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By Revd. Barnabas Alexander & Dr. Kristoffson Somanader
04 September, 2005
The Tmilian race of people is of an ancient stock. Some scholars are convinced that the Tamils originated from the continent of Lemuria that was later lost to the ocean. The Tamils were a sophisticated people in that they developed complex social structures. Their culture possessed spiritually sensitive art forms - prose and poetry; music; dance and drama. The exquisite Tamil language couched the esoteric essence of its people with intricate grammar. Some ancient literary works (6BC) place Tamils as the first circumnavigators. Essentially the Tamils were a spiritual people. Tamilians have practised twin form of spirituality namely Saivism and Thirumalism until the incremental invasion of the Aryans. That is to say, that the Tamils acquired not only the worship of icons/idols but also the practice of offering fire sacrifices (Verlvi) as a result of northern invasion. Sivan or Thirumal worship in its purest form meant that the Tamils worshipped the ubiquitous Cosmic Spirit – the invisible One without any aid of iconography. Formation of such seminal thoughts could be traced in ancient Tamil literature including the Sitthar padalgal. For example, a Sitthar Tamil poem sings: "Natta Kallai suttriyai; Naalu puspam sathiyai; sutri vanthu mona mona yendru sollum manthiram yethadar; natta kallum pesumo nathan ullil erukaiyil?" The mystic through this song raises the question as to why one should worship an inanimate object while "Nathan" - the indwelling Spirit / the Master of the universe is residing within one self. The divine interiority of each person was paramount to the Tamil mind. It is not far from the truth to say that the Tamils have adhered to a monotheistic framework and referred to God either as Thirumal or Sivan.
We propose that much cultural/spiritual corruption came via the Brahmins as they conspired to enslave the Tamils, inter alios, politically, intellectually, and spiritually.
Corrupting Influence
Advanced civilisation of the Tamils divided the habitable landscape into four distinct areas. That distinction of habitation reflected their art and culture respectively. The four separate areas were 1) Kurungee: mountainous terrain 2) Mullai: Forest and the surrounding area 3) Marutham: Cleared area of 'green site' settlements 4) Naithal: Sea and dwellings along the coastline.
The cultural perception of the ancient Tamil mind was not to separate people, as some wrongly propagates, into castes. The system of caste entered the mindset of the Tamils only when the Brahmins arrived at the scene. The primary violence however, the Brahmin did to the spiritual mind of the Tamil was to evict the Tamil language from the act of worship by surreptitiously introducing an unknown tongue, Sanskrit as the "sacred" language of the gods. This was an ideal political move on the part of the Aryans in order they might colonise initially the Dravidian mind. They understood the significance of capturing and occupying the mind first by promoting a superior notion of a 'heavenly' language. This was a convenient arrangement to exclude the masses. Only a 'divinely authorised' cognitive class was enabled to pronounce the mantra and robe the role of a 'go between' the common worshipper and newly introduced gods.
When someone needed to communicate to the gods, one would now require the assistance of the Brahmin who could articulate 'god language'. It was a bit like the Latin Mass! Such religious monopoly was utterly new to the spiritually minded Tamil!
Then the secondary assault of inferiority had its knock on effect through the belief-system of caste consciousness. This was indeed again a very much a novel idea to the Tamils, or for that matter to all Dravidians in the continent.
In order for the Brahmin to be on the top of the hierarchical pyramid they were obliged to invent the theology of Varna. Prior to delving into that, we must note another subtle shift. It is widely believed by cultural Anthropologist that within the spirituality of the Tamils there was found a singular practise of agrarian offering as opposed to the later Brahmanic introduction of animal sacrifices in the context of Verlvi/Yakam. It is further understood, that originally, the Tamils were highly complexed in their understanding of spirituality and in that, unlike other ancient peoples, there seem to be no evidence of engaging in the worship of Fire nor did they ever incorporate fire in their modes of worship. It is deliberate that their worship of God did not spring out of fear. Human or animal sacrifice was hardly practised among the ancient Tamils. We are reminded of the "Foundational sacrificial murder" of Abel that arose within the context of worship. This narrative is found in the book of Genesis in the Hebrew Scripture. It is relevant to observe here that Cain's first offering to God was an agrarian 'sacrifice'. The ancient Tamils similarly offered to God only such 'sacrifice'. Their perception of God might have pictured a compassionate Supreme Being that needed no appeasing with blood. Such peaceful spirituality must have impacted the way they related within the community.
As the influence of the Brahmins grew and captured the fertile imagination of the Tamil mind their sole deity Sivan/Thirumal was subtly displaced by Brahmanism. Owing to the Brahmanic intellectual chauvinism the Tamils were coerced in to the idea of a pantheon of gods and began to view the Supreme as Brahma. It was uniquely an internal religious conversion. This was a paradigm shift in terms of indigenous belief system. By giving room to such a minor adjustment, the thraldom of caste consciousness was to make a cancerous impact on the minds of the Tamils. It was designed to divide, degrade and of course rule the Tamils thereafter! Remember however, the Brahmin occupied the next highest place to God. Such an ingenious theological invention virtually abetted the ascendancy of the Brahmin. It must be pointed out that the Buddha challenged the authority of the Brahmins. He further questioned the sacrificial ritual in his philosophy and got rid of Brahma as the Creator. By doing so, Buddha challenged the caste-system, which is the heartbeat of the Vedic religion.
The complexion of Varna
Varnam means colour. The Brahmanic system of colour, put in contemporary language, would be nothing but a system of apartheid. Some scholars, in order to preserve the system of caste, tend to propose that the four varnas are merely a stratification of society – a social ordering if you like. The Brahmins like the Afrikaners masked such abominable thinking in rich religious connotation in order to brain wash the masses. They introduced the idea of ritualistic purity/holiness, which was totally alien to the Tamil. The degradation of the out castes as impure was immense, to say the least. It is inherently a warped deterministic worldview. Thankfully the current debate on Dalit theologies knock out of joint such colossal myths.
The genius of the Varna was to derive the Brahmin from Brahma (God). It seems to the modern mind as a sinister word play. Such tinkering of the minds devalues other human persons as lower castes. Those persons who do not come into the periphery of the caste system are demonised as outcastes and therefore, deemed to be simply "things" or non-entities.
The four castes are Brahmin; Sathriya; Vaisiya; Soothra. A religious propaganda was advanced that God has created Brahman out of his head/face meaning that Brahmin is the face of God to the masses (a bit like the Hebrew Moses!) and they were the chosen priests and scribes. A little lower, Sathriya was said to be created out of God's shoulder. That meant they were the warriors and aristocrats who were the strength and protection to society. Further lower down, the Vaisiya, who was created out of God's thigh; meaning that these were the merchants who supported both the Brahman and the Sathriya. On the bottom were the Soothra who was destined to serve the above castes because they were created from the feet. This system as it seems, on the surface, disguises its venom as the division of labour. The toxin of such thinking works much deeper than that. The castes were also given colour coding: White; red; gold and black. It is no surprise that the supremacy of the Brahmin grades black to be the colour of the poor. Such poisonous ideas were injected into the Dravidian mind as religious thought.
In the past, there have been many attempts made by various Dravidian progressive political parties and social reform movements, particularly in South India, in order to detox society from the addiction to Brahmanic myths. It is no easy task they found, to uproot archaic thought patterns. Once you believe a system of dangerous lies, when it's presented as a religious idea in particular, then it becomes a near impossibility to eliminate
One begins to dream however, in the context of the liberation struggle of the Ceylon Tamils, such tyrannical ideas and thought patterns could be replaced in the young minds from drawing from Tamilian root ideas and authentic spiritual beliefs and original social values.
There are reasons to believe that the ruling elitist Brahmins in India seem to be instinctively threatened by the "danger" of the emancipatory praxis of the Ceylon Tamils. Therefore, they will continue to undermine the quest for liberty. We wish to advance the idea of Thamil Eelam as more than a political entity that encompasses spiritual, social and intellectual liberation to Tamils – who are among one of the most ancient and culturally unique and distinct race of people on this planet.
That is the reason why Bharathiyar sang: Thamilan Endru sollada; Thalai Nemirnthu nillada. This is not to be interpreted as an inflated nationalistic pride. On the contrary, it is to be viewed from an angle of redeeming Tamil consciousness from inferiority complex. It is looked in terms of human rights: one's intrinsic value and inherent right to determine his/her spiritual, socio-political, cultural destiny. In the light of current liberative praxis, the tyranny of a centuries old cyclic conspiracy is totally incompatible.
