Christians have been thrust into multiple different teachings, especially when it comes to end times teaching, or eschatology. Although I do not like to attach labels to our Christian belief systems, there are some very important distinctions to be made, and the labels already exist, so we might as well sort them out for ourselves.
Personally I reject all the eschatological belief systems, with the exception of historic premillennialism. It represents the beliefs of the original church fathers, adhering to covenant theology, without any hint of the pre-tribulation false rapture doctrine.
This is what was believed by the people who were present during the significant historical biblical timelines. After Christ was crucified, the Apostles were left to preach, and spread the truth of the gospel. The early church leaders were privy to those teachings.
The Darby inspired dispensational belief system, is a different doctrine in multiple ways, and is not limited to falsehoods in just end times eschatology. Darby and Scofield rewrote the entire bible, and advanced a different doctrine into innumerable mainstream churches.
Darby divided the bible into seven dispensations, and added a range of false teachings, mixing it with the truth contained in the original bible. When truth is mixed with falsehood, people are more inclined to believe all of it is true. If they see elements of truth, they assume the rest of it is true. It is a common practice of skillful deceivers.
Some people believe Darby was a brilliant man, offering teachings with a more comprehensive, and concise scope. Although I do not know his true motives, or his ultimate destiny, I do not think for one moment all his deceptions were unintentional, or mild deviations from biblical truths. The ramifications of this false teaching is extensive, and in my opinion, it is a wicked doctrine. There is far more to it than meets the eye.
It seems people literally get blinded to the truth when they become steeped in dispensationalism. They confuse stubborn adherence to false doctrine with faith. They refuse to repent, and are arrogantly self assured. They are uncharitable, and more concerned with Sunday services, and superficial appearances, than they are with seeking the truth. Like modern day Pharisees.
It took a long time before I realized the error of my own ways, and beliefs. I am humbled beyond description. Not only in all the ways I have nearly stumbled into the abyss, been foolish, been angry, off-track, reacted emotionally, and failed those I love the most. But also, in naively believing all Christians essentially believe the same things. I was mistaken. We do not all believe the same teachings at all. There are many false prophets in this world.
Along with Scofield, and many other false teachers, dispensationalists built on these concepts, in oder to establish a form of Christian Zionism. Scofield added hundreds of his own footnotes to the Scofield bible, many of them were so far-fetched, it is a wonder they even published them.
Therefore, the differences between historic premillennialism, and dispensational beliefs, are profoundly significant.
Like most cultish deceptions, dispensationalism has some similarities with the original bible, but are not based on the same foundational doctrinal beliefs at all. Anyone who is sincere about seeking the truth, must differentiate between all the errant belief systems, and false teaching.
Historic or traditional premillennialism, is the belief that Christians will meet Christ in the air during the second coming. Then together, we will return to the earth for the millennial reign of Christ, which is described as a thousand years of peace and prosperity. Not in the clouds, or in heaven, but right here on earth.
Historic premillennialism does not support the belief in the separation of Israel, nor does it support the belief there will be a secret rapture of the church, prior to a seven year tribulation period. In fact, historic premillennialism does not adhere to a seven year tribulation belief at all.
For those who believe in the bible, it is a good idea to examine what it says, to be sure we are not listening to false teachers. The bible does not say there will be a secret return of Christ to rapture the believers. Christ does not return three times. The bible says the return of Christ will be a spectacular event. There will be nothing secret about it. If the church or body of believers are the bride of Christ, why would they miss the most incredible and long awaited event in the history of the world? In order to escape tribulation?
This is an example of how prone we are to accept wishful thinking, even if it is not supported in the scriptures. Why are we so gullible? People often listen to what they are told during Sunday sermons, and take it as gospel truth, instead of delving into the truth of the bible for themselves.
The primary reason this deception is so well received, is because of fear. We are to have faith, not fear. And we are not to be cowardly, even though the events as described in the Book of Revelation might seem like something we would want to avoid. The bible says “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).
In the original bible, it is well documented, and understood that all people, especially Christians, will face tribulation during our lifetimes. As we get closer to the end times, the tribulation for all people increases dramatically until Christ returns. We do not expect to escape tribulation, anymore than the early Christians, or the Apostles escaped tribulation.
Most importantly of all, Christ did not escape tribulation. Although Christ was without sin, and each of us carries a burden of sin, our lives are a reflection of the forgiveness, redemption, sanctification, and ultimate resurrection, gifted to us by the grace of God.
There are numerous hidden deceptions contained in the dispensational premillennialism. Most people who are indoctrinated with this false version of biblical teaching do not even realize it. The implications are very deep rooted, and have given rise to the parable of the wheat and the tares, as described in Matthew 13:24-43.
Dispensationalism is also part of the end times apostasy, or falling away from sound doctrine, as is described in the bible, so we know that we must be very careful to avoid being deceived. This particular doctrine was only introduced, and embraced by churches beginning in 1830, which in the entire history, and timeline of the bible, is a relatively new teaching.
During the same time frame in the 1800’s, there was a rise in cult doctrines to include Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventism, and Jehovah Witnesses. Mormonism, with false doctrine introduced by Joseph Smith, began in very close proximity to the time Darby created dispensationalism.
Seventh Day Adventism is a false doctrine created by Ellen White in 1863. The Jehovah Witness doctrine was created and advanced by Charles Russell in the late 1800’s. Initially they were called Russellites (1852-1916), but changed their name to Jehovah Witness in 1931, because they had been caught up in what was known as the miracle wheat scandal.
The miracle wheat scandal brought disrepute to Charles Russel, which was published in many major newspapers. It involved charges of libel, and a government investigation. Therefore they opted to change their name to Jehovah Witness, to hide the fact they were charged with fraud.
After the name change, they advanced a very determined system of recruitment, involving door knocking, and massive amounts of propaganda, to advance their numbers, and to spread the false doctrinal beliefs.
Some people invited JW’s into their homes, and argued for hours, to try and change their way of thinking. Others, often bored or lonely housewives did get taken in, and caused much strife in their families when they joined the cult. And others, like myself, peeked through a window, saw the prim looking strangers, in the standard attire of dark, formal looking clothing, and ignored them, until they went away.
In all of these cases involving the invention of cult doctrines, they extrapolated many truths from the original bible, and then altered the narrative to suit various belief systems that are not part of the original bible. Scofield as a human being, had a terrible reputation. Ellen White, in some of her writings was charged with plagiarism, and in other cases, she came across as being blatantly psychotic.
Frequently the cultish belief systems involved date setting, giving specific dates on the return of Christ, even though it is made very clear in the original bible that no one knows the date of Christ’s return. When the dates they set, did not turn out to be true prophecy, they made some excuse, and carried on, maintaining a large group of loyal followers, in spite of the many contradictions.
People become entrenched in cults for a variety of reasons. Much of it is tied to familial entrapments. Countless people remain in cults, because they are afraid of losing their social structure, as well as being shunned and rejected by their own family. Often jobs and livelihoods are tied to these strong cultish infiltrations as well. So it makes the stakes even higher to leave, or go against a powerful and influential leader.
Leaving or breaking free of a cult, creates a great deal of fear, confusion, and a major stumbling block to people’s faith, and search for the truth. The power of family, and fear of rejection, is a huge detriment for those born into cults, or forced into cults by more powerful family members, and leaders. For this reason, the bible wisely tells us not to put anyone ahead of Christ, and the true gospel.
Clearly in the cases of all cults, they were developed by men and/or women who developed delusions, or illusions of grandeur. Those who established cults were governed by a galaxy of crossed motives, to include strong delusions, and prideful self exaltation.
Obviously, a high percentage of them are motivated by lust, greed, power, and control. They want money, they will molest children, and they will try to control the minds, and actions of their followers to the smallest details. They want to take the place of God, in the lives of other people. It is really just a replication of what Satan tried to do.
The list goes on and on, when it comes to the various cult leaders who gained a following, to include Mary Baker Eddy who started the Christian Science religion in the early 1900’s, Jim Jones in the mid 1950’s, the Moonies or the Unification Church in the mid 1950’s, Daughters of God in 1832, and many others, often with catastrophic outcomes.
Once people are embroiled in, indoctrinated, and brainwashed by these organizations, it can take years to overcome all the levels of deception. They typically rip families apart, and leave a travesty of broken people in their wake.
This article does not touch upon the Catholic church system, although it too, does not follow traditional biblical belief systems, and inserts many falsehoods into the teachings. However, the Catholic church has been around a very long time, established around 30 A.D. They too, are symbolically tied to the dragon in the Book of Revelation
The other belief systems that can confuse people, are a-millennialism, and post-millennialism. A-millennialism is the belief that there is no literal millennial reign of Christ, as described in Revelation, and several other books of the bible.
Instead, they believe this concept represents a figurative reign, or spiritual condition. They believe the millennial reign began when Christ was here, and represents the entire church age. To get past the fact that Christ was here 2000 years ago, they simply claim the thousand year reign, just means a very long time.
Many of them also believe Satan is already bound. When questioned about all the craziness, violence, and addiction in the world today, they explain it away by saying, Satan is bound, but is still allowed to have some influence. I find this point of view to be anti-biblical, and nonsensical too. But to each his own.
The post-millennial point of view is equally as implausible. This belief system claims we are currently in the millennial reign of Christ. Supposedly it is a time where the Christian ethics prosper, and everything becomes wonderful and blissful. If it has not happened yet, well it just takes a very long time.
Clearly, such a construct is not happening in the world as we know it, by any stretch of the imagination. Nor can Christians bring about the changes required, in order to bring about peace in this world. We have already been given a very long time to accomplish this, and have failed miserably.
In fact, the bible tells us in many places that things will get worse, not better, until Christ returns. Once again, this is a doctrine placing the focus on man, not Christ. We can pretty much see where such a fallacy will lead us.
Even though there are some very long-winded, and convincing arguments to support some of these belief systems, we are instructed repeatedly, to examine and test these beliefs, based on what the bible actually says.
The only position I will take, since I have examined some of these other belief systems, is that of historic premillennialism. I believe there will be a thousand year reign, as described in the Book of Revelation. I do not believe Satan is currently bound, because even though we know God has power over all of creation, including Satan, he is not bound yet. He is freely roaming the earth to wreak havoc, and deceive people, as usual.
When Christ returns, Satan will be bound, and locked up, so he cannot harm people, or deceive the nations for the thousand year period. This allows a period of healing, peace, safety, learning, and understanding God’s way, as it was originally intended to be in the Garden of Eden.
It also represents a period of rest for the earth, and the people who are living on earth. It stands to reason this period of rest will occur, after a period of around six thousand years of history.
It aligns with the description that with God, a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day. I believe this gives us a hint, knowing all creation was done in six days, and on the seventh day God rested. So it makes sense this period of rest and restoration is on the horizon, because according to Genesis, people have been here around six thousand years.
One of the most perplexing developments in the end times scenario, is that after Satan is bound for a thousand years, he is let loose for awhile, and deceives the nations again.
We already know the millennial reign is a period of time where Christ rules as King, with a rod of iron, therefore it is hard to understand how or why this could happen. It is one of the great mysteries yet to unfold, and in time, we will understand it better.
Some preachers attribute this development to man’s sinful nature, which causes masses of people to rebel against God during the thousand year reign. But if that is the case, it would not be a peaceful period of time, because people would soon resort to their old ways of violence, dominance, and deception. So it must occur after or at the end of the millennial reign of Christ.
In re-reading what it says in Revelation, I believe the release of Satan, the final deception and battle, takes place after the millennial reign. In a sense, it is like a recap, and ultimate clash between good and evil, thus eliminating all the possibilities for any future Satanic deceptions, or conflicts between good and evil.
In the Garden of Eden, they lived in a perfect and beautiful world, but they were still tempted and deceived by Satan. The bible says once he is let loose, he will deceive the nations again. Therefore, even though people are still prone to being deceived and following Satan, I think it probably takes place at the end of, and not during the millennial reign.
I also wondered if when Satan is released, his followers, including one third of the angels who chose to follow him, might also be released for this final battle. Once he does deceive the nations again, and gather more followers, God intervenes, and they are finally destroyed, once and for all.
This all happens just before the Great White Throne of Judgement, after which the new earth and new Jerusalem are ushered in. This is the true eternity, where God comes down from heaven to live with His people.
The description of the new earth, and the new Jerusalem, is quite different than the earth during the millennial reign. There will be no night, and there will be no sea. The descriptions are more dazzling than we can even conceive of now. It is truly too incredible to fully grasp.
None of us really understands all of God’s plans, because we are simply not capable. It serves to reinforce why we must have faith, and trust in God’s scope and power over all things. After all, He is the creator of all things, and knows the beginning from the end, and the end from the beginning. We were given the bible to help instruct us, and show us the truth.
It does make sense to me that there will be a millennial reign of Christ on earth. It will be a time of restoration and peace, as well as truly learning the way, the truth and the life, as promised in the gospels. The bible tells us the earth will be full of the knowledge of God. We will finally understand science, even though the secular world would scoff at such a notion.
It will be a time of preparation for the next phase. There will be so much to learn, and even more to unlearn, because like it or not, we have all been deceived throughout our lifetimes. I will readily admit – I am no exception.
It will be a time to get ourselves planted in our roles, and purpose, as well as to develop the ability to discern truth from deception, because our servitude to Christ will be tested when Satan is released again.
As I have sorted some of these things out in my own mind, and examined the various different beliefs, what I believe to be true, does make sense. There are many mysteries, and many things I do not understand. But God’s promises, hope, grace, love, mercy, and ultimate triumph over corruption and death, is truly remarkable.
The key takeaway is – do not put your trust in man, or any manmade deviations from the true gospel. Put your trust in God. Jesus, is the only one who has the power to save us from a certain death.
Eternity is a very long time.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Opiates are dangerous. They have been used for thousands of years, and have a legitimate role in short term pain management, and palliative care. But they are also highly addictive, and have claimed millions of lives. In fact, entire civilizations have collapsed as a result of widespread opiate use.
Many people believe in the concept of safe supply, which means people use prescribed government sanctioned opiates from legitimate pharmacies, as opposed to risking the opiates on the streets, without knowing for sure what is in them. Millions of pills that look exactly like OxyContin, Percocet, or Xanax, are laced with lethal doses of fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate made in clandestine labs in Mexico, Columbia, China, and more recently, one was located in BC, Canada where police discovered 25 kg of pure fentanyl. That is enough fentanyl to kill several thousand people.
In addition to lacing pills, and other street drugs with fentanyl, it has also become a risk factor for cannabis to be laced with fentanyl. This dramatically increases the risk for all people, including those who use cannabis for medical reasons. It places millions of young people at even greater risk.
Did legalization really increase the safety of cannabis? Prior to legalization, there was no such thing as cannabis overdose. But now with very high concentrations of THC in candies, lollipops, shatter, and other doctored cannabis products, it is no longer a matter of mild-mannered 1970’s home grown weed.
Cannabis no longer resembles what it used to be. In recent years, children, dogs, and seniors have suffered from cannabis overdoses. The unnaturally high, and potentially toxic amounts of THC can also place vulnerable people at risk for psychosis, especially if combined with alcohol or other drugs. With the potential introduction of fentanyl into certain cannabis products, it means the only safe way to use it is to grow it yourself.
No class of opiates are entirely safe, because even prescription opiates can lead to fatal overdoses, if taken too frequently, or in conjunction with drugs that potentiate their effects. Plus when people become addicted to prescription opiates, it is not long before they will turn to street drugs, to seek a stronger high, or when they can no longer get prescriptions. Once addicted, better judgement goes out the window. In fact – it flies off a mountain top, until the poor person crashes on the rocks below.
Fentanyl is fifty times stronger than heroin, and a hundred times stronger than morphine. The amount it takes to kill a person is less than the size of a pencil tip.
Many people advocate the use of fentanyl test strips, which may help detect fentanyl, but they are not always accurate. The test strip might be used on an area of the drug without a concentration of fentanyl, and miss the area where it is located. Fentanyl in fake prescription tablets, is not likely to be evenly distributed.
Opiates are highly addictive. Although the rate at which people can become addicted varies, within a week to two weeks of daily use, most people will have developed a physiological addiction.
As a person gets deeper into the addiction, they are seeking the drug to prevent getting dope sick. Many people describe withdrawal as being a tortuous experience. Detoxing can be dangerous if not done in a supervised medical setting. A person can become severely dehydrated from nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. They suffer greatly, and unless they are managed properly, and with empathy, in order to help them through it, they will desperately seek a fix.
To top it off, even for those who do go through detox and treatment, the relapse rate is very high. Most of the treatment facilities are thirty to ninety days. As an adjunct they may also provide sober living, AA classes, support groups, and life skills. Most have some sort of program to follow.
In many cases, the facility will prescribe drugs to ease the detox, such as benzodiazepines, Suboxone, or methadone. If a person is released while still dependent on these other drugs, they may, or may not be able to function well. Some people remain stable on methadone. Ideally a person will get free of all addictive drugs, and become drug free.
In addition to having the desire to quit, combined with a successful detox, the addict must have a very good plan in place, in order to succeed long term. They cannot succeed if they return to friends who are using, family members who are using, a party lifestyle, old habits, or boredom.
They will need to gradually deal with the underlying causes of the addiction, and find ways to develop resilience to protect their emotional and mental health. Often there is a co-dependency within families, which makes it very difficult for the addict to separate themselves from what is toxic, in order to maintain their well being, and progress.
Sometimes families mean well, but the ingrained patterns that led to the addictive behaviours can be filled with denial. A parent who drinks a lot might be judgemental toward a teenager who uses crystal meth. But to the teenager, they see it as hypocrisy. A mother who takes pain pills, or tranquilizers prescribed by a doctor, might be outraged at her fourteen year old smoking marijuana. Yet all of those things are part of the addictive dynamic.
They need to set up a personal care plan carefully tailored to both their strengths, and their weaknesses. They have to be very conscious of who they hang around with. To succeed, they have to abandon the relationships, lifestyles, and party places that were part of the earlier lifestyle.
They have to find relationships, and activities that change the old patterns, and keep them occupied. Many addicts quickly go from being an addict to being a therapist, which I do not think is a good idea, unless they have had plenty of time to get stable in every way.
It is helpful for people to support each other, and share success stories etc. Sometimes I wonder if addictive personalities can help cure other addictive personalities. I think they have empathy and experience, to be able to relate to what another person is going through, but they might not have in depth insight, or intrinsic stability for a very long time.
Many people who really want to help others, still need to sort out how they are going to help themselves. Getting free of the addiction, is only a portion of the battle. It takes years to figure out the pitfalls and cause of the addiction, and it is different for each person. Often it is tied to complex family dynamics.
If there is complex PTSD to overcome, especially from childhood trauma, a certain amount of the trauma is hardwired into the memory, and actual central nervous system. There are triggers that create an avalanche of cortisol, and other stress hormones. Since those are autonomic nervous system reactions, the person has no control over them.
Even if a person has managed to overcome complex PTSD from childhood trauma for the most part, it can still crop up and cause extreme distress years later. If there are enough stressors, that go on for a period of time, especially things like loud noises, sudden banging, yelling, screaming and cursing – those are all precursors to memories of impending violence.
With complex PTSD arousal, every system of the body, thought processes, adrenalin, cortisol etc. kicks in, to create an internal replica of the fear and helplessness of childhood trauma. No one likes to be subjected to screaming and cursing for prolonged periods, but for people who are triggered by someone else’s rage, such exposure has to be avoided at all costs. There is a cumulative effect, and the tension cannot be relieved until the verbal raging, cursing and threats are stopped. It is a re-creation of familiar events.
For the recovering addict, it also takes time to rewire the neurochemistry, and brain gut health, so a nutritious whole food diet is essential. Exercise, purpose, goal setting, dopamine restoration, improved self esteem, and meaningful work are the building blocks they need for long term success. They have to have a strong desire to succeed.
The thing about overcoming addiction, is that life gets easier in some ways, but it does not stay easy. There can still be plenty of adversity, so the challenge is to avoid using any substance again, no matter what happens.
People often relapse over a breakup, job loss, major conflict, or death in the family. Regardless of what happens, the commitment to stay clean and sober must prevail. Circumstances cannot dictate sobriety. The locus of control must come from within.
Probably one of the biggest pitfalls is that of substitute addictions. An addict might switch from opiates to prescribed benzodiazepines, which are also highly addictive, and difficult to get free of. They can be equally as destructive, and the detox actually takes longer. People have to taper by minute amounts, sometimes over a period of a year or two.
All people should realize that every type of psychoactive drug can, and will strike back and haunt them if they take the drug for any length of time. This includes antipsychotics, which also interfere with dopamine receptors and mood, SSRI, or antidepressants, and all sleeping pills.
Steroids are also dangerous if taken over time. They can wreak havoc with every system of the body, including the emotions, and self control. People on steroids can go into uncontrolled violent rages. If they need surgery or get ill, steroids can also mask the signs of infection.
NSAIDs or non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs are not psychoactive, or addictive, but they too must be taken with caution, especially for older people. They can cause stroke, stomach problems, heart problems, kidney problems and liver problems.
People who are trying to overcome addictions might switch to over eating, sugar cravings, or drinking alcohol. They might still believe they are doing okay, and can manage the addiction. Even gambling, exercise, work, shopping, and sex can become substitute addictions.
Some people say they never get free of the desire to use again. Others do not feel the compulsion to use again at all. For them, the negatives are a greater deterrent than the positives. There is no high without a worse, and corresponding low.
They know they will be right back on that self destructive roller coaster if they use again. There comes a point, after detox and recovery, where using again is a choice. There may be some compulsion prompting them, but it is not so strong that it cannot be controlled, or diverted to a healthier alternative.
They have to be vigilant, and know their own weaknesses. For some people, a twelve step program works. I tend to believe that a person has to redesign the patterns of their life, in every way. All of the old habits must be broken, including patterns of thinking, and emotional management.
They must learn to avoid catastrophic reactions to set backs, break ups, financial distress, and most of all, if they have an accident, or must have surgery – how they will manage the short term use of opiates, without relapsing.
When thinking about the high failure rate of many treatment programs, I thought of creating an outline that parallels the book by John Bunyan called “The Pilgrim’s Progress”. The essence of the story is an allegorical dream sequence.
This concept would probably not be accepted in the secular world, but I believe we cannot overlook the fact we are spiritual beings. The Pilgrims Progress depicts the journey of a Christian, and shows just how much has to be overcome in the entire odyssey of life.
I found it interesting to note, that he did not come across a character called Grief in his travels. But grief is something we will all encounter, and is often one of the most devastating emotions of all human experiences.
In the story, the main character Christian, is anxious, ashamed, and has a massive burden on his back. The burden is so heavy, he fears it will cause him to sink into hell.
In an attempt to get free of the shame and burden, he decides to leave the City of Destruction, which is filled with evil and sin. He is advised by Evangelist to go to the Wicket Gate, and head for the Celestial City. He cannot see the gate, but is told to look for the shining light.
Initially, Christian sets off with a companion named Pliable, and before long, they fall into the Slough of Despond. A character named Obstinate has followed them, and tries to convince them to go back. With much difficulty, Pliable manages to crawl out of the pond, but is thoroughly discouraged, and follows Obstinate’s advice, and heads back to the City of Destruction.
Christian, due to the heavy burden on his back, sinks in the slough, and cannot get himself out. A man called Help comes and pulls him out. He carries on his journey, and soon comes across Mr. Worldly Wise Man, and gets some secular advice. The worldly wise man instructs him to seek the advice of Mr. Legality, and his son Civility in the village of Morality.
He heads to the mountain where they live, but it towers over him, has fire shooting out of it, and threatens to crush him.
Evangelist intervenes, and tells him to forget it, they are frauds. He advises Christian to stick to the path taking him to the Wicket Gate. To get to the straight and narrow, he must get on The King’s Highway, but then he encounters Beelzebub, who shoots at him with arrows.
A character named Goodwill saves him from Beelzebub, and tells him about Jesus. Christian tells Goodwill about the heavy burden he has been carrying. Goodwill directs him to the place of Deliverance.
From there, Christian makes his way to the House of Interpreters, who show him many things, to signify a Christian life, and the importance of faith. Finally Christian reaches the place of Deliverance. At last, the straps holding his heavy pack break and fall away into an open tomb, or sepulchre.
Then three angels visit him, to greet him, and give him peace. They provide new garments, and a scroll, which is a passport to the Celestial City.
Encouraged by his new found freedom, and his assurance of getting to his destination, he encounters more struggles. As he carries on, he comes across Simple, Sloth, and Presumption. Christian tries to talk to them, and help them, but they will have nothing to do with him.
Then he gets to the Hill of Difficulty, and meets two well dressed false Christians named Hypocrisy, and Formality. They were haughty, and sure of themselves, and were certain they knew the way to go. Before long, both of them end up perishing in two dangerous bypasses called Danger and Destruction.
Christian, weary from his travels, falls asleep in the arbour above the hill, and later, realizes he has lost his passport into the Celestial City, so he must retrace his steps to find it.
He comes across Timorous, and Mistrust who tell him about a den of lions on the way to Palace Beautiful. He manages to avoid the lions, and is then told by the Watchful Porter that they are chained, and are there to test his faith.
When he gets to the top of the Hill of Difficulty, he stays at the place called Palace Beautiful for three days. It is a place built by God for pilgrims on their journey, in order to replenish and refresh them. While there, he is told to put on the full armour of God (Ephesians 6: 11-18) to get him through the upcoming battle.
He ends up travelling into the Valley of Humiliation, and finds himself face to face with the great dragon Apollyon, who he battles for a half a day. Finally he is able to stab him with his two edged sword from the armour of God he put on earlier. The dragon flees.
Before long it is nightfall, and Christian ends up in the Valley of The Shadow of Death, where it is dark, terrifying and full of demons. He hears a character named Faithful read the twenty third Psalm: “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
When he leaves the valley of the shadow of death, much to his relief, the sun is shining. He meets Faithful who he knows from the former City of Destruction. Together the two of them go to a place called Vanity Fair. It is designed by Beelzebub, and is filled with lust, and all manner of temptations at the Fair. Both Faithful and Christian have disdain for such things.
Faithful is put on trial there and is executed, which transports him immediately to the Celestial City as a martyr. Christian then finds another companion called Hopeful. They end up facing much more adversity as they continue on their travels.
They try to take a shortcut, but end up being captured by Giant Despair, and his wife Diffidence, known for their cruelty and torture. They are then locked in the Doubting Castle where they are beaten and starved.
The Giant and his cruel wife want them to commit suicide. They are so beaten down, they are tempted to do so. Finally, Christian realizes he has a key called Promise, which fits into the keyholes of the locked dungeon. So they manage to escape.
As they get closer to their destination, on the Delectable Mountain, they meet the Good Shepherds. Finally through the Eyeglass of Perspective, they can look through it, and see the Celestial City.
Even though they are getting closer, they are warned not to be deceived. They meet the Flatterer, and follow him, being led astray until they see an angel who they think is the shining one, but they are deceived, and soon get stuck in a snare.
A true angel frees them from the snare, and puts them back on course with a stern warning. They then meet Atheist who mocks them, and tells them Heaven and God do not exist. They ignore him, and carry on.
They pass by a character called Wanton Professor who is chained by seven demons. There is a ferocity of vile projections, and then the Professor takes a shortcut to the Lake of Fire.
Next they meet a man named Ignorance, who is convinced he will be taken to the Celestial City because of his many good deeds, instead of as a gift, by the grace of God.
Christian and Hopeful try to convince Ignorance that he cannot get to the Celestial City on his own merit. Nevertheless, he insists on going his own way, and takes the perilous ferry of Vain Hope over The River of Death.
When Ignorance finally makes it to the Celestial City, he has no passport, and is denied entrance. He had not travelled the King’s Highway in order to get there. The angels took him away to hell.
Christian and Hopeful, almost there, still had to go through the Enchanted Ground, a place which made them very tired and sleepy, but they knew if they fell asleep there, they would never wake up.
They too, have to cross the River of Death, and they finally make it to the Celestial City, where they are welcomed, and allowed in.
Even though this is a Christian based allegorical story written in the 1600’s, it does give an indication of the struggles, difficulties, pitfalls, snares, and battles we all have to endure.
Too many times, we think, or expect things to be easy, or to go through life without falling into the pit of destruction. But on many levels, the journey as described in the Pilgrims Progress, is closer to what it is really like, especially for the addict.
Christian’s final companion on his journey to the Celestial City was Hopeful. I think John Bunyan was quite right to make Hopeful the strongest ally, and friend to help him reach his destination.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
This is one of the greatest struggles for me. I know, I too have sinned many many times, and hurt other people throughout my lifetime.
More so, I have sinned against God, by not avoiding temptation, by saying things I should not say, by being angry, and resentful, and sometimes being outright prideful and foolish. I realize all of these attitudes are sinful. I also know we must repent of our sins, in order to change our ways. Some people do not believe repentance is an important part of the gospel message. I believe it is, and have repented, with much remorse over my own sins. I am eternally grateful for what Christ did for me, and others, by sacrificing His life so we can be forgiven.
It is amazing to know Christ asked God to forgive those who crucified him, even though he was going through an agonizing and unjust death.
When reading the story about Stephen (Acts 7:59-60) being stoned to death, it struck me as a remarkable sign of his enduring faith, when he asked God not to hold his death against those who stoned him, even as the rocks were raining down upon him.
We are told to love our enemies, regardless of what they do to us.
I understand these things with my mind. Yet in my mind and heart, there is still a dichotomy standing in the way of total forgiveness toward the teacher who dominated my life, and infiltrated my family with lies, and a cult stronghold.
The reason for this dichotomy within me, is that alongside forgiveness, we are also told to avoid certain people, to have nothing to do with them. We are not to sit in the counsel of the wicked or ungodly. Nor are we to believe and absorb lies. We are to seek the truth, love the truth, and stick with the truth in all aspects of our lives.
The challenge for me therefore, is in order to proclaim the true gospel, as opposed to the hyper dispensational teacher’s indoctrination, I have to reject the false gospel, and learn what is the truth in God’s word, the true gospel. We are told to beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing. We are also told not to be deceived, and to test all things. That means we must discern good from evil, reject what is evil, and bring it into the light. Ephesians 5: 11-13
In order to embrace God’s promises of being adopted by God, as part of God’s family, I must reject the lies surrounding a pseudo-adoption lie by a false teacher. I was not adopted by the teacher, even though he told those lies repeatedly to everyone I know. Ephesians 1: 4-5
In order to assert my identity in Christ, and honour my parents, as we are instructed to do, I have to tell the truth of who I am, and refute the false accusations toward our mother and me. In my own mind and heart, I have to reject all the lies I was saddled with. Satan is referred to as the father of lies. Therefore I do not see how we can love such an enemy, and forgive those lies.
In all honesty, I have to admit, I struggle to forgive the evil aspects of the plot against my life. It was a persistent, unwavering deceptive scheme that began when I was a teenager in school, and has shadowed my entire adult life. It continues to this day. This harm was inflicted on our mother, on me, and and on my entire family.
It has torn the family apart spanning three generations. It jeopardized my own soul and salvation, and the souls of family members, who continue to hold this teacher in high esteem.
The difficulty for me, is to accept this as the persecution of my entire adult life, when those who have inflicted the harm, have never faced consequences, never admitted wrongdoing, never apologized, and above all – would never take no for an answer.
How can we reject evil if it is forced upon us? We have to be able to say no. The refusal to take no for an answer dehumanizes, and entraps a person. It is like you are treated as a non person, or an object.
In addition to instructing us to forgive, there are also many verses in the bible telling us in no uncertain terms – to avoid certain people. Proverbs 4:14-19:
There are many verses telling us what kind of people to avoid. We also have God-given free will. Most of us leave our teachers behind, and they become a distant memory. Some of them are remembered with fondness, and some of them we remember as being nasty.
But those are within the realm of normal lives, and basic respect. To get saddled with a teacher for life, simply because he came and taught in a small town school for a few years, is beyond comprehension.
As I understand what the bible says, I am to avoid this person. This is something I knew in my heart at the onset. But because he had power and authority over me, and was in collusion with a powerful family member, I was forced to put up with this teacher intrusion in my life.
My main objective was always to get them out of my life. Initially I tried every gentle, loving approach I could think of. I went to every member of my family, and said there is no way my decision to terminate an unwanted relationship with a teacher, should affect my family relationships. After all, we all know the truth, and I am more than willing to forgive my family.
I also spoke to the teacher and his wife, many times over the years, telling them I do not condemn them, or want to damage their reputation. I just want to make it clear there was no adoption, and leave it at that.
There was never a time where I was permitted to cut ties with those people, without more verbal assaults, more manipulation, more threats, and more punishment – all designed to force me back into an unwanted relationship.
Therefore, my struggle, and cognitive dissonance, is between free will, and the right to avoid what is false, wicked and destructive, to include false doctrine – all of which is lying alongside the instruction to forgive.
In that context, I really have to ask myself if I have malice and anger toward them. If I am honest, I cannot be sure. I think I do, and yet I have prayed for years to be released of the stronghold, and snare created by the family infiltration.
The main sticklers for me, is that I tried very hard to get free of this unwanted relationship, and even as an adult they used force. A refusal to take no for an answer, is criminal and exploitive. I want them to know that.
I have written about this situation extensively, in order to try and get it through to them that I said no, and will not resume the relationship no matter what they do. I am trying to assert myself, which is something I was never able to do as a child. Before I could get free of it all, I was pounced on with the same agenda as an adult.
When my husband was alive, the intrusive visits and behaviours from this teacher were very limited. Even though we did not want them in our lives, we also did not want to embark on a huge family conflict, so we remained polite, and tolerated their visits.
My husband told me he did not like the way the teacher looked at me, and when they did visit, he made sure I was never alone with him. So during those years, it was much different. The teacher temporarily lost some of his machismo, partly because my husband was protective of me, which I did appreciate. He was a very tall, strong athletic man. Also, it was because people are much stronger as a couple. We were together seventeen years before he died.
A young widowed woman, is weak and vulnerable, especially if her family does not protect or support her. Magnify it a thousandfold, if her family is forcing the wolf into her midst, and selling her soul to the devil.
In this day and age, why does any woman need a protector against a high school teacher? I cannot count the number of times I wished my husband was still alive, because I think we would have been much more effective in terminating the teacher relationship as a couple.
If I went into details about the history of my own background and family violence, I think it would shock the average person. Fortunately, my husband was not the least bit abusive toward me. The family violence was all from my childhood, growing up isolated on a farm, without parental protection. However, it is still much easier to forgive family, than it is to forgive an invasive intruder.
I find it most difficult to forgive the constant slander against our mother, even though she faced astronomical hardship. I think it was especially evil of him to brainwash me into thinking she was wicked and non-redeemable. He continued denigrating her until I finally cut them out of my life. When he started drilling into me that she was wicked, I was a traumatized teenage kid. To top it off, since I was a toddler, everyone who ever saw us together, told me I was the spitting image of her.
Perhaps most of all, I find it difficult to forgive the teacher’s willful attempt to destroy my soul. I thank God every day, for His abundant grace in saving me from such a fate. There is little doubt in my mind the teacher plot was an attempt to take over and destroy my mind, will, emotions and spirit.
He not only set out to dominate, control and destroy my life on this earth. His objective was to destroy my soul for all eternity, just as he tried to assert the destruction of our mother’s soul for all eternity. The depth of depravity, on a spiritual level, is almost unfathomable. Soul murder, or the attempt to do so, has to be the most wicked thing of all.
After all, our flesh will eventually die, but our soul and spirit is our essence. Through Christ as saviour, by his grace, He has saved us, and overcome death, so believers are granted eternal life. To intentionally try and rob any person of salvation through Christ, is an unspeakable evil.
Still, the question lingers – why? Why was he so bent on destruction to the extent he targeted both my mother and me, in such an incomprehensible and destructive way?
There is little doubt God will judge the hearts and minds of all of us, and there is nothing we can hide. He will recompense, and it is not up to us to judge, or we ourselves will be judged, according to all of our own sin. I get that.
When I think of God’s wrath as it is described in the bible, I also know it tells us to take no pleasure in the fate of the wicked. Nor do I know who among the wicked will seek repentance, and be forgiven.
Many times I have prayed to find a way to forgive this man. I have asked God that if he forgives the teacher, and he ends up with eternal life, can He find a way to keep him at least a few hundred miles away from me throughout eternity? I cannot even fathom having to spend more time with the teacher.
I know it is silly, because all of those who are saved by the blood of Jesus, are of one family, and one body. Therefore we cannot separate ourselves from other true believers, and nor should we want to.
So what I am left with is in trusting the redemptive work Jesus is able to work not only in my mind and heart, but for all of us.
Even though I have to admit to harbouring some degree of ill will, or hurt, I do not wish to see anyone suffer the wrath, and second death as described in the bible. I cannot even imagine seeing someone thrown into the lake of fire.
The only thing I have ever wanted is to be free of the teacher, without being punished and rejected by my own family.
The message to me has always been loud and clear, comply or suffer. But there is no way I can possibly accept the teacher lies and relationship all over again. So the enigma for me, is to reject the relationship, as I have every right to do, and yet forgive, and let go. It is hard to do, when they will not let go of me, and continue the scheming and manipulation to punish me.
I still vividly remember when the teacher would stalk me outside of school. So many times, I tried to run away from him. It triggered his animal instinct, so he would chase me. On one occasion, running through the bush, late at night, in the pitch dark, I stumbled and fell over a tree root. When he caught me he was enraged, panting and out of breath. He growled, “Don’t you ever try to get away. You will never get away, because I will HUNT you down.”
All I could say to him was “I don’t care. I don’t care what you want. I don’t care what you think. I don’t care what you believe. I don’t care what you say. Everyone knows you are not my father.” I repeatedly glared at him and said “I DON’T CARE!”
It feels like there is a stand-off of sorts within me. To be honest, as I have said before, I grew to despise the teacher with every fibre of my being. Yet we are told to love our enemies.
Do I love the teacher? I cannot say that I do. Do I forgive him? Even that is a tough question to answer honestly. I can forgive him, by giving it over to God, and asking Him to show me how. I have faith he will answer my prayers.
I do believe in agape love toward our neighbours, those we have had conflict with, and those who have lifestyles we know are harmful to society in general. There are people who at one time, I was at enmity with, and now I realize I was just trying to win a battle, because I was dominated so much in my own life. In many cases, it had nothing to do with the person I was in conflict with, and I hope they can forgive me for my attitude toward them at the time.
None of those conflicts stay with me, because the forgiveness is genuine, and thus it enables us to let things go.
The fact I have not let go of the teacher saga, means I have not found a way to truly and sincerely forgive.
I think part of it is that trauma and betrayal becomes hard wired into our psyche, especially when there has been brainwashing. I know Christ can heal all wounds, and I have faith He will help me find a way to forgive the teacher.
People always say forgiveness is for ourselves, not the perpetrator. Many people will forgive the most atrocious crimes, often within a matter of minutes, which is astounding to me.
Forgiveness is central to the gospel. We have to overcome the challenge, and difficulty surrounding forgiveness and betrayal. It is something our mind or will cannot accomplish on its own. I believe we have to surrender the aspect of bondage that prevents us from forgiving.
Although by the grace of God I was plucked out of the fowler’s snare, there is still a rope or two around me, preventing the full liberation of a Christ centred life. I know it is based on my own weakness, and emotions. The forgiveness must be a spiritual reckoning, in order to provide a complete release of all the hurt and anger. I cannot do it on my own.
In spite of the fact I reject all the teacher’s lies, and reject the relationship, I also know I must forgive.
Most of all I want the cult influence and falsehoods out of my family, especially for the sake of my grandchildren.
The teacher should not be my enemy. Teachers for most aging adults, are left far behind us, having provided a temporary service. Other than this particular teacher, I hardly ever think about teachers from the past. I sincerely want to leave him behind where he belongs.
Just as I repeatedly told him when I was sixteen years old, I don’t care. I don’t care what he thinks, wants, pretends, likes to believe, or what religion he chooses to belong to. In all bluntness, and candour, I do not care. There is nothing there. There is nothing to fight about. It is an apparition and delusion in his mind.
My hope is to put him in his rightful place. He was a teacher, that is all. There is no attachment or enmity with prior teachers, at least in theory. So, I want him to take a seat in the corner with the dunce cap on, and get over himself as some kind of deity, and member of my family.
Once he takes his rightful place in my life, be barely exists. Even as an enemy, he is a phantom. His fable is as elusive, and shady as the dust in the wind. I am not going to fight with anyone, about who I am, and the family I was born into and raised by. It is beyond ridiculous.
To the teacher and his family, I wish them no harm. Once the falsehoods are stripped away, they are still people I barely know. I never did get to know them, because there was no truth in them. How do you get to know those who completely misrepresent themselves? When there is no truth is a relationship, it is all fiction. It was a purely fictional construct, and still is.
Anything built on foundational lies will crumble. Over time, there is nothing left but a pile of rubble to be bull dozed into a landfill. It all deserves to be forgotten, as it has no substance whatsoever.
It morphed into spiritual and psychological warfare, and a familial stronghold that only God can deal with. Ephesians 6:12
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Because it is such a heavy familial burden, I have prayed, and have faith Christ will show me the way to forgive, and most of all, completely forget about the teacher. He does not deserve a space in my head, just like he is not welcome in my home.
Our family needs to concentrate on healing and forgiving each other, without the lies, and interference. We have intergenerational patterns to overcome. There is no point in doing to me, what was done to our mother. Hatred and expulsion from the family, is not going to solve anything. Scapegoating certain members of the family, is not hidden from God. He knows full well what is behind it all.
It is all a major challenge, and is something I know I must endure, and overcome, through faith and trust in Christ.
Sir Walter Scott’s well crafted quote from 1808; “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” is a classic axiom.
None of us are totally innocent when it comes to lying. It is just that some people are very brazen, and lie with a purpose. They have no shame, or conscience when it comes to lying. It is as natural as breathing.
Most of the little white lies, are designed to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, or to embellish a good story.
But the pathway for chronic liars, and lying, is a crooked one indeed. There is no excuse to be made for any lies, because little white lies, can easily become whoppers. It is especially so if the liar has made gains out of lying, without ever facing any consequences.
A chronic liar, eventually will not be believed about anything, even if he does tell the truth. It is one thing to lie about your own life, but it is another story when a person lies about someone else, and tries to create a false narrative around their life.
They will do this sort of thing to cover wrongdoing, to set the stage for exploitation, and to create a pretence of being something they are not. Once they embark upon those big lies, and repeat them often, they cannot easily back out of them. They create their own trap.
It happens in businesses, in religious circles, in schools, in communities, in families, in marriages, and in true crime. I always used to think, “If your wife can’t trust you, who can?” No one.
Pathological liars will take things a step further, and manipulate others into advancing their lies. They seem to think if they repeat the lies often enough, and corrupt those around them to maintain the lies, they will create concepts set in stone. Lying creates an unstable foundation. It will eventually crumble.
Lying goes with all kinds of ulterior motives, from stealing, to sexual assault, to adultery, to crime, and to cause harm to the reputation of those who are being lied about. Often, if a person becomes a threat to someone who has something to hide, that person will become a target of a malicious, and deceptive character assassination.
Even though we have all told lies, it does not make it okay to lie. In fact, it is one of the things God hates most. I can see why too. It leads to countless problems, and is often the precursor to serious crimes. In the bible, the devil is called the “father of lies”.
Deception is probably the single most damaging thing in the entire world. It leads to all kinds of injustices, murders, cover-ups, family breakdown, and broken relationships across all walks of life. It rips families apart, destroys businesses, and worst of all, it erodes trust. Trust is part of the foundation of love.
In true crime, police detectives will interview a suspect over and over, to catch him in his lies. A person has to have a very good memory, in order to lie effectively. Once they are caught in a lie, their whole story starts to unravel.
Politicians are known to lie. Some are far worse than others. We rely on political leadership. Lying erodes the foundation of democracy, and leads to widespread corruption. All politicians are in temporary positions where they can, and do, wield power. But if they deceive the masses, and abuse that power, they will get voted out, and leave the stain of their own flawed character, on the political party they represent, and the history of a nation, a province, a municipality, or a city. All for what?
One of the key things to note about almost all liars, is they are also arrogant. They seem to think they will never get caught. They must view lying as a sign of their own cleverness, and guile. They are invincible, untouchable, and as slick as a greased pig.
I have watched several tell all interviews on a YouTube show called Soft White Underbelly by Mark Laita. He interviews people from all walks of life, in particular the seedy side of life. Some of the interviews are quite amazing, some are sad, and some are too off the wall to even listen to.
Those interviews do shed some light on crime, addiction, prostitution, porn, child abuse, organized crime, self-destruction, Only Fans, strippers, nudists, thieves, murderers, etc.
He also features war veterans, Navy Seals, survivors, homicide detectives, and every kind of extreme – from heroes to hackers, to whackos.
One of the guys he interviewed was a counterfeiter. He had a degree in graphics arts, and was also a functional addict. He had a girlfriend, and the two of them would travel from city to city, and live out of hotel rooms. They had all the counterfeit equipment in their luggage. It actually did not require much equipment. A laptop, a printer, the right kind of paper, some colours to mix, and a few small tools for applying the seals, and fine touches.
Their pattern was to get up in the morning, and make the money, which required concentration, precision, and care. He was quite disciplined to get the work done first thing in the morning. Then when they had a wad of bills, they would go out on the town – shopping, buying drugs, fancy dinners, and then hit the clubs.
The next morning they would move on, before the shops, and restaurants found out they had taken in counterfeit money, and where it came from. The guy was so good at making it, he even stood confidently, while people put the bills under intense counterfeit scrutiny. He had managed to find ways to overcome almost every test they came up with.
Eventually they did get caught. He got caught because he started using the money to buy larger quantities of drugs. The dealers figured out he was using counterfeit money. Because it was well done, they wanted more of it. In the end, he got busted because of the drug dealers he became involved with.
As it turned out, instead of a ten year prison sentence, the FBI offered him a deal to teach classes on the methods he used, and to disclose where he got the special seals, pigments etc. He had perfected the colour shading, using the pigments in eyeshadows, of all things. He said he spent hours and hours in the cosmetic sections of department stores looking for the right shade of green.
One of the counterfeit tests, is to hold the bill up to the light, and tilt it, to see if the colours, and metallic glint is perfectly matched. There is another test that picks up a counterfeit silver mark, which is applied separately to help distinguish the real from the fake. He found a place online that sold those silver symbols, as perfect undetectable replicas.
He ended up breaking up with his girlfriend, and gave up the drugs, which was a blessing. After that, he got a plea deal, and went on to teach about counterfeiting, how it is done, and how to recognize it. Part of his plea deal was that he must tell the truth, and hold nothing back, which he agreed to.
The same thing happened to a brilliant and sophisticated hacker. He went from being homeless to becoming a multimillionaire, until he got caught. He was not an addict, but out of desperation, living out of his car, after his parents kicked him out as a teenager, he met a girl who believed in him. He moved in with her, got a computer, and started hacking to make money. His story is mind boggling. He was able to hack into anything, and everything, as well as to point out the vulnerabilities in any system.
So he too, got busted, and then got hired to identify vulnerabilities in computer systems, and demonstrate how easy it is to hack into them.
The interesting thing about both of these guys, compared to the other criminals he interviewed, is that they were humble. They did not brag, and they came clean on everything they had done, and how they did it. They knew it was wrong, and they were relieved to find a way to confess, and then go on to lead more honest, law abiding lives, while still using their exceptional talent.
But in the cases of hard core addicts, convicts, and mafia bosses, one of the biggest differences, is they were profoundly arrogant. In many cases you could tell they were either embellishing, or hiding things, to make themselves appear less barbaric, or more heroic.
Some of them had absolutely nothing to be arrogant about. They were shameless though, and were arrogant over the worst behaviours known to humans. It is perplexing to see how much people can deceive themselves.
In many of the interviews, you can tell the person has a penchant for self deception more than anything. One 74 year old, overweight woman, who was portraying herself as a star on Only Fans, as a well seasoned sex symbol – claimed to be making hundreds of thousands of dollars every few months.
Some of her video shoots were cringe worthy. Not that I am body shaming a 74 year old woman. But, when combined with some of the outfits, attitude, language, and activities she was advertising, it was hard to believe. Only Fans definitely has an “anything goes” hypothesis. But the big question is – where does it go?
As the interview went on, she started talking about buying a truck for her son. She described a used truck for $4,000.00 and then went on to say she put a $1,000 down payment, and then financed the rest. She was proud of being able to make the purchase for her son, when in the past, she had no means to do so.
There may have been an element of truth to her story, but if she really was making hundreds of thousands of dollars every few months, wouldn’t you think she could just buy a truck for her son?
So many of those stories are obviously, and dramatically embellished, yet if you read the comments, they all seem to believe every word of it.
First of all, drug addicts, ex-convicts, strippers, thieves, and prostitutes are not known for being brutally honest. In such a world, and with lifestyles that rely upon deceiving people, they are not likely to be telling the truth. The interview itself is opportunism, and in the case of Only Fans, porn stars, and escorts, they are using it as another marketing platform.
Chronic and pathological lying is a character disorder. Not all liars are murderers, but you can be pretty sure that most murderers are also liars. Chronic lying will erode a person’s character, and will often lead to worse things.
Even if a person does not get caught – eventually all those lies will catch up to them. Like getting caught in a squirming school of jelly fish, every single one of those lies will come back to bite, and entangle them.
We should all do a lying inventory, on a regular basis. If we have lied, we should confess, and apologize. If we keep lying, God will send us strong delusion, and we will lose the ability to discern the truth.
Ultimately God has no mercy for unrepentant liars. We cannot keep truth, and lying in the same household, or even within the same soul. We have to honour and seek the truth. There is no middle ground.
Now you might say, what if someone asks you if you like their horrible green and yellow hair do? Do you say, it’s nauseating and hideous, because it is what you are thinking?
Or worse yet, what if your good friend asks you if you think their wife is having an affair, and you have seen her with the other person? You might know it is no secret, and he is the last to know.
Even for people who seek the truth, and want to be honest, we can be put in some dicey situations. Perhaps with the green and yellow hair, you could ask them if they like it, and are happy with it. And then let them know, it does not matter what everyone else thinks. After all – it’s their hair.
The same with the question about the affair. You could ask your friend why they are suspicious, and what has caused the trust to erode? You might be able to be honest, without being brutal.
In one awful true crime case, a young man was suspicious of his wife, because of the way she was acting. He talked to his best friend about it, without having a clue it was his best friend who was having an affair with his wife. Of course the best friend lied to him.
These two guys had been best friends since childhood. Their parents went to the same church, and they both met their future wives in Sunday school. They were each other’s best men and bridesmaids at their weddings, and gave an outward appearance of living happily ever after.
The lying best friend sold his buddy a million dollar life insurance plan, and then plotted with his wife to kill him. One can hardly imagine the shock that poor man felt in the moments before his best friend shot him in the face.
He lured him into going duck hunting, and then pushed him overboard, thinking his waders would drown him. However, he managed to get out of the waders and swim to a nearby stump. As he clung to it calling for help, his buddy circled round, got close to him, and shot him point blank.
He then hid and buried his body in a murky swamp, where it stayed for over twenty years. This case was kept alive by the victim’s mother. She was relentless in her search for her son, and wrote something like 9000 letters to law enforcement over the years. She knew who had done it.
The reason the mother knew who had done the crime is because of the way her daughter in law had acted after the disappearance. She did not want anyone looking for him. In fact she was furious when her mother in law put up billboards, seeking help from the public to find her son.
The daughter in law collected the million dollars on the insurance policy, and after just a few months, the murderer moved in with her, and they got married. Both of them were steeped in adultery and deception, and the marriage fell apart.
After the marriage dissolved, they were out to kill each other, because of all their secrets. He hid in her car with a kill kit and a gun, and kidnapped her at gunpoint. He ordered her to drive to a remote location, but she drove into a busy downtown area and parked under a surveillance camera. She managed to convince him to get out of the car, and they could resume the conversation later on, with the hope of resolving and reconciling. She had no such intentions, and promptly drove to the nearest police station and reported the kidnapping.
When she reported the kidnapping, the detectives wanted more background, as in – what about the missing husband from twenty years ago? She adamantly refused to talk about it. She gave them orders to deal with the kidnapping, and don’t ask questions. She was haughty and arrogant.
They arrested her ex for the kidnapping, and offered him a plea deal, which he took. He had to show where the body was, and give all the details of the crime, as well as her involvement. When they found the body, after twenty years, he still had his wedding ring on his finger.
The woman, to her shock and dismay, got a longer prison sentence than the man who carried out the murder. He got the maximum sentence for kidnapping, and she got charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
The mother of the victim finally got her wish, which was to find out what happened to her son. She never let the case go cold. She lived to see justice, even though it was heartbreaking to realize the adultery, lying, and eventual murder that evolved out of these church families who knew each other all their lives.
The guy who killed his best friend was one of the sleaziest men you could ever imagine. Even when he gave his detailed testimony, and described all the affairs, the murder plot, and the crime itself, he was arrogant. He said they believed they were like David and Bathsheba, and would be forgiven by God, so it was no big deal. What an incredible way to rationalize a most horrific betrayal and crime.
One of the big differences is that David was immediately filled with remorse, and confessed what he had done. He was devastated.
In this case, the killer got away with the crime for twenty years, and they lived on the insurance blood money, without a conscience. Neither one of them had any remorse. Nor did they have any compassion for the grief stricken mother. The murderer only confessed to save his own skin.
He ended up whining incessantly over the fact he was given the maximum sentence for kidnapping, because they had agreed not to charge him for the murder. Talk about a delusional couple. They both believed they had been mistreated by the system when they got sentenced. Neither one of them ever demonstrated remorse. The victim was a faithful, hardworking husband. But they never had a shred of remorse.
We cannot be free of all character flaws, and lying is certainly one of them. But we can be aware of how important it is to avoid lying, to be trustworthy, and to confess any lies we do find ourselves caught in.
When we recognize and admit wrongdoing, it is an opportunity to abandon such things in the future. If we don’t acknowledge our faults, how can we change? If we keep lying, we can become hardened, and not even care after awhile.
The advice to guard our hearts, is not only to protect ourselves from wolves in sheep’s clothing, but also to protect ourselves from becoming the wolf. If we become chronic liars, chances are, we are a wolf too.
So purging the lies, is a way of keeping a pure and honest heart. You may not get any credit for it in the short term, but a clear conscience in the long run, is more valuable than gold.
If we can manage to stop deceiving ourselves, and deceiving others, we can pray for wisdom and discernment. We will not have either, if we cannot first seek the truth.
A path of lying can take people on a journey into the dark underbelly of life, and death. While the pathway to truth, is the journey to our sanctification, and redemption. If we believe in Christ, He will show us the way, the truth, and the life.
In many ways we are all solitary travellers, and the road we choose to take, is a matter of life and death. Although it was probably not written from a Christian perspective, Robert Frost captured the importance of a divergent path, and the choices we make in ‘The Road Not Taken” written in 1915.
As a child, I still vividly remember hearing this poem, and being fascinated by it, envisioning the scenery, and the man who stood pondering which way to go:
The scams are rampant these days, and seem to be getting worse. Some of the most common ones:
CRA scams will target people, often seniors, advising the person of a deposit to be made, with a link to open. If they can get a person to pick up the phone, they might tell them they owe CRA money, and will try to instil fear. I think it is best not to answer CRA calls, and never open a link to deposit money to your account. Instead login to your CRA account and check to see if there is an outstanding balance.
Fake shipping scams via text or email, are also very common. They will have a fairly convincing looking copy of the company logo. If you are not expecting a package, you can be pretty sure it is a phishing scam. If you are expecting a package, rather than respond to the potential scam, login to UPS, Canada Post, or whatever, and use the tracking number to check.
There are also scams posing as Amazon, warning you about suspicious charges on your credit card. Ignore them, and check the card, as well as the order info on the Amazon website.
The rule of thumb, first and foremost, is not to take the bait. Delete the message. And go to the source separately from any messages you get.
Suspicious emails will often have a long string of characters, instead of a corporate identity. After awhile, you learn to recognize the layout, and return email when it comes to your bank, PayPal etc.
Probably the most concerning, is when they send you a text giving you the first or last numbers of an account, and then saying there is suspicious activity on the account. It is cause for concern, because they do seem to have the account number.
In that case, once again, login and check your account. Change the passwords, and security questions. Some banks will allow you to change from using your client card number, to a username. If a scammer has your client card number, it makes sense to change to a username, as well as changing your password.
Many of us have been scammed, myself included. There are some very deceptive tactics. Be especially cautious of Interac e-transfers. When I was scammed, it was due to an e-transfer. I had to change accounts, and send a notarized declaration to the bank, to say I did not give anyone access to the account.
After that, you have to change all the automatic deposits, withdrawals etc. So prevention is better than having to deal with the aftermath. Like any other form of invasion, or theft, it leaves you feeling vulnerable, and trying to figure out how it happened.
It is a good idea to clear the cache on your computer on a regular basis, and check all the security and privacy settings.
As far as online shopping, it might be a good idea to get a pre-paid Visa card, which can be set up in certain banks, and can also be purchased from Canada Post for $10. You can load the card at the post office, if you want to avoid doing so online using your bank information. The card seems to be secure with an online login, and detailed list of all transactions. You can use it like a regular card. When you are planning on making a purchase, or purchases, you can load the amount you need, and otherwise keep the balance low. I have never had a scammer contact me in relation to the Canada Post Visa, but have had scammers contact me re the standard MasterCard.
Although I have not had any direct experience, I have read there are fake taxi scams, where a person buys a taxi sign off Amazon, and then sits at an airport. That is pretty scary, to think you might inadvertently get into a stranger’s vehicle. They will then use your debit card to access your account.
Others have reported that cards can be scanned while they are on your person. Once again, this seems incredible. I use a metal business card holder for bank cards. I think one of the greatest vulnerabilities is the use of tap. It may be convenient, but it is too convenient. If someone manages to steal your card, they do not have to know the pin number, or anything in order to use it.
We have been lulled into a world of convenience. But when you get scammed, convenience goes out the window. It is very inconvenient to have to deal with a scam. Apparently it is also very difficult to catch the scammers.
It seems the best approach is to avoid responding to any unknown contacts. In my opinion, this includes online surveys, claims you have won a prize, robocalls, etc. Be highly suspicious of anything that tries to convey a sense of urgency, or demands a response.
We do not have to answer the phone when it comes to unknown callers. We do not have to respond to unsolicited text messages or emails. If we did not initiate the contact, chances are they want something from us.
Personally, I do not save passwords on any device due to the syncing, and hacking potential. I believe it increases vulnerability. I also believe it is important to be very cautious who you hire to file your taxes, and who you give access to when it comes to filing. Unless you have a very complex situation, it is probably best to file your own taxes. There is now some very good tax filing software that makes it easier to file, as well as to track any potential errors.
For those who have a lot of money, of course things are much more complicated, and likely, they will have sophisticated measures in place to protect their accounts.
But for the average Joe, we are sitting ducks, if we don’t use vigilance and care. Keep a list of your accounts, and check them frequently to stay on top of things. Never click on a link when you get an unsolicited email or text.
If someone makes a shipping error, and sends you something you did not order, wait and see what happens. It is difficult to contact an organization when you do not have a purchase order, a record of purchase, or payment.
We are not responsible for the incompetence of a business, that does not properly process, ship or track an item. If they send something you did not order, wait awhile, see if they send someone to pick it up, and then after three or four weeks, donate it. There have been scams that create a huge hassle for a person, in order to return a product to they can gain access to your account, over a shipping error.
Given all the addiction, and street crime, I think it is safer to keep bank cards, phone, and keys in a zippered pocket, or a fanny pack around your waist, as opposed to carrying a large hand bag when out walking. In some cases, it might be better to just bring one debit card, as opposed to a wallet full.
It is unfortunate to see such a rise in scams, and trickery. Yet we really cannot avoid the fact that all records are online. This includes all financial, and medical records, and websites we visit.
You will also notice how many websites offer something free. But in most cases, it is only a free trial, and after a 14-30 day period, they will be charging you full price. They want to get you hooked into the subscription.
Recently I answered an online questionnaire about shoulder pain. The website claimed they would help identify the problem free of charge. I knew darn well, they would get you to answer thirty questions, then ask for money at the end, before telling you anything.
So just to see, I answered the questions, and sure enough, at the end, they wanted money, even though they advertised it as free. Unless you want to waste your time, don’t fall for the free ads. But what it did for me, was it helped identify the specific movements that caused the pain. Then after I narrowed it down, I was able to see that it was likely a rotator cuff injury.
When I thought about it, I realized how I got the injury lifting and moving container plants. So I evaluated anything that might worsen it, and stopped doing anything to cause strain, as well as started exercise to help with range of motion.
In addition to being vigilant over financial institutions, we also have to be vigilant over our health, because the system is overloaded as it is. I know there are many people who discredit any attempts to self-diagnose. But I think if it is something you can evaluate, and then take measures to see if it will improve – why not?
Some people adamantly believe in yearly check-ups, taking doctors advice as gospel, taking whatever prescription medication they are prescribed, and going through whatever diagnostic tests they are told to go through.
Once again, I think it is wise to maintain autonomy, and evaluation over our own health. If we have something seriously wrong, we will have to go to a doctor or hospital. We know our own body better than anyone else does. Once you notice something is off, it means we need to evaluate the cause, and change something to see if it improves.
Just like it is not a good idea to turn our financial matters over to every scam or contact, we should also be wary of drug promotions, and turning our physical selves over to the system, if we can help it.
It is not a matter of rejecting all things, but rather, sharpening our discernment, and making careful choices, based on what we are experiencing and observing. Some people turn themselves over to a doctor, like they would take a used car to a mechanic, and say “fix it”.
However, personal responsibility means exercising caution, and good judgement. We all make mistakes, and worse yet, we can all be deceived, or misled. It is not to suggest that certain diagnostic tests, and certain medications are not beneficial, the same as not all deals, or sales are scams.
We just have to become more adept at filtering, and sorting the good from the bad. I think we also need to trust our intuition, and gain confidence in our own better judgement. Experts are not always experts, and advice is not always sound advice. I think we should always be able to take it or leave it when it comes to our own lives, health, and ability to steer clear of trouble.
Obviously I cannot answer this question from a secular perspective. Probably no one can. The division, or more aptly the chasm presented on future predictions, is a rivalry between atheism, various world religions, and authentic Christianity, based on biblical prophecy.
Millions of people try to figure out the future. Some are atheists and secular humanists, and see a future based on AI, science, and transhumanism. This gives rise to all the body altering and anti-aging ideas, as well as the concept of freezing bodies for a future revival. It alters the course of humanity, and claims to have control over the way the future unfolds.
In my opinion, AI is based on programming by humans. It is structured the way they want to structure it. It cannot take on a life of its own, because it is technology, and is not alive.
The exceptional growth of AI does transcend certain human capacities, based on the massive amounts of data, computational abilities, and what can be extrapolated from the data.
One scientist, using ChatGPT was able to gather data, and set up tables on drug reactions covering over 6000 drugs. After doing so, he broke it down into classes of drugs, countries, age groups, and so on. This kind of information can be beneficial, and provide some valuable insights on large collections of data.
The same goes for economics, and numbers, because AI is geared toward mathematical compilations. Modelling has been widely used for many years, however as we saw with covid, it can be wildly inaccurate.
AI certainly has its limitations, which in my opinion, relates most of all to language. The nuances, figures of speech, and patterns in language, are not as easy to interpret correctly like numbers are. If you listen to ChatGPT stories, they mispronounce multiple words, to the point it sounds automated and fake. If there is such brilliance, why can’t they pronounce Versace?
Can AI discern human emotions, human motives, and human intuition? I think the answer is no. Given the limitations of AI, one would be wise to see it as a valuable tool in data analysis, mathematical computations, research, and to a certain more limited extent, language, beliefs, and the human condition. It is far from infallible, as we have seen from modelling, to science fiction like dystopian worldviews, to word usage.
Although there are psychics, and people who predict the future on every topic, from the stock market to finding dead bodies, most are either vague, fallible, or both.
Nostradamus was probably the most famous of all, when it comes to secular predictions. To determine who he was, including his background, and how he came to be so famous, contains many layers, and multifarious quatrains. Regardless, most of his predictions were rather vague, as it is with most psychics, horoscopes, and predictions based on astrology.
Nostradamus was born in France in 1503 to a wealthy and prominent Jewish family. His grandfather was a physician, and he too, became a physician. At the time, astrology was part of the required studies, because it was believed to be part of health for some reason.
Therefore he was an astrologer, a physician, a seer, and was also considered to be a scientist. In the 16th century, there was not much distinction between science, astrology, and mysticism.
Beginning in 1549 Nostradamus began publishing a yearly almanac predicting the weather. The almanac also included other future events, and it became a well known yearly publication until his death in 1566. He was also very interested in plagues, and predicting health outcomes.
Interestingly, he wrote most of his material in poetic quatrains, or four line stanzas. This led to his most famous works “Les Propheties” or “The Prophecies” consisting of a hundred quatrains in groups of ten. The groups were described as “Centuries” but did not refer to actual centuries in the timelines as we know them. This means his most famous, world renowned work, basically consisted of four hundred lines of verse.
Since verse contains a lot of symbolism, metaphor, and ambiguity, not everyone agrees that he actually predicted the events credited to him. Those events include the great fire of London, the rise of Napoleon and Hitler, the dawn of the atomic age, the Sept 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre, and many more.
However, the predictions were not very clear. The reasons for this is supposedly because he feared being persecuted by the church, for using astrology to make the claim of having prophetic visions. Others say it was because it gave him leeway for all the inaccuracies.
In addition to astrology, he believed in Hinduism, and the coming of the Hindu god Kalki Avatar to save people, and destroy the wicked. But like so many of his prophecies, he did not mention Hinduism, or this god by name. He made reference to these beliefs in his quatrains, so they were always open to interpretation.
As far as the question, how accurate were these predictions? They were as unerring as you want them to be. In addition to the material being written in verse, was the fact it was written in archaic French language of the era. Verse, due to its skeletal structure, is very difficult to translate.
Archaic, and ambiguous verse written in the 16th century, is even more difficult to translate with any accuracy. So not only are the predictions unclear, and easily misconstrued, but so too, was the language and translation of the quatrains.
If anything, the conclusion surrounding the world’s most famous soothsayer, it tells us such predictions cannot be relied upon. In fact, it was rather arrogant of him to call his quatrains prophecy. He should have known better. Four hundred elusive quatrains can hardly be aligned with future events, without doing a few contortions.
On the other hand, the bible, if you are a believer, is the only truly prophetic written word in existence. In contrast to Nostradamus, the Bible contains over 31,000 verses in 66 books, averaging 471 verses per book.
To the non-believer, the bible does not contain accurate prophecies. However there are many historical records to align with scripture. There is much speculation surrounding the events of the past, as well as the future prophetic events. When we believe the bible, we place our trust in what it says.
Even among bible believing Christians, we often misconstrue, or misinterpret what we do not understand. I was listening to a podcast this morning published by an intelligent person who has done a significant amount of research.
His conclusions about the falsehoods surrounding dispensationalism made a lot of sense. But as he went on into more detail about his beliefs regarding future biblical prophecies, I could not follow his logic around the interpretation of future events.
He does not believe in a future millennial reign of Christ on earth. He believes this millennial reign has been in existence since Christ died on the cross. He also does not believe Satan will be bound when Christ returns. He believes Satan has already been bound. Therefore he views what most of us see as prophetic events to be filled in the future, as having already happened.
I did not listen to all of his theories, but it seems he believes these important events are in the past, because he does not understand how or why Satan would be released again, after the thousand year reign. He also believes Christ is reigning now, therefore it cannot be projected into a future millennial reign.
I went back and re-read the Book of Revelation, and many other verses pertaining to the future of this world, and cannot see how the millennial reign of Christ can be denied, placed in the past, or present, or viewed as metaphorical. This fellow used the argument that many of us are mistaken, because we have a literalistic view of the scriptures. I disagree. We are not limited to a literalistic view at all.
The bible is full of symbolism, metaphors, figures of speech, and literalism. It contains a rich collection of language style and phraseology, combined with past, present and future tense. It was written by forty different authors, each with their own expressive literary style. In my opinion, the combination of God’s inspired words, exquisite literary ability, and divine spiritual understanding, makes it the highest literary achievement of all time.
When we read about Christ’s time on earth with the disciples, and all the descriptions of how he healed so many people, is that not literal? They are describing actual events concerning the healing of physical bodies.
When we read verses about the seven spirits of God, and being born of the spirit, we know those descriptions are not describing the flesh. When we read about the beasts in the Book of Revelation, we know those are metaphorical descriptions of kingdoms, or dominant world powers. The dragon represents Satan. The horns on the beast represents kings. Therefore, when we read the bible, we are reading a combination of language constructs.
Although there are many things in the bible I do not fully understand, I have faith they will one day be revealed. However I do not see how anyone could believe Satan has been bound. We are seeing far too much violence, lawlessness, deception, abominations, and crisis after crisis, all throughout the world.
The bible actually tells us Satan is roaming the earth, knowing he has little time left, so he is more aggressive than ever. He has been roaming the earth, since he was cast out of heaven with one third of the angels, who chose to follow him. The only time Satan is bound, is written in the Book of Revelation 20: Verses 1-3:
Why, after a thousand years is he loosed for a little season? This is perplexing for sure. But to disregard all the verses describing the millennial reign of Christ, is not the answer to this question. There has to be a reason, whether we understand it or not.
I believe the thousand year millennial reign has to be be a literal reign. For believers, and overall, we know Christ has the ultimate victory, and we know He reigns in our own hearts and minds right now. We also know He will return to the earth, in power and glory. There are many verses telling us when this happens, it is for a period of a thousand years.
Some people believe we all go to heaven, but there is no biblical basis for such a belief. The verses that tell us about the future events, make frequent reference to the earth, to the nations, and locations of where all these things take place.
