Flying the Nest

It's so crazy to think that I'm now married. Married to the most gorgeous woman in the world, plus I'm a daddy of two beautiful children. My life couldn't be better. There's nothing more I could ask for than this; they are my life and I adore them so. I am extremely happy. There's definitely many stories very similar to this, and I too, am speaking from the depths of my heart-being. Let me tell the story of how this began.

The story begins within the month of October in 2009. It was late as I sat in my room and I clicked on the "Search" box of Facebook, then typed in the name: Tara Church. She was an old friend, a babysitter of my siblings and I over a decade ago as well as growing up in the same church. Soon after her graduation, she continued to babysit my siblings and I. It becomes vague when I actually lost contact with her, but we had until October of 2009. I observed her profile and knew instantly that it was her and hit "Friend Request." It was only days before I noticed she had accepted the request. From then we chatted it up, catching up and swapping stories of how our lives had transpired up to this point. I learned that she had an adorable little boy. I also learned she wasn't particularly far away. I liked her from the beginning.

The following January, she came for a visit with her little boy. I was delighted to get to see and talk to her in person after all those years. Not long after her visit, we were wanting to hang out more, but by ourselves. We'd go and hangout at Fushion Bubble Tea on Mill Plain, or go to the movies. The first time we hung out by ourselves, we went back to her apartment and watched The Count of Monte Cristo and we shared a Bertolli frozen dinner together. We were dating long before anyone knew of it. I loved hanging out with her. She was very fun, bubbly, and passionate about life. It was refreshing to be with someone who got it. There was so much I was wanting to find out about her. Every moment with her was priceless. I remember one of the first times we went to the movies, we were nervous as all get out. It was all we could do to text back and forth. We chose Inception. The movie was spectacular and she was a merry bel-esprit lady.

It was around the beginning or middle of August, when I made the choice to move in with her marking the beginning of when the flying-of-the-nest really initiated. Not between Tara and I, but between us and family members and certain former friends. Stuff about how it wasn't right to be spending the night with someone of the opposite sex, or things such as them exclaiming, "I was up nearly all night so worried about you!", or "why didn't you call?!" Thing is, my family had in their head, I was still a child. A child docile, and innocent child that was being fooled. They believed me to be the victim of the relationship and blamed Tara for everything as if I was incapable of choose how in the circumstance. No matter how you'd explain the situation, they held on to the idea that I was being rushed into something and I wasn't prepared. In truth, it was they who were not prepared for the tenacity exhuming from a quiet and introverted soul as I. The good boy who never did anything wrong. The good role model. The me that they knew. The boy that made all the right choices, and who never questioned authority no matter what was asked of him. But reality is, I wasn't even close to who they knew me to be. Yes, I would say how I felt, but never really let them know me for who I was on the inside. I was fed the feedback of not feeling allowed to speak my mind truly. My life, up to that point, was full of complete agreement with them and them alone.

So, you could only imagine what the proverbial carbonation eruption of emotions in the soda bottle was like.

My time of 'moving-out' and 'rebellion' had landed on the time of me moving in with Tara. They, (almost everyone I knew) blamed her for my so called, new ideas, new word-choice, the questioning of my faith, my disagreement with authority, et cetera. She was blamed for it all, because they forgot that I'm a person myself as well and can think on my own and determine on my own, as a typical human being does. I was bombarded with Bible-verse-drops, Christianese phrases: "Do not have the appearance of evil", or "Be in the world, and not of it",  "You need to be a leader/example to others." Evidently I wasn't living up to their declared 'standards.' I wasn't born into this planet to please them. There were people who outwardly spoke against us, and there were those who stood quiet in the background and said nothing.

If you are interested, please stay in-tune for the second half of this article.
:) Blessed be!

Could You Survive the Natural?

