December 18, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

Do We Heal or do We Listen to the Dollars Spread Around by the Gun Lobby

As a nation, there is unbearable pain and shock. Babies killed purposely by a troubled child. A troubled child who shot his Mother four times in the head and killed 20 little angels. Each day, while doing normal activities of life, suddenly I remember the tragedy. I have nine grandchildren and I want to throw up.

I think it is important to honor every hero. The teachers and other staff members. Whoever turned the PA system on to warn the other teachers and children. The first responders who will carry such horror within their hearts for the rest of their lives. Each one of these is a hero/heroine. I know that there are heroes we aren’t aware of but the Divinity in the Universe knows of your kind and compassionate behavior.

The violence and anger and hatred that is filling our society will not win. Those of us who are spiritual will not let that happen. We will continue to put light and love into the world. We will pray and meditate for peace and love and acceptance. We will not judge those who are different.

Our country needs to control violent video games and guns. Assault guns and huge magazines are insane. Who needs 30 rounds to kill a deer? What mother needs six guns in the house to feel safe? Therapy is a much better choice, a very necessary choice. Don’t listen to them. Listen to the cries and weeping of the people of Newton, Conn.

If you watch the memorials taking place in Newton, you will see the raw emotion of people whose lives have been touched by violence and guns. I don’t understand how the NRA can say anything. They will though and we need to use all of our emotional strength and every ounce of love in our hearts to turn away from them and think about our country’s loss and pain.

I pray, I honor the people of Newton, the victims, angels all. I pray for the parents who can’t tuck them into bed at night anymore. I pray for the first responders who are having nightmares. I pray for the children who went back to school today. Can you imagine who frightened these babies must have felt this morning? I pray that sanity and love will fill our society and we will put children in the priority they deserve.

Rest In Peace, sweet angels. You will never be forgotten.

Grief is often solitary and always full of pain. May the loving Beloved heal all hearts that are grieving and in pain.

The rainbow is a promise to Noah and to all of us.

The rainbow is a promise to all of us.

December 15, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

America, we have had enough shooting

Prayer brings healing and love to people

There is a source of comfort in times of unbearable grief

We must end the anger and violence. We must look to helping each other to heal.

People of all faiths are praying together for healing and peace and an end to violence.

December 15, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

At the End of the Day

The language of the eyes is tears.

This day has left many in pain, shock, disbelief, horror, and anger. I know I have felt each of these emotions through the course of the day. I have been praying, sending light and strength to the families of the survivors and the families of the victims.

This has been a week that reminds me of the 9-11 attacks. A time where your brain just can’t quite wrap around the truth–the awful truth that little ones have died. There really aren’t any words that can comfort a parent at a time like this, but it is important to put the sacred and pure energy out there to heal and lift up those whose hearts have been broken.

It doesn’t matter who these children were, they were all unique gifts from God and their time here was too short. I think about what they would have wanted their parents to feel and the entire nation. I think they would tell us they are in no pain and they are well. I think this because life is a cycle, it begins with birth and ends in death but that does not end the journey. I believe they would want us all to live in love, peace and harmony. I believe they would want to be remembered in our hearts.

Photo by Barbara Mattio

May all of the people who have been murdered this week Rest in the Peace of God now and always.

December 12, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

Another Shooting in America

The human being radiates energy. If you are aware you can feel people’s energy. It forms an aura around people and its strength can be felt. Some are positive and some are negative.

Last night, a young man with very negative energy committed murder and suicide at a mall in Oregon. The first question is, of course, why? Because he is now dead and we will never know. We did know that he must have had overwhelming mental health problems and he was able to obtain guns and ammunition.

I think there is a blanket which is floating over our beautiful country. So many people are angry.and that anger spills out to influence others. There are times to be angry. Injustice, oppression, hunger and illness are reasons. But people seem to be angry all the time and about the smallest things.

This amount of anger is dangerous. The shootings we have experienced in our country tells us that the anger is growing and spilling over. This is why, I believe that a smile, listening with your entire self, caring about what others are going through are the types of things that can help a person to release the anger.

The Buddha says that anger is like a hot coal held in your hand. The only person that really is hurt is you. The coal burns you and causes you pain.

The anger starts with a sense of failure, injustice, a feeling of being unlovable, and a sense that you will never achieve your goals. These are serious emotions for many people to control. Therapy is a possible resource to help people handle their emotions in a less violent way. To see that they have not been singled out to suffer.

So today, despite all of the news and politics which are taking up much of the discussion on the cable news shows, I feel that the biggest story is this young man, his life, his experiences, and why he felt he needed to go to that mall and kill perfect strangers. What was wrong in his life? Why did he end up feeling that this was his only option

Ten thousand people were in that mall shopping for the holidays. I pray for each and every one of them. This was a horrific experience to survive. I pray for the families and friends of the people who did not survive including the shooter. I ask for an easy transition for those who died. I am sure the angels were ready to hold them as they passed on to the next phase of their lives.