The binding of Satan, and the peaceful thousand year reign is not the finale. It is part of the process. The bible tells us the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of God. Obviously we have a lot to learn. It also tells us we will have some role in the final judgement day, when the rest of the dead (non-believers) will be resurrected to face judgment.
The ending of the millennial reign is very significant, to include the final judgment day, and the temporary release of Satan, as another very climactic event. It represents the complete eradication of sin, death, and the world as we have known it. It is the fulfillment of the time period, and preparation required – to usher in the eternal kingdom of God.
The millennial reign of Christ is a distinct period of time, with a distinct purpose. When this period of time ends, and the new earth is created, God will come to the earth to be with His people. There will be no night, and there will be no sun or sea. There will be no more sin, no more death, no more pain, no more crying, no more conflict, no more rejection, no more deception, We will all be partakers of the fruits from tree of life. God will be the light of the world. The description of the new earth, is different than it is during the 1000 year reign.
This ultimate defeat of all evil, and of death itself, to include a new earth and a new heaven, is something that happens after the millennial reign. For some reason, many preachers choose to ignore, or blot out this important 1000 year period, that is outlined in the bible prophecy.
For those who believe the thousand year reign is happening now, and has been since Christ was crucified and raised from the dead, they explain the contradiction of timelines, based on the fact Christ was raised from the dead 2000 years ago, by saying the thousand year reign, just means a very long time. I think to make such an interpretive stretch, is not what the bible intends. Of course people can believe what they choose to believe. But as Christians we are advised to diligently seek the truth, and test all spirits.
There has never been a time on this earth, since the Garden of Eden, where a child can lead a lion, or when there has been no war or violence. Clearly we are looking at future events, not past or present. The same with the binding of Satan. This binding of Satan, is not the current state of affairs, and nor has it happened in the past.
The 1000 year reign is mentioned several times in the Book of Revelation. It is not a metaphor, nor is it an obscure hidden message. It is going to be a time of rest and restoration, of peace, and joy as all things settle into harmony. Even the beasts of the earth are no longer fierce toward people, or other animals. We will be able to coexist without living in fear of people or animals. It is something to look forward to with hope and gratitude.
In fact, the Book of Revelation is about the revelation and return of Jesus Christ. He is revealed to us in His word, and in His spirit. The events leading up to His return are unfolding. Things are heating up. He will bring peace to this earth, and when He does, it will be a shakeup like none other.
There are so many falsehoods, we need to pray for faith, discernment, and truth, now more than ever before. Deception is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Thought reform is injected into all of the media platforms.
More than anything, it is a percentage of the professing Christians who are leading people astray with faulty interpretations of the bible. Every time I read these interpretations, I go back to what the bible actually says. I hope and pray I am not misinterpreting what I read, and urge all people to read it for themselves. We cannot rely on someone else to interpret God’s word. We most certainly can learn from others, but we have to test all things.
This not only pertains to God’s word, but also to the media, and other platforms bent on filling our minds with deception and trivia. They want to tell us what to think, and shame us for wrong think. If you support a certain political party, the opposing party will take one espoused belief by someone in the other party, and accuse all of the electorate of being conspiracy theorists, or anti-science, or whatever.
We do not all think the same way. Our values and priorities differ. Individualism is not a bad thing. It is the way we are. If someone in Northern BC believes 5G towers cause cancer, so be it. We all have God-given free will, as well as the Charter Right to our own thought, belief and opinions, as long as it does not project prejudice, or harm to others. If people have a lifestyle or belief we do not agree with, we still do not have the right to interfere with their choices, or judge them.
There are Christians who go to abortion clinics, to try and prevent abortions. They often get arrested. Or they attend gay pride events, to try and rebuke those choices. I know some will disagree, but I personally do not believe we have the right to interfere with what other people are doing, if the laws permit it.
We have to acknowledge that non-believers are under the law, and so are we. The only way we are not under the law, is because we have ethics, and beliefs based on love, mercy, forgiveness, kindness, gentleness, and faith. For these things are not under the law.
For one thing, abortion clinics, bar rooms, pride celebrations, etc. are places where people have a lawful right to attend, or use their services. As Christians, if we see those as being places to avoid, then avoid them. Do not try to force others to avoid them, because it is not the time or the place, to try and reform what others believe in, or choose to do. We do not control the free will of other people. It is enough to gain self-control, and recognize our own sins.
It is not lawful on the part of Christians to try and stop someone from doing what this secular world by law, permits them to do. Just because I do not believe we should interfere with the rights of others, does not mean I agree with all things they do. Nor do I agree with all the things I once did.
If non-believers showed up outside a church, and tried to stop people from entering, the police would be called. If they tried to hand out Mormon or JW tracts outside a Baptist church, they would be told to leave. If they tried to take over the podium, and preach their own beliefs or lifestyle, they would also be asked to leave.
Christians, like all people, should realize they could be misguided, especially when it comes to self-righteous judgement of other people. We all need to respect boundaries, and realize that God Himself, does not force people to believe, to love Him, to change their ways, or to stop sinning. If the decision to repent is not done freely, it is not true repentance, because repentance involves a change of heart.
Christians who try to control, intervene, or impose their beliefs onto others are completely off- base. There are many criminals who identify as Christians. I was forced into a car, forcibly confined, and forced into a relationship with a teacher, based on lies, dominance, and threats.
He believed God had told him to adopt me. I was not up for adoption. There was no adoption of course. He also believed he was in the role of a god over my life. I now know, and knew at the time, he was completely off the rails. But he was so arrogant, self-righteous, and willing to abuse power, I was overwhelmed and ganged up on.
Therefore, I learned the hard way, how people can call themselves Christians, yet have no respect for the laws, or the rights of other people. Satan is the father of lies, and I know full well the teacher was a pathological liar. During his incessant brainwashing, he repeated one lie after another, and tried to gaslight all of my memories, and attempts to reason with him. To this day, I face repercussions for rejecting his lies, and lifelong exploitation.
Anyone who uses unlawful force over another person, who is not under their jurisdiction, like what the teacher did to me, and then justifies it by saying “intervention was required” is a liar and a crook. If intervention really was required, there are lawful ways to go about it. It does not apply to a student, who is the target of an obsessive and corrupt teacher, who has a god delusion.
Such self-righteous behaviour is repugnant to the average person, and rightly so. Christians who are controlling, lying, disrespecting boundaries, refuse to acknowledge free will, and the rights of others, can easily become so delusional, they do criminal acts. Criminal acts under the guise of Christianity, have been committed since the beginning of time.
Abortion doctors have been shot, people have been killed through aggressive exorcisms. Others have been abducted and held captive. The outcome of misinterpreting the bible, or in thinking God is speaking to them, and giving them commands has led to the rise of cults, insanity, and horrific crimes.
It is not up to us to force our will, or beliefs onto other people. We can share our beliefs, and if we are rejected, we simply carry on.
Repentance, forgiveness, and sanctification comes by the grace of God, and what Christ did for us on the cross. We do not in any way prevail over the free will He has given to other people, and in turn, they do not have the right to take over our free will.
By all means, we should help people, be kind, charitable, encouraging etc. But that is to be done without making demands on them, or judging, or manipulating them in any way. Take note of what it says in Revelation 22:11
11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Beware of those who say, “God told me such and such” especially if it is about your life. I remember saying to the teacher, “Since it is my life, why wouldn’t God tell me too?” I also asked him if God spoke to him out of the sky, or the walls – or what?
People can gain a lot of power over vulnerable or gullible people, if they pretend God is giving them the authority to do so. We need to keep in mind, God does not operate that way. His communication with us is through His word, and through prayer. The bible is the authority when it comes to God’s instructions over our lives. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, because they are lying if they do claim to be speaking for God.
It is not a Christian perspective to use force, or to control another adult. If we do not like what someone is doing, we remove ourselves. If it is a matter of protecting another person, we contact the authorities. Otherwise, we accept people, pray for them, and encourage them in whatever way we can.
We have to respect the choices other people make. Many churches have been infiltrated with prosperity gospel, circus like entertainment, and what not. But these things happen subtly, and with permission. If people in the congregation view it as a deviation from the true gospel, they leave the church, and find another one. Or they stand up as a member of the church and try to talk sense into people. These differences often lead to significant conflicts, and splits.
There are churches steeped in outward appearances, and the love of money. There is pride, vanity, deception, gossip, and exploitation in some churches. We all have to examine our own lives first, and foremost. We never have the right to violate boundaries, in order to control another adult.
The attempt to control a spouse, has led to countless divorces. Even though we should love one another, people cannot be controlled, and love cannot be forced, or it is not love.
Even if a tyrant does manage to control his family, they will grow to hate him. You cannot know, or dictate what is in another person’s heart or mind. Only Christ knows what is in our hearts. If there is truly love among people, they will trust each other, and care for each other because of love, not because of control.
The bible tells us not to believe in psychics, sorcerers, those who try and communicate with the dead, and those who preach a different gospel. Beware of those who claim to have messages directly from God. Read the bible yourself, because the apostles are the ones who were given instructions by God to write down what they saw.
Beware of those who write many books, and spend more time on sales pitches to sell, and get people to read those books, as opposed to reading the bible. They are more concerned about exalting themselves and getting rich, than they are about promoting the bible.
Some famous modern day preachers, prepare their sermons, and then transfer those sermons into books. If they insert too much of their own perspective, or lean toward false doctrine, or follow certain isms, like Calvinism, dispensationalism, Catholicism, etc. they could be leading people astray.
The bible, and the ages – are not broken up into seven dispensations. That is based on the teachings of John Darby and Scofield, not God. The bible does not teach or describe a pre-tribulation rapture. Once again, the concept is a part of the Darby dispensational false teaching. False doctrines are described as doctrines of devils.
Another controversy among Christian beliefs is with regards to what happens to the unrepentant non-believers? Some preachers adamantly claim they will face eternal punishment, and torment in the lake of fire. People who preach this, and believe it, speak about it with absolute certainty. But are they wrong? And why would God torment people forever?
Once again, they take certain scriptures and fit them into a mindset. The bible does say the devil, and the false prophet will be punished forever. But all of the verses describing what happens to people, points to death. There are at least a hundred verses to support this, so it is difficult to understand how or why anyone would adhere to the eternal torment concept. There could certainly be temporary torment, but not eternal torment. They will die and cease to exist.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sinne is death: but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 37:10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
We were given many warnings not to be deceived. When people misrepresent scripture, it is very easy to be led astray, if we do not know what the scripture actually says.
The Book of Revelation is probably used to fear monger, and deceive people, more than any other book of the bible. For the believer, it is filled with hope, and awe, and of things to come – not scare tactics.
Keep in mind – the word antichrist is not in the Book of Revelation either. All the things we hear about a single formidable antichrist, is based on potentially faulty interpretations. The following is what the bible does say about the antichrist(s). Notice the warning about the antichrist as described in the bible, is not depicting a single individual, who rises to dominate the world in the end times.
If the antichrist actually was a single powerful and influential person, then why would the word be mentioned only in John, and not in Revelation? And why would its usage be plural, and not singular? The truth is – the antichrist is a spirit of unbelief and rejection of Christ. There are many people, of all demographics and eras, who fall into this category.
2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
The Book of Revelation does speak about Satan, the false prophet, and those who take the mark of the beast. But it does not mention the word antichrist. The book of John mentions antichrist, and states there are many. So to somehow come up with this monumental figurehead superimposed somehow over Satan himself seems rather misleading, and doubtful. It may be the stuff of Hollywood, similar to the rapture, but it is not actually described in the bible, unless you choose to believe it based on what man is teaching, not on what God is teaching.
It is plausible, and even likely that a character with a great deal of power, and charisma will surface, and deceive even more people, in the final years and months before Christ returns. However, I think we should keep in mind what the bible says, and realize there are many.
If someone who has an alternative lifestyle, or recognizes the error of his or her ways, is seeking another way of living, or has a desire to know God, then by all means, we can share the gospel, and support their desire to change direction, or seek forgiveness, as we ourselves have done.
As far as what the future holds for ourselves and our children, I most certainly do not believe in what the astrologers and psychics have said throughout history.
I do believe in the bible, and see it as the only way we can possibly understand what is in our future, and what it all means. The great battle between what is good, and what is evil is unfolding, whether we see it or not.
Even though there is controversy, and apostasy in some of the churches, those who are in Christ, are one body of believers, and are like-minded in this regard, for Christ shows us the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). No one can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).
The battle between good and evil is outstretched from the very first chapters in Genesis, when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil – to the final chapters in Revelation. It is where all of the knowledge of good and evil comes to fruition, into a dynamic polarization, battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16), and the defeat of all things evil.
This battle includes all things earthly, all things heavenly, all thing fleshly, and all things spiritual. We cannot see or understand all of it, because we are not God. Therefore we are told to repent, put our trust in God, and live by faith.
For the believers, it is important to study the bible. According to biblical timelines, the earth is now around 6000 years old. Although we do not know the time of Christ’s return, we do know what the bible tells us about it. We also know according to Genesis the world was created in six days, and on the seventh day God rested. We see the significance of number seven in many places throughout the bible, so it makes sense the millennial reign could be in the seventh millennium. Matthew 24: 11-14 does give us some insight as to the state of the world before He returns:
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
There is little dispute about the number of cruelties human beings have managed to inflict upon each other. The obvious acts of cruelty are violence, incitement of violence, and untamed words of anger and hatred.
However lies, deception, gaslighting, manipulation, and betrayal – often under the pretence of love and kindness, are some of the worst things we have to endure. The classic betrayal happens in marriages, when one partner sneaks around and has an affair. Often, even though the other partner might suspect it, or even if they confront the offending partner, they continue to lie.
But there are countless other forms of betrayal, in families, in businesses, in advertising, and in government propaganda. When people are betrayed, they are often angry, and feel victimized. Sometimes anger leads to revenge. Sometimes lies and betrayal leads to crimes of violence.
Religion, politics, and the media, all carry their own special brand of lying, and sophisticated avenues of deception. This can lead to mass indoctrination, which has happened many times throughout history, and continues to happen to this day. In fact the deceptions have grown exponentially, due to the increase in broadcasting platforms, and the rapid dissemination of information.
The rise in independent publications has helped to balance, or warn people of intentional deceptions, but sometimes it only adds to the confusion. People get accused of being conspiracy theorists, and of spreading misinformation.
The task therefore is to discern what the truth is, and how we might protect ourselves from betrayal. Probably one of the most obvious forms of betrayal is found in romance scams. When it comes to emotional hoodwinking, some people are extremely gullible.
Healthy marriages help to protect people from predators. Unhealthy marriages can expose people to one of the most deadly situations of all, which is the love triangle. Love triangles have led to countless murders.
When marriages break down – the children are harmed, often beyond repair, because the illusion of trust and security is shattered. Things are not what they expected them to be. In all likelihood, the split partners are then subjected to the risks associated with online dating, and trying to find a partner, when there are children in the picture.
If the split happened because of an affair, the task to integrate the children into the new relationship, is full of court battles, custody arrangements, child support, and the need to forgive, in order to be able to effectively juggle it all. Some people do manage it, but life does become more complicated.
I listened to a woman tell her story of being a victim of a romance scam. Although it was not her fault, she did have a responsibility to protect herself, to guard her heart, and her bank account.
Many people find partners through online dating, without being scammed. She happened to come across a slick con man, but in her case, there were many red flags. For some reason, she chose to ignore those warning signs.
For starters, she was taken in by elaborate stories of riches, family catastrophes, and secrecy. Anyone who is involved in online dating should familiarize themselves with the patterns surrounding romance scams. They follow a certain template, even though some are a little more discreet than others are. Real life is often mundane and ordinary. Fiction is full of James Bond like episodes.
The basic template is one of riches, flattery and grandiose promises. The relationship is often advanced very quickly, with love bombing, and an attempt to pull the person away from other relationships, and friendships, because the perpetrator wants the undivided attention of his or her target.
Once they have the person on the hook, they start reeling them in. They add more elaborate layers to their plot. In the case of the woman describing her situation, her lover was not available in the evenings. She could not call him at home. Eventually she found out he was married.
In the organized crime template, once the person is on the hook, and being reeled in, all of a sudden the perp has an unforeseen drama. It might be an accident, an issue with a business partner, bank account, or tragedy in the family. This is used to garner sympathy, and the pooling, or pulling together of their combined resources.
The victim has already been love bombed with flattery and promises, so she accepts and trusts this sudden change of circumstances. The perp needs her help, and of course she is willing to help, because they are planning on building a life together.
So the cycle begins. First it is a few hundred, or a few thousand dollars. Then there is another explanation in order to get more money. Once the person is sucked into such a scheme, they find it increasingly difficult to get out of. To extricate themselves, they have to see the writing on the wall, admit they have been scammed, and terminate the relationship.
They have to deal with the recognition of both the emotional abuse, and the financial abuse, and cut their losses. The sooner they do this, the better off they are. Some of them allow it to go on, to the point they bankrupt themselves.
Many people who get duped, feel very ashamed once they realize how foolish they were. The shame compounds the damages, because the victim has difficulty explaining how or why they could have been so dumb. He or she may have lost an inheritance for their children, or grandchildren, so they feel remorse in the aftermath of it all.
I think for anyone who is using social media or online dating, it would help to develop some criteria, or a checklist, to set emotions aside and evaluate what is going on. The checklist might include doing a reverse image look-up on the photo to see if they have set up a fake profile using someone else’s photo.
Other things might be to go on a romance scam site to see what the standard patterns are. And probably most of all, arrange a public place such as a coffee shop to meet. You can tell far more about a person when they are sitting in front of you, than you can online. There is no point in developing a relationship online, because it could be purely fictional.
In some way or another, we have all been deceived. If we are targeted by someone who sets out to deceive us, especially during a time when we are weak and vulnerable, we can get caught in their snare.
There are times when the person who is betrayed does not garner much sympathy, because they were foolish in believing all the lies. On the flip side of the coin, trust is the basic foundation for love. We have to put our trust in others, in order to love each other. It is a risk we all take.
I listened to the convoluted story of a homeless person in Seattle the other night. Although I really do not know if he was telling the truth or not, by the time he was finished, I came to the conclusion it was a con. Why? Because he never took responsibility, and each of his crimes was shrouded in a plausible explanation to make him look better.
At the age of eighteen, he ended up in prison for murder. He claimed he killed a guy who had molested his seven year old sister. Yet as the story went on, his sister was never brought up again. It is common knowledge that child sexual predators are the lowest of the low in the prison pecking order, so I began to wonder if he used it as an excuse to justify why he killed someone.
He also claimed his father was a Hell’s Angel, but he was not. However, as he described more of his background, and how the Hell’s Angels had covered his legal costs, and bail, it became evident he was part of the gang. Later on he described being kidnapped and beaten by gangsters, yet he never did admit being part of the gangster system.
His story was one colossal drama after another. He was portraying himself as both a hero, and a victim. Throughout the interview he was chain smoking. Toward the end, he claimed he had been diagnosed with not one, but two types of cancers.
The finale of his story was the depth of his victimization. When he got out of prison in his late thirties, he was given housing, and a job. But he did not give up his impulsive criminal behaviour, all with one excuse after another.
Even though he is deserving of sympathy, food, and shelter, I could not help but think he was telling a rather fictional story, in order to garner sympathy and get money. Even a person who is on the street needs food. He also had a dog to feed and care for, chain smoked, and admitted to taking drugs every day. His lifestyle would have cost him at least between two and three thousand a month.
He was clearly very intelligent, but somehow early in life, he lost his way, as a part of intergenerational patterns, and self deception. His story illustrated how instead of becoming the hero of his own story line, he was actually the victim of his own deception. As time went on, he sank deeper into the dysfunction and deception he had orchestrated. The only hope for this man, and for all of us – is to repent before we die. There is no merit in continuing to deny our own nature, and wrongdoing.
As I listened to this man, and all of his problems, it seemed like he was better off in prison. He never worked in his life, and when he was not in prison, he continued a life of crime. Then he ended up on the streets. It goes to show, there are some seasoned, and experienced criminals in the homeless camps.
Scams are becoming part of our daily lives, and are intruding into our phones, emails, and bank accounts. There are phishing scams claiming to be from Amazon, UPS, Fed Ex, Pay Pal, Canada Post, Banks, and CRA. Some of them are very sophisticated and use the logo, and even have YouTube videos to set people up for the scam.
The CRA scams target seniors, claiming you have a deposit, with a link to open. Amazon scams will tell you your credit card has suspicious activity. Delivery companies will tell you they were unable to deliver a package, so open a link for further details.
In every case, do not engage or open any links. When I get phishing scams from PayPal or UPS, they have a phishing email to forward it to. If you suspect something is a scam, Google the organization to see if there are reports of scams. In many cases you will see notifications telling you they will never send you a text message, etc. If you get a phishing email, look at the address it came from. Usually that will tell you it is from a hotmail account, or will have a long string of characters.
If you are concerned because you receive a message about your bank or credit cards, look them up separately or call the number on the back of the card to see if there really has been any suspicious activity. If UPS says you have a package they cannot deliver, login to the site and use the tracking number you were given. Usually it is fake and does not show up. One time the tracking number I entered showed a package being shipped from state to state. It weighed several hundred pounds, so I knew it had nothing to do with me.
Similar to the romance scams, the fraudsters send you a fake identity, and try to bait you into taking the hook. They try to instil a sense of urgency, because taking the hook, means you react. They are trying to get access to your accounts.
Another vulnerability is in passwords. Personally, I don’t think it is a good idea to save passwords on your devices. I know many people do, but in my opinion, hackers can get into any device.
A recent scam, is to contact people on social media, and get them involved in a fake investment plot, using gift cards. The victim willingly buys the gift cards, which are available in grocery stores, and department stores. They are then asked to send the code for the gift card to the scammer. The scammer gets the value of whatever is on the card, without leaving any banking, or credit card to trace. One elderly woman lost thousands of dollars, believing she was investing in a business from an old high school acquaintance who had contacted her via FaceBook.
Another elderly couple lost over $600,000 to an Amazon scam. They were duped into giving banking information with claims a parcel had been re-routed from Hong Kong and they had to pay the shipping, which would be refunded once it was sorted out. It was a con in order to get access to the funds in their bank account.
In my opinion if Amazon makes a mistake, which is usually a third party seller, it is up to them to remedy the mistake. You can go to the Amazon website, under Customer Service and follow up on a delayed refund etc. The rule of thumb is to not engage with whoever contacts you, then go directly to the organization to double check.
You do not send or receive a delivery without a legitimate tracking number. If you receive an order from an organization that you did not order, let them follow up to remedy it without giving them any credit card or bank info. After all, if you did not order it, you cannot get a mailing label to return it, and nor do you have an order number to follow up on because you did not make the purchase.
My response to having received something you did not order, is to wait a few weeks, and then donate it. There is no easy way to follow up on something you did not order. If a company cannot keep track of what they are doing, or find a way to remedy it – it is not my problem. I do not want to get involved in any third party seller scams.
PayPal is very good when it comes to helping prevent scams. They have an outline to help you identify phishing scams, as well as an email address to report them to. When I was charged on my PayPal account for a service I did not receive, it was resolved quickly.
One of the most well known betrayals of all time, is the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot. Typical of human nature, Jesus was betrayed for money. Judas was the treasurer among the apostles, and was entrusted with the money. The biblical record involving the betrayal of Jesus, has many lessons, and deeper meanings.
The big difference of course, is that Christ was without sin, and was not fooled by the impending betrayal. He knew Judas was harbouring dark thoughts, even though he was pretending to be a follower of Christ. The final kiss Judas imparted onto Jesus, was symbolic of betrayal, hidden under the guise of love. In actual fact, the kiss was part of a scheme to identify Jesus to those who intended to crucify him.
The outcome for Judas was devastating. He realized his error, but it was too late. He tried to remedy the betrayal by giving the money back, and then ended up hanging himself. Part of what this betrayal teaches us, is the consequences of betrayal, and how it can set off a chain of events.
Even though we have all been deceived in some ways, we cannot under estimate the importance of seeking the truth. Christ warned us many times, not to be deceived. For those who do not seek and love the truth, the bible tells us – they are sent strong delusion, so they will believe lies. There are serious ramifications surrounding deception.
Truth is not a matter of opinion. Truth is truth. The opposite of truth is deception and lies. Sugar coated lies, are worse than anything. Attempts to force lies on us by those who abuse power, is appalling, and often there is little we can do about it.
Getting out from under the oppressive blanket of those who abuse power, and lie pathologically, is probably the most difficult challenge we will ever face.
Many pious Christians will condemn everything but lying and arrogance. Yet among the seven things listed in the Book of Proverbs that God hates the most – are lying and a haughty look. The list of things God hates embodies all of the terrible things stemming from self deception, and deceiving others. Pride, arrogance, scheming, and violence are the outcomes.
As crafty and arrogant as many liars are – they will lose. In my own life as a kid in school, I was taken captive by a high school teacher who ruthlessly brainwashed me with lies. He would force me into his car, and take me home with him for the night, indoctrinating me with a litany of falsehoods. As a student, and obsessive target of this teacher, I had nowhere to turn. It was horrible to the point of being torture.
I knew it was profoundly abusive, and to this day, I consider it to be the most abusive relationship by far, of my entire lifetime. It was downright sadistic, and never once did he consider I had every right to say no, or even the right to be who I am. I did not have the right to feel the way I feel, to think the way I think, or even to be a member of my own family.
He was especially dogmatic if I dared to think my mother was my mother. He pretended to be very hurt by such assertions on my part. I was raised by my mother, and looked just like her. Ironically her name was Joy, and I was nicknamed by our Swedish grandmother as a toddler, as Little Joy. I have always had a good memory, so of course I knew who my mother was from the day I was born.
I clearly remember when our younger brother was born, even though I was only fourteen months old at the time. We had a big black car with a red interior. He was put in a wicker basket on the floor in the back seat when he was brought home from the hospital. When we got home and all piled out of the car, our mother said “don’t step on the baby.”
I remember with great curiosity watching her change his diaper. When he peed, she said, “Oh he is a boy all right.” A month or so later she was holding him while sitting on the arm of a large upholstered chair. I was sitting on the couch falling asleep. She said, “you’re tired, it is time for bed.” I vehemently shook my head, no way, I was not tired. I got off the couch and walked across the floor, and fell over. She laughed and said, “see you are so tired!”
Of course I remember countless things about my childhood like anyone else. Why did the teacher and his wife think I would not remember? It is baffling to this day. They were total strangers to me, yet they pretended to have raised me. They did not raise me for one day of my upbringing. They created this pretence, and after awhile people seemed to believe it. I used to think – surely no one believes this. How could they? But carefully crafted lies, when repeated over and over again, soon become ingrained. They believe their own delusions.
The teacher was very authoritarian. Every time I refuted something he said, which was often, he would puff up, and threaten punishment. I was being defiant, and difficult to manage. He would claim I needed intervention, and was emotionally disturbed. He lied brazenly about things that are obvious and easy to prove.
He was also very determined to make sure I did not think I was smart, when I knew full well I had skipped a grade, and was academically gifted. Not to the extreme, but moderately so. He really honed in on shaming the intelligence out of me.
He was in his twenties at the time, and was married. He insisted I had the same IQ as his wife. I found such a claim to be really bizarre. I knew I did not have the same IQ on two given days, so how could I have the same IQ as his wife? It was like I could not even own my brain, or what I thought. He was in control of my mind, and my potential. He took credit for it, not me.
He repeated the IQ lie (along with many other lies for years). His wife did not accelerate through school, did not show any signs of academic giftedness, and did not graduate from nursing until she was in her mid twenties. The teacher forced me into a nursing program, so I could not accept a scholarship into an English lit program. Then he took credit for the fact I was a nurse. Once again, it was his accomplishment, not mine.
Even though I had no desire to be a nurse, I knew I had to get a post secondary education. So I did not quit and drop out even though I was very young. I did not find the courses difficult, but did not like the hospital part at all. On the wards, I felt it was all very strange, and worrisome. Like, what if I did not put one of those circular beds together properly, and dropped a person on their head? I always felt like a fish out of water. Fortunately, I did learn pretty quickly, to adapt and figure things out.
I ended up writing the RN exams when I was nineteen. As I got to know the teacher’s wife, I knew darn well she was not that bright. I used to think to myself – she married him, so how could she be bright? I tried to explain the teacher situation to the University English professor, who was trying to steer me into a scholarship program.
He was livid when he heard me stammering out why I had to stay in nursing, and how this teacher had taken control of my life. He told me it should be reported to the police. At the time, I was far too scared to do anything about it.
Eerily, during my last conversation with the teacher’s wife, she described to me in graphic detail how she had drowned the family cat in the rain barrel. I grew up on a farm, and carried the cats, and the chickens around like babies. I fed pigs and calves with a baby bottle. The notion of drowning a cat in a rain barrel was absolutely abhorrent to me. I do not have cats, and don’t think I have ever had a cat as an adult, but still – I have nothing against cats.
I do not believe in being cruel to animals at all, ever. She told me how she had injected the cat with some Valium she had brought home from where she had worked. She justified it by saying she took home the expired drugs. I wondered how many she had stockpiled before she retired. Expired drugs are supposed to be returned to the pharmacy.
I would not even recount any of this, if it had not been for the supreme arrogance I was subjected to by these people, lording their pharisaical superiority over me. They were “wonderful Christians” and I was chopped liver. They were monitoring, and exploiting me for reasons I could not conceive of for many years.
My home was supposed to be dedicated to them, as their own private vacation property, complete with maid service. My car was there for them to use. They would come and visit uninvited. There were times when I begged them not to visit, but they came anyway.
They had both become so controlling, she would tell me shhhh when I started talking in my own house. She would chastise me for opening the fridge to get a snack. Once again, it was my house and they were the guests.
I was paying the bills, and bought the food. It just illustrates how much gall, disrespect, and entitlement they had. They believed there was no way I could get rid of them. It was a life sentence. I could not go for a walk without them, even though he walked so slow, it was not what I had in mind when I went for a walk. I think it was just more of his passive aggressive behaviour.
By the time I made the decision to get them out of my life once and for all, the next visit they were planning, was for around three months. I could not stand a week with them. In fact, I got through the last visit minute, by painstaking minute.
As each minute ticked by, I told myself – “when they leave, I am not going to spend one more minute with these people.” Getting them out of my life, was a battle like none other. I kept my resolve, but wrangled to keep firm in my decision, for another twelve years, in spite of all the pressure. The bullying to resume the relationship, was like being back in school, or back on the farm.
In fact, it is still going on, because the punishment, and rejection for terminating the relationship, has become part of my life. It has become my lot in life, and cross to bear. I do not regret terminating the relationship. The only thing I do regret is allowing it to happen in the first place. I should have screamed blue murder, and gone to the police as a student, but I was seriously ganged up on.
I could never reconcile all of the extreme contradictions. When you cannot resolve such cognitive dissonance, or insolent hypocrisy, it is crazy making. They were the crazy ones, not me. I do not think it is okay to drown the family cat in a rain barrel. Take it to the SPCA, or a vet for crying out loud.
I do not think it is okay for a twenty eight year old teacher to follow, and chase a teenage girl around. None of it was okay. It has been an epic saga. Like many cult members, they were determined to pretend they were family. They were not my family in any way, shape or form.
The cat she drowned was quite a large cat, and the injection of Valium did not sedate it much, so she battled the cat to the finish. Since she had put on an old ski jacket, and heavy gauntlet gloves, I surmised she prepared herself, fully expecting it to fight for it’s life.
Apparently it did put up a real bonafide cat fight, trying desperately to get away. But she prevailed over the cat. I wonder what it felt like to have done such a thing, and be left standing there with a dead, soaking wet, bundle of flesh and fur? Did she bury it somewhere? Or turf it in the bush? I didn’t ask her the details. In my dumbfounded state, I did ask her “Why?”
She said, “Oh it was becoming quite a nuisance. It scratched the screens, and some of the furniture.” Well then don’t get a cat! The reason I never got a cat, is because I do not want kitty litter in my house, or a cat retching up a hair ball on my bed.
If they did not live in a remote location, and someonewould have witnessed it, she could have been arrested. Were they too cheap to take it to a vet? Or did she enjoy inflicting harm? Those were some of the things running through my mind.
I know the colour drained from my face as she told me about it. Since they had young grandchildren at the time, I asked her if there were any children there. She said no. But surely they must have asked what happened to the cat.
The final visit with them had many deeply disturbing elements, from the cat to the fish they were demanding. I was living on Haida Gwaii at the time, and they were bound and determined to force me to take enough fish to Alberta for their niece’s wedding. I did not even know their niece, but even if I did, who makes that kind of demand on another person?
I kept saying no, I don’t have enough fish for a wedding. Plus getting it there is no easy task. So I just kept saying no. They would not take no for an answer, as usual. The battle over both the fish and the cat, became quite symbolic to me.
There were so many occasions where I thought they were worse than moonshine hillbillies in the back woods. They showed up at all my family functions, acting like they were some kind of sanctimonious celebrities. In the back of my mind, I thought of them as the goon squad. Sorry but…
I did not have the exact same IQ as that cat snuffing woman. Some days I could breeze through an exam and ace it. Other days I felt tired and foggy. I distinctly remember waking up on exam days, and saying a prayer to be clear headed, because often I did not study much. The teacher’s focus on my mind, was a molestation of my mind. One day he is going to face judgement for what he did. I needed the teacher, like I needed a hole in the head.
I was verbal, and quite sassy. I tried everything under the sun to negate the bizarre things he was repeating to me. It was all to no avail, and is the reason my number one regret is not going to the police immediately. He should have had his licence as a teacher revoked, and he should have been arrested for abduction and forcible confinement.
He had no right to force me into a car, and then force me to sit and listen to his lunatic drivel for hours on end. He thought I had zero value as a person. I was no more than a stray dog or cat to torment for his amusement.
He was so arrogant, he seriously believed I would never escape it all. For years, I tried to reason with the teacher, and my own family members. I tried to extricate myself gracefully. I wanted to protect their reputations, in my role as a self-sacrificing sucker, by trying to be nice.
As a result, and to my own detriment, it went on for years. Reasoning with them was futile. So finally, I started to fight back. I reported it to the police, which I should have done the very first time I was chased down, and forced into his car. I was never under his jurisdiction. He took liberties as a teacher that no teacher should ever get away with.
After my onset of anger, during a time when I did say things I regret, it was clear, my heart had broken into open rebellion. Being nice did not cut it. In fact, the expectation of being nice, and a people pleaser, is exactly what they were taking advantage of.
It took many years to unravel it all, and get out from under the brainwashing. He was a fanatical religious fundamentalist, and had infiltrated my family. So for years, he was invited to every family function and treated as the daddy-god.
In hindsight, and after the benefit of some time and healing, I have mellowed. But I would never in a million years allow him to get near me again. He stared constantly, without blinking. It was profoundly creepy. In my opinion, he was bound and determined to destroy me. He constantly attacked my identity, my family history, my mind, emotions, and spirit. It was a soul destroying trap.
The one and only advantage to be extrapolated from such a foul and deceptive relationship, is I began seeking the truth, and started reading the Bible for myself. Much of what he heaped upon me, was religious indoctrination and shame. I realized he had lied about absolutely everything.
Although it was victimization, with countless re-victimizations, I do take responsibility for the fact I should not have allowed it to go on. I was actually being mocked as a fool. In some ways I deserved it, because allowing ourselves to be deceived, is a huge mistake. I am still facing the fall-out of having permitted such a colossal deception over my life to continue.
I can forgive my family members, because the family was fractured, and I believe this teacher took advantage of all of us in a diabolical way. I know we are to forgive those who trespass against us, so I do hope and pray I can figure out how to forgive the teacher as well.
The one important lesson I learned, and I suppose indirectly I can thank him for the lesson, is how cults operate, how liars operate, and how destructive it is. He was a false teacher and a false prophet. For his sake, the smartest thing he could do is admit to all the lies, and repent. During the time I knew him, he certainly did not show any sign of repentance. So who knows? I have never been so glad to be rid of someone, and thank God every single day to be free of his soul scorching deception.
The teacher carried out all of the things God hates, with the exception of shedding innocent blood. But he and his wife were both cruel to animals, and killed many of their pets, to include shooting a dog for getting excited and jumping up on someone, along with drowning a cat in a rain barrel. They killed many pets over the years.
When I was a student in school, he stalked and followed me outside of school, and chased me down, in order to force me into his car. So if you look at all the things God hates – he pretty much carried out all of them, over, and over, and over again. He was one determined individual, and it was only by the grace of God, I was finally able to disentangle myself from the cultish teacher.
There are many cult religions, and even within mainstream religions, there are cultish people who abuse people, through deceptive manipulation of bible verses, and spiritual abuse. This particular teacher was part of the Exclusive Brethren cult. He treated me as a non person who he could lie to, lie about, and manipulate at will.
From Proverbs Chapter 6, it is pretty clear to me now – the teacher in spite of his all encompassing hubris, he managed to do all of the things God hates. The admonishments to view him as a wonderful Christian was just more bullying manipulation and control.
He was a push in predator. Once they get a foot in the door, they push in, and take control of your life. If you ever come across a person like this, my advice is to slam the door in their face, dead bolt it, and be ready to call the cops.
I guess the conclusion is – no I do not view him as a wonderful Christian, and never did. In my heart, I always knew he was cruel and sadistic. I only wish I would have rejected every one of his lies, long before I did.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
For those who take issue with speaking ill of the dead – don’t worry, I realized this author was over rated, long before she was dead. Long before I delved into the details of her rather unsavoury background, and family betrayal.
Bear with me as I switch from past to present tense. I know her writing still exists, therefore it is. But she no longer exists, and for me, her writing is in past tense, therefore it was.
I will never pick it up again, except to do research, and try to expand our literary assessments, as opposed to being told what is good, when it is not good. The issue of addressing child sexual abuse, preventing it, and validating the testimonies of the victims, is far more important than the legacy of a deceased author. I never could understand why Alice Munro was promoted to such an extent.
For years, I would read the gushing reviews, and then try to read something she wrote. I would think to myself, this sounds like a trashy Harlequin romance or worse. What on earth do people see in this? In my opinion the sexism, and stereotyping of girls and women, was superficial, trite, and at times appalling.
I have made a point of reading famous authors to include Hemingway, Steinbeck, Dickens, Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Jean Paul Sartre, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tolstoy, and Voltaire as some examples. I even delved into Schopenhauer at one point, but struggled with it due to the oppressive pessimism.
But nevertheless, I can understand why many authors are notable, and deserving of accolades. Even so, all art is subjective, so like beauty, the merit is in the eye of the beholder.
Alice Munro never once struck me as being a genius writer. Not even close. Her material was fictional, and narrowly limited in range and scope. It was repetitious ad nauseam, yet so many emanated how she was realistically showing the depth of the human condition. Hardly. If so, they were drawing from a shallow well.
Now that her daughter has come forward, it makes so much more sense to me why I found her work to be stomach turning. Reading between the lines, there was definitely something grotesque beneath the surface of all the slick linguistics.
The Globe & Mail wrote an article about her fight with censorship in the seventies. The article goes on to say that in 1976, the principal of Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute in Peterborough, Ontario brought forth concerns about Alice Munro’s “The Lives Of Girls And Women” being taught in schools.
He had overheard a student claim it was pornographic. The central issue is that the story explicitly describes a man masturbating in front of a young girl.
In hindsight as we review the rearing of the ugly head of child molestation, and pornography in schools, we now know that Alice Munro’s husband molested her nine year old daughter, during the same time frame Alice Munro so vehemently defended her tacky material.
Her daughter was molested in the 1970s, in the same proximity of time the story “The Lives Of Girls And Women” was written. She wrote the short story in 1971, and went to great lengths to defend it in 1976 and 1977, which is when her daughter was molested.
The molestation did not stop after a single incident, because her daughter was exposed to the pedophile for years without protection. He molested her mind, in addition to molesting her body.
As far as Alice Munro defending her so-called literary stance on the topic, since when is it okay for a man to masturbate in front of a child? Since when is it okay to defend and protect the pedophile, instead of the child?
Throughout all of the letter writing, petitions, and attempts to have the material removed from the school curriculum, she never once backed down. She was proud of what she had written. She never expressed any doubts about why it might be viewed as inappropriate. She made jokes about being pornographic, making light of a very serious matter.
Her daughter on the other hand, struggled in a bleak, and lonely isolation for years, suffering from migraines, bulimia, shame, marginalization, and compound PTSD.
She finally told her mother about what her step-father had done to her. After that, the step-father wrote letters, trying to justify himself, and blame the victim, which helped to convict him after she finally went to the police. He said she was happy to go along with it, calling her a seductress, and a Little Lolita. How gross.
Alice Munro viewed her nine year old daughter as competition for his sexual interest, and was only concerned about how the molestation affected her life.
Alice Munro ultimately sided with her husband, and the relationship with her daughter was eventually terminated.
After she was made aware of her daughter’s sexual abuse, she never skipped a beat. She even had the gall to claim her husband had “many relationships” with young girls. In some cases of child molestation, family members have no clue. But in this case, it does appear that Alice Munro could have been an accessory to the crimes of her husband.
She seems to have viewed child molestation as a normal part of human sexuality. There is no other explanation for the cover up of the molestation of her own child. Nor is there any other explanation for her fierce defence of material she wrote describing a man masturbating in front of a girl.
When you consider her extensive writing about women, and the lives of women, she never once had a shred of empathy for her own daughter. How does such a callous attitude equate to understanding what girls and women actually experience?
Of course, as we all know by now, a pedophile will often have countless victims. It appears that from Alice Munro’s perspective, this was simply an expected part of the “Lives of Girls And Women”.
The big question one might ask is – why was she promoted so much? Not on merit, but on subject matter? And people wonder why there is a concern over the whole concept of pedophiles and grooming becoming a part of school curriculums?
In her backlash toward those who tried to censor her sexually explicit material in schools, she had the gall to claim there were many verses in the Bible that could be considered pornographic, if taken out of context.
Such a ludicrous claim does meet the definition of blasphemy. There is no basis for it whatsoever, nor could she support such a preposterous claim with a single example.
The only reason she would have come up with such an off base argument, is because she had no defence, and had the insolence and rebellion within her character to handle a challenge in such a manner. It shows far more about her character, and the indefensibility of her own hidden life, and lack of values.
Even though most of her writing is about the lives of girls and women, she did not do any of us any favours.
Few people dare to criticize Alice Munro, but I am not in any self-aggrandized literary circles, and I do not hesitate to lay bare, what she so cleverly tried to convey, and to conceal.
If anything, she was a master of deception, and supercilious self projections. On top of it all, her writing is banal and depressing. She spoke for no one but herself.
Of course anyone opposed to such lewdness as she conveyed, is labelled as a fundamentalist Christian.
But there are countless people who recognize there is an issue with what is being promoted in schools, specifically around improper sexual material. This unacceptable grooming includes stories like the one written by Alice Munro. Targeting the youth with explicit sexual propaganda, has been going on a very long time.
In response to some of the letter writing campaigns against Alice Munro’s description of a man masturbating in front of a young girl, she chose to fight back, making the absurd claim “If we don’t write about sex, it will disappear.”
I always did think she was bromidic and banal – but that one is a doozy.
Another sketchy aspect of her writing is that she would use the essence of stories written by Charles Dickens in “A Child’s History Of England”, and then reframed those stories to give them a happy ending. It borders on plagiarism, and certainly does not support the accolades she received as a creative genius who wrote original material.
When the children in Dickens stories were beheaded in the end, Alice Munro glibly stated “I changed the ending, so that wouldn’t happen.”
I realize the issue of censorship is a murky subject, and many books that have been censored did not appear to have valid reasons.
Six of the books written by Dr. Seuss have been censored. At One time the book about a horse called “Black Beauty” was censored. Two of George Orwell’s books “Animal Farm” and “1984” were censored. The list goes on to include “To Kill A Mockingbird” and Margaret Atwood’s “Handmaid’s Tale”.
In some cases the reasons seem ludicrous. Personally I do not think the topic of sexuality or sex scenes is a valid reason to censor a book.
But if the topic involves, or points toward the sexual abuse of a child, or child pornography in any way – then yes it should be at the very top of the chop list.
It has been years since I read “The Handmaid’s Tale” and other than thinking it was an awful book, like most of Atwood’s books are, I did not think it should be censored. In my opinion, Margaret Atwood is another highly over rated author.
Years ago, I went to the Vancouver writer’s festival, and listened to Margaret Atwood read something shewrote, that was pornographic, and disturbing. It was like ‘Uggh how awful to use her fame to subject us to such garbage”.
Immediately after Atwood’s zinger, a very strange guy got up supposedly to read a poem. Instead of reading anything, he started howling, growling, and making other guttural animal sounds.
The combination of Atwood’s reading, followed by the animalistic howling – I was done. I left early. It was a surreal experience, like floating around in the twilight zone, and encountering strange beings from another universe.
In the days and weeks following, I felt like all the interest, and zeal I had for the literary world had been bouncing around aimlessly, like a balloon full of hot air.
The experience of being in some kind of fake literary circle, was like a nauseating ride at an amusement park. A mind bender, except nothing about it was amusing.
It shattered my robust veneration for lyric poetry, and made it seem pointless. I was dragged down, deflated, and disgusted. What a bummer it was.
It was the opposite of what I expected it to be. There was nothing sophisticated, cultivated or refined about it. Instead it was crude and vulgar. It was hard to believe it was even viewed as art. Listening to some of it, was spine-chilling.
If an author is so gushed over, called a genius, and described as being great, many people who are tone deaf, and lack critical thinking, will automatically buy into it just to appear sophisticated and well read.
It’s kind of like certain paintings. Someone can splash a can of paint on a canvas, and if it is promoted enough, people will stand in awe and stare at it in an art museum. They may even pay two million dollars for it at an auction.
We need to learn to recognize audacious propaganda – sugar-coated, and dripping with slanted promotions, underhanded motives, and other such semantic trickery. Read the lines, and then read between the lines.
When you think about it, the government backs certain writers in much the same way they support and finance the media. They lay out the parameters for the narrative, and then promote those who align with it.
They support and champion the ideas of their choice, and encourage the infiltration of those ideas into our minds, and the minds of children in the schools. They are stealthily breaking down boundaries, one word at a time.
It helps to explain why the CBC, and other media outlets describe certain mundane, or even borderline vulgar writers, in such grandiose terms. They give them non-stop free advertising, and use their own oblique verbiage, to paint them as some kind of gods or goddesses.In reality, it is just more government brainwashing.
Since the revelation about the sexual abuse inflicted upon the daughter of Alice Munro, the National Post came out with an article on July 10, 2024 written by Allan Stratton titled “In Defence Of Alice Munro’s Legacy”.
He somehow managed to blame shift the disgust people feel, onto those who are actually questioning the validity of her legacy. How dare we? How dare he – write such an article when millions of children have been traumatized by child sexual abuse.
Maybe it seems insensitive, but my first thought was – this guy is actually trying to resurrect a dead word mule. At least let the reader be the judge of her works, instead of repeatedly telling us how great she was. In my estimation, she was a word mule – peddling a load of crap
It is invariably framed, as if the reader has no capacity for comprehension of the written word. Talk about arrogance and manipulation, just to whitewash it all, to keep that sullied legacy alive.
In some people’s eyes, her legacy has died. We do not have to view her as a great writer. Nor do we have to defend her so-called legacy, or keep it alive. Covid taught us a lot about the media. Skepticism is no longer for the hard core cynics.
Would any of them have the courage to come out in defence of the child? Not likely. Yet so much of the fall out from child sexual abuse goes on for generations. Countless little girls who were molested end up in prostitution, or being re-victimized in relationships. It takes years to overcome it, and many never do overcome it.
Alice Munro’s daughter initially came forward because she had children to protect. At least give her some credit. She is still battling those demons from the past. Alice Munro is not. Nor was Alice Munro ever a victim.
In spite of all the accolades she received as a writer, she never wrote a single novel. She seemed to have lamented this fact many times throughout her writing career. But she still did not manage the task of writing a novel.
It takes far more organizational ability, and a lot more work, and brain power to write a novel, than it does to write articles or short stories.
There is so much more planning involved. You have to create an outline, set a pace, establish a flow, the overall composition, create an amalgamation of complex ideas, establish consistency, and make the ideas blend, and connect from the beginning to the end.
You have at least a hundred thousand words to keep track of. You need to create the direction, map the journey, and know where you are taking it. Or it will become hopelessly jumbled.
Whereas a short story has an average of about three thousand words. You can easily go back to the beginning, or the middle. You are not trying to hold a hundred thousand threads together to keep them from unravelling. Short stories and articles are sort of like dabbling.
Poetry is different though. Even though it is shortest of all literary forms, expressing concepts in a nutshell requires a fervid imagination.
It may be short, but in my opinion, it is the most piercing. During times when I wrote a lot of poetry, I became totally burnt out, sometimes for several days, or a week. For some reason, it can be exhausting to the core.
Emily Dickinson and many other famous poets described it as “the white heat of creation”. She viewed it as such because of the fiery and intrinsic intensity, as well as the fact it is limitless. She noted, there are impossible possibilities – a symbol of infinitude.
In spite of the fact Alice Munro never managed to write a single novel, and as far as I know did not write any poetry – she was praised and elevated to be some kind of prosaic saint. It is not to say the short story does not have merit. All writing styles and genres can have merit. No doubt some of her short stories do have the qualities of an exceptional writer. There are people who like her material. Fair enough.
My question is, whether or not her writing actually warranted as much praise as she got. Personally, I don’t think so. However, I will admit my point of view is blunted, because I have not read all of her material, and what I did read, did not impress me. Thankfully I never had to glorify her, in order to pass a course.
As far as my own meagre experience, I have written a novel, which is unpublished due to some sensitive material. I have written hundreds of poems, and non-fiction articles, some of which can be read in this blog.
So I do have some understanding of the writing process, and what is involved. I do not have a professional editor, and although perhaps I should, I am not vying for any status as a writer, other than what the reader can gain from it. A few typos, and some errant aspects of grammar, tense, etc. do not take away the main points.
When you do hire a University educated editor, as I once did, you may not get unbiased proofing to tidy up the grammar etc. I expected an editor to be helpful.
Given the amount of indoctrination at the University level, you are more likely to get an arrogant woke wannabe writer, who begins to challenge all of your thought processes. Like they are the schoolmaster, and you are the wayward child.
For the most part they do teach writing, and freelance as editors to earn extra cash. Therefore, they may not view anyone as a mature writer.
In spite of my many flaws, I have been writing for decades. If I decide to hire an editor, I am not a child sitting in a classroom, about to get scolded for what I am thinking. Thought reform is not on my agenda. I have already been subjected to it, so I know it when I see it.
The editor I temporarily hired, is not someone I would ever rehire, or recommend to any other writer. Although I did gain some understanding of themes, motifs etc. in writing, it was a pain dealing with her.
She clearly had more respect for the editor, as opposed to having respect for the writer. She had very little of her own written content, which spoke volumes. I wondered how she could be so critical, in spite of the fact she was not a writer. It was like wrestling with the wind. There was never anything to grasp hold of, so it could be applied in a practical sense.
I prefer to write what I want to write, the way I choose to write it. It is the one freedom we have. Language is a wonderful avenue to exercise that freedom. Certain powers want to stifle people who write outside the box, see limitless possibilities, and are not afraid to challenge the status quo. Those are all key motivators, for those of us with a spine.
There are certain values, and topics I prefer to write about. I don’t promote any kind of child pornography. I abhor it. I don’t promote genocide, including MAID. I am dead set against it. Other than poetry, I prefer to write non-fiction.
I also know full well I would never in a million years get an award for what I write, and frankly, I don’t care. I hope to reach ordinary people, who are fully capable of deciding what they want to read, and what they think is interesting.
I don’t need CBC to blather on about what I write, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, I would be the last person they would gush over, even if I wrote a hundred novels.
Also, the greatest works of art tend to come from those who have experienced heartfelt, profound emotional pain, oppression, subjugation, and deep seated adversity.
It is not based on academia, advanced degrees, or on who manages to garner the most puff pieces on CBC. We don’t have to spin our wheels in grandiloquent University circles, all of which have the same kind of indoctrinated dogmas as the media does.
We do not have to be a round peg forced into a square hole. We have around 170,000 words to choose from, and can arrange them as we please.
They are free for the plucking. Most people who gravitate toward writing love language. We are fascinated by words, the meaning of words, and the fact they can carry a punch, a wallop, or a poke – all in a single paragraph.
To put it simply – Creativity is judged by the number of people who are moved by it.
It does not get its value from a single editor. Nor can it be corralled, or penned in by a group of eighteen bombastic Swedes, who seem to think they are the supreme judges of subjective art.
Language arts is an incredibly vast, intricate, and malleable subject. No one has a corner on the written word, except for God himself.
The next point of contention is about the Nobel Prize for literature itself. It is very controversial, biased, and highly subjective. How can eighteen Swedes possibly read all the written content, and make a decision who to place up on their pseudo-pedestal?
It is an idiosyncratic, arbitrary, prejudicial and supremely arrogant depiction of what is the best writing in the entire world. Did they actually read all of it. What makes them the be all, and end all –when it comes to judging the written works of millions of writers?
Nothing could possibly qualify them for such a task. Therefore the entire concept should be called into question. Hopefully, it will eventually lose all credibility.
It is a purely political position they take, and it has come to the point where the award is meaningless. It is used for advertising alone, like a glossy rendition of the star scribes.
Is it any wonder certain writer’s set their vanity aside, and saw through this fickle award. It was turned down by Erik Axel Karlfeldt in 1919, Boris Pasternak in 1958 (for Soviet Union political reasons), and Jean Paul Sartre in 1964.
Ironically, countless very accomplished writers never even got nominated. For so many – the esteemed Cracker Jack award process, dropped them through the cracks of the cultured creatives. They were beneath them.
In addition, there was controversy surrounding Bob Dylan receiving the award in 2016. It took around five months for him to accept it, because many people did not believe a songwriter fit the profile for such an award.
Peter Handke was another controversial recipient of the award, because he was a proponent of advanced genocide apologetics.
Overall, the most disputable and contentious Nobel Prize awards have been first and foremost the one for literature, followed by peace, and economics.
To further entrench the absolutism and arbitrary nature of the Noble Prize – it is impossible to revoke such an award. They consider themselves to be the despotic judges of all human achievement. Set in stone.
Whereas certain other awards are not quite so laden with intractable hubris.
For example – The Order of Canada. Given that most awards are subject to political bias, selfish ambition, and sometimes outright fraud, this award can be revoked.
We recently saw this happen with Mary Turpel-Lafond, and Buffy Saint Marie. Both of them made false claims of being of Indigenous heritage, in order to advance their careers, and pretend they had faced undue hardship.
In actual fact, they made great monetary gains, and received multiple awards based on the lies they told. Both of them also received honorary doctorates from multiple Universities.
Buffy Saint Marie for some reason, is not on the Wikipedia list of those who had the award revoked. Apparently Mary Turpel-Lafond was dropped, or convinced to withdraw.
The list of those who were officially dropped from the Order of Canada includes Alan Eagleson, after being jailed for fraud in 1998, David Ahenakew was removed in 2005 after being accused of promoting anti-Semitic hatred, and T. Sher Singh was removed after his law license was revoked for professional misconduct.
In addition, Steve Fonyo was removed due to multiple criminal convictions. Garth Drabinsky was dropped in 2012 after being convicted of fraud and forgery in Ontario. Perhaps most famously Conrad Black was also dropped from the prestigious group, after being convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice in the US.
Ranjit Chandra was removed in 2015 for committing research fraud. And finally Johnny Issaluk was removed due to allegations of sexual misconduct.
It appears several others gave voluntary resignations to include Mary Turpel-Lafond. So it appears there are both involuntary, and voluntary resignations, of which there are many.
The fact so many people fall from grace in our very secular world, does make it seem fair to have these awards revoked under certain circumstances.
So many people are up in arms about what they so enigmatically call cancel culture. In my opinion, the term itself should be cancelled. It is another pejorative term for those who question some of these awards, and backgrounds of those who are placed in such high esteem.
It is true – we are all fallible. We all have deep flaws, but that does not excuse child molestation, fraud, or any other crime.
To make an attempt to paint all people with broad brush strokes, and make flippant claims such as everyone does it – is skirting accountability. It is an attempt to give permission to the fraudsters, to take advantage of the systems that are supposed to be fair, and actually mean something.
There is no such thing as cancel culture. Nothing will cancel Alice Munro. No matter what is revealed about a person, even after their death – it does not cancel them. Although it may taint their work in the eyes of some people, it does not remove their body of work.
Vandals destroyed the statue of John A. MacDonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister, because they believe he was responsible for the residential schools.
To attribute deep-rooted and long standing societal harms to one individual, is a form of scapegoating. The issues leading to residential schools, are steeped in a cauldron of convoluted and complex history. It stems from the politics of many people, throughout many generations, to create the most downtrodden, and dense – burden of blame and blunders.
No one can cancel the history of John A. MacDonald in Canadian politics. Truthfully, the attempt to cancel historical figures is an assault on our culture, history and heritage.
Even Stalin and Hitler cannot be cancelled, because none of us can turn back the clock, or change what happened.
Just as it is with child sexual abuse, to deny it, is what re-victimizes people, and causes harmful patterns to be repeated.
We cannot cancel what happens. Nor can we change the biases of those who award the Nobel Prize for literature. Alice Munro was given the award. It will never be revoked.
Does it matter. No probably not. When I review some of the recipients of the Nobel Prize over the years, most of them are people I have never even heard of.
Such an award can be used for promotional reasons, and to many, it is the highest achievement one can get. But what does it really get for them? Certainly not a dose of humility.
The more I read about it, and the more I think about it, most of the awards are meaningless in the overall scheme of things.
As far as censorship, I believe that anything promoting, or advancing child pornography should be censored, as well as ideologies that promote genocide, or violence against certain groups of people, or any people for that matter.
We live in a world steeped in deception and vanity, which is why I no longer see much value in awards. A degree of anonymity, and a willingness to admit wrongdoing, and turn away from it, is much more intrinsically valuable.
I think if anything we all should sharpen our critical thinking skills, our discernment, and our ability to distinguish right from wrong. It does not mean we all need to be judgemental, but we do need to decide for ourselves what is true, and what has merit.
I believe most of the merit attributed to Alice Munro, is propaganda. I hope her daughter heals and finds peace. I hope any other victims will have the courage to come forward. And I hope people can see the sexist nature of the writings of Alice Munro.
And being of Swedish ancestry myself, I hope the Nobel Prize awarding Swedes eventually come off their high horses, and come to their senses.
The supremacy, pompousness, and audacity they have, to consider themselves the absolute judges of subjective art, as in all things written throughout the world – is almost laughable, or otherworldly perhaps.
Like they are some kind of divine seers, transcending and nailing the epiphanies of what it is to be a human being; and decide whether each of those profound revelations, should be deemed to have substance.
Imagine the glut of all those fleeting, illusory, vague, vulgar, and gloomy concepts, shady as some of them are – and how they can be hailed, and nailed as heroes – just because they said so.
It is quite the paradox, to structure a despotic coup of subjective art, by a handful of eccentrics. Who are those eighteen people in Sweden? Nobody really. What do we know about their ability to be judge and jury over the written word? Nothing at all.
In fact, it is so dubiously high-handed – it becomes as chaff in the wind.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Of all things God hates the most, as listed in Proverbs 6: 17, the first two on the list are “a proud look, and a lying tongue”. Yet how many sermons do we hear about the topics of arrogance and lying?
It is not only Christians who become arrogant. It is human nature to have a cognitive bias in relation to how we view ourselves. In some cases, it is part of being successful, or having a purpose, or achievements – whatever they might be.
Life as we come to know it, is based on a variety of hierarchal structures. It begins in families, schools, churches, businesses, perceptions of beauty, levels of intelligence, political prowess, leadership, achievements in sports, and most of all – money. The image of wealth is the be all, and end all for many people.
We need to have a certain amount of hierarchy, to help maintain order. Unfortunately along with hierarchy, there can be arrogance, dominance, and abuse of power, which can be very toxic.
Outward appearances of success, is the reason why it is important for some rich men to have a trophy wife, often one who is thirty years younger than he is. It completes the image of success, as society might define it.
So we are accustomed to judging people, not only for moral reasons, but primarily for whatever image they are able to present.
Usually we do not know the full truth underlying another person’s outward image. We often don’t know their business practices, or how they treat others, or how they got their wealth. We don’t know about the underlying addictions, the extent of their greed, or how many affairs a person has had, how much they manipulate outcomes, or what their true motives are.
That is probably why the Bible tells us not to judge others. It tells us Christ will judge because only He knows the hearts and minds of people. We don’t. It is also why we are told to forgive, because most of us don’t even have a true concept of our own fallibilities.
We have an error-prone tendency to see the faults of others through a microscope, but we see our own faults through a telescope with a dirty scratched up lens.
Before you can achieve anything, you first have to believe you can do it. But there is a difference between a quiet confidence, and arrogance. Arrogance is rooted not only in self deception, but also in insecurity. It is a brittle way of putting on an exterior of superiority or invincibility, in order to protect the more fragile inner self.
I will readily admit being guilty of self-deception, stupidity, and at times empty-headed arrogance, throughout my life.
Part of it stemmed from religious indoctrination by a high school teacher, who held me captive for hours upon hours telling me I was special. Even more bizarre, he repeatedly claimed I was – “his special gift from God”.
This was a man, who claimed to be a Christian, yet he was arrogant, and deceptive to the core. It took me years to admit to myself that he was a pathological liar. I actually thought for many years, if I did not see him as wonderful, there must be something seriously wrong with me. I was indoctrinated with extremism and religious falsehoods, without fully realizing it.
Even though I irrationally believed I had put up a barrier to all the brainwashing and lies, I still absorbed more of it than I cared to admit. It is the reason our hearts, minds and spirits should never be subjected to master manipulators, and sophisticated brainwashing techniques. It is like getting grabbed by a crocodile, and every time you get a breath, it drags you under again.
Brainwashing or thought reform is extremely abusive, and at the time, I had no idea it is a systemic breaking down of all boundaries, barriers, and self preservation. The abuse targets your mind, emotions and spirit.
When a wolf in sheep’s clothing fixates on his prey, it becomes a soul-destroying endeavour. You are up against an apex predator, and like a weak young animal separated from the flock, you do not stand much of a chance.
The same lies are drilled into your psyche – repeated over and over, when you are exhausted and traumatized. It leads to a lifetime of destructive escapism, in an attempt to break free of the snare.
Few people realize that forcible religious indoctrination with deception, and false claims – is profoundly abusive. It swings erratically from shaming, to being made special. Of course the shaming is tied to any defiance, or refusal to accept the lies, and being special is tied to accepting those lies.
Telling a child they are special, is not doing anything for their self-esteem. It robs them of a healthy, balanced, and realistic outlook. It makes them feel they must conform to some kind of ideal image, in order to be acceptable. Being special is nothing but a deceptive burden. It is also an angle that is commonly used by those who exploit children.
Young people are especially vulnerable to identity assault, and mind control by those who abuse power, when they are teenagers. The teen years are a very important, and challenging developmental time frame.
It is a crucial period of time, as we establish our identity, come to terms with family of origin, develop independence, and make important, and directional life choices, like choosing a career. He robbed me of all those things.
Adult men in positions of power, who exploit children and teenagers, will not escape God’s wrath. It is probably the only consolation in the whole ordeal.
On one side of the psychological and spiritual abuse coin is shame, degradation and insults. Yet the other side of the coin is even worse, as it contains a fake image of being the “special” possession, or a shiny object, sought out or pursued by another person, for their own gain, not ours.
It is not that I don’t take responsibility for my own development, and outlook. But in hindsight, I can see some of the main contributors to my own self-deception.
I can also see how the emotional, spiritual, and psychological attacks led to defensiveness. I used accomplishments to try and defend myself. It is a feeble attempt to use achievements, as a means of defending our basic rights.
Eventually I realized I should not have to defend myself by drawing attention to achievements, because our basic and inalienable human rights are not tied to achievements. Neither is our God given free will, or the right to be a member of our own family. Just like we do not earn salvation, we cannot earn basic human rights either.
Underneath it all, I did not lose sight of being the lowest in the pecking order, so the arrogance was not deep rooted or intrinsic to my personality. But nevertheless, I can think of many episodes of being a smart-ass, as well as becoming defensive when under attack.
Repentance and remorse humbles us, which is a blessing, because otherwise our foolish hearts become delusional, darkened, and hardened. We really do not have much self awareness or insight, until we do repent. Then it is most difficult to forgive ourselves, because there is nothing short of what Christ did on the cross, that can forgive the things we cannot change.
The entire process of repentance is not only about all the awful things we have done, but it is also about harbouring anger, and fear. Both of these mindsets make it more difficult to forgive.
If there is a background of trauma or abuse, letting go of anger, and overcoming fear is something we have to deal with, or else we become perpetually anxious, or hardened and bitter. We are not supposed to have a spirit of fear, as it represents a lack of faith, and a basic cowardice. Fear can crowd out everything else, if we do not find a way to overcome it.
One of the reasons it is so common for Christians to become self-righteous, arrogant, and judgemental, is because we are often indoctrinated with falsehoods. Part of the indoctrination includes being special, maintaining outward appearances, being chosen by God, righteous, etc.
Another part of it stems from morality, and the need to discern right from wrong. We tend to think if we can recognize what is right or wrong, then it makes us morally superior. We don’t have to compare ourselves to anyone else. Discernment is for our own guidance and edification.
It goes right back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. When they chose to eat the forbidden fruit, the fruit they ate was from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Once humankind made the decision, we are left with a knowledge of good and evil – yet we really do not have the full capacity to separate the two. That is probably why God told them not to eat of that particular fruit.
Even in prisons, there is a pecking order and dominance based on the self-righteous judgment of the lesser human beings. A gang murderer is not as bad as a child killer. A drug dealer is not as bad as wife beater. And probably the lowest of the low – is the snitch.
Other than to turn away from evil, surely we can see that our judgement is quite futile.
Pride is part of deception. We are deceived by outward appearances. We cannot take the blinders off, until we repent. The most basic messages in the Bible, tell us over and over – to repent. We all fall short of the glory of God.
When we repent, we receive God’s forgiveness and mercy. We are brought to repentance through His grace. To be humble is a sign of His wisdom, not ours. Even the verses we read telling us Christians are chosen, or called according to God’s purpose – is not based on our own merit.
There are so many things beyond our earthly comprehension. We are given certain gifts, and many blessings. Every sunrise, every flower, every good thing, and every breath we take – is part of God’s blessing.
We really have nothing to be proud of. But we do have the full expanse of God’s kingdom, and plans – to be grateful for. Without God, we most definitely would not even be here. Without Jesus, we would not have salvation, or forgiveness. We would all be doomed.
Pride is not sustainable. The Bible tells us in many places, and in no uncertain terms – the proud will be brought down. There is no Biblical justification for pride.
There is no superiority in being a Christian. It is based on servitude, which is the opposite of superiority.
Salvation is a gift, and we are to accept the gift with gratitude, faith and worship. We did not earn our salvation. We cannot save ourselves.
For Christians who think they do not have to repent, or who see themselves as vastly superior – it is only based on self-deception, indoctrination, and insecurity. Arrogance presents a false self.
Many modern day preachers are quite arrogant. A significant amount of false teaching, gives the impression of deserving prosperity, material blessings, and being the chosen ones.
Truthfully, in addition to repenting, we are instructed to persevere through all things that come our way. We are told to expect tribulation, and rejection, and to overcome adversity.
We are told to turn away from all the things God tells us to turn away from. Doing so, is not arrogance. It is the avoidance of evil influences and temptations, including our own inclination toward evil.
We are to be thankful, because we can trust God. We are to be patient, because we know His word, and promises will be fulfilled.
We are to seek love, and truth. God is love. And ultimately love prevails, and will overcome all things.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The false teaching seems to be increasing. Not long ago I was listening to a pastor from a church in the US who seemed to be genuine. But there were some red flags, as I thought a few times, he seemed to be somewhat arrogant.
In his recent sermons, on at least two occasions, he claimed Jesus was an angel. He went on to support the claim by saying the angel with the little book in Revelation chapter 10, is actually a description of Jesus. Alarm bells went off. I thought – what?
He then went on to compare the angel in chapter 10, to the description of Christ in Revelation chapter 1: 13-15.
In addition, he supported his falsehood by adamantly stating that scripture teaches scripture, which is absurd if you take such liberties.
Yes scripture does support scripture, because in Hebrews it makes it very clear that Jesus is not an angel. So if anything, this example supports the advice – to test all things.
This is a pastor with a large following. He spends much of his time dissecting Greek lexicon, so it gives him an aura of superiority and advanced knowledge.
Another red flag prior to the more obvious angel falsehood, was that he used his advanced knowledge of Greek language to add to the Bible in many ways. In hindsight, I can now see he was adding a lot of his own faulty interpretations. I will never listen to him again.
He makes a direct comparison to the following description of Christ, and creates the comparison based on some similarities found in the two descriptions. But both descriptions make it clear, that in one it is an angel, and the other it is Christ.
It does stand to reason that an angel of the Lord, or an angel sent by God as a powerful messenger, would have some of the attributes of God. But this does not mean there is a transformation between the two. God forbid.
Jesus is not an angel. He is the only begotten son of God. Other verses tell us there are as many angels as stars in the sky. The following verse is describing Jesus, and it is not meant to be morphed into any magical thinking, or false comparisons to angels.
Surely this false teacher knows his Bible. He spends hours and hours teaching every minute nuance, and yet makes such a glaring error.
Discernment is very important, probably more so now than ever before in history. This example highlights why it is very important for all Christians to check what the Bible actually says. The Bible also tells us not to worship angels. Yet this false teaching bypasses that instruction as well.
Up until I heard the pastor claim Jesus was an angel, I had listened to quite a few of his sermons. Now I want to purge all of it from my memory.