Here's a question. Do you think that man could still live off the land? Surviving without the ready-to-eat foods, the one-push buttons? Or having everything prepared for you? Do you still think that we possess the capability? Have our genetics been depleted after years and years of taking the easy way out? How about we pull the plug on all electronics and see? :)

I don’t know about you few that read this feel, but I have a strong inclination that it would only be a benefit. Believe me, you’d feel much, much better. Your body would be so happy with you. You would have energy you didn’t even knew you had. This would force you to learn how to start a fire, hunt, fish, what to eat and what not to eat, shelter construction, tool-making, tailor clothing from animal hides. There would be a real purpose for your brain. This whole age of electronics and having everything being made or done for us, is repulsive. It makes my stomach turn. Let’s all just sit on the couch and become one with the furniture, rotting and putrefying into a foul, decaying terrible odor and eat processed foods 24/7! Yay! Sounds like a plan to me!

…do you read my sarcasm?

It’s the decadence of mankind; the new and watered-down species of mankind. We’ve reached a whole new and different plain. But do you think we’ve improved? Was this the goal we had in mind? Are we better off from when we used sticks and stones in our everyday lives?

So many new things could be leaned, taught and passed down the generations from living off the land. Imagine how it would be? To not need to worry about schedules, dates, finances. To not be weighed down from the moment to moment playing catch-up with the ever increasing speed of competition and being the first of everything. Ah, that would be wonderful; life would a lot more enjoyable and pleasant. That’s another reason why living off the land would be so healthy.

I could live without pills too. You know, if we got rid of all forms of vehicles, factories there wouldn’t be all that soot, gas, fumes, and chemicals in our air, causing cancer worldwide. That and the preservatives laced in our food. Or the glue in our cow milk…mmm! How does that sound for breakfast? There’s studies that show casein, the same stuff that is used to make adhesives and plastics! If you’ve ever wondered why your child can’t seem to get rid of or continue to get sinus or ear infections? That’s why. So, take some time before you take them to the doctor and remove milk from their diet (of course replacing it with another protein supplement) and observe the results. I too will be trying this out with my child to see if their state improves. Just from what I’m researching, I’m already thinking that (cow) milk is a no-go.

We wouldn’t need pills if it wasn’t for all the junk that we daily consume. The earth would have to go through an immense detoxification before most anything would be actually “natural” and beneficial.

I myself know few natural alternatives to countering certain ailments. Valerian root (Valeriana officinalis) has been found to help those struggling to sleep and not cause familiar drowsiness of benzodiazepine or diphenhydramine. It can be found in a supplementary form. Did you know that cinnamon (Cinnamomum) boosts your metabolism. There’s also motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca), will help soothe your anxiety...and I know this from experience. Dude, I am all for going natural and living off the land.

-a la natural!

To Be, or Not to Be

Blogger's Note: Just as the previous article, this was during the time of my eyes seeing a different light and was seeing things that I hadn't before. Please enjoy and feel free to ask questions and discuss the topic of the article. Blessed be! (added 03/06/2015)


Ok, so this next blog is talking about a definition that was found under the word "Christian" from the Urban Dictionary. I don't own any of the copyrighted material and/or information of this definition, I'm simply taking this into envaluation. The bits that are in quotes and italics, are the pieces of the definition I am going to analyze. There are paragraphs within the discription that do not pertain to or are not important to this particular entry. Corrections in grammar, spelling, spacing and puntuation have been added into the quotes for reasons of clarity...and only for that. Weiter, weiter ins Verderben!

"(I understand that everyone doesn't hate us. This is to those that do.) We believe that Jesus died on the cross to save us from OUR sins. He didn't have to but he did anyway. (And it is in history, in case you were all wondering) It is true that some people do things in the "name of God" that are horrible and say that God made them do it, that is not true, and that is what gives Christians a bad name. Those people are not Christians, they just want someone to use as a excuse for doing something bad."

