The Spirit of It

A friend of mine recently posted her viewpoint on Facebook about a church congregation in Anaheim, CA., that had the opportunity to tattoo the church logo, (a heart inside a four-quarter circle) on their forearms. This act was offered during service and was to represent each person’s commitment to the church and to God. My friend stated that "tattoos were for pagans" and asked people to "separate themselves."

She received a number of responses, both positive and negative. While I support each person’s prerogative to express them self, freely and openly, it is important to differentiate between ‘law and personal preference.” Many responses to her entry quoted Christian scripture against tattooing the body. One was: Leviticus 19:28 which says, "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.

I think that like many things taken literally in the Bible, modern understanding of it is limited and incomplete. If we were to remember the 'spirit of the message,' which I feel addresses doing no harm to your body on purpose, then, there is no judgment of right or wrong. Christianity only holds one piece to the puzzle of the Divine and dictatorship never lasts.

Additionally, my friend is the wife of a minister. The fact that she used the terminology of “pagan,” as further demeaning anyone who is of a different religious background than herself, is more disturbing than a poor judgment call on body art. How is this any different than the Muslim teaching of “hating infadels," anyone who is different than they are?

So, on that note, the quote of the day is:

“The underlying theme that God has tried to share with “the children of earth” is that of creating love and unity in all things, not separation and hate!” tc

Framed Ascension

Too many times, we forget that our guidance in life ought to come in the form of the spirit leading the body and not the body leading the spirit. There are many reasons why this happens: 1) We have not been taught that there is a divine creator behind all that exists. 2) We are not at a state of acceptance of something larger than ourselves actually being in control of our lives. 3) We deny the truth for personal gain.
When we put aside our ego and let the spirit lead the way, regardless of what happens in our life, it all works out in the end. No matter how many steps we have to climb in order to reach the top, each stride is one closer to the greatest knowledge ever known.

So, on that note, the quote of the day is:

"Let your spirit take you higher as you ascend the ladder of ultimate consciousness." tc