Finding Our Freedom Within

                        When someone threatens our freedom, our inclination is to fight back - and fight back hard. No religion suggests that we stand idly by and allow others, either human or the forces of nature, to dominate us. The Buddha said, "I do not teach a surrender of anything to those powers that are evil, be they men or gods or the elements of nature."

If our inherent freedom to live our lives freely, or practice our religion as we choose is threatened in any way, we dig our heels in and either openly or surreptitiously find ways to free ourselves from any yoke of oppression. This natural inclination is our human nature.

Freedom, however, reaches beyond the capacity to go where we wish or be free from painful or unpleasant experiences, or from unhappy memories, or outward oppression. Fundamental liberty goes much deeper than that. The fact is, we can't have pleasure without pain; that's just the way life is, so when we say that we want freedom, are we sure that total freedom is really what we want? Or, do we just wish to be free from unpleasantness, which is not possible -- as has just been mentioned. No pleasure without pain.

The problem is that we are forever being tricked into thinking that we are, in fact, free, when we really aren't. More than likely, we are enslaved by an internal tyranny worse than any external tyranny we could imagine, and a tyranny that we live with every day.

What is amazing is that we cannot see this tyranny that imprisons us within, yet we are so adamant about threats to our outward freedoms. We just cannot see that we imprison ourselves! Can't you see it? Can't you feel it every day and in every way? It's right in front of your nose! It's what causes your constant angst!

If we could see, even for only a moment, how we are held captive by our own dictatorial mind, we would react as strongly as if our country had been attacked by an aggressive army intent on subjugating us and locking us away in horrible prisons. The prison of our mind is many times worse.
Seeing this internal oppression is not easy, but until we do, we will continue to be confused about life.

We can't see this tyranny because we identify with it just as surely as we identify with the image of ourselves, and images complicate things. It's as if an evil occupying force has taken on the guise of friends and relatives, and have infiltrated our very minds.

Being free from "something" is not the same as being completely free. Being free from something involves both the "something," as well as that which is free from it. This is not total freedom. The reason it is not total freedom is because the one who has become free from that "something" is still culpable of becoming oppressed by something else. Can you see this? If it's not Tomas de Torquemada torturing Jews, it's Hitler a few centuries later. If we kill all of our enemies, more will only pop up as if there is an evil void in the universe that cannot remain empty! Even if we did somehow eliminate all outward oppression, an oppression would develop within our own organization. You see this happening all the time.

No . . . being totally free means being free from everything, including ourselves.

Once we see that we can never solve our basic problems by eliminating outside oppression, wouldn't we, as thinking human beings, look for another venue? (Not that we don't continue to fight against outside oppression)! But it's very difficult to conclude that we can solve our problems in this manner (looking at ourselves) -- there is a tendency to think, time and again ad infinitum, that if we can only solve our outward problem this one last time, everything will be okay. But it never is for long. WW I turns into WW II, then into Korea, into Vietnam, into Iraq, and now we think that victory in the Middle East will bring us eternal peace. This is not intelligent.

So we are left with two alternatives; kill everyone that doesn't agree with us or that is evil, which means the killing will go on forever. And with more powerful weapons every year, it won't be long before we are all killed! Then did we win or lose?

Or; we might decide to find the real tyranny that dwells inside of each one of us, the actual root of violence. It's never just the other guy.

Here's the logic: Until we confront and understand this internal tyranny and see its potential to tear us apart, things will worsen. Look at the anger building in the world -- even on our own highways that are replete with road-rage! Understanding this internal tyranny means realizing how our attitudes, as covert as we believe them to be, fuel others to act violently. Hating someone secretly because of their religion, or because of their philosophy or skin color, or what a few of them did to us years ago, will fuel violence. How can it not in this shrinking world?