In hindsight there were quite a few red flags. The first red flag is the subtle, and sometimes not so subtle arrogance. Like he knows it all, and everyone else is a peon (or an idiot) who requires his advanced knowledge and guidance.
He constantly refers to his last day teaching series, and repeatedly tells people to go back to his own series for clarification on certain topics. His series, or teaching is extensive, and is posted on his website, as if that is the gospel truth, when clearly it is not.
The second red flag is when someone creates their own secondary set of teaching, and then refers people to that, instead of the Bible. It tells us they are more concerned about self-exaltation than anything else.
It could also mean they are intentionally deceiving people who they think are less intelligent than they are.
Moving on – the other night I listened briefly to another longstanding well-known pastor preach a sermon. Before long, he was talking about, and promoting the concept of the rapture.
He dismissed the naysayers (like myself), who know full well the word rapture is not in the Bible.
The word rapture was added to Bible teaching deceptively in the mid 1800’s by the scoundrel John Darby, and enhanced by another word rogue, Scofield. Since then, many mainstream churches picked up on the theory.
This very experienced, and authoritative preacher did not make reference to where the rapture doctrine actually came from. He did not provide the background, introduction, or origin of this false doctrine. Instead he made a false comparison to prove his errant point.
His counter argument was to say that just because the word rapture is not in the Bible, does not discount the reality, or the significance of the rapture.
He then threw in the Greek word harpazo, which means to forcibly seize upon, or snatch away. However the context is quite different. Rapture theology teaches that Christians will be taken off the earth before the tribulation, before the second coming of Christ.
Harpazo in context, means the Christians who are alive when Christ returns, will be caught up to meet Him in the air.
The two concepts or comparisons between harpazo and rapture, in meaning and context, are very different. The rapture is supposedly a secretive removal of all Christians prior to the second coming.
No matter how they try to rationalize it, there is still no Biblical basis for the rapture claim. In fact there are many verses to refute such a claim, for anyone who cares to look them up.
Some will even use a Latin translation, to try and enhance this theory as a Biblical truth. No matter what semantic gymnastics they resort to – it is simply not true.
We all have God given free will. People can believe what they want to believe. Just because they believe it, does not make it true.
All people who believe in the rapture, should read about Darby, and how he came up with not only the false rapture doctrine, but also a complete and systemic dispensational system, in order to break down the Biblical timelines and turn truths into falsehoods.
It is false doctrine in all realms, to include the rapture. Darby’s rapture theology actually came from a fifteen year old girl who claimed to levitate during a seance. How this became part of a Christian belief system, is downright devious.
As the pastor continued his sermon, in a condescending tone, he stated the word Bible is not in the Bible either. To make a rapture comparison to the entire Bible, is mind boggling.
He is indirectly saying those of us who discount, or do not believe in rapture theology, are also discounting the Bible. Now isn’t that quite a linguistic stretch? It is also a discreet, yet profound manipulation of truth.
Once again, it astounds me how arrogant some of these guys are.
For starters – the word Bible is in fact in the Bible. It is a direct translation from the Greek biblos. This word is in the Bible many times.
So the pastor was actually using a false claim, to support a false claim. Yet this man has been a pastor for five decades.
These are just a couple of examples of deceptions that are creeping into Christian teaching more and more.
There are countless obvious false teachers and preachers on YouTube like Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, John Piper, and many other fake faith healers, prosperity teachers, along with mega churches who have turned church services into entertainment and rock concerts.
But those are easier to discern. It is those who seemingly use sound doctrine, and then deviate, who are the most deceptive of all.
When you listen to the Apostles, or to the words of Christ himself – you never hear arrogance or falsehoods. All of the teaching is instructional, encouraging, and truthful.
This is why it is so important to go back to the original Biblical teaching. The tone of it is never the least bit arrogant. There is no ranting and raving. There is no dissecting, or manipulation of words to change the original meaning.
There are no false comparisons, in order to cleverly create deceptive imagery. There are mysteries we may not understand yet, but there is no false teaching in the authentic Bible.
As far as some of these preachers are concerned – surely they know their Bibles better than I do, and better than most of us do.
Although I do not know if they are intentionally deceiving people, or if they themselves are deluded, and blinded to the truth – for sure, one day they will be held accountable.
The Bible contains many warnings telling us not to be deceived. It lets us know there will be such extensive deception in the end times, that even the elect can be deceived.
The power of words is endless, which in turn means the manipulation of words is also extensive, but unlike truth, deception is not endless.
Eventually all lies, falsehoods, guile, intentional deception, twisting of scripture, out of context scripture, adding to, and taking away from the Bible, etc. will end.
The truth will never end, but deception is not eternal.
We are taught to forgive those who betray us. However, we are not taught to accept deception of any sort. Therefore discernment is very important, not only in what we hear from others, but also what we believe or claim ourselves.
We have to seek the truth in all things. There is no such thing as my truth, and your truth, if they are as different as night and day. 2 Thessalonians 2: 10-12 gives us a strong warning:
If people reject us, or hate us for clinging to the truth – so be it. Truth will endure. Deception will not.
As far as the belief, and verses that tell women not to teach men in the churches, I have read those verses, and can see why women should not stand up, and take over the podium. I think if there is false teaching, the only alternative is to walk away.
Even though there is much emphasis on how women are to be silent, and not teach men in the churches – there are many women throughout the Bible who were prophets. That means women did instruct men, albeit in a different manner.
If men are teaching false doctrine, discernment is for all people. The truth contained within the Bible is the ultimate authority.
In reality, women do not have authority over men in any capacity. We can only avoid and turn away from the ones we do not want to listen to, be dominated by, or have to deal with.
If they will not accept a boundary, or a fundamental truth – what else can you do? Many good men, are also manipulated and deceived by other men, including those who call themselves Christians.
Even in the secular world, women do not have authority over men. In business and politics, some women might appear to have power – but they are still submitting to the orders of the party line, or a board of directors, or a male CEO.
Often rich and successful women are backed by a rich father, or spouse – or they would not be rich and successful. Very few, if any women are self-made millionaires.
The Bible consistently tells women to respect and honour their husbands. Husbands are also advised to love, and be faithful to their wives. There is a reciprocity needed in order for marriages to work.
Unfortunately many people do not fully grasp this, or have the maturity to protect their marriage. Yet marriage is the most important union of our lives on earth. Those who succeed in having a good, and long term marriage – are very blessed.
In spite of our own shortcomings, the Bible does not contain contradictions, or any instructions that will harm or deceive us.
Many atheists mock Christians, because they refuse to believe in what they cannot see, or understand. Or perhaps it is because they have already been saddled with the strong delusion.
However, the greatest enemy of all Christians and churches, comes from the deception within. We are not deceived by atheists. We are deceived either within ourselves, or by those who have knowledge of the Bible, and use it to deceive people.
Ultimately there is unity among the true believers, because our genuine identity, is part of the body of Christ. Galatians 3:28 is one of the verses to confirm this.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
As we approach the day of the eclipse with much interest, for some with purely scientific awe, and the rare chance to witness a total eclipse in North America. But for many, there is a much greater Spiritual scope, and meaning attributed to these signs in the heavens.
Although eclipses happen every eighteen months, the chance to view them varies depending on where you live in the world, as well as the amount of cloud cover at the time.
Apparently what makes tomorrow’s eclipse (April 8, 2024) so special is the visibility that will occur across the US, especially in the State of Ohio. The last time Ohio witnessed a total eclipse was in 1806 during the Tecumseh’s Eclipse. Normally the eclipses are near the poles.
There are many preachers, and Biblical interpretations surrounding eclipses and blood moons. Throughout the Bible, there are verses about the cosmos, and the disruption in the cosmos as we get closer to the end of the age.
There are many verses in the Book of Revelation that I find to be perplexing, and misunderstood, not only by me, but by many others. I have pondered the meaning of certain verses, whether literal or figurative, and what they truly mean.
During a time in my life when I was indoctrinated with hyper dispensationalism, I feared the Book of Revelation. The reason I had fear is because I was not reading it, or listening to it for myself, but rather was listening to gloom and doom interpretations of it.
All those false interpretations had a focus on fear, tribulation, bloodshed, persecution, terrible times, a one world order, the antichrist, and finally Presto – the rapture of the church, to provide a timely escape.
Although there is much I still don’t understand, what I do understand now is very different from what I was indoctrinated with.
I have grown to love the Book of Revelation, and find it is filled with awe, and most of all, with hope. What a relief it is to embrace this incredible book, in all of the purity and truth contained in God’s word. Men have a tendency to make a mess of things.
The things I can say, are not in the Book of Revelation are the words, “antichrist, seven year tribulation, or rapture of the church”.
Obviously, people can interpret things the way they choose too, but if we are actually seeking the truth, I personally do not see truth in a one world order, or a single all encompassing antichrist, or in a fictionalized rapture.
The Book of Revelation is about the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is about the climactic and dramatic timelines in the great battle to overcome death, deception, and Satan himself, along with those who follow him. This includes the fallen angels, and those who align themselves with evil, lawlessness, and corruption.
The mysteries are steeped in timelines, and metaphors that we may not understand. They may not be revealed to us fully, until a later date. We cannot know everything, because we are not God.
We cannot possibly understand all of history, all of the spirit world, and prophecies that have yet to be fulfilled. We can understand some of it, but not all. And for these reasons, we must hold fast to our beliefs, and also realize that the more we study, or listen to the Bible, the more it increases our faith.
If we trust God, we have to put our faith in the fullness of His plans for this world.
Among the many verses I do not understand, and find to be the most fascinating is in Revelation 10 when the angel gave John the book and told him to eat it up. Before that, as he was about to write what the seven thunders uttered, he was suddenly told not to write it down, but rather to go and take the little book from the angel, and eat it up.
It really does make us wonder what the seven thunders said. In my own limited interpretation, I came to understand this verse as the digesting of God’s word, followed by the need to go and spread the gospel throughout the world.
As far as reference to eclipses, and signs in the heavens Revelation 6:12 describes the opening of the sixth seal, followed by a great earthquake, and the sun became black as a sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood:
This is about the wrath of God because in verse 17 it goes on to describe it as such.
In Revelation 8 verse 12 the fourth angel sounded the trumpet, and once again darkness falls upon the earth, and in this verse it is described as being in thirds. A third part of the sun was smitten, and a third part of the moon and a third part of the stars:
Prior to the description of the third part of the sun, and moon being smitten, in verse 10, you will notice that a great star fell from heaven called Wormwood, causing people to be poisoned.
This is a description of Satan, and the fall of Satan. When cast out of heaven Satan took a third of the angels with him, and I believe these verses are describing how darkness and poison happened as a result of Satan’s war in heaven to the point where he was cast out.
Therefore the truth in the Book of Revelation is embodied in the victory of Jesus Christ, as the time approaches and culminates in His return to this earth.
When He was here in the flesh the first time, He spent His time teaching, healing, and spreading the news of the gospel, and God’s great plan for salvation. Jesus, the Apostles, and John the Baptist all had central or core messages – to believe in Christ as Saviour, to repent of sins, and to love one another.
In all of the complexity, and variations of interpretations, the central theme is always consistent.
Not only that, but Christ has promised believers in John 14 verse 6 “Jesus saith unto him I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Therefore we know, he will reveal Himself to all believers in due time. His grace, and offer of salvation, is a phenomenal gift.
In addition to the central theme of hope in the gospel and the revelation of Christ, we are warned many times not to be deceived.
In fact the warnings to be careful, diligent, to test all things, to study the word of God carefully, avoid false teachings, false doctrines, false gods, are too numerous to mention. It would take a full book to extrapolate all the warnings about deception that are contained within the different books of the Bible.
Deception is the biggest enemy of the end times. Be wary of those who change the Bible, add to the Bible, or take away from the Bible. Be wary of all the isms, as those are more focused on some man, as opposed to the Bible, and usually have specific ideologies, and falsehoods tacked onto them.
Don’t make the mistake of listening to a preacher who might be misguided. Read it for yourself. Don’t make the mistake of adhering to beliefs because they are part of the denomination of your church. If they do not align with God’s word, take God’s word over man’s word.
The body of Christ is one body, therefore the message should be consistent, and align with the Bible in all ways.
If you listen to the Apostles, you will notice that none of them were arrogant or domineering. They did not rely on fear mongering, or ranting and raving. Nor did they live extravagant lifestyles. They were humble, yet powerful – because they were inspired by God, and because they preached the infallible truth.
Be careful which translation you use, and in my opinion – avoid Darby and Scofield bibles like the plague.
If someone is preaching what is not in the Bible, or if they are taking single verses out of context to promote a certain belief, be wary.
As far as the rapture theory, in addition to the fact it was an invention of John Darby, is not in the Bible, and was not a belief of the early churches, ask yourself a few questions if you believe in this biblical alteration. When I was led to believe this was the gospel truth, I had doubts. These are some of the questions that immediately came to mind:
Why would God have a special plan of escape for those at the end of the age, when the Apostles and millions of other Christians throughout history faced intense persecution and death?
Why would God in His word repeatedly talk about the second coming of Christ if He raptures the church in a secret coming – thus making His return three times, not twice?
Why would God tell people to endure until the end, even unto death? There are a hundred Bible verses telling people to endure until the end, including death, because the promise is that Christ has overcome death.
There are so many things about the rapture belief that defies all logic, and the truth. So many people rigidly adhere to this mistaken, deceptive, false belief for their entire lifetimes. It makes me wonder what will happen to them.
Seeking the truth is not the easy way out of this world. It is often met with much resistance from churches and other church-goers. But remember – we are not accountable to man. We are not obliged to believe everything we are told.
When I questioned, and then rejected the rapture doctrine, it ultimately led to being shunned by many people.
Truth can be a rocky road. Just like the adoption lie that was created by a hyper dispensationalist teacher over my own life, I now know that people who will lie about one thing, will lie about a lot of things.
We, as believers are adopted into the family of God, not some cult teacher from a hick town. We are born again, based on our belief in Christ.
The fifth commandment tells us to honour our father and mother. No one replaces our natural father and mother, as that is our God-given lineage.
Anyone who tells a young person that their mother or father is wicked or “non-redeemable” – is not a Christian. Because really – how many Christians will repeatedly lie, and openly defy the central Commandment? If the truth is not in them – we know who they follow.
When dealing with deception, it is truly amazing how the deceivers will dominate, and take many of the truths in the Bible, then warp them to fit their deceptive narrative. It is amazing how bold they are in their lies.
All I can say, is don’t fall for it. Furthermore, if it were not for the grace of God, I would never have seen or found the way, the truth and the life. I would have been among the lost, the third of the fallen, and wallowed in the darkness of that deception and dominance.
We cannot save ourselves. We cannot figure it all out, until Christ returns and the veil is lifted, and the mysteries of God are revealed.
The eclipse is not the only sign we are getting closer to the end of the age. There are many signs. We do live in perilous times. But we also live in exciting, and incredible times. We are watching it unfold, and we can look forward to a time where all things will be renewed, restored, and healed.
Some people make a very distinctive division between the Old Testament and the New Testament. But we must keep in mind that Jesus was in God’s existence since the beginning. The Book of Revelation 22 verse 13 does describe Christ in the fullness of His existence:
“13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”
Therefore the Book of Revelation is to be revered – not feared.
The Book of Isaiah 41 verse 10 tells us not to fear:
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Of course there are unscrupulous individuals in politics, and in the health care system who promote this sick concept.
They would like nothing more than to have us all believe that once a person has a diagnosed mental illness, or admits to struggling with mental health – it is never cured. It is a permanent condition. They are sick and stigmatized for life. In my opinion, it is deceptive and manipulative nonsense. They (the powers that be) can prove nothing of the sort.
Of course they want to push the hypothesis – the mumbo jumbo of terminal and lethal psychobabble, because it is an industry that wants to increase the scope of both drug addiction and MAID.
Stay safe, but don’t stay sane, so we can kill you kindly. When and where have we heard that before? It echoes from Germany since 1939, and reverberates to the present time.
If a person breaks a leg, it heals, and they get up and walk again. If they get the stomach flu, they are not barfing for life. If they fall into a batch of poison life, the itch eventually goes away.
Many people have overcome addictions. If they overcome addiction, and go on to lead a productive life, they are no longer addicted. They are no longer sick. They do not have to wallow in it. They can walk away, and leave it behind. Dust off the dirt, and get back in the saddle.
Yes there is a process of healing, and it may take some time. You have to figure out what made you sick or addicted in the first place, and come to terms with certain things.
It requires a change of paradigm, including patterns of thinking, and habits of daily living. Basically it means establishing a new template, and a new perspective, or outlook for your own life.
You have to forgive others, and forgive yourself. Regardless of whose fault it is, it is unhealthy, and destructive to continue the addiction. It is the opposite of wellness, so it has to be abandoned in order to feel well.
We have been indoctrinated with certain belief systems, especially about mental health. We need to be protective of our minds to avoid further insults.
Personality disorders are the only mental health disorders that cannot be cured, because they are part of the intrinsic personality, and show up early in life.
However, personality disorders, although they may be in the DSM manual, and can be quite debilitating, they are not usually serious mental illnesses requiring hospitalization.
They often wreak havoc in families, but a person with a personality disorder can often hide some of the more antisocial aspects of the disorder while at work or in social settings. Those who are closest to them will get the brunt of it.
Otherwise, the vast majority of mental health struggles that people go through in life, are temporary. Let’s face it, life has many struggles. It does not mean we are all mentally ill, and it most certainly does not mean we are all mentally ill forever. Let it go.
You will notice the accusations of being mentally ill are most often directed at women, and seldom at rich and powerful men. There is a pecking order when it comes to being crazy.
A lot of gaslighting too. Enough gas to ignite some serious contemplation, and indignation in the thought processes of those whose minds are manipulated and meddled with.
With excessive gaslighting, comes self doubt. Once we doubt our own perceptions of the world around us, we are more likely to feel shame, admit fault, and go along with the mentally ill label. But does that mean a person never gets better? Or even that they were crazy to begin with? It’s as elusive as a shadow on the wall.
I went through an intense back and forth with a person in the comment section of the National Post today. It was based on an article written about MAID for the mentally ill. The man I was debating with claims to have advanced degrees in health care, and says he works in health care.
He also has very strong opinions about pushing MAID for all people, including the mentally ill. He calls anyone who disagrees “terminally selfish”. He is most pejorative about faith, and religious beliefs too. He mocks those beliefs with comments like “your imaginary friends in the sky are not going to help you.”
I find his frequent use of the language “terminally selfish” to be a very strange choice of words when debating MAID for the mentally ill. He uses the term to refute the opinions of others in almost every post he writes.
In my opinion, it is very faulty reasoning, because clearly – selfishness is not terminal. At least not yet, because in the end, come judgement day, a lot of very arrogant people will be doomed, which is not quite what this guy has in mind.
The topic was MAID for the mentally ill. Is he inferring that those who disagree with him are terminal, albeit terminally selfish – which is just inching, and itching – to suggest those who disagree with him are terminal too? They too, deserve the mad MAID remedy. Who has ever heard of being terminally selfish before?
He also adamantly claims mental illness cannot be cured, only managed, with the exception of situational depression.
Once a nut case – always a nut case. Deranged cannot be rearranged. It is like taking the radio apart when you are a kid, and having a few loose wires left over when you try to put it back together. It is shot, and will never play another tune. A head scratcher, and mind bender. Damn – what was I thinking?
Seriously? A person who had an eating disorder as a teen, is not mentally ill forever. A person who quits an addiction is not addicted forever. If you screwed up the radio, it is long gone by the time you grow up.
There are many different types of phobias. If someone is afraid of spiders, crowds, the dark, snakes, etc. does that mean they are terminally mentally ill with no chance of recovery? If a person has anxiety, are they incurable? Hardly.
People are highly adaptable. If they are afraid of spiders, they avoid them. If they don’t like crowds, they stay away from crowds. The clean freak cleans, and the talkative person talks, when they get anxious. So what?
We all have to learn to manage our emotions, whatever they may be. For those who refuse to accept boundaries, they will get into trouble, and hopefully learn something.
The whole idea behind the claims that mental illness is the only incurable human illness, is because the devil, or evil forces, or whatever you want to call it – wants to attack and mess with our minds. It is as simple as that.
They want to reform our thoughts, emotions, identity, and how we feel about ourselves. They want to dominate, control, and stifle dissent, surrounding our own lives, and boundaries. They want us to feel absolutely worthless – a useless eater.
Stand firm. Don’t let them mess with your mind. The Bible tells us to resist the devil. Gaslighting, and the intentional infliction of emotional abuse – is awful, and unlawful. So if you don’t believe in the devil, believe in the laws.
God does not try to control people. He does not force people into any relationships. In His abundant grace and wisdom, He gave us free will. He does not force us into a relationship with Him, even though he is the almighty God. Why? Because he knows free will is central to love.
Relationships are about love, not dominance, deception and control. When someone tries to rob us of our free will, through mocking, gaslighting, false accusations, bullying, control, or whatever – we know it is not from God. God through His word tells us to be meek, but He also tells us to resist the devil and his antics. We all have inherent free will for very good reasons. Attacks on the mind are an attempt to take away our free will.
Our soul consists of our mind, emotion, and will – free will to be exact. Attacks on our mind, emotions, and will, are attacks on our soul. Even though such attacks are seldom punished because they are not physical assaults, God knows those tactics very well, and knows how serious they are.
Anything that is soul destroying, or destructive to the human spirit, could potentially cause a person to give up on life, to give up in every way, to become embittered, and to reject God. To throw in the towel is an eternal decision. Therefore anyone who attacks another person’s soul is making a grave mistake.
Our battles on this earth are more spiritual than anything. There is far more going on in the spiritual realm than we are consciously aware of. We need discernment, wisdom and guidance.
The news media engages us in excessive fear mongering, not only to deceive us, but to keep us on edge, distracted, and filled with angst. It is by design that our world is rife with contradiction, deception, and cognitive dissonance.
They want us to be filled with confusion, constant worry and self doubt, as opposed to having confidence and faith. God is not the author of confusion.
The mental health field is a fairly new area of medicine, in that psychiatry was only defined as such in the mid 1800’s. Prior to that they believed lunacy, or madness was caused by demon possession. Since the dawn of psychiatry, the primary method to treat the diseases of the mind, is with drugs.
Other than the observation of behaviours, and the patient’s description of his or her symptoms, the mental health field has no definitive diagnostic criteria. They have a fat DSM manual, but it is hardly even credible, when you look at the source for all those made up disorders.
They do not base the diagnosis on lab results, ultrasound, X-rays, CT scans, MRI’s or any other diagnostic tests. No, nada. They do not have clear and definitive diagnostic criteria, so don’t let anyone railroad or bamboozle you.
Truthfully, they cannot prove what they claim. They do not know what is in another person’s mind or thoughts. We have around 60,000-80,000 thoughts per day. They cannot know them, or track them. It is a game of guess work and guinea pigs.
If a person goes to a psychiatrist for any reason, they will get some kind of mental health diagnosis. Even if they say “I am doing fine, eat well, sleep well, and have lots to look forward to”. They will get told they are delusional, or anxious, or seem a bit depressed. And out comes the prescription pad.
There is a mantra oft repeated, telling people to get help. But more than anything, people need to get stronger, and stop looking toward toxic drugs for a quick fix.
In addition, we have to change our expectations. No one feels good all of the time. If you go through the motions of staying stable, and look after your health, and life on a daily basis, you will get better.
People do need support systems, and help in a variety of ways, but most people who are struggling can find ways to get past it. We cannot deny the fact we are spiritual beings. Therefore neglecting our spiritual life, is likely to cause instability in our lives. We are grounded from the inside out.
I find the whole MAID issue in Canada to be alarming. Canada has rapidly become a world leader in MAID, with the laxest laws in the world surrounding it. We are now approaching the MAID deaths of around 60,000 people, and the numbers are growing exponentially.
The concept of opening MAID to the mentally ill, and mature minors makes my blood run cold. During the debate with the pro MAID man on the National Post today, he used arguments like “dying without dignity, wallowing in your own filth and body fluids, and the terror of your mind dying while you are still alive.”
First and foremost, one of the certainties in life – is death. People have been managing to die naturally since the beginning of humankind.
Some of the statements made by this person, imply that the health care system is seriously neglecting people. Otherwise, why would a health care worker say “dying people are left to wallow in their own filth, and body fluids”? He is basically saying, it is better to end their life, than to care for them, and frankly, I find it appalling.
We all need to buck up, and buckle up. Do not let anyone corner you into the mentally ill trap, because based on the direction things are going, they are going to use it as yet another excuse to get rid of people.
They sugar coat it with feigned compassion. But have you noticed how all these MAID zealots want MAID for everyone else but themselves?
I worked several years in mental health, and during that time I got to know many of the patients quite well. A percentage of them had spent years in Riverview, and were discharged to the streets, or to smaller community health facilities.
Of all the people who suffered long term mental illness, to the point of needing to be in a facility, they all wanted to live. One woman had severe mood swings, and when she got very distraught she wanted to “end it”, but once she got over the meltdown, she was back on track. They all participated in daily outings, and took an interest in what was going on around them. If they had stable routines, they remained stable.
They were on multiple medications of course, and had severe side effects from the medications. But it did not prevent them from interacting with others, and going on outings.
Some of them had chronic hallucinations, and the one thing I can say, is they often still had a sense of humour. In fact, the humour was probably the most delightful aspect of the job. Most of them loved humour. Some of them were highly intelligent, and astute.
In hindsight, the stories of each of those individuals and how they ended up in Riverview was very tragic. Many of them were sent there because of family conflicts. They were the black sheep rejects within a dysfunctional family dynamic.
There was a time, not that long ago, where a family member, and a doctor’s signature could get a person committed. For some, they were institutionalized, and they threw away the key. Years later, they threw them out on the street.
Psychiatry in its short history, is full of tragic stories. More people have been abused by this field of medicine than most people could even imagine. People were being experimented on in the cruelest ways, using electric shock, sleep deprivation, insulin shock, hypothermia, lobotomies, and all kinds of torture that went on into the 1970’s right here in Canada.
But let’s face it, the vast majority of people with mental health disorders are not institutionalized. People are admitted for short stays in acute care Psychiatric beds. There is an extreme shortage of beds and treatment centres.
We are at a tipping point. If we think some of these people, and yes I would call them the bigger nut cases, can get on their high horse, and start deciding which lives are worth preserving, and which ones are destined for the MAID heap, God help us. It is a slippery slope, and it is snowballing into the abyss.
We should all take a sober look at the countless people who struggled with their mental health, and still contributed a great deal to society. Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Abraham Lincoln, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, as well as great thinkers like Isaac Newton. Vincent Van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway, Ludwig van Beethoven, Leo Tolstoy, John Keats, Charles Dickens, and the list goes on. If you delve into it, you will find it is a very long list.
Yes we do need to take care of our mental health, and we can face astronomical hurdles. But as it is with any injury or illness, we also have the capacity to overcome most problems, and get well. Very few people are sick forever. The body, mind and spirit have remarkable abilities to recover from injury and trauma.
Sadly, just as some people die in accidents, or get illnesses they cannot overcome, it can also be that way with psychic injuries, or mental illness. Sometimes people do succumb to illness, meaning it can be any kind of illness or accident. We will never know why God allows some lives to be cut short.
We need to be proactive with our own mental health, and with our loved ones. We do not need to attach a lifelong sickness label onto anyone. It is destructive and unfair. Just like colds, flus, skinned knees, and broken bones, we get psychic injuries too.
Tips for maintaining mental health. This is in no way judgemental toward anyone. It is just what I have learned personally over the years. It took me many years to get to this point. For most of my life, I certainly did not practice all the points I have listed below myself. But I do now, because I have learned how important it is to be at peace.
Talk therapy can benefit people, especially if you find a competent and compassionate therapist without an agenda. For those without extended medical benefits, it can be costly. In addition a good friend, or peer counselling, or support groups might be of benefit.
Never underestimate the spiritual dimension, as much comfort and wisdom can be found in the Bible, and through prayer. Also for those who go to church, there might be counselling services available.
Set clear boundaries. If we allow ourselves to be a pushover, we will get pushed over and dominated. We all have a right to set boundaries on relationships, to not be forced into any relationship, especially if it is dishonest or abusive, and to have our boundaries respected.
Learn to appreciate being alone. Solitude can be very beneficial for healing. So many people think solitude is terrifying, or a sign you are antisocial. By all means some people withdraw and spend hours dwelling on violent video games or things that are very unhealthy. But if you use your solitude wisely, for edification, and to enjoy your time, you can benefit from it. We do not need to be validated by others. We need to figure out our own values, as well as how we might serve others. We all have different gifts and strengths.
Keep in mind that everything you ingest or put into you body, can and will affect your mood. This includes caffeine, sugar, nitrites, OTC medications, prescription medications, and all other drugs.
In addition, the gut biome is considered to be the second brain, and it is very important to have a healthy gut biome to regulate mood. Whole foods and the avoidance of fast foods and foods high in additives will help keep your gut healthy.
Learning and curiosity is a valuable mental health practice. Not only does it help with making wiser purchases, health decisions, etc. but it also helps our memory, and mental abilities.
Learning about technical advancements does not mean we have to be a full blown techie, but we do have to navigate online, and troubleshoot computer or phone glitches, as well as learn to protect ourselves from scams etc. It is becoming increasingly complicated, so we have to keep up or depend on someone else to help with it. Fortunately YouTube will walk you through most issues you come across.
Also as we get older, technical issues can be intimidating, but the more you do, the easier it is to figure things out. All learning helps boost our confidence and decision making. With the learning, we also have to develop a strong filter, so we don’t allow ourselves to get bombarded with information we are not interested in, or affected by useless advertising and propaganda.
Fresh air and exercise are right at the top of the wellness list, in conjunction with nature, and all of its beauty. Gardening is great. Birdwatching, cycling, hiking swimming, and anything outdoors that suits your fitness and lifestyle. Walking is probably the easiest thing to do on a regular basis.
Perhaps it seems paradoxical, but it is wise to overcome our fear of death. For believers, we know death is not permanent. If we can overcome the fear of death, we are not as easily manipulated into fear and anxiety by the media or the scary events going on in the world on a daily basis.
Overcoming the fear of death, while at the same time having value and gratitude for our lives, helps eradicate the MAID fears, and makes us less vulnerable to coercion, anxiety, and depression. MAID is supposed to be a personal choice. I can understand why some people choose to opt out of this world, if they are facing a drastic and deteriorating condition like ALS. But for myself personally, I would never choose MAID.
Tolerance and patience are difficult things to integrate into our daily living sometimes. But the more you practice them, the easier it gets. If someone else behaves badly, and carries on like a lunatic, we are not responsible for that behaviour. For those of us who are Christians, God has promised us he will sort such people out in due time.
As Christians we are advised to put on the full armour of God to protect ourselves. Those verses can be found in Ephesians 10:6-18. Personally, I have found this has really helped reduce fear and anxiety.
Never let anyone tell you that mental illness is incurable. They are trying to rob you of hope. No one should ever rob another person of hope. Keep in mind – Hope does not make us ashamed.
The Bible clearly tells us to expect tribulation, and not to lose hope. Look to where there is wisdom.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
For most of us, we have either been the one doing the manipulating, or on the receiving end of the manipulation. Often times we do not realize we are being manipulated at the time. It stems from an unhealthy family or workplace dynamic.
Once it becomes chronic, it becomes a pattern of behaviour that can be very destructive. The manipulator becomes very skilled at manipulating.
In big business and politics, it might be viewed as skilled stratagem. It might also be seen as manoeuvring outcomes, or social and political engineering.
Other descriptives are a little more pejorative. Like wheeler-dealer, underhanded, double-crossing, rigging, tricking, setting up, and exploitation.
There is an underlying arrogance based on perceived cleverness, and the sophistication behind the tactics. Also a master manipulator can get countless people to follow along with whatever he is engineering. In many ways he becomes a manipulator mentor as well.
In Psychology Today it is described as follows. I will post the link to the full article at the bottom of the post.
“Chronic manipulation often (but not always) emerges from a highly competitive environment, in which various parties (family members, classmates, coworkers, social groups, societal affiliations, economic interests) jockey for power, influence, resources, and advantage, and where one feels a lack of direct and abundant power/control over a situation. The manipulator, feeling a sense of deprivation, insufficiency, and disadvantage, or conversely craving for more power, influence, and advantage, resorts to cunning and underhandedness in order to attain what he or she desires. Over time, this type of behavior can become chronic and habitual, with inevitable destructive consequences.”
Paradoxically the behaviour stems from a place of powerlessness. It stands to reason that it has its origins in early and learned dysfunctional family dynamics.
A person who feels ignored by his parents, or rejected by his mother, might resort to getting attention in other ways.
Also when there is sibling rivalry, especially when a parent favours one child over another, the competition within the family dynamic can turn toxic.
Typically the one who is favoured gets beat by the one who is not favoured. Parents are not perfect, as we all can attest to. However there is probably no greater damage done to the sibling rivalry, and competition within a family, than when a parent favours one child over another.
If the older children, or the child who is not the favourite one, has had other supportive relationships to help offset the parental adoration of his sibling, it might help him overcome it.
Or if the age difference is large enough so the older child had enough attention in his/her formative years, it might not be as difficult to overcome the sense of unfairness, or perceived rejection.
In families with very limited resources, education, support systems, and wisdom among the adults around them, the dysfunctional dynamics can become ingrained, and even violent.
The outlook for the favoured one becomes very jaundiced, and the perceived fondness soon becomes a major disadvantage.
The difficulty for parents is that no two children are alike, therefore it is very difficult to treat them exactly the same.
Also it is impossible to know how things will be perceived by a child. Perhaps there is no overt favourtism at all, but they feel inadequate in some way. Or they compare themselves to a sibling who might do better in math, sports, school, music etc.
Siblings by nature compete with one another. And in the face of adversity, each one develops his or her own way of coping with the difficulties. In some cases it is a matter of survival. So each one learns what he or she has to do to survive.
Since manipulative behaviours are so common, there are no easy answers when it comes to developing the discernment to recognize and avoid the various pit falls and patterns
The link to the entire Psychology Today article is below:
Even though we might be told to view someone as a “wonderful Christian” – the Bible makes it very clear, there is no such person, with the exception of Christ.
There is not a single human being who has ever fit such a category, not even the Apostles. All of God’s servants are sanctified by grace, and even so, remain vulnerable to the temptations of sin.
None of the Apostles referred to each other or themselves, as being wonderful Christians. They remained humble, as they understood it was very important to avoid being arrogant. Pious religious superiority was a distinctive trait of the Pharisees, not the servants of Christ.
Romans 3:23 KJV states ” For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
This truth is stated in multiple locations throughout the Bible. In fact, in the Book of Revelation, the seven churches addressed at the beginning of the book, are repeatedly told to repent.
This means all Christians are called upon to examine themselves, and repent. Repentance is not just for the unbelievers, but also for the believers. It is not only for those who do obviously sinful acts, but also for those who manipulate, deceive, exploit others, or have excessive pride.
When John the Baptist arrived on the scene, to preach the coming of Christ, his primary message to all people, was to repent. He suffered persecution and a horrific death, yet he was unwavering in his message. Prior to his death, he did not walk around claiming to be a wonderful Christian.
Therefore anyone who thinks they are a wonderful Christian, is filled with false pride, and the truth in not in them.
1 John 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Anyone who promotes someone else as being some kind of deity, or wonderful exalted Christian, is establishing a cult worship and following, not a Christian one.
How often do we hear pious Christians claim other people need to repent, yet they do not seem to think it applies to them?
If the wonderful Christian is out to manipulate and exploit people, of course the gullible are expected to view then as wonderful saints.
That is exactly how cults and cult leaders gain the trust of the followers. They place themselves on a pedestal, and can do no wrong. Yet they are little more than wolves in sheep’s clothing.
The reason for the clear Biblical instructions to repent, and to understand all people fall short of the glory of God, is to prevent people from worshipping themselves, or another person, instead of worshipping God.
If we are prone to worshipping man, we can easily be deceived and fall into cult practices. We are also less likely to do any serious self examination.
There are certain people who call themselves Christians, who I knew, listened to, and observed for many years. Yet I did not once hear them say they needed to repent.
They would not even apologize for blatant lies, exploitation and wrongdoing, no matter what. They were elitist and untouchable. Some of them believed they were above all, above the law, and as pure as the driven snow.
It is true that our sins are forgiven, if we repent, and truly believe in Christ, what he did for us on the cross, and his death and resurrection. It is the central promise of the gospel.
We are not forgiven because we are wonderful Christians but rather, because we have acknowledged the fact we are not wonderful Christians.
We are forgiven because we have recognized and admitted our sins. If so, we have genuine remorse, will confess, repent, and change our ways.
Most of all – we will understand forgiveness is granted by the grace of God. It has nothing to do with any Christian being wonderful.
Even the most gifted among God’s people committed grievous sins. King David, King Solomon, and Noah were not without sin.
We live in a secular world, where even the mention of sin brings a haughty response. How dare anyone call wrongdoing a sin! Even if it is a premeditated, willful violation of the law, and morality – it is often denied, referred to as a mistake, or attributed to mental illness.
If we become ensnared in the concept of elitism, riches, pride, self exaltation, and worshipping wolves in sheep’s clothing, how far is that from falling into the trap of worshipping the beast?
The Bible is full of warnings about deception, false pride and arrogance.
As Christians we are blessed when we are humbled. It sounds like a contradiction, and is often a painful experience. However pride brings disgrace, and humility brings wisdom.
Some people go through their entire lives full of false Christian arrogance. But sooner or later, they too will be humbled.
We are not better than other people. We do not serve the will of man, especially those who are prone to false pride and exploitation. They are not superior.
No matter how exalted, how rich, how full of arrogance a person is, they are delusional if they think this makes them special. Even the most well known Christians in the Bible understood they were not better than other people. They did not go out and preach self glory. They glorified God.
Although we are thankful for the help and encouragement of other people in our lives, we do not worship them, or view them as infallible.
In fact we are grateful to God, and no one has the right to tell us who or what to be grateful for. We might be grateful to a stranger who helped us lift a heavy object, or treated us with respect.
We might be grateful to the author of a good book we read. We might be grateful that we have enough food to eat, or can take a hot bath. As we age, we are grateful for our health and independence.
No one has the right to tell us what to be grateful for. No one can give us orders to be grateful for the health and well being of our children, and grandchildren. True gratitude does not rely on the orders of someone else. To each their own, when it comes to gratitude.
Even God does not give us orders regarding what, and who to be grateful for. True gratitude belongs to God.
Gratitude, like humility – comes from the heart. Just as it is with all things the Bible says about false pride, arrogance, and deception, it also tells us that only Christ knows our hearts, and true intentions.
Gratitude is a good practice, and helps to keep us humble. We live by faith, and faith is also something to be grateful for, as it gives us assurance and peace.
Other people, no matter how self exalted or powerful they are, do not get to dictate what we are to be grateful for.
The notion or claims of wonderful Christians, combined with orders to be grateful for those wonderful Christians, comes from a place of pride and cultish deception.
For their sake, we can only hope they will eventually be humbled, and repent. They are setting themselves up for failure. They are lying. Fictitious, and so-called wonderful Christians, are not the path to salvation.
Jesus said in John 14″6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”.
If people deny the truth, they will lose their way. They should take truth seriously. Deception and pride is not from God.
I do not intend to sound cynical about all Christians. Just as I have known some who are deceptive, cruel, shunning, and full of themselves, I have also known others who are just the opposite.
They were kind, empathic, humble, accepting, giving, warm, and loving. They demonstrated their Christianity in the way they treated others, showing the fruits of the Spirit.
In fact the Bible tells us in Mathew 7:20 KJV “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
Galatian 5:22 KJV “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.”
As much as I wish I had been more discerning throughout my life, and quicker to repent myself – I am grateful for knowing people who do have the fruits of the Spirit.
One of them was a neighbour on the farm where I grew up. Another was an elderly woman named Elsie, who I met in White Rock thirty some years ago. They were both incredibly kind, accepting, and full of love. I will always hold those women, and many other kind people, near and dear to my heart.
The kind neighbour on the farm who lived nearby, had a tremendous influence on my life. I always found her to be gentle, caring, kind, and loving. I would beg to tag along on visits to her house, so I could talk to her, ask her questions about God, and play with the lambs they had on their farm.
I still clearly remember when I was around three years old, she told me God does not allow a sparrow to fall to the ground, and that He even knows the number of hairs on my head, so He will take care of me.
I was so amazed at what she told me, it stuck with me forever. I marvelled at little birds, and people with thick curly hair, and wondered how God could know so much. I would even try to touch people’s hair, just to see how thick it was. But by the time I started school, I soon found out, they would get annoyed, so I left their hair alone.
Even though we have come across some real gems in our lifetime, we should still be aware – the fruits of the Spirit, are from God, not the person. God calls us according to His purpose, not ours.
We all grow up in a world with both the wheat and the tares. We would be wise to figure out ahead of time, which of the two we choose to be.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Recently the mainstream media, in particular CBC, has exposed some high profile people who have made false claims to be adopted, and Indigenous.
The most recent one is Buffy Sainte-Marie, who made false claims to be Cree, from Saskatchewan. Her story was that she had been “scooped” from her traditional First Nation’s home in Canada, and adopted by an American family in Massachusetts. She claimed the adoption records were lost or destroyed by fire. But once her story is delved into, it is clear she made multiple false claims that should have raised red flags at the onset.
Adoption records in Saskatchewan were not destroyed as she claimed. In fact all records of adoption, foster care, births, deaths, marriages etc. are kept on file indefinitely. The notion that one can falsify or bury such records goes to show how brazen they are, and how little respect they have for the importance of records, and the legalities that surround them.
In addition to the CBC articles, the Fifth Estate also did an in-depth piece of investigative journalism on the topic, which proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was born in 1941 to a Caucasian family in the US. She was the middle child of three children born to Winnifred and Albert Santamaria. The family changed their name to Sainte-Marie because they believed there was anti-Italian attitudes in the US at the time.
There are all kinds of records to prove the truth of her birth, heritage and upbringing. She has a birth certificate to show who she really is. There are family videos, school records, and various other bits of validation.
In my opinion, one of the main confirmations of her identity, is her own marriage certificate from 1982. She signed the marriage certificate ten years after she embarked on her false Indigenous claims. When she signed the marriage certificate, she also had to acknowledge her birth record and nationality. So clearly she knew who she was, and where she came from. She was not mentally ill or suffering from a psychotic break, or delusional disorder.
The surname Santamaria has its origins in the Latin Arch in Europe. It was not until she was in her twenties that Buffy Sainte-Marie began to claim she was of Indigenous heritage. She went on Sesame Street to make the claims to wide-eyed naive young children. She would dress up in feathered head-bands, and various Indigenous costumes, and soon became a voice for the Indigenous people. In reality, she became an iconic fraud.
Her false claims created a platform for the launching of her career and wealth. Her family was hurt and baffled by her claims, because essentially she was rejecting her own heritage, roots, and upbringing, in favour of a fabricated one. Initially she claimed to be Algonquin, then Mi’kmaq, and finally landed on the Saskatchewan Cree origin, claiming the adoption records had been lost or destroyed.
When her family tried to set the record straight, she hired high powered lawyers to send them threatening letters. They fear retaliation to this day because she does have money, fame, power and influence compared to them. Understandably, they do not want to lose their homes, or be hounded and threatened by high priced aggressive lawyers.
In addition to causing a great deal of strife in her own family, it makes a mockery of the Indigenous heritage as well. She exploited the image, and made the claims for her own personal gain, when she had no real clue about the hardships they faced, or the culture they were born into. In fact, she had no clue what it is to be a Canadian.
On top of appropriating the voice of the Indigenous people, this type of deception undermines the importance of family of origin, of roots, genetics, heritage, culture, developmental psychology, and the systems we are expected to respect and uphold.
People like Buffy Sainte-Marie and Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, who was a Canadian judge, who also advanced her career on false premises of being Indigenous, received multiple awards, and honorary doctorates from different Universities. Both these women also got the prestigious status of being in the Order of Canada, all under false pretences. It only serves to strip such a designation of all credibility. The Order of Canada has become so disordered, it is considered to be a joke.
In the case of Mary-Ellen Turpel Lafond, one by one, her many honorary doctorates were revoked from multiple Universities. In spite of it all, both the judge and the iconic singer, continue to claim Indigenous heritage. In my opinion, Universities should drop the practice of handing out fake honorary doctorates period. They clearly have no meaning, because they are not earned.
Let ALL people, regardless of nationality or heritage, earn their degrees. There is no merit in obtaining such watered down hand-outs as honorary doctorates. They are meaningless, and take away from those who put the time, money, and effort into getting advanced degrees.
Furthermore, it makes the Universities culpable in promoting fraudulent claims of Indigenous heritage, because surely, they must have the resources, and wherewithal to vet those honorary doctorates. Yet clearly, they don’t even bother to do so.
Anyone who dons a feathered head band, or wears a button blanket for a photo-op can miraculously become an icon of success in the Indigenous playbook. How do those incessant lies contribute to truth and reconciliation? How does a judge and former politician for children and families, who makes false Indigenous adoption claims, serve the same communities she is defrauding?
She claimed to have direct experience with being in foster care, with drug and alcohol abuse, and domestic violence. None of it was true. The dishonest judge, who doctored her resume, and history with so many falsehoods, grew up in a privileged upper middle class family. All her so called childhood adversity, was contrived and fabricated.
If anything, this proves that making fraudulent adoption claims has long term and far-reaching effects. It undermines the foundational values of family, culture, the educational system, and the fact no one was doing any fact checking or screening for decades before this problem was exposed.
All false adoption claims, to include those who make claims of adopting someone – should be a red flag and investigated for fraud. The only reason anyone makes false adoption claims is to exploit or take advantage of a situation or person.
If such claims are allowed to go on for years, they soon become general beliefs, which are much more difficult to undo in order to set the record straight. Lies, if repeated often enough, become part of the fabric of a pseudo-existence.
If someone gets an advantage and promotion as a result of those lies, you can be sure there will be an equally destructive disadvantage that falls upon someone else, as a result of that unscrupulous gain.
False adoption claims should be immediately questioned, investigated, and treated as fraud, with legal and career consequences to deter such nonsense. In the case where someone has more money, power, influence, and the ability to oppress the truth, or threaten those who expose it, they should have to face more serious consequences.
No one should be able to bully a person into silencing the truth of who they are, and where they came from. Families are a unit, even if they become broken, and full of strife. If one member of the family, or part of the family, is stepped on or mistreated, it adversely affects the whole family, often for many generations.
No one has the right to “get rid of” a family member they reject or despise, no matter how much power and money they have, or how lowly they judge the reject to be. False adoption claims are a devious, unlawful, self-serving, one way street.
Foundational lies can only be one way for awhile, before the truth comes out, and the harm they caused comes to light. The only way the “my way, or the highway” concept flies – is when the wheels come off, and it flies straight back into the naked face of the fraudster. There is egg all over that face. The longer it went on, the more rotten the stench.
Only the birth parent can give a child up for adoption. There are legal guidelines, as well as long established systems and records to be filed. All countries have child protection services in place, to make sure there is no coercion, deception, exploitation, sale or trade of a child, or any other illegal reasons for adoptions.
The legal structures are also in place to prevent people from finding loopholes, and to deter those who are inclined to make fraudulent claims of an adoption, when there was no adoption. No one should ever be allowed to steal a child. Clearly the systems meant to protect children, are fallible regardless.
There have been cases of abductions, where the perpetrator claims to have adopted the child. In all cases of fraudulent adoptions, children are at the most risk. Exploitation is at the core. False adoptions disregard every single system that is in place to protect children and families.
It is charlatans, cults and criminals who make false adoption claims for their own personal gain. For anyone who calls themself a Christian, they would know that lying is not okay. They would know that oppression, bullying, and silencing the truth is not okay.
If they read the Bible, they would know, there are numerous books of the Bible that give detailed accounts of genealogy, naming who begat who – one by one. No one gets to steal the identity of another person, tribe, or lineage. Every single one of us is accounted for, and has a place in our own family lineage. Anyone who tries to add to, insert themselves, or excise another person from their origins – is actually trying to tear them out by the roots.
It violates numerous Commandments. The fifth commandment is to “honor your father and mother”. The eighth commandment is “thou shalt not steal”. The ninth commandment is “thou shalt not give false witness” The tenth commandment is “thou shalt not covet”.
Therefore Christians who support false adoption claims are cultish, and not the least bit genuine. And those who covet fame and exaltation using false adoption claims, and false heritage claims are fraudsters, who undermine all of the systems.
The Universities, the Order of Canada, the foster care system, the educational system, the judicial system, the family systems, the awards and grants systems, and all of our culture and heritage – is undermined and robbed when fraud is allowed to flourish.
How to prevent it? First of all, the investigations should be done up front, not fifty years later. Fraudulent adoption claims should be treated as a crime, especially if those claims caused direct harm, or were the result of force, and an abuse of power.
In my own life history, the course of my life, career, and family life, was derailed by a high school teacher who made repeated and consistent false claims to have “legally adopted me”. It was a blatant lie, but he repeated it over and over, and would not back down or take no for an answer.
The only thing that would have stopped him, was if he would have been investigated, and arrested. His conduct should have raised red flags with multiple authorities. I told him to leave me alone many times when I was a student in school. I told him I don’t care what he thinks or wants to believe. I said no, to all his efforts to make me his “daughter”. I thought it was sick and warped to the core. But he would not listen to me. In his eyes I was nothing, and he was everything.
When a person persists in the false claims, once there is irrefutable proof brought forward to contradict their claims, they are still not facing consequences. They should face criminal consequences after a full psychiatric evaluation is done.
The old adage, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is important when it comes to stealing identity. In the cases of Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, and Buffy Sainte-Marie, it did not take much to uncover the truth. The truth should have been uncovered long ago. It would have saved them the walk of shame at the end of their careers. Fantasy is not reality. If they want to create fiction, they have to acknowledge it as such.
Another key aspect of prevention, in my opinion, would be to stop the practice of “informal adoptions” in the Indigenous communities. During the time I lived on Haida Gwaii, many Caucasian people were offered informal adoptions as adults, into the Haida community. I was offered it as well, but declined.
The white people on Haida Gwaii who were part of the informal adoptions, did so as a reciprocal gesture of respect, not as an actual adoption. No one in their right mind would use that as a platform to make the claim they were of Haida ancestry.
However, I can see where the practice of informal adoptions in the Indigenous communities has led to unscrupulous claims. People need to realize adoption is a legal and binding process that is recorded with the Department of Vital Statistics the same as births, marriages, divorces, and deaths are recorded for all time.
Formal adoptions are not to be taken lightly. You can get a divorce much easier than you can get out of a legal adoption. It ties you to each others assets, and all legal decisions for the rest of your life.
I recall watching a show where an elderly widow tried to help a street girl who was a prostitute or stripper. She gave her a place to live, and then got talked into adopting her, which she did. Before long, she realized the woman was lying to her, and stealing from her. She tried to terminate the adoption, and became embroiled in a legal battle. After she died, the woman sued for a percentage of her estate, even though they had only known each other a couple of years.
The teacher who tried so hard to adopt me when I was never up for adoption, was simply told that he had to wait until I was eighteen, and that I had to consent to an adoption. He was told that any attempts to force an adoption would not go “unchallenged”. Now my question is, and always has been – why was this man not challenged?
When I turned eighteen, he had all the paperwork done, and then backed me into a corner, ordering me with all his teacher, religious, and tough guy authority – to sign those papers, RIGHT NOW!
I was very intimidated, and confused at the time, but I knew he was demanding that I sign a legal document, and he could not force my signature. I was not consenting. So I meekly, but adamantly refused to sign the papers.
Even after that happened, he falsely claimed the legal adoption had taken place. For many years I believed he had forged my signature, and submitted the papers.
He colluded with others, so I was constantly ganged up on. He claimed “intervention was required” when truthfully, I had accelerated through school, and consistently passed with honors. He was so aggressive and convincing with the lying, for most of my life I thought I was the “bad girl”. I did not realize how much he had brainwashed me until much later.
It took quite awhile before it dawned on me – so what if I actually WAS a terrible, degenerate bad girl? He still had no right to do what he did. It was not up to him to judge me, and our mother, as being “non-redeemable” lost souls. He seemed to think he was some kind of deity.
He forced me into a nursing program, when I had no inclination to be a nurse. I wanted to go to University and get a baseline degree, so I could become an academic.
Since I was very young at the time, and due to his abuse of power, I had no choice. So I took nursing, because I knew a post-secondary education was critical, in order to escape a pattern of familial violence. If not for him, I would have been able to accept an English scholarship at the University of Calgary. When the professor of the English program realized I was under the thumb of a high school teacher, he was outraged.
I wrote the RN exams when I was nineteen years old. During the time I was enrolled in the nursing program, the teacher was nowhere near me. I did excel and get high marks, as I had done throughout school, but my marks had nothing to do with the teacher. However, from then on, he took credit for what I was. It gave him an even greater inclination to define, take ownership, and inflict a constant debt bondage, and lifelong involuntary gratitude.
It was not up to him, to create a lying adoption con, to cover his obsession with a teenage girl. To cover his stalking, and the fact he forced me into his car on numerous occasions, and forcibly confined me for hours on end.
To an extent, the teacher adoption plot was an extension of family violence in my own family. It was also a scheme to prevent me from choosing my own career path, in order to “keep me in line”. It was a strategy, and a trap designed to monitor and control me for life. I was supposed to be under the rule of the authoritarian schoolmaster forever.
In later years the teacher pretended to be a mellow absent minded professor, and nice Christian guy. He never stopped his compulsive lying. All he did was trade his macho, overt bullying to more covert manipulations and control.
One thing I really want to make clear. The teacher was a teacher. That’s it, that’s all. He was NOT a part of my family, and I was NOT a part of his family. No amount of punishment, lying, gaslighting or coercion is going to change that fact. The adoption con was a ruse to cover for his lawless conduct.
No young girl should ever have to be forced to quit school, change schools, or run away – just to get free of a teacher who is relentlessly harassing them. No teacher should ever get away with such conduct. If it takes fifty years to come to light, they should still be held accountable.
When under the dark cloud of someone who is stalking your soul, and abusing power to such an extent, it takes a very long time to garner the courage to go to the authorities. The backlash and punishment for reporting it to the police, was always foremost in my mind.
The adoption was a lying excuse to take control of me. He had to make up some kind of excuse for acting the way he did, when I was never under his jurisdiction. I hardly knew the guy. He came to our school as a brand new teacher when I was in junior high school. He was in his twenties when he first started making the adoption claims, citing God as his authority. Yup – God told him to adopt me.
I was aghast when he said God told him to adopt me. First, I sarcastically asked him if God talks to him out of the sky, or the walls or what? Then when I could not deter him, I said, “Well since it is my life, why wouldn’t God tell me too?”
But how could I know at the time, there was no reasoning with this man? He was still lying about it thirty, and forty years later. One would think he is completely delusional and psychotic, but I know for a fact that he knows it is all a pack of lies.
It was all about power, domination and control. He has his own family, and he knows very well who they are. So it was a clearly a brazen con, and he should have faced con-sequences.
In fact his own son got advanced degrees, and ended up teaching in a junior girl’s college in New York. The young girls who attended the college would have been between seventeen and nineteen years old on average. A few years after he started teaching there, he sent me an email telling me he was “in love” with one of his students.
At this time, he was divorced and in his mid-forties. He then went on to say he did not know “if she was going to love me back”. Those were his words. He wrote in the email that he had been “following her home on the subway, and knew where she lived”. Clearly, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Once again, intergenerational patterns arise from dysfunctional dynamics. I can only imagine how creeped out, and scared the poor girl must have been, because it sounded like he followed her several times.
One day the teacher (and his son) will face consequences for their actions. No one gets to abuse power, or speak for God in a lying manner, without facing God’s judgement. The teacher, who was touted as the “wonderful Christian” should have taken the time to actually read the Bible.
If I was really that bad, he would not have been so desperate to take ownership of me, before I could get away. People usually do not want to own bad things, they want to own objects they think are worth something to them. To put it simply, I was targeted, and objectified by a predatory teacher. He was involved in a devious scheme, with scapegoating, and collusion, as part of the plot.
Every single time I tried to refute the adoption claim, I got threatened with expulsion from my own family, and accused of being mentally ill, and emotionally disturbed. The teacher was the king of gaslighting. He acted as though he had the power to have me declared insane. Since he was in collusion with a member of my own family, this accusation was a grave concern, even though gaslighting is illegal.
Countless people over the years have been thrown into psych units, or drugged into oblivion, just based on false accusations. In addition, when someone makes those accusations, in order not to be in denial, any sensible person is forced to do some soul searching. When those with power are victimizing you, it is easy to take on those false accusations as part of the victim role.
I now know much more about gaslighting, as part of the repertoire of deviant schemes. I also know that all of us are presumed sane, until it is proven otherwise. No one can be forced into a psychiatric evaluation without legitimate reasons, and a court order. Gaslighting is a form of psychological torture. It is very painful, dehumanizing, and makes us unable to trust our own perception of reality.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, section 269.1 torture is defined as:
torture means any act or omission by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person
(a) for a purpose including
(i) obtaining from the person or from a third person information or a statement,
(ii) punishing the person for an act that the person or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, and
(iii) intimidating or coercing the person or a third person, or
(b) for any reason based on discrimination of any kind,
Children and students in a public school do not routinely get forced into a pseudo-adoption by a tough guy bullying teacher, as a form punishment. If a kid truly is bad, they get suspended, or referred for an assessment. They don’t get miraculously adopted by a twenty-eight year old teacher who has the hots for them. I well remember how practically every kid in the school was afraid of him. I wonder if he is proud of himself for such a legacy?
Part of his desire to dominate, take control of, and punish me, was because I was able to excel academically. He was so chauvinistic, and such a cultish religious zealot – no sassy young female was going to deny him what he wanted, even if it meant he was defying all the laws of reality, ethics, and teacher conduct. He wanted to take all the credit for my academic ability, when he had absolutely nothing to do with it. He viewed me as a lucrative fund-raising mascot for his cult religion.
I was planning to go to University once I graduated, and had a scholarship offer. I did not ask for, or want his interference in my life. As a teacher, I did not like him at all. He stared to the point of making your blood run cold, and was full of macho arrogance.
I was pretty confident I could complete two years of University by the time I turned eighteen. So how was it that I was so bad, I needed “adoption” intervention? Since when is a pseudo-adoption an intervention? For any reason? It was so bogus, it still defies logic, and it still plagues me.
Without a doubt, it was the most abusive, and toxic relationship of my entire lifetime. To this day, I am not free of all it entails. Therefore, when I speak or write about the harm done by false adoption claims, I do know what I am talking about.
Now there are frequent newspaper reports in MSM about teacher misconduct. But years ago when I was a student in a small farming community in central Alberta, teachers could pretty much do what they wanted.
Most of them were professional and decent, but a couple of them were not. The teacher who targeted me, forcibly confined me in his house late at night for hours on end. During those bleak hours of repeated brainwashing, he told me the following things over and over. Most of these same mantras were repeated again, and again in the following years.
He said God told him to adopt me. He told me over and over that I was his daughter, as if it was a statement of fact. He told me he loved me, and the love was unconditional. He said I would never get away, because he would hunt me down. He told me I had the exact same IQ as his wife. He repeatedly told me my mother was wicked, evil and non-redeemable. That was his main theme, and also the one that made me feel most uncomfortable. After all, our mother is our mother, and most of us love our mother.
He also told me it was very hurtful for him, and his wife if I even thought of that wicked woman as being my mother. For crying out loud – she was my mother! Why should anyone be shamed, and punished, for thinking their mother is their mother? Why on earth was I subjected to his insanity?
He repeatedly told me how special I was, and that I was his precious gift from God. How was I supposed to reconcile the dichotomy between being a bad girl, and terrible degenerate – in sharp contrast with being a shiny object, and special gift from God?
He told me hundreds of times that he was proud of me. He was so puffed up and proud of himself. It was another one of his lies that made me cringe, and also made me angry.
He was proud of himself. I had nothing to do with his excessive false pride. He told me he liked to believe he had me since I was a little girl, around six years old. Is that weird or what? He “liked” to believe a lot of things.
He had it firmly established with all the lies, he was my saviour, not God but him, the almighty teacher. The only thing that could possibly make me redeemable, and acceptable in the eyes of God, and all those around me, was to be the “daughter” of the cultish power abusing teacher.
Every single time I refused his claim of adoption, I was shamed and denigrated for being cruel, hurtful, and in defiance of authority. When I asked him how it was possible for him to have given birth to me when he was eleven years old, he reverted back to his God theory.
He made it very clear I was going to be attached to him for the rest of my life. There was no escaping him. He then had the gall in later years, to tell people I had given him grey hairs when I was a teenager. He really played the fictional role of being the daddy-god. He was more like the godfather gang banger, in the midst of my life and family.
After I graduated, I could not escape him as he was invited to every family function. I simply tried to be polite. If I told the truth about him, I was threatened with expulsion from my own family. He sent me hundreds of syrupy and glittery “daughter cards” plastered with out of context Bible verses. He repeatedly came to my house, and whenever he got the chance, he repeated many of the same things he said when I was a student.
My husband was killed in an accident when I was just thirty-five years old. This brought the teacher to my door step, pushing his way into my life more than ever, and it nearly destroyed me. When my husband was alive, we kept a polite arm’s length distance. My husband never left me alone in a room with him. He knew I was not comfortable with him, and he told me he did not like the way he looks (stares) at me. So during those years, before his death I had protection. Because of that, the teacher did not visit that often, and when he did, he did not have direct access to me.
I met my husband playing College basketball. He was the tallest guy on the team, and was quite cocky as he had always been a super star athlete, and MVP. When I met him, I told him about the teacher supposedly being a “wonderful Christian” yet he had chased me and forced me into his car numerous times. He would yell at me, “You will get in that car, or I will STUFF you in that car”.
Paul just looked at me for a long moment, and then said, “Not anymore, he ain’t”. So for a time, I finally had a solution to my problem, and I was so grateful for the protection. I remember thinking how Paul was able to stuff a basketball in the net, and that’s what he would do to the teacher if he ever tried to use force, or put the grab on me again.
So as it is when we are young, we think we have found a solution to solve the problem forever. If it had not been for Paul’s untimely death, I still believe we would have eventually shut the teacher out completely. The only reason we did not tell him to get lost, and slam the door in his face, was because he had infiltrated my family, and there was no real way to get rid of him. So to keep the peace in the family, we remained polite and respectful, which was a big mistake in hindsight.
All push in predators seek a way to get in the door. Once the door is open a crack, they brazenly push their way in. We should have slammed and dead-bolted that door as soon as we got married. I always felt absolutely sickened to the core, and very uncomfortable around the teacher, and that never changed once throughout the entire ordeal with him. It nearly killed me.
One of the things that really bothered me in later years, was why should any woman have to have a body guard to be protected from a teacher? Not just during school, but for a lifetime.
Why should any woman get saddled with an unwanted, putrid and disgusting relationship, when every fibre of her being rejects it? It was not just physical threats he subjected me to, but worse yet, there was a constant psychological barrage, filled with shaming, and forced acceptance of his lies, along with extreme in-depth spiritual abuse. It was devastating on many levels. In my own family, he made himself far more important than I am. He got their support, not me. It compounded the pain of it all, to the point of anguish.
The cult the teacher belongs to, is known throughout the world, for ripping families apart. The Australian PM at one point, denounced them publicly, and admitted they are well known for destroying families. Books have been written about them, and multiple people who have escaped the cult, have come forward with their stories of abuse, assaults, brainwashing, control, psychological torture, and familial rejection.
The cruelty and deception is beyond belief. Researching the backdrop of the cult helped me to understand the origins, the history, the practice of thought reform, and the relentless attack on the family unit. They see vulnerability as opportunity. Therefore, I now know that the evil inclinations behind this plot were intentional, and by design. I also know that his conduct is not my fault. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A predator was allowed to roam freely in the community, and the small public school I attended.
There are multiple witnesses, and many who still believe the lies. This is not a “he said, she said case”. It went on for many years, and is known to hundreds of people. Plus most of the kids in my graduating class witnessed him follow, and chase me down outside of school hours. I literally tried to run away from him several times.
In hindsight, I am eternally grateful that I had God’s protection, and the fortitude to refuse to sign adoption papers, because it is next to impossible to get out of a legal adoption. The very notion of being legally adopted by that cult teacher, creeps me out beyond description.
False adoption claims are life altering, and difficult to get free of because lies become entrenched, and people will firmly adhere to falsehoods, in spite of evidence to the contrary.
Many commenters in MSM staunchly believe that Buffy Sainte-Marie is of Canadian Cree ancestry, even though irrefutable proof to the contrary has been brought forward, and laid on the table.
We wonder how numerous people can develop ingrained and fixed delusions. If lies are told boldly, and frequently, especially by someone who has power, respect etc. they become part of a false belief system. Delusional simply means adhering to false beliefs, in spite of irrefutable evidence to the contrary.
Any person who will lie about something as serious as adoption, whether they are making false claims about being adopted, or lying about having adopted someone – will lie about absolutely anything.
They are proving themselves beyond a shadow of a doubt, to be liars and con artists. They find it hurtful when they are exposed. Aw gee, isn’t that just so sad and terrible? They are used to tapping into the empathy of others, which is a big part of their scam.
People who become hurt, angry, defensive, or threatening when truth is exposed, especially when it comes to identity – are actually making truth their enemy. In fact, we are consistently warned to avoid deception, and to love, seek and embrace the truth. Yet they are foolishly doing just the opposite.
We should all pay attention, and reject falsehoods, because God warns us many times throughout the Bible. Strong delusion is sent to those who prefer lies over truth, and once that happens, the outcome is not good.
Thessalonians 2 – Verse 11-12 KJV says the following:
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Like so many topics, this question is open to much interpretation. It appears to me Christians do not face judgement, if they are true believers.
We have to take responsibility for seeking the truth, and learning what the Bible actually says, as opposed to just going to church once a week, and listening to a sermon.
Some religions have obvious and distinctive off-base, and cult like belief systems, enough to know they are not teaching the truth, or what is actually in the Bible. In many cases they deceive themselves to believe certain things, based on false and out of context interpretations of the Bible.
None of us knows the in-depth spiritual beliefs of another person, other than our own. We are wise to avoid cults and false doctrine, but we can’t really do much about the fact they exist. In addition, there are many altered versions of the Bible, which causes people to be misled.
The Darby/Scofield Bible with the rapture doctrine, has caused many Christians to be deceived. The Catholic doctrines, and all the spin-offs from those teachings, also carry doctrinal beliefs that are not found in the original Bible.
There are churches teaching prosperity gospel, name it and claim it, and bizarre faith based healings, many of which have been proven to be fake healings, not faith healings. Some are teaching cosmic new age ideologies surrounding oneness with the Universe, and communication with angels, or the dead. It is truly crazy how many have lapsed into false teachings.
There are mega churches more like circuses, or rock concerts, as opposed to being actual churches. There are also churches doing some very questionable and abusive things to people. There are priests who molest children. There are churches who are deceiving people into giving them money, so the leaders are rich, and jet setting around the world living extravagant lifestyles.
Like the romance scammers, they all have devoted followers, willing to give, and keep on giving just to keep the fantasy alive.
Therefore it is possible there are many people who think they are Christians, who might not be. Of course I have no idea for certain, what the fate of the people who fall for it might be, but I have read many warnings in the Bible, telling people not to be deceived. There are also many verses where Christ tells people to depart from Him, because He never knew them.
I tend to think there will be many people who have been deceived, or who set out to deceive others, who will be facing judgement, because they refused to seek and believe the truth.
If we rely on certain denominations or preachers to interpret the Bible for us, we can easily be deceived. There are many verses we have difficulty understanding, but it does not mean we should totally surrender our beliefs to someone else’s interpretation.
We need to be willing to study the Bible ourselves. When we do listen to what various preachers are saying, we need to look it up, and review it for ourselves. We also need to take the full context, not just snippets, to start to get a better idea of what it means overall.
There are many consistent themes throughout the Bible. The consistency is part of what helps us understand what is meant. Certain things are explained often, in different ways, and in different locations.
Truth in our lives is not only for the Bible, but really it is for everything in our lives. The more we deceive, the more we lie, or manipulate, the easier and more natural it becomes. If people continue to accept or follow any kind of deception, eventually they will be sent strong delusion. In fact, the Bible tells us God will send strong delusion to those who refuse to seek or love the truth. It is quite a sobering concept.
As far as judgment goes, we do not deserve to be saved. We all fall short, and if we are truly repentant, it is a profoundly humbling experience. There are so many things that come to mind to be deeply ashamed of and sorry for.
In my own life, I could not even begin to count them all. If not for the grace of God, there is no way I would make it past the lake of fire. I do know that much for certain, and in many ways, what Christ has done for us, is so remarkable, it is almost beyond comprehension.
Faith comes by hearing. We need faith to have hope. We are especially fortunate nowadays to have the audio Bible easily available to us online. I listen to the Alexander Scourby voice only version of the KJV. He has an excellent presentation with not too much emphasis, and changes in pitch patterns, but also enough liveliness to make it interesting. I can honestly say I do not like listening to anyone rant and rave, like some preachers do. In my opinion, some of them sound like lunatics.
Alexander Scourby was the first person to do an audio recording of the King James Version of the Bible. He began the project using long play records in 1949. It took four years to complete so it was made available in 1953. It was done originally for the American Foundation for the Blind.
I had no idea he had done the Bible reading so long ago. I have listened to his reading from start to finish, and hope to listen to it many more times. You can lay your head on the pillow, and just listen to, and absorb the Bible.
After listening to many preachers, some who are quite good, and others who are clearly off-base, it is comforting to just listen to the Bible, without any middle men to do the interpreting. Getting back to whether or not the true believer will be judged, based on what I understand, the answer is no.
