liked the article.  However, I have to say that Earth is an immersion learning experience.  Every day we learn and we grow.  Every day is something new.  I always tell everyone around me, today I will stuff your head with learning.  I stuff my own head with learning.

But the highest learning of all is to love someone. When my daughter was only 4, she told me, “mom, this is all about learning new paths of love.”  OMGDS.  I loved that! And she was one of those kids that always could tell you what was going to happen next.  She knew intimately all of my beloved relatives that had already passed over, she knew things no one else would know…..I think everyone knows a special child like that nowadays.

So, I’m not sure we have to count ordinary days. Count your days of love. The days you gave a hug, a smile, a  kiss, health and happiness, the days you pray for someone, the days you asked the angels to pray for someone, the days you found a blessing.

And there you are, life is soooo much easier, much tolerable.

I send my peace and love and joy and blessings to you all today.

This will also be posted on http://www.oufeminist.org for future reference.

Ohh, I loved the story for peace.

Some day Is-Pal will be so strong together they will get rid of all their weapons that hurt the women and children!

Loved it.  I think the bombing is a great story of how no one should ever shoot off any rocket or bomb.

For too long, Israel has been the puppet of arms manufacturers who teach them to fear instead of love.  It all comes from mega corporations.

That area has to love and put down their arms.  I’ll put this on my OU feminist blog.

Yeah!  protect the women and children and get rid of weapons and soldiers.

Great story

take care

joanne

1) REGARDING MARRYING ‘OUTSIDE’ YOUR RELIGION

It’s pretty funny the writer is complaining about ONE lousy marriage in a family that is not the same religion, not the same country, not the same anything– (But conversely, if the parties are the same sex, some complain about that!)–when in fact, in the US most families are extended and branched over and over with absolutely nothing the same–religion, color, foods, or whatever, and most families celebrate that. Well, at least I do. More to celebrate, more holidays, more food, more wine. And then you get to the point that you realize that most people today are much more well read about all types of religions, from conservative Jewish sects to liberal American catholic sects, to spirtuality and our sensitive powers, that I have to disagree that most people know little about religion. I find them to be fairly well read about religion–if they’re interested in it. We’re pretty much a church going, synagogue, temple or whatever you have going group in the US anyway with 90% of Americans attending several religious services per year. Most attend more than one house of worship during the year. So I have to disagree with that. I don’t think anyone would disagree that the orthodox Jewish religion has a ton of beauty in it, but there’s entire websites of ancient religious texts to study also. My favorite is http://www.sacred-texts.com. Warning: religion can become very, very addictive tho. Meditation/prayer can be far more powerful and better feeling than any drug–legal or illegal on the market. I found ways to pray and meditate that leave me feeling higher than any kite in the world–filled with peace and love. The power of religion and prayer is very addictive and very, very powerful

2) REGARDING C-SECTION ARTICLE

The article would have been better if it would be more accurate in a healthy life style. A low carb diet is best for mom and baby. Regular testing of blood sugar levels is important and you can get those meters for free from Freestyle. Further, the article does NOT describe what efforts this woman went thru to “trigger” the cervix. That is important. Women with the lowest levels of C-section labor in fields, they walk a lot and when they go into labor they walk even more. When labor is intense, they should squat (but not push) and let gravity do the work of opening the cervix. The dirty little secret of docs today is they want c-sections for the money and convenience. They want you to labor on your back. They want to put those dumb strappy things around you and tell you “lie down”. (I told them they had between ONE contraction to do that and to get that dumb worthless thing off of me–studies show they don’t work and result in dangerous add’l c-sections). before you go into labor read the green studies (not on the NIH for obvious reasons) about how to avoid a c-section. be sure to get a doc (best) or midwife that will give you the min drugs you need to get thru it but keep you active and on your feet or squatting until the time of delivery. I was lifting weights and pushing furniture around the last two weeks of my 4 pregnancies and everything went extra fine. Those babies got right down there. and when one got stuck because his arm was over his head, it was just an episotomy no biggie. the trick is–get that baby down there. stay in shape. avoid carbs at all costs. do jumping jacks or whatever, but do NOT lie on your back. it’s a recipe for disaster.

3) REGARDING WEIGHT LOSS ARTICLE

Interesting article, but it does not go into the fact that our foods are much less nutritious than they used to be.  We now spray only about 8 to 10 nutrients on  conventional crops, when we used to fertilize by hand with well composted manures and vegetation containing dozens and dozens of nutrients.  grandma and mom were also adept at going out in the woods and finding even more mushrooms, fungi, herbs and spices for good nutrition.
when you’re not receiving all your nutrients, you finish a meal and still feel hungry.
also, it’s a myth that men and women in their 40-50′s feeling older and more achy, slow down when in fact they need more exercise and not less. current studies show that a woman in her 50s needs to exercise one hour per day to avoid gaining weight and more than that to lose weight. women in that category have about the worst metabolism there is, so if you find a diet plan or supplement that works on that group, go for it. avoid the ones that show skinny young people because that category loses weigh the easiest.  we all know that men lose weight much faster and easier than women.
good luck.  I’m now swimming one hour per day, every day, and I’m waiting for the weight loss. I am amazed at the fact I pretty much eat only salads, organic, low carb and I can exercise like that and lose nearly nothing.  The swimming is fun now that I found a place and I feel better and my blood pressure is perfect now, so I guess i don’t mind at all.

