Perception or Deception

 What is commonly called perception is a product of our senses  sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.
I have spent countless hours as have many others have studying this sensory input to our brain. What is most oddly acclaimed as a sixth sense is also a subject of great debate. Is there a such thing if so is it spiritual or simply a calculus synoptic of the brain, even more acute in a more evolved brain. We can often become deceived by our brains in an example illusionary vision input when mirrors are used or drawing such as an Escher seem to go on endlessly. Apparent hearing deception when a parrot mimics a mans voice or in movies sound effects are used. Even our touch can be deceived by an object shown to us and then replaced by another. Our brains perception is distorted by deception often a phobia can occur, a child can be taught fear by a painful experience or simply a parents warnings. I had a friend who was in vietnam had a black belt in martial arts, belonged to a ruthless motorcycle club but was terrified of spiders. We were driving in a car pool and a spider was in the car - he cringed into a ball and was terrified. I merely collected the spider and tossed it out the window.
 Fear is learned, Fear is deception sometimes we are fearful when in the dark because our vision sensory is not able to input safe signals to the brain. Our eyes tear when tasting extra spicy food. We are taught not be fearful by the psalmist - though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death - I shall fear no evil. We are taught that evil awaits death and the grim reaper illusion. Yet , many have had near death experiences and saw beings of light and felt love and comfort. How we condition our thoughts during life can become a permanent part of us. The buddha taught what we think , we are. Maybe not exactly in those words but in his many quotes perception of ourselves is perhaps his greatest theme. Do not deny yourself love, it is something you deserve.
 The greatest deceiver is ourselves , do not be fooled by religion. We often deceive ourselves by fear, not all spiders are going to harm us and we are not little bugs. If the light goes out evil does not suddenly appear. If you are in a cave or cramped space you will not be squashed. Yet, to some these are as real as their minds will make them. The bible tells us , Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus - in so many ways telling us to take on the mind of Christ. What is the mind of Christ, a mind that is not fearful an evolved mind with a sixth sense. A mind that can forgive, love and teach hope to others. What if the buddha never spoke, what if Jesus never spoke , what if we did not speak. You often hear the phrase that person really gave them a piece of their mind or they spoke their mind. What is all this mind speak about?
 Martin Luther King spoke his mind , I got a dream speech. We need to be not religious but exhort ourselves when the time and place is right. Give a proper compliment when due, teach the young not to be afraid of the little things in life, the spiders. Teach them how to discern right signals from wrong ones.
We are sometimes programmed to think beauty is a perfect figure and ivory skin, maybe black skin is beautiful , maybe a perfect body is one that is pure in the inside. God wants you to not be afraid and I believe love conquers fear. I believe forgiveness conquers sin, I believe hope conquers hunger. I believe in God because all my senses sight, hearing, taste , smell and especially touch tell me God is near. When a man full of sickness came to Jesus for healing and said Lord are you willing , Jesus answered and said, I am willing and touched the man and he was healed. We are healed not just by faith but by touch.

My God is real

 We often hear the atheist argument of a lot of the misery and the wars today are caused by believe in an imaginary God. I do agree on one thing there are a lot of imaginary gods , false gods that can be blamed. Greed is a false god, pride in oneself, mammon or money can be  false god. Idols of dictators, the list goes on and on. One thing I do know is my God is real. He is a God of peace and understanding not just a religious entity but a personal being that walks with me daily.
 The atheist think of faith as their greatest enemy, it does not mean they cannot be humanitarian or nice people. I wrote a poem on secular humanism at the bottom of this post. Secular humanism is the greatest deceit of all - it says humanity does not need God. We see children of the secular generation caught up in imaginary worlds of game playing. They create their own reality in which God does not exist. Technology in gaming has become so advanced that avatars are more valued than other humans in Japan . We see virtual pets, virtual cities, virtual reality explosion on facebook. It all helps the secular humanist push God to the background. Their mind become a cesspool of some software guru that will profit from the easy following of these devices. I am telling you a lot of these are christian, it seems so harmless at first then they are hooked.
 I believe virtual reality is the greatest threat to faith in the one real God today, more than false religion or the pantheon of false gods. What enters your mind can destroy you from within like a gordian worm that enters a cricket. Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 2:5 , I cannot stress enough my basic belief in God - Love, Hope and Forgiveness leading to Word, THOUGHT and Deed. This is the theme which I live by and measure all teaching of a religious nature. If our thoughts are confused by these virtual mind games , the Holy Spirit cannot teach us, we then create a world where we are god. This is the drug of the world today, I do not know how much longer the real God will with hold punishment. Perhaps by uncontrollable disease or planetary shift  though Gods mercy is greater than His anger. I believe we are treading on the line between our very existence and will experience a de- harmonization period. The last thing I want to do is incite fear but this is a warning ; their is an alien worm , the gordian worm that eats a cricket from inside, it starts out small then grows to twice the size of the tiny cricket, the cricket eventually jumps into water to try to extricate the alien. It is suicidal to the cricket but works. That is what I talk about in my poem the alien worm.
 Peace be with you.

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-alien-worm/

Secular humanism

What is the saddest invention of man is the schism,
The denial of faith, of hope called secular humanism.
The mechanical reasoning that we humans are all alone,
No hope for the children a skeleton or fleshless bone.