There are many preachers who describe the judgement seat of Christ, and give an explanation of how we must all give an account of our lives. I do believe we must all repent. I also believe we cannot hide our motives in any way. Christ will be able to see right through our intentions, deceptions, and our entire history.
But if we have been genuinely repentant, and are sincere believers, and have diligently looked for the truth, I believe we will not face any condemnation. We may have to give an account of things we have done to serve God as Christians, but I do not think we will be judged or condemned for our wrongdoing. What an incredible gift it is to be forgiven.
It is the reason we are told to forgive others, because we ourselves have been forgiven. We also cannot judge others, in the sense of whether or not they will face punishment, or how they will be judged, because it is not our role, and we simply do not know what is going to happen to anyone else. For all people, they have until they die to come to the knowledge of the truth.
It’s not to say we ignore, or fail to recognize evil. We have to support upholding the laws, especially when it comes to protecting children and vulnerable people. Not judging does not mean we think it is okay to lie, poison, murder, steal, manipulate, or become addicted to drugs and alcohol. We know those are among the many things to avoid, to repent of, and to turn away from ourselves.
In some cases, we are supposed to point out the error of thought processes, or misdeeds, because it might help people to recognize the mistakes, deception, betrayal, or intentional cruelty. I think we all have a right to share our beliefs and testimony.
We do seem to be going through a time in history where morals have gone out the window. In fact, many of the things that were once reprehensible or illegal, are now being promoted as being good. It is a very confusing time for young people, growing up in such a misguided world.
Recently there was an uproar because mountain climbers walked over, or past a person who was dying, in order to get to the summit. It seems unbelievable they would take such risks in the first place. How important can it be to get to the top of a mountain?
Yet if I am honest with myself, I can’t even say what I would have done, and could have easily been one of the people who walked past him. There are many people who go on hikes without being prepared, or without having the fitness level to do the hikes.
I have read many cases where other hikers have walked past, or left struggling hikers behind, because they were ill-prepared, and the other hikers did not believe they should have to take responsibility for the bad decisions made by people they do not even know. They just happened to cross paths on a wilderness hike.
There was one case where a climber was roped to his buddy, and his buddy slipped, and fell into a crevasse. He was dangling in mid air. His team mate did try to pull him back up, but eventually he gave up, as it became too dangerous. At a loss for what to do, he reluctantly took out his pocket knife, and cut the rope. It was a very controversial thing to do. Apparently it is a big no no in the world of climbing.
Lo and behold, several hours later when the rope cutting climber was sitting back at the camp, he heard a weak voice calling out from thirty or forty feet away. At first he thought his mind was playing tricks on him, due to a guilty conscience.
Somehow his buddy had dropped to the bottom of the crevasse, was injured, yet managed to climb out of the crevasse. Although he was severely injured, he managed to crawl on his stomach, all the way back to the camp.
Just as miraculously as it was for him to survive the ordeal, he also immediately forgave his buddy, and said he might have done the same thing. He did not blame him, or hold it against him at all, even though many others did. It’s quite a remarkable story.
I really don’t know if other people should be forced to risk their lives for the poor decisions made by other hikers. In many ways, they too, are in a life or death situation. I think they should have rules about hiring, to make sure the employers and money collectors for those expeditions do not place porters and sherpas in high risk situations. If they do not have the fitness level, oxygen bottles, or high altitude training, they should not be able to go.
There are cases where people have risked, and lost their lives to save an animal, usually a dog. If a dog falls into a river, many people believe it is within reason to jump in to try and save it. In some cases, both the owner and the dog drowned.
In my opinion, it is not wise to jump in a river unless you have a sure chance of saving both yourself and the person, or the pet. I do not think people should risk their life for a dog. But I do think it is totally understandable, and commendable, if someone risks their life to save a child. Bravery is noble, but it has to be coupled with common sense, so more lives are not lost in the process.
As far as mountain climbing, it sounds like it has become an individualistic dog-eat-dog type quest. I think they should make people go in teams, with buddy systems in place. If people are in groups or teams, the people know each other, and have practiced together. They can check gear, evaluate fitness levels, do emergency drills, call for help if needed, and if necessary, disqualify someone who is unable to meet the fitness levels etc.
In every way, we are called upon as Christians to be good samaritans too. Does it mean we are to give Narcan, or provide aid to all the people who are passed out on the streets due to the rampant drug use? How much risk should we be expected to take?
If we give money to an addict, it just enables the person to buy more drugs. It is far better to give food and clothing. Yet it is difficult enough just to navigate the street situation, and keep a low profile so you do not become a target, or cause someone who might be paranoid, or in a rage, to do something violent.
If you were to lean over to try and check the pulse of an an addict who is passed out on the street, they might wake up swinging, or have a weapon. The reason is because when addicts pass out on the street, they are immediately vulnerable. Within minutes they are robbed. Another addict will lean over them, and rifle through their pockets for drugs and money. Therefore it is not always safe to get close to, and lean over someone who is passed out on she street.
It is not like being out on a farm, and seeing your neighbour pinned under a tractor wheel. Of course you would immediately call for help, render aid, and if necessary work hard to help get the person free. But when out on the street in an urban area, we don’t know what to do anymore.
But no matter what we do, we are fallible, and prone to making mistakes. It is probably best to pray for people, and pray about what to do, because we really have no clue, if we are left to our own devices.
Ironically, I see people all the time who are huddled in the alcoves of local churches, and church parking lots. Several of them are passed out cold. The drug users congregate there. Then on Sunday morning when the service starts, all the church people arrive in nice cars, all dressed up for the service. It is a juxtaposition that is difficult to reconcile.
One thing for certain, our belief does not warrant any concept of superiority over others at all.
As believers, we can give thanks every single day, whether we go to church or not. It is only by the mercy, love, and grace of God, we will not face condemnation. No matter what situation another person is in, there is still hope for them.
John 5:24 – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
This case has certainly gripped the profession of nursing, casting a dark cloud of shock, mistrust, and disgust – as opposed to the caring and trusted profession it was thought to be. At least in Britain it has caused a profound public reaction. It appears there will be a public enquiry, and changes to the system as a result.
The media covering the trial, and all the grisly details, has been widespread enough to make every other country re-examine the role of a nurse, and bring pause to the concept of nurses being in positions of ultimate trust.
There is much speculation, and a real possibility it will result in putting CTV cameras on the minute by minute conduct of every single nurse. It is almost beyond belief this could be on the horizon for all health care workers.
If the profession is so untrustworthy it requires constant monitoring, it most certainly can no longer be called a self regulated profession, as they used to claim it was. Perhaps those days are over.
Yet being treated with suspicion is no way to have to work. Even if they did rely on cameras, how could they determine if there was air or saline in a syringe? They would have to develop preloaded syringes for all medications, including normal saline, which is used to flush the IV’s and saline locks.
In addition to the preloaded syringes, they would need to have a sealed colour coded tape over the cap, to break open just prior to accessing the IV, so if there were any untoward reactions, the CTV footage could be looked at, to determine what was in the syringe, and if it had been tampered with.
They would also probably need to hire technicians on every ward to access, and trouble shoot monitors, to include the IV pumps, ventilators, incubators, and all other equipment. They would have to make it clear to all staff to avoid using their body to shield what they are doing. They would have to somehow learn to make all tasks visible to the camera.
The job is stressful enough. This would just add another layer of difficulty, for those working in a task oriented fast paced environment, where people can and do make innocent mistakes.
Instead of insulin being in bottles, they would have to put insulin into preloaded syringes as well. This would be quite difficult, as there are often sliding scale doses, where different short acting and long acting insulin combinations are used, depending on the patient’s blood sugar. The dosages vary a fair bit, and are usually checked against the doctor’s orders by two nurses. One nurse draws up the insulin, and the other watches carefully, and then both nurses sign the medication record.
They would have to create a method to make sure IV bags could not be tampered with. Traditionally most of them simply have access through a rubber stopper on the bag. You wipe it with a swab, and put whatever medication is required into the bag. Or more often, the medication is added to a mini bag which is piggy backed and allowed to run through, instead of putting the medication into the main bag. After it is finished, the main IV resumes. So all mini bags would also have to be tamper proof.
For the most part, if a nurse chose to add something surreptitiously to an IV bag, she could. But in the millions of nurses over the years, and millions of IV bags, how many times would someone do such a thing? I suppose there have been a few cases of murderous health care workers. Each one has a unique abnormal psychology and history.
But poisoning newborns, and tampering with IV lines in a NICU is an isolated occurrence, and perhaps Lucy Letby is the only one who has ever been convicted of doing such a thing. You would no more consider doing such a thing, than you would put antifreeze in someone’s coffee at work. It’s just not even conceivable for most normal people.
Perhaps more than anything, this case ends up shedding light on hospital cover ups, and the corporate image as a priority over and above the patient safety, in particular the protection of the most vulnerable patients. The attempted cover up is almost as bad as the murders, and in some ways, it is even more deranged.
Her image was that of the quintessential nurse. She had no history of being a mean girl, of torturing animals, or even being rebellious. It would seem she was the perfect adorable child, who had morphed into a sweet caring nurse. She was the proverbial poster child for the role.
However behind the facade, she was cunning, devious, and craved attention. She did not really care about the infants she was assigned to. In fact she intentionally harmed them in order to draw attention to herself, and mostly in order to have power, dominance and control. She also wanted to attract a doctor who she had a crush on.
She used her role to get what she wanted, perhaps even more so, to get what was otherwise out of her reach. If she was used to getting what she wanted no matter what, she then decided to up the ante.
But surely things go much deeper than what meets the eye. I am not a psychologist, only speculating. And some of the speculation is based on knowing what it is like to be trapped in a domineering facade, with no plausible escape route.
By the grace of God I did finally escape it, and although I did work as an RN for many years, the profession was not my choice of a career. I was never given credit for having achieved the designation anyway. I escaped it but not unscathed. In fact I am still paying the price for escaping it, on a daily basis. The punishment is ongoing. Setting a boundary should not become a lifelong battle.
When people in a professional role abuse power, it is absolutely appalling. I was forced into the role of being a “nice obedient nurse.” Few professions have more than 90% females with blanket expectations of being sweet, obedient, caring, subservient, and willing to follow orders. The profession was chosen for me so that I would not be able to excel academically. It was a toxic male dominant way of limiting my potential.
I did excel in the nursing courses, but there was a ceiling, a limit, and a job description to adhere to. For me, it was demeaning. It was always associated with the use of force, a pack of lies, and all credit went to the teacher.
We can be somewhat assured that many nurses do not fit the sweet, obedient, nice nurse persona. Nursing services are a commodity, and like any other service, should not have so many syrupy expectations attached to it. Yes nurses should be ethical and caring. However, teachers and anyone else in a professional role should also be professional, ethical and caring.
When people conspire to lock themselves into a deceptive plot, they are not inclined to let go of it. I cannot take responsibility for someone else’s conduct and lies. All I can do is stick to the truth, which is provable and incontrovertible.
The teachers claims about me are false. He should have been held accountable at the onset. It is steeped in deception, betrayal, and blatant brazen lies. His conduct and collusion, is not my fault, and nor is it my fault for telling the truth about my own life.
I graduated early, because I had accelerated through school. My parents were both alive, but were unable to take care of us. As a result, I was targeted by a religious fundamentalist lying high school teacher, who forced me into nursing.
He then took credit for the fact I was a nurse, was very proud of it, and also made outrageous claims about having adopted me, when I was never up for adoption. In fact I was never under his jurisdiction at any point in my life.
He was a total stranger to me, and at the time I was very afraid of him. He was authoritative and domineering to the extreme. He was a bully. Most of the kids in the school were afraid of him.
He decided to paint me as the proverbial bad girl, even though I passed with honours on a regular basis. He was bound and determined to be the pseudo-rescuer. I was simply trying to get through school. There was no princess syndrome whatsoever, but suddenly there was an irreconcilable facade governing my life.
I wanted to go to University with a focus on studying literature and history. I had an interest in design, and artistic endeavours. I also had an offer of a scholarship into an English program. But all of it was shattered by a teacher who abused power, and took command over the direction of my life. I knew the state had to pay for my schooling until I turned eighteen, so I did have a plan in place at a very early age as to how I would get a post secondary education.
When I turned eighteen, I was already two years into a nursing program. The teacher did aggressively try to force me to sign adoption papers, but I flatly refused. I still could not get rid of the guy, because he had infiltrated my family. When I refuted his lies, I was bullied, gaslit, condemned and forced into submission. It went on for years.
The teacher robbed me of who I am for a period of time. He tried to snuff out my family history. He stole my identity, my dreams, aspirations and choices in life. He took away my right to freedom of association, because I had no choice but to associate with him, when I could not even stand him.
He lied about me to everyone. In fact, there was never a single time I was around that man when he did not constantly lie through his teeth. It was a never ending batch of lies. The ultimate con. If I said anything, there was a threat of punishment, blame, and rejection.
He took credit for my academic abilities, when I had been identified as being academically gifted in the first grade. I did not even know him as a teacher until I was a teenager. When I was in first grade, he was seventeen or eighteen years old, and living in another community. He was not even on my radar in any way, shape of form. He came to teach in the community I grew up in when I was already in high school.
He attacked and damaged all of my family relationships. He used me as a fund raising mascot for his cult religion. Because it was obvious I could manage to get a post secondary education, he used it as an opportunity to not only rob me of my academic potential and choices, but also to take credit for what I did accomplish. I was like something he found at a garage sale.
He set out to limit, take credit for, obtain financial gain, shame, accuse, and get a lifelong benefits and multiple perks for doing so. There was no way he was going to let go of the goose that laid his golden egg.
All this because he was a narcissistic predator in a public school, and was allowed to get away with it. He was a man in his twenties who was totally obsessed with a teenage student, yet no one protected me from his supreme aggression, dominance and deception.
This particular teacher, was a recent graduate when he came to teach at our school. He was immature and inexperienced. Yet he had a profound god complex. He seemed to think he could operate outside all boundaries, simply because he was in the role of a teacher. In addition, he was a tough guy. He used all kinds of intimidation tactics to include yelling, making threats, and prolonged staring. He was a punisher, accuser, and guilt tripper. He was an emotional sadist.
Above all, he seemed to think his religious beliefs made him the all encompassing authority. He himself was a deity to be treated with the utmost respect and obedience. He crafted the role, and never let go of it.
Why should anyone in a public school care what his extremist religious views are? Yet he acted like he was wearing the crown of righteousness, which made him the king, with authority over his subjects, and if he chose a specific target, so be it. This was his domain, and no one could challenge him, least of all me.
Although my story is very different, in some ways the polar opposite from Lucy Letby, and the way I reacted was very different, I can kind of see how she was trapped. Only she was trapped in a gilded cage, and I was trapped in another kind of cage.
I had no desire to harm patients, or anyone else for that matter. But there are elements of her pathology that I can kind of understand. I was not doted on by any means, and was not an only child. But I do understand what it is to be trapped, and robbed of an identity. I can relate to how difficult it is to be forced to conform to a certain image, and the expectations of others.
If there is a domination over our independent choices and our free will, it is soul-destroying. Our soul consists of our mind, will and emotions. If we are dominated into submission, there is both anger and guilt. We are supposed to feel gratitude, yet we feel oppressed and angry instead. So there is guilt for not having involuntary gratitude. There is a debt bondage that can never be repaid, or forgotten about. The sad fact is that some people will use others in every conceivable way, to advance their own agenda.
The reason I believe she may have been robbed of her authentic self, is because she was too perfect. Could it be because she felt she had no choice but to be perfect? Was every breath she took aided by a golden fan waving over her, to help the air flow, because in reality, she was being suffocated?
Being the object of constant attention and adoration, could rob a child of key developmental milestones when it comes to autonomy and identity. It would also instil a belief in her that her life mattered, far more than anyone else’s life mattered.
I can understand how rebellious rage, and a sense of entitlement might rise out of a longstanding good girl subservience role, because it is a trap, and is a profoundly psychologically damaging place to be. You are in a prison of sorts, yet no one can see it, and no one is experiencing it but you.
If one is forced to live a lie, or a facade denying the true self, there is a very powerful condemnation, entrapment, cognitive dissonance, and dichotomy of the soul. It ends up being turned inward with no conceivable escape route.
I do understand the intrinsic agony of living in a false world, and trying to constantly please people, without being given the opportunity to be who you are, flaws and all.
From what does meet the eye, I am speculating Lucy Letby may have been dominated and overshadowed by her parents. Without a doubt, her parents would not have intended to harm her psychologically and emotionally. But they did have a role. There is nowhere else to look.
In hindsight, I feel much gratitude toward my own mother, because in spite of her many flaws, she did have genuine love toward me, and created an attachment that was never abandoned or completely severed. She gave us a lot of freedom when we were small, and simply warned us about dangers, like abandoned wells on the farm, and bears in the blueberry patch on the back quarter.
I am not suggesting being an only child is an issue, but rather being an only child who is excessively doted on, in conjunction with portraying an image of perfection, or being conditioned to be a people pleaser, instead of figuring out her own needs first – could cause big problems.
To become a giving person is a good thing. But it is not a good thing, if you have to give yourself away in the process. If so, you are a sacrificial lamb, a mascot, a prop, or a scapegoat. Even if you are put on a pedestal, it’s just a greater distance to fall.
They could not have known what kinds of reactions she might have, with regards to the lifelong childish dependency, doting, and constant attention she received from them as an only child. Following the childhood, she faced the struggles involved in becoming an independent and autonomous adult. It was at that juncture where she ran into serious problems.
The image of her room with teddy bears, fairy lights, and Disney movie type posters, does show that in many ways she was still very immature. She might have been locked into a fantasy world of escapism, but still managed to give the appearance of being normal, simply because she had learned to be a good actress along the way.
Most abnormal psychology develops in the formative years. Therefore her early childhood will be scrutinized. If she had come from a troubled background of poverty and addiction, there would be an immediate blaming of the parents.
In such cases, the judgement is swift and all encompassing. Things like “well what do you expect?” and “she didn’t stand a chance”. Truthfully though, we all stand a chance. Countless people overcome difficult childhoods without becoming serial killers.
But when a wayward person comes from an upstanding middle class home, looking into the nitty gritty nuances of dysfunctional family dynamics, does not have as many people who are even willing to study it. In fact sometimes the polar opposites between too little, and too much advantage, can be equally as debilitating to a child’s development.
If people are expected to evaluate what appears to be normal, yet might not be – they risk being jarred out of their own denial, and might be forced to examine their own lives. So they avoid the analysis altogether.
Dysfunction in families, like so many other things, has no respecter of persons. Denial and dysfunction can happen within any family, rich or poor, addicted, lazy or workaholic, with secrecy and deception, cheating, favouritism, and a false image projected to the outside world. It can be narcissistic, or negligent – there is no shortage of pitfalls.
The fact she committed the crimes in her early twenties, points to what is already known. The adolescent brain is not considered to be fully developed until the early to mid twenties. In her case, as an only child who was doted on, the transition would have been more tangled and difficult.
As all the reporters and experts are pointing out, she was always considered to be a “good girl”. She showed no signs of being anything but a sweet darling who was studious, quiet, obedient, and aspired to be a nurse.
The question is, was that her true self? Surely with domineering parents who she described as “suffocating at times” one would think she would have rebelled at some point. Also if she truly did have psychopathy, it would have shown as having an obvious conduct disorder in her childhood.
Usually a young person in such an environment will do things the parent does not want or expect them to do, by the time they are fourteen or fifteen years old. They might dye their hair purple, experiment with drugs, get tattoos, find a rebel boyfriend, or run away from home. They might sneak out at night, go to parties, or skip classes.
As much as they drive the parents crazy, those are simply examples of the child exercising some personal autonomy, and free will, even though they may not be making the best choices in doing so.
I am not suggesting disobedience to parents, serious rebellion, and very high risk behaviours are a good thing, but rather expected, if the child has been carefully crafted into an image of perfection.
Some kids are naturally very sensible, and don’t get into much trouble. It is more likely to become a problem if they are dominated into submission, or denied the right to take any risks, or make mistakes. They need a certain amount of freedom. Too much advantage can be a real disadvantage. Doting on and spoiling children rotten, does have a dark side.
It sounds like Lucy Letby did none of the above mentioned rebellious activities. She may have felt at some level, that she was a carefully constructed extension of her parent’s image. She may have been so ingrained with what was expected of her, she learned to put on the perfect act. Obedient, submissive, soft spoken, people pleasing, and sweet. She may have felt like a possession, or an object, yet she could not voice how she felt without feeling guilty.
Inwardly she may have felt like she was dying inside. Her true self was being suffocated and snuffed out. She could not grow up and break free. Her parents could not let go, and she could not extricate herself from the bonds of sweetness. Kind of like a fly gets stuck on one of those home made sticky fly traps.
As pure speculation, I am wondering if what Lucy Letby was doing at work was a way of acting out indirectly against parental control. Her projection of familial destruction onto her patients and their families, may have been a deep rooted psychological attack on her own family dynamic.
If Lucy Letby felt objectified as a child, and forced into a facade to suit parental ideals, she may have also projected the destruction of her own false self onto the babies, as a form of extreme aggressive regression. She was suffocated, therefore she would suffocate them. She knew her parents would be devastated if they lost her, so she took children away from their parents, and revelled in their grief.
With each attack, she was attacking the good girl image – the false self, the perfect family. She was attacking the powerless, the vulnerable, and those who had no say. She may have been acting out some of her own childhood psychology, and the rage within her directly onto them. How else does one explain the sadistic nature of those attacks?
She may have regretted her own birth, and in a warped way, thought she was saving them from a life of fabrication, and an existential nothingness.
As a child develops, they gradually learn to stand on their own two feet. The mishaps, mistakes, failures, rebellions, and battles they go through, are all part of developing a strong sense of self.
They are separate from their parents. They are who they are, and they must be allowed to be who they are. They have an identity, and if they cannot get comfortable with, and maintain their identity, it is going to cause them a great deal of harm.
The fact Lucy’s father went to workplace meetings with her, and defended her like a dominant papa bear, is quite telling. There is no way he should have been going to workplace meetings with his adult daughter.
There are many reasons for this. The obvious one is that she needed to take responsibility for her own life, and her own conduct, not have her daddy there to railroad those who were trying to address it.
The other factor is one of confidentiality for the patients, other staff, and the health authority. Outsiders are not allowed to be part of the dialogue as a rule. So why was he allowed to participate in the meetings?
Not only did he participate, but the hospital administration sided with him against the doctors. He succeeded in getting a letter of apology, and nearly got her reinstated without consequences. They also looked at other alternatives, like sending her for her Master’s degree, or relocating her. Clearly her father had a great deal of influence.
But such influence is likely the very thing that caused her so much damage. The interference, the power, the control, the dominance, the rescuer, the getting away with things – may be part of what got her into hot water in the first place. It also prevented her from reaching full maturity.
When she was finally convicted, her mother was extremely distressed, and cried out something like “I did it, take me instead.” This too shows the parents did not see or allow their daughter to be her own person. She was an extension of them. Which means, she too was a product of narcissistic traits, because narcissistic parents view their children as being extensions of themselves.
I am not suggesting the parents are to blame. When adults commit crimes, they are the ones who did the crimes, and they must be the ones who are held responsible for what they did.
Ultimately, Lucy Letby did destroy the ties that bound her so tightly to her parents. Without a doubt they will still support her, and do all they can to arrange appeals etc. But she did succeed in shattering the good girl image, the false self, entrapped in a world of Disney land cotton candy, stuffed animals, and fairy lights.
She contrived an elaborate way to break free. She destroyed others, as she was in the process of breaking out of the mold she had been forced into. She could not cut her own umbilical cord. Her life was an illusion. She shattered the illusion in the worst imaginable way.
I believe the key takeaways in this should be to gain a better understanding of young people who are transitioning into roles involving a lot of responsibility. The level of maturity, and the degree of parental involvement should be taken into consideration.
Health authorities need to be able to see the deeper implications of a father attending workplace meetings with an adult daughter who is in a professional role. Obviously if she needs him there to defend her, she should not be looking after defenceless neonates, or given the trust one would give to a mature adult.
All parents, and all adults, especially those who are in a position to abuse trust, like what happened in my own life, need to realize children are not pawns or mascots to improve their image, or get them what they want.
Children are not extensions of another person. They are not to be dominated into absolute submission. They need the freedom to become their own person. They need to integrate who they are, with how they feel, and what makes sense to them.
Otherwise there is a risk there will be a splitting of self, as there so clearly was with Lucy Letby. On the one hand she was superior, spoiled and grandiose. On the other hand she was bereft, adrift, full of self loathing, and morose.
At some level she must have wanted to be caught, to put an end to it all. She was clever and cunning, yet she left all the evidence, including confessional type notes at her residence for the police to find.
When she was taken off night shift, it was a clear indicator to any intelligent person, that there were serious suspicions developing. Yet she continued the attacks with a brazen disregard for the consequences.
In my opinion a significant part of what developed with Lucy Letby, was a profound act of rebellion. Rebellion against the perfect child image, rebellion against her false self, rebellion against the hierarchy and power structure she saw within the hospital setting, and perhaps even rebellion against God for the very fact families are allowed to exist.
As I contemplated it more, I do not see her as pure evil, and don’t really believe anyone is pure evil, because as long as a person is alive, there is hope for them to repent and see the light. She could not possibly have come to the point in her early twenties to have enough insight, to figure out what was plaguing her. She was used to putting on an act, so she kept on acting.
When we are in our early twenties, we have the energy and resilience to carry out a facade, to seek distractions, to deal with high levels of internal dichotomy, and bounce around a fair bit. But it wears on a person, and eventually there is a breakdown of some sort.
If she would have taken a different path, she may have hit the brick wall sooner. She may have found a way to get out from under it all. Who knows? One thing for certain, is she will have much time to reflect, and hopefully develop true remorse for the victims and their families.
If she does come to such a place, it will be overwhelming for her. There are so many tragedies surrounding this case, it is beyond our capacity as humans to ever fully understand it. How one sweet little girl could turn into an emotional powder keg, is beyond our wildest imaginations.
It seems Lucy to a large extent was a product of her upbringing, a family dynamic that tried to conform to some kind of image, yet it somehow became warped into something truly horrific.
Does this mean her parents are to blame? No it does not. They did nothing intentional to cause Lucy harm. They too will have an astronomical amount of soul searching to do. They have gone through a terrible ordeal, as such an outcome is every parent’s worst nightmare.
If they would have had four children, chances are the others would have been fine. It was a unique dynamic involving certain predispositions, that would have led to her profoundly aberrant psychology.
Most kids who are under the thumb of domineering parents, will rebel and act out long before it gets to the point it did with Lucy Letby. It was a combination of circumstances, like in the model of the Swiss cheese, as a construct developed to avoid such a catastrophe from happening again.
It would probably be a good idea for the British health authority to take an expanded view of this model, and apply it to abnormal psychology, to help prevent it from infiltrating the system, and causing harm to patients:
“James Reason proposed the image of “Swiss cheese” to explain the occurrence of system failures, such as medical mishaps [1–5]. According to this metaphor, in a complex system, hazards are prevented from causing human losses by a series of barriers. Each barrier has unintended weaknesses, or holes – hence the similarity with Swiss cheese. These weaknesses are inconstant – i.e., the holes open and close at random.”
In my opinion those were random acts of violence. The system itself should bear the burden, since they are the only ones who can create the necessary changes, to prevent those holes from lining up again.
She went from a gilded cage to another type of cage, one which she will truly never escape. There is nothing but grief for the families whose babies she so cruelly attacked. In some aspects, this remains a case with no end in sight.
If Lucy Letby’s mother truly did have an extremely difficult birth placing them both in peril, as has been described in various news reports, why didn’t Lucy have any neurological deficits as a result? Just think about the deficits and long term harm she caused when she attacked, and attempted to murder children. At least one of them is severely disabled for life. Who knows the level of cognitive impact, or learning disabilities it may have caused to the others?
If a labour and delivery is so difficult that the child experiences prolonged hypoxia, there will be cerebral palsy, or other lifelong deficits affecting learning, coordination etc. Lucy Letby suffered no such damages. She had no problems learning, or with concentration, or other academic achievements.
It leads me to believe the description of the difficult birth experience could have been exaggerated by her mother, in order to guilt trip her into lifelong gratitude. Even in cases of near misses, close calls and very difficult births, if the outcome is positive, usually the parents breathe a huge sigh of relief, and carry on normal lives. The difficult birth story sounds like it had elements of hyperbole, and long suffering for her poor mother, who may have sought lifelong sympathy for herself.
Millions of women have difficult births. Why would the difficult birth be used as an excuse to molly coddle and watch over her for life, when she was totally competent and just fine? What did living alone when she was in her twenties, and working full time have to do with her difficult birth? It sounds like they used it as an excuse to control her.
Letby made claims to have felt much guilt, and was watched over closely, at least in part, because her mother had a very difficult birth, and they “almost lost her”. That is highly manipulative and absurd. It is not a fair to place such a guilt trip, or preoccupation with morbidity, onto any child.
For those who do become ensnared in the abnormal psychology of another person, especially narcissism and psychopathy, it becomes a life sentence. It is much worse of they have the power to manipulate others.
They inflict such monumental damage, there is no turning back. Oftentimes, they will not stop the destructive behaviours and attitudes, unless they are caught. They condemn their victims to a hellish cycle of abuse.
In the case of Lucy Letby, it is not the fault of the nurses, and should not become the burden of the working nurse. The system needs to step up and take responsibility, especially when it comes to protecting children.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” ― George Orwell.
This is a true statement, and will hold its’ truth for all things, both good and bad, material and non-material, for all time; and for the immaterial, for all eternity. Orwell had a deeper understanding than most people do.
How many times have we heard how devastating it is for certain cultures of people, to deny what happened to them? The denial is considered to be as bad as the original abuse. It has been widely recognized that denial of historical abuse and persecution, is a re-victimization.
Gaslighting has been recognized as a crime in Canada, and many other countries.
All cultures and all families have a mixture of good and evil. But few things are more evil than denying the truth of a person’s history and identity.
If someone can take over another person’s history and identity, they can gaslight, undermine, shame, and basically destroy that person’s soul. They attack your memories, your perceptions, deny what you have experienced, attacking your thoughts, your intellect, your free will, your whole mind, your spirit, your feelings, your mother, your identity, and your basic familial origins.
They will attempt to pull you out of the ground, roots and all. They want you to be a seed that never got planted. But since you do exist, if they cannot yank you out, they will use round-up on you.
Then they can cluck their tongues in feigned pity, and claim you are mentally ill or emotionally disturbed, when they are the ones perpetuating the delusion. How many times do you hear the pious say, “Oh, the poor thing”. Right. You are nothing but a “thing” to them. And lowly as you are to them, they are paradoxically obsessed with you. They are vastly superior, so they cannot see too clearly, from their lofty height. So they make assumptions based on what they want, even though it is your life. They will exploit you until there is nothing left but a shell, and they could care less.
Most of us know that bullies target the weakest, and the most vulnerable members of society, whether it is a within a family, a community, a school, or a certain group of people within a country.
In addition, it is human nature to side with a bully, if he is the one who has the most power, influence and money. Therefore, the weaker individual is easily, and consistently ganged up on, often with nowhere to turn, as part of the plot is to remove all support systems. They turn you into an outcast, and then blame you for being an outcast. The cognitive dissonance is beyond bizarre. The bully is constantly blaming the victim for what he is doing to them.
They want you isolated and alone. This dynamic and pattern is well known. It happens in domestic violence situations. It happens with cults. It occurs whenever there is coercive control. The weaker person becomes the scapegoat for all that is wrong in the life of the more powerful individual. It is a grandiose form of projection. They project all of their own faults onto the victim. They instruct and influence others to do the same.
At the core, it is a deceptive and unfair malicious plot. The victim is dehumanized, and is therefore an easy target. No matter what you try to do, it fails. If you fight back, you get punished more, and accused of being the cause of all conflict.
If you go to authorities, you risk getting punished more, without any validation given by the authorities. The more of a threat you are, the bigger the risk you take. The more powerful the aggressor, the less likely the authorities will pay attention. Intimidation has a very wide rippling effect.
If you plead, beg, and show irrefutable proof, to try and convince the powerful one, and their followers, that you did nothing to deserve this treatment, it falls on deaf ears. They will gaslight you into doubting your own sanity. In fact, they will outright claim you are insane, with nothing to base such an accusation on.
You are in a no win situation, locked in for life. Truth does not matter to those who do such things. In fact, it is of utmost importance to keep up the facade. The only way you can avoid more bullying attacks, is through compliance.
They are punishing and shaming me for who I am. It is kind of like kicking the dog because it is not a cat. They tried to force me to deny who I am, and the family I was born into. It was very painful to have to endure such a plot.
But keeping up the facade, also has dire and soul destroying consequences. It gets to the point where you can no longer do it. The lifeblood has been sucked right out of you, and it is a matter of survival to get out from under it. The oppression is stifling. You cannot crawl or claw your way free of it.
There can be no substitute for truth. The denial of truth leads to strong delusion. The denial of truth exacerbates the original wrongdoing. The denial of truth leads to secrecy, escapism, depression, hopelessness, ongoing intergenerational abuse, toxicity, and very dark places. It is a spiritual death trap.
All of history, both in the Bible, and in the secular world, there is documentation that tracks lineage and the genealogy of all people, and all cultures of people. No one can excise, eliminate, or alter the history of another human being without consequences. In fact, even in the absence of written documentation, it is coded into our DNA.
Material things from the past are only relevant in what they represent, as far as what humans have done, contributed, discarded, or left behind. These are the remnants of our past.
The material landscape has created heaps in landfills. But we have long since past the point where things like fast fashion, fast food, fast money, and material things without value, have been known to be growing exponentially. Maybe it is time to put the brakes on.
Meanwhile the things that do have lasting value, with painstaking attention to detail, got discarded along the way.
Now it is the past things, not the rapidly churned out Material Girl type stuff promoted by garish celebrities like Madonna, that hold their value, or increase in value.
China, and various others, whose only motive was profit, just add mountains of debris to the landfills. They also add to the desire to throw away the old, for the newer shinier object at the local Walmart.
The new twenty first century culture is one of disposable products, all designed to create and sell more disposable products. This is the great enigma, and a massive contradiction, when simultaneously the world is also steeped in fears about fossil fuels.
Whereas historically, there was pride taken in the quality of craftsmanship, and in taking care of things, because there was time, resources, materials, artistry, and cost associated with the creation of those items.
In creating a portfolio of twentieth century design, my hope is to draw attention to the true value of some of the things from the past.
Of course I am open to offers on all products, but I do want to point out that many of these things will never be created again. Some of them are museum quality, and should be shared, even if only in pictures online, because they show some of the incredible artistry, of what talented people have created in the past.
I just posted a 1920’s silk ribbon dress, and shawl that must have taken well over a thousand hours to make. It is made of intricately wound silk ribbon on net, with every bit of it hand stitched into an elaborate design. It also has a shawl with a hand knotted fringe. How can one price such a dress? There is not another one like it in existence. It is a hundred years old, painstakingly hand crafted, with subtle beaded accents throughout. I have to take some more pictures of it with a larger frame camera, but for now, here it is so you know what I am referring to:
In my opinion the twentieth century of design is the last hurrah. I do not think there will be a twenty first century of design, and if there is, it is certainly nowhere near the quality that came from the twentieth century.
Our history and culture is important in all facets. We will take nothing material with us when we leave this world, and nor will we take any money with us.
We are here to be stewards of material things for awhile, to acknowledge the contributions, the good, and the quality of craftsmanship brought to us from different cultures. Some things belong in the landfill. Other things should be taken care of, and saved until they are passed on to another generation.
Our journey and time here is made up of our history, our family, our experiences, and the work we do. We are not saved by works, but nevertheless we have to work to provide for our family, ourselves, and to not be a burden to others, if we can help it.
Even when there is a deliberate attempt to rob us of who we are, and where we came from, nothing can take away our God given identity.
Unfortunately, I got saddled with a bullying and cultish high school teacher who brazenly claimed ownership of who I am. He infiltrated every facet of my life. He was so delusional, he repeatedly told people I was his daughter. He bullied and threatened me into silence. I barely knew the guy, so it was beyond absurd. But he kept on lying, and would not go away. So the problem morphed into the lies of a lifetime. Like a plague.
We are supposed to do good. We are supposed to love God, honour our mother and father, and love our neighbour as ourself. We are even supposed to love our enemies.
Truthfully, I looked just like our mother, and was the apple of her eye. Her name was Joy. Our Swedish grandmother called me Little Joy. They came to Canada from a farm in northern Sweden. Three of their six children were born in Sweden, and three were born in Canada. Our mother was very creative, and loved to sew. These are basic truths that were stifled and bullied out of me for many many years.
As far as material things are concerned, because of our mother, I developed a love for textiles early in life. I know it’s true that we do not store up material goods for any real purpose, other than temporary stewardship. I love hand embroidery, and brilliant silk fabrics, and fancy glass buttons.
The matters of our hearts, our minds, our love, our relationships, are far more important than material things.
There are those who will try to rob us of what is most valuable, because they know how to cause deep rooted emotional abuse, that is destructive to our spirit and soul.
They seek to deny and destroy our identity and history, thereby obliterating our future. They seek to destroy our relationships, especially to Christ, because for Christians our true identity is in Christ. We are adopted into the family of God.
They seek to break up our family life, and will place themselves at the helm, when they have no business even being there in the first place. They have no boundaries. They have skin thicker than a reptile, and unblinking stares.
The devil tries to take away our identity and history, because the goal is to claim and destroy souls. True evil does not just rob material things, but rather it seeks to destroy our origins, because if we are cut off from our history, it is like breaking a link in a chain. What good can it do if it is broken? What can it haul? What can itcarry forward?
The enemy, our adversary is the one who attacks and tries to re-create our history. They attack our minds, will and emotions. They do not accept a single boundary or take no for an answer. They lie through their wolf-like teeth. They stare as though their subject is nothing but a bug under a microscope.
They close off all escape routes. They are master manipulators. They influence others to lie, deny and gaslight. And once they have them in their corner, they too must go along with it all.
There are many websites now that talk about scapegoating, denial, and abuse. When people go along with a more powerful master manipulator, the term given to them in these videos, is called “flying monkeys”.
It is kind of a pejorative term, and it is easier to forgive the flying monkeys, because they are either deceived, or they are in the mode of self preservation.
Although we have no power over those who do choose to deny the truth of the past, and who try to give us over to evil forces, in order to obliterate our history and destroy us, we do have a helper.
By the grace of God, and the belief in Christ, we are plucked out of the fowler’s snare. We cannot do it on our own. We flounder hopelessly. I know, because it happened to me.
Of all the things we are supposed to do, we are supposed to forgive and repent. And it does set us free. We all need forgiveness, and none of us has the ultimate power of forgiveness. We can only forgive the trespasses against us, because we know that we too, have trespassed against others many times.
The power of forgiveness comes through Christ. There is no other way. Regardless of the historical abuses a person has suffered, there will be a day of accountability. Therefore, like John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness, we all need to repent – for the end of time is coming closer for all of us.
It iscoming much closer, due to the calamities the world is facing, along with the corruption and strangeness that is being magnified in all realms.
The strong delusion and deception is staggering, and I don’t think anyone will know the true extent of it until the end. For some it will be the bitter end, and for others it will be a glorious new beginning.
So if the end, is the end of this world as we know it, and we are still alive, we will go through it, and are called upon to endure it. If we die before the end of the world, we will still be raised to a new beginning, IF we know Christ.
God knows every single person, in every generation since the beginning of time. If you read the Bible, the people are named, and the lineage is of utmost importance, as they go from one generation to another.
No one gets plucked out of their lineage, no matter what another person tries to do to them, or how much they lie, or try to deny who they are.
As children of Adam and Eve, Cain was jealous of his sibling, and killed his brother Abel. It did not go unnoticed. Cain did not obliterate his brother either, like he had planned to. God immediately knew what he had done, and why he had done it, and actually told Cain that his brother’s blood had cried out to Him from the ground. Cain could not lie his way out of what he had done.
No one can lie their way out of what they have done – yet how many foolish people continue to lie and deceive?
Joseph’s siblings hated him, and threw him into a pit, then sold him into slavery. Years later, they came begging to him for food, not even realizing who he was.
Moses was adopted as a baby, yet he denounced that adoption, and returned to his homeland to free his people.
God knows the end from the beginning, and the beginning from the end. He knows what is, what was, and what is to come. Therefore, anyone who messes with, and tries to rob the identity of another person through lying and deceit, is going to be facing the real truth one day.
One of the biggest warnings we have, is to embrace the truth. Delusion happens to those who refuse to embrace the truth. The eternal hardship brought about by such delusion, is beyond our human comprehension.
Seek truth. Don’t deny it. It will prevent us from falling into the abyss. It is a profound and eternal reality. The truth does set us free.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
What has driven prices up in vintage costume jewelry? Even though there are still sites selling vintage costume jewelry at low prices, the price for certain designers, and one of a kind pieces, has really gone up in recent years.
This is especially true of jelly belly, fruit salad, Swarovski crystals, Austrian glass, and figural items, like birds with elaborate detailing and enamelling.
I think the main point is, that many of the creators of vintage costume jewelry used labour intensive techniques, and high quality materials, many of which are now obsolete or cost prohibitive, is the major reason.
Another reason, is how unique and elaborate some of the pieces are, which can never be replicated today. Probably the central reason, is that these items were not mass produced, and were made during a time when quality, and attention to detail, became the stamp of the maker or creator.
Another contributing factor, is the passage of time. In recent decades, with the rise of fast fashion and mass produced cheap jewelry made in China, we exhausted the rapid turnover, and the shine wore off those items, as quickly as they were created.
Now we are in a different era, and the vintage items of high quality, with hard to find materials and exceptional craftsmanship, are moving from being trendy vintage, to being sought after antiques.
Many of the master craftsman of the high quality costume jewelry era during the forties and fifties, had their beginnings in the creation of fine jewelry using real gold, pearls, sapphires and diamonds. They then used their expertise to create fine costume jewelry to emulate the real thing. A high percentage of them apprenticed under companies like Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels.
In addition to the long cherished glass making and jewelry techniques with origins in Europe, New York, and Montreal, they all buckled down and created fascinating high quality jewelry during the early to mid-twentieth century. It was like a boom time for creativity and craftsmanship.
The expertise and techniques in glass making actually created gemstone quality jewelry. The nacre and hand knotting of faux pearls created replicas that require a lab, and a hundred thousand dollar X-Ray machine to differentiate the real from the faux pearls.
In the case of coloured gemstones, all of the easy to access gemstones have already been mined, or collected. It is one thing to collect rocks, as well as shells. I can see why there is a fascination with the original, and raw forms of the beautiful things people find in nature.
But in addition to the materials, when it comes to jewelry making, there is a creative process, from the choice of materials, to the design, and most of all to the craftsmanship.
It has taken many years, and I will readily admit to not knowing even a small percentage of the range of jewelry craftsmanship. It would take a lifetime to learn to identify all the different types of glass and gemstones used. And even if you managed that, there are still materials made of fossilized wood, tree resins, bone, ivory, plastics, vulcanite, oak bog, enamels, and tortoise shells. Even lizard skin was used in jewelry in the past.
If it could be crafted into jewelry, it was done. Often the focus was on organic materials one could collect on beaches, in the forest, or places with an abundant supply and variety of rocks and fossils.
Everything from seeds, to nuts, coconut shells, shark’s teeth, claws, and even human hair, was used at some time or another to craft into jewelry. Such is our inclination toward creativity and personal adornment.
In many cases things are treated, dyed, and made to look like a certain stone. Turquoise is one of the most frequently altered coloured gemstones of all.
As with all things, the real special items do show their grandiosity. It shows when you examine an item closely. It shows in the way it feels, in the way it reflects and illuminates light from within, and mostly it shows in the craftsmanship involved. The human element is what makes the item what it is, and the more labour intensive, the more valuable.
For example, the micro mosaic glass jewelry that was popular in Italy and Venice in the early 20th century is absolutely phenomenal when it comes to the precision and intricacy involved. In some of the richer examples, they used real gemstones. But more often, they used tiny bits of brightly coloured glass, and arranged them into flowers, borders, and scrolling, with impeccable placement and craftsmanship. Often each bit of glass was just a couple of millimetres in size, so to place them into such intricate patterns, is something to marvel at.
In later years, the micro mosaic pieces became much smaller, and with less detail. They were very popular tourist keepsakes for those travelling to Italy and Venice.
As time goes on, especially if people do not have the inclination, the resources, or the expertise to make these beautiful works of art, the number of available pieces becomes less and less, and new creations are not being made. That is what drives up the price.
How often do you see elaborate three or four strand necklaces made of poured glass, blown glass, or hand decorated glass in the modern stores? What we see in modern jewelry might be a few Swarovski crystals, or a single tourmaline stone. But we do not see the shimmering abundance, or time and workmanship that went into creating the 1950’s art glass, and elaborate coloured gemstone jewelry. The modern day glass jewelry often has haphazardly glued glass stones. You do not see three and four strand art glass necklaces in contemporary jewelry.
The new jewelry with coloured gemstones set into sterling silver are now small, compared to what they used to be. However in the vintage and antique pieces, often the gemstones are very large and striking. The gem is framed in, and showcased with all of its natural splendour. It is not a tiny fragment of sparkle, or colour, like we see in newer items. Even the high end stores are now selling jewelry with stones you can barely see.
In the case of gemstones and master craftsmanship in sterling silver, there is probably no greater example of creativity than what has come out of Mexico. Twenty years or so ago, I picked up a collection of 1940’s Taxco jewelry with around twenty pieces or so. It has given me a real appreciation for Mexican sterling silver jewelry.
Whether the price of sterling goes up much or not, one cannot under estimate the value of the workmanship, and the gemstones used by people that clearly have an eye for design, as well as a rich history of passing on the art of silversmiths.
We cannot be dismissive of sterling silver, because since Biblical times, it has had value, and at one time, was even considered to be more valuable than gold. In the Bible, Jacob’s well was purchased with a hundred pieces of sterling silver.
On a much more sombre note, we also know the life of Christ was sold for thirty pieces of silver. It goes to show how much silver was valued, and used no different than money is used to betray people.
The silver to gold ratios have fluctuated wildly throughout history, and although there are many predictions about it all, it seems plausible that there is a huge adjustment in those ratios on the horizon.
Throughout history, from ancient times, and during the Roman Empire, the silver to gold ratio ranged from 8:1 to 15:1. In recent years it has been as much as 114:1.
Currently it is around 83:1. Could it go back to the historical average of 15:1? It certainly seems possible, as precious metals and gemstones etc. often do see corrections in price when they have been undervalued.
Silver is still silver, always has been, and always will be. It has not changed. Only the manmade influences, banking and investment industry, and supply and demand, have caused it to change. The manmade influences are volatile, especially during times of inflation, and rapid global changes, as we have seen in the post covid era. Time will tell.
Also during ancient times, many coloured gemstones, like amethysts, had more value than diamonds.
We really cannot predict the future value of silver, gold, and gemstones. But we can learn to recognize the value coming from countries, and companies who carried forth expertise and master craftsmanship in jewelry making.
They did not spend a hundred hours or more making one piece of jewelry, and use junky materials that they themselves did not appreciate. If they had an eye for detail, and the ability of a master craftsman, they knew more than most of us about the materials they were using.
Not only is there the cost of materials, metals, gemstones, crystals etc. but if you consider that one item might have taken twelve to fifty hours or more to make, it really helps put things into perspective with regards to the rising cost.
For example thirty hours of work by a master craftsman today at just above minimum wage, would be labour costs of $600.00 alone. Of course the master craftsperson’s work is worth more than minimum wage, and also requires many special tools and equipment. So when you add all the materials, the antiquity, and the fact that all the major mid-century designers like Sherman, are long gone, it is understandable we are seeing an increase in value.
On the upside, the more the value increases, the greater the appreciation, and the more likely these remnants of our past will be taken care of.
The time and expense that goes into collecting, researching, and photo documenting a vintage collection is a daunting task. I can give my own personal testimony on what is involved, and the thousands of hours it has taken to reach this point.
I do believe that by taking the best of the past, and documenting it to the best of my ability, it serves to showcase part of our rich and diverse cultural heritage, and in the long term, is worthwhile.
It helps to educate, show a range of design, and bring historical perspective to things that will never again be made to the same degree of creativity and finesse.
In the coming months I will be using a USB microscope and camera to capture some of the finer details that cannot be seen with a loupe, macro lens or the naked eye. This is especially important to show off features in amber, and other gemstones, so people can see for themselves what it is.
I have noticed that with a Nikon camera, and a macro Nikon lens, it helps to rule out junk jewelry. It quickly shows stones that are haphazardly glued into place, as well as cheap metals prone to pitting. it shows where gold plating as worn off. Junk is not exactly photogenic.
In addition to the long lasting value in precious metals like silver and gold, there are also many vintage metals with exceptional coatings and rhodium plating that do not wear off. The more closely one can examine an item, the better prepared they are to choose something with lasting value. The one exception is with oxidized silver. The oxidation or patina can be cleaned, and does not detract from the value.
Although I do clean jewelry with caution, and sometimes not at all, depending on the piece, because I think detergents and warm water can affect the coating, the surface or cause rust. In many cases a fine sable makeup brush will clean out the dust. One cannot be a total perfectionist, and clean every nook and cranny with a q-tip before doing the photography.
When an item sells, I do go over it and do more cleaning if it is needed.
The entire photo documenting project also leaves some sparkling examples of things with long lasting value for future generations to study and appreciate. From an educational perspective alone, it has lasting value.
I have been working on measuring, and increasing the navigation menus on the jewelry collection to make it easier for browsers and buyers. The jewelry collection is now approaching 3000 items, so it will take all summer to get through it all. I am not quite halfway through, so the work in progress is ongoing!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Could a concept be anymore nonsensical than to promote societal collapse? It is one thing to face the prospect of events unfolding that are beyond our control, such as massive earthquakes, floods, droughts, and other natural disasters, but to actually orchestrate the collapse of civilization is beyond comprehension.
Yet if we are watching what is unfolding right before our eyes, and if we read historical accounts of collapsed civilizations, we can see the patterns. There is a breakdown of law and order. Traditional values, culture, ethics, and truth are replaced with a masquerade of delusions. There is an assault on identity, combined with the targeting and grooming of children for mind control, exploitation, and sexualization.
The epitome of gaslighting is to convince us we are the crazy ones. We are not who we are, or even what we think we are. Nothing is sacred or secure. The establishment has lost all stability. Boys are not boys, and girls are not girls. We now live in a liquid Bud-Light world where fluidity itself is plastic, fake and mawkish – circling the proverbial drain.
There is a similarity to the days of Noah, and the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Those who oppose the masquerades and delusional mockery of God-given attributes, are accused of hatred. Objective reality is condemned and shamed. Cognitive dissonance is literally drummed into people. Mind control takes on the theatre of the absurd, and poses as entertainment via platforms like Tik-Tok. Those who observe and warn about the straying away from reality and truth, are accused of being conspiracy theorists.
Klaus Schwab is quoted as saying “the world will become a much angrier place”. And true to form, it is rapidly becoming much more violent. Hardly twenty four hours goes by before there is another mass shooting in the US. Canada is seeing an unprecedented wave of violent crime, on the streets, on public transit, and other public places. The perpetrators are immediately let out on bail, and free to roam around to attack more innocent people.
Street drugs are not only decriminalized, they are promoted and encouraged, with recent announcements made by our PM to make them freely available to children and youth, in order to “de-stigmatize drugs” – as if you can hurt the feelings of destructive mind-altering chemicals.
The MAID in Canada has increased, to make us a world leader in euthanizing people. Some have claimed the MAID death toll is well over 10,000 already, and others have placed the numbers at over 30,000. The opiate and street drug overdoses have also claimed thousands of lives, and millions more around the world.
The health care system is unaccessible to most Canadians now, with long wait lists, and no way to access a family doctor, or even get diagnostic tests, let alone treatment. A person with Stage 2 cancer will have Stage 4 cancer before they get treated.
The educational system is brainwashing and sexualizing children, while simultaneously shutting parents out of the conversation. Anger is not allowed. Rational discourse is not allowed. The only option people have is to pull their kids out of school, and home school them. The educational system is rapidly biting the dust, choking on woke.
Home schooling is not always feasible, and can cause a great deal of harm to the child’s socialization, extracurricular activities, friendships, and ability to have fun while they are in a learning environment.
In addition, children are being faced with a ridiculous amount of cognitive dissonance and conflict, without having the experience or maturity to comprehend what it is all about. This leads to confusion, and a higher incidence of depression and mental health issues. In turn, the solutions or so-called help for mental health issues, is to drug them, as opposed to helping them understand the whole world is going mad.
At the same time, the average middle class household is taxed with paying for a judicial system that does not protect anyone but the criminals. A health care system that costs a fortune, yet does not deliver the services. An educational system that supports wayward and woke teachers, but does not protect, or properly educate innocent children. And a state sponsored media that fills us with propaganda, censorship, and chastisement for what we dare to think, or have an opinion about. We are plundered with platitudes, and false reassurance. We are guilt tripped for being white, when we have no control over the colour of our skin, and no judgement over the colour of anyone else’s skin.
The biggest question is this: Why would the politicians, and those with power, push for a modern day societal collapse or apocalypse? A rise in violence along with a loss of culture and values is not a good sign.
The next big contributor to societal collapse is a rise in inflation. It has happened many times throughout history. Before there was paper money, there was silver and gold coins. To contribute to inflation prior to the collapse of the Roman empire, the precious metal coins were increased by adding alloys, and taking out a portion of the silver or gold to create more coins. Inflationary production of money is almost always directed at making the rich richer. Those who set this up, make sure they extract a large percentage of the inflationary influx, and put it into their own coffers. Thus the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.
In recent years, the rich have started building huge underground bunkers in various locations, so they will have a place to escape to in the event of societal collapse. These underground bunkers have spas, pools, hydroponics to grow gardens, security, and artificial light. Apparently some of them are built into small communities with underground passages. What a way to live? Nothing like burrowing into a hole. No matter how elaborate the hole or vault might be, it only gets you closer to hell.
But back to the sixty four dollar question; why would these ultra rich people be willfully orchestrating societal collapse? Doesn’t it bring us back to old adages like “the best laid plans can go awry?” Especially if you are underground? The descriptions of Hitler’s underground bunker do not sound like it was a picnic in the park.
What if their smart system or security fails, and they get locked in there? What if the armed security guards turn on them? What if the married people have affairs with one another, and then hire hit men? What if they are built where there are underground geysers, and they get flooded and are suddenly in total darkness, as the water levels rise? What if their sewage backs up and contaminates their food supply? What if they are built on fault lines, and a chasm opens up and swallows them? Or an earthquake collapses the soil above them, and buries them alive?
Imagine living in a bunker with a bunch of elitist control freaks? Who would be the boss? How would they set up the hierarchy of top dog dominance? How would they fit so many big egos into a confined space? How could they trust each other? This reminds me of Jean-Paul Sartre’s “No Exit”.
No Exit (French: Huis clos, pronounced [ɥi klo]) is a 1944 existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The play was first performed at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in May 1944.[1][2] The play begins with three characters who find themselves waiting in a mysterious room. It is a depiction of the afterlife in which three deceased characters are punished by being locked into a room together for eternity. It is the source of Sartre’s especially famous phrase “L’enfer, c’est les autres” or “Hell is other people”, a reference to Sartre’s ideas about the look and the perpetual ontological struggle of being caused to see oneself as an object from the view of another consciousness.[3]
In my opinion, as a Christian, the only way I can conceive of, as to why they would actually plan this, is because they know we are approaching the end of the age, and the second coming of Christ. But instead of accepting Christ as saviour, they continue to reject Him, and create their own ill-fated plan for survival.
As things get more and more difficult, wouldn’t you rather be able to look up at the sky, and the clouds, envisioning what is gifted to us in the book of Revelation? It gives explicit descriptions about the return of Christ, coming in the clouds, with an infinite, all encompassing triumph and glory. Who would want to miss it? Wouldn’t you want to witness the most incredible, waited for, and longed for event in the history of the world?
And prior to that, wouldn’t you rather hear the birds chirp, feel the uplifting optimism of a sunny day, watch a butterfly or bee land on a flower, and feel the fresh breeze on your face?
Even for the ultra rich, isn’t the thought of inspirational bits of nature, in the finale of our existence as we know it, better than being trapped with atheists in an underground bunker?
If the mountains do move, don’t you want to see it happen? When the angels blow the trumpets, don’t you want to hear the sound of it, and feel your heart quicken with excitement as the events unfold? If stars fall from heaven, don’t you want to see them come flaming down? Or would you rather be a fearful mole in the ground?
Wouldn’t you prefer to perceive, and sense what is happening in the world, even if it is reaching a profound and cataclysmic climax?
It might put our courage to the test, but surely it is better than being in total darkness. Because who can believe if things do get apocalyptic to the extent the mountains shift, and massive earthquakes are the norm, that an underground bunker would be a safe place to be?
The only safe place to be as the end of the age unfolds, is in the safety of a solid belief in Jesus, knowing He will bring us through all things, even death itself. He assures us we will have the seal of God on our foreheads. He tells us we can find refuge under his feathers, and the safety of His wings. He promises us that no one, and no evil on this earth, can pluck us out of His hand.
No one can escape God, and no one can escape the truth of who Christ is, and the fact when He does return to this earth, He will be in charge. He has the keys to the abyss, and only He can overcome death.
I would far rather have faith in Jesus, and face death, as all of this unfolds, as opposed to denying Christ, and hiding out in a dungeon somewhere.
If we live by faith, even though the events we see unfolding can be distressing, we do not have to worry about what happens. We only have to embrace the truth, have faith, and endure until the end. We do not control what happens on this earth.
Why do the ultra rich know we are getting closer to the end of the age? Just like many of us know we are getting closer to the return of Christ?
Because there are many warnings in the Bible, explaining to us what will happen before the return of Christ. Wars, rumours of wars, apostasy in the church, strong delusion, mockery of God in every realm, lawlessness, famines, earthquakes, and above all, deception and abominations of every conceivable vile imagination.
The Bible tells us people will become arrogant, lovers of self, truce breakers, without natural affection, and because of all the iniquity, the love of many will wax cold. People’s hearts will become hardened. Because many will refuse to believe the truth, God will send strong delusion, and turn them over to a reprobate mind. Ask yourself honestly, are these prophecies unfolding?
We know the signs, and we also see the signs. We also know the earth is around six thousand years old. The world was created in six days, and on the seventh day God rested. The Bible says that to God, a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day.
There are countless examples of the number seven as being a time of rest and restoration. Therefore, it makes total sense that the onset of the seven thousand year age of the earth, would be when Christ will return to set up His thousand year reign on the earth.
This is not to say we can establish the actual date, because God does not intend for us to make such a calculation. The Bible states that no one knows the date of Christ’s return except God. No matter how much people try to study the ancient calendars, and set the actual date of Christ’s birth and resurrection, it is futile.
Some people have attempted to work it backwards, to try and determine how long Adam and Eve were in the garden before they sinned, and still, they cannot figure it out. It is all prone to manmade errors, for it is not stated in the Bible as a predictable date.
It is why we need faith. If we could pinpoint a date, we would not need faith. We would also not need to prepare ourselves, until the day before. Some people have the mindset to be like the thief on the cross. When they reach the final moments before death, they will cry out to Jesus for forgiveness, and acceptance.
Perhaps this is why we are so often told it will happen in the twinkling of an eye. We are supposed to be ready, not turning a blind eye to the signs, or to the advice we are given to recognize what is happening.
The time is at hand, because we do not know when Christ will return, or when we will die. Not one of us has a guarantee we will live another day, another week, or even another hour. We take it for granted, but life itself, especially eternal life, is not something to take for granted.
If all people knew the date of Christ’s return, let’s say hypothetically, it was set at April 30, 2023, then wouldn’t it be typical of human nature to wait until April 29th to repent, and straighten out their lives?
Wouldn’t it be more likely people would just get lazy, quit working, quit doing good, quit preaching the gospel, and just sit back eating Dorito’s and chocolates, until the big day arrived? God knows us better than we know ourselves.
We are meant to know the signs signalling Christ’s return, but we are not meant to know the actual precise date. It does seem quite obvious to me that even the atheists, secular humanists, and enemies of Christ, also know the signs and timelines are right in front of us, or they would not be building underground bunkers.
Don’t they know the Book of Revelation describes the locusts, and when they are released from the abyss in the end times? Read the following description from Revelation chapter 9:
I have many regrets about my own conduct, shortcomings, and foolishness during my lifetime thus far. I have a great deal of gratitude for the grace of God, and Christ’s forgiveness, and plan of redemption. I have been humbled more times than I can count, and have come to realize that being humbled is a blessing, the same as repentance is a blessing.
I cannot think of any greater regret a person could possibly have, than to die, and then face judgment, followed by perishing in the lake of fire. This is described as the second death in the Book of Revelation. It tells us how blessed we are to take part in the first resurrection, and avoid the second death.
For those who deny Christ, it will take until His return, and final judgment day to realize the error of their ways. Only then will the full realization hit people. Not only of their wrongdoing, but more so, the fact they lived a short life of riches, deception, arrogance and superficiality, in exchange for eternal life of peace and prosperity, in an idyllic Garden of Eden. None of us can experience the full promises spelled out to us by God, until the battle between good and evil is finally over.
What is seventy or eighty years of life in this corrupt world, even if it is steeped in elitism, or self indulgence, if it is also combined with the rejection of God? How could it possibly be compared to the gift of eternal life? We are on a dry run, or a practice session for the renewal of our characters. Even if the rich who reject Christ do have opulence, money and luxury now, they will never have pain free resurrected bodies, or experience all the promises God has in store for us.
We are told to pray for them and warn them, and I can certainly see why.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Since I have had the lengthy and painful experience of cult indoctrination by a high school teacher who attached himself to me for life, through collusion with a member of my own family, this educational video is very accurate.
I did not join a cult. I was targeted by a high school teacher in a public school, and forcibly indoctrinated and thought reformed. I was trapped and ensnared without realizing the extent of the exploitation and scheme involved. The teacher was steeped in the Exclusive Brethren religion, and seemed to think that made him into some kind of god.
As time has gone on, especially since freeing myself of the forced association, I have realized all the complex, manipulative, deceptive and destructive tactics that were used to force compliance and subservience.
This educational video should be made widely available, as it covers the range and depth of cult practices. They know exactly what they are doing. We would be wise to learn about those tactics, so we are better equipped to protect ourselves, and less afraid to report it to authorities at the onset.
I recognize so many of the tactics in hindsight. The infiltration of family. The over taking of identity, and attempts to force a name change. The constant repetition of blatant lies. The ganging up on, and “us against them” mentality. The constant demands to “keep me busy”. The constant derision, and accusations towards our mother.
The supreme arrogance and elitism, where you are expected to obey and comply because they know what is best for you. The dehumanizing aspects of being treated as a non person without the right to say no. The threats and ominous implications, if you ever even think about getting free of it. If so, I would be rejected by my own family, and God, and cast into outer darkness until I came to my senses. I would be hunted down, as he often said, like the true wolf he is. The gaslighting, and constantly making you doubt your own judgement, feel guilty, bad, unworthy, and wicked, followed by the demands for gratitude. Like this cult mentality was the one and only saviour and rescuer…
He had such hatred for our mother, yet he did not even know her. I was not sure if he had ever met her. She certainly did not know him, other than to call him a lying screwball. The teacher would tell me how much it hurt him and his equally cultish wife, if I even thought of “that wicked woman” as my mother. It grieved them deeply, as she was not redeemable according to them, and I was guilt tripped for daring to think my own mother was my mother. She was my mother. it was a fact, and I should not have been shamed over it by this masquerading religious zealot.
We only have one mother, and the cult teacher’s wife was most certainly not my mother. These people were only slightly more than a decade older than me. I was sixteen at the time. How did they miraculously give birth to one of his students? Yet I was supposed to consider their hurt feelings and deny that my mother was my mother. How absurd. They would feign pain and hurt feelings, like acknowledging my mother as my mother was a cardinal sin. Our mother was alive, and she was lucid right up until she died in 2007. This cult assault was not only one me, it was very much an assault and punishment on our mother as well. I was the apple of her eye, and looked just like her. In fact, from the time I can remember, I was told that I was the spitting image of her. Our Swedish grandmother nicknamed me “Little Joy” when I was just a toddler.
Another one of the teacher’s common themes he constantly repeated was that I had the exact same IQ as his wife. When I would ask, “how is that even possible?” He would puff himself up and repeat it with emphasis saying it was “the EXACT SAME” daring me to defy his teacher authority, long after I left high school. He was staring me down and repeating this lie when I was thirty-five years old.
His wife never skipped any grades, and did not excel in any way. She was boring as can be, but she loved the claim of having the exact same IQ as me. I found it incomprehensible that these people would not even allow me to have my own IQ. If I became distressed over it all, they would claim I was “emotionally disturbed” or “mentally ill”. So the circus continued, round and round. I knew they would be at every family function, so how could I tell them to pound sand? Go away. Leave me alone. They would not listen to me. He was in collusion with my own family. Such was the trap I found myself in.
Plus the family member who set this up with the teacher is very powerful with tremendous influence, which increased exponentially over the years. I was ganged up on, not only by the teacher, the family, but the community, the school, and extended family as well. No one could kick this teacher to the curb. He was the all consuming god over my life.
They try to lock you in for life with no escape route. The professor in the link below describes the cult leader as being charismatic in his coercion. In my case the teacher was not charismatic, but was authoritarian, domineering, andthreatening. He could not have coerced or forced me otherwise, because my intuition did recognize the deception and contradictions. He most certainly did not have a charismatic personality. Quite the opposite in fact. I did argue with him, and try to reason with him many times. But I had no voice.
I said no, but he would not take no for an answer. He repeatedly kept me up all night with brainwashing torture. My younger brother had just been killed in a car accident. I was completely and totally exhausted, trying to get through grade twelve, so I could get out of town. Each time I thought I might escape him, I was dead wrong. I had no idea the extent of collusion and scheming that was going on behind my back.
When I became determined, and tried to assert myself, I got ganged up on even more. In addition to being accused of being mentally ill, I was the biggest trouble maker, the cause of all conflict, and wicked like our mother. I was blamed and shamed with nowhere to turn.
I ended up putting up with this coercive relationship for years, just so I could be a member of my own family. I hoped and prayed they would just drop it and let me go. I hoped they would accept the truth, and go live their own lives with their own family. No one tore the teacher’s family apart. Yet he constantly infiltrated our family to the point he was the all important deity and god-father. Just the thought of that man staring at me, and telling me I am his daughter, sickens me to the core. After awhile, even though he was invited to every family function, and repeatedly invited himself into my home, I could not even stand to look at him.
But even so, I did not fully comprehend the scope of it until I got away from it all. Now I do understand the diabolical nature of the plot over my life. By the grace of God, they did not win. It was a classic example of the fowler’s snare.
When I finally did shut the door on the cult teacher, the punishment phase began, and is ongoing. But I had to escape in order to survive, so I also have to endure the punishment. The threats he made throughout my life, as to what would happen if I ever tried to escape, did come true to an extent.
But the one thing that did not come true, is that I was not rejected by God, and have not been cast into outer darkness. The difference is, I no longer serve the cult masters, and have been shown more of the truth of the gospel. It has strengthened my faith. So the term “the truth shall set you free” does apply to my own life. For that I am most thankful, as I could never have escaped the clutches of the cult mentality, abuse of power, conflict of interest, deception, and dominance otherwise.
I encourage all people to watch this informative video linked below by Margaret Thaler Singer of International Cultic Studies Association. She is a professor and educator at the University of California, Berkley.
The ChatGPT is the new AI technology with a grasp on language, at least enough to string words together, and create written content. I often wonder how it will pan out in the coming years. Is it really all it is cracked up to be?
There are many reasons I would not bother with it: For starters I prefer to do my own writing, and I think it would be a hassle to ask a bunch of questions to get a computer generated response, as opposed to thinking for myself.
I do not believe AI can contribute authenticity in emotion, memory or subtle nuances of language. Although I know it would have a greater memory capacity than humans because of all the stored knowledge, I do not believe it can make the same associations within the vat of stored memory. It could not possibly have the creative capacity, or the inspiration the human mind can have. It cannot really have much in the way of motive, although it could certainly have biases, which could construct a motive in a broad sense.
It does seem likely there would be certain biased responses. Or perhaps there might be directional elements, pointing the writer to certain conclusions, or insertions. But it does not have the capacity for human experience, and therefore it cannot apply common sense in the same way humans can.
Each human being carries in their own memory a unique set of experiences in life, and in some ways there is a genetic component as well. We tend to inherit certain traits, and perhaps even ancestral memories. A computer cannot capture those elements, especially if a person has a lot of experience, as well as strong emotion to go with the experiences, because the emotive aspects give rise to inspired works.
In addition, because human beings are relational, we are all affected by the interactions with others, which in turn influences our ideas. We are also shaped by what we learn and read about throughout our lives. We gain insight about a variety of topics throughout our careers. Depending on what the career is, it could add a great deal of experience to influence our thought processes. A career creates experience, observation, relational, and advanced learning, to insert into our repertoire of things to write about.
One of the most obvious problems in my mind, is that taking away our capacity to think and write for ourselves is not good for us. People program computers, therefore a human element is behind the ChatGPT processing, and it could rob people of critical thinking skills. In other words it could become a contributor to dumbing people down, as opposed to lifting them up.
Writing is about communicating. There is no lazy person’s front for good writing. Perhaps we have a weakness in grammar or tense. Or in structuring our content. But writing is a craft, and like all crafts you don’t get better at it by finding ways to skirt around the tasks of putting it all down, trying to make sense, organizing, editing, and so on.