First of all, people in history did in fact do things in the name of God believed they were in the right and were doing the holiest deed God could destine them for. The Crusades ravaged through Europe, destroying anyone in their path that didn't believe/agree with the Christian religion in order to reclaim the land of Israel from the Muslims. So, in reality, that was what a Christian was. Nowadays, the extravagance of bloodshed isn't so much physical, but the slaughtering crusades are within the mind. Its all become about who and what is on the right side of the line and vice versa.

"You hate us because you say that we think that we are better than you, which is completely 100% untrue. The Bible says that we are to consider everyone above us, and be humble (see below). If you have never met a Christian like that then you have never met a true follower of Christ."

This is an old fashioned, out-dated and stereotypical view.

"You hate us because you say that we think that we are better than you..."; however, it's not about that in this day and age. Today, what it actually is, Christians are "hated" due to their leading front. By 'leading front' I'm referring to their sympathetic, animated, boisterous, friendly face/countenance they show to lure them in...akin to the relationship between the predator to prey. But, once persuaded into that church's way/creed, they become irrepressible and clamorous in sermonizing, biblizing in their preachology. Also, what's really irritating about this whole mannerism is their humility. Oy! The humility and the Bible verse drops too. Bible verse drops, being quotes are when you're discussing/arguing something and they recite some verse from the Bible, even if it doesn't pertain to anything to the argument. "If you have never met a Christian like that then you have never met a true follower of Christ." If one has ever of "met" a Christian, this is what they see on a constant basis because the word "met" as the simple past tense and past participle of "meet", which is defined as: 1) to come upon; come into the presence of; encounter. You get the idea. If you wish to read on dig into this part of the entry more, click on this link to see a discussion synonymous to this paragraph.

"Another reason you hate us is that you say we condemn everyone who doesn't believe in God, true Christians do not do that. There is something that the world needs to understand, there are people who call themselves Christians, and then totally don't act like it. And then there are Christians who follow God, and his word. The latter do not condemn people because who are we to condemn when we are just the same as you?"

Again, what we really hate is their front they put on when they talk to a person they see as a non-believer; talking to them, playing off the befriending attitude which radiates a real, down-to-earth person who seems legitimate and seeking a real friendship, but is really out to make sure you're knowledge in their perspective of who God is and the penultimate actions one needs to take before it's too late. When they mention "before it's too late, they're talking about the Apocalypse, the end of everything which which to them is the day is Jesus "coming back." This is giving the other person they're talking to, the idea that Jesus isn't here and has let the whole world unwind as a clock; it shows them that he's not here, and it doesn't matter how it ends, as long as he is the head of the Ultimatum of the world...that's one I've heard a few times. But honestly, this is the way they portray themselves no matter what. And not to mention the Bible, shown as the ultimate guidebook above all other religious books. Also it is so that they give vibes that one is "condemned" (doomed to hell) if one is not a Christian. Now whether they show it or not...it's there.

"People who have posted definitions say that we are boring. But fun isn't..., drinking, smoking, having sex, partying, playing gory games and watching gory movies all the time. Isn't is true that after you do that for a while you start to feel empty, bored and like you are wondering around without cause? Those things begin to control you, (you who say nothing controls you). And that sounds boring to me. I have a cause, I have a life, and I do not appreciate being cursed for my beliefs. I love God and I am not ashamed to say it nor will I ever be."

Ok, so about what fun is and isn't. God doesn't care how someone enjoys themselves. For both Christians and the labeled "non-Christians," I have never heard God say, "Never drink alcohol, have sex, or smoke, have parties, play gory video games and never watch gory movies all the time." I've also never heard him say, "You that agree with me and believe in me, dress up in martyrship and state your opinions as truths no matter what, those you feel or think don't agree with me and believe in me." If Christians were really wanting to attract people to their belief, then why don't they try a little respect for the other person.