Epilogue: The authors are clear that this article should not be misinterpreted as a personal attack on any particular religion or on any individual Brahmin. The whole argument is advanced against both the intellectual tyranny and the thraldom of mind to the consciousness and the system of caste in the name of God. This is an attempt to show the illogical stance of such theologies and to high light the incompatibility of such thinking not only to the modern mind but also in particular to the ancient Tamil mind.


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Thomas Banks, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School Medical School
Department Radiation Oncology
Graduate Programs Biomedical Engineering
- DABR, Therapeutic Medical Physics (2019)
- Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Nuclear Physics (2007)
- M.A., University of California, Berkeley, Physics (2001)
- A.B., Cornell University, Physics (1999)
Research Interest
- Applying new technologies to improve clinical operations, and working in partnership with physicians to develop novel techniques
Featured Publications
- Pilot study of combined FDG-PET and dynamic contrast-enhanced CT of locally advanced cervical carcinoma before and during concurrent chemoradiotherapy suggests association between changes in tumor blood volume and treatment response.
- Banks TI, von Eyben R, Hristov D, Kidd EA Cancer Med 2018 Aug 7 8 3642-3651
- First Results from CUORE: A Search for Lepton Number Violation via 0??? Decay of Te-130
- C. Alduino et al. PRL 2018 120 132501
- A compact ultra-clean system for deploying radioactive sources inside the KamLAND detector
- Banks, T.I. et al. Nucl. Instrum. Meth. 2015 A769 88?96
- Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay of Te-130 with CUORE-0
- Alfonso, K., et al. PRL 2015 115 102502
- Limit on Neutrinoless ?? Decay of Xe-136 from the First Phase of KamLAND-Zen and Comparison with the Positive Claim in Ge-76
- Gando, A. et al. PRL 2013 110 062502
- Measurement of the Muon Capture Rate in Hydrogen Gas and Determination of the Proton?s Pseudoscalar Coupling g_P
- V. A. Andreev et al. PRL 2007 99 032002
Honors & Awards
- APS Dissertation Award in Nuclear Physics
Professional Associations/Affiliations
- AAPM, Southwest Chapter (2020)

subset: commoncrawl


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The decision to sell manufacturing business is a big one. That is why you must never rush things. All your decisions have to be calculated. It is for this reason that you need an experienced business broker to guide you through the sale. At So-Cal Business Brokers we work with the most experienced and dependable team in the business. We have been selling manufacturing businesses for more than 20 years now and we will be happy to be by your side throughout the sale. The first thing we recommend you do is understand the basic things you have to do before selling.
Gather business records
The first thing you will need to do before you sell manufacturing business is obviously to gather all your business records. Start with the tax and other official records that pertain to your business. You need to gather records going back at least three years. Doing so will make work easier for your accountants and us as we get your business ready for sale. The more detailed the information you provide to us the better the advice we will give you more so when it relates to decisions on whether to move forward with the sale or not. You also need to provide us with your business' profit and loss statements, tax returns as well as other relevant documents we request such as leases, outstanding loans and so on.
Leave partnership
In most cases, when you want to sell your manufacturing business you will have to leave partnerships. This means buying out your partners and finalizing all documentations with them. Our team can guide you as you handle negotiations with your partners. We will also let you know which are the fair offsetting costs against the partner's tax bills as well as the fair offsetting losses against partnership's tax bill.
Pay taxes
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Responsibility to employees
As much as keeping the sale a secret is important, you will need to meet your responsibilities to employees when closing. You have to tackle issues like making redundancies, payroll issues, pensions schemes and so on.
A lot goes into the sale of a manufacturing business. The good news is we have been selling manufacturing businesses for close to three decades now. Our team will ensure you get the best results as you sell. Contact us now to take advantage of our free consultation.


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Schools are closed, restaurants are closed, gatherings are limited, and many people are avoiding public places altogether — life as we know it has changed dramatically over the last few days thanks to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Unfortunately, animal shelters and rescues have also been impacted by the disruptions caused by COVID-19.
Shelters Temporarily Closing
Due to requests from officials that Americans practice social distancing to reduce the spread of the virus, many cities across the country have basically shut down. Animal shelters and rescues are operating with a reduced workforce and some have had to close to the public or cancel events. It's likely that many more will need to do so as more cities take steps to slow down the virus, which would halt pet adoptions, and possibly prevent new animals from coming in. The closures would also mean shelter pets will have fewer interactions with people.
Help by Fostering
Those of us that are already spending more time at home may be able to help during coronavirus quarantines. Shelters across the country are urging animal lovers to foster while practicing social distancing. They are hoping to reduce the strain on pets, and their facilities, by moving as many animals as possible out of shelters and into foster homes. Fostering a pet typically means temporarily bringing an adoptable pet into your home while he or she waits for a more permanent home. Foster parents help prevent overcrowding in shelters, and can be especially helpful for animals that are stressed out or need special care.
Consider Pet Adoption
If you are able to take in a pet permanently and live near a shelter or rescue that is still accepting adoption applications, right now is a perfect time to bond with a new pet. Since many of us are working from home, or have had to stop working altogether, there is more time available to train a new pet and really enjoy the early days of pet ownership. Studies have also shown that pets can lower stress levels, so a new puppy or cat may even help reduce some of the anxiety most of us are feeling.
You can find an organization near you by searching through our site. Official announcements about the COVID-19 are changing rapidly so it is a good idea to call ahead and to find out if your local shelter is still open. If the shelters and rescues near you are no longer accepting adopters or fosters, you can also donate or contact a food bank to see if they are taking supplies.


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Love in Law – The Indian Supreme Court decides in favour of LGBT persons
MetadataShow full item record
- Publications [1436]
Original versionBergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Brief no. 2018:06) 4 p.
On 6 September 2018, the Indian Supreme Court delivered a 493-pages-long verdict on LGBT rights and love. "Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India" is arguably one of the most progressive and comprehensive verdicts that the world has seen in this field of law till date. In the following, I will highlight a few important aspects of the verdict, making extensive use of quotes to convey a sense of the compassionate and cosmopolitan spirit of the Indian Supreme Court judges. ("LGBT" is the term used in the verdict, and therefore the one I will be using here.)


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New faces bring fresh ideas to start the summer
"No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play." H.E. Luccock
Our orchestra is expanding here at Airfox, with uniquely talented individuals joining our mission to create fair banking options for the underbanked people around the world. Each of our new members come from different backgrounds and have ranging skill sets, from newly graduated scholars to well-trained business professionals.
Joining the Airfox team requires a mix of passion and determination to push past barriers and create innovative solutions every day. We are happy to introduce you to the newest people that have shown they have what it takes to join our fast-paced startup!
Soumee Roy, mobile QA tester — Boston
Soumee joins Airfox as a Mobile QA tester. She is responsible for executing multiple types of functional testing within Airfox products. She is involved in creating and reviewing test specifications and scripts to improve quality and effectiveness during the software development lifecycle. Having previously worked at Motorola Solutions Inc. as a test engineer, Soumee enjoys the challenge of learning a new role. Soumee graduated from University of Massachusetts in Lowell with a masters in electrical and computer engineering. At Airfox, she is happy to apply her skills to a company that betters the quality of life of its users.
"Airfox is providing simple, accessible banking solutions for all the people in Brazil, and I am lucky to contribute to a product that is doing so much good for real people" says Soumee.
User success
Bruno Circarelli, user success associate — Boston
Bruno joins the user success team with over 10 years of customer support experience. He previously worked serving the underbanked in the auto finance industry at First Help Financial. Bruno now hopes to expand his knowledge into the field of data science and analytics, where he believes he will gain even more insights and develop customer-centric processes that guarantee satisfaction. Graduating from Bunker Hill Community College with a degree in business administration, Bruno is happy to be working at Airfox, where he can combine his different career interests.
"I am passionate about finance, tech, and people. Nothing has been more rewarding than bringing a product forward that will truly impact countless lives in so many ways," Bruno says about his time so far with the Airfox user success team. "Everyday I get to work with amazing people to bring solutions that help support ambitions of millions of people.
Claudia Taylor, HR lead — Boston
Claudia joins the team as Airfox's first HR team member. With plans to grow the HR team in both São Paulo and Boston, Claudia is passionate about establishing the strongest possible company culture. Having obtained her graduate degree in human resources from Northeastern University, Claudia has already lead successful HR teams with her positive and welcoming attitude. She's worked for large insurance agencies in the past and has experience with recruiting, sourcing, and onboarding qualified employees. Claudia has already played a huge role in Airfox's consistent growth and was initially drawn to Airfox because of the company's devoted team.