ChatGPT would not be able to pick up on certain comparisons, metaphors, nuances, sarcasm or humour. One of the things I enjoy most about writing, is the flashes of comparison, the poetry, and the emotional involvement. I don’t want to turn those things off, and seek a computer generated response.
Most of the topics we write about, are written about by thousands of other people. If we do not add our own individual perspective on the topic, then what is the point?
The human brain has more capacity for memory, inspiration, associations, and creativity than we give ourselves credit for. ChatGPT may take away some of the freelancer work. It may be used in Universities and other areas where a template, or a preconceived context and conceptualization is the expectation. Universities are not the best place for establishing original, or individual thought processes anyway. People must clone their thoughts, and align them with the University, in order to graduate.
Language is the fundamental basis for all human development and growth. It is the tool of propaganda, war and atrocities. It is how civilizations rise, and how they dissolve. It is how we learn, and how we communicate ideas to others.
Language is full of gradation and refinements. According to the dictionary, we have 171,146 words to draw on in the English language, in order to express ourselves. The arrangement and use of those words is up to us. Now it is also up to ChatGPT as well.
The Bible contains 783,137 words. I find it to be quite interesting to have almost five times the number of words in the Bible as there are in the dictionary. Of course the Bible does repeat many words, so unlike the dictionary, each word is not entered just once. But regardless, it does strike a note of awe surrounding the depth of learning and wisdom contained within the Bible.
Of all the writing done throughout the history of mankind, nothing could ever emulate what is written in the Bible. The complexity of the meaning in much of the imagery, the many parables, metaphor, switching between literary and figurative, changing tense, prophecies, variety of literary styles, as well as the fact there are certain mysteries no one can fully understand, makes it wholly unique. In addition there are many translations, and even in those translations, some of the literary form, and context can be lost. The Bible is far more brilliant than anyone can really even fathom.
The Bible proves to us that much of what is written by human beings can be influenced by divine inspiration, or insight. It also demonstrates that the comprehension of the words in the Bible are not only intellectual, but spiritual as well.
How can an AI ChatGPT program reach into the spiritual realm of divine inspiration and understanding? It is not to suggest any of us can compare what we write to what is in the Bible. But for those who believe, study the Bible, and have a desire to serve God, the personal and spiritual beliefs we have will depend on God’s word. We are more likely to be spiritually influenced in our minds and hearts, which in turn will determine what we write about, and how we write it.
One of the main issues for me with AI programmed writing, is the hidden source, as well as the fact it cannot contain a deeper context of the human condition or spiritual beliefs.
One thing I have noticed, especially in MSM this past few years, is how the message is crafted to steer us toward certain beliefs. Sometimes it is done with an incredible amount of complexity and deception. We have been funnelled into accepting certain belief systems, even if our common sense rails against it. We do not want to be intolerant, hateful, or judgemental. Even if we offer an opinion, it is subject to censorship. There are rapidly changing political ideologies we are expected to comply with.
A divergent opinion about political ideologies is not about hating people. It is trying to warn people about the direction things are going. We are on a slippery slope. Even more descriptive, is to realize that in some ways, we are on the precipice of a massive mudslide, a conglomerate of decaying, mucky, and acrimonious morals. They have become looser by the day, and are snowballing, with enough momentum to bury us. Our values are eroding faster than a clearcut hillside under the deluge of a forty day rainfall. The deluge is a delusion for some, and yet for the history of the world, it has already transpired. We should know better, but we don’t.
What is cloaked in compassion, such as in expanding MAID for mature minors and the mentally ill, is not really caring or concern. It is something else entirely. We are listening to some kind of opposite doublespeak normalizing what is not normal.
Language is a tool, and without a doubt it is the biggest hammer ever known to man. It can build us up, and it can beat us down. It can move things forward, or it can claw things backward. It can be used to build, and it can be used to demolish.
We are supposed to love one another. Dishonesty is not love. The way we use tools makes a big difference, as to what they turn out.
Bad language is not limited to cursing, and venomous vile rage toward others. It can be like bandits with pistols, plotting the next heist. It can be used to trap us in a corner, and play with us, like a cat does to a mouse.
And likewise loose lips can sink ships. So many people have trapped, and hung themselves with their own words. That’s why murderers, and guilty people are seldom put on the witness stand. They are fools, if they think they can talk their way out of it under cross examination. Few people have good enough memories to reiterate their own lies with accuracy.
Truth may not be desirable for some people, but it is so much easier to convey and maintain. Lies constantly change. They are a moving target. Whereas truth has the confidence to sit still. Truth does not have to hide. Lies on the other hand, seek the cover of darkness, and hope to never see the light.
Body language is a big part of written language as well. Even though many people don’t realize it, in a similar manner as reading body language in the flesh, the tone of writing can intuitively be picked up by the reader, based on what is in between the lines. The body of text does contain its own brand of body language, even if the reader has no idea what the writer even looks like.
Manipulation can be mastered, and mustered up covertly, then grow aggressively, spanning out, and spreading its influence like a poisonous invasive species does. Sometimes syrupy, and simpering words can sting like the giant hogweed we happen to brush up against, on our journey through life.
Words can be majestic, uppity, ill-defined, and arrogant enough to make the reader feel inferior. Then to avoid sounding dumb, they accept the article, or components of it, giving it high praise. They see words they seldom see, and even have to look them up, to find out what the heck they mean.
Surely it must mean the writer is brilliant. No it does not always mean the writer is a virtuoso. He or she might have a dazzling, ingenious use of words and a clever mind. Again they might not. They could just as easily use a power thesaurus as most writers do, and pick and choose the lofty and more clandestine words, instead of using plain language.
If someone uses their intelligence and writing ability to deceive, or to push a hidden agenda, people are often impressed with the exceptional vocabulary. We are more likely to believe someone who is educated and intelligent, especially if they have status and degrees. But if their motives are not good, or if they use sophisticated language as a way to sucker people into accepting nefarious ideologies, then they are worse than a moron. Far worse.
Behind all language, there is a motive. If the motive is to love one another, we will be honest, reflective, transparent, and well-meaning in our intent and use of language. Not all of our ideas will be well received, and as long as we understand our own limitations in the use of language, we should be able to expand on what we see as good. This is directly opposed to allowing what is not good to overrun our sensibilities, and obligation to use our intellect, and communication skills to help protect innocent people.
Good language is emotional, and inspired by love for others. Often those who are living an alternative lifestyle underneath the guise of acceptance, are becoming increasing marginalized, by the very forces that are promoting it all. I feel compassion for the people, especially young people, who fall victim to deceptive and life altering ideologies.
If we are honest, we can all look back at foolish decisions, fleeting ideas, angry outbursts, and a wide variety of other pitfalls. If a poor decision is made, we can recognize it and turn away from whatever caused it. People can recover from addictions, lifestyle choices, poor diet, unhealthy habits, etc.
But if decisions are irreversible such as gender change surgeries, and MAID, then the opportunity to change direction, or abandon something harmful, or any further choice in the matter is irrevocably taken away. Some decisions cannot be reversed, therefore the impact of those decisions is hefty, with an eternal rippling effect. If you talk to people, or know people who were suicidal at one time, but overcame it to lead a vibrant life, you know how temporary some emotions can be.
The same with body dysphoria. With gender change, there are many regretters, because they realize the surgery and physical changes may not be what they expected, and may not have helped how they feel about themselves. There are many types of body dysphoria, to include weight, and general appearance. If not for the fact people are insecure about themselves, the plastic surgery industry would not be thriving as much as it is.
My guess is that there is not one among us who has not embarked on a futile quest of some sort. We are far too short-sighted and limited to see what lies ahead of us. How many people seek riches to the exclusion of all else, and yet find it does not really fill the void within them?
The sea of humanity is one struggling pilgrimage, filled with illusory goals, both physical and spiritual. We don’t have all the answers as fallible human beings. Therefore it stands to reason AI programs like ChatGPT don’t have all the answers. Those algorithms are generated by equally errant human beings, who are not likely to fully connect all the dots either.
I am not anti-technology obviously, as I do spend a fair bit of time on my website, doing research, etc. I think like all tools, we use them in a way to achieve certain results, and there is nothing wrong with that. Even so, I do not bulk edit photos, or use a program to eliminate the work involved. The tools are not there to remove the work, but rather to enable it to be done, and improve the appearance. Like writing, you try to make improvements so your work is not in vain, and so you can learn in the process.
However, I sense there is a dark side to some of the components of AI. Because I have never used ChatGPT, and do not intend to use it, I cannot really say if it represents a sort of science fiction, dark emergence of technological takeover of the human mind. I think we need to protect our minds, and trust our intuition. My guess is of all things it may be lacking, it would be the least likely to have intuition. So if it really is a game of whack-a-synapse, let the intuition get there first!
Even so, one of the verses it does bring to mind is in the book of Ephesians in the Bible. Plus I do not want to turn over my thought processes to something as complex and gargantuan in scope as ChatGPT, and let it write for me. There is a work ethic involved. If something is quick and easy, it probably does not have lasting value.
Writing, like all things requiring creativity, is about patterns and arrangement. We take the word ingredients from thought formations, and organize them by design. One person may envision a landscape leading into the clouds, and another person may envision a field of wheat.
We ruminate, and come up with some kind of thought vision to describe where we are taking things, what we are mapping out, how we are going about it, and what the destiny is. The arrangement and design involving language is not just a pretty picture, it is a scope. It can be a telescope or a microscope. It can go up, down, backward, forward, left, right, and even into a spin.
As far as saying and writing things I regret, I wish I could dig a deep hole, throw them in, and turn them into compost. Like all things we do wrong, we also have to repent of the unkind, foolish, spiteful, distasteful words we have used. Then leave them behind. At least abandon the negative context in which they were used, and work towards improving our outlook. Just as we, as human beings, are constantly changing, writing is also a subset of a work in progress.
Language is limitless, and requires the least amount of real tools. Before computers, some of the greatest, and most incredible novels were drafted with nothing more than a pen and paper. The writer may have had a big leather bound dictionary sitting beside him or her, in the candle lit den.
Later it was a typewriter, and for the multitude of mistakes one makes, each sheet would have to be removed, and rewritten as many times as it took to get it right.
Now we have computers, quick access to spelling and grammar checks, as well as all the words in a thesaurus just a keystroke away. Has it turned out more brilliant writers than a hundred, or a thousand, or more years ago? I don’t think so. In fact in my opinion, all the technology might make things easier, but it does not enhance the writer’s ability. Too much technology, such as ChatGPT, might actually detract from the would be great writers of the future. Laziness is not a trait we should aim for, no matter what we are doing.
At the end of the ChatGPT line, I would be willing to bet a bit, or even predict, it has a few holes. It probably doesn’t have a wit, or even a smidgeon of humour or scorn. It can bore those poor words into oblivion.
I much prefer to just stumble along, and put the time and effort into writing my own material. To me, doing it any other way is kind of like getting up and lip syncing a song. My philosophy is; go ahead and sing it yourself, if you are going to sing it at all.
If anyone can come up with this very same article through ChatGPT – I will eat my (c)hat!
We should always be wary, and use a fair bit of caution when it comes to protecting and edifying our minds. In addition to the many verses in the Bible warning us to not be deceived, here is another one of the many verses, telling us what we wrestle against. At times we may wrestle against ourselves, other people, or even the wind, but we have a greater foe by far:
Ephesians 6:12 KJV “12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Who and what can define us? The onus is on us. Be on the qui vive for wanton marauders, whose millstone will shackle, pulverize and grind, and will bottle you as a kickback, to grease their behinds. Solemn and syrupy, they will sodomize your mind. Our essence is our selfhood. It orbits around kith and kin, our level of education, what we do for a living, what we pilot to procure, our get up and go, the sidekicks we endear, and whether or not, we are bankrolled in dough.
Customarily, our portrayal is trussed up in family, and the semblance of order within. For some, it is in subduing a mammoth – and becoming a survivor of calamity and havoc, such as addiction, illness, accident, divorce, or a fall into some other harrowing abyss. Establishing a career is a pilgrimage. It can traipse us across a praiseworthy promenade, pitch us a salient hot potato, or place us in a ponderous pickle. Financial stability and net worth are worthwhile ambitions – because they bring challenge, peace of mind, veneration, and an enhanced lifestyle. Fair enough.
Change comes through all kinds of upheaval. There is opportunity for cerebration, rumination, reflection, and hindsight to wax the wheels of change. Fluky or fortuitous – those defining demarcations, are but thumbnail sketches of life as we know it, and can splinter or rupture, into a jumble of rubble. Detour and take the divergent route, lugging and dragging a convoy of paraphernalia and baggage, and even so, we are wrestling the wind. Rein in and buckle down for vital acclimatization, distended and magnified, when you envisage yourself as a pawn or memento.
As though soaked and sodden, steeped in lumps and oodles, blended and amalgamated, joined and entwined, thrust into the pandemonium of a hooligan’s hokum. Discern it. Don’t deny it. Don’t acquiesce, or permit it to pillage you further. For soon there is a juncture, from engulfed and submerged, as it sequentially sinks in – then ascends to a conversion, and will augment migration.
One of life’s central battles is to define our own purpose for existence. There can be ferocity in the resistance one meets, just in making a choice to live your own life. Every stage of development we go through in life is a step toward asserting our own autonomy.
Unfortunately there are those who grow up lacking the perimeters to sustain internal cohesion, in relation to their own autonomy. It is a type of arrested development. The resulting intrinsic insecurity causes controlling, dominating, and manipulative behaviors. What they want supersedes the rights of other people. They cling to a malignant self-love as a form of self-exaltation. Self becomes the monument and simultaneously their worldview shrinks. They are gummed up in a bubble of delusion.
Bullies insist on targeting, limiting, assaulting in a variety of ways, defining and exploiting others for their own gain. They manipulate until they are blue in the face, and it will never be enough. At the end of the day – this is what defines them. We are ultimately defined by our own character traits. Almost everything else is transient.
What superficially defines us can be clawed away, to bring us vis-a-vis with the nothingness Jean-Paul Sartre so bleakly wrote about in “Being And Nothingness”. But he did converge upon the urgency to overcome conniving and dismal, onerous, backbreaking and confining, tyrannical, superincumbent, oppressive forces – in order to live an authentic life. The upsurge within us, scintillates the brain waves, to reconcile for ourselves, who and what enlightens and emboldens us.
For slamming the door in the face of the Exclusive Brethren teacher at last, they condemn me to the depths of wickedness and the vehement blaze of eternal damnation. They cannot contain or conceal the smoldering animosity toward me. They justify penance around accusations of me being the cause of an incessant rumble. The battle encompasses rebuffing the teacher and his dog-eared refusal to take no for an answer. The dinky deduction is to make me the disturbance, even though it ejaculated from his own shrinking loins.
They redefined me as the designated and devoted doyenne of fighting and fracas for fraying the finery of a fibbing disaster. I have transformed into a provocateur with a hitch and become a problematic snafu. A whistling quandary to be contained and restrained, or cease to exist.
They chew it as sinew to prolong the affliction. They seek to seclude, to ambush again, with a paroxysm of more sonorous suffering. They shrink into a desolate domicile, by stunting and stuffing, slurping on swagger, and suffocating sensibilities, for sick selfish reasons.
They are prepared to do combat and will keep right on clashing, until they stumble into a sweeping fiasco. The teacher wants an orifice for a consummate conclusion. The unease they perceive as a menace, crowning this compulsion, prompting surveillance or minding – is provoked by the scant bounty of what I am thinking.
The point of convergence in all of my thinking is to stop the madness, abort the injustice, and transform this aberration into an acknowledgment of the fundamental rights of others, particularly women and children. They have no right to make acceptance in my own family conditional upon the Exclusive Brethren bulldozer teacher being my au pair and daddy-god. They counterfeit themselves as venerating religious fundamentalists, yet they flubbed the nitty-gritty nuances, to become a figment, a yarn entwined in ballyhoo and knotted in hoopla.
Sooner or later the authentic self rises from an intrinsic driving force, giving direction until you arrive at, and acknowledge that existential place of nothingness. It took until I came to that place of acceptance on being nothing, knowing when we die we must let go of it all anyway, and in understanding that once we are born, we exist in this world and have as much right to be here as anyone else…
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
I remember very clearly when I started believing in God. It was before what is considered to be the age of understanding, but for me, it was distinctly when my belief started. Since then I have always believed in God.
I was three years old, and we lived on a farm in central Alberta. The two nearest neighbours were a half mile away, and a mile and a half away. The closer neighbours were not very friendly, so we seldom talked to them. But the couple who were a bit further away, were much more friendly. Mr. Hoffman, to me looked just like Brutus in the Popeye movie, and was kind of gruff, so I steered clear of him. But his wife was a lovely woman, and I really liked her, and always wanted to tag along so I could talk to her, and see the lambs they had in their barn.
The nearest town was seven miles away, and had a population of four hundred people. We lived in a rural farming area that had many people who had immigrated from various European countries.
We were Scandinavian, most of the others were from Poland, the Ukraine, and in outlying areas, there were German settlements. People still referred to their parent’s home country as the “old country.” It made it sound as if those faraway countries, were so far in the distant past, they barely existed anymore.
I used to imagine they were full of people who were a hundred years old or more, and couldn’t make it to Canada. Some of the local kids did not know English when they started school. They soon learned though. And I soon learned about the old countries, when we took geography at school. I found out they were not full of old people after all.
Our father would often visit the Hoffmans to talk about farm machinery and what not. They usually stood outside and talked. I would beg to go along, so I could talk to Mrs. Hoffman, and would always ask her if I could play with the lambs. They were so adorable.
She was the nicest, kindest woman, and was happy to talk to me. I would ask her all kinds of questions. I had watched a movie that scared me a lot. It was about someone getting kidnapped, and I realized it was so the family would have to pay money to get them back. I knew our parents did not have much money, and was afraid no one would pay a nickel for me if I got kidnapped.
She told me about God, and she said He knows every single hair on my head, which amazed me from then on. I would look at people who had really thick curly hair, and marvel at how God could know how many hairs were on their head. I couldn’t even guess.
She went on to say God would make sure no one harmed a single hair on my head. I was very impressed with God, based on what she told me about Him. I trusted her too, because she was so nice, and loving, and also sort of radiant, especially in her eyes.
At the same time, our mother was in heart failure from a bout of rheumatic fever as a child. During and after her pregnancies, she was getting sicker and weaker by the day. She was one of the first, and at the time, the youngest in all of Canada, to get open heart surgery, and valve replacements. It was experimental surgery, and the outcome was not known. Later on she told me she had an out of body experience during the surgery, and watched the surgery being done from above. She said there were green sheets everywhere, almost completely covering her up.
I remember hearing her crying one night before she went to the hospital for the surgery, talking to our father, and telling him she did not think she would live through it. She was just twenty-three years old at the time, and had several small children.
I remember praying every single night, that she would come back from the hospital, and not die. I still remember the day she came back like it was yesterday. She was so pale and slender, and was wearing a belted mauve dress, with mauve embroidered trim.
I was outside by the gate when I heard the car door slam, and came running around the corner to see her. I thought she looked like an angel. She was so weak, but the love in her eyes literally shone when she saw me come running. She too had a radiance about her, similar to our kind neighbour.
It solidified and reinforced my belief in God. In fact, I was positive God had answered my prayers. This to me was proof. After that I prayed earnestly about all kinds of things. Like not to get kidnapped, not to fall into quicksand, not to see a bear when my little brother and I played in the woods, and so on.
Although life took many twists and turns, and I went through times of darkness and being lost, I have always believed in God with all my heart. Later on in my youth and early teens, I began to learn about the significance of Jesus and being saved.
As a very young child, I believed. It was unwavering, and still is. It is almost like the seed was planted when I went to the neighbours to play with the lambs. She would give me a muffin, and talk to me about all kinds of things. She never told me I asked too many questions, which is something I got told a fair bit. I was a chatterbox, and curious to no end.
Later on as I looked back on those conversations, I knew what a gem she was in sharing her faith with me, to offer reassurance, and to let me know about God, and His love for us.
Many years later, when our mother did die, I walked into the small town hall after her funeral, and by that time, Mrs. Hoffman was in her nineties. She immediately recognized me, and she was as warm and loving as ever.
It really goes to show how much influence a person can have over another person’s life, especially a child. I will always be grateful for her, and her kind Christian words. They never left me, and I am thankful to know I will see her again some day.
The strong delusion is meant for those who do not seek the truth, and is part of end times Bible prophecy. What does this mean for the increasing scope of mental health disorders? I wonder if it will be put into the end times DSM manual, aka the diagnostic bible for mental health disorders? Imagine if they added a refusal to believe the truth as the number one mental health disorder in the world? They could give people a Bible to read instead of giving them psychoactive drugs like anti psychotics and ketamine.
Guess what? It is a condition that cannot be cured by drugs. It can only be cured by seeking, and obeying the truth. The real truth as is outlined by God himself.
For anyone interested in end times prophecy or eschatology, now would be a good time to review what the Bible says about the strong delusion, and how it affects people. It says lawlessness will be increased, and people’s hearts will become hardened. Love will wax cold. People will be arrogant, will mock God, and follow false teaching.
The strong delusion is not sent to trick people. It is sent because those who persistently deny the truth, take pleasure in all kinds of things God rejects; including lies, exploiting the weak, greed, pride, and deceptive ways to gain an advantage over others. So it is a prelude to the unfolding of the end times events, where God’s wrath begins to be poured out on those who reject Him.
Some people believe it is the epitome of arrogance to believe we know the truth, when all beliefs are accepted and respected in a secular world. It is true that people have choices in what they believe. We all have free will, especially when it comes to our spiritual beliefs. It is not people who judge others, or send them strong delusion, but rather God does.
It never ceases to amaze me how much false doctrine is being taught and preached now. The Bible is altered in subtle ways, twisted and then used to deceive people, probably more than any other form of deception. Recently I listened to a couple of sermons by a preacher on YouTube who had a sub-title called “I’ll Be Honest”.
What an oxymoron, because he is steeped in Amillennialism, and claimed the entire Book of Revelation is symbolic. He said, none of what it describes is actually going to happen. However, contrary to what he claimed, it is pretty obvious, the entire Bible contains a rich mixture of metaphor, parables, and literal truths. This particular doctrine denies the second coming of Christ, as it is described throughout the Bible, and especially in the Book of Revelation. It denies the promise that Christ will reign on this earth for a thousand years, and will rule the earth with a rod of iron. There will be no more crooked tricks, and devious plans. People will live in peace and prosperity, as things are restored to what they were originally intended to be in the Garden of Eden.
This false doctrine claims the thousand year reign of Christ began when Christ was here on earth, and is ongoing. He overlooks the fact it was two thousand years ago, and then covers the inconsistency by saying a thousand years just means a very long time. They also somehow manage to believe Satan is already bound. They arrive at this conclusion because of what they see as the power of Christian influence on earth. Theoretically at least, the Christians will make the world better and better until all evil is overcome. However it is pretty clear, the world is getting worse not better. We only need to look around us, and read about the historical events and wars to know this is false doctrine.
When questioned about the negative developments in the world, they simply say it may take another 10,000 years, or 30,000 years, or whatever. How convenient. They seem to think there is such a thing as spiritual evolution, although it may take a hundred million years overall. They adapt what the Bible says, to what they want to believe, no matter how outlandish it might be.
What about all the verses in the Bible describing a thousand year reign of Christ on the earth after the second coming? Anyone who went to Sunday school, or has heard any portion of the gospel, knows about the verses describing how the sword will be turned into a pruning hook, and the weapons of war will be turned into ploughshares. Even more idyllic, is the description of a child leading the wild beasts, such as leopards, wolves and lions, and no harm shall come to them.
Have we ever seen a time in our world when children have no fear of wild beasts? Or where there has not been war in some location? There is no evidence or rationale whatsoever to believe Christians can overcome all the problems in this world. It’s not even possible, because the world leaders are making a mess of things, and they are not going to allow anyone to dominate them. They need more of a shake up than what people can orchestrate, in order to uproot the plans of the global leaders.
The Bible contains many descriptions pertaining to the thousand year reign of Christ immediately following His second coming. There is nothing to indicate there will be a secret rapture prior to His second coming. The secret rapture doctrine supposedly is designed to save Christians from the coming tribulation. Yet all throughout history, Christians were never given such a promise.
In fact when you think about the many verses that tell Christians to endure until the end, and analogies to compare it to a race, what does that tell us? Do people quit a race just before they reach the finish line? Or the advice we are given to endure until death? Or the fact so many Christians throughout history were persecuted? Why would a certain group at the end of the age be treated special? There are also descriptions of the resurrection of people on the last day, the final trumpet, and so on. It says the dead in Christ will rise first, followed by those who are alive when He returns.
Why would the dead need to be raptured in order to be saved from the tribulation? Where does it say Christ will return three times? If so, the final return would not be called the second coming. Why would God’s plan all throughout history focus on a glorious triumphant climax, but minimize it or take it away by orchestrating a secret rapture? It is pure manmade fiction, and is not taught anywhere in the Bible.
The Amillennialism doctrine is also a man’s invention based on early Catholic beliefs. It came from Augustine of Hippo, around four hundred years after the death of Christ. He was also known as Saint Augustine, and as the name implies, he was of Catholic origin. Although I have not read much about him, apparently he deviated from Catholic beliefs to a certain extent as well, and some reports say toward the end of his life, he became a staunch atheist. So much for the honesty surrounding this doctrine.
Like the rapture theology, it makes no sense and is not taught in the Bible. It is an offshoot of Catholic beliefs. The descriptions of the thousand year reign after Christ’s return are throughout the Bible. It makes sense too, because after thousands of years leading up to the second coming, Christ returns to rule. Not to be persecuted, humiliated and killed. But to take over, and rule as King of the entire world.
The descriptions of the thousand year reign, and the end of the thousand year reign are also very substantial parts of the entire gospel as it unfolds. The thousand year reign is a time of peace, prosperity, learning, and preparation for the great white throne of judgement.
When Satan is released for a short time after the thousand year reign, and then destroyed for good, it is also in the same time frame that the dead who were not believers when Christ returned, will be raised from the dead, and face judgement.
After all these events take place, there will be a new world created, and an ushering in of the New Jerusalem. This is a very different description than what the earth will be like during the thousand year reign. The thousand year reign is comparable to a sabbath for the earth. Whereas the new world to follow ushers in a different and Godly eternity.
God’s presence will be in the new world. There will be no more night or darkness. God himself will be the light of this world. Another huge difference is there will be no more sea, which would make much more room for people, for agriculture, and ease of travel. The Bible also describes a huge tree with a different fruit ripening every month, and all will be able to partake in it. It describes the new temple in magnificent terms, with gold, and gemstones, and all the gates that represent every tribe and nation.
So for the manmade doctrines to dismiss significant portions of what the Bible describes will happen, is to take away from the word, and lead people astray. It is God’s plan, and we have nothing to do with His plans. Important men who mastermind plans in the name of God, are out of their minds. We are not even capable of comprehending the fullness of God’s plans, and therefore need to have faith, and take our beliefs directly from the Bible, not false teachers and false prophets. They skip what they want to skip, and add what is not even there.
In Christian beliefs, we would be wise to steer clear of all the isms, because ism simply means a man made ideology. If you look into the background of religious isms you will see the manmade origin of the heresy. In the case of dispensationalism and false rapture theology, you will find John Nelson Darby and Scofield, as primary people who invented and pushed this doctrine. In addition, the rapture doctrine brought about at least thirteen fictional Hollywood movies.
Premillennialism, Amillennialism, Postmillennialism are all manmade extrapolations designed to confuse people. Those words are not in the Bible. If people are going to preach the Bible, they should stick with what it says in the Bible. Many are led astray because of all the confusion, different denominations, and most of all, the different isms.
There are many others who wrote about, and advanced the false doctrine of dispensationalism, and still do. It is rife with error, because it claims the Jewish people are separate, when the Bible says there is only one body of Christ, and that all Christians are equal before Christ. Darby made the changes to the original Bible in the 1830’s, which in the entire scope of things, was not that long ago. Originally Darby was an Anglican priest.
Darby also divided up the Bible into dispensations, and made the final one the dispensation of Grace, which basically allows, or encourages lawlessness, due to the notion there is automatic forgiveness, no matter what people do. It even advances many outright lies about God’s plan for humankind, going so far as to claim God made mistakes, and man’s rebellion caused Him to change his course. Dispensationalism breeds not only false teaching, but also supreme arrogance.
For some strange reason, many churches have embraced this doctrine. It not only has the false dispensations, and separation of Israel, but Darby made many other changes to the Bible as well, to include the notion of a seven year tribulation. Whatever his motives were, like Saint Augustine, they were not the least bit truthful. If you look back at the history of followers of this doctrine like Scofield, you find out he was a dishonest and despicable character in his personal life. Darby is rumoured to have been a freemason, and developed the pre-tribulation rapture concept, after talking to a fifteen year old girl who claimed she levitated during a seance.
There are many other religious isms such as Seventh Day Adventism, which was established by Ellen White in 1863. She wrote all kinds of personal Biblical end times interpretations, and believed she was a conduit to God’s plans. She believed she was anointed and special to the extent, if you read her history, you would think she was psychotic, as opposed to being anointed. She set specific dates for the return of Christ that turned out to be false, and was charged with extensive plagiarism as well. It did not affect her dedicated followers in the least. Ellen White is still revered in the Seventh Day Adventist church to this day, and they use her writings as much, or more than they use the actual Bible.
Another ism is Calvinism, which was established by John Calvin in 1519. John Calvin was also a cruel and despicable character. He formulated the TULIP acronym, or the five points of Calvinism. He was basically an offshoot of Augustine of Hippo. In fact he absolutely worshipped the guy. Thus all of this doctrine is rooted in the deviations from Catholicism that were initially defined by Saint Augustine, who also established the false doctrine of Amillennialism.
Another example of a well known false teacher who wrote copious numbers of books to promote himself, and certain doctrinal falsehoods, is John MacArthur. He is a five point Calvinist who claims to preach the truth of the Bible. Yet when he went to have a debate with Mormon leaders to try and sway them to Christianity, he took and shared his own books, as opposed to taking the Bible. He too, like Darby, Augustine, Ellen White and many others will have left behind volumes of writings steeped in false doctrine. One thing we can know for certain is that these are manmade doctrines. Many of these preachers become very rich, and they view it as God’s blessings for their teachings. They are already deluded.
There are many isms in both religion and the secular world. In the secular world we have sexism, feminism, ableism, and ageism. These are all ideologies based on perceptions, personal beliefs, and interpretations of the world around us. They actually lead to the discrimination of other people, but are disguised to pretend they protect and prevent discrimination.
Marxism, socialism, communism, and capitalism, are isms that can be taken to extremes, and lead to fascism, and other forms of societal hardships. Many falsehoods deal in double speak and opposites. They can sound good based on the underlying utopian ideals. But they quickly devolve into totalitarianism and a lust for power.
There are countless deceptions in this world, and they seem to be growing by the day. Christ warned his disciples, and he warned us many times throughout the Bible not to be deceived. He said the devil comes after us as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The sheep don’t go out looking for the wolf. The wolves hunt the sheep, and many of us are caught in the jaws of the wolf.
The only way to overcome delusion is by finding, embracing and holding fast to the truth. First and foremost the truth of our own identity is a core issue. For those who believe in Christ, our identity is in Christ, our seed, and our own lineage. We belong to one of the twelve tribes who are sealed by the Holy Spirit. We belong to the family of God. We cannot allow anyone to rob us, or deceive us about our identity. In addition, the Bible describes each and every generation, and who begat who. We are part of a much bigger picture, and cannot let the wolves drag us into their den of iniquity.
It is not easy to shake off the falsehoods foisted upon us, and it is not easy to escape our own shortfalls, deceptions, addictions, and inclination to be deceived. We cannot save ourselves. We have to look for God’s guidance through His word, and have faith that Christ is the truth, the way and the life. No one can go to the Father except through Christ. He also promises to be a lamp to our feet, and show us the way. Otherwise every last one of us would succumb to strong delusion.
Delusion is not a DSM diagnosis. It is the condition of this world right now. It cannot be treated with drugs, or secular counselling. The only antidote is truth. If we embrace the truth, we can have much more confidence in having a sound mind, because that too, is one of God’s many promises for believers. We can get out from under all the fear, anxiety and depression as well, because we have hope and assurance.
We can find a solution for all the mental illness without labelling and drugging people. But none of us can control another person’s beliefs, or whether or not they seek the truth in the Bible. On a personal level, we have to repent, and let go of all of the mess we were trapped in, or created for ourselves, and find the truth of the Bible.
So many of us have been steeped not only in secularism, addiction, and foundational lies, but also religious deception. We easily become ensnared, trapped and in bondage to the things of this world. Few things are more important than truth. In fact, nothing is more important than truth. Without truth we lose our way, we do not repent, we have no salvation, we cannot trust, and therefore we cannot know love. Without truth we are destined for destruction.
For those who refute Calvinism, several of them have taken it to the opposite extreme and adamantly claim that repentance is works, and therefore Christians are not required to repent of sins. Since when is repentance works, other than God’s work of sanctification in us? Works involves things like giving to the poor, being a worship leader, caring for the sick, generosity, etc. Those are things people do freely and without expectation of returns or gain. But repentance is not works. Abandoning sinful conduct is not works. It is simply a change of heart, and when that happens there is a change in conduct.
Pre-destiny is misconstrued by Calvinists because God knows what is, what was, and what is to come. The Calvinists took that to mean God has chosen them, and there is no free will. They fail to realize they are not God, and do not have God’s understanding of what people will choose to do.
Repentance is not our works, but rather it is the work of God in us. It is part of the process of sanctification, and redemption. Like salvation, it is by the grace Of God that we come to recognize the magnitude of what Christ has done for us. As we listen to the truth of the gospel, our faith grows stronger, and we are affected by the awareness, and life changing aspects of God’s abundant grace. Our growth comes from His work in us, not anything we can do by ourselves. Repentance is a blessing from God, and takes away delusion by letting us see the truth of our own condition. It brings us to an understanding of the power of forgiveness, and the truth of what Christ did for us on the cross.
Another stream of false teaching is that all non-believers will be in a lake of fire tormented for all eternity. Those verses are referring to Satan and the false prophet. The Bible has many references to the second death for those who are not in the book of life when judgment day rolls around. The most famous verse in the Bible John 3:16 “…everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life…” That means those who do not believe will perish, and will not have eternal life.
Once again, there are many verses that tell us the non-believers will not have eternal life. Therefore to claim they will burn in extreme agony and torment forever and ever, is false teaching, and a complete misrepresentation of the character of God. It seems many of those who are rebuking other false teachers, then glibly go on to add some other form of false teaching. All these scholars and teachers must have read the Bible. It is hard to understand why they would teach false doctrine.
Personally I do not want to be sent strong delusion. Even if certain truths in our life brings us rejection and punishment, we are to endure it, and trust God. Discernment is a gift, and it helps us to steer clear of all sorts of deceptions. We cannot be lukewarm, wishy washy milk toast, or spineless Christians, or the wolves will devour us.
We somehow have to balance embracing the truth, with love, mercy, repentance, forgiveness, and trust in God. There are many difficulties in life. Just as we are told wide is the gate that leads to destruction, we have to be prepared to head for the straight or narrow gate.
The DSM Manual is the so called bible for diagnosing mental health disorders. Over the past forty years, the diagnostic manual has grown exponentially. Now every difficulty in life has a mental health disorder to go with it. I am not a doctor, or a mental health counsellor. But I did work in mental health for several years, and observed people for hours on end (twelve hour shifts) who were chronically mentally ill.
My opinions are based on experience, and observations over many years, and are only intended as food for thought, or to point people to doing more research on medications commonly prescribed. It is not medical advice, but rather to provide some insight into an alternative viewpoint of self responsibility, that may not be readily accepted by mainstream healthcare, especially those in psychiatry.
If I was still working as an RN, I would not have the freedom to describe, or explain some of the things I have learned over the years. Since I am out of the profession (thankfully), I am free to write about my own experiences and observations. Some of the most damaging and addictive drugs are opiates, along with a multitude of other psychoactive medications.
The point to be made is that drugs are killing people. It is a well known fact. Encouraging people to seek a mental health diagnosis for every negative feeling, or difficult situation, is opening the door for more drug addiction, under the pretence of helping people. There seems to be a promotion of more and more mental health disorders. Human beings have always had struggles, anxieties, situational depression, losses, grief, divorces, and many other hurdles to overcome. Difficulties in life can be overcome without being labelled as being mentally ill, and drugged into oblivion.
There are natural ways to increase serotonin. There are natural ways to increase dopamine. Prescription drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs. More and more, the lines are blurred between the two when it comes to psychoactive medications. My only intention is to encourage people to look at different options, and not to blindly trust the system. Also do not be pushed or coerced into accepting a diagnosis or drugs, if you are a functioning, cognitively intact person. Trust your mind, your research, and your intuition.
I also worked in ER departments, and did a fair bit of break relief in hospital psych units over the years. It gave me an idea on the scope of the acute care components of those who presented with mental health disorders. I also worked a three or four year stint in geriatric psychiatry, which is different because it involves more physical disorders, organic brain disorders, and damage to the brain due to strokes.
When it comes to strokes, the person usually does not have a psychiatric disorder, but rather a physical impairment. It often causes paralysis on one side of the body, and also often causes speech impairment, or a difficulty finding words. Many people make a full or partial recovery following a stroke. The symptoms can vary widely though, as it depends on the part of the brain affected.
Some people do end up having mental health issues, labile moods, and erratic behaviours following a stroke, if there is damage to certain parts or the brain involving emotions and cognitive function. Strokes however, are physiological in cause, and have no relationship to prior mental health issues, as they are related to the circulatory system, as opposed to chronic anxiety, depression, or thought disorders. In addition, CT scans will show which area of the brain is affected, whereas with mental illness, if there is no physical cause, there is also no diagnostic method to determine what has happened.
There may be advances in mental health imaging that I am not aware of, but for the most part, as far as I know, mental health has always been diagnosed based on feelings, behaviours, and various other symptoms like sleep disorders, appetite, inability to concentrate, confusion, intrusive thoughts etc. All people who have psychiatric disturbances should have a physical examination to determine if there is a physical cause for the disruptions in mood. Even fluctuations in blood sugar can cause emotional upheavals. Also, many medications that are prescribed for physical ailments can influence mood, sleep and appetite. A careful evaluation of onset, and symptoms help to identify the cause.
When reading the charts of those who were institutionalized for mental illness, one common denominator was a prior history of frequent admissions throughout their lives. For instance, if a person had a “nervous breakdown” at age forty, and were admitted to hospital, they were at risk for more admissions in the future. Later on they might be admitted for severe depression a few times. It appeared, the more short term acute admissions, the more likely they were to be admitted long term at some point. And the more likely they were to end up in LTC later in life. One thing I did notice, time and time again in LTC, is that the fewer drugs a person was on, the more cognitively intact they were.
Those who took a Vit D tablet a day or a baby aspirin and nothing else, were more likely to be calm, aware, and alert even if they were a hundred years old. Those who were on multiple medications, especially benzodiazepines, anti psychotics, anti depressants, etc. were much more likely to be out of their minds. It is only an observation, not a formal research study. It is proven however, that as people age, there is less tolerance for many medications. The Beers list is a good reference manual for those who want to be sure to avoid medications that are poorly tolerated by the elderly. It is quite a long list with significant amount of information:
LTC is full of elderly people who fall into one of two categories. There are those who are physically disabled, and there are those who have dementia, or mental health disorders. Some of them are disabled, and also have mental health deterioration. But for the most part, the extended care patients had mobility problems, often with intact and alert minds, while the dementia patients were often very active, but had severe memory or psychiatric impairments. It really served to highlight how important it is to try to maintain both mobility, and cognition as we age.
In the case of younger people, psychosis as a result of schizophrenia seemed to be most prevalent in young men between the ages of 19-23 or so. Otherwise, many of the mental health disorders in young people were secondary to drug and alcohol toxicity, or sometimes impulsive patterns of behaviour associated with personality disorders.
One thing that did seem apparent, was the more admissions, and the more drugs, the more likely the person would be to end up in a locked unit, or admitted for the long term. Therefore to stay out of such a situation, it is best to avoid ending up in the hospital repeatedly over mental health issues. That means finding ways to take care of ourselves, and not become a burden to others. Often the most determined people to find help, or to get a family member admitted, to do because they are at wit’s end, and can no longer manage the person’s disruptive behaviours or care. We are best to take care of ourselves as long as we possibly can.
There are many pitfalls and snares to fall into as we navigate our lives. As much as we can get into an accident and become physically injured, we can also accidentally harm our minds, with toxic drugs, and by getting lured into the system.
Once the system sucks you in, it may never spit you back out again. The idea is to have a healthy dose of wariness, when it comes to the attempts to pitch us into the pit in the first place. The devil attacks our minds and spirits, more than anything else. It’s not to say the devil is the cause of mental illness, just that we have to protect our minds, as well as our bodies. Deception, and attacks upon our emotions, our minds, our will, and our better judgement; as well as attempts to destabilize us, are things to stand against, regardless of where they come from.
In the absence of a medical condition that affects the brain such as a stroke, a person with no prior history of psychiatric admissions, is far less likely to have a breakdown later in life. It’s not to discount the fact we all have struggles, or may need care, but it’s the repeated admissions, and excessive need for medications, that seem to contribute to long term admissions, or a diagnosis of chronic mental illness.
In addition to observing people who were mentally ill and institutionalized, I also gave them the countless pills that were ordered for their mental illnesses. Therefore, I witnessed first hand the behaviours within the institution, as well as the side effects from the pills.
I don’t dispute that some people do need to be hospitalized, or in an institution. However, I also believe the vast majority of people who do not need to be institutionalized, can find ways to overcome their depression and anxiety without falling victim to the harm done by psychotropic medications. There is still very real, and ongoing stigma, associated with not being in full control of one’s faculties. It also increases our vulnerability a great deal, to turn our decision making over to an industry, whose sole motive is to push drugs, as the solution for mental health struggles.
If a person is not really sick, or does not appear to be mentally ill, a course of potent psychotropic medications will make them sick. The reason for this is that the side effects are so severe, they cause movement disorders, drooling, twitches, extreme weight gain, and various other things. They may also increase thought disorders and confusion. Many of them cause dissociative reactions, and suicidal or homicidal ideation that the person did not have to begin with.
Given the fact they are now introducing ketamine and hallucinogenics into the mix of potentially damaging psychiatric drugs, it is even more reason to stay away from the insanity of it all. If a person was not psychotic to begin with, they will be offered to be put into a drug induced psychosis to help them along.
Furthermore, any person who goes to a psychiatrist will get diagnosed with some kind of mental health disorder. There is a very strong incentive within the industry to make a diagnosis. The reason for this, is because they will also immediately prescribe potent drugs. It does not matter if you tell a psychiatrist that you do not want medications. It does not matter if you tell him you are eating well, sleeping well, get fresh air and exercise, have goals, and believe you have much to look forward to. He will simply claim you are delusional, for thinking like a normal person. Seriously.
Delusions simply mean believing what is false. A person who gives a rational account of their issues, family background, and history to a psychiatrist, deserves to be heard, not face a rush to judgement. After all, as far as delusions are concerned, there is no diagnostic criteria involved, other than establishing the truth. Their role is to listen and validate the veracity of the claims.
If a psychiatrist within minutes, claims a person is delusional, without bothering to fact check the background or history, especially when it comes to factual, documented, provable issues – then he is making an unfounded, biased misdiagnosis, and is not worth his salt. A psychiatrist who makes such brazen errors in judgement, should be held accountable the same as any other professional in health care.
There is no credibility with many psychiatrists. They are all over the map when it comes to competency. Their main goal is to push drugs, so steer clear of them if you want to stay sane. As a profession, they have a higher incidence of mental health disorders, than there is in the general population. In addition, they may not have processed the meaning of ethics, or be too arrogant to have any regard for ethics and truth.
Just look at the number of psychiatrists who will claim a repeat offender is no longer a risk to society? There are so many cases where a violent criminal has a psychiatric assessment, and is set free. Often they will reoffend in no time flat. In many cases, they commit crimes after being released, that were more horrific than the original crime.
How about the psychiatrist who assessed Vincent Li, after he beheaded a person on a greyhound bus in Winnipeg? Li then stayed inside the bus for hours, parading around waving the person’s head, in front of horrified onlookers. Initially the police were too afraid to enter the bus. The traumatized onlookers were the people who had been on the bus, and fled the scene.
That man had an insanity defence, since it was decided he did not know what he was doing. Shortly after that, a psychiatrist claimed he was not a threat to society, so he was released. I wish that psychiatrist could be forced to sit beside the guy on a sixteen hour bus trip. They seem to have no clue, when it comes to the risk involved for innocent people. It makes you question their judgement in general, when it comes to making any assessments at all.
Psychiatrists, paradoxically seem to be more inclined to call a sane person insane, and a person who is criminally and dangerously insane, sane. So much for trusting their knowledge and abilities. How many court cases do they screw up when they are expert witnesses? No wonder so many people call psychiatry a field of warped pseudo-science.
The only criteria they use is their own skewed judgement. Every other diagnosis in health care involves diagnostic tests such as blood work, ultrasound, X-Rays, ECG’s, CT scans, etc. But in psychiatry, they diagnose and drug people, without using any evidence or diagnostic tools at all. They just use their trusty pharmaceutical inspired DSM manual. They can be batting zero, but they still think they are hitting home runs. There is no way to refute them, because there is no real criteria.
One thing for certain is that all people who go to a psychiatrist, and are then prescribed potent psychoactive medications, should first have a full physical exam before being started on treatment. They may have blood glucose issues, or trans ischemic attacks, or hypothyroidism, or cardiac problems etc., that may contradict certain medications. Psychiatrists have no business treating mental health, without treating the whole person. If the patient is on medications for medical reasons, the psychiatrist cannot possibly know all the potential drug interactions he may be subjecting them to. There needs to be some solid baseline work done, as well as a detailed medical history taken.
Yet most psychiatrists don’t bother with, care about, or even know much about medical conditions. If a psych patient ends up in hospital for any reason, they are at the mercy of the system more than ever, because no one in the hospital knows what they were like before they were diagnosed, drugged, and labelled as mentally ill. There is a stigma associated with it, no matter how much the media, or whoever else tries to sugar coat it.
Furthermore, they have no business ordering a voluntary patient to “see me in two weeks”. Maybe the person does not want to see them. Maybe they do not trust the psychiatrist. Maybe they question why he would order a potent medication that can exacerbate cardiac arrhythmias, without even asking them about their medical history.
All the psychiatrists seem to want to do, is spend five or ten minutes with a patient, pull a diagnosis out of their hat, and then put them on dangerous drugs. They order the person to return in two weeks so they can up the medication, or add more medication, if the person complains of side effects. It’s a sketchy profession in many ways, with poor controls, especially from the perspective of holistic treatment. If you went and saw three different psychiatrists, you would probably get diagnosed with three different disorders at least.
Once they get a person reeled in, they seem to love to play with the medications and dosages, making adjustments, adding to, or changing medications like they are Frankenstein, or some kind of mad scientist. Gee, let’s see what this drug will do? Let’s up the dosage. Let’s add some anticholinergics for the side effects. Let’s tweak the anti anxiety meds, and add a sleeping pill. Before long, the person is twitchy, confused, zombie like, sleeping all day etc.
I can honestly say that over the years I worked with many doctors, including many psychiatrists. I never met a single psychiatrist who was not strange and quirky. Some of them were nicer than others, but they all had very odd ideas, and mannerisms.
In mental health, I used to have to accompany, and sit through the patient interviews with the psychiatrist. I remember one psychiatrist who had to have the clock on the wall placed in a certain location. If it was a tiny bit crooked, or even if it wasn’t crooked, he thought it was. He literally could not stand the position of the clock, or concentrate, if it was not quite right. He had clock OCD. He was always far more focused on the clock, than he was on anything else, and would fidget until he couldn’t take it anymore, and then get up and adjust it. A lot of the time the clock was not even off kilter. I have a pretty good eye for symmetry, and wondered what was wrong with him. He just thought it was crooked. I remember thinking, “Gee, which one is the psych patient here.”
If you delve into the reasoning behind all the newfound mental health disorders, you will find this rapid growth is fuelled and funded by the pharmaceutical companies. The goal is to diagnose, and drug people, for everything from mild situational depression, to unresolved family conflicts, to anxiety over all the covid turmoil that was inflicted on people in recent years. Any reason is a good reason, to claim someone is mentally ill.
By all means, some people do need medications and psychiatric evaluations. However the laws do protect Canadians from forced psychiatric evaluations. No one can, or should be forced into a psychiatric evaluation without a court order. That means they have to have been in trouble with the law, and there will be plenty of documented evidence to support the need for a psychiatric evaluation. Even in the case of criminal charges, often psychiatric evaluations are over ruled.
In some cases, an employer can make the request for a psychiatric evaluation, if there is enough proof and documentation to support the need for a such an evaluation. The person has to be a recognized threat to the safety within the organization. Or it can be requested to support insurance claims, stress leave, or sick time. But this is only done as a condition of employment. If a person quits their job or is fired, there is no further mandatory requirement following termination, unless the person is reported to law enforcement, and the behaviour is so erratic, it poses a threat to the wider community.
Legally, there can be no legitimate accusation toward another person of being mentally ill. By law, we are all considered to be sane and mentally competent, unless it is proven otherwise. For those who repeatedly accuse a person of being mentally ill, without supporting evidence, they are engaging in false accusations, slander and defamation. False accusations are often used when there is family conflict, divorce, or a reason for a more powerful individual to discredit a person, in order to protect themselves. Sometimes, it is based on a projection of one person’s mental health disorder onto another. The one doing the projecting, is the one who has the most power.
During times when governments, and large corporations become unstable, and there is a rise in fascism, there is also a rise in the attempt to claim people are mentally ill. There are many examples of this throughout history, especially during the second world war. Prior to that, Stalin and Mussolini were well known for using the field of psychiatry to imprison, drug and murder people.
In addition, when a person with a mental health disorder goes missing, the first thing that comes up as a reason, is the claim they had a mental health disorder, or were depressed. It makes it much easier to simply allow people to vanish, giving a preconceived reason, with less incentive to investigate.
As far as diagnosing personality disorders, the key thing about personality disorders, is that they are intrinsic to the individual’s basic personality. They will be evident from early childhood onward, and will become increasingly obvious when the person enters their teens. The reason it is so difficult to treat personality disorders, is because they are a part of the person’s internal psychological make up.
If a person goes to a mental health counsellor for any reason, the mental health counsellor’s role is to support the client. He/she is obligated to contact authorities if, and only if the person has confessed to a crime, or poses a threat of violence to themselves or others.
Otherwise, the mental health counsellor has no right to coerce a voluntary patient or client in any way, with regards to their mental health, or their choices in how to manage their mental health. An attempt to force a diagnosis, or a treatment plan against the will of the client, is unethical and unlawful.
A mental health counsellor is not qualified to even make a diagnosis. Nor does he/she have the authority to force or suggest a psych diagnosis. It is extremely unethical, and unlawful to use the power of one’s profession to bully voluntary clients into a diagnosis or treatment plan.
Such practices are wide open to abuses of power, and the taking of bribes etc. An unethical mental health counsellor who abuses power over vulnerable people, is not fit to practice in a profession where people are entrusting them to provide empathy and assistance. They are expected to have an unbiased point of view, offer assistance to identify and explore underlying issues, such as family conflicts; and to provide genuine help with struggles the client may be trying to deal with. The counsellor must be transparent, and without an ulterior motive or agenda. All professionals have an obligation to disclose any conflict of interest they may have.
If they do have an ulterior motive, and are prone to unethical attitudes and coercion, they should not be practicing in the field of mental health. Unfortunately, it is a field that is poorly regulated, and has many unqualified and unethical practitioners. The first sign to be wary of, is if the counsellor is pushing an agenda that makes you uncomfortable, or is against your will. Bullying has no place in a therapeutic environment. If so, the best course of action is to get up and walk out.
If they are seriously using their power and position to bully you into a preconceived outcome, they should be reported to the appropriate association. Many of these practitioners are operating independently, and begin to think they are above the law, and accountable to no one. A Master’s degree by itself, does not make a person ethical. They too, must have personality traits with ethics and values, or they will do far more harm than good.
Under the guise of taking away the stigma of mental illness, and encouraging people to get a diagnosis, we are now seeing countless people being herded into treatment for mental health disorders, for every disjointed nuance in their lives. The idea is to gear all these newfound disorders, into a myth that it will magically take away the stigma surrounding a mental health diagnosis. As if such a concept is a kind, safe and collective thing to do. The more the merrier. The more people who go crazy, the more they normalize it, and encourage it. Don’t fall for it. What it really means, is more drugs, more drug induced sickness, and more stigma, not less.
We need to protect our minds, not turn them over to a DSM manual that has no basis in reality. By that I mean, there is no diagnostic criteria for mental illness. They simply make it up. They invent a new diagnosis for every human flaw, with new labels for those imperfections, every single time they republish the manual. That is why the numbers of mental health disorders are growing exponentially.
When the objectives surrounding the diagnosis are purely subjective, what is it really about? The only real mental health disorders, should be based on unruly behaviours, a loss of self control, the inability to self care, and whether or not one has the ability to string sentences together. How we feel, even though there are times of distress, if we can cope with it, we are not mentally ill.
There is a strong element of gaslighting involved, when it comes to the attempt to direct people toward a diagnosis of being mentally ill. There are so many mantras surrounding “getting help” it is enough to make your head spin. What kind of help is there? Drugs and stigma, and being put on the MAID list? Is that help? Notice how the actual tangible help a person might need, like food and shelter, is not part of the equation? It all revolves around drugs.
Look at what happened to nurse Lindsay Clancy and her efforts to get help for her “touch of anxiety” and “touch of psychosis”. She ended up murdering three beautiful, innocent children. The two older children were three and five years old. Imagine the terror those poor kids went through, as their mother systematically and deliberately cut off their air supply?
Imagine what is was like for one of the older children to witness her sibling being murdered? Whatever order they were killed in, they were three and five years old, with an eight month old baby brother. Even the eight month old baby would have recognized the terror of his siblings, and the abnormal circumstances. He too would have been frightened beyond anyone’s imagination. Children are very astute. Few things could be more horrific, as it would take at least five minutes to murder each child.
An act so violent, and terminal, is done out of anger, malice and resentment. No one could convince me that you could actually murder a child, or anyone else, as an act of mercy. Even in a psychotic state, it would have to involve malice, and rage toward the other human being, as well as a sense of power, dominance and ultimate control. Killing is about control. On the extreme end of the spectrum of control, is a complete loss of control.
Exceptionally controlling people, are the most likely to kill. Such control is rooted in a profound insecurity. Murder is the ultimate expression of mastery over another human being. It is the final triumph of power, to take control over whether someone else can live or die. To do it to children is absolutely abhorrent.
Clancy was getting help. She was going to an outpatient clinic five days a week. She was constantly making more doctor’s appointments, and seeking more medications, and changes to her medications. The list of medications she was on is staggering.
Her family was helping her. Her husband was working from home, in order to help her. She had medical insurance, and the system was supposedly helping her. It appears she was milking the health insurance with no end in sight. Was she a mental health hypochondriac? She was documenting all her woes, and misery every single day, in minute detail.
Criminal cases where violence is involved should be treated first and foremost as criminal cases. Most people with mental health struggles are not violent. Those who are, actually straddle the line between criminal and psychiatric, and needed to be evaluated by the legal profession more than anything, in order to protect the innocent. There is an old adage – the best predictor of future behaviour, is past behaviour.
The average person accepts negative thoughts, and feelings without constantly dwelling on them, unless there is a specific problem to try and solve. All people have negative thoughts and emotions. Sometimes those negativities are the result of abuse, lies, persecution, and controlling individuals in our lives. Wrestling with darkness is part of the human condition. By all means try to resolve the issues, but within limits.
Clancy did not appear to have abusers in her life. She was the abuser, and even though some say she was wonderful, her actions speak volumes. What more could have been done to help her? The biggest questions surrounds the futility, and harm that was caused from of all the help she did get. All the treatment, and self-absorbed quest for a never ending focus on herself, as opposed to her children, was at the root of it all.
Drugs are not a solution to anyone’s problems. There is no magic pill to make life’s difficulties evaporate. Anyone who does take them to get past a crisis, should also be sure they are only a temporary aid, while sorting things out. Even then, it is a very high risk choice to make.
All the attention had to revolve around her, and every little twinge of negative feelings that crossed her self-centred mind. Her solution was to get drugs and more drugs. One would think she would know better, but clearly she did not. She obviously had some kind of serious diversion from normalcy, and an inclination to have thoughts of murder, as a solution to her problems. It seems the crux of it was that she was a labour and delivery nurse, and did not want to go back to work, or had anxiety about returning to work.
There could have been problems in the marriage, since murdering one’s children, is often an ultimate act of revenge toward the other parent. Who knows what was going through her mind, but all the reports about her being a perfect mom, are so far from the truth, it is inconceivable people would even say such a thing. There is no such thing as a perfect mother, and she was most certainly not an example of even the worst of mothers. She was putting on an act. She might have had childish illusions about marriage, children, and a white picket fence, and then decided it was not all it was cracked up to be. So she cracked up, and thought she had created the perfect insanity defence. I’m just speculating of course. I have far less inclination to make excuses for this woman, than many of her co-workers and pals do.
I worked ten years as a labour and delivery nurse, and returned to work while still breast feeding. I do understand the exhaustion, and the extremely busy pace of the work she had to deal with, as well as the upheaval and difficulty of shift work. There are much wider implications, and potential causal factors in this case, that may never be acknowledged or addressed.
The wider implications could be that the role of a nurse, can be overwhelming, enough to create dread over walking through the doors of the facility. The workload is over the top. LDR is an area where dire emergencies happen all the time, and often without warning. It can be a rewarding area to work in when all goes well, but it is also very demanding.
In addition, when nurse’s make mistakes, especially in the US, but it is now a global trend, they can get terminated. Not only could she be fired, but she could also be charged under the criminal code with homicide, or criminal neglect.
In addition, she would not be on the ball, or have good judgement, and would be a risk to her patients, if she was taking benzodiazepines, and other psychoactive drugs while at work. Mistakes would lead to exposure, judgement, investigation by administration, public scrutiny, media, investigation by the nursing College, professional discipline, and potentially arrest. There could be a lawsuit and a trial, if she caused harm, or was negligent while at work, especially while under the influence of so many medications.
Even though her maternity leave was coming to an end, she was going to doctor after doctor, seeking more medications. Addiction to multiple medications, is not the solution to anyone’s problems. I read the list of medications she had been prescribed. It is incredible to see such a list of drugs given to an adult with three young children. Most of the medications on the list are profoundly addictive, to include more than one prescription for benzodiazepines.
None of the medications she was prescribed could be stopped cold turkey. Even a drug like Trazodone, which is an anti depressant, cannot be stopped suddenly. If a person on that drug gets into a car accident, it has to be put into a feeding tube, or else other drugs must be given to deal with the detox.
Benzodiazepine addiction requires months of gradual tapering to get off them. Just look at what Jordan Peterson experienced and reported as a result of taking benzodiazepines. He was not looking after small children, and nor was he about to return to work as an LDR nurse. How could she possibly take care of small children, drive, or go back to work, with that many drugs on board? She was impaired. If you look at pictures of her, she did not look like she weighed more than a hundred and twenty pounds. Weight does matter when it comes to drug dosages.
The system itself, and the multiple doctors she went to, facilitated this monumental disaster. They did so without calling social services, and without telling her she would not be capable of returning to work, given the number of medications she was on, and her ongoing drug seeking. The reason people go to numerous doctors, is to get more prescriptions. She had already been admitted to hospital as an inpatient for a week and discharged. She was going to an outpatient clinic every day. But none of it helped her. What else could have been done? Lock her up? Take the children away? Of course those options would have been viewed as being cruel. They were far better options than what she ended up doing.
Those very same mental health professionals, were more concerned about poor Lindsay, than they were about the children. They were treating her with all those drugs, knowing full well she was due to return to work. Did they have any foresight into the detox required, or the safety of the patients? Her children did not get any help or protection, did they?
She is alive isn’t she? She is not paralyzed like they claimed. She will walk out of the hospital. Meanwhile her children did not stand a chance when she plotted her murderous rampage. To top it off, there was a GoFundMe set up, with a million dollars donated to the husband. Since the couple is still married, half of the money will go to Lindsay. They cannot use it for a legal defence. But they could pay off their house, and then borrow for a legal defence. What a crazy world we live in.
Nurses do face a great deal of pressure, without a doubt. It is a profession, where for many there is an impossible workload, constant stress, chronic understaffing, and weak administration. Clancy may not have had the ability to manage the kind of workload foisted onto nurses. You cannot be a perfectionist overall. You have to set priorities, be able to anticipate what might happen, and chart every relevant detail. You have to let certain things go, but when it comes to what is important, you have to have nerves of steel, and the eyes of a hawk. It also helps to have intuition. I can honestly say that intuition was my best strength, while working in LDR.
I know the issue of her case is swarming around postpartum depression, and how poorly understood it is. But I think there needs to be some evaluation of the work anxiety, as being a cause as well. Nurses have been under an unprecedented amount of pressure, which has been exacerbated by covid.
Every single time a patient is put on isolation requirements, it involves more workload for nurses. All of the hype, the extra rules, the contradictions, the oppression, the PPE, the lack of trust between employer and employee, serves to create more pressure. When the system fails to support the nurses, the nurses fail to support the patients.
Is it any wonder the anxiety surrounding a fast paced work environment, is increasing in healthcare? Nurses are required to provide care, and to apply knowledge. Yet when they are frantically busy, and exhausted, like anyone else, they are prone to making mistakes. Who has their backs? No one.
I think we would be wise to find ways to protect, and maintain our own mental health. Now more than ever before in our lifetimes, we need to be resilient when it comes to maintaining a sound mind, and having confidence in our abilities to cope, without getting diagnosed and drugged. All the help in the world did not save the Clancy children.
All the help in the world does not take responsibility for, or maintain our own self control or happiness. We have to be the ones to take responsibility for own own mental health, stability, and self control. Suffering does not mean we are crazy. It does not mean we need drugs. It just means we have to carry on, have faith, work towards doing good, and patiently wait it out. Sometimes it means taking the focus off ourselves, in order to care for others. It is not easy, that’s for sure.
In all difficulties we experience in life, we have to find ways to rebuild trust, to adapt, to make changes, to have discernment, and above all, to love one another. Sometimes all we can do is pray, and have faith. We cannot control the choices of other people. We cannot change the hearts, or minds of other people.
Loving one another is not about being mushy and gushy. Love is not fake or two-faced or dishonest. It’s not about being superficially nice, or outgoing and friendly, although we should be pleasant, and patient in our interactions with others. More so, it is about setting boundaries, being truthful, trustworthy, and respecting the rights of one another. It is about esteeming other people equal to, or higher than ourselves. It is about fairness and justice. It is about patience, and long suffering. It is about being humble. It is about forgiveness and being forgiven It is about freedom from bondage, and snares. Ultimately it is about God, because God is love. Without His love, we have nothing left but selfishness, and the superficial things of this world. People will let us down, but God will not let us down. We cannot save ourselves.
The Bible does say that in the end times the love of many will wax cold because lawlessness increases.
Mathew 24:12 KJV ” And because iniquity shall abound the love of many will wax cold.”
Synonyms for iniquity from the thesaurus are: abomination, baseness, crime, misdeeds, immorality, injustice, wickedness, evildoing, unfairness, wrongdoing, and so on. We can take a bit of comfort knowing these things are in the prophecy of what happens during the end times. The only control we do have is over our own minds, to repent and turn away from our own wrongdoing. We are to stay alert, be cautious, discerning, use good judgement, and otherwise we cannot change what is happening.
We are seeing first hand the terrible outcomes of what a pocket full of pills, or street drugs, or anti-psychotic medications, anti anxiety medications, anti depressant medications, opiates, etc. are actually doing to people.
Medicine is supposed to be evidence based, however psychiatry is clearly not evidence based. In my opinion, we need to look at the evidence, and the outcomes of the so-called drugged and warped “help” they are offering, and see what it is actually happening as a result of all these drugs. Being witness to it, is all the evidence we need to reevaluate what we are reading in the MSM and DSM about it all. We can see the underlying agenda, if we open our eyes.
We use our minds to make decisions about our own life. Some people also interfere with, and try to make decisions for the lives of other people, out of arrogance and abuse of power.
We need to develop resilience and confidence in our own minds. Our minds can be assaulted and robbed just like our physical bodies can. You seldom see a confident or important person doubting their own sanity. The more powerful a person is, the less likely anyone will challenge their minds, even though many powerful people have been crazier than loons.
In summary, don’t be gaslighted into doubting your own sanity, just because the world is going insane around us.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The destructive aspect of pathological lying and liars, is like having a thousand pound weight on your shoulders. You cannot get out from under them.
Pathological liars will not let go of their lies. They stick them on you with crazy glue. Regardless of the absurdity, the incontrovertible proof, or the amount of time that goes by, the pathological liar will not give up on lying. He will add more lies. He will double down on the lies. But the last thing he will do, is admit the lies, apologize and tell the truth.
The Healthline gives some insight on the mental health, and potential reasons for pathological lying. It has some fancy diagnostic terms; mythomania, and pseudologia fantastica, and is believed to be associated with certain sociopathic personality disorders.
A pathological liar is defined as someone who lies compulsively. There are various reasons for this. It might be to make them look good, to distance themselves from accountability, to punish or project faults onto someone else, to scapegoat, and often to set up an alternate reality or identity. If they lie to alter another person’s identity, they are also lying to alter their own identity.
People lie for all kinds of reasons. They lie to cover up crimes. They lie to steal money. They lie to cover up affairs. They lie to abuse power. They lie to gain job opportunities. They lie to exploit, and dominate weaker people. They lie to climb the ladder in a corrupt organization. They lie to do favours. They lie to escape accountability. They lie to manipulate others.
They even offer bribes and rewards to those who advance their lies. The more they lie, the easier it gets. Perhaps the more they lie, the more likely they are to believe their own lies, and become delusional. In psychiatry, it is known as a fixed delusional system.
When lies are broad in scope, such as in creating a fiction surrounding a person’s upbringing, there is actually a body of lies, and if repeated often enough, the people around them may believe the lies. What good is a lie if no one believes it? After awhile, all liars lose credibility. They may not realize it, but lies eventually do get exposed. Nothing stays hidden forever, and the more deep-rooted the lies, the more likely the foundational lies will crumble.
The Alex Murdaugh case is a classic example of a pathological liar who carried out a lifetime of power and prosecution of others, only to be exposed as one of the most vile pathological liars in recent years. Before his lies unravelled, he had the privilege of success, respect, and innocent people believing him. Once his foundation cracked and eroded, it all came tumbling down.
Although all pathological liars do not necessarily become murderers, in my opinion, they are far more likely to become murderers, than those who are not pathological liars. All liars may not be murderers, but most murderers, in particular those who commit premeditated murders, are also liars. First and foremost, they have to lie to themselves, in order to justify what they are planning to do. Perhaps it helps explain why so many spousal murders are first steeped in affairs, and lies, before the deed is done.
How many times do you hear a murderer claim they carried out a mercy killing? One woman who shot her husband said, “Oh my goodness, he was making such an awful gurgling noise, so for his own sake, I shot him again.”
Brian Laundrie claimed he killed Gabby Petito because she begged him to put her out of her misery. So out of kindness, he was forced to oblige. What a croc. Especially when you consider he wrote those lies in his journal, before shooting himself in the head. One would think, if there ever was a time to come clean, while wallowing in a swamp, that would be the time. But instead, true to form, he told more lies, right to the bitter end.
Women and men who kill their children, will often claim they “sent them to heaven”. Others will say, “they are in a better place now.” How do they know? If they think they sent them to heaven, where do they think they are going to go, for doing what they did? There is no real logic in any murder.
There are also those who think they did God, and the world a favour, such as those who kill abortion doctors, or carry out other vigilante crimes. The thing about vigilante crimes, is that often a person is manipulated into killing someone based on false accusations. A woman might manipulate someone to kill her spouse, claiming he abused her, or the children. When what she really might be after, is a life insurance policy. Those who become ensnared in lies, and carry out grisly crimes, are often duped.
In another case, a teenage girl from a very religious family, was told she could no longer see her boyfriend. She manipulated him into shooting her entire family. The boyfriend recruited another friend who had been in the military, and together they shot both parents, and her two younger brothers before lighting the house on fire. The military recruit’s girlfriend was waiting in the car while they carried out the crime.
Miraculously the father, after being shot five times, escaped the burning building, and crawled to a neighbour’s house, something like 500 metres away. He was motivated to tell someone who had shot them. He then had to face the fact that his own daughter had manipulated, and orchestrated the crime.
All these kids were just teenagers, and all four of them got sentenced to between forty and fifty years in jail. The sweet, pretty, petite, wide-eyed seventeen year old daughter, will not get out of jail until she is sixty years old. Her lies wiped out her family, and put three other young people in jail for life. Lies can easily lead to catastrophic outcomes. The girl was so good at lying and feigning innocence, if her father had not survived, the crime may never have been solved, as they lived in a remote and rural location.
All of these people who created devious plots, regardless of whatever contrived reasons they managed to come up with, are lying. They killed for selfish reasons, such as greed, lust, jealousy, cover ups, revenge, or resentment. Those are the known, and established reasons for murder. Justification, excuses, false accusations, and denial, are born out of self-centred preservation, not mercy.
In my opinion, the biggest mistake a murder victim makes, is that they believe their killer, and would never even suspect they would do such a thing. However, murder has common denominators, with lies, money, and revenge topping the list. How could Alex Murdaugh sit down and have an evening meal with his wife and son, just prior to killing them? He must have acted completely normal, which is bone chilling, considering what his plans were.