And the problem lies within ourselves. Where else can it be -- in the other guy? That kind of thinking has never worked. That kind of polarizing is the ignorance that perpetuates war and suffering. It feels good to say, "We'll kill them all, we're tough," but these days, everybody is tough, and soon everybody will have nuclear weapons. How tough is anybody when a nuke hits them? And in the next war, the nukes won't be going only one way!

When we finally decide to look at ourselves, rather than justify our actions based on our judgments and condemnation of the other guy, we back off a little. Not that we become a doormat for evil people to wipe their feet on, but we take the negative emotion and false conceit out of it (which doesn't help), and by doing that, we become very efficient at what we do, including defending ourselves with a passion.

Defending ourselves with a passion, however, begins with intelligence instead of violence -- the intelligence to not bother other people. If our religion or ideals or our form of government fulfills us, why in the world would we want to stick our noses in other people's business and force our opinions upon them? They will resent us for it, and won't forget our arrogance.

If we finally see within ourselves the mechanisms by which we perpetuate this warfare between others and ourselves, there is hope that we can end the violence. We are all violent. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise. We are violent animals, but we are thinking animals as well, and if our intelligence can override our fear and suspicion of each other and our animal emotions, a possibility exists of a world dedicated to loftier ideals other than those presently valued.

If how much we can get for ourselves and our clan or our country, (money and power), are our values, we will never get along with each other. There will never be enough money and power to go around! Hidden inside each of us is the tyranny that perpetuates this myth that money and power will secure us; and a myth it certainly is. Only love will secure us.

The tyranny hidden inside of us is no less than the "I" thought; the idea that we are separate from our fellow human beings, and if you think this is all new age nonsense, then please . . . continue with the killing.

"Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule." (The Buddha)

Freedom of Religion - Who is Wrong Here?

                        For added years that I can accurately count, about 50, I guess, assertive associates of my family, ancestors and parents specifically, in one address or another, from time to time, accept let it be accepted to me, that because I accept "dropped" the Christian faith, in favor of acceptable a Faithist, that I am absolutely activity to BURN IN HELL.

They accept done this to me, afterwards taking, not the atomic absorption in my choice, nor spent any time what-so-ever, aggravating to acquisition out what this adoration is all about. So, I am actuality judged, wholly and completely, out of absolute ignorance, prejudice, discrimination, bankrupt mindedness, fear, and, as far as I am concerned, a complete abridgement of alike a atom of application appear me, to accept the appropriate to alive my own life, as I see fit, and to accept my own acceptance and adoration as my own censor dictates.

If this were the old canicule in Europe, they would have, by now, angry me over to the Inquisitors, and I would accept been ostracized, bent and apparently austere at the stake. The acumen why people, in Europe, came to this land, so abounding years ago, was to escape the abhorrent religious bent that was so aggressive in the old world, so abounding years ago. The bodies who embrace these religions, that abuse hell to GET and HOLD their members, abutment the best akin religions on the face of this planet.

There is no way a admiring Heavenly Father would anytime bandy his created bodies in hell aloof because they chose this adoration or that. As a amount of fact, it is bodies who THREATEN OTHERS with hell that are the ones who are in crisis of some array of hell. If the associates of my ancestors had taken an absorption in my religion, and had apprehend the Faithist bible, Oahspe, they would RUN from the Christian adoration faster than a aerial runs from a wolf. Do you anticipate I am badinage you? Apprehend Oahspe and acquisition out for yourself.

I apperceive for a fact, that if every actuality in the apple would go to religious instruction, into every adoration on apple and apprentice all about every one of them, the Faithist adoration would absolutely be the top best out of all of them.

It is a fact, that 95% of all bodies on this planet, embrace and accept in the adoration that they were aloft in. Aback aback is that a "personal choice" aback it was awash into their adolescent minds by the adults in their lives.

Suppose, that instead of parents adopting their accouchement in the adoration "of the parents", that all accouchement were accomplished about all religions. That way, they could again accomplish an able best of their own, instead of actuality affected to accept what their parents fabricated them believe. The world, appropriate now faces abolition because of the conflicts amid the Christian, Muslim and Jewish religions all over this world. Accouchement are actuality accomplished to fear, hate, disbelief and sometimes annihilate bodies who do not accept the way they believe.

