I’ve noticed it’s the little things

The seemingly mundane, lack-lustre non-events in our every day existence which seem to resonate with others. Did I share my recent experience with feeling the need for physical companionship? Just someone who would willingly take time from their day to spend a few moments over coffee with me? It would be so nice for another human being to want to go on a hike with me and my border collie; or, to go out to listen to live music; or better yet, just sit on the sofa exchanging thoughts, feelings, experiences and ideas. Why does this seem so unavailable? Good thing I have my granddaughter to rearrange bedrooms with and to play cards with in the evenings. That’s a gift I treasure with all my heart.
Sometimes though, it would be nice to have an adult to hang with.

Christianity is a Call to Every Kind of Freedom Not to Bludgeon Others With Legalism…Rigby’s Podcast

Dr. James Rigby

For Freedom, Christ Has Set You Free My response  josephudo and other bloggers like him, is found in this recent Rigby Podcast.  Have a listen.  Ashtora, itsawonderfulife, ashtoraspeaks, love is not…

If our minds are in chains, how can our bodies possibly be free?  Rev. James Rigby

 

University of Arizona Medical Center~~Avoid Them!

This, from my daughter, regarding her family’s recent experience with UAMC, Tucson, AZ:

Of course I don’t have time for this, but I will briefly jot down our experience with the U of A MC.
Gummy’s MRI was scheduled for 11:30. He was not allowed to eat after midnight. They knew he was a special needs child and still could not get him in earlier. We arrived as requested at 9:30. They did not speak to us when we checked in, only told us to write our name on a piece of paper and put it in a basket. About 10:00 I went up to see if we were even in the right place. The receptionist said she was about to call me and to fill this paper out.
The paper covered all the questioned I spent an hour answering on the phone when one of their nurses had called the house last week.
By 11:00 we had not been spoken to again so I asked if we were going to be called. They let me know that they had had some emergencies and they would get to us. By 11:30 we were taken to a changing room and the nice man let us know that the last anesthesia patient had not done so well and when they had him stable, we were next.
GREAT! Just what I want to hear!
In the changing room with a hungry and thirsty little man for another 30 minutes. Then off to a prep room, taken there by who knows who? because she failed to tell us who she was. She did not put an ID tag on him and he still did not have an allergy bracelet on, but he is in a gown and in a prep room about to be sedated.
A woman comes in and identifies herself as an anesthesia DR. I asked her to please get him an ID bracelet and an allergy alert. Then we discussed the procedure and by 12:30 he was asleep. Two hours later they called us back. They had put an IV in his foot! The only place he has sensation and real feeling. The worst place they could have put an IV.
All and all, he came out safe and we took our baby home. I did not feel like we were treated with courtesy and respect nor did I feel like our baby was in competent hands. 

I will avoid all future encounters with this facility.

Thanks for the rant- Love you guys!

For other interesting political and satirical essays, visit http://ashtoraspeaks.wordpress.com

Another Rigby Podcast: As Great As We Are America…God Likes Other People Too!

Take The Lowest Place or What Does It Really Mean to “Surrender”?

Dr. James Rigby

The last in Dr. Rigby’s series of coupling the writings of Eastern Taoism together with the texts of Western Christianity, in which he manages to unravel the mysteries of life in under twenty minutes.

It’s important to me that my readers know this man, this pastor, who has been faithful to one path called Truth for his enitre life, dedicated to one congregation called St. Andrew’s for more than twenty-five years, and committed fully to equipping humanity to live out their lives fully, in ways that press us towards our highest compassion, our deepest love, and our most authentic selves.  Unlike any theologian, pastor, minister, evangelist, televangelist I’ve ever known, he’s not selling anything.  He’s not after our pocketbooks.  He’s not after fame and wealth.  He doesn’t dress in expensive suits or drive expensive cars or even own a home–he’s more like the “Columbo” of ministers, living a modest and unassuming life.  He’s on this planet to do the work of justice; Dr. Rigby does so, every day of his life, with utter humility and grace.  He’s real, he’s funny, he’s deep and everytime he speaks, he articulates what most of us can’t even begin to put into words.  I am so grateful for this teacher, his life, his gifts that he has surrendered on behalf of the greater good of and for us all.  {More on Dr. Rigby and his podcasts can be found on http://ashtoraspeaks.wordpress.com]

Master of storytelling, using metaphors and images from life in addition the symbols of the ages, Rigby attempts to help each of us to understand the concept of ‘Surrender’ in its deepest, most valuable context.  With the intimacy he shares with those who listen, self-evident, whether you actually “get this” or not, you’ll find this teacher’s insights easy to listen to, thought provoking and entertaining.  You can write him, Dr. Jim Rigby with your questions and comments:  jrigby0000@aol.com  He always takes the time to write back.