In cases of exposed criminals, the lies become painfully obvious. The Alex Murdaugh case demonstrated how pathological lying can create a monster without a conscience. It showed how his character turned from an outgoing successful lawyer, to a despicable murderer, who killed his own family for revenge, and money.
He will spend the rest of his life in jail. What will happen to his other son? At one time, he basked in entitlement and wealth. Now he will have to make his own way in life, recover or succumb to it all, with no family left, and no one to pay his way.
If only Alex would have accepted the consequences, and set up a payment plan for the damages caused in the boating accident. If only he would have accepted that his wife was fed up, could not trust him, and was divorcing him. He could have let it all play out through the proper legal channels he knew so well.
If he would have put the brakes on his schemes, at any point, and stopped stealing from his clients and law firm. If he had done anything to change the course of his actions, he would have had less money, but he would not have destroyed his own life and family legacy in the process. His life appears to be all that mattered to him. But he crashed and burned regardless.
In the case of Lindsay Clancy, whatever the outcome of her trial might be, she too, lied. She lied by pretending she was fine in one sense, and by setting up a psychiatric defence of sorts, in another sense. She carefully documented her psych complaints, and constantly got her medications changed or added to. She pretended to be normal to all those who knew her.
She fooled people on both sides of the coin, on one side to create a psychiatric defence, and on the other side, to pretend to be normal, so she could create a window of opportunity, to kill all three children. It appears she carefully crafted, and structured a plot with intention to commit murder.
Personally I don’t buy her claims of having a “moment of psychosis”. She had to be mad in a certain way, just like Alex Murdaugh was mad in a sense, but she was clearly cognitively intact. I seriously doubt she will be able to mount an insanity defence. The only way she might be able to, is based on sympathy surrounding postpartum depression. Personally, I don’t think that was the crux of her issues either, because the oldest child was already eight months old. Eight months is a fair bit of time for hormonal adjustments to be made.
Although postpartum depression is very common, very few women kill their children because of it. The most critical period would be in the first three months, when sleep and hormones are disrupted the most. It seems that Clancy was more averse to going back to work than anything else, and was nearing the end of her maternity leave.
People who are truly psychotic, look and act psychotic. There are those who will deny this, but ask anyone who has worked in psychiatry. A truly sick and psychotic person will become disheveled, and nonsensical. Often they will get severely dehydrated, because they are unable to care for themselves at all.
They do not act completely normal, when in a state of psychosis. While working in mental health, I saw many people with psychotic and delusional thought processes. They did not come across as normal by any stretch of the imagination. They were often extremely paranoid, and thought every car that went by was slowing down to stare at them. Every police car was looking for them, to arrest them and put them in jail. Every person who visited the facility was a spy, or an agent of some sort.
They thought there were spikes in the couch, pins in their pyjamas, or cement in their shoes. Some of them thought they had every physical ailment in the book. They obsessed over these things all day long. You name it, they were wholly focused on what they thought was going on, and it had no basis in reality.
If they were not instructed on what to do throughout the day, and given very simple basic tasks, they could not function. You had to tell them when it was dinner time, when it was time to take their pills, when it was time to take a shower, and so on. They could not care for themselves, let alone anyone else, for any length of time. They did not drive cars, make meals, make phone calls, arrange appointments, or go to appointments by themselves. One guy spent all day creating nonsense equations, pages and pages of chicken scratch, in order to cause pollution from cars to go away.
I remember one kind of comical incident, when I was busy doing a bunch of paperwork, and one of the patients started saying they saw men with guns, who were dressed in black, and climbing over the fence next door. I thought, oh yeah sure, and kept on doing paperwork, without even looking.
Then another patient said the same thing. I think by the third time I heard the same “men in black delusion” I got up and went to check it out. Sure enough, they were right. The place next door was swarming with police, and SWAT team members, all dressed in black.
There was a big house on the adjacent lot, with a major drug bust in progress. I did get some flak over it afterwards, from a couple of the patients. One of the guys said to me, “see, we told you so, but you didn’t believe it, did ya?” I did apologize, and called the police department, to see if there was any danger to the patients. They told me to keep them inside.
Clancy lied when she sent her husband on an errand, after pretending to be doing well. She lied when she called the pharmacy, and then to further stall her husband, she sent him on the additional errand. Was she delusional and psychotic? Or was she structuring an entire cohort of lies, in order to carry out a plan of murder she had been dwelling on for unknown reasons? Revenge could have been her motive. Apparently the youngest child, a baby boy, was found in her husband’s basement office. There was a method to her madness, for whatever reasons.
Lies have no respect for the rights of other people. They revolve around the liar, and what the liar wants to achieve, no matter how outlandish it might be. They abuse trust. They abuse the laws, the systems, and the societal values that are supposed to prevent people from destroying the lives of innocent people.
Are all people who lie pathologically delusional? Are all people who are psychotic delusional? Are all people who believe lies delusional? In my opinion, the answer is no. People who are truly psychotic believe what they are seeing, or hearing is real. They are not lying, nor do they have a motive to lie. They are experiencing a complete break from reality. What they are seeing and hearing is not real, but to them, it is real.
Therefore the psychotic person makes no attempt to cover up a crime. They do not have the capacity to organize, or make detailed plans, because their thoughts are too confused and disordered. How can a person who is in a state of psychosis with extremely disordered thoughts, carry out a well orchestrated plan? How can they “pretend” to be normal part of the time? Even if they are hearing voices commanding them to do something, they do not know that what they are about to do is a crime. They are hallucinating, and don’t know what is rational or real.
People who are delusional, may or may not be lying intentionally. For instance, they might believe they have an ailment they don’t have. But they are sincere in what they believe, and are not lying about it to exploit or harm anyone, unless they are malingering for insurance claims, or sick time etc. The definition for delusion, is simply to believe what is false. So theoretically, all false beliefs are delusional. But many are also intentional, which is not the case with psychosis.
People who are delusional can often function, and take care of themselves. You may not know they have a fixed delusional belief system, until they start talking about UFO’s or invasions from another planet, or having a relationship with someone that is completely fabricated. Celebrity stalkers are an example. They may think the singer is singing the song just for them. They may think they are going to marry a certain celebrity. Just like someone might think or claim they have adopted someone, when there was no adoption. These ideations are clearly false, and involve a fair bit of deception, especially self-deception. They are also delusional, but the mental illness aspect is variable depending on the intent, and whether or not they know they are deceiving.
Some people believe in the power of crystals, or that they can communicate with the dead. There are many odd belief systems where the person can still function, and does not set out to harm others. If they persist in certain esoteric beliefs, they may bring harm to themselves, and they may become mentally deranged. It just depends on whether or not they can stay grounded in reality, when it comes to the functional aspects of their lives.
People who dabble in oddities, might be deceived themselves, but they do not they think they are lying. If the beliefs become so extreme, or consuming, that they cannot function, or if it causes them to do harm to others, then they border on psychosis. True psychosis is the most debilitating, because there is a complete break from reality.
Pathological lying is very different, because there is intent, motive, and a certain amount of rational thought processes associated with lies. In my opinion, the pathological liar is functionally delusional, but is in complete control of his faculties. He is not psychotic. He is able to craft a plan, and carry it out, for reasons only he may know, but nevertheless, in his mind, the reasons are rational ones. Pathological liars are more likely to have personality disorders, as opposed to being diagnosed with psychosis, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. In other words, they know full well what they are doing.
It is understandable why the distinction must be made between rational thought, psychosis, delusions, and criminal intent. I can see why many criminals try to use an insanity defence, but the laws usually do not permit it. In my opinion, even if a person does meet the criteria for insanity while committing a crime of violence, he or she should still get the same sentence. The vast majority of people who are mentally ill, do not commit violent crimes.
Government lies are perhaps among the most convoluted lies of all. They can demonstrate an evil force that goes against every law, and the entire populations they are entrusted to serve. They too, eventually get exposed, and the liars go on their merry way, all the richer for the many devious schemes. In some cases, there will not be justice for lies until the great white throne of judgement happens.
The Healthline article does state that self interest, is the primary cause of pathological lying. It goes on to say that in some cases, there is no clear benefit, which makes it increasingly frustrating, because the lies are adhered to for no apparent reason.
The underlying motives though, seem to revolve around the liar portraying him or herself as being the hero, or the victim. The lies are designed to gain admiration, or sympathy. They create a shallow attempt to bolster their own self image.
Although we should avoid telling lies, many people lie infrequently, and in ways that are not pathological. These are often referred to as “little white lies”. The intent behind this type of lying, is to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, or to get out of doing something you don’t want to do. Examples like saying you are sick, and going fishing. Or saying you have a headache when you don’t want to go somewhere. Or telling someone you like their outfit or hair do, when you think it looks ridiculous. Then behind their back, you tell someone else what you really think.
The difference between white lies and pathological lies, is that white lies are small fibs, are not longstanding, are not repeated over and over, are not part of a devious scheme, and have no malicious intent. In fact, many decent people who do have a moral compass, will immediately feel guilty for lying, especially if it caused harm to another person.
Whereas pathological lies become an entrenched, and personal pattern, until they become a central part of the character, and a disordered character at that. The lies are told repeatedly, consistently, and often for no apparent reason. They are designed to make the liar look heroic, or to gain sympathy, or to intentionally and sadistically abuse another person.
The liar might get enjoyment out of causing distress to others. He might find it amusing, or it might be like a trump card for him, proving to himself how clever he is. Even though it is all about self exaltation, paradoxically, liars like this, are not deterred by guilt, or getting found out.
The primary objective of a structured falsehood, is to create a false history. They then carry the false history into the future, and build upon it. Another recent example of an exposed pathological liar, is Mary Turpel-Lafond. She is clearly of European heritage, yet she lied pathologically about her origins, and family history, making false claims to be of Indigenous heritage.
In her case, she did this so she could boast academic accomplishments, after coming from hardship and adversity. Her lies were not only about her heritage. She also made false claims about having a family background of alcoholism and domestic violence, which gained her more sympathy. She made numerous false academic claims, and got several honorary doctorate degrees from different Universities, all based on lies. She started lying as a young person, claiming to be a child prodigy, which was also false. Her family, and the people around her, must have enabled these lies, because they went on for years.
But she too, with her legacy of lies, disgraced all she had accomplished, when if she hadn’t embarked on such a course, she might have done well, and kept her integrity intact. Now, one by one, all the Universities, and people she was associated with, are taking away her honorary degrees. She has been put out to pasture, with a stain on the truth of her background, bigger than a cow field full of manure.
These are just some of the examples of the outcomes of pathological lying. They are also based on the exposure of the known lies. A pathological liar is likely to have lied about almost everything in their lives. They leave a trail of broken victims, who are left to pick up the pieces, or who may never be able to get out from under the lies.
Although not all lies lead to drama and murder, all lies most certainly can lead to murder. If greed, revenge and lies are part of the equation, it can become a more serious and diabolical plot. Millions of true crime stories attest to the fact. The majority of people are killed by someone they know, and saddest of all, it usually involves a family member. People are harmed by those they love and trust the most. It is as old as the story of Abel and Cain.
Some of the tips in the Healthline article on coping with pathological liars tell us; don’t lose your temper. But in my opinion, we do have to find a way to fight back, if the lies are about our own lives and history. After repeatedly pleading with liars to give it up and drop it, if nothing else works, there is no choice but to fight back.
We cannot live our entire lives under a pack of lies about who we are, and where we came from. Liars can lie about themselves, but when they drag other people into it, what are the options? It does make you angry. I can attest to that much from my own experiences with this pathology.
The next bit of advice is to; expect denial. Of course. Or else they are likely to become enraged, express shock at the accusation, and punish you for the confrontation. That is a true statement, based on my own experiences.
The article then tells us that the “lying is not about you”. It is about the underlying issues with the liar. I don’t really buy it, because if they make the lies about me, then it is about me. I don’t really care if people lie about their own lives. Malicious lies about other people are not just about the liar, although they may be the ones who are creators of the cause of harm, they are also intentionally involving other people.
The next tip is: don’t engage them. Well guess what? The liars engage us. We have no choice in the matter. If you mean, walk away when they lie? Avoid the lies? I can guarantee you, that does not work. They keep right on lying. And they will add layers to the lies, calling you mentally ill just for challenging their lies. It is a never ending vicious cycle.
From personal experience, I have to admit, I did not always handle all the lies directed at my own life well. I was plagued by a high school teacher, who in collusion with a family member, made false claims to have adopted me. He claimed to have adopted me, just months before I graduated from high school. He also made false claims to have put me through nursing school. Much of this do-gooder facade was based on the fact he was steeped in a religion called the Exclusive Brethren. I was constantly ordered to have gratitude for such a wonderful Christian. It took me many years to realize the Exclusive Brethren religion is an abusive cult.
None of it was even remotely true. I was not up for adoption. None of my siblings were adopted. It was an absurd pack of lies. The teacher went so far as to tell me what he “liked to believe” and would go on to say, he wanted to believe he had me since I was a very small child. He also told me God had told him to adopt me. Clearly he was delusional from the start. I had never even laid eyes on this guy until I was in high school. He was a complete stranger to me, and he only got stranger as time went on.
Another one of the teacher’s repeated lies, was when people would raise an eyebrow expressing doubt about his motives, and question him about his relationship with me. He would then drop his head with a look of feigned concern, and say, “intervention was required.” He would also repeatedly tell me that I had the “exact same IQ as his wife.” When I would argue or say, How is that even possible? He would puff up and repeat it with even more emphasis on “EXACT SAME”. Why would any teacher say that to a student?
He would also tell me he had unconditional love for me. He told me I would never get away, never escape, because he would HUNT me down. He told me my family would never support me. He repeatedly said our mother was wicked and evil. She did not deserve to be my mother. He had a profound hatred for our mother, even though he did not even know her.
In addition to the false accusation about intervention, the lying teacher would also claim I was mentally ill, and used it as another avenue of abuse of power, to coerce and control me, and force compliance. Every single time I said no, or showed defiance toward him, and his false adoption claims, I was accused of being mentally ill. In collusion with my own family, he used this accusation, as a way to slander, and maintain control for years. He was invited to every family function, and treated with absolute reverence. He really should have been held accountable for his lawlessness, and abuse of power. To this day, I am punished relentlessly for finally terminating that relationship, and making sure he has no further access to me.
I would feel enraged at his lies, yet I could not say a word, because he was all puffed up with his all encompassing authority. It was a self-appointed, self-righteous authority over my life that followed me for years and years, long after leaving the hick town school. When this guy embarked on his lying scheme to take over my life, he was just twenty-eight years old. He was a brand new teacher, with a god complex, who was totally obsessed with a teenage student in a public school. He never shut up about me. He lied to other teachers, other students, members of the community, my own family, extended family, ad infinitum. Clearly, he was the one who needed intervention.
How is it okay from a teacher’s perspective, or anyone’s perspective, to claim that a kid who accelerates through school, consistently passes with honours, comes from extreme adversity, and graduates at the age of sixteen, required intervention? I was also President of the Student’s Union, was active in all kinds of school activities, and played various sports.
After graduating, I continued to play basketball at Mount Royal University. As far as post-secondary education was concerned, I continued to get good grades, when I was living almost two hundred miles away from the lying teacher. I wrote the RN exams at the age of nineteen, and scored in the top two to five percentile in all of Canada. The teacher had absolutely nothing to do with my academic inclinations. He most certainly took credit for them though. It was a form of inescapable thievery, through nothing but a pack of lies.
All of what I am describing is provable. But regardless, the lies continued, and continue to this day. How can anyone claim to have adopted someone when it is false? You would think of all lies one can come up with, it is one of the easiest to prove. But did it matter? Not one bit.
Pathological liars have more gall than most people can even imagine. Are they mentally sick and delusional? Or is it just a propensity for evil? Do they have the devil on speed dial? Who knows? All the years I have been plagued and punished by these lies, I still cannot comprehend why anyone would do such a thing to another person.
Any relationship that involves force, and will not take no for an answer, is not a relationship of choice. It is structured by an extreme imbalance of power. There is no such thing as equality in such a relationship. That was proven time and time again, by the dominance, superiority, and orders I got from my own family to “be grateful for this wonderful Christian”. Wonderful Christian? He was nothing of the sort. In fact he was the extreme opposite. Some day, he will face the music for what he did to my life, and my family life. I cannot even drum up any mercy for him, and have to pray for the capacity to forgive him, because I don’t even want to forgive him.
Although the shaming, and stupendous unfairness of his lifelong accusations, combined with forcing a pseudo-adoption relationship on me for life, and also forcing me into nursing, to be sure I had no other career path, it wasn’t even the half of it all. Not even close. I did well in school because I wanted to go to University, and excel academically, as I viewed it as the only way to get out of a trap of familial abuse and violence. I did not want to end up in a trap like our mother did. I should not have been chased down, and forced into anything, just months before graduating from high school.
It took me years to realize that no matter what I was doing, even if I was flunking out, running away, in trouble with the law, he had absolutely no right to do what he did. If I really did require intervention, he would have had no interest in me. His goal was to exploit for his own selfish reasons. It does not matter, if I had been dumb as a sack of hammers. It does not matter if I would have been crazy, and out of control. It was NOT up to him to follow me around, obsess over me, chase me down, force me into a car, and repeatedly take me home with him for a night of tortuous brainwashing. Teachers do not normally get to do that to anyone, for any reason. So the aspect of being gifted academically is actually a moot point. He was an opportunistic predator, no different than any creep who becomes obsessed with vulnerable young girls.
But I was bullied and dominated into subservience and compliance, even though I repeatedly said no, I could not escape the lies. I had to pretend to go along with it, in order to be able to finish school, and in order to be a member of my own family. There were threats of violence and previous violence involved, so I was conditioned to find ways to get along, in order to avoid more punishment.
Even telling my story creates a huge risk of more backlash and punishment. Rejecting the teacher has turned me into the evil monster, and brought about even more false accusations and lies. They simply will not give it up, and there is enough power and wealth behind it all, to keep it going. I have no power. The only power I do have is to tell the truth.
It went on for years and years. I tried every conceivable way to convince the teacher, and my own family, to drop the lies about my life, my heritage, who I am, the family I was born into, and the fact this teacher did not put me through nursing. I was underage for crying out loud. What kid has a lifelong debt bondage, for post secondary education received while under the age of eighteen?
As a result of these experiences, I came to absolutely loathe liars, and lying. Eventually my heart broke into open rebellion. I barely knew the teacher, and yet for years he would stare me down, and then tell me I was his daughter. He lied without flinching. It sickened and embarrassed me. I was always trying to shrink away from the lies, but they followed me wherever I went. The lies have caused me endless grief, to this day. But, I cannot change what happened, or the fact the lies became entrenched. I just have to find a way to let go of it all.
One thing for certain, I will not allow anyone to lie about my background, or the family I was born into, ever again. I will never give that teacher access to me again either. I even check the obituaries periodically to see if he died yet, so maybe I will finally be free of the constant repetition of those lies. The plot to take over who I am, and rob me of my own identity, was cruel to the core of my existence. I am so done with it. But the punishment for ditching the teacher never ends, just as he promised I would never get free of him. He would growl, “Oh no, you will never get away, your family won’t support you.” Or he would say, “Don’t you even think about getting away, ’cause I will HUNT you down.” Nice guy eh?
I think the measure of the depth of pathology or evil, when it comes to lying, is proportionate to the harm it causes to an innocent victim. I also believe the persistence in maintaining the lies, in spite of the knowledge it is causing extreme distress, and losses for the victim, indicates an underlying mental health disorder or sociopathy.
If there is also an imbalance of power, threats, and punishment for non-compliance with the lies, it demonstrate the degree to which a person will abuse power, and manipulate others to inflict harm, and carry on with the lies.
In my opinion, all of these traits are indicative of a dangerous individual, who will do anything at all to another human being, without a shred of remorse. He is also capable of corrupting, and manipulating others, especially if he has power, influence and wealth. Tick all the boxes, and what do you have?
The diagnosis of a pathological liar depends on whether or not there are underlying medical or psychiatric conditions. Primarily though, it all depends on whether or not they get caught, and held accountable by a higher authority. But in the absence of charges, or the progression to more serious crimes, such as what happened with Alex Murdaugh, the pathological liar leaves a train wreck in his path, and never looks back.
The devil loves a liar, and will reward those who lie without remorse, with no end in sight. He will exalt the liars, and lying in a multitude of ways. At the same time God, through His word, tells us over and over, what is going to happen to the liar, and to those who harm others for their own gain.
It is like the two forces of good and evil, are travelling through time toward each other, headed for one big clash of wills, and ultimate takeover of power. When God’s patience finally runs out – we already know who is going to win the battle.
It is the reason God keeps telling people over and over, to repent. He said people are given the time and space to repent, and yet they “repented not”. As it all progresses toward the end of the line, God’s wrath increases. He knows every lie, and every reason behind those lies. Just like he knew the original lie in the Garden of Eden. He knows them all. He repeatedly promises, and warns, that they will not go unpunished.
For the downtrodden, and all the victims of lying and liars, the day of reckoning will come. It seems to take forever, but when it does finally happen, look out, and look up! Give thanks. It will be a colossal relief.
Some insightful quotes I looked up about liars and lying:
“Honesty is of God and dishonesty of the devil; the devil was a liar from the beginning.” Joseph B. Wirthlin
“If you are a liar, a person of low moral fortitude, really any explanation you need to be true can be true. Especially if you are smart enough. You can figure out a way to justify anything.” Samuel Witwer
“A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth.” Aesop
“Sometimes the point isn’t to make people believe a lie – it’s to make people fear the liar.” Anne Applebaum
Hmm the first and last quote really ring true. Now it’s my turn to come up with a good quote about liars and lying. I don’t really wish to see anyone face the ultimate lake of fire punishment as described in the Bible. But I do want to see the lies go up in flames. We all have to separate ourselves from lies, and learn to seek and love the truth. Lies are very destructive. There is no doubt about it.
All sins, including lies, can be forgiven by Jesus, since that is the gospel promise to all of us. A person has to seek forgiveness, and recognize what they did, as well as believe and trust Jesus. For some unknown reason, some people will never admit wrongdoing, repent, have remorse, or even acknowledge harm done to another person’s life. It just goes to show how persistent lies can harden hearts.
I have felt much guilt over my own difficulty in forgiving these lies, and just have to let it go and trust God, knowing the teacher tried to mimic God, and pretend he was some kind of saviour, even though I said no and told him to leave me alone at the onset of it all. Even as a young person, I knew there was nothing Godly about his actions and attitudes in spite of how religious he pretended to be.
He would never once take no for an answer, or listen to my arguments. It was like I was a non-person, an object he thought he owned for some reason. My opinion of him, and all his lies is rather harsh, but I do hope he repents, and stops manipulating punishment and family breakdown. The Exclusive Brethren cult is known for ripping families apart. The fact this guy was a random teacher in a public school really burns me to this day. He had an incredible sense of entitlement because of his false religion. The arrogance was staggering. We do not do the judging, and nor are we to take pleasure in the concept of the fate of those who do not repent and stop causing harm to others.
As all Christians know, the Bible has many descriptions about the lake of fire, and the second death, on the final judgement day. Truthfully, if not for the grace of God and what Christ did for us on the cross, we would all be destined for the fire. I have much gratitude for having recognized the magnitude of my own wrongdoing. Only Jesus can forgive us, and save us from the ultimate judgement. No matter what we have done, we should search our own lives and hearts, seek forgiveness, and then turn away from the old ways. Our eternal life depends on it.
“Lies create a monument, where self becomes the worshipper of self. They are built upon a foundation of loose rocks in the head, and shifting sand under the feet. They are watered with kerosene. The day will come, when the liar’s soul will reek, smolder, then collapse and burn. But before it ignites, the degenerates are lit up for all to see, in the backdrop of the shadows they themselves have created.” Valerie Hayes
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Without a doubt, we are all guilty of lying to some extent. We learn to lie early in life to get ourselves out of trouble, to pretend we are something we are not, and to blame what we did, on someone else. Some people learn early in life, how damaging lies can be, and their conscience keeps them in check as they mature.
Other people make lying a practice, or a habit that forms a baseline for getting what they want out of life. A highly skilled liar is very difficult to detect. Lies repeated over and over, are most likely to be believed. More so, lies that are mixed with elements of truth help to advance the lies even more, because if people recognize truth in a narrative, they are more likely to believe the entire story.
Lies go right back to the Garden of Eden. In the six things God hates the most, lies top the list. In fact Satan is dubbed “the father of lies”. Lies are at the heart and mind of our very existence, and they are also a huge part of the spiritual battles surrounding us.
When detectives are investigating crimes, and they get a chance to interrogate a suspect, the number one goal is to get their original story recorded, so they have a baseline to detect discrepancies or lies, in the retelling of the story.
They know most guilty people will lie, and then get mixed up, as they are forced to tell more lies, or change their original story, to fit the evidence presented to them. As soon as the police detect a lie, they hone in on it, and with words, with evidence, and even sometimes by introducing more lies, they set the stage for the person to trap themselves. They will patiently hammer out the truth, to bring out the minute details of what actually happened.
Although there are countless famous cases of people trapping themselves in lies and contradictions, some that come to mind are Jodi Arias, Darlie Routier, and Scott Peterson. In the case of Jodi Arias, she lied and changed her story so often, she drove the prosectors and the defence crazy. Even her own lawyer begged to get off the case, because she was so wily, so slippery, and so shameless in her lies.
One of the most astounding glimpses of the power of self delusion was exhibited by Jodi Arias after her trial. Even though the death sentence was on the table, and she narrowly missed it, she continued to fabricate. There were hours and hours of graphic testimony regarding the extent and nature of the injuries she inflicted on her victim, as well as proof of premeditation. She shot him, and stabbed him repeatedly, going so far as to nearly decapitate him.
The trial also brought forward an extensive amount of evidence to prove her victim had no history of violence toward her or anyone else. Previous girlfriends, family members, and friends he partied with, or played sports with, all testified he had no history of violence, or assaults whatsoever. He had no police records of ever having assaulted anyone. She had never told anyone he assaulted her at any time during their relationship. Yet she made up yet another batch of lies to try and blame the victim, as well as tarnish his reputation when he had no chance of defending himself. No wonder Jodi’s own father was so distraught over the type of person she had become, or more aptly, the type of person she was, and always had been.
In spite of it all, after the trial was over, she stood up and described all the good she could do in prison, trivial things like starting a recycling program. Then she pulled a T-shirt out of her never ending bag of tricks, and showed off the T-shirt she was going to sell as a fundraiser for victims of domestic violence. It had “SURVIVOR” emblazoned on the front of it. She coyly claimed she was a survivor, and she understood domestic violence very well, because she had to do what she did to save herself. It was all self defence, and about being a survivor of horrific abuse. Nothing could have been more inappropriate, given the evidence at the trial. Such is the depth and breadth of self deception and delusion, as well as a flat out refusal to accept responsibility for her crime. She is a person who seems convinced that her lies must be believed, simply because she believes them herself.
Darlie Routier was a mother who stabbed her young children to death in the middle of the night, and then slashed and bruised herself, claiming an intruder had entered the house, and attacked them. She changed her story multiple times, but the essence of it was that she was asleep on the couch, and woke to a mysterious man attacking her, who then vanished. But she did not remember the attack she said, and claimed she must have gone “un-conscience”. Wow. Was it a freudian slip, or did she actually mispronounce the word unconscious? She lied to the point of being nonsensical, and crazy.
For example, there was a cut screen in the room, along with some broken glass in another location in the rooms. Although it is a convoluted story, and changed frequently, the evidence showed the screen had been cut from a kitchen knife inside the home. There was no sign of forced entry, or even that anyone had been near the window on the outside. How would an intruder get inside the house, get the knife, and then cut the screen, without any sign of forced entry? The cut screen was staged to be the forced entry, yet the knife used was inside the house.
The knife used in the murders, was a different kitchen knife, and it was also inside the house. Although she adamantly claimed she woke up to a man attacking her on the couch, there was no blood on the couch. When questioned in detail, she claimed she could not remember, she woke up, but did not remember, she must have gone unconscious, yet she ran around all over the place, and chased the intruder.
Her blood was not on the couch, but rather in the kitchen near the sink, which pointed to self-inflicted wounds, after she attacked her sons. During the 911 call, she wailed and carried on with huge drama, instead of trying to help her children, even though one of them was still clearly alive. She told the 911 operator that when she chased the intruder, she picked up the knife. Then she had the presence of mind, to voice concerns over her DNA and fingerprints being on the knife. All of this while her son was gurgling and struggling to breathe. The police repeatedly told her to stop it, and help her children, yet she ignored the request, and wailed out her convoluted story over the phone.
In various interviews, similar to Jodi Arias, and so many others, she just dug herself in deeper. She would revert to a posture of wide eyed innocence, and talked like a child, often referring to herself in third person. She would describe herself as a normal person, a normal mother, and then ask “what normal mother turns into a psychotic killer, when she is a normal person?” With both these women, you could tell they had learned various tactics early in life, to feign innocence, and lie their way out of trouble.
Scott Peterson was another humdinger when it came to being a pathological liar. He courted a woman, pretending to be single, while his pregnant wife was at home decorating the house for Christmas, and thinking she had the perfect life.
Scott told his mistress incredible lies, feigning that he was a high ranking executive, and travelled all over the world. He even pretended to call her from these various locations, telling her what the Eiffel tower looked like lit up at night, when in reality, he was hiding in the den of his own house just a few miles away. His mistress did not know he was married. She was set up with him on a blind date, and the entire relationship lasted only six weeks. She went to the police when she learned he had a wife, and she was pregnant and missing. The poor woman was naive, and was initially taken in by his lavish lies.
During interviews, Scott Peterson also showed a propensity to act childlike, wide eyed, and innocent. He used his good looks, with full confidence in his ability to charm, and feign innocence, especially with females. During one interview when being grilled by a woman journalist, he would gaze at her intently, then when the questions got too tough, he would simply close his eyes. Very bizarre. In all cases, when under scrutiny, these individuals showed some very flawed character traits. Their lives were poisoned by lies, and tragically, the poison of all those lies adversely affected many other innocent people.
Personally I think when some of these lying characters stare intently at the person they are trying to deceive, they stare without blinking, and hold the gaze, because they are trying to assess how effectively they are at lying to the person. They want to observe the other person’s reaction, and eye contact very closely, to be able to see if their pitch is going down as expected. When Scott Peterson would close his eyes, it was almost as though he was shutting out the fact his story was not going down well. Kind of like pulling the blinds.
In the case of Jodi Arias, her father reported that since she was a very young child, she would never tell the truth, and would never take responsibility for what she had done. The gun she used to murder her ex, was a gun she stole from her grandparents home, and then staged a burglary. Ultimately her father took his own life, because he was so disturbed by the conduct, and constant lies of his wayward daughter. It must be devastating for a parent to have a child who exhibits such traits.
One of the reasons lies are such poison, is because they are designed to change, or rob a person’s identity. For those who believe in God and trust Christ as our saviour, our identity is in Christ.
The devil wants to steal our identity, and craft it toward himself, and take us to hell, where he is headed. He achieves his goal by lying, and turning people into liars, or into his pseudo offspring, thus destroying who they are. He also seeks to destroy our credibility, and ensnare us into believing his lies. Or he attacks our identity directly, by repeatedly lying about who we are. He confuses and convolutes things too, as those are the tools of deception.
Christ made the claim in John 14:6 ” I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” We are also told in many other places in the Bible, that the truth will set us free. Otherwise we will lose our way, lose our eternal life, and become trapped in lies. We will lose our identity in Christ, and that is precisely what the devil is after.
Freedom is found in truth, and we must learn to love the truth, and turn away from deception. It is not easy to do. We often face conflict and rejection, when we make a commitment to truth.
Sometimes, we allow deception to continue because we are trying to be nice. It doesn’t mean we should be brutally honest by telling someone they are fat, or ugly. Being mean is not at the heart of being truthful. In some cases it is better not to voice an opinion, especially if it is none of our business.
Rather, it is important to learn how to assert ourselves, instead of trying to be nice, when another person is violating boundaries, and forcing falsehoods into our own life. It is a lesson I wish I would have learned long ago.
One of the manipulations used by liars, is to force a lie or a falsehood, and then act like you are being very mean for not accepting it. They are wonderful, and you must be chopped liver, or insane, if you don’t buy into their plot.
It is one thing for a person to lie about their own life. There is not much we can do about that, except avoid them. But if they are staring me down, and pushing a lie about my life, or my relationship with them, I have every right to confront, and deny those lies. Because the continuation and repetition of lies, poisons the entire well. The more entrenched, the longer they go on, the worse it gets. Soon, those lies are not much different than what the notorious killers do. The lies become a trap, a snare, an excuse for more lies. And the goal behind every pack of lies, is destruction.
God hates lies because lies destroy our soul, our freedom, and our God-given identity. They get a foot in the door, and if you smile sweetly, they will push in with more lies, and never give up. As much as believers choose to become children of God, liars choose to become children of the devil. There is no middle ground. All lies will be revealed one day, and those who are constantly crafting lies will face the consequences at some point.
By nature, we are inclined to lie. For many of us it is the little white lies, or the omissions, or self-deception, or exaggerations, and attempts to be self important. I can look back on my own life, and recall many, many examples of allowing lies to persist because I did not have the courage to stand against them.
In other cases, I wanted to appear to be more competent or successful, or intelligent, or comical, or whatever. I wanted to impress people with knowledge, or perhaps by embellishing a story, like the fishermen tales, or the size of the bears I came across on a wilderness hike. Yet, at the end of the day, was anyone impressed? Not likely.
Truth helps strip away our pride, and helps us to be humble. It has been said there are two types of people in this world – those who have already been humbled, and those who are yet to be humbled. It does make sense. In countless ways, we are all fools. Without truth and a dose of humility, we will lose our way in a country second.
If we fail to embrace truth, one of the most sobering things about it, are the verses in the Bible warning us that God will send strong delusion, to those who refuse to love and seek the truth. In addition to the delusion, their hearts will become hardened, and eventually God will turn them over to a reprobate mind.
Of all things, I want to avoid such a fate. The thought of not even being able to discern what is true and what is false, is a frightening thought. It would be like living in a fictional story, passing back and forth from reality to delusion, and not even knowing the difference.
Lies mess with out minds. They mess with our reality. They can change who we are. They can poison large masses of people. We only need to look at what dictators, and cult leaders have done throughout history, to resonate the expanse and horror brought about by lies. How many cult leaders thought they were being spoken to by God? Or in many cases, they claimed to actually be God.
David Koresh in the Waco stand off, was a leader who thought he was God. He stockpiled massive amounts of ammunition and guns, and persisted in his delusions even when surrounded by law enforcement. It was a gruelling stand-off that went on for fifty-one days, and ended in the deaths of twenty seven innocent children, and several FBI agents.
One of the most notable things about all cults, and cultish personalities, is that once they have established a false narrative, they will not let it go. They repeat it over and over, and over again. They also take on a very dogmatic and authoritarian stance, and will punish those who refute their lies. The most persistent liars, are also the most deviant. They use a false, self appointed authority and superiority over other people.
They seem to think their own delusions can be forced onto others, based on their own perception of superiority, simply because they are deluded. I was the unfortunate target of a lying cultish teacher. In hindsight, I can clearly see the cycle of delusion he created, in order to benefit himself. He certainly did not benefit me. He was the absolute worst “thing” ever inflicted on me, my life, and my family.
In my case, the pathological liar and high school teacher became obsessed with me as a student in school. He then told literally thousands of lies about his relationship to me, combined with a constant threat of punishment for refuting those lies. In all likelihood, he is still lying about his relationship with me. It went on for years and years. Never ending.
He was another one who would stare without blinking. He stared because he was always trying to assess whether or not his lies were being swallowed. I remember thinking so many times I was forced to listen to him for hours on end, that I could puke right in his face.
I was not swallowing his lies. He was forcing them down my throat with a bullying false authority, and equally false cultish religious doctrine. He used his false religious beliefs like a badge of supreme authority, to add to his teacher authority, while working as a brand new teacher in a small town public school. Talk about gall.
It never ceases to amaze me how many brazen lies he told, and how he would stare me down every chance he got, daring me to defy his absolute authority over my life. I felt like a bug under a microscope when he was staring at me. The look in his eyes was deadened and flat. There was certainly no love, or even respect for the free will of another human being.
What is even more astounding, is that this man was twenty-eight years old at the time, and wholly obsessed with a sixteen year old student. I distinctly recall the first time he stood staring at me right after he came to the school. I was fourteen years old at the time. I had no relationship with him, prior to when he started teaching at the school. I was a student in a small school where he happened to be a delusional teacher who for some reason, was full of self righteous false authority.
Part of the reason he targeted me was because I had accelerated through school, and had scored high on IQ tests. That seemed to fascinate him, and make him even more determined to thought reform, and take over my mind and identity. He was bound and determined to outsmart me, when what he actually did, was overpower me, because I had no defence against him. He repeatedly insisted that he was doing “what was best for Valerie.”
What a total croc of lies. I know I have to forgive him, and let it go. But he would never let me go, so the forgiveness is difficult. It’s not easy to separate the damage of all those lies from the person who did the lying. He also did a phenomenal amount of manipulation, so others would believe his lies.
In cases where mothers kill their children, like Andrea Yates, Darlie Routier, and Lindsay Clancy, they claim they sent them to heaven so they would not have to grow up in an evil world. Brian Laundrie also claimed he killed Gabby Petito because she had begged him to kill her, so he mercifully obliged. These are self-centred delusional acts, and the heavenly or mercy claims are lies, and self-deception of the lowest degree.
In a similar vein, MAID is another large scale delusion with a twist of compassion thrown in. In all the years I worked as an RN, people who were dying were given as much morphine as they needed to keep them comfortable. Pain medication is not withheld from people with end stage cancers, or other terminal illnesses.
The notion that killing people is doing what is “best for them” is a delusion somewhat similar to the parents who kill their children, or others who claim they killed for reasons of mercy. It is not up to us to kill people, for any reason. Those who want to end the life or lives of other people, are doing so for selfish and often hidden reasons, and are delusional if they think they can justify killing people.
Anyone who thinks they know what is best for other people, to the point of using coercion and force, is not acting in the best interests of others. They are acting in their own best interests. To do so, they lie. It’s as simple as that, yet it becomes very convoluted, because all deception is a labyrinth of lies, half truths, overt lies, covert lies, and above all – self deception. Becoming delusional is a process. Delusional simply means the person believes what is false. They believe the lies.
In hindsight, the insanity of it all is painfully obvious. Lies are about self exaltation, self interests, and self protection. But when self becomes the monument, self becomes the destroyer of self, and takes many innocent lives in the process.
We cannot be perfect, but we do have the capacity to tell the truth. If we turn away from the inclination to lie, it will benefit all relationships, families, communities, businesses, politics, media, and general information sharing. In fact the more truthful and honest we become, the more appalling and obvious the lies become. Truthfulness sharpens our discernment.
For those who are atheist, or lean toward secular humanism, it is still pretty obvious that being truthful is much healthier than losing credibility, or destroying relationships by lying. When people are lied to, they feel betrayed, and hurt, because it is hard to understand why you are so insignificant to someone you love and care about. Lies cause rifts, and a loss of trust. A loss of trust erodes our relationships, and robs us of love.
Christians have a wide range of beliefs when it comes to what will happen on the final judgement day. Of course none of us really knows, and we are not the ones to determine who is in the Lamb’s book of life. From what I have read and understood about it, the judgement happens after the thousand year reign of Christ on this earth. Once He returns, there will be a thousand year time of peace and prosperity, without the Satanic deception. When Christ returns, Satan is bound and thrown into prison for a thousand years.
The judgement occurs after the thousand year time frame. Those who have died without knowing Christ will be resurrected from the dead to face judgment “according to their deeds”. Many preachers proclaim there are no second chances, and all people who did not accept Christ, will be thrown into a lake of fire. Some of them also insist the burning in the lake of fire is eternal and will go on forever.
What some fail to realize is that preaching a false gospel, is lying, and they themselves could end up in the lake of fire. Hebrews 9:27 ” As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.”
It does not specifically say how each and every individual is going to be judged. Why? Because in many other verses we are told that only Christ knows the minds and hearts of people, and only He can determine who lives and who dies for all eternity. Just as we do not know the time and date of His return, we do not know the ultimate fate of all people who die.
In my own mind, there are many questions about the ultimate fate of non-believers. If all non-believers are to be thrown into a lake of fire, what would be the point of resurrecting them for a final judgement day? I think many preachers have added their own version of hellfire and damnation, when we really do not know.
Clearly, it is of utmost importance to accept Christ, repent, and have faith in the gospel before we die. But we are not the ones who have the keys to the abyss, or the knowledge to judge others. We know what God abhors based on what is written in the Bible, and we also know we all fall short, and cannot save ourselves. But beyond that, we do not know the fate of everyone else.
God is love. Love is a choice, or it would not be love. We need love, therefore we need truth in order to maintain trust, which is essential for love to exist.
It is only through God’s grace that we can even recognize our own deception, and be humbled by it, enough to repent and make changes in our lives.
A year ago, we watched the news and live feeds, as a large trucker’s freedom convoy travelled across the country, and confronted the covid mandates. The entire demonstration revolved around freedom. It was probably the largest, or at least one of the most notable demonstrations in Canadian history. For all those who participated with sincere, and peaceful motives, it was a commendable demonstration.
Knowing it is actually truth that sets us free, is quite a relief. We do not have to rely on politicians, or demonstrations, to find truth in our lives. We do not have to do anything, other than embrace and love the truth.
When it comes to truth – God has our backs. We don’t even need a truck, to get us to the place of truth. We don’t need to spin our wheels, or lose hope.
Freedom is much greater than we are. Our minds are limited. Freedom is unlimited, and eternal. Let us not allow lies, to cause us to lose our way. I will always be thankful for God’s grace, in lighting the path, to help me escape the darkness of so many lies.
Deception is without a doubt, our greatest enemy. It comes in many forms, types, shapes, and shadows. It will never take responsibility, and will bury its victims in a pit of delusion and despair. Liars will not win. It is impossible. Christ is truth, and has already claimed the victory over lies. Therefore, we would be wise – to avoid the lies.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The first disclaimer is to acknowledge that our beliefs are personal, and there is a wide range of what people believe will help improve or treat depression, and various other mental health disorders. Therefore this is not medical advice, but rather it is spiritual advice, which is at the core of our minds and existence.
Some people believe drugs are required in order to treat depression. Others go for a combination of drugs and counselling. Some people are more inclined to seek advice or solace through self help books, meditation, yoga, and Eastern religions.
There is a new and rapidly growing trend to treat mental health disorders and depression with ketamine, and/or hallucinogenic mushrooms. These drugs create out of body experiences, and some people believe they lead to a greater self awareness, and insight combined with profound spiritual enlightenment. Although these experiments might help people, the long term effects and risks can be significant.
Recently I learned that ketamine long term use has many side effects. In addition to causing psychotic breaks, and other central nervous effects, there are also cardiac risks, and more commonly, bladder and renal function impairment.
Many psychotropic medications also cause irreversible movement disorders or EPS symptoms. These side effects have a wide range of movement disorders, and can affect almost any part of the body. In some cases they cause spastic movements of the spine, especially the neck muscles. In other cases, they cause Parkinson like symptoms, or facial movements similar to rolling a marble around in the mouth. In other cases, there are tremors of one hand, or a jerking movement in the legs or eyes. Some people develop drooling, and in other cases, a person can develop macabre facial expressions, from grimacing to grinning, that they cannot control.
I worked in mental health for a several years, and was around people who had been taking a variety of psychotropic medications for many years. In almost all cases, the people also had some kind of movement disorder associated with the drugs, even though they were prescribed drugs to counter the EPS effects.
For these reasons, I believe there should be extreme caution with regards to all psychiatric medications. There are certain cases where a person does need medications, or they go completely out of control. But for those who are able to self care, have insight, and develop a care plan for themselves, it is far better to rely on lifestyle changes, diet, exercise and above all, faith.
When a person is told “get help” or “you need help” it is often said in a pejorative and condescending way. It would be much better to ask a person what is wrong, and what they think needs to be done. In family dynamics, often the problems are relational, and not the fault of just one family member.
In cases of debilitating drug and alcohol dependency, it is a matter of having non-accusatory open discussions to find out how the problem is perceived by the addict, as well as those closest to him or her. Many people feel shame, and are easily gaslighted into taking all the blame for dysfunctional relationships.
We do fail each other, and the sad truth is that we are most likely to harm or fail those we love the most, and are closest to. I think one of the central lessons in life is to overcome intergenerational destructive family patterns. We all play a role in the family dynamics. At the heart of it all is forgiveness and love, which is something we cannot achieve without God’s help. In addition, we need to learn patience and endurance. Those are traits that do not come naturally to most of us. I know I have been a dismal failure in countless ways.
In whatever way we happen to view our complex family dynamics, there is a greater purpose involved. We all carry the burdens as well as the strengths passed down through the generations. We cannot change who our family is, and where we came from. Family breakdown will be brought before the judgement of Christ. We cannot cast one another into the lake of fire, nor can we get rid of a family member for whatever reason. Time will reveal all truths. A hardened heart is probably the worst thing we can do to ourself. Empathy and compassion nurtures, while cultivating cruelty will turn us into tares, and our lives become superficial and hollow, as described in the parable of the wheat and the tares.
In the absence of severe addictions, the inability to self care, or the need for closely monitored detox to get past a crisis, how can any person evaluate and improve their own mental health?
If a person is told to get help, the big question is – who is going to help them? Most psychiatrists will prescribe potent psychoactive drugs, as opposed to trying to get to the cause of the torment. In fact, it is probably safest to avoid psychiatrists and their deadly potions. Most of them are about as caring as a hungry reptile in the jungle, prone to exploit the jumble of human emotions, seeing vulnerabilities as opportunities. They have their own ideologies, which may be so far in left field it would shock the average person.
Psychologists and counsellors are more likely to explore the feelings, and delve a little deeper into the lifestyle, thought processes, or behavioural problems. However, these counsellors are not always helpful either. Some of them do more harm than good. A high percentage of them have more complex mental health issues than the people they are trying to treat. They are also very expensive, and not all people can afford to sit around and talk about their problems at a cost of $150.00 an hour.
Peer counselling, or a good friend, might provide just as beneficial, or even better talk therapy than high priced professionals do. There is a range of professional ethics involved among all professionals, from the sincere, and well educated application of knowledge, to the bullying borderline cult-like personalities within the professional realm. It is hit or miss, to find a good one. Most of them are doing a job to make money. For this reason, we are more likely to get help from a loved one or good friend. In all cases, human beings cannot fill the role, and guidance of Christ in our lives. Therefore, even if we are forsaken by people, we are not doomed.
In my own personal opinion, and life experiences, the only way to develop optimism for the future, is through faith. Not faith in an abstract higher power, but faith in God, and the gospel of Christ. It is the only way to find truth, comfort, and an assurance that there will be justice, forgiveness, redemption, and something to look forward to. It gives us hope.
We cannot change the world, and all the evil, deception, rejection, government, media, or the conduct of other people. We can voice an opinion, seek truth, and develop various strategies to protect out minds. But we are not able to control what happens. No one can. Many people fear death. We all know we will die, and yet without faith, it is a dismal prospect.
Without faith, and the assurance that God will fulfill his promises, and bring justice to this world, it would be very easy to become hopelessly depressed. This has been intensified a hundredfold or more since we have been immersed in the covid era of deception and losses, combined with uncertainty for the future. We are steeped in an endless cycle of propaganda, coercion and deception.
Above all, we are spiritual beings, and we would be wise to avoid the many pitfalls surrounding apostate churches, media hype, hard drugs, quick fixes, and esoteric type religious practices.
Our mind, will and emotions, or soul – needs a place of guidance, nourishment and rest. We can only find such encouragement in the Bible, because everything else rings hollow after awhile.
No matter how much we learn from the Bible, we still only absorb a fraction of the true meaning. It provides a never ending source of revelation, truth, prophecies, and spiritual growth. For this reason, I believe it is our only stable instruction manual, to assure us and give us a solid foundation of hope for a better future.
Words matter. We are affected by words every single day. The word of God is far superior to what any person can offer us. We all need a rock, and a solid foundation to cling to in times of trouble. Faith, and God’s grace is the ultimate, and eternal solution. This truth is well worth it, and can be found abundantly in the words of the Bible. There is no cost for profound wisdom, because Jesus has paid the price, and He alone is capable of healing us.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The relapse rate for addiction is apparently around 85% post treatment, which is a very high number. Does it mean the treatment programs are inherently faulty? Or does it mean the patterns, and neurochemistry that develops as a result of addiction, are so complex and ingrained, it creates a powerlessness over the addiction?
Google searches will identify a set of risk factors. The withdrawal period is a very high risk period of time because there are both physiological and a psychological components that must be managed with caution, care, and dignity for the patient. Some states of withdrawal are life threatening.
We have to assume if there has been a treatment program, the treatment will get the person past the initial stages of withdrawal. The first phase is to detoxify, and in some cases it is a critical period requiring close monitoring, fluid replacement, and gradual reduction, and titration of the offending substance.
In my opinion, individual care plans need to be a part of every recovery program, at every stage of recovery. Detox is an acute care phase, if there is severe dependency on any physiologically addictive drug. Oftentimes there are many drugs within a person’s system, to include street drugs or alcohol, combined with prescription, and/or over the counter drugs.
Other reasons for relapse are underlying mental health conditions, childhood trauma, the addicted person’s associates, and/or partying lifestyle, various triggers, and a false sense of assurance such as “I am okay, have a job, and am not on the streets etc”. The idea the addiction can be managed through harm reduction programs might work for some people, but for many, the addictive substance creates a void that cannot be filled, and there is no way of setting limits on it. Once they go back to it, they cannot control it. They are trying to find a way to fill an internal void with the worst possible solution. They end up feeding a monster in a bottomless pit with a voracious appetite.
Abstinence is the only real way to get free of it. This requires a plan, and a dedicated commitment on the part of the addict. No one can leave it up to the system to cure them. In many cases the system is what got them there in the first place. Not to absolve personal responsibility for the choices one makes, but in order to take responsibility, it must become a personal choice. The system might help the process, but it is not really designed to save people. Therefore the system itself must be navigated to avoid the built in pitfalls, and hindrances to recovery.
Other reasons cited are a lack of support systems, such as family support and counselling. In many cases, there is a sense of hopelessness regarding the future. If a person cannot get a decent job, or develop enough confidence in themselves, it is much more difficult. On the other hand, no one can do it for you. It is a personal and spiritual battle of the heart, mind, will, spirit, emotions and physical body. All these elements of recovery must be overcome by the individual.
On the other hand, if there is over confidence and pride, it can lead to a relapse because after a period of sobriety, the person believes they have overcome it, and do not have to abstain or avoid the substance any longer. There is also a strong inclination to substitute one addiction for another, thus giving way to self-deception. A person my quit heroin for instance, but develop a strong dependency on methadone. They may quit alcohol, and develop a dependency on benzodiazepines, believing they are okay since they were prescribed by a doctor. But the substitutions do not cure the problem. They are more like band aids, and do not lead to a true recovery.
Regardless of how and why a relapse happens, it is likely to take the person into the same patterns, or often into an even deeper addiction than ever. Some people believe relapses are part of a process, and to be expected. However, relapses are really quite dangerous. If a person has a relapse, they should not beat themselves up over it, but get back on track as quickly as possible. They should also carefully reflect on what caused the relapse, so they know how to avoid the triggers or pathways that lead to relapse, especially the dominating emotions prior to a relapse.
One of the main dangers of relapses is the fact the person’s tolerance has changed. Therefore they might think they can take the same amount of a drug as they did prior to the period of abstinence, and overdose. Or they might start using again, and manage to control it for awhile, and then rapidly spiral out of control.
The causes or reasons for relapse are widely varied and complex. Many people are simultaneously caught up in addictive type romantic relationships that create emotional upheaval, dependency, and a loss of self control. They might mistake this roller coaster type relationship as love or support, when it is part of the damaging cycle they are in. Some people believe they can rescue others, when they are not intrinsically stable themselves. Relationships can be toxic, with extreme emotional dependency, thus contributing to the cycle of addiction.
I believe the locus of control must come from within. Therefore those who make a decision to quit, without court orders or ultimatums, have a better chance of recovery. Healthy boundaries in relationships must also be learned or established.
In addition, there is a strong spiritual aspect to addiction. This requires a realization that we cannot escape or overcome these patterns on our own. It may seem to be a contradiction to say the locus of control must be an internal driving force, while simultaneously admitting we cannot overcome addiction without accepting God, and the salvation offered through Christ. But the two definitely go hand in hand.
Forgiveness is key to overcoming any kind of bondage. So often people deny or reject the term sin, and yet all addicts have a great deal of shame. The key is to differentiate what the sin is, and seek forgiveness from Christ through sincere repentance. All people need to be forgiven, so it is not only the addict who sins. But to figure out how to get off the destructive pathway, we have to recognize what is destructive. The ability to forgive oneself follows true repentance. It establishes an ability to develop self control, and contributes to a greater understanding of the cause of the deep rooted shame.
People do not like to refer to the addictive lifestyle as sin, because we live in a society that does not want to recognize or identify what sin is. Therefore it makes it much more difficult to repent, and turn away from the things that create an entrapment, and bondage into certain patterns and lifestyles.
There does have to be a substitution of patterns toward more positive daily activities. The addict has to carefully choose what they can do, and what they must avoid. There has to be a way to establish purpose, motivation, and feeling better. In fact, I think feeling better is a very strong motivator for people, and should always be kept at the forefront for all those who are recovering. No more roller coasters, because after awhile the downs are too deep, and the efforts to get the high, just does not pan out any longer. It turns into a cycle of despair. Normal might be boring, but at least it is not agony.
To be free of the bondage, as well as to feel better, are the key objectives. However it is important to be fully aware, once the abstinence is achieved, that it may take some time before a person feels better. The entire neurochemistry has to be reconditioned. This includes restoring natural levels of dopamine, serotonin, melatonin and gut bacteria, to name just a few. Even normal sleep patterns may take months to settle into.
It seems the expectations in many recovery programs might not be realistic, therefore it is easy for people to become discouraged, which creates a big risk for relapse. I think a person has to realize recovery is a long term change, with incremental stages of wellness. Some of the ads we see, show a glowing radiant person standing on the top of a mountain, with claims of being three months clean and sober.
There should be a realistic awareness that there will always be ups and downs. Ecstatic happiness is not going to be the normal state of sobriety, no matter what we do. In fact, peace and purpose in carrying out normal daily activities is a better indicator of achieving wellness in every day life. There is joy in little things. Euphoria is short lived, which means the rest of the time, is where we spend most of our time.
Overall, each person has to develop a plan, along with strategies to improve mood, and neurochemistry, while acknowledging that it will take time. It also depends on the length of time a person was steeped in the addiction, and the depth of the addiction, as well as what range of substances affected the bodily systems. Each recovery needs an individual self care plan.
One key element is the fact that for all people, some days are better than others. To avoid depression, certain things like diet, fresh air, and exercise do wonders. But everyone of us goes through difficult times, and all you can do is alleviate the stress through the various strategies for self care, and wait it out. Prayer is very helpful for those who believe in God. Our entire society has become dependent on quick fixes, and the notion that depression or sadness is a mental health disorder. It is not always a mental health disorder. In fact, there are often many reasons for feeling sad. We cannot expect to go through life without experiencing the full range of human emotions.
The challenge is to be able to recognize what is causing the sadness, and what changes, or actions to take in order to alleviate it. If a person is sad because a family member died, it is an understandable and justifiable sadness. Grief is one of the most difficult types of sadness to overcome. Addictive substances exacerbate grief, and create a vulnerability for those who go through it.
In some cases grief can be managed fairly well, if the loss does not completely upset the foundational stability of a person. But it is a very traumatic and tumultuous period for those who do experience the loss as having the rug pulled out from under them.
To help identify some of the vulnerabilities related to addiction and relapse, grief is high on the list. Also past and present trauma, to include psycho-social trauma, as well as physical trauma. Many people inherit an addiction by adopting familial patterns, or from early trauma. And others fall into addiction as a result of surgeries or traumatic injuries.
Addiction is primarily about escaping the pain of living. Paradoxically it creates an increase in the cycle of pain, and the temporary escape is like a swirling vortex, and worsens by the day. It invites many serious risk factors into a person’s life that can easily end their life. The risks for the addict are increasing by the day.
Recently I read about a young 19 year old man who was overall quite healthy, worked in a stable job, and had good family support. Tragically he died of a fentanyl overdose by taking what he thought was a single Percocet pill. He grew up and lived with his family in a town close to the Mexican border. It was not uncommon for people to go to Mexico for the day with a few friends. While there, he went into a legitimate pharmacy, and bought a bottle of Percocet because it is like an over the counter medication there. You can understand why he would have thought this would have been a safe way to make the purchase, regardless of his reasons for buying the drug.
After spending the day in Mexico, he went home, picked up some take out food, and later on, when he went to bed that night, took one pill from the bottle. The next day when he did not show up for work, his parents were alerted, and went to check on him. They found him blue and unresponsive in his bed. He had died during the night.
It turned out the Percocet he had purchased was laced with fentanyl. His parents found the bottle, the receipt, and counted what was left in the bottle. They knew he had taken just one pill. He could not have known it was laced with fentanyl, and nor was he a drug ravaged addict. He might have had a sore back, or he might have had trouble sleeping, and thought this would insure a good night’s sleep. Who knows for sure? However, the fact a pharmacy open to the public, would have mislabelled Percocet on the shelves when it is actually laced with fentanyl, is a shocking realization for all those who travel to Mexico on vacation, or order pills online etc. The single bottle of Percocet he happened to purchase, had enough fentanyl to kill thirty or more people.
Many people remember the scare a few years ago when an over the counter pain medication was contaminated with cyanide. I think it was some kind of copy cat murder, or diversion for someone who wanted to get away with a targeted murder. But at least the tampered drugs were immediately pulled off the shelves, and it was considered to be murder. I don’t know if there is an investigation when this type of thing happens in Mexico, but it should be considered to be murder too. The offending pharmacy should be shut down.
It just made me wonder what scope and potential there is for such tainted products to be distributed through other mainstream channels. One would think a pharmacy in any country would not have products on the shelves that are incorrectly labelled, and can kill a person in a single dose. The loss of life due to overdoses is staggering, which means the world has an exponential amount of grief to cope with, as a result of drugs.
We are living in perilous times. I see young people on the street who exhibit the same kinds of brain damage you see in long term care facilities where people have had traumatic brain injuries, strokes, and organic brain syndromes. It is just tragic to see someone in their twenties who can hardly walk, or speak, or take care of themselves. So many of them have spastic and permanent movement disorders as well. If they spill the contents of their backpack, they cannot manage to pick the items up, and put them back into the pack. The loss of function is debilitating beyond words.
Recently the system has added another very worrisome drug. The pharmaceutical and health care industry is starting to promote ketamine as a treatment for depression. The long term results of such a treatment cannot possibly be good. Ketamine is an anesthetic drug used in hospitals, and more often in veterinary medicine. It is meant for occasional use only in a monitored and controlled environment.
As a street drug ketamine is unpredictable and addictive, leading to dissociative experiences, hallucinations, and is not meant for street use. There is no way of knowing the long term effects, as it has not been prescribed as a treatment for depression until recently. I was gobsmacked when I read it was being prescribed as a nasal spray for depression.
One university research article claimed ketamine could rebuild the cortex and neuronal pathways of the brain. What a croc of nonsense, no different than when they claimed opiates were not addictive. So many university studies are based on research funded by pharmaceutical companies. In the future, they are far more likely to discover the long term use of ketamine destroys the cortex of the brain, as opposed to rebuilding it. To claim it enhances neurochemistry or synapse communication is insane.
They used to think and claim SSRI’s increased serotonin, or at least many people thought so. Now they admit they simply increased the rate of circulation of serotonin in the brain and central nervous system, which eventually depleted it, and caused a flat affect, worse depression, movement disorders, and various other psychological deficits. SSRI’s often cause extrapyramidal side effects, and suicidal ideation. Ketamine, in my opinion, will be a hundred times worse in the long run.
They want to give other hallucinogenics to treat mental health disorders. When a person has hallucinations, it is considered to be a psychotic episode. Hallucinations are when a person hears voices or sees things that are not really there. If a person has hallucinations, the doctors and pharmaceutical industry are likely to promote anti-psychotics to treat the psychosis. So you can already see how easily a destructive cycle begins. Then the anti-psychotic drug causes a severe movement disorder. So they give an anticholinergic drug to offset the side effects of the anti-psychotic drug. You can see how one ends up getting a chemical soup for breakfast, lunch and supper.
It is not difficult to see how pharmaceutical and prescription drugs have become a leading cause of death. We should all be very cautious, and steer clear of psychotropic drugs period. They tend to treat side effects by giving more drugs.
In many ways, we are navigating a system of pharmaceutical landmines. Step on on one, and it might go poof into a little cloud of smoke. Yet if you step on another one, it might blow up in your face. It is like a game of Russian roulette, and it is no wonder the trust in the health care system is becoming increasingly sketchy. The profit motive supersedes our brains, our minds, our health, and our common sense. The more people they can get addicted, the bigger and more steady the profit becomes. The casualties are piling up in the morgues.
When it comes to medication, it is buyer beware. If medication is legitimately needed, we should all do in-depth research before taking it, and create a plan to get off the drug as soon as possible. All substance abuse starts with the use of the substance, with a false sense of security. The best thing we can do for ourselves, is to try and avoid the trap in the first place.
If we do fall into the drug trap, get out of it as fast as possible. We are wise to make a confirmed decision to avoid the pitfall like we would avoid quicksand, or landmines, or climbing down a dark mine shaft, or walking in front of a train. Some of the negative outcomes are insidious, and others are rapid.
Either way, addiction is a death trap. For those who are steeped in addiction, they are palliative, and need care like anyone else who is palliative. The war on drugs is actually a war on the individual for profit. The entire scope of it is so blurred, it has blinded us to the dangers. Relapse used to be something to shrug off as part of the journey. Now it is like losing the trail completely, and stumbling back into a pit of crocodiles.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
This is something I still do not understand. Why do Christians focus so much on certain sins, while completely ignoring others? The most common “worst sins” many seem to be angry about, often leading to fire and brimstone ranting and raving, are based on sins of the flesh, such as sexual immorality.
Another hot topic is abortion, which is understandable in many ways. But in my opinion, we cannot prevent another person from doing what they do. We are called upon to repent of our own sins, and seek forgiveness from Christ. We cannot force other people to repent, nor can we prevent whatever sins plague their lives, from happening. Surely if we are the least bit honest, we have enough of our own sins to deal with.
We might seek to change laws, or set boundaries about what we allow into our own lives. But we cannot dictate the choices other people make. We can also create political stances, and be open about certain topics in public discourse. We can express the courage of our convictions through freedom of speech, by describing what we believe is wrong with certain laws, such as MAID, abortion, violent crime, repeat offenders, etc.
After all, our minds are the enemies minefield, and we should stand firm on what we do believe. But we also must respect boundaries, and refrain from condemnation, or attempts to block people from making choices in their own lives, within the parameters of the laws. We cannot control other people’s choices, or what is happening in this world.
If we look at the list of sins afflicting our society, including ourselves, here are just a few examples: a refusal to forgive those who trespass against us and persecute us, and if we don’t do so, it too is considered to be sin. We are told to love our neighbours, as well as to love our enemies. In some cases, this is a tough undertaking.
In addition to the long list of sins to repent of, they include all forms of sexual immorality, which in itself carries a wide range of admonishments. This list includes not only homosexuality, but also adultery, promiscuity, lust, sex outside of marriage, remarriage following divorce, having multiple partners, and even having lustful thoughts toward another person. Worse yet, some of these human behaviours sink into depravity, and include child pornography, sexual assault, rape, bondage, and sexualization of children.
When it comes to the range of sexual misconduct or sin, how many of us have not been guilty of a percentage of those sins? If we are honest, we will evaluate our own range of sins, repent of them, seek forgiveness from Christ, and then find ways to avoid further temptations.
How can any of us condemn the actions of another, if we do not see the magnitude of our own misdeeds? Yes, some things are far worse than others, but even so, we are not the judges of what other people do. If we are convicted of our own sins, repent and are forgiven, it is by the grace of God that we even recognize what we are guilty of. Remorse it actually a blessing. It means we are taking responsibility for what we have done.
It is for these reasons I personally do not believe in going to abortion protests, or various other protests that try to prevent people from doing what they are going to do anyway. I know the intent is to try to protect the unborn child, but we are not carrying that child, and cannot even get access to them. Nor do we know the circumstances, and beliefs causing a person to make the decision.
We can only make our own decisions, and apply those decisions to our own lives. As far as standing up for our own rights to make choices about our bodies, then for sure, peaceful protests are warranted, and it is commendable when people defend human rights.
I do strongly believe children should be protected from abuse and sexual exploitation, and these things are in fact against the law. Abuse of children can be reported to the authorities, and in some cases a grandparent or family member can intervene.
For other types of exposure to sexual immorality that is not against the law, but is arguably inappropriate, all we can do is set boundaries, and hope and pray the laws will serve to protect innocent children. Sometimes widespread peaceful protest is the only sign that the public is pushing back against draconian mandates. One of the big differences between the 1930’s and now, is social media. Many people are doing live recordings on the ground, so the truth is more difficult to stifle.
It might be better to stay away, and keep innocent children away from what is questionable, such as overt sexual displays, and gaudy performances in public places. I feel so sorry for children who are not protected. It takes a lifetime to get over childhood abuse and trauma. And unfortunately for some, certain things can never be overcome.
Eventually all of it will be exposed and dealt with. If we are in a position to do so, we are called upon to warn, and even sometimes to expose things that bring harm to others. It depends on our circumstances, as well as our own convictions regarding the ways we might do good, or help to overcome harmful practices or attitudes.
There are many variances in how Christians might help avert harm and do good. Prayer is a very important part of it all. I believe in writing about things, because it might help influence others to contemplate, and seek out the truth of what the Bible actually says. Regardless of what people believe, it is good to bring things into the light. The only reason many things are kept secret, is to hide wrongdoing.
If we have intergenerational abuse within our family, we owe it to future generations to try and resolve it. In fact, we owe it to the entire family, in the present as well. Dysfunction is a family affair. Many deep rooted problems go on for several generations within families. We do have an obligation to try and put a stop to it. These are strongholds that require a great deal of prayer, courage, stamina, and ongoing spiritual battles.
The other sins we are told to repent of, and abandon include: Revelation 21:8 KJV “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
If that is not enough to give us pause and examine our own lives, I don’t know what is. The word abominable means to create moral revulsion. Sorcery is the practice of magic, to include psychics, ouija boards, tarot cards, palm reading, conjuring up spirits, using crystals and gemstones for protection, seances, trying to communicate with the dead, astrology, trying to command angels, and various other practices too numerous to mention. Some people view these things as being mild curiosities, or of little consequence. But once again, we as Christians do not dabble in such things, because we know there are many evil spirits.
Crystals, rhinestones and glass are used in jewelry to add sparkle. Swarovski and Austrian crystals were made as substitute faux gems. Coloured gemstones are rocks in nature that are part of God’s creation. Jewelry does not protect, or add any spiritual entity, and if used as such has the potential to become idolatry or worse yet, attract evil and negative forces from the spirit world. Anything we choose to adorn ourselves with is simply fashion, art, colours and choices we happen to like, and appreciate for the craftsmanship. To give them additional attributes is not a good idea. All things come from God.
The fearful part is a tough one for me. The only way we can reduce our fear, is to increase our faith, and stop fearing death. Otherwise I know full well, I would be condemned on that count alone. Fear includes anxiety, and the many other triggers that cause our hearts to tremble. It is one of the most difficult things to overcome, and only the love of God can truly cast out all fear.
Over the years, I have listened to many different sermons on YouTube. Some of them are encouraging and truthful, but it is increasingly difficult to find those who teach the true gospel, and adhere to the original language in the Bible.
Many of the congregations are so far off-base, they have become like circuses, or disco dance clubs, with loud music and wild gyrations. In addition, there is a growing number of outright false teachers, steeped in pagan rituals and teachings. So beware, and test all things. Many of them have mixed truth with falsehoods, so we need discernment now, more than ever before.
In my humble opinion, some of the worst ones are those who pick and choose certain sins, and loudly condemn people to the depths of hell, and eternal torture in the lake of fire. The Bible does not teach eternal torture in the lake of fire. It teaches there will be a second death for those who reject Christ.
It also tells us not to be vengeful, or to hope for, or take pleasure in the wrathful judgement toward those who do not overcome the temptations of this world. None of us would be spared if it was up to us. We cannot count on our own ability to overcome our vices. To think we can, is a fool’s errand. We simply cannot save ourselves. Those who think they can judge, condemn, or save everyone else, are deluded. The truth is not in them.
I would challenge any Christian or pastor to preach a sermon on the things God hates the most. How many times do we hear a sermon about pride in the church? Or deception? Or gossip? Or greed, and the love of money?
Yet if we are truly honest, and make the decision to examine our own hearts and minds, these are the very things God hates the most. After evaluating this list, let any of those among us, who are prone to pick up the first stone, give it a second thought.
If we think we have no sin, we would wisely and quietly abandon the hellfire rants, and look within, to see all the sin in our own lives. And lest we forget, we should also add the Ten Commandments to our list of admonishments we might apply to our own self-examination. We are most certainly apt to be humbled:
Notice the first on the list are a proud look, and a lying tongue. Of all the wicked in this world, these things are at the top of the list as far as what God hates the most. How often do we hear sermons about the rich man’s pride, and supreme arrogance? Do the false teachers and preachers point out the fact they themselves are liars?
Of course not, yet that is what comes to mind when I listen to some of them give their own warped spin on things, and add what is not even in the Bible. Or they might select certain verses, take them completely out of context, and adamantly give a nonsensical meaning. So often I think, whoa, thankfully most of us can read. Often I cannot even fathom how they came to such conclusions. How can there be so many different interpretations of the same verse?Teaching is one thing, but dictating doctrine based on deviations, and deception, is another thing altogether.