Christians (at times) put off a friendly luminosity making it seem they're just a typical person. The friendly face only lasts a moment, before they know what kind of life you have and the things you do on a daily basis (whether "Christian" or not ( 'not'  is according to their standards)). They'll do one of two things: 1) they play the overly nice, easy going person and play friendship with someone only to have that person trapped and tied into their technical belief system and way of thinking so much so, that someone is so entangled within the nets, that they have no way of getting out...and they just accept it for what it is and stay there. 2) there's the attitude of, you-need-to-be-told-that-what-you're-doing-is-wrong; however, many use the former approach so that you can be intertwisted in their nets. Preaching/soap-boxing doesn't exactly make Christianity look all that accessible and erotic.

"...Another thing, if your friends harass you for wanting to go, just think about what kind of friends they are. What kind of friend would want to control you? You say you are going to do what YOU want to do, and no one can tell you otherwise. We are the same, people tell us otherwise all the time. They harass us, degrade us, hate us, even kill us. But we will never back down, we are part of the army of the unashamed. And no matter what you have done, where you have been, what you have said, you can be part of it too. We will accept you. We do not hate you. We do not condemn you and we do not think we are better than you are. We do not save ourselves by anything we do, God saved us. And he can save you too."

This is the exact attitude I was talking about in my previous paragraph. The specific part of this quote droning on about how Christians never condemn and hate, but accept someone no matter what they've done or said isn't so from many's experience. Since only 33% of the world claim Christianity as their belief, what's the ratio between the one's who just call themselves Christian because of Christian-guilt? Or the ones that are for real? But it's entirely evident that they're about as scarce as politicians found helping at a site torn apart by ravaging, inclement weather.

"Army of the unashamed"? Is it something like, "We're not going to stop talking about our belief to you, even if we've been told time and time again to desist with gracious words and gestures. You know want to know why they never cease? They believe that you knowing the Bible and/or God, invalidates that fact that they're creating a horridly suffocating and crowded atmosphere for you, and you're now more focused on getting away than listening to the Christian. It's altogether too true they won't back down to anything, even if you kindly ask them to stop. They're utterly persistent and at times rather stubborn and won't cease until you acknowledge something of what they're prattling on about.

"...If your friends harass you for wanting to go [to church], just think about what kind of friends they are..." In reality, what this person defines as a friend, isn't how friends really are. Friends don't actually care about what you do for your belief. I've had many friends that weren't affected by the fact that I was a church-goer/Christian. They were there for who I was, and not what I did. I have friends from within the church, who aren't the churchy, mediocre and annoying Christian-type. Once being inside the church for your whole life, you eventually learn to filter to fake ones out, and keep the real ones. In the same breath, I've found more people that actually friends with me for who I am outside of the church than in. And the exhaustive mindset of your "non-Christian friends are so threateningly toxic to the stability and pureness of your belief, that you should almost never hangout with them." If Christianity is so fragile, why would anyone want to join it? In fact, way of thinking is going against everything this Jesus fellow (according to the Christians' guidebook) did. He was with the sluts, whores, drug dealers, pimps, gays, and people who completely disagreed with him and who he was. He was there for them for who they were, not for their occupation. And really, why would you call a friend, 'friend' if they're the ones gossiping, taunting, spreading rumors about you. It's not condusive to you as a person. You know despite what the majority of Christians distinguish as God as, he doesn't pick and choose like we do from our likes and dislikes of who is "saved" and who is "unsaved." He doesn't differentiate from those labeled "Christian" or not. It wasn't and isn't God's idea for Christians to suffocate someone with the Bible and churchiness. There was never a specified thing God said about a certain way to do, say, or have things. There's no set standard of Christianity. Unfortunatley, there's been so much of that "God's-in-a-box" idea branded into everyone's brains, Christianity's become a no-go to most people.

The last slice of this person's definition is an exerpt from the Christian's guidebook (from a sub-book called: Philipians chp. 2, verse 3)- Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Which is translated from Chrstianese as: Don't become or look like a materialistic-secularist. Don't express yourself the way you want to, but like a Christian. And never leave any time for yourself to be who you actually are.