It would seem unreasonable man came from a lizard or ape.
If energy is transformed it would take a different shape.
The apes are still here and so are the lizards- I see,
They will never replace the human, the you or the me.

We were placed on earth as caretakers of creation,
Not just monkeys or some type of primate variation.
We pay taxes to the institutions of mans schisms,
To teach the opaque curriculum of secular humanism.

If they can get our children to not believe in God,
They can enslave them for profit a pea in the pod.
No one would rise up to challenge their control,
We would be like the Nazis and pay evil a toll.

I like to believe there is a God in heaven,
That's just not my choice ,I believe God chose me.
I am just glad for freedom of religious expression,
To be able to worship here in the land of the free.

For those who just follow a mans book on the shelve,
I have no hatred - just at least believe in yourself.
There is fruit on the vine and there is a pea in the pod,
The pea remains with the earth, the fruit belongs to God.

 I attended a small independent church in Dornsife , Pa. I was honored to have spent time with a friend  Fritzy visiting the sick in hospitals and on ministry. He encouraged my brother and I to enter  bible college and we always kept in touch. My God is real sung by pastor Fritz Bowman who passed away in 2010. May he rest in peace.

http://www.singsnap.com/karaoke/watchandlisten/play/c41208b3a

The Vicarious

 One of the roles in a baseball team is that of the pinch hitter. What happens is when a greater offense is needed to score runs you can substitute a player with one that is on the bench to bat for another. Once the substitution takes place that player must stay in the game. I was never a big fan of this in baseball but many games are won by substituting a better batter according to their stats. Especially late in the game where not many innings are left to play.
 What does this have to do with vicarious, the meaning of the word itself is the substitution of one person for another. The vicar was often called upon to substitute for a priest when they were in short supply. The act of Jesus on the cross was seen as a vicarious substitution for our sins. In Islam it is not believed that someone can substitute for another. You are responsible for your own lies and actions, the muslim holy men will often say you are responsible for your own skin. Now I actually agree with the mullahs on this point with one exception. Knowing Jesus Christ not as a prophet only but a gift of atonement , we are introduced to divine grace.
 The vicarious believe in the pinch hitter - when we are in a situation when we do not want to go down in defeat and our own attempts at holiness do not seem to be working. We call in the greatest pinch hitter of all time Jesus, who simply put walks on water. How do we substitute Christ for ourselves- pride tells us stay on the mound you will eventually get at least a single, who cares about the team or winning. It is not shameful to ask God for help, and he even encourages us to ask. Ask and you shall receive- what is God talking about a pot of gold ,  no ! He is talking about a victory in life - welcome Jesus into your heart- ask to learn of Gods divine plan and be a winner.
 My heart goes out to all the holy men trying to seek salvation on their own merits, is it even possible. I cannot sit in judgement , even Jesus did not came to judge the world but save it, in saving we our talking about winning a victory but its not a game. Some people say life is just a game, it is more than a game my friends it is a passage. We hear of the last words of Jesus saying this day thou shall be with me in paradise. A passage to paradise for all those who accept the help of Jesus Christ.
 He said , I am the way , the truth and the life. Not just  a prophet or a holy man.

The Beginning

 I never thought it that important to know how the world was created, but who  the Creator was seems to be more important. We hear of the big bang theories, the bible story, the mystical stories of indian and aboriginal cultures. We even hear ancient alien theories, and in some beliefs we do not really exist at all  , yet I am sitting here writing this. The other day I experimented and tried to think of my earliest thought , maybe somewhere trapped in my mind was all the answers.
 I soared past the many jobs and relationships, past high school, past elementary school, even got before kindergarten. Saw myself sitting in front of a black and white TV watching the mickey mouse club. Remember my first nightmare of a parrot, and snuggling between my parents. I do not recall being two or even three years old ever. I remember some old songs that were played on the radio, my last and earliest memory was sitting on my grandfathers lap. I cannot even remember what he looked liked but felt safe.
 Imagine if we could go back into infancy , wondering if we even had a worry other than a soiled diaper or a taste for milk. I think we can get caught up in our beginnings the same as we can get caught up in the worlds beginning, what is important is today. We should always remember not our beginnings but what happens in between that is important, and mainly where we are today. I remember the story of Lots wife and how she turned into a pillar of salt , looking back. What the hindu religion says is we are born into bliss, and ultimately through salvation can to return to bliss. In christianity we are born into sin ultimately we can through salvation can defeat sin and go to heavenly bliss.
 Why be born at all if just to be polluted by sin , or have to find our way back to bliss. I guess that is the big question - my thinking is to become one with the Creator. We are a living soul , the physical body is always going through changes then eventually , the shell becomes immaterial. We spend a lifetime getting hairdos and putting on makeup. We pluck unwanted hairs from our cavities then it becomes a useless , wrinkly - painful shell and we just want a new body. If it were possible we would go to the store and purchase a new one like a suit.
 The only hope is that someday if we live a holy life , we will get our wish and that new body. Or there is another way, we can shift our importance to our eternal soul and forget the body. Why not have an out of body experience , shift all your energy to being one with God , ask him to fill you with the Holy Spirit. This can be the most wonderful experience of your life, and it is free. How much are you spending on cosmetics , medication, cigarettes or booze. Imagine for free you can be experiencing what it is like not to controlled by your body needs, just shift your priorities. Ask God- send your Holy Spirit , I want to live a holy life, send the comforter Jesus promised.
 This will be the Beginning.