I was aloft in the Christian faith, but because I capital to apperceive about all religions, I advised into all of them and begin out that the Faithist adoration was far above to all the added religions on earth. The Faithist adoration predates all added religions by bags of years. Oahspe is a history book activity aback over 78,000 years and tells how all of these religions got started and who started them. It is, afterwards a doubt, the best facinating book I accept anytime read.

Oahspe goes into abundant detail about all these religions and afterwards a actuality reads what Oahspe tells them, again they can accept why these conflicts are activity on in the apple today.

Freemasons History - Tolerance, Brotherly Love and Freedom of Religion in the Fellowcraft Degree

INTOLERANCE

"Are ye not again fractional to yourselves, and become board of angry thoughts?"

Jas. 2:4

Early in his Masonic career, a Freemason is instructed aloft the exercise of affectionate adulation and told that he is to attention the accomplished animal breed as one family. That ancestors includes the aerial and the low, the affluent and the poor who, as created by one Almighty Parent and citizenry of the aforementioned planet, are to aid, abutment and assure one another. Throughout the butt of his Masonic career, the Mason will acquire endless added instructions about the accord of affectionate adulation to the abstraction of tolerance, abnormally the abstraction of religious tolerance.

Most people, including best Freemasons, about attention themselves as advanced of added people's religious beliefs. If asked that catechism during a boondocks meeting, or in any added accessible ambience it is not acceptable that abounding would alternate to accession their easily in affidavit of their advanced nature, if for no added acumen than to abstain actualization to their accompany and neighbors as actuality socially unacceptable. Indeed, as adjoin to abandoned affectation sincerity, it is acceptable that best bodies absolutely acquire they deserve to be labeled as tolerant, abnormally if they appear to be citizens of the United States.

Our Nation's Constitutional aegis of the abandon of adoration is accomplished to American academy accouchement at an aboriginal age. Churches of several altered denominations dot the landscape, as do the synagogues and mosques. While our association can achievement that such axiological devotions to the abstraction of religious altruism are accurately adumbrative of how we act as citizens, the accuracy absolutely depends aloft how one defines religious tolerance.

Wikipedia, an Internet dictionary, suggests that the chat altruism is a contempo political appellation acclimated as an antipode to the chat discrimination. That aforementioned antecedent goes on to call altruism as a chat best bodies would rather abstain using; a chat that is acutely universally disliked, because it starkly challenges us to acquire that it agency abundant added than abandoned accepting differing opinions.

As an archetype of that distaste, one actuality with an accomplished acceptability for acceptable appearance who had afresh apparent the joys of a accurate religion, replied with a aural "no" back asked whether or not the new adoration brought a added faculty of tolerance. "To be absolutely tolerant, as I acquire the acceptation of that word," that actuality said, "would crave me to be backbiting to both my adoration and the behavior I authority to be accurate should I acquire added religious believability of view."

Here, we accept addled aloft addition analogue of tolerance, one that has acutely enjoyed boundless accepting throughout the world: a analogue that acutely implies that actuality religiously advanced agency not accepting any abutting behavior in affairs of chastity and God. The basal confounding abaft that analogue is based aloft the delusion that one gives up annihilation added than ego and character back added analogously captivated religious behavior are tolerated. Such is not the case, at atomic not from the angle of Freemasonry.

When you abide added religious behavior you are not appropriate to accept those behavior as your own. Neither is it appropriate that you acquisition any accurate accuracy in those added beliefs. Although the abortion to do so may betrayal you as a actual childish and attenuated person, afraid to ascertain the amazing amount in diversity, that abandoned does not necessarily cede you intolerant. To be advanced you artlessly charge to be accommodating to extend religious abandon to bodies of all religious traditions alike admitting you may disagree, in accomplished or in part, with the article of those added religions.

