Tag Archives: Karma

* Karma basics

November 12, 2014Get on your feet, Homelessness, Justice, Poverty, ScienceChronic lateness, Defects of character, Delayed sleep phase syndrome, Jamarion Lawhorn, Karma, Reincarnation, SchizophreniaWilliam Tell

We begin with Galaxian’s comment on “Jeanette:”

Schizophrenia is not a karmic matter. It is an organic disease just as much as cancer is. I don’t see how anything someone did in a previous life, or early in their current life, would bring this horrible thing on them. Anybody can develop this condition at any time, although it usually starts in young adulthood.

I gather we are both familiar with this disease.

It’s a mistake to condemn a person on the basis of his or her lot, and also can be highly misleading to say she or he “deserves” it.

Continue reading * Karma basics →

* Jeanette

November 8, 2014Homelessness, OUR BEST POSTSKarma, Prayer, Schizophrenia, The Homeless BloggerWilliam Tell

Jeanette is a pleasant, demented homeless woman who frequents St. Paul Plaza and the library.

She’s always immaculately dressed. I don’t know how she manages that.

One day, I think in May, walking through St. Paul Plaza, on impulse I approached her and asked if she’d sell me a cigarette. (At that time, I was buying “loose ones.”) Instead, she gave me three Newports.

And she’s done the same thing again almost every day since.

She’ll cross the street in the rain to bring me three Newports.

On the one hand, I’ve pondered whether I’m taking advantage of her. It seems instead that it’s a blessing to her to be able to do this for me.

On the other hand, you don’t want to have a conversation with her. She has a long, long list of public figures whose scandals and deaths she says have been blamed on her.

I am tempted to wish I knew the karmic basis of schizophrenia, that I might pray for her more effectively. But I need to use the tools I have.

God bless Jeanette, and heal her; in this life, or the next.

(Reblogged 2020-04-30.)

* Coming abstractions

October 25, 2014ScienceAmbrose Worrall, Centeredness, Emmet Fox, Happiness, Karma, Presence, Take things in stride, The Homeless BloggerWilliam Tell

On Friday, July 25, I emerged from my devotional time exceptionally centered, and I stayed that way for hours. Nothing like this has happened to me before. It raised a number of new questions and resurrected many old ones.

Continue reading * Coming abstractions →

* Grief and sublimation

September 13, 2014OUR BEST POSTSAlcoholism, Ambrose Worrall, Brian Williard, Grief, Karma, Prayer, Reincarnation, Sublimation, The Homeless BloggerWilliam Tell

R.I.P. Brian Williard, a.k.a. funnyphilosopher.

Homey died yesterday. Earlier in the week, he had consumed too much alcohol in too little time, and stopped breathing. Help did not arrive in time.

My grief surprised me, given that, when my mother died in 2011, I never grieved at all. However, that occurred in special circumstances. (Link)

Continue reading * Grief and sublimation →

* Carter Scott, Karma and Chaos

June 4, 2014Clippings, Dependency, Get on your feet, Justice, Local news, OUR BEST POSTS, Qabala, Squalor, The Way of PeaceCarter Scott, Chaos, Crime, Karma, The Homeless Blogger, TohuWilliam Tell

(Originally published 06/05/13 at Trojan Horse Productions. Reblogged 01/17/19.)

Short life of Carter Scott marred by accusations of family violence

It’s difficult to start this post, as the story’s prone to leave one speechless.

What sort of karma would impel a child to be born into that context?

At the shelter, we’re compelled to attend chapel every night. A different preacher comes each night, in a monthly rotation. These generally disappoint me in their utter failure to speak to the sort of situation in question here. About 40% of the presenters are preoccupied wholly with what will become of your soul when you die; whether you’ll go to heaven or hell; and your need to “believe in Jesus” as the key to salvation. It’s all about a cognitive assent, saying “yes” to a certain set of ideas. There is no presentation of Christianity as a lifestyle, nor any discussion of the role of discipline in following Jesus.

