Stones of Darkness

I don’t have very much,

But I have all there is to have.

I don’t know many things,

But I found knowledge in

The uttermost of all

I need knowledge of.

I can’t see much

But I’m a seer,

I see all I need to see

In the raincloud of

Seeable things.

I have no knowledge

But I know, just as

I am also known.

I can hear all things:

Things in heaven

And things in hell.

I can feel all things,

My nerve trunk is

Connected to the Root

To which are joined

All the other roots.

So, daily I’m fearless

While I’m filled with fear.

I’m delightfully hopeful,

While swimming in a

Sea of hopelessness.

I command myself to be brave,

In my daily walk towards

The certainty of death.

I realized I’m Light

Encased in a

Stone of darkness. Live.

~Mary Handy Moore

11-22-24

Allusions and metaphors can be heard and seen throughout this poem; a lyrical one is “I Don’t Know Much,” recorded and released by Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt (1989). There are words found in 1 Corinthians 13:12. The first 22 Stanzas are personal subjective and objective experiences in "the raincloud of knowable things," a phrase used in Theosophy and Transpersonal Psychology. The last 11 Stanzas are ancient and recent experiences and meditation. Unthinkingly, this poem ends up being 11-22 or 33 verses. I never intended that, but it’s as it should be. The picture is not as first seen; I have not been able to prompt a generative AI response to fit the colors and other things exactly as I saw them. For example, I settled for green grass in the end. This vision or dream made me sad for many months. 

My philosophy of the banana peel

“Obviously, God has something to say about the relationship between sin and righteousness.  That is another discussion.  For now we need to realize that sin is a function of behavior.  It is not a quantity that must be removed or a substance that I am born with.  It is all about what I do – each and every day.  God says He will never alter His willingness to bring me into right relationship with Him.  He will always accept my decision to turn to Him.  But I have to choose what I am going to do about His invitation.  What I choose to do either encourages the relationship or frustrates it.  Even James assumes this dynamic when he says that sin is knowing what is the right thing to do and not doing it.”

https://www.skipmoen.com/2010/09/a-philosophy-of-sin/

I thought on the commercial about the banana peel and its status as a banana peel; it was still a banana peel when I thought it through. Imagine thousands and millions of people who are continually fed the lie that the banana peel is really not a banana peel ("people get hurt"). “Are you sure it is a peel? Is it possible that you do not have it right? Are you sure the information is valid? Can you be sure it is not a pomegranate instead of what you think you see?” These types of questions are legion.

Imagine if this scenario is continually fed into the psyche of certain types of personalities or souls if you will. Imagine how propaganda can defunct some people’s ability to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2Tim 2:15) if they ever had the ability in the first place. The latter would be very sad indeed. That would mean that the right way was known yet forsaken for the sake of mammon of some sort, mammon or love or admiration – these are also mammon if I, for example, see them as self-preservation or serving the personal self selfishly with no thought of the well-being of others. That is the pity. To know what is right and refuse to do it, is sinful. What is sin theologically or philosophically? I found a deep thought in the above quote about sin.

 I suggest this article by Skip Moen (September 2010) shows sin as what humans do for or against the better angel nature, which we are born with; the other side of this coin is that of being “altogether born in sin” and “iniquity.”  I suggest here that this appeals to knowing what the right thing to do is yet refusing to do it, is sin – as the verb; on the other hand, I fully understand what it means and its application as a noun. That is what inspired me about this commercial. In all things, life is a progression or regression – from light (right thought) to darkness (error, confusion, deceit, etc.). It is a choice to progress – or regress, but it is still a choice until we make the ultimate choice; then it is “Not my will…” when choice becomes internalized when we no longer struggle in the war between the right and wrong thing to do, sometimes called the “Will to Good.” By personal experience, I know this to be true in my continual progress toward the light.

It seems to me there needs to be a change in the right direction

It seems to me the more fine churches people build (there are those that are closing too), the more people are more separatist, antagonistic, pessimistic, suspicious of difference, and fearful of everything and everybody.  You hate what you fear and you fear what you hate.  If more people would identify those fearful things they might make peace with them if they are genuine, because most of them will be "Man in the Mirror" encounters (http://bit.ly/JVr5KO).  When I read all the many things that come out of peoples' heads, no wonder there is so much trouble and division everywhere.  It seems that many, many people prefer a house divided and do and say everything they can to keep it that way.  At least people need to be honest with themselves in that deep place that nobody beside them sees but Deity. 

It is very sad and telling if am so filled with hate and divisiveness that I would want my own country to fail while claiming it is the other guy's fault.  As I said, it is very sad and very telling.