You do not get a free pass for mercy or forgiveness if you are wretched and evil

No, I do not love everyone, forgive everyone or have mercy/compassion for everyone. Examples: serial killers, rapists, child molesters, etc. People do not get an automatic free pass for my love, compassion, forgiveness or mercy if they have committed heinous and/or evil acts. I'm not Jesus, Gandhi or Mother Teresa. And that's fine by me. You have to deserve such things -- and some evil human beings DO NOT.

This is why certain spiritual ideas resonate with me, and others do not. This is why, though I love Taoist thought, I am not a Taoist or a Buddhist. I am not enough of a pacifist. What I am cannot be put into a box or labeled in a tidy way. My belief system/spirituality is unique to me, and me alone. I take what works, and leave what doesn't.

I don't give a shit about the boxing career of the Boston Marathon terrorist, Tamarlan. I care more about the young boy, Richard Martin, that the spineless cowards murdered, along with the others maimed and killed. THEY deserve compassion, mercy and love.

If those two cowardly terrorists were my sons, I would never speak to them or of them again, I don't care if I'd given birth to to them. I would feel shamed, repentant and devastated. They have brought dishonor to their families because they were selfish, immature pricks. I would reach out to the victims' families, instead of spouting defiant bullshit. Their mother should get on her knees and apologize for saying she thought the bombings were a lie and the blood was red paint.

All terrorists are spineless cowards. They are usually too weak to fight face to face. Instead, they prefer to lurk in the shadows and in crowds and attack innocent people and children. They are dickless wonders without honor. Doesn't matter the country they're from or the religion they follow; Christianity has PLENTY of blood on its hands, so I'm not singling out one religion (don't start bashing Muslims on here or I'll bounce your ass for being ignorant and uneducated).

In fact, I have a strong dislike for organized religion overall, as you may suspect. My main point is this: I have infinite compassion, mercy, forgiveness and love for those who deserve such human graces. Some people do not.

Yes, I am a liberal, but I'm damn sure not the fluffy bunny type.

Embrace your divinity

Most of you know I'm not Christian. However, I am spiritual. Very much so. It is a strong fiber in my being...I am connected to the universe and beyond.

I believe there is no separation between science and the magick of existence and ALL THAT IS. Paranormal events are normal...not paranormal. We just haven't the experience and knowledge to explain or understand them yet.

You do not have to invent magickal or wondrous events...it is all around you...and it's in every single thing you touch, see or feel. The fact that you are here, living and breathing and thinking with your brain is a calculated expression of science, divine mathematics and logical evolution.

Divinity, to me, is immanent (in other words, inherent). This is why Taoism (道) makes sense to me.

As I told my brother, Jan, "To everything there is a time and a season, as the saying goes. There is a time to let go -- this was that time. It's two sides of the same coin. Her work here was done. Now she is on to another plane of existence...but I truly believe the soul reincarnates...and if so, her spirit will be born again once more. Rejoice in the time you had with her...and know you were of comfort to her during her last days, Jan."

You must remember this: energy never disappears or ends -- it simply transforms. One day, we will all transform. It is the the way of our existence and our irrefutable destiny. It is, in fact, your birthright. Until that time, you are here for a reason; find out what that reason is and live your purpose!

The most useless customer service e-mail I've ever received (I'm talking to YOU, Barnes & Noble!)

Really, Barnes & Noble?! "We can't comment on this matter"? Why?! If you, the company itself, cannot comment on this matter or do anything about it...then who can? This is the type of stuff I've been dealing with for MONTHS regarding books that I wrote and own ALL the rights to! This has to be the dumbest, most mind-boggling response to a customer service query I've ever received. And then to end with, "We hope you find this information helpful"? Wow. I don't even know. Is it just me, folks, or are you shaking your head at this response as well? I highly doubt they can truly "feel my frustration."

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Customer Service Mail - Order Number:Re: Mending Fences by Star Ferris - Other
Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2013 10:00:08 -0400 (EST)
From:
To:

Dear Bev Sninchak,

Thank you for your email.

We understand that you have not authorized Barnes and Noble to carry "Mending Fences." We feel your frustration. However, we are sorry if we cannot comment on this matter. We apologize for any inconvenience.

We provide answers to many questions posed by publishers and authors in the FAQs on our website:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/help/cds2.asp?PID=8148


If your question is not covered or you need more information, please write to us at publisherauthorinquiry@bn.com or call (732) 656-7285 .

We hope you find this information helpful.

Sincerely,

Mary Grace Santos
Customer Service Representative
Barnes & Noble
http://www.bn.com/

1-800-THE-BOOK

Sun Signs for Writers FREE DOWNLOAD through Sunday! Grab yours now!