Another 40% of the presenters are preoccupied wholly with obtaining “blessings,” principally by the means of praise: “When the praises go up, the blessings come down.” A “blessing” here is always a material, for example monetary, advantage that one has done nothing to earn. It is as if God were some cosmic King Lear jealous for flattery.

Neither group mentions the call to repent, in terms of any need to change one’s ways.

The only hell that concerns me is the living hell that folk create in this life, here and now, for themselves and their community.
Continue reading * Carter Scott, Karma and Chaos →

* The wandering will

May 31, 2014Get on your feet, OUR BEST POSTS, Poverty, Science, The Way of PeaceAltruism, Cosmology, Darkness and light, Empathy, Evangelism, Free will, Jesus, Karma, Paul BloomWilliam Tell

A vector in a three-dimensional space.

I envision the emotional or spiritual world as a ten-dimensional space, in which a vector (arrow) beginning at the origin (the center of the space) depicts a person’s emotional state at any point in time. The vector’s length indicates the intensity of one’s emotions at a given moment, while its direction indicates what kinds of feelings those are — equal parts joy and sadness, for example, or some anger and much love.

These are the energies one is emanating at that moment, the kinds of light or darkness one creates.
Continue reading * The wandering will →

April 25, 2014HomelessnessJesus, Karma, ReincarnationWilliam Tell

“How I became homeless” is a long post that may be difficult to read at one sitting. The links here below can help. Clicking on any link here will take you to that part of the post; you can ALT-LEFT and ALT-RIGHT to return here, or back.

———— ♦ ————

[Introduction]
THE MUNDANE STORY …
THE SPIRITUAL STORY …
Virtues
Vices
Astrological influences
Bad theology
(1) God’s plan
(2) God’s will
(3) Self-denial and self-sacrifice
[Conclusion]

* The dark side of EQ

February 8, 2014Bible, Get on your feet, Homelessness, Justice, Poverty, Science, The Way of PeaceAnimal souls, Emotional intelligence, Empathy, EQ, Jesus, Karma, Paul Bloom, WisdomWilliam Tell

Adam Grant, The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman, An Antidote to the Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence

Dilemma: a hammer can be used either to build a house or to destroy priceless heirlooms. Possessing the tool of emotional intelligence does not mean one will use it favorably. What makes the difference?

In anticipating this post, I searched for a traditional term for “emotional intelligence.” I decided that the traditional term for it is wisdom. The Old Testament consistently refers to people who have emotional intelligence as “wise.” Those who lack it, it calls “fools.”

In the previous post, we saw that emotional intelligence, or wisdom, is a major determinant of personal effectiveness and success in life; in short, of prosperity. To the extent one wishes all people to prosper, it seems desirable that all people be wise.

In short, the wise prosper.

But the wise aren’t necessarily good, and the good aren’t necessarily wise.
Continue reading * The dark side of EQ →

* Nancy Lanza, a mother tragic and infuriating

December 28, 2013Clippings, National newsAdam Lanza, conspiracy, Crisis actors, Gun control, Handguns, Karma, Nancy Lanza, On air talent, Sandy Hook, Talk radio, Talk show host, The Homeless BloggerWilliam Tell

PLEASE READ THE COMMENTS!

Nancy Lanza, a mother tragic and infuriating

When I saw the TV news segment on the official report a few nights ago, I tried to recall what had become of the mother.

Oh, yes. He killed her first.

I have to believe there were resources and expertise available that she did not avail herself of, in her decades of dealing with this difficult child.

I still do not understand those who oppose any limits at all on how many guns a person can own.

I strongly suspect karma plays a big role in what happened.

Ultimately, she shares culpability.

Recall that this is the story that made most of us aware of the term “crisis actors.”

(Reblogged 08/03/17.)

“Hopes vs. expectations” — Additional tags

December 9, 1965UncategorizedGrief, Happiness, Hope, Karma, Romans 5:5William Tell

If you have arrived at this post, you have most likely done so by searching on one of the below tags. All pertain to this post:

Hopes vs. expectations

Continue reading “Hopes vs. expectations” — Additional tags →

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