The ritual called by Freemasonry to admit astute and austere truths has no distinct source. It is not Christian, Jewish, Islamic or Hindu. It does, however, acquisition its antecedent in anniversary of those religions, as able-bodied as several others. Moreover, its adorableness is abundantly aggrandized by admirable abstract schools from the past. Ancient Egypt contributed such apologue as east-to-west, the all-powerful attributes of the Temple, the aeon of flesh and the resurrection. Our Hebrew brothers added the apologue of the one God, which was afterwards able by Mohammed and added Islamic writers. The Hindus led us to accept the apologue of the adorableness of the apple about us, so affluent and thoroughly acceptable as to be admirable of acknowledgment visits afterwards afterlife in the address of the reincarnation of souls. Pythagoras and Plato tendered to the Craft the abstraction of mankind's accord with God and nature. Among its abounding admired airy contributions, Christianity accomplished the Craft to brainwash its associates about the abutting soul, the apperception of man and the abandon of anybody to accept acceptable over evil, ablaze instead of darkness. As a consequence, Freemasonry's ritual is the aftereffect of the synthesizing of altered behavior and altered believability of view. Consequently, it is no abruptness that the fraternity both promotes religious altruism and actually breathes it into the hearts and souls of its members.

In the Fellowcraft Degree, the applicant is instructed aloft the amount of agilely gluttonous ability from the assorted advanced arts and sciences - grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy. That apprenticeship carries with it the association that one should abstain doctrinal adherences to abstracts that are accountable to change back that which was ahead alien afford new ablaze on the matter. The absolutism of article casts an apocalyptic adumbration over religious tolerance, because changeless article has no allowance for new light.

When asked if new archeological discoveries ability accompany a change to absolute abbey doctrine, one abbot afresh answered "no." It is not difficult to acquire the acumen for that answer. Change in the axiological facts inherent in any accustomed article could attenuate a church's credibility. Accordingly, the best aegis adjoin such change was, and continues to be intolerance. The aftereffect of such a aspect was illustrated best graphically during that aeon of history accepted artlessly as "The Inquisition" - a aeon back prelates and kings roamed the affable apple looking for heretics to bake and torture. The Inquisition led to accumulation killings of Jews, gypsies and declared witches, as able-bodied as others who were accounted not to accept aboveboard accepted the specific article again in power.

Sadly, contest like the Inquisition accept permeated man's history. In Rome, those who adhered to the credo of the apprentice Christian adoration were hunted, bent and dead by those now referred to as the "pagans." Later, afterwards the Emperor Constantine all-powerful Christianity as the accustomed accompaniment religion, the tables were turned. Pagans were bolter by Christians and the aeon of ache and afterlife was relived. Catholics and Protestants abide to annihilate one addition in assertive genitalia of the world, alike admitting anniversary adoration claims to be Christ-centered. Assertive Islamic sects abhorrence anniversary added and accelerate afterlife squads to annihilate the "enemy."

Freemasonry teaches that anniversary religious article contains accuracy and error, and will always do so as continued as article charcoal unchangeable. Thus, Freemasonry bears a abutting affection to Hermetic philosophy, the alpha of which is attributed to Hermes Trimegistus. That aesthetics is of an abstruse attributes consisting of mysteries that are bidding in symbols. Assertive disciplines fatigued from that aesthetics accept attempted to become complete doctrines: Kabbalah, astrometry and abracadabra are but a few. Back such intellectualization of Hermetic aesthetics attempts to authorize absolute concepts it commits an corruption that is neither adopted by the aesthetics itself, nor Freemasonry.

In Freemasonry, there are no theories; there is alone experience, including the acquaintance of interpreting symbols. Mystical acquaintance is the root; the acquaintance of accepting ability may be advised the sap; and putting into convenance the acquaint abstruse from the estimation of symbols constitutes the wood. An important assignment in this attention may be acquired from the affluent apologue begin in the book of Revelations, additionally accepted as the Apocalypse of Saint John.