The spoon never tastes the soup; because it is not porous [the spoon] misses out on tasting the soup…so can we, if we don’t open every pore to the gift of this day and the next day….Rigby, 2008

[for Carol Creel's blog on Surrender, refer to www.lifeworks-marketing.com]

 

And They Call It, Puppy Love: Border Collie Mom Giving Birth to St. Bernard Pups~~Live Video

Copy and paste into your myspace profile to view and let it speak to you:

<a href=”http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=42114709″>Puppy</a><br/><object width=”425px” height=”360px” ><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”/><param name=”movie” value=”http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=42114709,t=1,mt=video”/><embed src=”http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=42114709,t=1,mt=video” width=”425″ height=”360″ allowFullScreen=”true” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash”></embed></object>

Question: Mat-Su Regional Medical Center Named as Birthplace of Trig Paxson Van Palin

Palins’ child diagnosed with Down syndrome (04/22/08)

FAMILY FEELS BLESSED: Back at work already, governor says she wasn’t in labor in Texas.

By LISA DEMER
ldemer@adn.com

Published: April 22nd, 2008 01:11 AM
Last Modified: April 22nd, 2008 07:49 PM

http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html

Lisa Demer ldemer@adn.com, writes an informative article in Anchorage Daily News regarding baby Palin being diagnosed with Down Syndrome and naming Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, between Palmer and Wasilla, Alaska, as birthplace of Trig Paxson Van Palin, Sarah’s purported fifth child, doesn’t list Trig as having been born there.  Why?  Is truth such a hard thing?   If this is an elaborate cover-up over the birth of a child, what won’t the McCain/Palin ticket hide?  Surely we have to override the Republican political machine, America.

Holy Cow, A Packin’ Pitbull, Wearin’ Lipstick, No Less!

Anyone else sick of this already?  Who gave that Pitbull NRA membership and license to pack?  The only thing more dangerous than a Pitbull is a Packin’ Pitbull!  Sarah Palin is NOT my kind of woman, much less Vice Presidential material…but then again, dogs of a breed run together…McCain is no more my Presidential choice than his running mate is my VP choice.  Speaking of Choice…

Red, Green and Brown, The Earth is Where Truth Is or What is It You’ve Traded Your Real Worth For?

The Humility of Christ Podcast, Dr. Jim Rigby for Small Things podcast, see http://ashtoraspeaks.wordpress.com

Gifted and beloved, Reverend Dr. James Rigby has pastored the Wells Branch Community’s congregation of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX for more than twenty-five years.

 

The Humility of Christ Podcast–unlike lessons heard from any other pulpit, let alone those of Rick Warren, Joel Olsteen or from any other “mega church” pulpit; and quite frankly, unlike any mainstream theologian, Dr. Rigby works to establish the truth that Real Love is Being Your Authentic Self!

These are my notes from the Reverend Dr. James Rigby’s most recent podcast.~~Ashtora

Confessing that our own Christian texts can be hard to hear~~we’ve heard them in such bad ways, they may sound like Jesus is “King” and we can never find worth, Dr. Rigby refutes this interpretation, saying instead that Christ in his humility revealed our own humanity to us…that by being willing not to be a King; that by being willing to be naked, and to be abused and not having his own worth effected by that, that he took us to our own worth as human beings…this sacred message has been heard all over the world.  Listen to the sacred text from Taoism.

From Taoism, a Nature Religion, the Sage speaks:

Joyful are the masses as though feasting after a great sacrifice of oxen…motionless am I…how dejected as though having nowhere to return…I alone am bereft…I alone seem confused…I alone am vague and uncertain…how nebulous as the ocean…the masses all have a purpose, I alone am stubborn and uncouth.  I desire to be uniquely different from others by honoring the Parent who nourishes.