Woot! Excellent news! I *finally* won my battle with Amazon to get Sun Signs for Writers into the KDP Select program. I've held the rights for a while, but had to go back and forth with them about it, which was extremely frustrating! To celebrate, I'm making the eBook version of Sun Signs for Writers FREE for download for a couple days! Click HERE to get it now: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005HA0OA4/ref=docs-os-doi_0


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Card selection for today: #48 - Zagan - Transformation

The card I pulled today from the Fallen Angel oracle card deck. Goes right along with things that are happening in my life right now.
Zagan #48 - Transformation.
Element: Fire
Planet: Sun
Message: A fundamental change is not only needed but perfectly possible if you open your mind.
Card motto: Transformation

The Buddhist Temple/Pagoda Dream

The other night I had an interesting dream that involved a longtime friend and former classmate of mine, Cyndy C. I've already shared it with her, and now I'm posting it here so I can tag it for future reference should I need it.

Essentially, we were tooling around Colorado Springs in a small car -- like a Mini Cooper -- and having lots of fun hanging out and seeing all sorts of stuff, including having lunch. We left lunch and got in the car, saw a HUGE pagoda-like building, drove up the steps (!) and parked right at the entrance. Nobody said anything to us about parking there. We got out of the car and went straight inside.

It was an open building -- no doors -- and it was a massive combination Zen Buddhist temple and marketplace selling incense, mini altar statues, Buddhas, incense burners, altar supplies and the like. We walked around, checking out the wares. We spoke with various Buddhist monks who were wandering around, greeting people who were visiting. It was exceptionally pleasant.

We were up on the massive top floor. The pagoda-like structure had a red brick-colored roof (not made of bricks, but of red ceramic tile) and there was an odd sea-foamish green color used throughout the structure -- very brushed, worn and old. The pillars of the building were painted with the red brick color, too.

We were checking out the layout of the main floor at the top when we noticed there were holes, or shafts, that led to the bottom. It appeared there was some kind of machinery down inside of them. I remember looking down into one of the shafts and asking what it was and what was I was seeing in there.

A monk told us the entire building was built on top of a large, old ship (which was the same sea-foam green -- worn and with the paint rubbed off the ship's steel hull). He said it was to honor the Zen Buddhist monks who had been on the ship when it wrecked and sank. So what we were seeing when we looked down those rectangular holes/shafts were the remains of the ship, which was what the temple was built upon. Essentially, it was an altar of remembrance to those monks who had perished in the ship accident!

That's how the dream ended...but Cyndy and I were both fascinated by the story the monks told us about the history of this place of worship. We loved the place in this dream. It was so peaceful and felt so homey. The energy was loving and accepting. Monks would freely come up to us and tell us about their history, worshipping rituals, legends and such. One monk came up to us with a large bundle of smoking incense (had to be like 50 sticks!) and it was smoking/burning. It was an incredibly enjoyable dream!

If you have any thoughts, ideas or interpretations of this dream, feel free to post in the comments. :-)

Compassion...but only for select people? Some are like that (sadly).

Reading through Facebook posts on a daily basis, I'm always struck by how so many people lack compassion for those who are going through a hard time in their lives and are down on their luck. Most of these people need a hand up, not a hand out. Most of these people don't WANT to be on welfare, food stamps, public assistance.

And what's the worst part? Many people who are the least compassionate for another human's suffering are the SAME ones who sit their happy asses in church on Sunday, listening about Jesus Christ's teaching and nodding/agreeing. Their bellies are full, they are making their bills every month (because they've never lost their job, been laid off or been downsized) and they have NO CLUE what it's like to come upon hard times.

Jesus would try to help those less fortunate; Jesus would have compassion; Jesus would feed the hungry and heal the sick (without charging them 10k for a two-hour emergency room visit).

I'm pagan (have been for 30 years!), and I have to say I've seen plenty of selfless compassion and love from the pagan community. I witnessed it first-hand after my first husband died in an accident in 2001. Funny, considering they're misguided heathens and supposedly without morals or ethics, huh?

Here's the thing: if you sit your behind in a pew on Sundays and you purport to be a follower of Jesus Christ, you better walk your talk. Don't just give lip service to it. Otherwise, you are a hypocrite and a poser who is only sitting in church to prove to others how good and righteous you are.

Jesus would not approve of such behavior, and neither do I. I'd break bread with Jesus -- he seems like a cool guy -- but I have no time or patience for hypocrites who, deep down, are snotty people that lack compassion, caring or empathy for their fellow human beings.

Quit being mean and start trying to understand. Get off your high horse and try walking in someone else's shoes. In the end, we are ALL family in this world. We are part of one race -- the human race -- and we are members of the same family, regardless of color, religion or creed. It's time we stop with the "us" versus "them" for the sake of our future existence.