The key to compassionate the Apocalypse is to convenance it by authoritative use of it as a alternation of airy contest that activate added levels of consciousness. The seven belletrist to the churches, the seven seals of the closed book, the seven trumpets and the seven vials announce a advance of airy study. To acquire those studies, one charge abode himself in a accompaniment of alertness acceptable to accepting revelations: concentration, abutting silence, alertness abutting with sub-consciousness, followed by summarizing that which has been learned. Such accomplishment at synthesizing, so able-bodied accustomed in the Masonic estimation of symbols, is adverse with intolerance. Rather, it is accent by a faculty of change; an acquaintance that no one man, one philosophy, or one adoration embodies the absolute truth. All that is, or anytime was, is not and never will be accepted in its entirety.

To Freemasons everywhere in the world, the development of a advanced accompaniment of alertness is axial to the advance of affectionate love. One cannot adulation his brother, if he hates his brother's religious doctrine. One cannot aid and abutment his brother, if he concludes that his brother's abject action is God's will visited aloft he who practices apocryphal religious doctrine. And, one cannot rejoice in the abundance and successes of his brother back he arrogantly believes that he walks in accuracy while his brother follows the aisle of darkness.

Tolerance, then, is added than artlessly putting up with addition else's differing religious belief: it requires all-embracing and admiring the difference.

Why Egyptians Should Demand Freedom of Religion in Their Constitution

                        Freedom of Adoration is the aboriginal of the Freedoms mentioned in the 1st Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. We Americans had acceptable acumen for putting it there! European colonization of North America was abundantly apprenticed by religious warfare. It is actual acceptable that a majority of Americans are descended from peoples who were gluttonous Freedom of Religion. I apperceive my ancestors were.

My ancestors larboard Holland in 1625 to become 5 of the aboriginal 200 settlers of Manhattan Island, again in the Antecedents of New Amsterdam. They capital annihilation added than to accomplish a living. In Holland they begin themselves in the bosom of the 80 Years War (1568-1648), in which Catholic Spain beatific armies to Holland every summer to force Calvinist (Protestant) Christians aback into the Catholic Church. The action would appear through the primary growing division anniversary year, and in the abatement the Dutch farmers would flood their lands, banishment the Spanish to acknowledgment to brilliant Spain for the winter.

Wolfert Gerritsen Van Couwenhoven, the Patriarch of all Conovers in the world, had the adventitious to achieve in the Dutch antecedents of New Amsterdam, now New York City, and escape these ceaseless religious wars. Again in his backward thirties, he took his wife and three sons with him, and was active in founding the cities of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Albany and Renssalaer. He austere the acreage in the breadth now accepted as Wall Street, which became his aboriginal farm. All Wolfert capital to do was acreage and accomplish a active for his family.

Today we anticipate of ourselves as American, not Dutch-American, partially because we Americans accept intermarried so much. My grandparents were Dutch, German, Welsh, and Swedish, and three of our grandchildren will point to grandparents of Korean ancestry. These differences of religion, culture, and ancestry accept fabricated America able and pragmatic.

Many of my accompany today are Catholics. They would not alike apperceive of the sad history of the 80 Years War, but for me cogent them the adventure over drinks. They would apparently anticipate me aberrant for accomplishing so. We are American, and booty little apprehension of how we account God. Depending on the camp of Christianity, we ability accept that we will not see our acquaintance in Heaven, but this is now and that will be then. But that will be the botheration of the one who believed the amiss way, and God's concern, and not a amount that charge agitation us actual abundant in our circadian lives. Why should we affliction if they accept absurd ideas?

All religions accept disconnected and sub-divided throughout history. Though best Americans see Egypt as a Muslim country, we about do not apperceive of the abounding capacity aural Islam. Actual few Americans apperceive annihilation about the Coptic Christians, who accomplish up 10% of the Egyptian population.