There is also the question of the gun and the ability of the shooter to have access to guns and ammunition. I will leave this aspect to the politicians. I just have a question. When will we have killed enough people that the government will say” Enough is Enough.”

These flowers are for those who were injured or died. Blessed be.

December 11, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

Peace is Possible in Our Everyday Lives

Working for Peace and Harmony in Our Time

It is difficult to think about ending the strife and war in the entire world. But it is possible for each of us to live in the present moment every day. There are countries building up munitions and creating super weapons. It is difficult to handle all of this and believe in the goodness and love of people.

What we can’t do is to live in the past, no matter what happened then, nothing can make it better. The events of the past must remain there or you will be living in the hurt and pain and perhaps even looking for revenge. We must let go. We must walk away from the past and then it looses its power over us. Then we can make our lives be what we wish them to be. The future is a siren who calls us, but it never arrives. Its song is enticing but futile. What we can do is live in the moment and help others to live in the moment.

The present is the beginning of peace. All around the world are people who have lived under oppression, have witnessed horrors, lost parents to violence, survived malnutrition or lived in refugee camps where they know they really aren’t wanted. They have watched friends killed in cold blood or seen a bomb destroy their home and all that they owned. The photos, their toys, their food and their hopes and dreams.

It is in the present that we can create our happiness. Each single moment, we have the opportunity to show by our actions that you love others. That what they are experiencing at that moment, matters to you. That they are not alone and someone cares that they are struggling in that moment.

We all have the right to be happy and peaceful. We have been created for this and happiness and peace only comes when we are in love with God. When you do an act which brings happiness to another, you create peace within yourself. Peace and joy pours into our hearts and we have more to give to the next person we come in contact with as we go about our lives.

We must all understand that happiness and joy come to us and so does suffering. Facing the suffering is not ever easy. It can make you feel as if you were being torn apart. Have we done something to deserve suffering. I don’t believe so. I believe that if we never suffer, we can’t understand another’s pain. We can’t appreciate the joy, love, peace and happiness that comes with the suffering. When someone has not ever suffered, they are only experiencing part of life. We are here to live life to its fullest.

If I suffer, then I can understand another’s pain, hunger or fear. If I love them with all the love I have and then love them some more, then I will be filled with more love. The qualification is that love is given without expecting anything in return.

“Knowledge of yourself produces humility, and knowledge of God produces love.” —-Mother Teresa

It isn’t how much we do to help others, it is how much love accompanies our acts of assistance that really counts. If you give to a charity because you need a tax deduction, it won’t have the energy of your love. It will help but not in the same way. Perform acts of kindness with love and they will lead us to peace.

Peace Plea

Please, protect my children and family.

Please protect the children of other Mothers.

Please give peace to other parents.

Please give this beautiful world peace.

Only you can give this peace to the world.

–Barbara Mattio

December 6, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

The One and Love

My Heart has Become Capable of Every Form

My heart has become capable of every form;

For gazelles and a retreat for Christian monks,

And a temple for idols, and the pilgrims’s Ka’ba

And the tables of the Torah and the book of the Koran.

I follow the religion of Love, whichever way his camels take.

My religion and my faith is the true religion.

——Ibn al–Arabi

“Fact is intelligible, but truth is beyond comprehension, for truth is unlimited.” ——-Hazarat Inayat Khan

“Love in reality creates harmony in one’s life on earth and peace in Heaven.” ———Hazrat Inayat Khan

“The principal work of the prophet is to glorify the name of God, and to raise humanity from the denseness of the earth,

To open the doors of the human heart to the divine beauty

Which is everywhere manifested, and to illuminate souls

Which are groping in darkness for years. The prophet brings

The Message of the day, a reform for that particular period in which he is born.” ——Hazrat Inayat Khan

December 5, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

You’ve Got Me Walking in the Rain

Wild Nights

Wild Nights–Wild Nights!

Were I with thee

Wild Nights should be

Our luxury!

Futile—the winds—-

To a Heart in port—-

Done with the Compass—Done with the Chart!

Rowing in Eden—-

Ah, the Sea!

Might I but moor—-Tonight—-

In Thee!

—–Emily Dickinson

“Love is a crooked thing, there is nobody wise enough to find out all that is in it.” —-W.B. Yeats

December 4, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

Peace is Important to Saving Mother Earth

A Peaceful Picnic Among the Water Lotus

Hello, everyone. Have you ever noticed how you can look at something over and over and not really see it? I have and I have realized something. What I have realized is that we need peace and we need to heal our planet. We must do them together if we are going to have any success. The concepts need to be interwoven for strength and workability.

If we work hard and accomplish healing the planet, and we end up in another World War, it won’t do much good. If we learn to live peacefully with each other. To love others as we love ourselves. If we manage not to fear the differences in cultures,skin color, or beliefs and we haven’t healed the planet, well, we will not survive either. So we must all work together to make this entire plan work. The full commitment of every person, government and religion is necessary.