"It's not always the norm to see a team this dedicated to the mission of the company," says Claudia. "I'm inspired to work every day to provide the best services to the employees at Airfox."
Livia Tateyama, product marketing specialist — Boston
Livia joins the quickly growing marketing team after having worked at Airfox part-time over the past year. Originally from Brazil, Livia has been living in the US for the past 6 years, and she recently acquired her MBA with a concentration in marketing from Babson College. Her past experience includes work as an interior designer in São Paulo, where she received her bachelor's degree in architecture. Livia joined Airfox because of its mission and commitment to promote financial inclusion in her home country of Brazil and is very happy to be part of the Airfox team.
"I'm thrilled to work with such talented people," exclaims Livia. "Working at Airfox is an adventure, everything moves and changes really fast — and I love it!"
Igor Cunha, marketing director — Brazil
Igor joins the team as an experienced leader with an extensive background in marketing strategies. With over 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship, business strategy, and development, Igor is ready to bring his innovative ideas into the Airfox marketing team. Serving as an important link between the Airfox marketing team and our partners at Via Varejo in Brazil, Igor is excited to establish the values and purpose of Airfox's initiatives into measurable KPIs. Igor gained his bachelor's and graduate degrees in marketing and business administration in Brazil, before earning his MBA at MIT in 2010. His past work experiences include a wide-variety of companies, from Starbucks and Helios Wire to his own juice company "Juice Me" that he founded in 2013. Igor is ready to take on the challenges Airfox presents him and hopes he can showcase technology as a positive agent of change to people around the world.
"I want to help Airfox build a sustainable business model," says Igor. "We can use technology to create value and inclusion in people's lives."
Viviane Anjos, marketing analyst — Brazil
The marketing team is also happy to have Viviane join the São Paulo office. Viviane is a great fit to the Airfox team with her seven years prior experience in retail. She hopes to provide insight on different profiles for our target audience. Viviane has degrees in both business administration and human resources. Through her different professional experiences she is ready and qualified to contribute to the growth and success of Airfox.
"I am very happy to be part of the Airfox team and the marketing group," says Viviane, "This is a great opportunity to make an impact on Brazilians who need a banking option."
Business operations
Vi Le, business operations & strategy analyst — Boston
Vi joins the bizops team after working with Airfox part-time over the past year. Graduating with her masters in business analytics from Northeastern, Vi's role involves data collection and assisting different Airfox teams with important analysis. Her past work experience includes two years with Apple in their Houston and Boston locations serving as a product specialist. She is passionate about contributing work to a startup that creates a social impact in the world, similar to her own business she co-founded in Boston called Urban Harvest, which connects economic principal and urban farming. She's ready to fully take on Airfox's mission.
"It's a big mission, but also a very important one to turn around the financial inequality in an emerging country like Brazil," Vi expresses. "With the team we have right now, I am confident that Airfox can thrive."
André Idoeta, financial planning & analysis manager — Brazil
The finance team is happy to welcome André as the FP&A Manager. André brings leadership experience and an array of industry knowledge to Airfox. He has worked in many different industries, such as airline, education, retail, and renewable energy. André has degrees in both engineering and business administration. He will play a vital role in Airfox's partnership with retail giant Via Varejo, where he spent more than three years of his professional career. By joining Airfox he hopes to help make a positive impact on the people of Brazil.
"I feel privileged to have the opportunity to contribute to the Airfox project and be the agent of change to millions of families left aside by the Brazilian financial system." says André.
Diego Silva, VP of finance and controller — Boston
Diego joins the Airfox team in Boston as the VP of finance and controller. Diego is an accomplished professional with broad accounting, finance, and tax experience. In his new role, Diego will direct both the day-to-day accounting operations, as well as the full financial reporting process. Diego spent the last eight years working with early stage companies helping them navigate the intricacies of growth. He brings an advanced skill set and a proven track record in helping businesses grow and thrive. Most recently, he served as VP of finance and corporate controller of iSpecimen, where he oversaw domestic and international business and was responsible for all global finance, accounting, treasury, tax, and capital management functions. Diego is well-prepared to join the Airfox team and contribute his ideas and expertise.
"I am excited to join the Airfox team to contribute to providing financial services to the underserved population in my native Brazil," says Diego.
Our team is still growing! If you would like to work with these inspiring professionals in our Airfox Boston or São Paulo offices, please visit our website.


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The Spirit's Effect on Sin and Disease
By John Thiel, mp3
Scripture Reading: Psalm 103:2-3. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Romans 8:10-11 And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
My eye caught those words – but if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. The Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead. How was Jesus raised from the dead?
1 Peter 3:18-19 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
Verse 20 says in the days of Noah He went to preach to those in prison by that Spirit. How was Jesus resurrected and quickened? He was quickened by that Spirit. It was that Spirit of God which quickened the body of Christ. It is the Spirit of God that does the moving in creation and in re-creation.
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
The Spirit of God is the one that fashioned and created by moving. The thought was from the Father. The word was the Son and the Spirit was the moving agency. It is that same Spirit that moves that is to quicken our mortal body. Our mortal body is a body of sin, a body that is dying. The description of what the Spirit can do to this sinful mortal body is expressed in the Psalm 16 the description of the Holy Spirit quickening.
Psalm 16:8-10 I have set the LORD always before me: because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Here is another Psalm that has a prophecy of Christ. Here we actually see displayed the faith of Jesus by which we are saved. Jesus had God very close and because God was so very close to Him, therefore His heart is glad and His glory rejoiceth, His flesh also shall rest in hope, even though it died.
The Spirit of God did not leave Him to suffer corruption. If you take that into the time when He was still alive, the corrupting influences of sin in sinful flesh were something that the Holy Spirit did not permit to take root in the body of Christ. Jesus was healthy. Jesus did not suffer of disease. He only suffered when other people touched Him when He was suffering the sins and the diseases of the people which in Himself by the power of the Holy Spirit were cancelled. The Holy Spirit brought God very close to us in Jesus Christ.
The Source of the Quickening of the Mortal Body
Explore with me and receive the benefit of these three bible texts in Psalms. I have set the LORD always before me: because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. There is a beautiful benefit that comes from this.
Psalm 103:2-5 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good [things; so that] thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
As with Jesus, so it is with us. According to the words of Psalm 16, His flesh, His sinful flesh that He inherited from us rejoiced in hope. He was glad. Why was He glad? He was glad because God was right there; it rejoiced the human nature, it rejoiced the flesh, it quickened the flesh. I have shared this in the past; when your mind is joyful rejoicing in something, your body doesn't feel dragged down, it conquers the negative sensations that are in the body. We touched on that in our last message when the presence of the Holy Spirit is recognised, appealed to, absorbed, there is a positive impact that will conquer the negative influences that sin is laying upon the body. Here is the benefit that is found in Jesus Christ. He forgiveth all thine iniquities.
When we are deadened with our iniquities, when we are burdened with our sense of unworthiness, and we get the message that as I repent, it is forgiven. How many of them? All thine iniquities are forgiven. What follows in the quickening of the flesh? Who healeth all thy diseases. Jesus lived a holy life in sinful flesh and in that sinful flesh He was finally taken to death, but with no corruption, no sin, no disease, just death when He carried the diseases of us all, not His own. Why did He live such a holy life, why did death not take control of Him, why was corruption not part of His experience? He had set the Lord very close to Him.
Psalm 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me: because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Here lies the reason that sinful flesh does not need to be moved into destruction, because God is right at hand.
Philippians 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord [is] at hand.
To have a conscious realistic sense of the presence of God is the source of the quickening of the mortal body. How close can the Holy Spirit be, that we pursue the same things that Jesus pursued?
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
I have set the LORD always before me: Is that an abiding presence? He is praying for us now, for His disciples that He will abide with you forever.
John 14:17 [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
This was the provision that God has made so that our sinful flesh like the sinful flesh of Jesus, may be able to rest in peace. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. Why are we to find a quickening experience in our flesh?
Romans 8:10 And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
He quickens the mortal body. The presence of God in the Holy Spirit is there to quicken the mortal body.