I don't agree with the whole "there's only one way to be and appear to be Christian." You can call me angry, but I'm speaking with factuality. Allow me to end with a list questions for discussion and proceeding entries.

Should it concern a Christian so much  so, that they're constantly overworking themselves about their image as a Christian?

Should it be such a thorn in one's side that they must repeat and suffocate others viewed as non-believers?

How revelant is it that a Christian needs to always put in their two-cents about everything that is said, done or felt?

Where does one apprehend the idea that there is only one standard of Christianity?

What ultimately defines how the people of the church should behave?

What determines the way a Christian should be, or should appear?

What is it that officially makes a Christian, an indubitable one?

Who decides how much pedestaling of the Bible must there be in comparison to God?

Thanks for reading, this is Dave...ciao!

[Note: The title of my blog account, hasn't anything to with the entries published.]

Don't Forget Your Masks

Blogger's Note: This particular article may contain hateful speech. It was written during time of my life when my eyes only had just been open and realizing what sort of world I was in and for that reason I am leaving it how it has been written for purposes of personal growth. Enjoy this and feel free to ask questions or discuss this post. Blessed be! (added 03/06/2015)

Sometimes I wonder if Christians even know who God is. I mean, I hear vibe after vibe of quotes and blurbs from their guidebook called the Bible more than I hear of the God figure. There seems to be a towering emergency of making sure that the Bible is shoved into one's face, rather than showing the truth of who and what God is.

There's many a time when one wonders what reality really is; Christians are the first into the door, ready to bombard you with truths and philosophies they appear to follow. Even the ones that are honest, real and down-to-earth will tell one that they [the "non-Christian"] is in the wrong and need to be saved from hell....which is the equivalent to Hades in the Greek mythologies. There seems to be a strict view of God, in which he can only do/say things in a certain way. Let me give some examples. Let's say some guy hears the voice of God, and is ecstatic about whatever it is and the "church leaders" say its not so, due to the fact that not all of them agree...so it can't be true. Now the person that was so excited about how God had spoken to him, is confused and continually second-guessing himself for the rest of his life.

I don't understand the point to all of it. I mean, they go on day after day saying everyone must "repent of their evil ways," meaning, "tell God about everything that you've done 'wrong' and hope that he smiles at you. Examples of "wrong" for a Christian is: drinking alcohol, using drugs, having sex with someone you're not married to, the way you talk, disrespect of authority, etc. All this makes it look impossible to be "Christian," but by this time, most people don't want anything to do with it.

In experience, every time one church member greets another its all in smiles and euphemistic tones. Fact is, it is fake. In the same breath, they greet other people (whether from other church-goers or non-church-goers) they greet them in the same manner...it too is fake. They're extremely creative and skilled in masquerades and what dance moves to compose for the seduction of their prey. After their prey is coaxed in, they feed them luscious, sweet and glistening Pandora's Box beverages that eventually oozes a lethal elixir into the mind. The mind is then poisoned and no longer has control over its own self, but is now the puppet. Sort of how The Flood takes over a human body, except in a much slower process. Once the mind's completely taken over, the person goes about in chants and walk in the charted steps of the church and its belief; this is all that they know, locked in a trance of conjured philosophies. There is something definitely missing.

Another thing I've found is the guilt they make you feel if you've not gone to their particular church in, let's say, two to three Sundays in a row. They approach it in such a way that you feel obligated to tell them what transpired, otherwise there must be something going on that they think they need to help you with. If you don't accept help, then there's something wrong.

I've heard stories where, if you do something the church considers "wrong" or "not a good example to others," you must apologize to the people of the church and repent immediately (say you're sorry) to God before its too late...meaning, if you don't "repent," you'll be doomed for hell. A perfect example of this would be: if you're a staff member of the church, you must repent (say you're sorry) to God and the church-people of whatever you "did" and no longer be in a leading position in the church; apparently, one shouldn't be human and have natural human tendencies.

