
   
2. A warning of things to come.
   
   
3. I had a plate of cheese and crackers nearby and wanted to have a bit of a wine fest, so I let it rip (next time I will just stick with a bottle of Two Buck Chuck, a better buzz).

I hear people complain about what they see as wrong with the world (I am amazed how much of this time is spent with the dog-and-pony show presented by the media), but the vast majority are not willing to actually DO anything, they would rather go hang with there friends at the club or watch TV until their brains turn into something with the consistency of tapioca.

If we continue our current path of apparently shortsighted and selfishness as a people, what does that say about us and where will it take us?  So I hereby place a few of the most obvious (to me at least) political/cultural oxymorons of our time;

1. How have we convinced people that their children do not need an education while at the same time discussing the dumbing down of the nation and its inability to raise children who cannot compete in the global marketplace?

As a student of Spirit, little less as a teacher, I am often asked about the concept of sin. The more I think about it, the more I find the preoccupation with sin to be sadder and sadder.

One of my favorite films, "Brother Sun, Sister Moon", has an amazing line in it where young Francesco has just explained to Pope Innocent III what he wants, to find the joy and peace he sees in the animals around him. Pope Innocent III replies that "In our obsession of original sin, we too often forget original innocence."

I often wonder if our apparent obsession with others sins is more an attempt to elevate ourselves, especially those in positions of celebrity and fame (this would explain all the tabloid journalism at the grocery checkout).

I find it amazing how we change as we grow up (ewww) and older (ick). Since I wrote my last entry I have been looking back over my life and I have been very surprised at some of the things I used to do that I would not even consider doing now (as a pseudo grown-up).

One of the best dates I ever had came from a ride home. When we arrived at my place, I leaned over and kissed a nearly complete stranger. I don't know why, I wanted to and instead of being terrified of the outcome I just did it, predating Nike's "Just Do It" campaign by 4 years (Spring of 1984 vs July 1^st, 1988). I got a date out of it since the party kissed was so surprised by it they remembered me and later asked me out.

Some would say with age comes wisdom, I say they should stick that back in their butt where it came from and admit it for what it is, conformity.

Someone once said something along the lines of "The true fear is not that the Universe is unjust, but that it is truly just." This idea can strike fear into the heart of the stoutest human and cause the Earth to tremble on its foundations.

Religion, Philosophy, Theology and (sadly) Politics fall into the same vein.

The Orthodoxy is in the business of keeping the status quo and I have recently realized that much of the work I have done in the last few months has been very dissatisfying because I have neglected being authentic to myself and the way I express.  Instead, I have been trying to not "rock the boat" when what I want to do is tip it over and make everyone swim for a bit, even if only to awaken them a little.

Inside this Issue:

Several years ago, I went to some Sales and Business Opportunity Seminars. For the most part, they were free, except for time, parking and an expensive lunch in or near the hotel. I heard many things at these seminars, but one of the few things I heard several times that stuck with me was the use of the word FEAR as an acronym for False Education Appearing Real.

I was reading an article awhile back that really brought this to mind. The article claimed that human children are born with only two natural fears, falling and sudden loud noises.

January was a very tough month for me as I spent it becoming intimately acquainted with my fears on several levels. As difficult as it was, I really learned a lot from it.

I have heard it said on many occasions that the only constant in the Universe is change. Depending on the day, ones mood, what the latest change is and how you deal with it will determine you feelings toward this.

I have been going through a plethora of changes as of late. I thought the end of last year was going to be the majority, but so far this year has all been about changes. I sometimes forget that when I go through these moments that I can get so close to them that it is like walking up to a cliff-face, knowing there is something wonderful up there, but being so close, all I can see is the looming wall in my way.

I am SO hoping that someone will channel Mark Twain to get his opinions on the lasted round of ”Political Correctness” going around. I would pay to hear his thoughts on this...

I was so saddened to hear that there is soon to be a “sanitized” version of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” available for the general public. Twain scholar Judith Lee believes that you, the general public, are too stupid to handle Twain's use of certain words that by the standards of today may offend.

She [Judith Lee] argued that Twain's use of racial epithets was meant to be read ironically but that an appreciation of irony was an “advanced interpretive skill.” For a “general audience,” Lee said, a bowdlerized version will do.

Inside this Issue:

First off, welcome to 2011 with all the joy and hopes of your heart! May the New Year bring Peace and Happiness to you and yours! May your life always show you blessings on your path home to Source.

I have been doing a lot of thinking as of late, yeah, better late than never. LOL

I have recently decided to close the Life-Coaching aspect of Spiritgeek, at least as the central object of its operation, I was feeling a bit mercenary about it. I love doing the coaching, but Spiritgeek was never really about making a living for myself but as an outlet for an awakening of Spirit for those it touches.