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Psalm 16:9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
In other words, I pay no heed to the activities of the flesh; I pay heed to the activities of the Spirit. I don't live with my mind affected by my flesh; I live by my mind affected by the Spirit. Therefore, if I live according to the Spirit, what will the Spirit do with the feelings of my flesh? He will replace them with His life. We will have eternal life dwelling within us. That is a simple deduction from those words. Thus it was with Jesus, thus it is to do with us.
We recall the reality that in Jesus sin and disease fled. The power of the electric shock of the Holy Spirit, of divinity and it makes so much sense. Sin and disease cannot dwell with God. God actually conquers it.
Disease fled at His presence,…. {20MR 242.1}
Christ was health and strength in Himself, and when sufferers were in His immediate presence, disease was always rebuked. {TMK 48.3}
Because the power of divinity, which is in the Holy Spirit, who is the moving agency, as He moves upon our flesh if we let him. The biggest problem is we don't let him. When we feel a discomfort in our body, what do we always do with the discomfort in our body? We dwell upon what is happening in our body. Nurses are the worst at that because we have studied all the detail of every disease. I have to admit that I have had to deal with this many times, right to this point. There is something there that feels like cancer, or it feels like an ulcer, there is something there that feels like a heart condition. The Lord says, remember John, of course, then there is peace. Disease flees from the presence of God. The power of the Holy Spirit if we will let him will conquer disease. He will quicken our mortal bodies.
Nothing but the life-giving influences of the gospel can help the soul. Pray that the mighty energies of the Holy Spirit, with all their quickening, recuperative, and transforming power, may fall like an electric shock on the palsy-stricken soul, causing every nerve to thrill with new life, restoring the whole man from his dead, earthly, sensual state to spiritual soundness. {5T 267.2}
If we pray according to the will of God, what will happen? Jesus said if you pray according to His will, I will do it for you. The Holy Spirit is just waiting to heal us; he is just waiting to conquer our sinful flesh. When we permit him, he will do it. I have to confess before God many times, Lord I haven't permitted you, I am sorry. Therefore I have carried burdens of disease until I permitted him. thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. I know this to be true. When I am fully at rest in the Lord my youth is there no matter what happens. There is energy. It is a reality because we let the Holy Spirit do it. As soon as we start focusing on ourselves the Holy Spirit says, I will let you do it, and we start going down. The moment I wake up to myself and I make re-connection, He is right there. I want to share with you some examples of this. The healing of God has to do with what we started in our meditation last week, that the sinful flesh that wants to take control of us, God has first to work with forgiving and cleansing from sin then that is associated with healing the diseases.
In the story of the paralytic that was let down from the roof when Jesus was preaching. Down came this poor man. Here is a perfect illustration of the forgiving of sin and the healing of disease, co-jointly.
The discourse was interrupted. The Saviour looked upon the mournful countenance and saw the pleading eyes fixed upon Him. Well He knew the longing of that burdened soul. It was Christ who had brought conviction to his conscience when he was yet at home. When he repented of his sins and believed in the power of Jesus to make him whole, the mercy of the Saviour had blessed his heart. Jesus had watched the first glimmer of faith grow into a conviction that He was the sinner's only helper, and had seen it grow stronger with every effort to come into His presence. It was Christ who had drawn the sufferer to Himself. Now, in words that fell like music on the listener's ear, the Saviour said, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." Matthew 9:2. {MH 75.2}
The burden of guilt rolls from the sick man's soul. He cannot doubt. Christ's words reveal His power to read the heart. Who can deny His power to forgive sins? Hope takes the place of despair, and joy of oppressive gloom. The man's physical pain is gone, and his whole being is transformed. Making no further request, he lay in peaceful silence, too happy for words. {MH 76.1}
Can you see sin and disease are closely linked? Oppressive gloom in consequence of the sin that come up before my mind that Satan makes sure of. There was this man. He had heard Jesus and seen what Jesus was doing. What did he do before he went there? He repented of his sins and believed in the power of Jesus to make him whole. Was he whole yet? How many of us do that? We do repent but there is something more to happen.
We are to hear those words and believe them. He was still sick because he was still with anxiety and looked upon Jesus with those anxious eyes. He had repented. How many of us repent and are still anxious? To set the Lord always before me, to hear His words speaking to me, to hear them and to believe Him that He forgives us when our sins are repented of. My sin is ever before me and our repentance deepens. As we repent more deeply, the presence of Jesus is there to take away the anxiety. It comes again and we keep on releasing ourselves, always bearing in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in us. It is an ongoing experience.
The healing of my body is an ongoing experience. The diseases that want to get us in these last days, aren't they profound, aren't they big? All the pollution fall-out, I am becoming more and more concerned that the conspiracy theories that are going around us are being focused on so much that we don't focus on the healing. We think that this is going to happen and that is going to happen, there are all these terrible things happening. I hear people suffering because of this and because of that. What did you expect? We are living on a destructive planet. We don't have to concentrate on warning about those things, What we need to concentrate on is that the mighty power of God in the Holy Spirit is able to conquer all that. Nothing is impossible for God. This is what we portray to God's people; this is what we portray to the world; the power of God's ability to heal us from all our diseases no matter how much poison there is around us.
We have nothing to fear. God is capable of rebuking all disease, of cleansing us from all pollution. We don't have to say, I mustn't touch that because it's polluted. We don't have to do anything like that; we just simply receive with gratitude what the Lord has given us. We practice the true messages of the health reform in all simplicity. We don't have to go into every bit of detail to prevent certain diseases; we just do what God says in regards to the food we eat; that is it. It is so simple.
I received a message from USA asking if I am a vegan that doesn't partake of any oil. I know very well there are those with a strong teaching that we are not to use any oil unless it is oil as it is in the olive. This is being taught. I can relieve them that I am following a simple health reform message. The fact is we do not have to worry about what the food is doing to us at all. We can rely on the beautiful directions of the Holy Spirit in our life and the Holy Spirit will heal our mortal flesh. This is the message that we have been given to give to the world.
This example has to do with sin, disobedience to God's commandments, that is all; that is the only anxiety that you should have. That anxiety is relieved when we repent. In this other story of the man at the pool, the man was relieved of pain, was relieved of the suffering of the sinful flesh, of a diseased flesh.
Jesus bids him, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." Verses 6-8. With a new hope the sick man looks upon Jesus. The expression of His countenance, the tones of His voice, are like no other. Love and power seem to breathe from His very presence. . {MH 84.1}
The Lord was right there with him, he was in His presence. The presence makes the difference.
The cripple's faith takes hold upon Christ's word. Without question he sets his will to obey, and, as he does this, his whole body responds. Ibid
Every nerve and muscle thrills with new life, and healthful action comes to his crippled limbs. Springing to his feet, he goes on his way with firm, free step, praising God and rejoicing in his new-found strength. {MH 84.2}
The Faith of Jesus
Doesn't this tell the story? In God's presence there is joy forevermore; the joy that comes from the impulses of the beholding and experiencing the presence of God and the Holy Spirit. This is what makes the spirit glad and the flesh begin to pulsate. It will give an electric shock to the stricken soul causing every nerve to thrill with new life. How long we often suffer until we wake up! How long I have suffered until I woke up.
When I think back, there is a story I often tell. When my heart was playing up and I was there at 1am really despairing. my heart was running away and I said to the Lord, what? I opened the word of God and there three times it said I will strengthen thy heart. The first time I asked, are you sure? Can you see the doubt? Can you see the struggle that we go through? We think that we have to go through this suffering and its some unexpected thing that I am going to be healed or not. The fact is that we have to overcome our internal doubt, our internal anxiety. We need to have faith in God that what He has said He will do if I will act and permit Him to do it. This man at the pool of Bethesda believed and he got up. As he did this in faith, the Holy Spirit pulsated through his system. The inward witness of the Spirit produces the effect. What was the witness of the Spirit within so that we don't live according to the flesh?
Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together.
If so be that we will suffer with Jesus in the flesh accepting Him suffering together with me. Knock, knock, can I come in? I want to sup with you. If I will sup with Jesus in His sufferings, I will also experience the power of His resurrection. This is the reality of the faith of Jesus, it produces the effect. We are the sons of God, joint heirs with Christ. I will set the Lord always before me. Those words were always interpreted to mean us, no it is Jesus, and now He wants us to join together with Him. As we do this, our flesh will rest in hope. Our flesh will begin to pulsate, our youth will be renewed. It is a reality but it depends on our faith. To believe it personally for myself, not just to believe that He can do it, but that He can do it with me makes it a reality. As I am suffering these discomforts, I believe that He can do it.