We can’t do it without work, love, acceptance and honoring all that is sacred. What is sacred? Everything is sacred because Divinity is found within everything which breathes and lives. This includes our planet. So we need to find a way to weave the threads of the lives of all sentient beings together to form a strong yet beautiful tapestry that will reflect the love and holiness that is here among us..

The Beuaty of Nature in our World is something that we must preserve

Peace

Peace flows into me

As the tide to the pool by the shore;

It is mine forevermore,

It will not ebb like the sea.

I am the pool of blue

That worships the vivid sky;

My hopes were heaven-high,

They are all fulfilled in you.

I am the pool of gold

When sunset burns and dies-

You are my deepening skies;

Give me your stars to hold.”

——Sara Teasdale

Teasdale won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1918

Lake Erie Sunset; Huntington Beach, OH; Photo by Barbara Mattio

November 26, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

Imagine Peace

Can you imagine a world without war?

May it be your will Eternal One our God and God of our ancestors that war and bloodshed will cease.
That a treat, wonderful peace will envelope the whole world,
And nation will not lift up sword against nation, and neither shall they learn war any more.
Only will all the inhabitants of the earth become acquainted with and know this tuth:
We do not come into this world for fighting or quarrels, and not for hatred, zealotry, destruction or spilling of blood.
Rather, we have only come into the world to know you God and to praise you forever.

So, please have mercy upon us, and fulfill the promise written Scriptures:

I will grant peace to the land. You shall lie down and none shall be afraid.

I will rid the land of vicious beasts and the sword shall not cross your lands.

Justice will swell up like water, righteousness like a mighty stream.

And all of the earth shall be filled with the knowing of the Eternal One as the water fills the sea.

—A Nineteenth Century Jewish Prayer for Peace

A Sufi Prayer for Peace

Send Thy Peace, O Lord, which is perfect and everlasting; that our souls may radiate peace.

Send Thy Peace, O Lord, that we may think, act, and speak harmoniously.

Send Thy Peace, O Lord, that we may be contented and thankful for Thy bountiful gifts.

Send Thy Peace, O Lord, that amidst our worldly strife we may enjoy Thy bliss.

Send Thy Peace, O Lord, that we may endure all, tolerate all in the thought of Thy grace and mercy.

Send Thy Peace, O Lord, that our lives may become a divine vision, and in Thy light all darkness may vanish.

Send Thy, Peace, O Lord, our Father and Mother, that we Thy children on earth may all unite in one brotherhood.

—Hazrat Inayat Khan

We all, no matter what our spiritual path or religion, we all will benefit from a lasting peace. I encourage all the people in the world who believe in peace to work for it. Stand up, speak out. If you live under a dictator leave the country and contact the United Nations. Remember there are people in every country who love peace and will help. I know that while we have to pray, we also have to work for peace, write about peace, call your government officials, write to your leaders and to your Pastors, Rabbis, Priests, and Sheiks. Ask for peace, tell them why you want peace. Meditate on peace. Begin with peace within yourself and then go on to peace within your community, and then within your country.

We, the extraordinary people who believe and will speak out for peace in our world can and will make a difference. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, or what you believe. Just embrace the concept of peace and we can change Our World.

This symbol is for peace. May everyone remember it still is the international symbol for the work of making peace.

November 25, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

The Need for Women’s Voices in the World

Galveston Island, TX ; Photo by Barbara Mattio

” This is how love is: So what if your head must roll,

What is there to cry about?” —-Kabir

“In proportion as one simplifies one’s life,

the laws of the Universe will appear less

complex, and solitude will not be solitude,

nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. —Thoreau

If we were to remove all mention of women from the history of the world’s major religions, the history of these religions would not undergo the slightest change. Removing all male’s names would destroy religion. The presence of feminine mystics and holy women has never altered the course of religious history or changed its direction at all.

Most people assume that our religions were equally representative of the feminine psyche is an assumption that finds no footing in our religious histories. To change religions and spiritual paths to be inclusive of the female energy and spirit. Women need to continue to take the forefront of spiritual experience in our modern world. We need to take the lead in making spiritual paths more accepting of women and protective of women and children.

Gulf of Mexico, Photo by Barbara Mattio

Women at the head of spiritual paths and walking along their own spiritual journey can begin to change some of the horrors women and children find themselves living in. I am speaking of Human Traffeting in children, genital mutilation, marrying 10 year old children. We as women need to teach more about love and acceptance and less about hatred and violence. Women have the ability to look at the big picture of what is happening in our world and to make the needed changes.

Things like micro loans, education, feeding a village buy buying the villagers a goat or seeds to plant to grow their own food. Women need to take the lead in the global climate control. It is our time to step forward and speak up. It is our time to make the haters, the greedy, the ones’s who take advantage of the poor, elderly and homeless pay for their crimes. We need to step forward to show that our priorities are more than monetary. They are people, peace and the end of wars.