About a year ago, I went to a weekend seminar called "The Forum" as part of the Landmark Education Series. I really enjoyed the seminar and left with many interesting insights into the workings of the mind, defined by the context of the Forum as the bio-chemical brain, I define this as the part that acts as a signal processor from the physical world to the Spiritual one, a communications interface between the Physical and Astral bodies.

One of the areas the went into is the idea of "Authenticity" and how most people are inauthentic in their day-to-day lives. I understand this perspective, it is the same one that makes people like Bill Maher feel that all Religion is sheer foolishness and dangerous. When you judge something by the external representations given by men, it is amazingly obvious that many people would feel this way.

I think though, that Landmark and many others are looking in the wrong place for their perspective. The question is not if people are authentic, but WHAT they are authentic to? Simply put, EVERYONE is always authentic to something, but are the aware and/or honest about what it is they are being authentic to?

I am so amazed with Ryan Murphy's show "Glee." Every time I think he has done something that is going to be impossible to surpass, he surprises me. My first amazement was his "The Power of Madonna" show and then he blew me away with his Lady Gaga "Theatricality" episode. I was watching this weeks episode from last night and good luck topping tonight's.

Now I will admit freely that part of the difficulty Ryan's going to have is he hit a topic close to my heart and just completely full of memories; The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The first time I went to see Rocky Horror, I didn't care for it; the audience was constantly screaming, I couldn't hear half the story or the numbers, people were throwing stuff and what I could make out of it did not make ANY sense to me, I never expected to go back.

I was reading a personal ad earlier by a young man looking for a partner in life and he wants to have children. He comes from a more traditional background and spent part of his ad discussing his beliefs in child-rearing and specifically mentioned the following;

He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.

There seems to be an assumption in today's world that this, and other similar verses, are a justification for spanking, hitting or beating children, it is not.

One of the things we forget about in trying to understand the scriptures of the world is often to put them into cultural context so that we can make heads-or-tails of the metaphors that are used. In the case of the Hebrews the predominate metaphor is that of a shepherd and his flock.

Introduction

Religion and Philosophy in truth have the same purpose, to try to answer the question of the meaning of life.

In philosophy the question is addressed through the “general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.”^[1]

In religion there is usually the discussion of deity or deities and the ways to appease them. Sadly, these ideas are not actually what religion is about when you read most of the founders. They usually refer to the idea of finding deity within ourselves and bringing it into manifestation.

In this context, religion takes on the Latin origin of re-ligare^[2] which means to relink or rejoin. I have always found it interesting that this definition for religion is nearly the same as the word "yoga" (Sanskrit, P?li: ??? yóga) which means to rejoin.^[3]

Inside this Issue:

• Coexist           (an excerpt)

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  Here in Los Angeles, I have begun to see more and more of the “Coexist” bumper stickers. If you have not seen them, they spell it out in the symbols of major religions. I do not know who originally thought of it, but bravo!

  

  The other day I was on Facebook surfing through one of their applications called Flair. “Flair” are electronic buttons and I have been collecting buttons for a while, electronic and otherwise actually. I came across this one to the right.

  It really saddened me at first since it really displays the hard-core divisions that have become so prevalent in this day and age. We have become a world of “you're either with us, or against us” with no grey areas in between and little to no interest in cooperation or negotiation, no wonder change has become so slow.

• An Exercise
• Mastery through Judgment, sort of…
• Quotations
• Calendar & Announcements

I get asked about evil a lot, I guess it is one of the hazards of the job since I do not believe in evil.

Before you start to give me all the reasons and examples (please no references to Adolph Hitler or Jeffrey Dahmer please) take a moment to ponder the idea that I do not believe in evil since that makes evil an actual thing.

Evil is the lack of compassion and the ultimate of egoistic selfishness. Evil is not something unto itself, but the lack of what we "judge" to be the opposite. So, evil is not a thing unto itself, but a name that we give to avoid something we as humans tend to avoid.

With nearly 30 years of personal practice and instructing others how to make the Law of Attraction (The Secret™) work in their lives, Robert has recognized several places that are the most common stumbling blocks in creating and manifesting the life of one's dreams.

"10 Secrets to the Secret" is a guidebook for practitioners, both old and new, to make the strides in their lives they could scarcely dream of before.

The rewrite of the last couple of chapters is almost finished and then I just need to finish the final edit before it goes out to the editors. I will be glad to have someone else read it with a critical eye, I'm getting a bit blurry on a few chapters since I have been over them SO many times that I am likely blind to some obvious things.

On a side note, I am not sure exactly when the next "Club Inspire U" will be happening, but I think the release party will still be at the next even. I'll let you know as soon as I do.