Matthew 9:27-29 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, [Thou] son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
The degree of your faith in Him to be able to do it, to that degree it will happen. Don't doubt.
Mark 5:33-36 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's [house certain] which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
Do we believe and choose to open our heart to the things that God's word is saying and believe it for me? That is the challenge. You may suffer under many medical conditions and I know many of us here do. We struggle, we do this and do that, we hope this works, we hope that works and we go on doing these things. I was meditating this morning about what I want to share with you in the last part of this message, how that Satan was putting forth his counterfeits for miraculous healing. We can't use miraculous healing now. Sr White says what we do use? I thought even what we should use has been counterfeited by Satan today.
Don't listen to the naturopaths of today. They have been affected by the interferences of Satan. They are taking us through all the complicated methods of trying to heal us by going on this cleanse and that cleanse etc. We think we are doing well. It is the Holy Spirit that is to heal us, not the things that Satan has come in and complicated the beautiful message of healing with that is to come from God's method today.
The Invitation
It is not our focus upon the details of what we eat, or what we should or shouldn't eat; it is our focus upon the simple remedies that God has given us and our reliance upon God, not the remedy. To believe and to choose to open my heart to the invitation, the benefit, where all the diseases will be healed, where youth will be renewed every day. That is the invitation. Let us not wipe this off as some wonderful statement, let us take it and believe it in ourselves and listen carefully.
Isaiah 40:28-31 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.
Your strength will be renewed, your youth will be renewed. Those are the promises. We have so much proof, especially in this modern world in which we live of the power of God through the discoveries of science today. The universe that is being explored, is there anything impossible for God? Let us apply it to our own case, let us rejoice in His presence putting His presence within us every day.
By sin we have been severed from the life of God. Our souls are palsied. Of ourselves we are no more capable of living a holy life than was the impotent man capable of walking. {MH 84.4}
As I was reading that, my mind remembered a declaration of a doctor who said do you know what the medical profession is doing? There is a faucet that is continually running the basin over. As the water runs over, they are continually mopping the floor but they don't turn off the faucet. This is the reality. The faucet is sin and people keep on sinning and mopping up the floor. If we will turn from the power of God, because we can't stop sinning, we cannot stop the diseases, we keep on mopping up that is all; but God can stop sin and He can stop diseases.
Many realise their helplessness; they are longing for that spiritual life which will bring them into harmony with God, and are striving to obtain it. But in vain. In despair they cry, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?" Romans 7:24, margin. Let these desponding, struggling ones look up. The Saviour is bending over the purchase of His blood, saying with inexpressible tenderness and pity, "Wilt thou be made whole?" Ibid
Take it personally.
He bids you arise in health and peace. Do not wait to feel that you are made whole. Ibid
This is a very important principle. If you wait to feel that you are made whole, you will not become whole. I am waiting for the feeling and the bad one is still there. Not until I throw myself entirely at the presence of the Holy Spirit does the pain go away and the discomfort disappear. I am talking from personal experience. It is a melting away of the suffering very slowly, very comfortingly. It gives you a rise in health and peace. Do not wait to feel that you are made whole.
Believe the Saviour's word. Put your will on the side of Christ. Will to serve Him, and in acting upon His word you will receive strength. Whatever may be the evil practice, the master passion which through long indulgence binds both soul and body, Christ is able and longs to deliver. He will impart life to the soul that is "dead in trespasses." Ephesians 2:1. He will set free the captive that is held by weakness and misfortune and the chains of sin. Ibid
The sense of sin has poisoned the springs of life. But Christ says, "I will take your sins; I will give you peace. I have bought you with My blood. You are Mine. My grace shall strengthen your weakened will; your remorse for sin I will remove." When temptations assail you, when care and perplexity surround you, when, depressed and discouraged, you are ready to yield to despair, look to Jesus, and the darkness that encompasses you will be dispelled by the bright shining of His presence. When sin struggles for the mastery in your soul, and burdens the conscience, look to the Saviour. His grace is sufficient to subdue sin. Let your grateful heart, trembling with uncertainty, turn to Him. Lay hold on the hope set before you. Christ waits to adopt you into His family. His strength will help your weakness; He will lead you step by step. Place your hand in His, and let Him guide you. {MH 85.1}
Lay hold on the Holy Spirit. This is the true miraculous healing that Jesus practiced in the past. Is it possible today? I want you to examine very closely. Do you feel that God can heal you like that today as He did in the past? Is there a question that maybe He will? Is there any shade of question within yourself, a little doubt? The Holy Spirit is very sensitive to what is going on inside of us and wants to deal patiently with us until he drags us out of our doubts and leaves us where we are just as Jesus left Lazarus where he was because He had some lessons to teach.
Because disease flees from Him, He stayed away from Lazarus. If He was there, sickness would have fled so He stayed away and let him die. How many times does God stay away from us because He is trying to teach us something? We are learning these beautiful lessons so that we will continue to transfer them to ourselves. The miraculous healing of the past is just as possible today but there is an alteration of procedure.
God's people will not find their safety in working miracles, for Satan would counterfeit any miracle that might be worked. God's tried and tested people will find their power in the sign spoken of in
Exodus 31:12-18. They are to take their stand on the living Word–"It is written." This is the only foundation upon which they can stand securely.. {2SM 54.5}
At a time when miracles are happening around us, God's people will not find safety in that.
The worshipers of God will be especially distinguished by their regard for the fourth commandment–since this is the sign of His creative power and the witness to His claim upon man's reverence and homage. The wicked will be distinguished by their efforts to tear down the Creator's memorial… {2SM 55.1}
The way in which Christ worked was to preach the Word, and to relieve suffering by miraculous works of healing. But I am instructed that we cannot now work in this way, for Satan will exercise his power by working miracles. God's servants today could not work by means of miracles, because spurious works of healing, claiming to be divine, will be wrought. {2SM 54.2}
For this reason the Lord has marked out a way in which His people are to carry forward a work of physical healing, combined with the teaching of the Word. Sanitariums are to be established, and with these institutions are to be connected workers who will carry forward genuine medical missionary work. Thus a guarding influence is thrown around those who come to the sanitariums for treatment. {2SM 54.3}
They will see the miracle working power of God through medical missionaries. This is the provision the Lord has made whereby gospel medical missionary work is to be done for many souls. Is this not what I have just been sharing with you? It is through gospel medical missionary work. God will work His miracle working restoration via His word and true gospel revelation. I have shared that with you. The Holy Spirit is working in Jesus and will work in us.
Let us present the gospel to the sick, connecting Jesus, the Great Healer, with the simple remedies used; and our living faith will be answered. {MM 29.1
The miracle is to be conveyed through the simple remedies used.
But those who come to the Great Healer must be willing to do His will, to humble their souls, and confess their sins. As we lay hold of divine power with a faith that will not be denied, we shall see the salvation of God. Ibid
Gospel related simple remedies.
Christ declared that He came to recover men's lives. This work is to be done by Christ's followers, and it is to be done by the most simple means. Families are to be taught how to care for the sick. The hope of the gospel is to be revived in the hearts of men and women. . {MM 29.2}
Can you see the connection all the time? It is the hope of the gospel in conjunction with the simple remedies if I have a problem.
We must seek to draw them to the Great Healer. In the work of healing let the physicians work intelligently, not with drugs, but by following rational methods. Then let them by the prayer of faith draw upon the power of God to stay the progress of disease. Ibid
Are we are going to use the remedy and wait for the remedy to do the healing? Can you see the problem? The medical missionaries are to follow the rational simple remedies then let them by the prayer of faith draw upon the power of God to stay the progress of disease. This is to be through the gospel.
This will inspire in the suffering ones belief in Christ and the power of prayer, and it will give them confidence in our simple methods of treating disease. Such work will be a means of directing minds to the truth, and will be of great efficiency in the work of the gospel ministry.–Letter 126, 1909. Ibid
The true people of God today are to be distinguished by the truth connected with the signs and wonders of miraculous healing.
Isaiah 8:12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all [them to] whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. 13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread. 14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. 16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. 17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
His disciples in the last days will wait upon the Lord.
Isaiah 8:18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me [are] for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. 19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? 20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.
These are well known Scriptures. It used to puzzle me for a long time – I and the children whom the LORD hath given me [are] for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts. Signs and wonders will be seen among us if we are those people. It can be because we decide to let the Holy Spirit quicken our mortal bodies, and embrace the beautiful story of Jesus personally within myself and I will persevere until He will heal me.