Pride and elitism places everyone else far beneath them. We are expected to believe them, and follow their orders because of their intrinsic superiority. No wonder God despises such attitudes. It makes others feel inferior, lowly, unworthy, like second class citizens. Many people will fawn over the proud elitist ones, just to align themselves with the image of success.
To the proud, the inferiors deserve to be inferior. That is just our lot in life. They are the greatest, because they are rich and powerful, yet in God’s eyes, they are obviously nowhere near as important as they seem to think. They will give orders to people they have no business ordering around. To the supreme wealthy, everyone is expected to work for them. No one dares to challenge them either.
Even more so, what gives a rich man the right to punish people? Especially a pious rich church-going man who is deemed to be a leader? We are supposed to esteem one another equal to, or higher than ourselves. We are also supposed to love one another. So how does a rich man justify in his own mind, treating others with contempt, and then actively seeking ways to punish those who disobey him? Is it any wonder the Bible says it is more difficult to get a rich man into the Kingdom of God, than it is to get a camel through the eye of a needle?
Truth in the Bible is very important. People who arrogantly mistreat others, acting as though they are vastly superior, are actually the worst sinners of all. What makes a person so superior as to treat another person like a subhuman? Or as though we are already dead, and do not even exist, let alone have any rights?
They act as though they are boss over us, when they are nothing of the sort. It is typical of cults to treat a defector as though they are dead. Shunning and rejection also demonstrates a rich persona of fascism. Either way, it is profoundly destructive to those around them.
What right does a rich and powerful man have to tell us who we must associate with? Who is he to abuse power to such an extent, no matter how rich or powerful he is? What gives anyone the right to give us orders to believe, and accept some random cultish person as a “wonderful Christian”, when everything about them demonstrates the complete opposite? Who are they to lie about and force an unwanted relationship, and deceptive con onto a person, a family, and the community, about the true nature of that relationship, and how it came to be?
No one has the right to force us into relationships we do not want to be in. Females are more likely to be objectified in this manner. Even God does not force us to be in a relationship with Him. We all have a basic and fundamental right to say no to invasive, intrusive, deceptive, and destructive relationships. Only cults and criminals use force, with a stubborn refusal to take no for an answer.
We have to protect ourselves and our families from such diabolical infiltrations. It is why it is so important not to allow cults into our lives in the first place. There is a bullying, relentless, and unrepentant dominance that is very difficult to get rid of. Once they get a foot in the door, look out – they have no boundaries. They most certainly do not have any scruples. Lying is their MO. They count on forcing you to be obedient, and nice, as well as to follow orders from the headquarters of pride, dominance and false authority.
I most certainly wish I would have asserted myself in this regard a long time ago. It is the epitome of arrogance to force another person into a relationship of any sort. It is one thing to accept and tolerate family members, but no one should have to accept an abusive and destructive cult relationship, and endless exploitation, just because they have been ordered to do so by someone with money and power.
Our identity is in Christ. He is our Lord, and we serve Him, not an arrogant businessman or cult master. True believers are adopted into the family of God, and He is our true Father. No one, no matter how wealthy or important he is, has the right to give us away, like we are some kind of an object. Or worse yet, give us up for adoption to some nasty, deceptive cult. NO!
Every single human being ever born into this world, belongs to a certain lineage, or tribe, or seed, and is documented in the Bible. The believers are already in the Lamb’s book of life, because God knows who we are, even before we are born. We are each a part of our own specific generation and genealogy, in the overall scheme of things. No one can alter or change who we are.
We struggle against our own sin, the sin of others, and above all, the principalities and powers of darkness in this world. But we do have a promise to enable us to overcome the darkness. And thus we are called upon to repent, and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the light. Only He can untangle us from the sin of this world.
There is no other way. Our relationship with Christ is not by force. It is by choice, because love is a choice. We all have free will, and if we do manage to figure things out, it is only by the grace of God. So we will give thanks for all eternity.
Without a doubt – it is far better to be humble, than it is to be proud.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Some of the trends on YouTube revolve around the standard televangelist type monetizing, which is as old as TV itself. Some of us can recall the Jimmy Swaggart and Tammy Faye scandals back in the eighties with the Assemblies of God church.
Most memorable for me is the massive amount of eye makeup Tammy Faye wore, along with the crying and numerous public apologies. After the scandals and affairs became public, I do recall a T-shirt promotion. It had a big black smudge on the front of the shirt, with the caption “I hugged Tammy Faye”.
So it is no surprise that YouTube has many church related fund raising sites, some of which may be quite legitimate. Regardless of the topics or the truth surrounding the many topics, people can easily donate to whatever subjects or organizations they choose.
Pop psychology is not much different than many of the church sites, as there is a fair bit of heart tugging manipulation based on emotions such as fear and sympathy. The church broadcasters and psychology gurus, are comparable in many ways.
There are many topics now that can be monetized on YouTube, from courses, to pop psychology, diet, and true crime. One of the more recent surges in monetization and opinions comes from the fascination with the Idaho student murders.
It is truly amazing to me how many have jumped on this particular bandwagon. In one case, a very detailed and organized YouTube publisher sells subscriptions for one dollar a month. Given that she has thousands of viewers and subscribers, she is probably doing reasonably well, as long as she can keep up with delivering interesting content, which must be a full time job.
In addition, there are retired police officers who set up a panel of three, and sometimes have special guests. In those cases, people will donate certain small sums ranging between $2.00 and $20.00 on average, in order to submit a comment, and basically get a high five, and a thank you from the team.
One thing to note is that many of the broadcasters just love their audience, as if we can be totally enamoured by those we do not even know. It does have some of the same patterns as the early televangelists. But at least the sums are small, and the content creators are not claiming to offer anything but opinions and experience. So fair enough. Admittedly, it is more honest than claiming they will do faith healing, or set the viewers up for a windfall of pennies from heaven, like the prosperity gospel preachers do.
Of course there is a great deal of speculation because the majority of the evidence in the case has not even been released. What is the point in going over every detail of a probable cause arrest document, when it is only the tip of the iceberg as far as evidence is concerned? But the fascination with the case fuels the input, and the money fuels the motivation for those who create the content.
In a sense it is similar to gloom and doom pop psychology. We seem to have a natural attraction to what makes lunatics tick. Why did he do it? Will he get away with it? Did he have an accomplice? Did he know the victims? Is he brilliant or is he a moron? Where is the knife? Did he throw it in the river or did he bury it? How long was he planning this? Did he stalk them on social media? What about the dog? Will the dog be the hero by shedding his hair so it is found somewhere in the perpetrators car or apartment?
Some of the commentators were saying how BK is nowhere near as sophisticated or brilliant as Ted Bundy or the BTK killer, Green River killer etc. But they are not taking into consideration the advancement of forensic science and technology. Anyone who claims a murderer is brilliant is giving them far too much credit. Bundy got caught and was executed, even though his crimes were committed before there was DNA profiling.
The inclination to give the murderers some kind of intellectual superiority is not truthful, and not the least bit helpful. In fact, many of them are so filled with narcissism and attention seeking, they revel in hearing the so-called experts describing them as being brilliant, geniuses, or fascinating, when in fact they are sick, sadistic and deranged.
The evidence in the case of the Idaho killer is already overwhelming, with a great deal more to come. The killer might have been studying for a PhD but all it goes to show, is that you do not have to be brilliant to be a University student either. Some people are brighter than others, and he clearly was not one of the bright ones.
The truth is – no one gets away with murder. Nothing is hidden from God. But even for those who do not believe in God, the forensic evidence or DNA through familial genealogy, can track them down at any time, even ten, twenty or forty years later.
The other aspect of it is their own conscience. I remember reading about a case where a man killed a woman he barely knew after a drunken altercation. They were in a remote location, and he left her for dead somewhere. Her death was never solved, and had become a cold case.
But his conscience bothered him even though he tried to stifle the memories of what happened. One day, he got a mistaken call to pick up a Costco prescription. The pharmacy retailer left him a message something to the effect, “your number is up”. He panicked and thought it was a message about the murder twenty years prior. As a result of a random mistaken call, and the wording of the message, he promptly went and turned himself into the police. What a good description of self driven justice, in spite of never being caught.
The rise in monetizing the macabre, could have indirect consequences, in the various nuggets of information, and ideas that surface as a result of it all.
In fact, if not for widespread public interest in true crime, the Gabby Petito case might not have been solved. At least one could surmise they may never have found her body, if not for a couple of adventure seekers who happened to drive down the same remote road where Brian Laundrie had parked, in order to bury her body. The couple who drove past not only saw the distinctive van parked there, but they filmed it, so it became a crucial part of the evidence that solved her disappearance.
In addition to the advancement and sophistication in forensic technology, there has been a huge increase in social media sleuths, doorbell cameras, dash cams, cell phone footage, screen shots, and armchair detectives. You would think the murderers would know they cannot get away with it, but it does not seem to stop them.
It seems that a whole new genre of monetizing true crime podcasts, and information sharing is on the rise. Unfortunately only certain cases really capture the public’s attention, and other cases quickly go by the wayside. But one thing it does highlight is the interconnectedness between the general public and the crimes that happen. When you watch the footage of the white car the killer drove, and follow all the places it went at all hours of the night, it must make those who live in the vicinity feel creeped out to know this person was driving around their neighbourhood like a wild beast circling its prey.
All of social media has merits as well as drawbacks. It is interesting to note in the latest developments, the killer is reported to have stalked his victims, and sent them messages on social media. This will also be taken in as evidence to help convict him. Ironically the very same things that set his sights on the victims, will bite back, in providing more incontrovertible evidence against him.
On the cautionary note however, is that social media can attract predators. It can also set young people up on an illusory quest for giving an outward appearance of living a romantic or perfect life. Like all content creation, it becomes difficult to keep up with, and difficult to live up to.
The world of technology has us hooked. I think the young people who use it freely for sharing and social engagement should be very cautious when it comes to disclosing their locations. There seems to be an assumption of safety. It is true, no one can jump through a computer screen or cell phone with a knife. But the social media disclosures, can put the person with the knife in proximity to the victims, as the Idaho case has shown.
Therefore in all cases, people should lock their doors at all times. They should also review video footage of security systems on a regular basis, and go through messages they receive to see if there are any common denominators. For those of us who are not in the University stage, or in the habit of using Instagram and Tik Tok, we don’t really grasp the law of attraction surrounding these methods of communication.
The potential for crime and victimization cannot be ignored. Not long ago a senior was ripped off for over $40,000 due to an email phishing scam. Many more have been duped by fake calls from Canada Revenue Agency.
One tip on email scams, is the return email will often have a whole string of random characters, instead of a legitimate email address. Many times they will show screenshots, with all the standard logos and colours, in order to dupe people into thinking they are legit. If anything suspicious comes in, and you wonder about it, it is better to go to the source separately, as opposed to following any links.
For email and phone scams, it is common for them to say you have a refund or a parcel to pick up. These are used as bait to get you to click on a site that can grab personal information. In the case of the senior who was defrauded of 40K a company he was familiar with told him they had accidentally deposited money into his account, and showed a fake bank statement. But rather than take the bait, it is better to ignore it, and then check your account.
Personally I do not respond to any notifications or warnings. Nor do I store passwords on any device. Also if you get a pop up when logging into a bank account telling you to change passwords or change security questions, don’t fall for it. Say no thanks and log out because it could be a pop up screen shot to steal your information.
When you decide to change a PW or security questions, log in to your account separately and go to the profile or account settings to make the changes. I have learned to be suspicious of any sudden pop-up screen shots during a log in, asking for a verification or a change in the information you have set up for that account. It is amazing what scammers can do online to gain access to personal information.
There are also advanced settings you can explore on your computer, to see if there is any suspicious activity, or security breaches. You have the options of setting controls, limits, set up scans, and encryption options as well. The other thing to do is clear the browsing cache on a regular basis.
For all forms of Internet presence, we should all be careful to set boundaries and protect ourselves. For those who broadcast publicly, on YouTube and various other platforms, never meet with someone you do not know, and above all always lock your doors.
Countless people make money online in one way or another. Most of us have some kind of online presence. Many use platforms like Twitter and FB to keep in touch or share opinions.
Social media has become a convenient, and often interesting part of life. However, it is a rapidly changing world from a technology perspective, and is becoming increasingly complex. We simply cannot afford to be naive.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Why is this important? Because these Latin words have steeped Christian belief systems into a swirling cauldron of false teaching. The Bible uses many words to explain things to us. Why should we focus on words and teachings not contained in the Bible?
Doesn’t it seem like it is dangerous to create unauthorized substitutions, instead of adhering to the actual words in the Bible? Why would anyone need to swap or switch the words around? Or add words? Or take words away? There is no proxy. These are concepts, and alterations in the original text that do not come from God. You can sugar coat it, or try to gallantly explain it away, but you cannot claim these words exist in the Bible.
In the previous post about the rapture, I wrote about the original languages of the Bible as being primarily in Hebrew and Greek. We are not supposed to add anything to, or take anything away from the Bible. Those who do will be punished when the final judgment day comes.
Almost all Christian theology revolves around beliefs in either pre-millennialism, post-millennialism or a-millennialism. When you consider these words are confusing to most people, and like the word rapture, they are not in the Bible, why focus on them? Why make them central to Christian eschatology?
We do know God is not the author of confusion, so we can assume this is meant to deter people from the truth, not help us to understand the truth. Instead these different versions of belief systems are offered up like cheese on a platter. Like it is perfectly okay to sample Biblical oddities, and pick one of them as your favourite. In reality, there is no selectivity on our part, regarding what we might choose to pluck, or to reject from God’s word. It is a fool’s errand leading to a precipice into the abyss. Truth is what it is, not what we decide we want it to be.
The truth of what this refers to is based on the Biblical description of Christ’s return to earth, also known as the second coming. The Bible tells us Christ will reign on this earth for a thousand years. I realize the Latin word millennium means a thousand, but since it is not used in the Bible, and has created a great deal of confusion, personally I think we should stick to the promise of a thousand year reign.
If we adhere to what it actually does say in the Bible, we do not get ensnared with all the terminology surrounding millennialism. If you look up a-millennialism it is described as a chillegoristic eschatological version of the Bible. What that actually means is that the thousand year reign of Christ is viewed as metaphor, or figurative language.
The Bible has a mixture of literal and metaphorical language to help us understand what was, what is, and what is to come. Even as small children we are able to differentiate between reality and metaphor. I remember the summer I turned three years old, and I worriedly told a neighbour about something my brother had said. She replied, “Oh, he is just pulling your leg”. Then later I heard our mother say, “Don’t let him pull the wool over your eyes”. In both cases, I understood what they meant. From then on, I was quite aware of the use of figurative language. It made sense, and it expanded my understanding in a simple way.
It does not mean all language is figurative or metaphorical. It just means we learn language to include some metaphor, or figurative language, in both speech and writing, as well as in what we read. It does not mean we apply it to all language, and most certainly not all language in the Bible. Some people adamantly believe the Bible is entirely literal, and others believe it is entirely metaphorical. Yet those same people do not view all language as being one or the other. In fact, we would have very limited comprehension of any language, if we did not learn to differentiate figures of speech.
However, that verse is describing what a thousand years is to God, not us. The Bible does not say a thousand years to man, is as one day. To use such a verse to obliterate the thousand year reign of Christ is an incredible twist of scripture.
The belief systems that revolve around the cancellation of the thousand year reign of Christ cannot possibly be the truth, and are in direct contradiction to what the Bible does say. Even the Lord’s prayer, which most Christians recite thousands of times throughout a lifetime says, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…”
Other arguments claiming the thousand year reign is metaphorical, will say the kingdom of God is within us, or the church is the kingdom of God, or the millennial reign of Christ has been going on since Christ was crucified and resurrected. They will say that the church will spread the gospel until it fills the whole earth, and this is what the millennial reign actually means.
To say the kingdom of God is within us, could be interpreted as the Holy Spirit being within us. However, the earth is not within us, is it? The Bible clearly and explicitly says Christ will reign on the earth for a thousand years.
As far as those who claim the church, or the Christians, as being the ones who are reigning over the earth, just look at what has been happening? We are in the midst of the great apostasy. The church has fallen away, just as the prophecies said would happen. Look at the amount of false teaching. It is enough to make anyone’s head spin.
The Bible tells us Satan currently has dominion over this world. It also tells us that Christ will deal with Satan when He returns, and will throw him into prison, and lock him up for a thousand years. Does anyone speak of the millennial imprisonment of Satan? Or have versions on pre and post millennialism when it comes to his fate? Doesn’t it sound absurd? Imagine asking people if they believe in a pre or post-millennial view of Satan’s fate? Or that his existence and influence on earth is purely metaphorical?
People can believe whatever they choose to believe. There is no limit to what people choose to believe, to include a wide range of esoteric beliefs, various different gods, and outright denial of the existence of God. But if we choose to accept Christ, and believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God, then we cannot fabricate or deny what it actually says.
The description of Satan’s fate in the Bible, is tied to the same thousand years as the reign of Christ. It is literally the same thousand year time frame, because when Christ returns, He will rule the world, not Satan. There would not be a period of peace, prosperity, and goodness on this earth, if Satan was not locked up. So it does make sense. In addition, there are many verses throughout the Bible to assure us how and when Satan will be locked up for a thousand years, then after the thousand years, he will be released for a short time, and then eliminated once and for all.
The thousand year reign of Christ is also tied to the first resurrection of the believers, and the final judgement day. False teachers on this topic cannot create a forked version of one verse, without skewing all of them on the same topic. A thousand years is not metaphor in one verse, and then allegorical in another, when it is bound up in the same prophetic events.
We would be wise to rid ourselves of the pre, post and a-millennial terminology and confusion. There is no point in using those terms at all. Anyone who reads the Bible knows it says Christ will return and reign on the earth for a thousand years. He has not returned yet, He is not here now – so no one can claim He is reigning on the earth now. It is not metaphorical. How can it be?
Another very significant alteration to the Bible surrounds the Darby Scofield insertion of a seven year tribulation prior to Christ’s return. The original Bible and church leaders never taught this. But to give an indication of the subtle sleight of hand regarding this lie, is how a single word was added to change the meaning of the text in Revelation 7:14. The original KJV version is:
“14 …And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
However since the introduction of the Darby lie about “the end times seven year great tribulation” just one word was added to this text, first in the Darby Scofield translations, then in multiple other translations, which significantly changes the meaning of this verse.
NIV 7:14 “And he said, These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Adding just one word gives the impression the people in white robes are those at the end of the age. But the truth is in the original text, and it means all believers throughout history who experienced tribulation, not just those at the end of the dotted line. The deception also serves to reinforce a false notion of the so called seven year tribulation, which is not found in the Bible either. One of the most devious types of falsehood, is when it is mixed with truth. One word, or even the placement of punctuation, can significantly change the meaning and context.
If you look at it in the broader context, right from the beginning, where it is described how God created the earth in six days, to all of the various descriptions about the day of rest. It is telling us, there will be a time of rest and restoration on the earth. We see the cycles of work followed by rest in many things, after the sixth day, or six years, or six thousand years. It demonstrates the completion, and rest occurring on the seventh day, or seventh year, or seven thousand year time frame. This is how we are meant to compare God’s timing, the harvest, the completion, and His ability to span things from beginning to end.
According to Christian beliefs, the earth is now around six thousand years old. It means we could be very close to the time of Christ’s return, the harvest, and thousand year period of rest, peace and restoration. This could be what it means when it says, to God a thousand years can be as one day, and one day as a thousand years.
The thousand year reign of Christ, includes locking Satan up for a thousand years, so he can no longer deceive the nations, or create havoc on the earth. In addition to this very real description of what happens when Christ returns, the Bible says the dead in Christ shall rise first, followed by the Christians or believers who are still alive.
It goes on to say the rest (unbelievers) do not live again for a thousand years. The resurrection of the believers when Christ returns, completely refutes the false rapture theology. If there was to be a pre-tribulation rapture, or escape for Christians, we would not be told the dead in Christ will rise first, since they do not need to escape. We would also not be told the Christians who are alive when He returns, will be resurrected to meet Him in the air. According to the rapture doctrine, the Christians will be gone, but that is clearly not what the Bible says.
During the thousand year reign, the Bible says there will be peace, safety and security. People will not live in fear of any person, violence, trickery, governments, or wild beasts, etc. There are many verses to describe how people will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. The nations will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore. Do people interpret that as metaphor too?
If we do not differentiate between what is, and what is not metaphor, we cannot comprehend the Bible at all. It is the same as a three year old learning about the world around them, and how to interpret language. A child is not going to comprehend much if he/she does not learn to separate literal from metaphorical language.
We can understand a metaphor such as “some things will be as chaff in the wind”. It means some things are without substance, and will be gone. In many cases, we are told if something is a parable, or a metaphor because it is preceded by “it is like” or it is “as if”. In other cases we know what is described, is a reference to something allegorical, such as the beasts in the book of Revelation. It is metaphorical, because it is intended to represent something, as opposed to giving a tangible and exact description.
I will readily admit, there are certain allegorical descriptions that are difficult to understand, and there are references to spiritual beings that are not part of the natural world. Therefore we are faced with mysteries, and are prone to misunderstand or misinterpret things.
But the thousand year reign of Christ on this earth is very clear, along with all the events surrounding it, and the consistencies in how it applies to the entire time frame, and what we can anticipate.
Don’t count on man to fill in the gaps in understanding. Don’t count on false teachers, and false doctrine, as they will deceive us, and bring a fog of confusion to our minds. And above all, don’t count on terminology and teachings that have been added, or altered, to create different meanings. Stick to what the Bible actually says. Do not hinge your belief system on words that do not even exist in the Bible.
God did not give us His word, for people to invent and insert words, and arguments that are not even there. Look up what the original Bible actually says. I use the original 1611 KJV version. Certain other translations have maintained the original wording, but there are now over a hundred translations of the Bible in the English language alone. So be wary, and when in doubt, cross reference the text with the original.
You can listen to preachers talk about, and teach about the different versions of millennialism until the cows come home, yet you will never get the milk from those cows, if you don’t seek the truth.
There is just one version of the thousand year reign of Christ. There is no pre or post millennial rapture, or multiple returns, or a secret return of Christ. Christ will return at God’s appointed time, and every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord. All people who have ever lived will know it – when He does return. Some will have great joy, and others will be full of fear. We do not have to debate or refute any portion of God’s plan. If we do not understand it, we look to His word, not baseless circuitous arguments to confuse us.
For those who sincerely believe in Christ, we believe he was here on this earth, and he died for our sins. We believe He was resurrected and is with God on His throne. We believe He will return to the earth as is promised in the gospel. How on earth did we get so off-track when it comes to His thousand year reign when He does return? It is central to our beliefs, and very important to clarify, understand and believe. Otherwise we will be deceived, and we have been given many warnings not to be deceived.
If we don’t seek and embrace the truth, we become deluded. The Bible tells us God sends strong delusion to those who abandon the truth. And after that, he turns people over to a reprobate mind, because they refuse to love the truth.
Satan seeks to confuse and deceive people, and is known as the father of lies. Of all the things God hates, lying is one of the most important errors of existence to be avoided more than anything else. Just because you want to believe something, does not make it true. Just because something might be a mainstream belief in your family, church, or teaching, so much that you dare not reject it, don’t be deceived. Search it out for yourself. Test it. Review it. Pray about it. Remember our minds are more under attack than anything else, and in order to find the truth, we have to be determined.
As Christians we are told to love one another, uphold one another, and encourage each other. There are many stumbling blocks, and snares along the way. When in doubt, test all things based on what the Bible says, and be sure to avoid all versions of the Bible that teaches false doctrine, adds to, or takes away from the original Bible.
Like many others, over the years, I have fallen into snares, and false teachings, and have stumbled more times, and in more ways than I can count. It is only by the grace of God I didn’t crash and burn long ago. One thing to be eternally thankful for is that one of God’s promises is of a sound mind 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV:
Over time, I have learned to lean on, and trust God’s word above all else. There is no substitute for one single word from God. Forget the unbiblical, ill-conceived words like rapture and millennialism. Hold fast to the actual words God used to explain these things to us. It makes all the difference in the world!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Almost every pastor and teacher nowadays will make reference to the rapture. Yet the term is not in the Bible at all. The fact so many people are “caught up” in this false rapture doctrine, is problematic when it comes to what the Bible actually says. Some people claim it is just terminology, and a translation of Bible interpretation that exists to make it easier to understand.
But it is not something any one of us should swallow without delving into what it actually means, and where it came from, especially when you consider there is no actual text to support it. In fact, it leads people to deception and what is false, when we must seek and embrace the truth, even though we might prefer to be beamed up when the going gets tough.
Don’t be fooled. The rapture doctrine is embodied into an entire conceptualization of dispensationalism, and deeply flawed false doctrine that was not introduced to any church prior to 1830. It was invented and written by the heretic John Nelson Darby, and was originally embraced by the Plymouth Brethren, and Exclusive Brethren churches before it became mainstream
Darby not only came up with the false rapture theology, but also many other anti-Biblical beliefs surrounding dispensations, and separating the state of Israel, and the Jewish people from Christian beliefs. Everything from the rebuilding of the temple, to a return to animal sacrifices is part of this false teaching.
What was originally described as levitation, based on cult like esoteric descriptions, were inserted into the Darby altered Bible and belief system, and have since become central teachings in many mainstream Christian churches. The rapture aspect of Darby’s teaching seems to be the one concept of all of the Darby false doctrine that people have latched onto, and many will not let go of it, even though it is nowhere in the Bible.
The rapture was introduced into the Darby bible based on a psychic description of levitation by a fifteen year old girl during a seance. One would hardly classify that as something we should adhere to as part of Christian eschatology. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what has happened since the introduction of the Darby and Scofield Bibles that were advanced and promoted from 1830 onward, with the Scofield reference Bible following these teachings into the early 1900’s and beyond.
Some will argue that it is a legitimate translation. How so? The word rapture is a Latin word, which translates simply to rapid. The original Latin word was rapio, and is also described as – to seize or to snatch up. The most obvious red flag, is that the Bible was not written in Latin in the first place.
The very first Bible and Biblical texts were written by Moses in his own language, which was Hebrew. During that time frame, the Hebrew language was spoken throughout Mesopotamia, which is in the area of Iraq as we know it today. The original Hebrew language, interestingly consisted of twenty-two consonants and no vowels. In later years they did add vowels.
During the entire thousand years of the Bible’s original composition, almost the entire Old Testament, was written in the Hebrew language. A small portion of the Old Testament was written in the Aramaic language, which became a common language throughout Mesopotamia and Israel. The Aramaic language was used only in Ezra, Daniel and a verse in Jeremiah.
The New Testament was written in Greek between 50-100 AD. The reason it was written in Greek, is because Greek had become the language of the scholars and early writers, and many had abandoned the original Hebrew lexicon by this time. Around 300 BC a translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek was undertaken and completed around 200 BC. The Greek version of the Old Testament is called the septuagint.
The original languages prove there was no Latin involved in the original writings or any part of the Bible. Perhaps that explains why the Latin term was never used in the Bible in any context. It is also not found among any of the writings of the early church followers.
The Bible contains many warnings not to change or alter it, and also not to be deceived. Many Christians want to believe in the rapture, because there is so much fear relating to the coming tribulation. Keep in mind, the concept of a seven year tribulation is also a Darby invention.
There are verses in the Bible that could be interpreted as a coming three and a half year tribulation during the last days. However, the Bible also clearly states the end times will be as in the days of Noah, where people are eating and drinking, and getting married. Wickedness and violence will increase, but not to the extent it will take away all normal every day activities. There is a time of God’s wrath coming, but it does sound like the grand finale surrounding His wrath, will happen very quickly when Christ does return.
It means there will be tribulation, it will increase, and in fact, the Bible tells all believers to expect to go through tribulation throughout our lifetimes. Most of us already know about tribulation, since we go through periods of tribulation, grief, and difficult times, at various times during our lives. It is not necessarily reserved for the final days. Some of us experience more pain and grief than others. We will probably not know the full reason for this until judgement day, or until the millennial reign of Christ.
Throughout all of history people have gone through tribulation, and Christians have faced persecution. The Apostles and believers in certain historical periods, went through horrific persecution and tribulation. We have to be prepared to accept it right up until death. If it is part of what we are meant to endure, then we must endure it with perseverance and faith.
We are supposed to have faith and courage, no matter what we are faced with. Some of our difficulties may be our own fault, requiring us to acknowledge our sin and repent. And some of the hard times we go through, may be part of God’s plan to increase our patience and faith.
Clearly we are not to adhere to false doctrine, or a Hollywood movie, and the notion of an escape into the clouds before the return of Christ. Why would only a small percentage of people throughout all of history get raptured to escape tribulation? If you study it and think about it, it makes no sense, regardless of what the false teachers say.
Doesn’t it make more sense to believe God is just, fair, and consistent toward all people, throughout all of history? What would make anyone think they are more special than the Apostles who experienced horrific tribulation? They too had fears at times, and in many cases, knew beforehand that they were going to be imprisoned or killed. They did not deny the truth of the gospel, or the belief in Christ or the cross, no natter what they faced. They still experienced human emotions, just like we do. More so, we know full well Christ did not escape the cross. We should never lose sight of what Christ endured, and what He did for us.
Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to believe what the Bible actually says, and if in doubt, to check back on certain words in the original languages it was written in?
In addition, the established Christian belief system is in the birth, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All of the Bible teaches us to follow Christ, to learn from His teachings, and to believe in Him with all our hearts and minds. One of the central promises contained within the gospel is that we too, will have eternal life, if we believe the gospel.
Therefore it is not a rapture that we should expect, but rather a resurrection, when Christ returns. There is no such thing as a secret rapture. Don’t be deceived.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Ironically, we are told through the media that the pandemic is not over, all systems are overwhelmed, nothing is sacred, truth is subjective, and violent crime is increasing. Yet our opinions about these topics are being classified as misinformation. We must believe everything we read in the media, or we are the proverbial bad children. Even if a percentage of it makes little sense, dare we question it at least?
The misinformation concept has a great deal of hyperbole attached to it, yet it is chronically ill-defined. What exactly is misinformation? It is a conundrum, and a cauldron, a witches brew, that we do not want to inadvertently fall into. Nevertheless, we are lured into the debate, and whipped into shape.
We might logically say, do your own research, and draw your own conclusions. In fact the misinformation warriors are telling people to learn critical thinking. The problem is, they want us to think the way they do. Somehow they have a corner on critical thinking, and those who disagree are dangerous and even “killing people” with misinformation. Yet isn’t this type of conformity the very opposite of critical thinking?
One of the rising trends in the mainstream media, on youtube, and various other social media platforms, is an increasing level of hyperbole, and click bait type gloom and doom. There is also a significant amount of overt denial toward any information that is contrary to certain narratives, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.
A moral compass has turned into a game of spin the bottle, truth or dare, squirrel and the nut, or a carnival type wheel with goofy prizes. Nothing shocks us anymore. We need shock absorbers and blinders. Play these games at your own peril, and most of all, hide what you really think, for fear of being ostracized. Good and bad got reversed somewhere along the line.
If there is no such thing as conspiracies, as just an example, why would there be so many romance scams? The losses surrounding these scams are growing exponentially, and are estimated to be well over a billion dollars. A high percentage of them are tied to very sophisticated international organized crime groups.
Yet people all over the world will sign up for online dating, and then fall in love with a phantom. One woman who had been married for seventeen years, had four or five children, and then got divorced, was taken in by what most would consider to be something straight out of a B grade movie. All it takes is flattery, and some people are hooked. Flattery and the belief there is no such thing as fraud in the fantasy world of instant love.
She claimed to have an incredible connection, and it was, only it was a connection she hadn’t bargained for. In no time flat her online Romeo had to go on a secret mission to Israel. For many, that would be a big red flag. But she was intrigued, so she stayed in constant contact with him. Then he miraculously inherited seven million pounds, the equivalent of eleven and a half million Canadian dollars. Such a claim is another huge red flag, as a prudent person might immediately see it as a lie, or worse yet, money laundering and organized crime.
But she went along with it, even though her suitor introduced her to other nefarious characters, and convinced her to go to Dubai where she was shown a suitcase full of money. However, for some strange reason, she had to keep paying to have it kept in a safety deposit box, as well as pay to have it converted to pounds. She ended up taking out loans to the max, and even though her son was going to the police, she still did not realize how sketchy the entire saga was. She is lucky she did not get thrown into a prison in Dubai, or simply murdered after they got all her money.
People do have to live their lives as they see fit. And there is no point in being completely paranoid. The key is to see the red flags, and avoid things like fear, deception, and flattery. Excessive flattery means you have hooked up with a fake flake. It does not mean you suddenly morphed into an object of divine beauty. It means you are being manipulated by a con artist. It may be tough to admit, but admitting it early will save you a lot of grief.
Conspiracies do exist, and have always existed. Some are small scale. Some are very large scale and convoluted. There is no shortage of devious schemes. Such schemes can surround everything from romance, to real estate, to health care, religion, and used cars. If there is money to be made, there will be schemes to go with it.
As far as mainstream media, some of it is true, and some of it is not. Instead of targeting a single individual, it is targeting the masses with sales pitches, or a steady diet of fear. The ways to counter this type of group think might be to avoid buying into garish titles, articles and talks. Alternatively, we can skim the topics and keep asking ourselves, “What is the motive here?” “What do they want us to believe?” They seem to be dealing in opposites and contradictions. Why? We should always be curious, and inquisitive because that’s how we learn, from the day we are born into this world.
We can be sure that in the competitive world of content creation, it is well known, people tend to gravitate toward negative news. In fact, there are numerous scholarly articles exploring the addiction to negative news.
Although much of the negative news is political in nature, it is not necessarily so, and not always a polarization between left and right. I believe a good percentage of it is competition based, marketing and profit based, and in the cases of certain individuals, ego based attention seeking.
It is one thing to aim for balanced content, and the sharing of ideas, but I believe if a person or organization is constantly steeped in gloom and doom, they are often trying to use negative news to emotionally bait and manipulate people.
One example to take note of is Jordan Peterson. Whether you admire him or not, and whether you agree with him or not, as a psychologist, he would know about emotional manipulation. He uses it in a high percentage of his youtube presentations.
In fact, he is now being shown crying in many of those presentations, as though the weight of the world is on his shoulders, and only he has the insight, the answers, and the predictions of what is to come. He seeks constant attention, and then he frets and cries about the attention he is getting. If he truly wants less attention, he simply has to back off the attention seeking. People fall into obscurity very quickly, no matter how famous they have become.
Just look at some of the top news stories of 2022, like the death of Olivia Newton John, or the Anne Heche car crash, or even the death of Queen Elizabeth. Before you know it, after a few splashes in every newspaper, they are soon forgotten, and life goes on. Anyone who is filled with self importance, must realize it is transient, and short-lived. Big egos of today, will be very disappointed to know how quickly they will be forgotten.
For a period of time a couple years ago, JP, his wife, and his daughter constantly aired their ill health and near death experiences. It was always very rare, and no one in Canada could treat those rare illnesses. After his bout in a drug induced coma in Russia, he started to recover, and it seemed like maybe he was humbled, and perhaps prepared to keep a lower profile.
But his self promotion could not be overcome, and he is all over social media covering every topic known to humans. He has a very distinctive style, and convoluted linguistic patterns. Nothing is straight forward. If he is asked a question, a yes or no answer is out of the question. First he reframes it, expands upon it, then tries to pull in the unravelling threads, then contradicts himself, and finally comes up with the conclusion. All this to prove the brilliance of his mind, and even more so, a rigid ego. However, don’t get me wrong, he has a right to express his many opinions in whatever way he chooses.
To be honest, I feel sorry for him. Not because he is crying and using emotional manipulation as click bait, but because he is a walking contradiction, and does not seem to realize it. He has been speaking a great deal about the Bible, yet he does not seem to have faith. The Bible tells us the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control. Like many of the topics he latches onto, he has a superficial grasp, but fails to fully process the truth.
We cannot oversimplify things in order to understand them, and nor can we go down every rabbit hole known to the human psyche. It’s just not healthy. He sort of does a bit of both, and has attracted many followers, so who am I to say? It’s just that I do not agree with all of his claims. But admittedly, I often do not agree with those who claim to be brilliant beyond our own comprehension.
We don’t have to be brilliant scientists, or align our opinions with the experts. In fact, the experts seem to be spreading more so-called misinformation than anyone else. In addition, the expert advice constantly changes, yet we are supposed to go along with it, even though the goal posts are constantly moving, and the game never ends.
Did we get a half time show? Do we get a chance to intercept the ball and run with it? Even if we are just playing our own game in our own back yard? Or will CBC show up with a camera crew, to make sure the game is full of gags?
The reality is that the world has been full of gloom and doom prophecies since the beginning of time. The Bible also describes an increasing amount of tribulation as we get closer to the end of the age. We almost need to recognize that fear is our greatest enemy. Or perhaps more aptly put, deception and fear are the arrows we must dodge on a daily basis.
One of our greatest assets is our intuition. Even though we conform to the laws and standards set out by the various authorities, no one can control another person’s mind. The best they can do is control behaviour. But truly, our thoughts are our own. There are certain hyper controlling individuals, and cults that do not want us to have our own thoughts, beliefs and opinions. The more controlling a person or organization is, the more likely they are to lose control. When we have a firm grasp of our own thoughts, and intellectual liberty, we are protecting our minds from the lunacy around us.
The reason we seek and speak the truth, is because when light shines on deception and darkness, it brings scrutiny, and scrutiny brings clarity. Clarity helps our thoughts, and give us confidence in our decision making abilities. Truth is not defective. It prevails in the end. Truth is our rock in times of trouble.
But consider this. We all have somewhere between sixty and eighty thousand thoughts per day. In many cases, we do not share our thoughts, and even if we share some of them, we could not possibly share all of them. Even in countries and times of extreme totalitarianism, people will still develop their own opinions, and many will not conform. Human nature is such that we question indoctrination, and many will independently seek the truth.
Even during the final hours before the Jim Jones massacre, as he descended into madness ranting and raving to a crowd of trapped followers, who turned into horrified onlookers, and then victims, there were many who tried to resist. They had been shut up and isolated, and had bought into a certain belief system for awhile, but many did try to escape. There were some brave individuals who stood up and tried to offer a voice of reason. Although it was considered a mass suicide, it was actually a mass murder, because most of those people did not sign up for such an atrocity. They were drawn into a massive deception.
Knowing it is in our nature to gravitate toward negative news, we simply need a good filter. Like ask yourself, “So what” or develop and share an opinion, but don’t count on a pat on the back, or anything at all. The value in sharing our opinions, is because conversation, discourse, and open dialogue is part of democracy. We share so that we do not become like flies shut up in a bottle feeding off our own thoughts, or those of a handful of experts who are self serving, and more indoctrinated than we are.
Some people try to avoid all the negativity through the various pop art cultures surrounding the power of positive thinking that have cropped up in different genres throughout the past forty or fifty years. Never mind, just be happy and surround yourself with positive people and positive thoughts, and voila – it will all magically go away.
The balance must be somewhere in the middle. Do a realistic appraisal of what is going on in the world, and how to best navigate it and/or adapt to it. There are certain things beyond our control, therefore we do have to adapt or we might be fighting a losing battle.
We are not responsible for the choices other people make. No matter how much someone tries to control other human beings, we still have intellectual freedom. For those of us who believe in the Gospel, we have liberty in the truth and in our faith.
Even though we feel depressed or downtrodden some of the time, it does not mean we lose our minds. In fact maintaining a sound mind, and a gratitude for all the good in the world, is the best antidote for a mind-altering regime, and negativity in the news.
If the sky is constantly falling, go out and look at the sky. It is reassuring. When spring comes, plant some flowers and watch them bloom. The trees will turn green just like they always do. You chat with a neighbour, or a friend and can still find normalcy, laughter, and common ground. Even if you talk to people routinely in the grocery store line-ups, it is quite remarkable, and enlightening to learn that most of them don’t buy into all the media hype either.
Whether it is the chirping of birds, or a good bowl of turkey soup with homemade bread, or the reliability and consistency of the seasons as the days get progressively longer, we can stay grounded.
How many times have we thought life is about pursuing happiness? Or wealth? Or being talented and beautiful? All such things are fleeting. Peace of mind is the greatest gift. We do not achieve it by listening to experts, or the media, or by reading self help books on the power of positive thinking.
We achieve it through faith, and security in the liberty of our own intellect, discernment and intuition. Then we can get the joy in the little things, and filter out the constant bombardment of gloom and doom.
Clearly things are careening off the rails. Apostasy not only affects the church, but it also affects the government, and things are becoming increasingly strange. Some of the things we are being exposed to defy logic. Many Christians believe they will be raptured, which is based on a false doctrine. Yet they are unshaken in this belief, and deceived. I cannot find anything in the Bible to support this concept. It is based on a complete alteration of the Bible by John Darby in the early 1800’s, and advanced by various books and Hollywood movies.
Like so many things, the rapture doctrine is based on escapism. We cannot escape reality or truth though, try as we might. There are so many questions people should ask themselves about this doctrine. In my opinion, it is not much different than a romance scam. It is a belief that is a magical and attractive alternative to facing the truth of tribulation and troubled times.
It’s interesting, because my question is not only where they think they will go, but whether or not they think they will still be alive, even though they are supposedly going to be raptured into the heavens. They cling to this belief, yet they cannot make such an exit while still being alive, so paradoxically they are facing death anyway. And they are hoping for an early death, which is not a common trait among people in general.
I also wonder, where do they think they will be hanging out until Christ’s return? What are they going to be doing in the meantime? And where in the Bible does it say there will be a secret rapture to take the believers out of the world when the going gets tough? Personally, I think John Darby created one of the biggest lies in the history of the church. It is not just the rapture theology that is wrapped up in this alteration of the Bible. There are many other unbiblical teachings embodied in the alternative doctrine as well. Yet you can hardly find a church that does not preach this stuff.
It is true, we can believe what we choose to believe, and whatever religions, or doctrines a person embraces is their own business. But all people should know the origin of what they are being taught. All churches should clearly state their denomination and foundational beliefs, so people know what they are signing up for. False doctrine was introduced to the churches since the beginning of time. The Bible gives us many warnings to test all things and not to be deceived. We are in a spiritual battle with enmity toward the church, so we should all be careful what we listen to. The church can actually be far worse than the secular world when it comes to deception.
Nothing can separate us from God’s love, and nothing is going to change His plans for the future of this world. For believers, there can be no greater solace, or hope than what God has to offer. We do not have to be filled with fear and worry regardless of the times of trouble.
A filter in our minds is synonymous with discernment. If we seek the truth, we will find it. The world has a great deal to overcome, but thankfully, we do have help, and guidance.
So rather than making the standard Happy New Year statement, here is wishing you a New Year filled with gratitude, goodness, hope, truth, and plenty of discernment, in the months and seasons ahead of us. Have faith, 2023 will have good things in store for us.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
This discussion paper on the effects and methods surrounding psychological and emotional abuse, provides a good summary of the range of psychological abuse, and the devastating consequences for the victim.
The intentional infliction of emotional and psychological abuse is a form of family and relational violence. Those who carry it out seem to think that because it does not involve physical assault with obvious signs of injury, they can deny it and continue to blame the victim. The denial creates a thin and brittle veil, to try and justify ongoing abuse.
All people should edify themselves on this topic, and examine whether or not they are carrying out psychological abuse and violence. It frequently happens within families, and becomes a pattern and stronghold.
The only way this topic of harm can be reduced, is if those who are engaged in carrying out the harm can get past their own denial, and develop some empathy and compassion.
One of the most dominant traits of characters who are steeped in cruelty, and personality disorders, revolves around the intentional infliction of harm, and the sadistic enjoyment of causing pain to others, especially a weaker person. The intentional infliction of emotional and psychological abuse is the domain of serial bullies. It becomes an established part of their attitude and conduct.
There is a sense of selfish and arrogant entitlement, combined with an absolute callous disregard for the rights of others, or acknowledgement of the depth of harm they are causing.
Ultimately, they will bring the pain and suffering they have caused back upon themselves. There is a boomerang effect. The entire Bible is full of warnings about the cause and effect of cruelty, and how people will be trapped by their own devices.
There is no greater example of compassion and kindness than what was exhibited by Christ. His primary purpose is to bring comfort to the downtrodden. While here on this earth, he healed people, and told people to pray for those who persecute them.
All people are capable of repenting, changing, apologizing, forgiving and being forgiven. If a person refuses to have empathy and compassion, their hearts become hardened, and God turns them over to a reprobate mind. He also sends them strong delusion, so they can no longer even discern the truth, or gain insight into their own lives. To become hardened, is a death sentence for the soul.
A lack of compassion causes phenomenal harm to the victim, but ultimately those who become cold and hardened, while continuing to carry out these acts of psychological violence – are jeopardizing their own souls.
Although this is a secular paper from a government website, it does give an outline of the range and depth of human suffering resulting from emotional and psychological abuse.
First of all, I want to say, the secular world is often nowhere near as bad as false teachers, and the promoters of deceptive pseudo-Christianity. No one has a greater propensity for evil, than those who profess to be Christians and use false teachings to deceive and entrap people.
Many people in the secular world, are actually quite honest and upfront. So be aware of false prophets, greed, and carnival barker types, in all facets of society. The world has become a circus. No one is exempt from being called to step right up, and redress the wolves in sheep’s clothing.
In addition to praying for discernment, and reading what the Bible actually says, instead of listening to the interpretations of others, how do we screen out the many deceptions coming from people who call themselves Christians?
There are many different translations of the Bible now. In fact there are over a hundred different translations, some of which are obviously cultish, and some of which are subtly deceptive, and therefore much more difficult to discern.
All Bible translations teaching an altered Gospel, or a version adding to or leaving out part of the original message, is bound to lead people astray. The end times brings about the greatest apostasy the world has ever known. Jesus repeatedly warned people not to be deceived. Every Christian has an obligation to be sure they are not reading an altered version of the Bible. Many of the various translations drastically change the wording, or leave out key passages. They do so for a reason, and it is not for the good.
Another sign of false teaching contains elements of faith healing, or prosperity Gospel. Anything with sensationalism, or the focus on the preacher, and his extraordinary claims or capabilities, is bound to be off base. In addition to the rise of multiple altered translations of the Bible, there are also hundreds if not thousands of false teachers and preachers now.
Any Christian or religious organization that demands money, or has huge Donate buttons on their website, is after money, not truth. If they put a call out for those who need prayer, with a big Donate button directly below it, what are they suggesting? Do they want to dupe people into paying them to pray? How absurd.
The Hollywood movies and books about the rapture, appeal to fictionalized versions of the Bible. But life is not a Hollywood movie, and Hollywood is known to promote falsehoods. They should stick to car chases, the Titanic, and Wizard of Oz. Any movie they create based on the Bible, is bound to be fictional.
In fact the secular world is less likely to dupe us than the pseudo-Christian world is. It is a sad fact, but unfortunately it is what it is. Many Christians are gullible, and therefore vulnerable to false teaching.
It is not to suggest we cannot have differences in nuances, interpretations, and our understanding of the many mysteries contained within the Bible. People are inclined to see things differently. This is probably why Christ tells us to believe in Him, repent, and accept the foundational truths with faith and perseverance. If we do so, He is faithful to help us discern and understand God’s word.
Another thing I find to be a turn off, is when a teacher or preacher is constantly pitching their own books, instead of the Bible. They use their position primarily to promote themselves. If they are filled with pride and self-exaltation, they are not likely to be sincere. Some of them actually write tracts and books based on the sermons they preach, and what they extrapolate from the Bible.
They get paid to preach the Gospel, and then they double dip, and get paid again for the books they write based on their sermons. They are not even using their own content, yet they seek to profit endlessly from what the Apostle’s wrote under God’s instructions. Some of them travel around in private jets. One well known preacher travels all over the world first class, with all twelve of his children, plus an entourage. What an incredible waste of donated money, with no regard for the poor, or the middle class people who support such lavish lifestyles. Life for some of those guys, is one big all expense paid holiday.
Could we take any other writer’s content, and claim it as our own? Could we alter it as we pleased so it conforms to our own agenda? God forbid. Can we plagiarize a song, or any other book created by someone else? It is why we have copyright laws. Even the secular world does not permit this, and protects the copyright of the original creator. Christians are supposed to be held to a higher standard of ethics, not a lower standard. The Bible is in the public domain, and is supposed to be spread among the nations. This does not mean people have the right to alter the Bible, or use it to make money for themselves, as so many have done.
In addition, we now have Christian teachers and preachers who claim anything goes, to include all kinds of different doctrines. It is shrouded in acceptance, and the pretence of being non-judgmental, but it is not based on the truth of the original Gospel. How is such blanket acceptance of all doctrines different than the secular world?
Of course people can believe what they choose to believe. We have no ability to change those choices, and nor do we try to prevent others from what they choose to believe, just as we believe what we have chosen to believe. It is not up to us to judge or condemn anyone.
Obviously there are certain activities and belief systems we reject. There are many things rising an ugly head in this world to stand firm against. Some examples of what we should stand against are child abuse, the loss of human dignity, slander and lies, the persecution of the poor, the loss of value for human life, the promotion of evil, and the loss of basic and inalienable rights. We are in the midst of profound spiritual warfare, and we are called upon to turn away from evil and do good. We are not supposed to allow ourselves, or our loved ones to be sacrificed to evil.
Now, probably more than any other time in history, people are seeking spiritual realities. We know the world is changing rapidly. Some of the things we have been exposed to are hardly believable. The school boards are increasingly permissive, and allowing children to be traumatized and confused, with increasing amounts of cognitive dissonance, and warped values.
The health care system is promoting all kinds of pharmaceutical interventions, while simultaneously not allowing even the most basic health promotions, like diet, nutrition and Vitamin C. Rest and increase clear fluids if you are getting sick, is still the best advice. People go to a doctor in order to get his/her advice and treatment. They do not go to a government official, or the local newspaper for personal health care. Yet the government and media seem to have taken over the role of personalized medical treatments.
All of the foundational beliefs are on shaky ground. We are left with just one rock to keep ourselves stable in the coming months and years. Otherwise we are grabbing at straws. Deception wears many different masks. Filter the motives first and foremost. Our thoughts do not belong to the state or to false religions, or foundational lies.
Remember, the devil wants to control our minds. If he can achieve that, he can control our emotions, and our will. If people believe lies, they end up getting a reprobate mind, and their hearts are hardened against the truth. We are protected by spiritual discernment, truth and faith. We have to seek the truth, or our foolish hearts will be darkened.
Shunning is another form of cultish abuse, especially if done within one’s own family. It is also referred to in psychology circles as silent bullying. It makes it impossible for the person shunned to have any relationships at all, without explaining the family dynamic, or the deep-rooted cult belief system. No one wants to listen to the origins of ingrained and cultish beliefs. It is much easier to just cut you off, or cut yourself off.
People tend to side with money, power and the flavour of the day. Kicking someone to the curb is much easier if they can cover it all up with ignoring, and ignorance. They will not even listen to the other side of the story. Truth is inconvenient and not very lucrative. Forgiveness is not even in the equation. Disobey the master, and suffer his eternal judgment, not God’s judgment. Money does not sanctify a person. In fact, countless people are steeped in dirty money.
Those who are involved in wrongdoing do not want to hear the other side of the story. They will go to great lengths to deflect and cast the punishment onto the victim, instead of themselves. Shunning is not just about the decision to associate with those who have similar values, and avoiding those who don’t.
It is the selective and complete ostracizing of a person who refuses to buy into the cult’s lies, abuse, and control tactics. The intent is to reject, and deem a family member to be completely and utterly worthless. It is often used as a method to prevent the exposure of the cult or the bully. Bullies who can no longer find ways to physically assault, will often resort to various forms of psychological torture.
Shunning takes the form of ganging up on one person. Often it is a weaker person who is shunned and rejected. It is far worse if there is exposure of wrongdoing involved. It is accompanied by ganging up on the person, slandering, making false accusations, and is often a precursor to assault and murder. In the Old Testament shunning a weaker family member was considered to be a death sentence equivalent to stoning.
Shunning is a very dominant practice among all kinds of cults. Any person who is engaging in this kind of cruelty is cultish, whether it is for church, familial or business reasons. Those who go along with it often do so for financial gain, or to find favour with the leader of the cult. Many business transactions are enmeshed in cult-like practices.
Therefore every business has an obligation to avoid destructive and abusive cult practices. Otherwise it is a sure symptom of systemic corruption. They will bribe others to punish, shun, reject, and continue longstanding familial abuse. People should not make the mistake of engaging in such cruelty without knowing God will punish all acts of intentional cruelty toward others, especially family members.
It seems like each and every day now, is a challenge to be washed clean of all the weirdness in this world. One of the major fashion companies is now facing a huge scandal, not only in relation to child pornography, but also in other dark, and dirty ads they used to promote their brand. They created ads where models were wearing elaborate gowns covered in mud, surrounded by dark and apocalyptic imagery.
What next? We need to get all the dirt and mud imagery out of our minds, and and be washed clean. It is so far gone, even those who are blinded by the insanity of it, cannot help but be alarmed when they see ads promoting suicide as “hard beauty” and children’s toy campaigns, in conjunction with exhibits of children in sexualized bondage gear, and violent victimization. It has gone too far. Way too far.
We all have different gifts. Some have the gift of teaching. Some have the gift of discernment. Some have the gift of compassion. We need to focus on these gifts from God, and use them. Until the end of this age arrives, we need to focus on turning away from these evil promotions, and do good.
Our gifts are not packaged in Christmas wrap and red bows. They are packaged in our minds and hearts. And we are to use our gifts, take the time, express our love and concern, and hope with all our hearts and minds, to overcome the degradation of all systems.
We are here for a purpose. Now is the time to be the salt of the earth. If we can prevent one person from slipping and falling, we have done something good. If we can be charitable, we can help someone in need. If we can reach a troubled soul, and offer the hope contained in the Gospel, we are doing good.
Now is the time to pick our side in this war of good against evil. There can be no lukewarm stance. And if we get to the point we cannot do anything – we can still pray with all our heart and soul. Every single one of us has a role, so may we beseech one another – let it be for the good.
To avoid confusion these are the things God hates, and how quickly the punishment will come upon those who do not repent and turn away from these things. See Proverbs 6: 15-19
15 Therefore shall his calamitie come suddenly; suddenly shall hee be broken without remedie.
16¶ These sixe things doeth the Lord hate; yea seuen are an abomination vnto him:
17 A proude looke, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood:
18 An heart that deuiseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischiefe:
19 A false witnesse that speaketh lies; and him that soweth discord among brethren.
What are the signs of goodness? The fruits of the spirit are spelled out in Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the spirit is loue, ioy, peace, long suffering, gentlenesse, goodnesse, faith, Meekenesse, temperance: against such there is no law.
We all get to choose, but only to a point. Just when it seems the wicked have completely taken over this world, there is going to be a massive and sudden reversal.
Money, elitism, and worldly powers will not save the wicked from God’s wrath. In fact, people who abuse power are in for a colossal awakening. They will have nowhere to hide. No more deception, and no more lies. Those who mock God – are playing with fire.
We are not supposed to judge people. There are countless verses in the Bible telling us not to judge, lest we be judged ourselves. Christ came to save sinners, not self-righteous people, who believe they can see all the sin around them, yet they themselves have no sin. Often it is the most religious people who are the most judgmental, and end up being the biggest hypocrites of all.
In fact, hypocrites use accusations to shame, degrade, and condemn other people. Many times, they use false accusations to constantly throw us off guard, and make us defensive. This is the kind of judgment to avoid.
However paradoxically, we are also called upon to warn people, especially as the end of the age draws near. What is the difference between judging and warning people? An example given in the book of John describes a woman who was caught in adultery, and was to be stoned, according to the laws of Moses. Christ told those who were prepared to stone her, to examine their own lives, and let the person who is without sin, cast the first stone.
Fortunately the people who were there, were then convicted of their own faults, and sins. Not one of them picked up a stone to stone her. Instead the crowd quietly dissipated.
It seems what happened in so many of these Biblical examples, Christ demonstrated mercy, forgiveness and grace. Each time the person is forgiven, but also admonished to sin no more. Right there, is the difference between judging and warning. Christ told the people who were there, not to judge her. But he also followed up by telling her to stop the affair, which was the warning he gave her.
There are also many verses clearly telling us to stop certain behaviours, as well as to warn others if they are doing something to imperil their own souls. Warning is not the same as judgment. We are not the judges. We all make a mess of things, especially if we are caught up in the various temptations in this world, such as money, affairs, addiction to drugs and alcohol, deceptions, selfishness, and cruelty.
These are all things we are called upon to overcome, and we all have enough on our plates, without judging others. The warning therefore, is about being careful not to view ourselves as being holier than anyone else.
Judgment implies superiority, which also indicates a spiritual haughtiness and pride. If we go to church on Sundays, dress nicely, appear to have our lives in order, drive a nice car, have good jobs, live in a nice house, and so on, it gives the appearance of having it all together. Therefore we must be blessed by God. But is it really so?
How many times do we read about Christian pastors having affairs? Or about someone who goes to church every Sunday, and demonstrates all the things we believe show true values, yet they hire a hit man, or use the church as a front to create a pretence for fraud and deceit. It is entirely possible that in business dealings or family life, they are cruel and deceptive, regardless of the outward appearances.
Years ago, I recall listening to a pastor give a sermon about drug addicts. His daughter was a street nurse, and had an accidental needle stick injury from an addicted person’s syringe. He used this incident as the central theme for his entire sermon. It was understandable why he might be upset over something like that, but his rage toward drug addicts was alarming and over the top.
After describing what had happened, he went on to rant and rave about the low life drug addicts. He had zero empathy for them. They deserved to die, and should be condemned for all eternity, for the harm they brought to innocent people. He was definitely casting stones, in his use of words and his attitude toward them, going so far as to call them the scum of the earth.
At the time, I started thinking about all the sick people, beggars, those with leprosy, and various others during Biblical times, who would have been scorned and judged in a similar way.
We have a juxtaposition now, in many towns and cities, where church parking lots, and foyers are used as places for the addicted and homeless to congregate at night. Then when Sunday service rolls around, they are chased away, and the congregation shows up in nice cars, all dressed up, for the Sunday church service.
In reality, all people are invited to church, and included in the hope presented in the Gospel. How many people do manage to overcome drug and alcohol addiction? Countless people have gone down that path, and manage to quit, and find forgiveness and acceptance.
There is a fine line between enabling and disabling. Judgment is disabling. Allowing ourselves to be manipulated is enabling. So to find the balance, and simply warn people, without judgment, is the difficult part.
We cannot assume we know who will ultimately be condemned. Therefore, we can’t justify condemning anyone, regardless of what they look like, or even what they do.
The other day I watched a Dateline show about a dentist who murdered his wife while on an African safari. It was a true story describing the character of the dentist, who must have broken every single one of the ten commandments. He had multiple affairs, shot his wife of thirty four years point blank with a shotgun, lied to his grown children, tried to bribe the police in Africa, and then collected almost five million in insurance claims.
Prior to these events, he was warned. He sat on various different boards, and was called out on his bad reputation and nefarious activities. What did he do? Instead of heeding the warnings, he sued them, and won. After the murder of his wife, and collecting the insurance money, he moved into a big fancy house with his mistress.
It took several years of investigation, but he did finally get caught and convicted. His mistress is also facing something like fifteen years in prison for her role in obstruction of justice, perjury, etc. They both ended up shackled.
Even after his arrest, the mistress thought she was going to remain in the big house, and keep all the cash they had stashed away in a safe. But the dentist’s son took over his estate, and found a way to cut her off, and kick her out, even before she got arrested. Put it this way, the worst laid plans are likely to go awry. How anyone thinks they can get away with something like that, is truly mind boggling.
This is a classic illustration of the earthly consequences of refusing to listen to warnings, along with the horrific outcomes. He had a long time affair with his mistress. It is an oft repeated story of someone who was simply never satisfied. He had a net worth of twenty seven million dollars as it was. He was traipsing around with his mistress, and his wife, taking lavish trips, and leading a double life. His greed and duplicity was insatiable.
In addition, his wife did not heed the warning signs. She did not want to give up the lavish lifestyle either. Her friends said she loved her husband, but was well aware of his many affairs. Apparently. she told a friend she was going on the trip to Africa, as a last ditch attempt to save her marriage. Her marriage was over. He had planned the murder in advance. Sadly, no one was going to save her, let alone the marriage.
She even voiced to her friend, that she thought he might kill her. Why on earth would she go on the trip with him? She was also a big game hunter, and was very keen to shoot a leopard. Why anyone would want to shoot a leopard is beyond me. It became clear though, why he wanted to shoot his wife. He wanted the insurance money, and ended up collecting almost five million dollars.
I’m not sure if the husband got the death penalty or not, but he is in his sixties, and at the very least, will face the rest of his life in jail. His adult children are devastated, and until the evidence was put before them, flat out refused to believe he could do such a thing. But they too, knew about the mistress, and tried to ignore it, in spite of the workplace gossip, and obvious trysts.
This story is an extreme example of the refusal to accept warnings. One after another, they all turned a blind eye. In many cases, we cannot stop another person from doing what they are going to do. In some cases, it is none of our business.
But it does show us how a warning, or action on the part of those involved, might have prevented such a tragedy. One can only imagine what it must be like to be killed by your own spouse, in those final moments of realization, when all the denial is about to get blown apart.
It was not really up to the office managers, and those who worked in his dental offices, to try and stop what was developing. They would probably have been fired or sued, given the kind of character he was. The dentist himself set up the plot, and he is the one to be held responsible.
The mistress was culpable, especially by giving him an ultimatum to leave his wife. The wife had some responsibility by accepting and ignoring the affairs, in order to maintain the lifestyle. Even if she did love him, he clearly did not love her. The denial ended up leading to her own death. Maybe the friend she confided in could have warned her.
The warnings we are to give people who persist in wrongdoing, depends on the role we play in their lives, as well as the role they play in our lives. If we are part of a plot, even though we did not create the plot, we might avert disaster by confronting and warning those involved.
So the difference between warning and judging, is one of trying to prevent a disaster, or impending peril. Judging on the other hand, is the adamant belief the person will be condemned, because we can clearly see why he should be condemned. We do not know what will happen to him in the end though. He might repent of his sins, now that he is facing dire consequences. Who knows? Remorse is a blessing for those who truly comprehend the magnitude of what they have done.
Those who were aware of this unfolding disaster, might have been able to warn the dentist, the wife, or the mistress. In a Biblical sense, we are told to warn people of the impending disaster, if we see it coming.
In a similar way, we don’t judge the addict, and assume they are a low life. None of us are throwaways. I believe if we have a close friend or family member who is addicted, or involved in some other activity that imperils their life, or will lead them to hellfire and damnations, we should warn them.
We can let them know it is important to change, without condemning them. After all, our concern is for their life, their soul, and for the good. Averting tragedy is an act of love and courage. Judgment on the other hand, is like shutting the door on them after the fact.
If we warn people, we have done all we can. If we are doing something, and we are warned about it with sincerity and truth, we too, have an obligation to pay attention, and turn away from whatever it is we are doing.
No one is truly drug free, or free of sin, greed, lust, and all the other human pitfalls. We are simply navigating these various landmines. Through a process of redemption and grace, we begin to turn away from the things that might lead to destruction.
Things like fraud, affairs, deceptions, gambling, drugs, alcohol, etc. have a way of sucking us into bigger problems and plots. If we continue in the direction of increasing the wrongdoing, as opposed to acknowledging, apologizing, and turning away from them, they increase in magnitude, and can easily become catastrophic.
The best we can do, is warn people, and if done in good faith, heed warnings ourselves. That way, we are not as likely to end up with blood on our hands.
We are saved by grace. Otherwise none of us would make it out of this world, with any hope of forgiveness and salvation.
As we approach another Christmas, now more than ever before, we have much to ponder and pray about as we evaluate the many comparisons surrounding the birth of Christ, up until the return of Christ. The time is getting closer. We are watching it unfold. We are also called upon to warn people.
In my opinion, the Christmas celebration is not really about the birth Of Christ, but for many it represents the concept, rather than the truth. If we really knew the origin of the Christmas concept, we would probably change our minds about the entire celebration.
However any time, is a good time to read the Bible and see what it says. Even the time of year Christmas is celebrated makes little sense. Not to be a scrooge, because it is good for family and friends to get together at any time. It’s just that we tend to place Biblical or Christian meanings into areas where they do not belong.
The Book of Revelation, and many other passages in the Bible talk about both the birth of Christ, and the return of Christ, as being comparable to a woman travailing in labour, about to give birth. The contractions increase in intensity, and frequency until it is time to deliver the baby.
Revelation 12: 1-2 describes this birth:
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heauen, a woman clothed with the Sunne, & the Moone vnder her feete, and vpon her head a Crowne of twelue starres:
2 And shee being with childe, cried, trauailing in birth, and pained to be deliuered.
What does the crown of twelve stars mean? I believe it is referring to God’s people, and is representing the 144,000 from every tribe and nation who have the seal of God on their foreheads. What happens when she gives birth to Christ?
3 And there appeared another wonder in heauen, and behold a great red dragon, hauing seuen heads, and ten hornes, and seuen crownes vpon his heads.
4 And his taile drew the third part of the starres of heauen, and did cast them to the earth: And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be deliuered, for to deuoure her childe as soone as it was borne.
5 And shee brought foorth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of yron: and her child was caught vp vnto God, and to his Throne.
6 And the woman fled into the wildernesse, where shee hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand, two hundred, and threescore dayes.
I know some people consider the original 1611 KJV text to be archaic, but I find it to be fascinating. Although the Book of Revelation contains many mysteries, the general overall meaning is about the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is not about a focus on the antichrist, and nor is the focus on the tribulation and persecution of the saints. It is also not about the rapture of the saints. It spans the God’s plan of redemption, from the conception and birth of Christ, to the return of Christ. He is the beginning, and the ending, of what is, what was, and what is to come.
The birth is described as an increasing intensity of events in the world, until the time of delivery.
After the birth of Christ, Satan – also referred to as the dragon, was waiting and ready to devour and destroy Christ, but God did not allow it. He also did not allow Satan to destroy the future of God’s people. The woman fled to the wilderness, chased by the dragon.
7 And there was warre in heauen, Michael and his Angels fought against the dragon, & the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And preuailed not, neither was their place found any more in heauen.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the deuill and Satan, which deceiueth the whole world: hee was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a lowd voyce saying in heauen, Now is come saluation, and strength, and the kingdome of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
There was a great battle in heaven, and this was when the devil was cast out of heaven once and for all. So he lost dominion in heaven, but became prevalent on the earth, to roam around and destroy whoever he could destroy. As we near the end of the age, the intensity of the devil’s rage and persecution on this earth increases. We can feel this in our own souls and spirits. It is painful. Some people face more persecution than others do.
The woman who gave birth was given a place of refuge for a certain period of time. I believe this represents the length of time Christ was here on the earth to share the Gospel, and set up a way for the Gospel to be spread to all of the nations on this earth. Satan went to war with the remnant of Christ’s people, or the seed of the woman, as represented by the twelve crowns she wore. Therefore all Christians face persecution, and the entire world has fallen under a great deal of deception.
This chapter goes on to say how the dragon was angry, and went to war with the remnant of her seed.
It explains why we are facing such an increase in the intensity and force of contractions on this earth, as the time of Christ’s return draws closer.
Therefore both the birth of Christ, and the return of Christ are described as the pain of a woman in labour. It also sheds some light on what we are up against, and why things are becoming increasingly wicked in this world. Few people can dispute it, given the things that have been going on in the last couple of years. Things do seem to be getting worse. Much worse.
All throughout history, humankind has faced a battle between good and evil. However the great apostasy in all realms of human existence really started to increase in the 1800’s, when all the nation’s were deceived by various exalted men. With the advances in the printing press, there was widespread propaganda, and the means to spread Satanic deceptions. Psalm 12: 8 The wicked walk on all sides when the vilest men are exalted.
Considering the age of the earth, the first and second world wars, are fairly recent. In fact the twentieth century brought about a surge in both progress, and in apocalyptic prophecies. It does appear all four horses of the apocalypse have been released upon the earth. The fourth horse is the pale horse, followed by Hades.
Now in the process of this long labour, and acceleration of painful contractions, the death and destruction is manifested as we see it happening today. The devil’s time is shortening, therefore his anger, wrath, and persecution increases.
What does this all mean? So many Christians believe it means there will be a magical rapture. But it is not what the Bible says. In fact the rapture is not in the Bible at all, unless you follow an altered Bible written by John Darby around 1830. It is a deception, and although it may be attractive to some, it is still a lie. There are many other lies embodied in the Darby belief system, such as the seven year tribulation, and the separation of the State of Israel.
Galatians 3:28-29 says: There is neither Iewe, nor Greeke, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Iesus.
29 And if yee be Christs, then are ye Abrahams seed, and heires according to the promise.
If Christians are to be raptured during the period of persecution and tribulation, why would it be necessary to place the seal of God upon the foreheads of the believers at the onset of the increasing levels of trouble and tribulation? What about all the other Christians throughout history who faced incredible persecution? We are told to endure until the end. In chapter seven it says the following:
2 And I saw another Angel ascending from the East, hauing the seale of the liuing God: and he cried with a loud voice to the foure Angels to whom it was giuen to hurt the earth and the Sea,
3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till wee haue sealed the seruants of our God in their foreheads.
Consider this – if the saints are to be raptured, this would not need to be done. Later on in Revelation, it describes the various punishments, and wrath of God being released upon the earth. It says these punishments are set to be poured upon the wicked, not those with the seal of God on their foreheads.