I’m not so sure about modern people being “lazy and fat” sitting in an upper room not caring about the Divine Ones. However, a point should be made that the amazing amount of toxins and chemicals in our food do impact our endocrine systems and that can produce obesity. Same as the king above. Why judge him when we do not know if he had a thyroid problem or some other ailment. Lack of nutrients and poverty are also associated with obesity because people work a lot of jobs and don’t have time for exercise. Further, we only spray about 10 different nutrients on our crops rather than using organic fertilizers made from natural compost and composted manure which is much higher in nutrients, vitamins and phytochemicals. As a result, when we eat now, we feel hungry even tho we ate a full plate of “modern” foods because our bodies were looking for nutrients that should have been there but weren’t due to “modern” farming practices. Further, we dump 53 billion tons of chemicals on our crops, including unnatural fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. When we mine, we dig up tons of toxins not meant to be released into our air and water supply. We concoct plastics and other materials out of chemicals not meant to be near humans. All of these unnatural toxins can and do affect our bodies and our metabolisms. Obesity in modern society is a much more complex issue. Kosher may have been enuf to stay fit 2600 years ago, but the world is much more complex now and we need to be aware of that, following a Kosher diet or not. The new mantra is really organic, sustainable, bioresponsible, fair trade. If you want to add Kosher on that go right ahead. No problem.

Okay, before you hit this link, the table is for entertainment purposes only.  Don’t write me something serious in response to it, because it’s not meant to be taken that way.

But, there is quite a bit of truth in it.

Have fun

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6FbJzwtHocwbGFsd0hDLWFpbnM

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6FbJzwtHocwbGFsd0hDLWFpbnM

(cut and paste if link is broken or hacked, I think WordPress got hacked on my computer.  sigh).

I will also make this  a page anyone can access from the top.  If rules and categories are important to you, don’t miss this one.

see the original article at http://www.ou.org/jewish_action/05/2012/choosing-judaism-life-stories-remarkable-converts-2/

http://www.ou.org/jewish_action/05/2012/choosing-judaism-life-stories-remarkable-converts-2/

Cute story, but I have no idea why this guy didn’t have the guts to go home, explain to his family what he believed and stuck by it.  I know many, many people from Japan, and I know they are kind, caring and open minded.  I think he sold his family short.
It’s okay to be Buddist, Jewish, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Wiccan, whatever in the US and no one really bugs you about it.  No one here even cares if you believe in the fairies for deities.
I do hope this gentleman and his wife are able to reconnect with family.  I will pray for them to do that.  The karmic ties of family are very, very strong, and he and his wife should enjoy them.
His love of Hebrew is probably from a past life and that is why he is enamored of it.  That’s okay and perfectly fine.
I was confused by the Protestant ritual involving “bread and wine” similar to that practiced by Catholics.  Communion is the same for Roman Catholics, American Catholics, Protestants, etc. and just comes from a few phrases out of the New Testament.  Most people know that.  I worry that the writer of the article has not learned basic religious concepts before venturing out into more esoteric and archaic areas.
I also didn’t understand why he was confused about the “trinity”–it is a concept that predates Christianity and just consists of 3 things the faith believes in–Father, son, Holy Ghost, or Father, Mother and child where child symbolized earth or walking in earth, etc.  It has obvious parallels to the families we have on earth which are clearly blessed by God/dess.  Not a difficult concept.
With respect to Shabbat, I know a whole lot of people that, as I do, light candles every night, and say a blessing for family, peace and love and for the world.  Not uncommon.  In fact, my family jokes that I will not sit down to dinner unless and until the candles are lit.  And they know I say prayers all the time, non-stop.  Praying is very, very easy.
I am glad I live in the US where we are allowed to adopt religious practices of all types, from Jewish, to Buddist, to Hindu, to Christian and most educated people seem to know a lot about a wide variety of religions and spirituality.
Another practice I like of the Jewish religion is that the main holy day is on Friday, or Frieda day, which was an older German Goddess.  The Christian Religion has Sunday or Sun God day, which is the masculine equivalent.
But then the Jews blended the ancient Indian religions too.  Abraham is from “il Brahamin” or the old powerful Indian God Brahmin and Sarah was of the ancient Indian Goddess Sari.  I love that.  This proves recycling is very important.
If my comments are not published here, they will be on my http://www.oufeminist.org website.
Take care all and have a blessed day and I will pray for you all.
PS–oh, but watch the challah. Too high in carbs.  And there are newer versions of Kosher out there that watch the carbs, are free trade and push organic.  We currently dump 53 billion tons of chemicals on our crops every year and that’s gotta stop.  It’s clearly not Kosher.