Often times He will not answer our prayers until we really mean it. He waits until we come to the point where we will lay all on the altar to let Him do it. He has been waiting. Are we waiting on Him? The people of the three angels' messages of Revelation 14:12 are the people who have the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus which is Psalms 16. These people have the faith of Jesus that is displayed in this Psalm.
Psalm 16:7-11 I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me: because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence [is] fulness of joy; at thy right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore.
When we are at the right hand of God as was Jesus, our flesh will rest in hope. I love that statement; I know what it feels like. When your flesh aggravates you and you place yourself entirely into the arms of the Lord, it goes to rest, it doesn't hurt any more, it releases. If you stay there it will continue to do that. But if you pick it up again, it will come back with a vengeance. To stay in His presence, to abide with Him is our privilege, this is for us to enjoy in these days of pestilence. Do we really believe Psalm 91?
Psalm 91:1-10 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, [and] from the noisome pestilence.
What has He delivered us from? What does He want to deliver us from? He wants to deliver us from the terrible pestilence that is raging through the system of this world.
Psalm 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth [shall be thy] shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; 6 [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou hast made the LORD, [which is] my refuge, [even] the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Habitation means unbroken communion.
Psalm 91:14-16 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I [will be] with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
Trouble will be around us; fearful threats will be upon us but; I [will be] with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
May God grant us to believe it.
Posted on 14/09/2013, in Divine Service Sermons, Health Studies and tagged disease, healing, sin. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
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- Club Service focuses on strengthening fellowship and ensuring the effective functioning of the club. Learn about effective club service in Membership and Training .
- Vocational Service encourages Rotarians to serve others through their vocations and to practice high ethical standards. Observed each October, Vocational Service Month spotlights Rotary club projects related to this avenue, offering opportunity for clubs and districts to use their professional skills in service projects.
- Community Service covers the projects and activities the club undertakes to improve life in its community.
- International Service encompasses actions taken to expand Rotary's humanitarian reach around the globe and to promote world understanding and peace. Rotarians can support International Service by sponsoring a project in another country, seeking international project partners to support projects in their own communities, or by personally volunteering at an international project site.
- New Generations Service recognizes the positive change implemented by youth and young adults through leadership development activities as RYLA , Rotaract and Interact , service projects, and creating international understanding with Rotary Youth Exchange
The Four Way Test
The test, which has been translated into more than 100 languages, asks the following questions:
Of the things we think, say or do
- Is it the TRUTH?
- Is it FAIR to all concerned?
- Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
- Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?


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It is 5:20 in the morning, we are outside our house in Apartado, Uraba, waiting for the taxi that will take us to La Europa Farm, where we have been accompanying for a while. After a long wait, the car finally arrives to pick us up. As he helps me with the luggage, the driver whispers an apology. Last night there were rumours of a public order problem, and so he hadn't been sure that he would be able to do the trip. The team had evaluated it the night before. When we left, everything seemed normal, no-one talks about security problems on the bus.
Leaving Apartado, we saw a jeep make the turning towards San Jose de Apartado. Recently, the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado, which PBI has accompanied for many years, has been repeatedly warning of the presence of paramilitary groups in the area, near the road to the coast.
We drive along that same road to the coast. As part of a gigantic project to improve Colombia's road infrastructure, in 2015 they started projects Mar 1 and Mar 2, which will connect Medellin to the Caribbean Sea. [1]
As we approach Turbo there are several billboards advertising the new logistical port of Pisisi in Turbo, which is due to be built.[2] Once that is completed and the port is connected to Medellin, Buenaventura and other transport hubs in Colombia through Mar 1 and Mar 2, Turbo will be able to receive large ships full of containers. [3]
As we pass through Turbo, people start talking about the infamous Usuga family in the area. Otoniel, one of the Usuga brothers, is the number one target of Operation Agamemnon, which started in 2015 in the Uraba region and its aim, according to the National Police, is to fight the 'Urabeños', which the State authorities now call the 'Gulf Clan'.[4]
Even though the National Police recently said that the Gulf Clan's forces have been reduced by half in recent years, they seem ever more present in the hamlets around Turbo and San Jose de Apartado, where it isn't just the Peace Community saying that there has been an increase in the neo-paramilitaries' presence and operations.[5]
On the journey from the Gulf of Uraba to the north, we meet many trucks being escorted by the Police, a measure that was taken because of the rise in extortions by neo-paramilitary groups, which had increased after the FARC withdrew from the area.[6]
After Sincelejo, Sucre, the journey by collective taxi continues to Ovejas. Also in the car are the relatives of a policeman who was murdered. They are on the way to his burial. During lunch in Ovejas the atmosphere is tense. The town is full of members of the Police and Army wearing bullet-proof vests and carrying assault rifles.
We finally reach the farm. The mototaxis use all their skills to bring us and our backpacks safely to La Europa Farm. It is an art, driving a motorcycle through mud, that continues to be a mystery and a miracle to me.
Approximately forty families live in La Europa Farm, people who returned in recent years to reclaim their land after having been displaced in the 1990s by constant persecution and violence.[7] The response to their claim has been vandalism of their crops, intimidation and several attempted murders against the members of the association which represents them.[8] We spend the following days with people from the farm, accompanying them and doing self-protection workshops with them.[9]
When the threats don´t end (January 2017)
Interview with leader Argemiro Lara: The land issue must be resolved (December 2016)
At night we gather round the television to watch the news and every night it becomes clearer. Plan Pistol is in full effect. The presenter explains that the paramilitaries' plan is to assassinate policemen in several departments, especially in Uraba.[10] In the days before we left for the farm there were rumours circulating of leaflets by the AGC (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia) against human rights defenders, and the police announced they had made several important arrests and uncovered crucial evidence.[11]
Four days later, I am coming back along the same route, and the chatter on the buses has changed. The passengers are saying that the Police escorting the trucks are often themselves escorted by the Army. We can see checkpoints manned by Police with their weapons poised to shoot, accompanied by the Army. "Yes, it looks like things are getting serious in Uraba" and "this level of violence hasn't been seen since the times of Escobar" are phrases we hear a lot and in the atmosphere you can feel the uncertainty about where this situation will lead to, in the midst of what is supposedly a peace-building era.
[1] El Colombiano: Autopista Mar 1 estará en operación en el año 2021, 29 October 2015
[2] El Colombiano: Puerto Pisisi, en Urabá, iniciará su construcción en un mes, 12 April 2017
[3] DW: Mil toneladas de cocaína en cargamento de bananas destino a Bruselas, 5 May 2017
[4] El Colombiano: "Urabeños", de narcos a terroristas, 16 May 2017
[5] El Espectador: "El paramilitarismo en Colombia sí existe": Cinep, 3 May 2017
[6] Semana: Urabá, el nido de los nuevos paramilitares, 25 April 2017
[7] PBI Colombia: "Hay que resolver el tema de la tierra", 29 November 2016
[8] PBI Colombia: Cuando las amenazas no cesan, 24 January 2017
[9] PBI Colombia: "No dar talleres, ni charlas, no acompañar emocionalmente, sino ir más allá", 20 March 2014
[10] Verdad Abierta: La amenaza ´gaitanista´, un reto para la seguridad ciudadana, 25 May 2017
[11] El Colombiano: "Urabeños", de narcos a terroristas, 16 May 2017


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Broncolor Announces New Siros Monobloc
Broncolor continues its tradition of professional level lighting tools with their announcement of the new Broncolor Siros.
Available in two different power levels, 400J or 800J, the Siros also comes in a basic- or S-model version as well. The Siros S includes the ECTC technology that allows guarantees flash durations from 1/13,000th of a second (t0.5) and constant color at all times.
Both flashes come with an enormous control range that goes up to 9 f-stops in 1/10th of a stop steps, meaning you can have output as low as 2 joules to give an unparalleled flexibility to any photo shoot. With this large range of power selection comes a lighting quick charging time, from 0.02 to 0.9 seconds at 400 joules.
All Siros flashes can use Broncolor's wide range of light modifiers, but two new reflectors have been developed specifically for Siros, including an umbrella reflector (which doubles as transport protection when used with the included cover) as well as a size optimized reflector, the L40, with a snap-in system for mounting honeycomb grids.
Karl Taylor dropped by the broncolor booth to get a demonstration of the new Siros monolight by Urs Recher.
Siros Specification:
So, what we can expect from Broncolor Siros?
I ma sure if won;t beat Paul C BUff Einstein (read review here) by price/features ratio, and i really hope it will be more affordable than Broncolor powerpacks. We need more choices on fast, durable, precise and not expensive monolights!


