STROKE OF LUCK

STROKEOFLUCK

STROKE OF LUCK

AARP (2008) 11/12

MATOUSEK/30

49 year old, Jill Bolte Taylor who is a brain researcher had a severe stroke in 1996. She could not write, read, or do most of the things people do when they are not dreaming. She could use her body, but she did not know where to go.

The stroke shut down her left brain. How did she feel? HEAVENLY BLISS. That’s right the emotional side of the right brain left her without problems to worry about. Now years later, after a long rehab she can use both sides of the brain. She also allows the right brain’s stillness to take over. How? She concentrates on specific aspects in her environment. Perhaps, there is a flower in the room or a picture and she feels the right brain taking over. Importantly, you can do this too.

Settle on something attractive in the room and let right brain do its magic. The left brain will kick in when you need it, but allow your right brain to make visits into your reality throughout the day when you are not driving or doing important work.

It can be made religious by starting with a prayer, but for seculars just let it happen.

The Gospel of Inclusion

GOOD NEWS (2008) 9/10

1/UUCHRISTIAN.ORG

Bishop Pearson had a great life. He headed a mega church of Evangelicals, but he began to read literature of universalism. He was entranced. He read about God as a force bringing one to their better angels. He became a Universalist and lost his position, his church, his friends, just about everything.

The article does not say which type of universalism that he espouses. So, as a primer on the subject. There is St. Paul who believed that Christians go to heaven and others go to sleep. It is a dreamless sleep.

Another version of Rev. John Murray of the Universalist church believed that many people went to heaven based on their motives and behavior. The rest went to perdition but slowly moved toward heaven after they paid for their sins. A light followed them and watched them until they understood and paid for hurting others. Some may spend a long time in hell, but sooner or later they would reach heaven cleansed of their sins. On the other side, if one is uncomfortable, they should cry out to God for help and indicate that they did wrong. A beam of light will come through and help them to heaven. No one is forsaken.

There may be many other versions, but the last  is that everyone immediately goes to heaven. The belief here is that life is hard enough and so heaven is waiting for everyone.

Universalism is a minority view in American theology. Or, so it would appear. The predominant view is that one follows a specific set of doctrines, rituals, and behavior and that will provide an entrance into heaven. The Roman Catholic Church expands the number by the doctrine of purgatory. This cleanses the sins of the person so that they may enter

Heaven.

Parenthetically, reincarnation allows for one to be cleansed for their sins and return to a new life to work out the problems of the previous life. Through a series of incarnations

one comes finally into heaven or paradise.

NEWSWEEK (2008) 11/17

BEGLEY 35-36

Science rejoices at the beginning of a new administration. Much of science that hopefully is value neutral in its surveys can occur again. Money and support in this administration were shunted toward faith base sciences. This means that the answers were already established and research was to support the conclusions that were already believed.

This would mean that certain business and religious activities were established and that science  would undermine those principles or activities.