… can make a hard situation easy, or make an easy situation hard.
To enter the shelter, you walk across this parking lot to an iron gate, and then down these steps to the “smoke pit,” an 8 x 20′ area with benches where we sit until they call us in, in groups of six, to register for this night. One does this every day.
(Originally posted 2012-07-26 at Trojan Horse Productions. Reblogged 2014-04-09.)
[See also the William Tell Show page, “Word of the Day.”]
Prayer for myself often takes the form of imagining myself climbing up a ladder out of a pit, the pit being my current circumstances of poverty and homelessness. Getting out at the top represents a return to the normal life of the American mainstream. I didn’t start with a ladder in there, but I decided to add one to symbolize the various structures and tools that others have made available to me — and eliminate the possibility of clawing at loose earth.
Here begins a list of “rungs” on the ladder that I’ve become aware I need to “overcome.” Each one takes effort, exertion, to get over. I will update this list from time to time as I learn of others.
(Originally posted 04/05/14. Reblogged 10/20/16.)
| 1. | Fear of the unknown. See From my diary: Learning to pray. |
| 2. | Jealousy of others who seem to be prospering more quickly than I am. Details here. |
| 3. | Times of despair. I guess, from time to time, they’ll happen. Details here. |
| 4. | Incidents of utter selfishness. Details here. |
| 5. | Moments of unusual hardship and sacrifice. Details here. |
| 6. | Cut loose the losers. Details here. |
| 7. | Smoking. See posts tagged “Smoking”. |
| 8. | Shame. See “(3) Baby steps.” |
| 9. | Attributions of arrogance, selfishness and greed. Details here. |
| 10. | Others’ well-intentioned but misguided prayers. Details here. |
Kathleen Parker says Democrats are pushing the minimum wage increase in a “desperate” effort to boost turnout at the midterm elections, whereas the proposal stands no chance of passing Congress.
As a policy of The William Tell Show, I’m more interested in an issue’s substance than in who will win.
The minimum wage increase may not be a good idea, but relates to numerous issues of personal concern to me.
Continue reading Make ’em all taxpayers
(Originally posted 06/02/12 at Trojan Horse Productions. Reblogged 04/02/14.)
Friday 06/01/12 we were working on the assembly line, and the music they had on the PA was WQSR 102.7 “Jack.” I didn’t mind; it was an interesting change of pace.
At mid-afternoon this one song came on that made me feel tense. What song, I don’t recall and it doesn’t matter. The music made me feel tense. That’s what this post is all about.
The earlier post entitled “Change your diet” was all about words. One needs also to be aware of the feelings and attitudes music itself brings out in you, and choose accordingly.
Continue reading Change your diet, chapter 2
One is unlikely to understand this without first reading “From my diary: Learning to pray.”
Bookmarks:
1. Don’t come uninvited.
2. You don’t need an invitation to love people.
3. Name names.
4. Word for word.
5. What you “see” is what you’ll get.
[Conclusion]
I consulted several Wikipedia articles in preparation for this post. All turned out to have been written by people who are hostile toward reports of anything that might involve a spiritual world.
As much as I try to give credit to all points of view, I cannot adopt the same position. My earliest memories are of the conviction that there is more to the world than we perceive with the five senses. Since I began practicing silence, I have seen auras. I have had precognitive visions and telepathic dreams. I was compelled on one occasion to pray for my worst enemy, only to learn later she’d just been through an event I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. In the fall of 1990 I was compelled to pray day after day for a woman I’d not met and had never heard of; only to find, when I moved to another state in January ’91 to attend grad school, she was one of my classmates and had an intense interest in healing prayer, as I also did. To deny these facts, I’d have to lie to myself more than I’m willing to.
There’s still the puzzle of unanswered prayer.
Continue reading ✓ When prayer backfires
(Originally posted 05/28/12 at Trojan Horse Productions. Reblogged 03/26/14.)
Garbage in, garbage out.
The Homeless Blogger 