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Alright, I'm back for round 2 of my look at Funko's Garbage Pail Kids Really Big Mystery Minis Vinyl Figures. Last time I examined Tee-Vee Stevie, Adam Bomb, and New Wave Dave. This time I'm featuring some of the scarier figures from this line: Bony Tony (the kid whose face unzips to expose his skull), Nasty Nick (a Bela Lugosi style Vampire) and Hot Scott (he's the Devil!).
|Bony Tony, Hot Scott, and Nasty Nick on their original trading cards
The first three figures I reviewed all had accessories, but in this trio only Hot Scott has one, in the form of his pitchfork. Aside, from that, everything I wrote about the other figures also applies to these guys, so you might want to go back and read that post for more details. In a nutshell, each figure has an identical body sculpt, a unique and highly detailed head sculpt, a really nice paint job, and three points of articulation on the arms and head. I don't really have a lot more to say about these guys that I didn't say last time, so I'll just let the photographs do the talking. Check them out...
|Drac's Back
|The Nasty Vampire
|Tony, that's not very a-peel-ing.
|What's on your mind, kid?
|Tony's Skull
|El Diablo
|Hot Stuff
|Red Tail
|The Drac Pack
|Tres Diablos Rojos


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Horse Lake Trail Runs postponed until September
WENATCHEE — The upcoming May 9 Horse Lake Trail Runs in the Wenatchee Foothills have been postponed until Sept. 19 due to the coronavirus crisis, RunWenatchee announced today.
RunWenatchee is offering two options for people who have already signed up for the Horse Lake Trail Runs:
- Stay in the race and participate Sept. 19. Entries will automatically be pulled forward to the new date in the event's registration system. If a participant ordered a shirt, that shirt will be waiting for them on Sept. 19.
- Rollover an entry and shirt order to the 2021 Horse Lake Trail Runs. To take advantage of this option, participants need to email firstname.lastname@example.com, type 'Rollover" in the subject head, and add their name and race distance in the body of the email.
All other questions should be directed to firstname.lastname@example.com.
The annual trail running event is held at the Horse Lake Reserve, owned and managed by the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust about three miles northwest of the city of Wenatchee. Funds from the event help build and maintain trails in the Wenatchee Foothills.
"With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and with things projected to get worse over the next few weeks, we had no choice but to take this step," said race director Joel Rhyner. "The health and safety of our runners, volunteers and our entire community are very important to us here at RunWenatchee. As runners ourselves, we understand the impact this will have on participants, as well as to our beneficiaries, sponsors and overall community. We have looked ahead at the running calendar and we feel the new date on Sept. 19 is best for minimal conflict with other running races in the region and state. That date also gives us a month before our Oktoberfest Trail Runs take place on Oct. 17 in Leavenworth."
Rhyner said the Red Devil Trail Runs, scheduled for June 6 south of Cashmere in the Wenatchee National Forest, are still on at this moment.
"But this is an evolving and fluid situation and we are monitoring it closely," Rhyner said. "We will keep everyone updated as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect our region and country."
RunWenatchee has been holding trail races in the region since 2011 when the first Red Devil event was held. The Horse Lake Trail Runs began in 2013 and the Oktoberfest Trail Runs were added in 2015. Together, the races are known as the Wenatchee Valley Trail Run Series. Besides the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, other main beneficiaries include Chelan County Mountain Rescue and Leavenworth Winter Sports Club.
RunWenatchee continues to hold its weekly Run Club on Thursdays but has turned to a virtual format. Instead of in-person sign-ins at Pybus Market each Thursday, Run Club participants can go for a run or a walk by themselves at their own preferred location and time that day, and then check in and get credit at https://www.runwenatchee.com/club/. The electronic check-in is only available on Thursdays.


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5 Presidential Candidates Not Named Trump or Clinton
Many Americans do not want to vote for either Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton or Republican presidential hopeful Donald J. Trump.
According to a CBS News/New York Times poll from March, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have the highest unfavorability ratings of any major party nominee since 1984.
However, there are other individuals running for president this year. These third party candidates are hoping that the high rates of disapproval for Clinton and Trump will benefit their campaigns greatly.
1. Gary Johnson – Libertarian Party
Former two-term governor of New Mexico, businessman, and accomplished fitness guru Gary Johnson is running on the Libertarian Party ticket.
A fiscal conservative and social liberal, Johnson has occasionally worn the Republican Party label and in 2012 ran an unsuccessful primary campaign, blaming social conservatives for his defeat.
Johnson may actually have a chance at the big time stage, as his poll numbers have been surprisingly impressive in some states and at least one Republican congressman, Scott Rigell of Virginia, endorsed him.
However, Johnson has also garnered controversy in his much publicized attacks on religious freedom for opponents of same-sex marriage, claiming among other things that religious freedom is "a black hole."
2. Jill Stein – Green Party
A physician by profession, Dr. Jill Stein was previously nominated to represent the Green Party in 2012, making her one of a handful of American women to run a presidential campaign before Hillary Clinton.
Stein is progressive on most every issue, denouncing the power of big corporations and advocating for a higher minimum wage, renewable energy, and ending drone strikes.
With the defeat of the Bernie Sanders campaign, Stein has made many overtures to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party in the hopes that they will come to her side.
A recent RealClearPolitics poll placed overall voter support for Stein at four percent, which was smaller than Gary Johnson's nine percent.
Both her and Johnson may have a chance to be at the primetime debates, as Politico noted earlier this week that the Commission on Presidential Debates expect more than two podiums for the stage.
3. Darrell Castle – Constitution Party
A native of Tennessee, Darrell Castle served as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and oversees a Memphis-based law firm.
Castle is socially conservative. He supports limited government and foreign policy ideas like eliminating the Federal Reserve and withdrawing from the United Nations.
For the 2008 presidential election, Castle ran on the Constitution Party ticket as the vice presidential running mate of Chuck Baldwin.
4. Evan McMullin – Independent
A former CIA agent and ex-chief policy director for the House Republican conference, David Evan McMullin garnered big headlines when he announced his intention to run for president.
A devout Mormon, McMullin leans conservative on foreign policy and social issues and has a business education as well as experience on national security issues.
He has gotten much support from the super-PAC Better For America, an entity created by #NeverTrump movement Republicans.
His late hour entry into the race, however, has caused some complications for getting his name on the ballot in all fifty states.
5. Write-in
Never forget that you, the voter, can write-in a person when you cast a ballot in November. It is an option usually used as a means of electoral protest.
So technically, the options for voters wishing to protest the two major party candidates are vast, since one can write in Bernie Sanders, Mitt Romney, Elizabeth Warren, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Deez Nuts, or even Sweet Meteor O'Death.


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Seven former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date
Josh Harrison, infielder for the 2011-18 Pirates. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the sixth round of the 2008 draft out of the University of Cincinnati. The Pirates acquired him as a minor leaguer in July 2009 five-player trade for Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow. Harrison debuted with the Pirates in 2011 and hit .272 in 65 games as a rookie. He was with the Pirates for all of 2012 and hit .233 in 104 games, while seeing time at six different positions. He split 2013 between the majors and Triple-A, getting 95 plate appearances in 60 big league games. Harrison had a breakout season in 2014 in which he made the All-Star team and finished ninth in the NL MVP voting. He batted .315, with 38 doubles, seven triples, 13 homers and 18 stolen bases, while scoring 77 runs. He started games at five positions, including 20+ starts at third base, right field and left field.
In 2015, Harrison split most of his time between second base and third base, hitting .287 in 114 games. He became the everyday second baseman in 2016 and batted .283 in 131 games, while stealing 19 bases, which set a career high. He was an All-Star for the second time in 2017 when he hit .272 in 128 games and set a career best with 16 homers. A broken hand caused him to miss part of 2018 and he batted .250 in 97 games. In 2019, he signed with the Detroit Tigers and had a rough season, playing just 36 games, while batting .175 with one homer. In his eight seasons in Pittsburgh, Harrison was a .277/.317/.408 hitter in 842 games. He made 352 starts at second base and 207 at third base, splitting the rest of his time between shortstop and the corner outfield spots.