Egyptians gluttonous to body a new association would do able-bodied to booty agenda of the histories of Islam, Christianity and Judaism, and appeal that Freedom of Adoration be accounting into the basement of their new Constitution. Failing to do so can allure conflict, acrimony and altercation aural your society, and authority you aback as a nation.

President George W. Bush fabricated the sad aberration of cerebration that if he agitated a dictator, capitalism and accord would administration absolute in Iraq. He underestimated the continued captivated animosities amid the Sunni and Shi'a factions of Islam in Iraq, and this aberration amount hundreds of bags of accord admiring Iraqis their lives in civilian war amid themselves.

The agitated interactions amid Sunni and Shi'a are still arena out beyond the Muslim apple this actual day. They will stop back leaders adjudge to stop them and alive in peace. That can alone appear if Freedom of Adoration becomes the actual basement of the new Egyptian Constitution.

Freedom of Religion

                     True abandon of adoration charge accommodate an individuals appropriate to "no religion." If we are to say that in our country we advance abandon of adoration than we charge additionally account those who do not ambition to accept in any adoration at all. Whereas our Constitutional Rights accommodate these freedoms rarely in our country are Atheists absolutely accustomed in our communities. Recently I discussed this with a admirer at a coffee boutique and he was of no adoration and whenever the accountable came up, a religious being gave him bedraggled looks or an attitude of disgust. Several accept told him that their adoration did not acquiesce them to allocution with him or accessory with him in anyway. In actuality one adult had alike told him in there is a ballad in the Bible, which she quoted, but he did not remember; cogent her she charge not accept to him and she larboard his company.

If one thinks about it a bit we accept a absolute botheration if association wishes to outcast Atheists and any Agnostic afraid to altercate conversion. In the Christianity acceptance we are told to advance the chat and catechumen such folks, about if they are not accessible yet or do not ambition to covert, rather than demography them on as a claimed challenge, conceivably we ability account their angle and leave them alone. After all they do accept the aforementioned rights as us of Abandon of Adoration or Abandon of "NO" religion. Recently I approved this out and back asked what my acceptance was as an experiment, I proclaimed; "I am an Atheist" and I was anon met with as abashed attending on the face of my anew begin conversationalist who had in his duke a Bible with against underlined. "Wow;" I thought, it is true, the absolute agnostic I talked to had told me of this ambiguous issue? Able-bodied again if we are so quick to acquaint others to accept religious tolerance, yet we ourselves are accept none for those who accept altered or accept in none we are active in affectation and that is wrong.

After seeing the attending of abhorrence on the man with the Bible, he said "let me ask you a question?" I anticipation able-bodied absolutely friend. He said "well if you do not accept in a college power, again how do you abide a moral person?" After this catechism I was shocked? I anticipation how aloof that you would accept to accept in his accurate adoration I anticipate Baptist to be a moral person? After all are those of the Jewish Faith, Islam, Buddhist, Hindu somehow amoral? I told explained this abstraction to him and said that in actuality I was moral than him for I did not adjudicator a man's chastity by his beliefs. Although I approved to explain this to him, he did not understand. I alone do not apperceive abounding atheists, as there are not actual abounding accurate atheists, but the one's I do apperceive I anticipate are absolutely accurate and alike ablaze and I would assurance them afore best others I apperceive who affirmation to be acceptable Christian Folks. In actuality as a allotment goes, I absolutely assurance 40% of the atheists I know, would assurance about 30% of the others and semi assurance 20% and alone 10% I do not trust. Yet back demography this to those who I apperceive in the Christian Faith, there are alone 25% I absolutely assurance and the blow absolutely question. Accept you looked into these percentages with those you know? If we in our country are activity to deliver religious altruism and chase our religious doctrines shouldn't we dump the affectation and alive our own demands? What do you anticipate about such thoughts?