What is the biggest problem you now face in life?  Mystics through the ages tell us the biggest problem we all share is our ego which is somehow related to a wound that’s hard to deal with.  Dr. Rigby defines ego as a problem we all have… a constricted notion of ourself that clutches on to our own being…we’re so afraid of losing ourselves that essentially we choke ourselves into numbness. 

When you began this journey, he says, there was a tenderness in your heart….Much of the religious journey is getting back to your heart, simply making it where you can feel again.  This may not sound religious, but what else has meaning in the world, if your own heart is numb? he asks.

Reverend Rigby speaks of disowned humanity.  Human beings will sometimes appear muddled, stupid and confused in the eyes of other people and we have to be willing to suffer being scoffed, if we’re going to be authentic.

Though nobody wants to be an orphan, and nobody wants to be rejected, the loving person risking authenticity is willing to be rejected…can’t quench your thirst with a mirage…can’t find self-esteem in the eyes of another person.  Every little afront will rip your heart out when you don’t know your own value.  When we try to live in images, it’s incredibly easy to be upstaged.

Red symbolizes the one human blood.  We may not know anything else in the world, but we know we’re all human.

We know that we’re all human…humility brings us to a basic sanity.

Secondly, We can Lose our true self when we think our worth increases when we pile up stuff.

Jim reveals his own ego lies in accumulating books.  He’s a literary addict.  Nothing jazzes him like books.  Cannot leave a bookstore without buying a book.

Piling up stuff can trick us into not realizing our real worth…into thinking if we have “that”, then people will know how valuable we are.

We can counter that trickery with this mantra:  I have nothing.  I am nothing.

Quote from Johnny Cash, right before he died,  “You can have it all, my empire of dirt”…talking about how worthless everything is if you don’t realize what your heart is worth.

The Life in You is the Most Valuable Thing You Have!  What would you trade it for?

Green- symbolizes Life.  Value your life over any object.

Scripture doesn’t really give us miracle stories but rather stories celebrating the basic irresistability of life itself~~i.e., stories of miracles~~Water into Wine.

Trade away our true selves by wanting to be higher up in the hierarchy…happens in families, churches, jobs…we think we’re worth more by obtaining elevated status.  Whoever wins the rat race is still the biggest rat.  Can we have the self-love to get off that track?

Brown symbolizes we’re made out of clay.  We come from the soil.  If that makes you feel worthless or worth less, you’re suffering from an essential disorientation.  Your link into the earth is where the gravity comes from.

Buddah bent over and touched the earth when asked where his authority came from–that’s where truth is.

Have you ever been so enraptured by someone that when asked who you were, you couldn’t answer for just a second?  I hope you’ve been that close to somebody before.  When you have, you’ve been in touch with a much more important place.

Whatever we identify as our “biggest problem” is really just a symbol for what we’ve replaced our true worth for.  Leave the foam of all our problems and settle into the broth of reality.  I have nothing.  I am nothing.  I’m everything.

Red, the one common blood of our humanity; Green, the Life; Brown of the Earth.

The Humility of Christ Podcast, Dr. Jim Rigby

It’s a Wonderful Life! Dr. Rigby and you are loved for your authentic self, your authentic love…not for your books.~~Ash

Disappearing Dan~~Scottish Ditty~~A Drinking Song with Living Lyrics

A Drinking Song, To the tune of “The British Are Coming, Hooray, Hooray…”  Go to the Comments Section and add your own lyrics!

Ye just appeared one day, one day

Decided ye would stay

And stay, and stay…

Until yesterday…oh yesterday

No one e`en knows what brought ye our way

Next Verse:

Oh No one knows what scared ye away

Ye received a letter on Saturday

Was it that?  No one here can say, can say

For sure Ye have got–just disappeared

That my friends is the End of this play.

Chorus:

Disappearing Dan, oh where have ye got?

We don’t even know, oh where ye’ve come from.

Ye just appeared one day and stayed,

Disappeared again, on yesterday.

Second Chorus:

Disappearing Dan, oh where have ye got?

Oh Disappearing Dan, it’s not what it’s not.

Ye just appeared one day, one day,

And now ye are gone on yesterday.

Next Verse:

Ye played on your harp

Ye were not content

Ye drank all the liquor

`Til ye money was spent

And Now ye’ve got off

Oh, Where have ye went?