John Bowker, outfielder/first baseman for the 2010-11 Pirates. Bowker was a third round pick in the 2004 draft by the Giants. He made it to the majors in 2008 with San Francisco, hitting .255 with ten homers and 43 RBIs in 111 games as a rookie. He began 2009 in the minors, getting called up two different times (July/September) for a total of 31 games with a .194 average, two homers and seven RBIs. He made the Giants Opening Day roster in 2010, playing 41 games with a .207 average, three homers and eight RBIs, before being sent down in the beginning of June. The Pirates acquired Bowker at the trading deadline, along with pitcher Joe Martinez, in exchange for Javier Lopez. The Pirates sent him to Triple-A, where he hit .319 in 25 games, earning a September call-up. He spent most of 2011 in Triple-A, where he batted .306 with 15 homers and 76 RBIs in 106 games. He played 19 games for the Pirates in April, all as a pinch-hitter. At the end of August, Bowker was sold to the Phillies. After being released in January of 2012, he signed to play in Japan, where he stayed until 2014. He was with the Pirates again in 2015, though he spent the year in Triple-A and retired after the season. Bowker hit .233 with two homers and 15 RBIs in 45 games for the Pirates.
Rosario Rodriguez, pitcher for the 1991 Pirates. He was a lefty reliever the Pirates acquired off waivers in December of 1990 from the Cincinnati Reds. Rodriguez signed with Cincinnati in 1987 and made the majors in 1989, shortly after his 20th birthday. In parts of two seasons with the Reds, he went 1-1, 5.52 in 16 relief appearances. Rodriguez spent most of 1991 in Triple-A for the Pirates, where he made 48 relief appearances, pitching a total of 51 innings. He was called up in late August and used often, making 18 appearances, with a 1-1, 4.11 record and six saves in 15.1 innings. Rodriguez pitched once in the postseason, allowing three runs in his only inning of work. He missed most of the 1992 season due to injury and was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training in 1993, but didn't make the roster. He started pitching in his home country of Mexico after being let go by the Pirates, and he last pitched pro ball in 2005.
Bob Kipper, pitcher for the 1985-91 Pirates. He was a first round draft pick in 1982 of the Angels, taken eighth overall. He reached the majors by age 20, making the Angels 1985 Opening Day roster, although he was sent back to the minors after just two appearances. On August 16, 1985, the Pirates acquired Kipper as the player to be named later in a six-player deal made two weeks earlier. After pitching five games for the 1985 Pirates, Kipper made the 1986 Opening Day roster. He made 19 starts, going 6-8, 4.03 in 114 innings. Both his win total and innings pitched that season would end up being his career highs. He started 20 times in 1987, while also making four relief appearances. He went 5-9, 5.94 in 110.2 innings, and he had the best outing of his career that year. On April 16th, he threw a four-hit shutout against the Cubs, striking out eight batters.
In 1988, Kipper was moved to the bullpen, a role he would fill for the next four seasons in Pittsburgh. In 1989, he had a career high 52 appearances, posting a 2.93 ERA with four saves in 83 innings. After finishing the 1990 season with a 5-2, 3.02 record and three saves in 41 games, he had a down year in 1991. He had his highest ERA (4.65) in the bullpen role, pitching 60 innings over 52 appearances. In the playoffs, Kipper pitched two innings in the game three loss to the Braves, allowing one run. After the season, he was released, signing with the Twins as a free agent. He missed the entire 1993 season with a tear in his throwing shoulder, then attempted a comeback with the Mets in 1994 that lasted just seven games before he retired. With the Pirates, Kipper was 24-33, 4.22 in 244 games, 44 as a starter.
John Powers, outfielder for the 1955-58 Pirates. He was originally signed by the Red Sox in 1949, but just a year later he was acquired by the Pirates. He played that first season in the Pittsburgh organization with Waco of the Big State League, where he hit .311 with 39 homers in 144 games. Powers moved up a level to Charleston in 1951, batting .255 that year with 17 homers in 139 games. He spent the next two seasons serving in the military, returning to baseball in 1954. For the Pirates, he was a September call-up in both 1955 and 1956, playing a total of 13 games. He made the Pirates Opening Day roster in 1957, but was sent down to the minors in May. Powers was again called up in September and then finally spent the entire season in the majors in 1958, hitting .183 with two RBIs, both coming on solo homers. He played 57 games that year, just 12 as a starter. On January 30, 1959, the Pirates traded Powers and three other players to the Reds for Smoky Burgess, Harvey Haddix and Don Hoak. He played 43 games for the 1959 Reds, then split the 1960 season between the Indians and Orioles, before returning to the minors for five more years. Powers was a .270 hitter in 1,534 minor league games, hitting 298 homers. He batted .190 with four homers in 90 games for the Pirates.
Jay Parker, pitcher for the Pirates on September 27, 1899. In his Major League debut, Jay Parker started the second game of a doubleheader against the Chicago Orphans (Cubs) after the Pirates lost the opener game by a 4-1 score. Rookie pitcher Chummy Gray pitched a complete game in the first game and Parker was set to make his debut in the second game. Parker was so erratic against the first two batters he faced that he was pulled right away and Gray went in the finish the second game. Parker walked both batters and they both came around to score, leaving him with the "inf" designation for his ERA (stands for infinite). He avoided the loss when the game ended in a 7-7 tie. That turned out to be his only day with the Pirates. He was called a local amateur in the Chicago papers, who was only used because the Pirates were desperate for pitching. He played nine seasons in the minors between 1895 and 1914, and managed a few seasons as well, but his Major League career was done after his one start, which was over almost as soon as it began. His records during that minor league time show that he played all over the field, though his only known pitching records besides his game with the Pirates came during the 1905 season for Evansville of the Central League, and that was just two games. His brother Harley "Doc" Parker was a pitcher in the majors for four partial season. Doc's last start was almost as bad as his brother's only game. On June 21, 1901, he threw a complete game for the Cincinnati Reds against the Brooklyn Superbas, giving up 21 runs on 26 hits, while facing 51 batters without a strikeout.
Harry Gilbert, second baseman for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys on June 23, 1890. The 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys were the worst team in franchise history and that led to some interesting stats and happenings during that season. One such instance was Harry Gilbert, a semi-pro player from Pottsville, PA. manning second base alongside his double play partner and older brother, John Gilbert. Neither had played in the majors prior to June 23, 1890 and neither would play in the majors after that day either. The Alleghenys had a doubleheader that day against the Philadelphia Phillies and the Gilberts played both games. The Phillies won the opener 11-0, but Pittsburgh took the second game by a 12-8 score, just their 13th win of the season. Harry Gilbert went 2-for-8 at the plate, with two singles and one run scored. Both he and his brother played flawless defense that day, each turning one double play.
Hank O'Day, pitcher for the 1885 Pittsburgh Alleghenys. As a rookie for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association in 1884, O'Day pitched 326.1 innings, making 40 starts, while losing 28 games. In 1885, the Toledo franchise folded and O'Day hooked on with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. He was the team's second starter behind Ed "Cannonball" Morris. O'Day lost five straight games to open the season, while Morris won five of his six starts. O'Day got plenty of run support from his teammates over the next six games and they won five of them, scoring a total of 64 runs. He made just one more start(an 8-0 loss), before the Alleghenys released him. He finished the year in the minors, pitching for Washington of the Eastern League. The next season O'Day won 26 games in the minors, earning a spot in the National League with Washington. He lost 49 games over the 1887-88 seasons, playing for a team that went 94-162 over that time. In his last season in the majors (1890), he went 22-13 for New York of the Player's League.
O'Day pitched in the minors during the 1891-93 seasons before retiring as a player. He had a seven-year career as a pitcher in the majors, but he made his name in baseball history as an umpire. He umpired in parts of 35 seasons in the majors and the Veteran's Committee recognized his accomplishments in 2013 when they voted him into the Hall of Fame. O'Day was an umpire in ten different World Series, including the 1903 WS that involved the Pirates. He also managed for two seasons in the majors.


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Friday, November 27, 2020
The Dreams Escape
Dreams are rising from the sleeper
like steam from a hot towel.
They waft past bedstead and dresser
bump and jumble their way toward the window.
The sleeper thrashes his sheets,
throws off his blanket.
Fragments of dream—llama quilt-suited
for winter, striped Christmas candy,
spaceship diving toward Earth—
collide as they float.
Out they go into the damp of the night,
drawn by the need of dry-minded sleepers
up the hill, across the bay, fog on the water.
They are eager to say what they can't quite say,
share their stories that won't stand still,
find their way to dream islands, dream continents.
A wave of them—puzzle pieces, shards of letters—
float from the house, followed by a second,
and the dreamer drifts toward the day. —Sarah Webb
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