It's saddening. It's hurtful. It's disappointing when you find out these things. It stings especially when you discover these things the hard way. I'm confused as to why people you've held high in your book, drop away and turn against you. People you've looked up to until you've realized you bumped into them the wrong way on some random day. This sounds like a repeat of the previous entries, and it is. Mostly because there's no real way to totally envelope the immensity of this topic. I feel that I could go on and on about these things. I may continue this with the next entry or entries or however it ends up being.

Thanks for reading, ciao

-Dave

In a Box...

 Blogger's Note: Feel free to discuss or ask questions regarding the topics therein. Blessed be! (added 03/06/2015)

Day after day, so called 'non-Christians' are bombarded with opinions meant to be taken as fact. If a non-Christian ignores, rejects, denies, or disagrees with what the 'believer' says is truth, you're in denial or closed-off to the truth. How are we to know that this belief system is the correct one? This is may fit one person's point of view. How does one know for sure that Christianity, Mormonism, the two belief systems of Islam, the Wiccan beliefs, Hinduism, or Taoism is the correct path? How does one know?

Now, I know everyone has their own way of expressing themselves, but some people know only one way to describe themselves. Some of these people are Christians, Buddhists, Atheists, or Gnostics, but let me focus on thing at a time. Here are some examples of these ideas so concentrated upon one view that the direction is fogged

The first ones I want to talk about is 'going to heaven' and 'we who are saved.' Most anyone that is exposed to these phrases. Their mission overrides their purpose and in turn their reason is watered down to: if you're not within our circle, you're pretty much walking into hell...a place told as a realm of separation and agony from their god. So, the conservative or fundamentalist Christians are the only ones that will make it to the end that is at a time that is indefinite. Honestly this begins to be abrasive, but I tolerate it because many Christians are this way, many are not.

Next, "reflecting Jesus." What does that mean? Do any of the Christians really know what it means? Growing up in a conservative Christian home, this was spoon-fed to me on a constant basis-- I didn't know anything else, and felt that had to see it the way my grandparents. As many are and have been aware of this aspect. It has become so rampant that many have gotten to the point where they're so concerned with seeing that their opinion of what reflecting Jesus is tattooed in the person's brain, rather than the person themselves. The purpose behind this is just as valid as the next, but as you can see this is  only one of the many things that pushes people they are trying to reach, away.

Being pure, or retaining one's purity (from a Christian's point of view) usually connotes someone not participating or doing something sexual before they are married, or alcohol and/or drug consumption. For the purpose of the topic let us stick with the first mentioned: sexual intercourse (or any action related) before one is married. They discourage masturbation, foreplay, intercourse with either sex, living with someone you're not married to and being intimate with that other person, and so on. Now, whoever wrote down and established the idea that having sex or doing anything sexual before one was married, misunderstood what their god was saying. My approach was, and still is, if you are in love with that one person, and you're sure without a doubt that you're going to be with this person then there's nothing wrong with that. Who is to say that one can't be in a relationship with whoever they want?

Let me end this with this last paragraph. A common wall for people of other beliefs and Christians alike, run into is this: hearing theirs god's voice. In the church that I went to while growing up, this was (and probably still is) a huge taboo. For instance, let us say that Tom claims that he is hearing god and he then goes forth and relays this to someone in that church he trusts, but is told that his message from god is not in line with what the bible says and that Tom needs to pray to shoo away these ungodly thoughts. Tom is confused by this, he was told that god speaks to each individual and was excited for this occurance. Tom decides he disagrees with said trusted church-goer friend and church-goer friend tells Tom that if he doesn't agree with him, then he is either mislead and must admit that he has done wrong and apologize to god and the people in the church for assuming he knew what he (god) said to him (Tom). That's a way of putting God in a box. If the leadership of the church agree that it's something that seems too great, random, impossible, out-of-the-ordinary, too-hard-to-believe, and, in their opinion, not something their god would say....that's putting their own omnipotent god in a box.

Thanks for reading,

-Dave