Disappearing Dan, ye left not a hint.

Can It Be All About Money and Power?: What Is “The Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships”?

Finding it deserving of his own personal Q&A, Dr. Robert Jensen,  UT Journalism Professor and author of Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity, will be on hand for Alamo Drafthouse      Lamar’s Third Coast Film Night showing of this significant film, “The Price of Pleasure:  Pornography, Sexuality, and Relationships” [52 minute documentary presented by Open Lens Media & The Media Education Foundation A film by Miguel Picker & Chyng Sun Associate Producer: Robert Wosnitzer The Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality & Relationships Coming to DVD Fall 2008 http://www.thepriceofpleasure.com http://www.mediaed.org]   

As a journlist, Dr. Robert Jensen became an authority on the pornography industry, porn and its effects on the producers, participants, consumers and their relations.  His comprehensive knowledge, insights, conclusions and candid, straight-forward delivery may bring startling revelations to those fortunate enough to read his book and attend any event in which Dr. Jensen presents.  Though I’ve heard Dr. Jensen speak dozens of times, I’ve never failed to come away with a greater sense of self-respect and respect for the quality of man he represents.  Priceless.

If you’re in the Austin, Texas area, take advantage of these opportunities. 

If not, read Dr. Robert Jensen’s books~~each one, a labor of love aimed towards elevating humanity to its highest potential. ~~Ashtora, 2008 http://ashtoraspeaks.wordpress.com 

In either case, make use of NOWAR’s website: http://www.nowar.org/

Visit http://ThirdCoastActivist.org for event listings and news links.

Wednesday, August 27, 7 p.m.

Third Coast Film Night at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar

“The Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships”

Followed by a Q&A with UT Journalism Professor Robert Jensen

The critics of pornography have observed that in recent years, there are two trends occurring simultaneously: on the one hand, pornography has become more and more mainstream and accepted; on the other hand, newer, harsher and more degrading treatments of women are constantly being developed and quickly gain popularity, so the average content has become more and more extreme. Why is this happening?

To answer this question, The Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships investigates the three independent yet interconnected aspects of the pornography industry – production, content and consumption – in order to help the audience gain a holistic understanding. It focuses on this central question: how does pornography help shape our gender and sexual identities, and our relationships?

This film includes interviews of pornographers, porn performers, and scholars in psychology, media, economics and popular culture. Most importantly, men and women candidly discuss how their or their partners’ use of pornography has affected them. The film provides not only analysis that debunk the myths and stories about abuse and alienation, but also revelations of pleasure, desire and humanity. Moreover, the film examines pornography’s effects on the performers and audience beyond the liberal celebrations as well as the conservative / moral denunciations; it engages a nuanced discussion of desire and harm, choice and system constraint, liberty and responsibility.

The 52 minute documentary will be followed by a Q&A with UT Journalism Professor Robert Jensen, the author of Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity.

Location: Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar The film and Q&A will be at the Alamo on South Lamar

Tickets – $8.50 general / $6.50 student, senior – are available at the door or online at http://www.originalalamo.com/Show.aspx?id=5624

This event is a benefit for Open Lens Media.

Wednesday, August 27, 8 p.m.

Documentary at MonkeyWrench Books: ”Live Nude Girls Unite!”

This first person documentary follows Julia Query, lesbian/stand-up comedian/peepshow-stripper, and daughter of a feminist activist, on her raucous journey to help organize the only union of strippers in the United States. Shot on a variety of formats, Live Nude Girls Unite! weaves backstage and dancing footage with labor organizing, street protests, stand-up comedy and comic-book style “animation” making an intelligent and dramatic cutting-edge film.

Location: MonkeyWrench Books, 110 E. North Loop.

Wednesday, September 11, 8 p.m.

“Gook: John McCain’s Racism and Why It Matters” - a talk with author Irwin Tang

Irwin Tang will lead a discussion on his new book, Gook: John McCain’s Racism and Why It Matters. The book offers a detailed history of Senator John McCain’s racial bias, including his habit of using the racial slur “gook.” Tang links racism with warmongering and examines McCain’s consistent advocacy of shooting wars in foreign countries.

Location: MonkeyWrench Books, 110 E. North Loop.