The Christians who are still alive when Christ returns will rise up then, and not before, to meet Christ in the clouds. There is also nothing to indicate Christians will return with Christ when He comes. He comes with an army of angels, and throughout the opening of the seals, right up until the harvest time, He is giving instructions to the angels.
If the Christians were to be raptured like so many believe, where do they go? And how do they get back to earth when Christ returns to the earth for the millennial reign? Christians are not in heaven awaiting the return of Christ. We know this because in the book of John it says that people are not in heaven.
I do believe Christians are with the Lord in spirit when we die, and await his return in comfort, in a location other than heaven. Christians who have died are resting somewhere, and waiting patiently until the new millennium, and resurrection to everlasting life. We do not know the physical location of Abraham’s bosom, also known as the paradise of God. We just know we will be at rest, and there will be a wide gulf between those who are wicked, and those who are in Christ.
John 3:13 And no man hath ascended vp to heauen, but hee that came downe from heauen, euen the Sonne of man which is in heauen.
When Christ returns to the earth, it says the dead in Christ shall rise first. If the dead in Christ are actually in heaven already, they would not rise or ascend, they would be coming down, not going up, at that moment in time.
Matthew 25: 31 When the Sonne of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy Angels with him, then shall hee sit vpon the throne of his glory:
The book of Revelation also tells us we will reign with Christ on this earth for a thousand years. It says the rest of the dead, meaning those who are not saved, will not live again until the end of the thousand year reign.
There is great controversy surrounding the hellfire, damnation, and judgment day that is to come. Many preachers, and Bible teachers adamantly claim there are no second chances. If you die without repenting and accepting Christ, you will be going straight to eternal damnation and hellfire. I am not convinced of this either.
I would never suggest anything other than what it says in the Bible. The entire Gospel calls upon all people, from the church to the profoundly wicked, to repent and believe in the salvation of Christ. It is certainly the truth, and the best advice. There are many mysteries contained in the Bible we do not understand yet. We must have faith, and believe God’s plan will work out exactly as he intends it to work out. It would not be wise to take chances, but nor is it wise to assume we know who will be excluded from God’s mercy, and who is in the book of life. We have not seen the book, have not read it, and simply do not know.
From what I have read, there will be phenomenal and supernatural wrath upon the wicked. Each and every stage of this wrath, is intended to get the wicked to repent. Keep in mind, we ALL have to repent and turn away from the sin we have indulged in throughout our lives. We are not the ones who will be doing the judging, unless we are given instructions by Christ to be part of this. The judgment is Christ’s call, and only God knows those who are predestined to be adopted into the family of God, and eternal life.
As Christians we do face judgment in many ways, but not during the final great white throne of judgment. I believe the judgment we face comes with full repentance, and remorse for the bad things we have done. There is a process of sanctification when we become repentant, and filled with grief and remorse for all the wrongdoing in our lifetime. I think this is what is referred to as facing the judgment seat of Christ. We bare our soul, and we know beyond a doubt, we are doomed without His mercy, forgiveness and grace. We are brought to the foot of the cross, humbled and broken, seeking forgiveness.
I have listened to many preachers claim that all those who are not saved at the time of their death, will go to hell. Many also adamantly claim the unsaved will burn in hell forever. I do not believe it. The wages of sin is death. There is also mention of the second death following the final judgment. Eternal hell fire is reserved for Satan, and the false prophet.
If the unsaved went to hell and burned for the rest of eternity, it would not be described as a second death. There is nothing whatsoever to indicate those who face the second death, will have eternal life. They may be eternally damned, in that they no longer exist, but they will not be burning in hell for all eternity.
What actually happens to the wicked? There are multiple attempts prior to the return of Christ to get them to repent. If they do not repent, they are kept alive longer, and punished more.
Finally, at the time of Christ’s return, the angels gather up the people, and sort them out. There is a temporary ending for the wicked who are still alive. The Bible says they do not live again for a thousand years. During this time, the Christians rule with Christ, enjoying a time of peace and prosperity on earth.
What is hell like? Hell or Hades is a holding place for the dead. Although I am not sure, I think it depends on the degree of wickedness within a person. Each may go to locations with the same kind of people as they are. There are various locations, and circumstances waiting for people in the underworld. Some will have more torment than others.
Sort of like the difference between a maximum security prison, and a minimum security prison. It might be noisy. It might be hot. There might be demons roaming around. Who knows for sure, but it is not likely to be a pleasant place for those who have been truly wicked.
In a sense, the wicked, along with the unsaved who may not be as wicked, all go to some kind of prison to await the final judgment day. When the final judgement day comes, and I know this is a controversial topic with many concepts of eternal damnation. But in my opinion, based on what I have read, the Bible does not completely close the door on salvation for some of the people in Hades.
The reason I believe it might be possible for some people to be saved at this stage, is because of the description of the resurrection of the dead after the thousand years. It says they are judged according to their deeds. It goes on to say, those who are not found in the Lamb’s book of life, will face the second death. Why would it say that if there was not a possibility for some of the people to be saved during the final judgment?
For certain, only God knows this answer, and it is Christ who passes judgment during the resurrection of the dead. Regardless of what we think, we do not decide who is in the book of life. I certainly believe after a thousand years in prison, some of the people may be truly repentant. I also think many who are unsaved, did not live a life of wickedness, deception and cruelty, but for whatever reasons, chose to be atheist, or were deceived by another doctrine. Many people have turned away from God because of the conduct and cruelty of those who pretend to be Christians.
We are saved by the grace of God, and not by works. But after death, the unsaved are judged according to their works. What does this mean? Does it mean each one gets a different ferocity of punishment before going into the lake of fire? If they did not do terrible evil, and if they repent with complete sincerity when they stand before the great judgment throne of Christ – can they still be saved? I think it is plausible. Christ is merciful.
Another reason I believe it is possible for Christ to forgive some people following the thousand year reign, when the dead in Hades are resurrected to be judged, is something to consider. The fact the new world ushered in after the final judgment, will have no sea, means there will be much more room. After all, the sea covers 70% of the earth.
The birth of Christ, is also about the Revelation and return of Christ. It is the most incredible event in all of the history of the world, in the present, the past, and the future.
Therefore the true Revelation and birth of Christ, to include his return to this earth to overcome death for all those who believe and trust in him – is the greatest gift, and the most awesome miracle we could ever dream of. He holds the keys to eternal life.
We make so many mistakes during our lifetimes, and yet we are given another chance. God worked out a plan for us to be saved by His only begotten son Jesus Christ.
We live only a short period of time, in the overall scheme of things, during the period of time we are alive on this earth in our carnal state. And for some, the regrets are going to be astronomical when they realize what they have done, and what they are going to miss.
No one will escape the realization that Christ is Lord. No one will be able to deny it, not even Satan himself. Those who deceive, kill, cause harm, take advantage of the weak and the poor, treat others with cruelty and shunning, and most of all – those who manipulate or corrupt others to carry out the harm – will be very sorry one day. For those people, when they die, it will be too late. For they will be judged according to their deeds.
We are called upon to repent, believe in Jesus, and change. John the Baptist brought this message to the world before Christ was born. It is a message, and warning repeated all throughout the Bible. We are given the instruction manual.
The birth, death, resurrection, and return of Christ contains a central message. Repent, and know the time is near. Believe in Christ, and in His resurrection, and he will bless us with eternal life in a world full of God’s goodness and love, just as it was in the garden of Eden before the fall of man.
This is what gives us hope, regardless of what kind of catastrophic events happen in the coming months and years. The birth of Christ is also the Revelation of Christ, in the complete fullness of His power and glory. Amen.
This is a topic that I have much experience with, and absolutely detest the deception, and oppression that revolves around such psychologically abusive tactics. I had the misfortune of having a high school teacher, who seized control of my life six months before I graduated from high school.
He was able to carry this out because I had no parental protection, and was graduating early. I did have concrete plans of going to University because I knew my education had to be paid for until I turned eighteen. I also had a powerful older brother who had constantly attacked and abused me as a child. The teacher and big brother were in cahoots.
The teacher began the scheme by having me cut from the cheerleading squad, so I would play basketball. It was a very small school in central Alberta, so we did not have many options when it came to sports, and other activities. He was the basketball coach and wanted more exposure to me. I was kind of creeped out by him right off the bat, but there was not much I could do. He was a big, brutish tough guy, very serious, very religious, and had a prolonged intimidating stare. He also lacked boundaries big time.
In fact, I remember having a discussion with other students about him. One of them said, “I feel like he knows every sin I ever did”. And then another student immediately piped up and said, “I feel like he knows every sin I ever thought about doing”.
One day shortly after I started playing basketball, he told me he and his wife were having a spaghetti dinner for the basketball team. When I showed up for dinner, I was the only one there. He duped me right off the bat. During the strange dinner party, I was subjected to his prolonged and frequent staring, like a bug under a microscope. I was very uncomfortable, but made polite small talk, and watched the clock until I could escape. In fact the clock watching, and hope to finally get free of him, became a lifelong pattern whenever I was around him. It was like the minutes ticked by, slowed to a stall. It was mind numbing and boring.
After I choked down the spaghetti, out of the blue he announced, “God told me to adopt you”. I said, “What!?” then I quickly added, “It’s too late. I am already pretty much grown up.” But little did I know this was the beginning of a lifelong devious scheme. He would not take no for an answer. Finally I said, “Does God talk to you out of the sky or the walls or what?” Then I tried another tact, and said, “Since it is my life, why wouldn’t God tell me too?”
After the introduction of his scheme, he started a campaign of coercion and brainwashing. He switched from saying God told him to adopt me to claiming, and announcing he was “legally adopting me”. He told everyone at school, including all the other teachers, he was in the process of going through a legal adoption. It was a brazen lie, but it went unchallenged for some reason.
I guess he thought a throwaway kid had no possible way of refuting him. He had all the power, God, my older brother, and the law on his side. So he had all the bases covered. Soon the lies included the wider community, and extended family. I would tell people it was completely bogus. Everyone knew I was not the teacher’s daughter. I repeatedly said no to his adoption claims. I thought it was absurd.
The authoritarian abuse of power was phenomenal. Once he established the first lie about a legal adoption, when clearly I was never up for adoption, he had himself “legally” covered to carry out the pretence of “wanting what was best for Valerie”. He did this in collusion with my older brother, so I was dominated by these brutish lies, no matter how I tried to stick handle this intrusive behaviour, before I could get out of town
He accelerated his behaviour to stalking, and following me around outside of school. He started telling people I was “emotionally disturbed” and “needed intervention”. In actual fact, I had accelerated through school, and passed with honours consistently. I also played all sports, and was president of the student’s union.
But the fact I have to feel defensive about his repeated lies and accusations is in itself, quite warped. It should not have mattered what I was doing. Even if I was emotionally disturbed, and out of control, it does not mean you should get stalked, forcibly confined, and forced into an adoption con by a high school teacher.
Since when do defiant teenagers get forcibly adopted by teachers? Isn’t that why schools have referrals? To make matters even worse, he was a brand new teacher, and in his twenties at the time. He literally acted like he thought he was god, and knew everything about everything. Why was he so obsessed with a sixteen year old girl? Did anyone ask him? Did anyone stop him? Did anyone protect me from such advances? No. It’s too bad.
No, unfortunately for me, they did not stop his aggression, and obsession to take control of my life. He should have been reported to the Alberta Teachers Association, and at the very least, relocated to another school. Kind of like relocating a predatory beast.
In my opinion, he should have lost his teacher’s license, for the fact he would not listen, no matter what anyone said. He should have been arrested for abduction because he forced me into a car, and then forcibly confined me for hours on end.
I know this teacher scenario raised many red flags for others in the community, because I heard all kinds of whispered comments, and gossip about it. I don’t think anyone really knew what to do, even though the predation was obvious, and the motives were highly questionable.
The lies were framed in such a way, if I said no to him, I was in defiance of authority. The proverbial bad girl. He was the daddy-god, and I really had no say in it at all. The choice was to either put up with it, or leave school and run for the hills. I was very motivated to finish school, and get a post-secondary education, so I endured what was a barrage of psychological torture.
He escalated from constantly staring and following me, to chasing me down at night outside of school, and forcing me into his car, to take me home with him for the night. He would yell “You get in that car, or I will STUFF you in that car”.
During the prolonged brainwashing sessions, he would not let me leave his house, until about five in the morning. Then he would stare at me the next day, as I went through the motions in school, exhausted, scared, and confused. He stared at me with feigned pity, like we shared some kind of warped secret. I tried to avoid looking at him, shrinking away as much as was humanly possible.
The all night brainwashing sessions, contained certain themes he repeated over and over ad nauseam. One of those central lying themes, surrounded his absolute assertions that our mother was wicked beyond salvation. He despised her, even though he did not even know her. He kept saying she did not deserve to be my mother.
He told me over and over, our mother was wicked, and not redeemable. In actual fact, I was the spitting image of our mother. From my earliest recollections, every farmer in the community, and anyone who saw us, would say as much. “Oh my goodness, that child looks just like her mother.”
Our mother’s name was Joy. Our Swedish grandmother nicknamed me Little Joy, when I was about two years old, or younger. It made the cruelty of those all night sessions even more abased and degrading. Why would anyone do such a thing? Especially under the guise of being a Christian, when the fifth Commandment tells us to honour our mother and father? I knew it was completely off-base, but I had no power to stop it.
In hindsight, I know this was a very abusive tactic to shame, and destabilize me to the core of my existence. But how could I know about such devious schemes at age sixteen? How could I know he was cultish, and not the least bit Christian? As a teacher, he used his religion like it was a police badge. It took years to unravel it all.
Another one of his brainwashing repetitions was that I had the “exact same” IQ as his wife. I found such a claim to be totally ridiculous. I asked him, “How is it even possible? I don’t think I have the same IQ from one day to the next, so how could it be exactly the same as her IQ? No one has the exact same IQ.” He fabricated this lie, because I had scored in the top percentile on IQ tests, and I was not going to be allowed to even own my own IQ. He owned it, not me, and he was determined to make sure I was put in, and kept in my place, as far as what I thought about it.
He would puff himself up and literally dare me to defy him. Then he would repeat what he just said, slowly, so I would be sure to get it. After awhile I started saying, “I don’t care what you think or say.” Again, according to him, I was being difficult, causing trouble, and had a defiance of authority.
He repeatedly and frequently added this doozy to his repertoire of lies: “We like to believe we have had you since you were about six years old.” How repulsive. I would think to myself, “Little do you know, you never had me at all. I don’t give a crap about what you like to believe. Go join the Moonies.”
Since when is a person cornered and trapped by some absurd fallacy that another person wants to believe? Madonna and numerous other celebrities, and other victims of stalkers, would be saddled with every kook in the universe, if this was the case.
To add to the dark confusion, he used multiple out of context Bible verses, and would read out verses to imply I was his special gift from God, and he alone (not God, but him), was called upon to save me from damnation and hell. Without him I was hopeless. I should have much gratitude for his role in my life. The only reprieve was compliance.
During one of those all night sessions alone with him in a darkened room, I decided to get up and make a beeline for the door. I got up and bolted for the exit. When I got to the small landing, he caught me by the arm before I could get the door open. He spun me around, so I accidentally kicked a metal lunch pail that was sitting at the top of the stairs, so it clattered down the stairs. This was at around 3 am. One would think his dutiful wife would have got out of bed to see what was going on. But she never did.
At that moment, I honestly thought he might assault or kill me. He growled, “You better not do that again. Don’t you ever even think about it”. Another time when he caught me outside of school, chasing me through the bush, he panted, “Don’t you try to get away. You will never get away, ’cause I will HUNT you down”. It was pitch black, and I had tripped over a log, so he caught me that time too.
I kept thinking I would get away from him when I graduated, but no such luck. He forced me into nursing, and then took credit for the fact I became a nurse. Our brother invited him to every family function. So the lying narrative never ended.
The lies followed me out of high school. The teacher acted like he babysat me in order to get me through nursing, so his pet project could be attributed to him. The truth can easily be proven. I went to school in Calgary after I left high school. Just like he had nothing to do with my academic inclinations in public school, he had nothing to do with me doing well in a post secondary setting. He was a hundred and eighty miles away for crying out loud. Once again, I got excellent marks and was on the President’s honour roll. I was just relieved to be able to go to school without him following me around.
I played basketball at Mount Royal University during those years, and met my husband while playing basketball. He was an all star athlete, and MVP. His athletic accomplishments, and record breaking achievements, had earned him all kinds of accolades, so he was kind of cocky. He was also a gentle, and kind person, thank goodness. His own mother was bipolar, so he immediately understood the difficulties surrounding such a family dynamic.
He was the tallest guy in the whole place, and I thought my problems with the teacher might be over. I remember when I first told him about the “wonderful Christian teacher”. I explained how everyone thought he was so wonderful, but he would often use force, like saying he would stuff me into his car. Paul just looked at me for a long moment, and then replied, “Not anymore, he ain’t.”
I felt overjoyed, and imagined the teacher getting stuffed through the hoops of oblivion. But even so, the wonderful teacher concept was so entrenched in my own family, we still could not get rid of him, without an all out war, and expulsion from the family.
So we kept it on the back burner, remained polite, and hoped it would resolve itself. It never did get resolved. We should have been adamant, and closed the door on the awful teacher chapter of our lives. We did not know Paul’s life would be cut short. We assumed we could just carry on, and try to keep the peace in the family, so we could have a normal life. In the years before he died, Paul never left me alone with the teacher for one second. He frankly told me, “I don’t like the way he looks at you.” Paul was a gifted musician, and would entertain them playing guitar. I honestly wished we would have never allowed them into our home.
How is it that I was so emotionally disturbed, I required aggressive intervention in grade twelve, and yet just months later, even though I was a hundred and eighty miles away from the perp, I managed just fine, without any intervention at all? The thing about lies, is they really make no sense. They do not add up. They blow apart under scrutiny like sand in a windstorm.
I thought and hoped, and prayed, maybe the two brutes would mellow over time. I have always had good verbal skills, so I thought, maybe I could somehow talk my way out of this absurd pseudo adoption plot, and unwanted relationship. It went on and on for years.
They never once listened or took no for an answer, no matter what I said. In fact, this little cabal, and the lies they conjured up became the construct of foundational lies that gave my brother his rise to power. Sooner or later, it will crumble.
Finally I went to the police. But by then my older brother had way too much power and influence. Initially, the police admitted there had been a serious wrongdoing, and agreed to investigate. But it did not take long for them to back pedal. The excuse given to me, was that it would be difficult to get the witness statements.
At least half the grade twelve class witnessed the teacher force me into a car. Not once, but several times. In fact, we posted a lookout at the bush parties, to yell out a warning when he showed up. Then all of us would scatter through the bush. But I was the one he was after, even though all of us were afraid of him. It was no secret he was totally obsessed with me.
The lies became a narrative entrenched into the family and the community. I tried everything from compliance to defiance, but nothing worked. He would threaten me with expulsion from my own family.
As a result of all these lies, I went through life with an oppressive wet blanket hanging over me, along with the slanderous, whispering gossip of needing intervention, and lifelong monitoring. Most people want to escape, or at least heal from a difficult childhood. But they saddled and scapegoated me, and would not let go of the lying narrative.
Over the years, the teacher sent me hundreds of “daughter cards.” Syrupy, glittering daughter cards, filled with out of context Bible verses he had selected from the fake John Darby Bible. I did not know for years, how cultish all of this was. I naively thought a Christian was a Christian.
The teacher and his wife were only slightly more than a decade older than me. Of course people would be surprised when they told them I was their daughter. They wondered how it came about. The teacher’s wife would gloat when people said, “Oh my, you don’t look old enough to be her mother!” Just like she would gloat when he insisted I had the “exact same IQ” as she did. There is nothing like taking glory and exaltation for lying. One day they will be judged for all their lies.
You would think if an older brother, and high school teacher set up such a scheme, insinuating I was mentally ill and deranged, when there was never any real evidence to support those lies, they would have been charitable and helpful. There was not a shred of compassion ever. They did not have the tiniest bit of empathy, and did not offer any support. Yet they are staunch church goers, and never miss a Sunday. Total hypocrites.
I graduated from nursing when I was nineteen, and started working from then on. They did not pay my way at all, ever. The teacher would come to my house and freeload. They were so cheap, they wouldn’t buy me a coffee without being able to use my house, my car, and command hours of my time catering to them. They used my home as their own personal west coast time share. They sent or invited their relatives to do the same. It was an incredible amount of work, like I was a domestic servant. They were so arrogant, they paraded around like I owed them my existence.
All this from people I did not even know. When the teacher started telling everyone I was his daughter, I barely knew the guy, and had spent very little time with his wife. When I graduated and moved away from my home town, I had spent less than ten hours around the teacher’s wife. How did she morph into mother superior? They had financial motives, beyond a doubt.
They were complete strangers. I never went and stayed at their house. They came and took over mine, and no one else was paying my bills. It was all payback for his invasive and intrusive brainwashing during my final semester of grade twelve. I felt like a dog on a leash, a fund raising mascot, a bird in a cage, being lied about and tied indefinitely to an abusive past.
It is a very long story, and is not over with to this day. But one thing it has taught me, is how pervasive and widespread a false narrative can become. For many years I would have to endure visits, and twenty years later he would stare at me just as he did when I was in grade twelve, and say I was his daughter, our mother was wicked, and I had the exact same IQ as his wife. I found it to be overwhelmingly repulsive to the core. But I could hardly physically pick this guy up and throw him out of my house. And even if I could, I would have the wrath of big brother to deal with in no time flat.
Finally I terminated the relationship, after their final visit when I was living on Haida Gwaii. I knew intuitively I would never be able to tell him to F Off and get out of my house, in person. I always believed he could be violent. He was violent as a teacher. He was keen to yell orders, bellow at students, give straps (before they banned such assaults), and physically manhandled students when he got the opportunity. His proclivity for violence stuck with me in the following years, so I was always meek and polite around him.
During the final visit, I had many other visitors, like my own family members, and friends who I did want to be there. The teacher, his wife and their relatives, literally took over my entire house. In addition, they had such an extreme sense of entitlement and rudeness, they would tell people, including myself, to shhhh when we talked.
They acted like they were some kind of royalty, and deserved to be worshipped. They still carried the pious holier than thou mentality, and also the supreme authority they had established years prior to this when I was in high school. I was still under the schoolmaster’s rule. The excessive demands were part of the sickening bondage, and entrapment I had been forced into.
They had promised the teacher’s niece in Alberta enough free fish for her wedding, which was just a month or so later. But rather than book a fishing charter themselves to go out and catch the fish, they expected me to provide the fish free of charge, and pack it up, then fly it to Alberta myself. I told them, “No, I do not have a freezer full of fish to give you.” Once again, they made promises on my behalf, without even consulting with me.
The entire week was filled with constant harassment over the fish. They had promised I would bring the fish, and therefore it was a battle of wills, to force me to agree to it, and make a commitment to attend the wedding with the fish in tow. All this just for an invitation to the wedding, and a gushing pat on the head. They were too cheap to book a charter, yet they expected me to foot the bill for all the fish.
Once again, these were people I hardly knew. The cost of such a demand was thousands of dollars. Plus it involved hauling huge boxes of frozen fish to the airport on Haida Gwaii, which was a ferry ride, and a forty minute drive to get there. Then you had to worry about changing planes with no delays, so it would not start to thaw. It was totally unreasonable to expect anyone to do so, let alone a single mother.
In spite of the fact I repeatedly said no, and would not commit to taking fish to Alberta, they would not let up for a moment. At least six to ten times each day, they brought it up, and told me they were not leaving without a commitment from me to provide the fish. Each time I refused, they clenched their jaws, and would go into the bedroom to drum up another approach. It created a great deal of stress for me. I was tapped out, and run off my feet as it was, and with them, it was just never enough.
They demanded more than what I could give. It was a form of extortion, and was the last straw for me. Saying no to the fish was exactly like saying no to the adoption. They flat out refused to take no for an answer. I remember saying to my sister, “I feel like I am the fish they baited and reeled in long ago. A fish named Valerie.” I wondered when the bonk on the head, or the gaffe/gaff would finally end. I knew I had to end it, come hell or high water, once and for all. I had grown up on a farm in poverty. The last thing any person would even dream of doing, is demanding a farmer’s calf or beef without payment. It was an outrageous demand.
When they were finally getting ready to leave, I sat on the couch and watched the minutes tick by on the big clock on the wall. It had a second hand, so every time it went around, I vowed to myself that I would not spend one more minute with these people. I did not want to make a scene, so I just sat and watched the clock. The ferry was due at 2 pm. It seemed to take forever for them to pack up and leave. In spite of the tension, they did not believe for one second that I would terminate the relationship. They thought they had me locked in, no matter what they did.
By this time, the teacher and his wife were both retiring, so another bombshell they dropped, was how excited they were to come and spend months on end with me in my lovely home. I was gobsmacked. I could barely get through a week with them visiting. It was so oppressive, I tried to go down and book extra shifts at the hospital. I would take the garbage out, and come back an hour or two later, just to get away from them. If I said I was going out for a walk, they immediately got their coats on, and joined me. She was watching my every move, to include what I ate, and what I talked about.
The last conversation I had with the teacher’s wife, she told me in graphic detail, how she had drowned the family cat in the rain barrel. She had just retired, and told me she had gone through expired medications in the small facility where she had worked. She took home the extra Valium and various other drugs. She injected the cat with Valium. It was an extra large cat, and family pet, with some annoying habits, so she decided to off the cat. Why not just take it to the vet or the SPCA?
Instead, she donned thick winter clothing, and long gauntlet gloves, and then proceeded to drown the cat in the rain barrel. She was shocked at how difficult it was, because she did not expect it to fight back as hard as it did.
I could feel the colour draining out of my face, when she told me this story. I was mortified. I felt like I was going to be ill. I asked her if there had been any children around to witness this, because they did have young grandchildren. I could not imagine doing such a thing to an animal, but once again, this was part of their ongoing pattern of behaviour. It seemed they liked to punish, and create living sacrifices. Each time they killed a pet, it was because it had annoyed them, and become a nuisance. Kind of like I was annoying them.
After the final visit, I sent them an email, and told them it was OVER and there was no way I was going to be attending the wedding, let alone bringing fish. By then, nothing was going to change my mind. They made it clear they were planning on spending more and more time with me, not less. So I finally balked and resisted, as a matter of my own survival. They still would not take no for an answer. In fact, a week or so later, the teacher’s sister called me, and tried to make cheery small talk. Then she had the gall to ask me when I would be arriving with the fish for the wedding.
I told her I had made it crystal clear – I would not be attending the wedding. Then she wailed, “But Valerie, what about the FISH!” I could hardly believe it. I told her I had company for dinner, and was not able to discuss it any further. The teacher had manipulated his sister, to try and get the fish out of me. Clearly, I had been far too nice to these imposters throughout my life. They were beyond dense.
Of course I never got any support from my brother over it all. He sided with them, not me. So from then on, it has been a series of punishment, and endless pressure to resume the relationship. His wrath became front and centre just as it had been when we were kids on the farm. They contacted everyone I knew, and told them something was seriously wrong with me. I was mentally ill for the way I had treated these “wonderful Christians.”
By the time I made this decision, I was angry. It was like the flight or fight response was cursing through my veins. All that mattered was getting rid of the teacher and the lies. He had taken over my identity. He continually dared me to defy his all encompassing authority, long after I left school. He never changed his tactics, although he pretended to be a decent Christian person. But his actions and attitude spoke volumes. He never changed one bit over the years. My older brother never changed his stripes either.
This teacher saga is not over. Once I adamantly refused to comply, my older brother kicked in with his wrath, and a range of manipulative and abusive tactics. The phase of punishment and shunning began soon after the teacher relationship was terminated. They will not give up the pack of lies, no matter how obvious and provable.
Do people really think conspiracy theories are nonsense? I can assure they are not. My brother and the teacher had a full plan for my entire life, without even consulting me. They included multiple other people in this plot of control, and manipulated it to no end. They know how to motivate others with perks. Compliance with the plot, was the one and only thing that won our wrathful, older brother’s approval. Anyone who wanted a perk, just had to buy into the plot.
Now I recognize all the mind control, and thought reform methods used by such characters. I am older, and wiser. The longer foundational lies go on, the more ingrained they become, and the more others buy into those lies to increase the entrapment.
My advice is to heed the early red flags. In hindsight I should have screamed blue murder, and gone to the police immediately. But in the absence of such drama, do not be dominated or suckered into plots and schemes. Once entrenched, they are very difficult to get out of.
I know I am fortunate compared to countless other female victims. I have watched enough true crime shows to know many women are murdered, and discarded like trash. Indeed, the essence of such assaults and psychological torture, is to dominate and control through fear, shaming, and deception. Oftentimes, they have you trapped before you even realize what is happening.
We must learn to trust our intuition. The objective of thought reform, is to make you doubt your own perceptions and judgement. Once they achieve that goal, they have control over you. In some cases, they want to destroy you body and soul. Our soul consists of our mind, will an emotions.
Anyone who tries to destroy the soul of another person, is wicked to the core. I survived the aftermath and struggles foisted upon me by such a diabolical plot, only by the grace of God. Thought reform and brainwashing is designed to destabilize us, and doubt our own perceptions. It generates a deep-rooted shame, and fear, sort of like being torn out by the roots. There is constant cognitive dissonance, like putting a tin bucket over your head in a hail storm. He was clearly trying to drive me mad. Each time I pleaded to get free of it all, I was condemned by my own family, thanks to my older brother’s abuse of power.
To make matters worse, each time the bulk of his attack on my cognition, happened right after the death of a close family member. When I was in grade twelve and all of this started, my younger brother had just been killed in a car accident. Vulnerability is seen as opportunity for predators. It was crippling. It locks your soul into solitary confinement, and complete hopelessness, like drowning without an ending.
After I was married, I had a layer of protection for several years. But we still felt obliged to be polite to these people, just to keep the peace in the family. When I was in my mid-thirties, my husband was killed in an accident, and the teacher plot swelled into a full out onslaught all over again.
They choose the most vulnerable times of your life, to pummel you with their deceptive agenda. It was bleak like nothing you could ever imagine. If anyone wants to know what hell on earth is, these cultish personalities manage to inflict it on you without mercy.
In hindsight, I see many parallels the teacher used to mimic Christianity. He insisted I was somehow reborn to him. I was born into my own family, and the only other time we are reborn is to Christ, not to a cult. He falsely claimed I was adopted by them, yet God tells Christians we are adopted into the family of God. He insisted our mother was not redeemable, when God makes it very clear – people do not decide who is redeemable, and who is not redeemable. He pretended he was my saviour, when clearly he was the opposite. He never admitted to having any sin in his own life, yet Christ made it clear, we are all sinners. He took over my identity when as Christians, our identity is in Christ.
The central theme was that I must buy into their adoption con, or I would not only be rejected by my own family, and accused of being wicked and mentally ill, with no one to believe or support me. But more ominously, I would be rejected by God, and punished until I came to my senses. So If I did get away, just as he promised when I was in high school, he was going to hunt me down, and play the role of his false god doing the punishing, in order to force me back into their diabolical plot. They would never take no for an answer, no matter what.
The provable truth is that I have never been treated for, or hospitalized, or required to take medication for a mental illness in my entire life. In fact, no one in Canada can be forced into a mental health diagnosis or treatment without a court order. A person has to have multiple brushes with the law, or present a danger to themselves or others, usually requiring hospitalization, before there can be any justification to such accusations.
We are all assumed to be sane, unless proven otherwise. To use it as a threat or a con, or a punishment, is against the law. Yet they have used this false accusation and defamatory nonsense as a fundamental threat primarily because I was a gifted student, and my brother, clearly – was not. Neither was the teacher or his wife academically gifted.
I realize an IQ is not something to boast about, because we have nothing to do with what God given traits we end up with. It is not much different than eye colour or height. There will always be people who are smarter, and to God, we are foolish a good percentage of the time. I certainly recognize my own foolishness in hindsight. We all need to repent, myself included, and our IQ has little to do with it.
Our mind is to supposed to be focused on Christ, for renewal and guidance. Whatever gifts we might have been given, are also not intended to be a topic of constant punishment and attack. It has been difficult to overcome the resentment I feel, for becoming a target for lifelong abuse by a teacher, just for being a motivated student. School should be a safe place, not a place where you get saddled with a lifelong tormenter. I actually tried to view him as a superior human being for awhile. I was the inferior one by far. But no matter how I viewed him and the entire con, I found it to be painful and horribly abusive. It was a trap with no way out.
As far as our lineage, and being robbed of it by a lying pseudo-Christian teacher, the Bible is full of who begat who. It describes the seed of each and every generation, as well of the progression of events proceeding from the generations since the beginning of time. We do not suddenly become the seed of another genealogy. Our ancestry, lineage, and the seed from which we came from, is clearly not something to be messed with, and lied about. I had to get free of the lies and bondage, for the sake of the future generations within my own family. I had to find a way to become secure in my own identity, and not filled with condemnation for who I am.
The teacher and his wife were so far removed from my own ancestry, it is beyond belief how they thought they could pull something like that off in the first place. To me, it was like their spirits were deadened. They had no spark. Without a doubt, the truth was not in them, and the best I can do is pray they repent, and stop the destructive influence and stronghold they developed in my own family. For what? Greed? The devil? Intentionally inflicting pain for sadistic pleasure? Who knows for sure. They turned me into an outcast in my own family.
The damage they did spans my own lifetime, and more than one generation. Yet, they have their own family, their own children, grandchildren, siblings, and ancestry. No one meddled with their right to be members of their own family. I stayed out of their family dynamic, even though at times I felt like contacting their family members to tell them the truth. I could never understand why on earth would they be so relentlessly determined to insert themselves into, infiltrate, and spread falsehoods into another family, completely unrelated to them.
All things about this plot were not only steeped in lies, but also in marginalizing, scapegoating, and sacrificing me. When Satanic forces latch onto a victim, they not only want to destroy your life on earth, they are determined to sacrifice you for all eternity. I was no different than an animal or stray dog to them, except the rewards to them are even greater if they can destroy the soul of a human being.
They may as well don horns and a long tail, instead of piously sitting there puffed up with arrogance, in their convoluted and compounded darkness. After all, the great war between good and evil, is about the destruction and sacrifice of souls. We are only delivered from such a diabolical plot by the grace of God. It is truly an example of the snare of the fowler.
Before I met Paul, they tried to force me to sign adoption papers when I turned eighteen. To this day, I am so grateful I flatly refused, even though they had all the paperwork, newspaper announcements and what not. They literally had me backed up against the wall, giving me orders to sign those papers, RIGHT NOW! Similar to the fish episode on Haida Gwaii, they were not leaving until I signed those papers. Thankfully my college roommate came home in the midst of all this, and was perplexed and alarmed. The teacher and his wife had to drop it, or she might have called the police.
Another time, when I was still single, living in a big house with a group of other University students, they showed up to take me somewhere, and flatly refused to leave, even though I was hiding out in one of the bedrooms. First they came inside, and sat in the living room, looking miserable, stubbornly refusing to budge. One of the older, and more assertive young women in the house, realized I had no desire to go anywhere with them, so she ordered them to leave.
After this confrontation, they went out and sat in their car in the driveway, blocking it, so on one could come or go. In that case, I felt so bad for the trouble they were causing everyone else in the house, I eventually came out and went with them.
One of the other students who lived there had a job to go to, and they were parked behind her car, blocking her in. We should have called the police. There were so many missed opportunities to get the police involved in those early years. The only reason there was hesitancy to call the police, was because of my older brother, and my own family, and the framework they created to turn this teacher into some kind of deity. My life would have been so much better without him. But I thank God every day, for seeing the light of the day in spite of them.
They lied and did so much gaslighting over the years, I actually believed they had forged my signature, and filed a fraudulent adoption. In later years, I wrote to the Ministry in Alberta for clarification on this, and they told me “No, adoption papers were not filed.”
It was nothing but a pack of lies, shamelessly repeated over and over again. The teacher was an offspring of the father of lies, not God the father. Only God and Satan know the truth depth of his ulterior motives. Because to this day, I do not fully understand why anyone would do such a thing, over such a long period of time, with an absolute refusal to back down. They still will not stop it, and believe I should be punished for rejecting them, when I should never have been subjected to such a plot in the first place. He was a corrupt, power abusing teacher in a hick town public school in central Alberta. That’s it. That’s all. I only wish I could have left him behind, as we do with most of our teachers.
Now that I have had the opportunity to see things on a bigger and wider scale, there is no doubt, we have been under a deceptive fear campaign in countless other ways. They mock us, make false accusations, gang up on us, gaslight, punish, coerce, shame, and push their agenda with a grim reaper’s type of determination and coercion.
Our mother died in 2007, and I was fortunate to see her right before she died. She had accepted Christ years prior to her death. She was radiant and not afraid. She told me she had already walked on the road with Jesus. After her death, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt the phenomenal and destructive lies I had been subjected to.
All I want, and all I have asked of my family members is to drop this teacher adoption plot once and for all. That means to drop it without the constant punishment, false accusations, and condemnation. But because of my older brother, this request is not granted. So it goes on and on and on. What does he have to gain by continuing it? I have no idea what is causing him to cling to it like he has. It makes no sense. His power and money places him in the 1% so he has all the worldly influence. He gives the orders.
All I can say in the face of such adversity is stand firm. The devil wants to destroy our mind, heart, and soul. Always remember. No means no. They did not win, and they will not win. They are the delusional ones. Truth is truth. Lies are delusional. They are so primitive, they do not even know the basics. The teacher is little more than chaff in the wind. He thought he had me – but he never did.
Mental illness has a wide range of definitions, from personality disorders, to depression, anxiety and psychosis. Personality disorders, since they are part of the basic personality, show up early in life. Things like conduct disorder, truancy, a lack of empathy toward others, a disregard for the rights of others, juvenile delinquency, lack of impulse control, etc. are some of the early signs of a personality disorder.
When it comes to personality disorders, if it does not show up early in life, the person probably does not have a personality disorder. Those who do have personality disorders will be in constant trouble at school, and at home. They will often drop out of school at an early age, have multiple discipline problems, fight with, and attack other children, run away from home, steal, and go from early childhood conduct disorder, to full blown juvenile delinquency, and trouble with the law.
In other types of personality disorders, such as BPD, the person will have poor impulse control leading to things like dropping out of school, or having multiple partners. They might get married on a whim, or move in with someone a week after knowing them. They too, will often have trouble with the law at an early age.
One of the key features of this disorder is highly manipulative behaviours, often with aggression or incredible persistence in getting what they want. I recall one woman with this diagnosis in a small mental health facility, and she was one of the most difficult people I have ever come across. She had been a forensic patient for several years. Prior to admission she stabbed members of her own family, and then as a psych patient, stabbed another patient. This is an extreme example, because most people with psychiatric disorders are not violent. Those who are violent though, can be very dangerous and unpredictable.
Another feature of those with BPD, they often dramatically, and frequently change their appearance. These changes in appearance can be anything from shaving one’s head, to multiple tattoos, excessive plastic surgery, etc.
Or it may manifest outwardly by cultural type shifts, like going from a goth or punk look, to becoming a jock or a cowboy. There is no rhyme or reason to it, because theoretically, the person is not comfortable in their own skin. So they try multiple different looks.
I think this must be quite stressful for people. Of course it is common for people, especially teenagers, to experiment with different looks, without having BPD. But if it becomes excessive, and is in conjunction with other symptoms, it has to be a difficult life to lead. If we rely solely on outward appearances, we will never find complete satisfaction, self awareness, or peace of mind. We are merely changing the layers, over top of who we really are. Image is important, but it is not everything.
Schizophrenia is something that gets diagnosed and treated by a psychiatrist, because often the person has completely lost touch with reality. The cause could be secondary to hard drugs like crystal meth, or vulnerabilities to other drugs like cannabis use. From the years I worked in mental health, it seems the person with schizophrenia often had the first psychotic break between eighteen and twenty-one years old, and seemed more prevalent in young males. There may be an association with the demands of adulthood, and the transition involved.
Bipolar disorder is characterized by extreme mood swings. It used to be called manic depressive disorder. My mother-in-law was bipolar. She had her first serious episode at around age fifty. After that, she was hospitalized many times, and in her sixties, spent up to forty-eight weeks of the year in hospital. Before an extreme manic episode, she would have disrupted sleep. Following a few weeks of disrupted sleep, she would spiral completely out of control.
What is it like to watch a person go into a manic psychosis? It was extremely difficult for the family. The behaviours included tearing the house apart, pulling things out of all the closets and cupboards, and then doing the same thing in the garage. She would gather all kinds of foliage from the yard, and make concoctions out of the leaves and twigs. Often she would pin all kinds of branches and twigs onto a hat, and wear it. She would start fires, go out in public naked, and even walked up to a police officer and pulled the gun out of his holster.
In addition to the household and community behaviours, she would go on massive spending sprees, buying up all kinds of strange things, like a massive roll of barbed wire, and tires, or various other things that had to be returned or gotten rid of.
Each manic episode would build to such a crescendo, she would have to be admitted as an emergency patient to the psych unit, and then given massive doses of drugs. After weeks of sleeplessness, she would often be exhausted and dehydrated, by the time she was admitted to hospital. After the manic episode, she would be the opposite extreme, very sluggish and depressed. It was very sad to watch, and also very disruptive.
Her early childhood was not marred by the manic episodes, but I do recall her talking about not wanting to go to school. She also told me about an accident, where she was responsible for the death of a younger sibling. That may have contributed to her mental health breakdown in later years. Who knows?
In cases of severe mental health disorders requiring frequent hospitalizations, it is obvious the person is sick. They may not realize how extreme it is, but nevertheless, the behaviours and disruptions caused, are very obvious, and stressful to the people around them. A person who is spiralling into a manic psychosis cannot be ignored, and it will not resolve itself by waiting it out. In such cases the mental health disorder is out of control, and requires intervention.
Many other mental health disorders are caused by drugs like meth and cocaine, since they have a stimulating effect on the central nervous system, and can lead a person into a manic or psychotic state. Alcohol can also wreak havoc with a person’s system. If used pathologically, it creates a roller coaster of instability.
Other mental health disorders such as anxiety, PTSD, depression, etc. may or may not interfere with a person’s functioning to the extent they have to be hospitalized.
To be truthful, we all have signs and symptoms of certain mental health disorders. Whether it is perfectionism, OCD type behaviours, outbursts of anger, highly manipulative behaviours, addictive tendencies, grief reactions, etc.
For those with addictions, the solution is abstinence. I know many harm reduction programs advocate for safe supplies etc. but in my opinion and experience, abstinence is the only option. Many things we do in life are directional, meaning we are heading in one direction or another. If the direction is an overwhelming roller coaster addiction, it means it is time to change course, head the other direction and quit.
As far as the use of psychotropic medications, I do think they are needed in certain cases, but for the most part, we should exercise extreme caution when it comes to psych medications. Many of them cause severe movement disorders, suicidal ideation, or may cause adverse reactions when taken with other medications or certain foods. If a person needs them to stay stable, as in the case of my mother-in-law, then so be it. But if a person who does not need them is coerced into taking them, it is unfair and potentially abusive.
The only thing I use now, is oregano oil, if I think I am catching a cold. I was taking cod liver oil for awhile, but decided to stop that too. For a few months a year or so ago, I tried probiotics, but they gave me a headache, so I stopped taking them.
As the years have gone by, I have gradually, one by one, eliminated alcohol, all medications, including over the counter medications, cannabis, CBD oil, and various supplements. I am glad to have finally kicked them all. Many things are rooted in habits and patterns. After awhile, even if we are taking something medicinally, it may just become a habit, without much benefit, other than the fact it is a mini-ritual. If we take nothing, we have a much better chance of being able to monitor our overall health, as there is nothing to cloud our judgement, perceptions, or mask how we are feeling. Medications like antibiotics, antihistamines, and even Advil – can have a long term adverse effect on our health.
Life is full of struggles, and sometimes we don’t even know how to identify good mental health. We can recognize very unhealthy or disruptive activities, but what exactly is good mental health? I will readily admit, the recent surge of MAID in Canada, along with the plan to add mental health disorders to the MAID criteria, I was very upset, and triggered reading about it. It opens a Pandora’s box, if there is familial abuse, and gaslighting inflicted on a weaker person by a family member with power, and the motive to silence you. It also goes against the grain of our basic humanity.
The biggest problem with mental illness, is that it is open to abuses and false accusations. With all other illnesses or injuries, a person heals and recovers. The same thing does apply to mental health conditions, but the system does not seem to see it that way. I certainly know of people who were very depressed, suicidal, and hospitalized following a crisis in their life, yet they recovered and moved on. Many people have grief reactions, or go through a marriage break up, or drink pathologically, and overcome it. If that is the case, they do not need to be saddled with a label of mental illness forever.
If we break a leg, it heals. If we have surgery, we get back on our feet. If you had your gallbladder out twelve years ago, no one says – “Oh poor thing, she has an organ disorder, or a missing organ.” Is the person organ deprived for life? Maybe so, but it does not cling to her as a stigma, or sign of weakness. That would be absurd.
The same thing goes for alcoholism. You don’t have to sit around and tell everyone over and over that you are an alcoholic for the rest of your life. Your life becomes much more than that. If you do not drink, you do not need to call yourself an alcoholic. I think AA is an organizations that causes people to think they have to keep rehashing the years of alcohol abuse.
They have to keep claiming it as a personal label, as if it never goes away, and as a result, they get addicted to the AA meetings, and do not move on. Their life paradoxically, still revolves around alcohol. I remember talking to a guy a few years ago, who was hooked on AA meetings. He told me he had been on the twelfth step for sixteen years. I thought “Wow, why not take a few more steps, and walk away from that concept?”. I have never gone to an AA meeting, and don’t discount the fact it works for some people. But it does seem that people wallow in their attachment to alcohol, and don’t get away from it, even though they stopped drinking.
There are countless examples of healing, that do not cling to the person like a bad smell. If we are healed, great! Thank God and carry on. It does not mean the alcoholic can start drinking again, just like a person who has had their gallbladder removed cannot put the gallbladder back. They may have to avoid fats or certain foods, just like the alcoholic must avoid alcohol. If you cannot eat bananas, you simply don’t eat them. You don’t have to go around labelled with a banana disorder.
A quick Google search identifies the following as being evidence of mental wellness: self awareness, emotional agility, strong coping skills, live with purpose, and manage stress. Another answer focuses on exercise as the best avenue for maintaining a healthy outlook. Many others believe that diet is the most important contributor to a sound mind.
Without a doubt, all of these answers are correct. Some people are fortunate enough to have intrinsic stability. If they came from a loving stable home, they do not have the past traumas, or rejections, fears, etc. to deal with. Childhood trauma is one of the most difficult things to overcome. Those who are blessed with a good childhood, are not immune from developing mental health disorders, but they do have a foundational stability to fall back on when the going gets tough.
No matter what we are going through, one of the most sustaining factors, is our faith. This is not something that is taught or expressed as an option in the secular world, as it may interfere with a person’s choices, or family background. People should not be forced or coerced into any religious belief, especially if they are going through difficult times.
In my own humbling life’s experience, I found that religious extremism, based on rewritten interpretations of the Bible, or authoritative, dogmatic, overbearing, cultish superiority in religious beliefs – to be very damaging. In fact, some of the most heinous crimes have been committed by people who call themselves Christians. The prosperity preachers are insane and exploitive in my opinion. So for those who seek a higher authority and spirituality to help find calm and stability, discernment is critical. If someone is ranting about things that don’t sound right, don’t listen to the person. There is a phenomenal amount of deception to be found in religion.
But once you sort through the falsehoods, and get to the truth contained within the original version of the Bible, it is very reassuring. There is hope, justice, love, promise, and belief in the future, to rely upon, even if you feel you have nothing else. God does not turn us away, if we are diligently seeking his guidance and stability in our lives.
Of all things I have been exposed to over the years, including a couple of mental health counsellors, one who was helpful, and another who was dreadful, I have not found any self help or external options that offer anywhere near the reassurance that can be found in the Bible.
I prefer to listen to Alexander Scourby read the King James Version, and if I wake up at night, will listen to some of my favourite Books of the Bible. For years, I was almost afraid to read the Book of Revelation, because I had been indoctrinated with fear and falsehoods about the end times scenarios foisted on us by false preachers. But now that I have become familiar with what it actually says, in my opinion, it is the most beautiful and intriguing book of the Bible.
Instead of listening to the bizarre interpretations of ranting cultish preachers, listen to the real thing. It makes all the difference in the world.
We all consist of body, soul and spirit. It makes sense then, to look after all components of our existence. So the diet, and exercise is good advice. The soul consists of our mind, will, and emotions. Our spirit is from God. We can be spiritually deadened if we get into the wrong material, and some people can have evil spirits. But if we get an alignment between our body, soul and spirit, we are more likely to be able to manage our mental health, regardless of what gets thrown at us, or how much tribulation we are forced to endure.
Faith gives us an unseen belief in what we are hoping for. It gives us patience. It assures us of God’s love. We know that through faith, belief, and prayer, eventually our prayers will be answered.
Optimal mental health is rooted in truth and in love. I now believe in the assertion that the just will live by faith. We are saved from the many pits, and snares we fall into, only by the grace of God. Like the lyrics in a Guy Clark song, “we all got holes to fill – some fall on us like a storm – sometimes we dig our own”.
Therefore to age gracefully, and with a sound mind, we live by faith. That’s my personal testimony and solution, and I can honestly say – what a relief!
Let’s face it, some people will not respect personal boundaries. Others will back off for awhile, and then if they get an inch, they will push their way in, and take the proverbial mile.
If we grow up as people pleasers, or care givers, or in an environment where boundaries are not respected, we don’t have very good skills when it comes to setting boundaries. Those who want to dominate or control, will keep pushing boundaries like a telemarketer on speed dial. They just don’t give up.
It is even worse, if the person has established a pattern of boundary violations, and assumes you have no choice but to be nice, compliant, obliging, hospitable, etc.
In such a case, you have to change your own reactions, and stop being nice. You have to be very firm, and make it crystal clear, that you are no longer continuing the relationship in any way, shape or form. It can be quite a battle, depending on what their motives are.
In some cases, women have to get restraining orders. Boundary violations, if unchecked, and not respected, can lead to violence. Boundaries are closely associated with fundamental and inalienable rights. If a person has a callous disregard for the rights of others, they will also violate and push boundaries.
If someone persistently violates boundaries, or tries to get access to us, or catch us off-guard, or attempts to get a foot in the door, in my experience, we have to be very firm. No means no. It is an important lesson to learn when it comes to protecting ourselves.
The first question that comes to mind, is “what on earth do they want from me?” Clearly they want something. But what?
They might want your time, your attention, your labour, access to your home, your assets – or they may be enamoured with you and want your companionship. They might want to push their way into your life, and know that if they can do it once, they can do it again. They might want your services, such as nursing services, errands, computer services, or other tasks. They might want your soul.
Whatever it is, they want something. For some reason, they believe you can offer benefits to them in some direct, or indirect way. You are a pawn in their domain, only you may not have figured that out yet.
That is why people who tend to push boundaries get their way, and then are even more difficult to get rid of. It is much better to pay attention to red flags, and act early, as opposed to allowing it to go on. People who consistently violate boundaries, will not give up easily if they have already suckered you in.
Setting boundaries with people who refuse to accept boundaries, is a constant challenge. They do not give up. To them, it’s like a game of numbers. If they try forty nine times and you manage to keep them out, they still think they might catch you off guard, or in a situation where you cannot maintain those boundaries, if they push past them, again and again.
I believe we should all live by the golden rule. It is pretty straight-forward – treat others the way we ourselves would want to be treated.
If someone is doing something that makes me uncomfortable, I am under no obligation to have any kind of relationship with the person. We have a fundamental right to protect ourselves from unwanted attention, and/or exploitation. We have to guard our minds, will, and emotions, every bit as much as we must protect ourselves physically.
What if the person is just being nosy? What if they want to offer you a cherry pie, just to prove they are “nice”? I guess it depends on how well you know the person.
If a good friend, or family member does something nice for us, of course we are going to be appreciative.
But if someone we hardly know, or have made it clear we do not want them on our doorstep, then what? Be polite, and accept the cherry pie? No. Why? Because often such gestures are a ploy.
In my opinion and experience, the answer is no. Don’t accept things that might become an excuse for non-stop interruptions, or boundary violations over your time, and your life. Don’t let them make you feel an obligation to return the favour, or open your life to them for a cherry pie. If I want a cherry pie, I will go to the grocery store and buy one, since I am no good at making pies. But I have yet to buy one, so why would I feel obligated to be filled with gratitude for such an offer?
Another thing to note if you watch true crime shows, is that people who are victims of crime, are often described as being so nice, and so helpful. They also don’t have “an enemy in the world”. Obviously they did have an enemy. They just didn’t see them coming, or more likely, they saw them coming, and invited them in.
For most of us, if we want to be social, we can join a church, a club, or find people with similar hobbies. That way, when we meet someone we feel we can trust, or have things in common with, we can decide what terms we want to see them on. We don’t have to get railroaded.
I think one of the best ways to filter and avoid unwanted, potentially toxic relationships – is to set boundaries early. If there is a lack of respect shown for those boundaries, you know you are dealing with a person who will become increasingly controlling and intrusive. We tend to learn the hard way.
Another manipulative tactic, and one that is common in romance scams, is that suddenly the person has a crisis. If you listen to the stories of the victims, they get groomed, and then they get taken in by all the catastrophic events, and sense of urgency. The accident, or illness or mishap, almost always leads to demands for money or assistance. They play upon the victims inclination to have empathy, to trust things at face value, and then to part with their money. Once the person is invested, it is more and more difficult to back out of.
Some warning signs: One warning sign is if the relationship has a distinct power/dominance imbalance. For example, if the person thinks you owe them something (when you don’t), or if they believe they are vastly superior, or they are boss over you for some reason, it is likely toxic. Maybe they dominated you in the past, or had a superior role over you, and keep assuming the same power stance.
Maybe they see you as a challenge, a project, or a possession. Whatever it is – when we do not feel comfortable around someone, we have no obligation to open the door to them. We have no viable reason to allow them into our lives at all.
Thankfully, most normal people do pick up on cues, and will respect boundaries. Reasonable people want to be in mutually supportive relationships, not forced or coerced relationships. Loving one another cannot be achieved if there is deception and scheming, as opposed to a genuine respect for the other person’s choices.
Those who think they know what is best for others, are usually focused on what is best for themselves. We all have to understand – we do not decide for others how they should live their lives, and who they should associate with. Love does not control, coerce, or dominate other people.
We need discernment now, more than ever before in history. Without being judgemental, we still have to be aware, because the wolves are out in full force. We have to be watchful and alert. We don’t know if they will be wearing sheep’s clothing. They could be wearing just about anything.
God does not force us to be in a relationship with Him. He gives us a choice. If we did not love Him freely and by choice, it would not be love. In fact, the very essence of love, revolves around freedom of choice. The Ten Commandments were designed to protect us, give the parameters for boundary setting, and provide overall guidance. We cannot love one another, if we do not respect boundaries.
Everything from loving God, to loving our mother and father, to telling us not to steal, covet, commit adultery, bear false witness, and not to kill – should keep us in line. At least, one would think so, given the story of Moses, and the historical importance of establishing the Ten Commandments. But we fall short, and when we do, we have to repent, and go back to those basics, or we will suffer the wrath of God.
The ultimate and greatest boundary violation of all – is murder. Most people who are murdered, are murdered by someone they know. So what is the biggest mistake a murder victim makes? They allow a person that may have demonstrated many boundary violations, to have access to them. The biggest mistake they make, is in believing the person would not kill them. They underestimate the perpetrator.
The Bible tells us to resist the devil, and the devil will flee from us. In addition, we are to do good, not evil. If you pay attention, evil or wickedness has many facets, but the biggest one is deception. Therefore, we cannot rely on being naive and gullible. We are supposed to have discernment.
We need to fine tune our discernment, and listen to our intuition. We also need to protect ourselves, and not let ourselves be caught off guard, so someone can push past, or break down our boundaries. We have to protect our minds and our hearts too.
Trust is earned. It is essential in all loving relationships. But if trust is broken, it takes time, and a process of communication, forgiveness, and healing to re-establish trust. In those cases, we seek reconciliation and forgiveness, when it comes to people we love, such as close family members. We do have to forgive those we love, many times over.
But if the person who is plaguing us is not family, and not someone we love – we have no duty to accommodate them. None. Zero. Do we have to forgive them? Probably. But that does not mean we have to put up with more abuse. In some cases reconciliation follows forgiveness. In other cases, it completely terminates the relationship, and forgiveness is a matter of letting it go.
If someone else has broken our trust, we are best to walk away from them and put it behind us. After all, we have seen their true colours, and if they are not aligned with our own values, there is no point. In fact, resuming any relationship that has demonstrated a series of red flags, could potentially be dangerous.
Over the years I have become much more introverted, so can see both sides of the introvert extrovert coin. I do understand why people want to be left alone. I can also see why it is better to quietly mind our own business, and work with our hands. The Bible gives us that bit of wise advice as well.
We are living in a society that is exhibiting a great deal of boundary violations. People are out in droves trying to push agendas that others are not comfortable with. As a result, there are confrontations and protests.
All I can say is – set boundaries. Be firm. Protect your children and yourself. Set up some personal policies. It might be – No means no. It might be – listen to your intuition. It might be – do not open your door to unannounced knocks.
If you know the person, they will text first, or wait for an invitation. Random knocks, means that person wants something from you. They expect you to open the door, and respond. But you don’t have to, and in many cases it is safer not to.
For those who watch true crime shows, the biggest mistake countless victims have made, is to simply answer a random knock on the door. In the case of the Nova Scotia shooter, a few people survived it because they saw him, did not trust him, so they quickly locked the doors, and avoided him. It saved their lives.
If you are a female living alone, it is a good policy to avoid opening the door to random knocks. If you have kids, and dogs, and lots of people coming and going, the knock might be as innocent as informing you that you left the gate open, and your dog is out. Or it may be an Amazon delivery.
But if you are not expecting a package, and you don’t have a dog – and you abide by the golden rule, then stick to your own rules. If you don’t go around knocking on random doors yourself, why should you give access to yourself and your home, just because someone knocks? You are automatically caught off-guard and uneasy.
Maybe you are just about to get in the shower. Maybe you are in the middle of a zoom meeting. Or you might be in your pyjamas, and not the least bit presentable. One of my policies is that I open the door – when I am ready to go out and face the world. I don’t expect to be bothered, if I don’t want to be bothered. Plain and simple.
As the years have gone by, I have grown to appreciate my privacy. I would far rather be alone, than with someone I do not want to be around. I have never liked gossiping, and sitting around engaging in long boring conversations. But those who do have a sense of humour, and a genuine sincere personality, are the true gems we come across in our lifetimes.
Unfortunately, not all of us come from loving stable families, which makes it much more difficult to get to know people. How do you explain a family history rife with boundary violations? It creates a barrier.
There seems to be a bit of a balancing act between being nice, and being rude. The middle ground I suppose, is to be nice to people in general. But if they will not respect boundaries, you might have no choice but to be rude.
We cannot change the behaviour of other people. Nor do we have to be subjected to it. We can close the door, turn the dead bolt, and maintain the option of keeping it closed.
As an amateur photographer using a DSLR camera, I have learned, the frame size makes quite a difference. The biggest difference is in shooting full length gowns, robes, or coats.
With a Nikon D80, the room I was in was not large enough. So for long dresses and robes, I would have to back up, open the sliding door, and stand on the balcony to get the full image.
If you browse various Etsy sites, you will notice that in many cases long gowns are cut in half. You don’t see the full length in the product photo because the person does not have the space.
My initial assumption was that the distance was a lens feature, not so much a camera feature, but after switching to a larger frame camera, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to get the full frame long gowns or coats without having to stand out on the balcony, and let the flies or bees in.
The larger frame 48 megapixel camera is great for being able to take pictures in a smaller studio space. It is certainly something to consider for anyone who is taking fashion photos in smaller spaces.
The drawback though, and once again, I assumed it was a lens feature, but found out is is also a camera feature on the macro photography as well. I find it much more difficult to get really good macro photos with a large beast of a camera. Ahh – but all things in life involve a certain trade-off I suppose.
Nikon cameras developed the F mount for the various different lenses in 1959. They made the very intelligent decision to use the same F mount attachment year after year on camera bodies, as they built new and improved cameras.
Unfortunately the trusty old Nikon D80 I used for many years finally bit the dust and would no longer work with any lens. It just gave a stubborn ERR message, and would not budge.
I had to get another camera. As a result, I gained a better understanding of how the camera and lens have properties that change when you change camera bodies, even if you use the same lens.
It now makes perfect sense to me why the larger frame camera does better with full frame, and not as well with the macro close-ups. The smaller frame size camera is more geared to the close ups, with better intrinsic resolution.
In my opinion, both the larger and smaller frame cameras have very strong attributes, depending on what you are using them for. I know the Nikon D80 is no longer being made, but there are a few of them out there yet, with a fairly low price tag. You can buy the D80 camera body in the range of $100 – $350 or so.
The D80 is a great camera, especially for the macro shots. It is also fairly small and easy to manage on the tripod, even with a larger lens.
With photography, there is a fair bit of trial and error involved. I guess it depends on how much of the technical material one reads, and how much you just wing it.
The most photogenic products – in my opinion, are hand painted porcelain, colourful silk scarves, and embroidered silk textiles. Artisan sterling silver, with coloured gemstones, is also a real pleasure to photograph. The superior craftsmanships shows.
Capturing the beauty, colour, artistry, and workmanship of certain vintage items is a challenge. The camera often shows things about the product you would not otherwise notice.
I think the motifs, patterns and design get framed in, and maybe it does something overall for learning. The observation of so many different patterns, has sort of an orderly mathematical aspect to the learning curve as well.
Although many aspects of photography remain elusive, and some things are more technical weaknesses, I can certainly understand why people get hooked on it!
Bread is one of the most basic foods to sustain and nourish life. It also has a great symbolic and metaphorical meaning in the Bible. It is mentioned almost five hundred times, and indirectly at least that many times again. It is part of the universally known and frequently repeated Lord’s prayer.
Of all things we eat, bread is a staple. It is especially so for those of us who were born and bred on prairie farms. I do recall the baking of fresh bread as a warm and nourishing bit of nostalgia. Even the smell is good for us. Plus, we don’t want drafts when we are baking bread, so it makes for a warm and cozy day.
For those who cannot tolerate wheat, or think it is best to get grains out of the diet, it might be a matter of putting together ingredients that you can tolerate. Wheat got a bad rap with all the gluten free propaganda in recent years.
We have probably all learned that not all breads are created equal. Artisan loaves are at a premium, often close to $6.00 a loaf. In many cases, the price tag seems to replace the leaven. You now get smaller loaves, and less bread, yet the price continues to rise.
I used to bake bread years ago, and for some reason stopped. I guess I equated it to a full day of staying home, and/or did not have the confidence to make a really good bread. I don’t know why I stopped, but since I started again, it has been rewarding.
I was envisioning people in ancient times baking bread, kneading the dough, flipping it over and kneading it more, then putting it in a big outdoor stone oven. Because of the kneading, you do get a feel for the bread you are baking. You also know what you are putting into the bread.
It was the hunt for a good nutritious loaf of bread that made me start thinking about routinely baking bread and putting what I like into it.
At night I often listen to audio books, and history channels. This too, made me start thinking about the whole process of making bread. Since I spend a significant amount of time online, editing, photo-editing, etc. anything that is a diversion, creates a healthy break.
Since commercial bread baking is a capitalistic project, they want to create the most long lasting product, for the least amount of money. If you do it yourself, you can make an excellent loaf of nutritious bread for less than $2.00 a loaf.
Another thing I have noticed, is that for me, certain breads caused an inflammatory type autoimmune response. Therefore, I became wary of certain brands and opted for fresh baked artisan loaves instead.
The idea of baking bread the old fashioned way appeals to me, and creates exercise for the hands and shoulders as an added bonus. I suppose if a person did it every day, you might get strong hands, but for those of us who are sort of like weekend warriors when it comes to bread baking, we probably won’t get enough kneading in to make a big difference.
At first, to get my feet wet again with the whole project, I started out with a basic white bread recipe, to see how the yeast worked, and to try and make it foolproof for starters. I wanted to find a good baseline recipe to test, and then start adapting, to try and create the perfect loaf. It probably will never be perfect, but will be much closer to what I like. It also ends up being much fresher, more nutritious, and cheaper than what you can buy in the grocery stores.
Even after making a basic white loaf from scratch, I did not get the inflammatory response that some breads seem to cause. The absolute worst (for reasons unknown) was the freezer bread. My advice is to avoid it.
The freezer bread is an option I tried once, and then threw the rest out. It is definitely not the way to go, to make bread baking more convenient. The dough comes in an opaque bag, with four or five small frozen white loaves. The bread rose and looked okay. But it had no flavour, and an equally bland, flat tasting texture. After that brief experiment, I would not opt for frozen dough of any sort. I had headaches, sore eyes, joint pain – you name it.
So far, on the concept of baking bread from scratch the old-fashioned way, I have stuck with using a “homestyle white” flour for 50% of the recipe. Otherwise you could end up with a brick if you are not careful about the density. I remember a time back on the farm, when my sister made some buns that even the dog could not chew. We used them to play baseball as proof of hardness, as a joke to tease her about her cooking skills. You could bat one of those buns into the field.
For the other 50% of the recipe, I have substituted whole wheat flour, ground flax, hemp seeds, and sunflower seeds. When you start adding the weightier nutrients, you have to add a bit more moisture. I added a bit of extra water and oil to the yeast mixture.
Other flours that I might try in the future are almond, oat, coconut, and quinoa. But for now, the latest recipe turned out great. I made a batch of cinnamon buns with raisins and walnuts, and they also turned out just great. When proofing the yeast, and for the flour mixture, I substituted cane sugar for plain white sugar. Other options are molasses, honey, or brown sugar, which I did try once, but tiny lumps of it did not blend that well, when stirring by hand.
There is a whole new world out there when it comes to baking bread. For instance, I did not know that your kitchen becomes cultured too. I guess the yeast spores become part of the environment. What was odd to me is that the first couple of times, I could smell yeast days after baking the bread, and wondered why. But this last time, even though the recipe was doubled, thus using two packages of yeast instead of one, the yeast smell is no longer noticeable. So I guess maybe the air got proofed too?
You can add a whole range of nuts, seeds, fruit, herbs, cheeses, and even buy things like Red Mill or other multi-grain cereals to add. They can be ground to whatever consistency you like. You also learn the names for the various different shapes you can make. Who knew that a short oval loaf is called a batard?
The other interesting change I made is to try baking in enamel coated cast iron. I have a vintage DRU Holland set with variable sized pots, as well as a covered frying pan. I used the round frying pan to make the cinnamon buns, and a small dutch oven to make a round loaf. They cooked evenly, and turned out even better than expected.
Anyway, as a method to nourish both body and soul, protect the pocketbook, when combined with finding a nutritious tailor-made or custom-made recipe – baking it yourself, is a worthwhile experience. For example, I detest caraway seeds, and would never put them in a loaf of bread.
As far as having to stay home all day long, the first rise takes at least two hours, so you can go out if you want to. After increasing the density with different add-ons, just like you need to add a bit more moisture to compensate, you can also add an extra bit of time for the first rising.
The best part is that you don’t need to have many ingredients on hand, to be able to bake bread. Basically you need to keep a supply of flour and yeast. Who doesn’t have water, sugar, salt and oil in their kitchen?
As an amateur and novice, but with a bit of bread making memory – it’s actually pretty easy!
There is no doubt that people have the right to believe what they choose to believe in politics, religion, and personal choices. Beliefs shape a person’s day to day actions. As long as the actions are within the scope of the law, we all have a right to manage, maintain, or change our beliefs.
No one can really force us to believe something. Even if a person is tortured, they may comply, or even make false admissions, but they still have their own beliefs about what happened, and what is happening. Oppressive regimes try to control people’s thoughts, but are not successful in doing so. At least they are not able to control all of the people’s thoughts, for a sustained period of time. History has many examples of the uprisings that occur after periods of enduring oppressive and regressive regimes. Out of the contrary thoughts, there is a spark that often ignites a greater awareness, or a change in beliefs.
The laws have been structured to cover and protect a wide range of personalities, cultures, religions, lifestyles, traditions, and activities, without prejudice. Therefore, people practice cultural traditions, expressions of faith, and certain rituals based on their own personal, often historical beliefs.
Beliefs can surround things other than religion, and become just as obsessive. Some beliefs are fear based. Others are faith based. They can be knowledge based, or based on prior indoctrination. They can be based on identity, as we have all learned by now.
Our beliefs are shaped by our parents, ancestors, family, friends, education, knowledge, values, desires or will, emotions, choices, circumstances, memories, sometimes deceptions and betrayals, and spiritual searching. To some extent, there is also a neurobiological component, such as with trauma, addictions, diet, gut biome, genetic markers, intrinsic stability etc.
All of these things provide feedback for the central nervous system, and neurobiological loops within our systems. Dopamine affects our mind and mood. Serotonin also affects our mood. Melatonin affects our sleep. Stress affects our system through corticosteroids, surges of adrenalin and so on. All of these things contribute to our ability to learn and evaluate the world around us.
There are certain triggers based on past experiences that cause stress and anxiety. Then if we see similar patterns that trigger those associations, we resort to our earlier and ingrained patterns of response to the threat. If we continue allowing the same responses, our beliefs and reactions will be based on fear and vulnerabilities, instead of being based on strength and confidence.
We have to be firmly planted, so no one can pull us out by the roots. The only way we can manage, is by tending to our nutrients, and paying attention to what we put into our minds and bodies – spiritually, psychologically, and physically. The nutrients, along with some armour and protective forces, will help us to thrive. Sometimes the enemy is more subtle, and tries to make us wither, give up and die. Being fully alive requires a constant renewal of energy and hope.
We get a surge of adrenalin, along with the neurobiological response, before we even formulate a thought. Therefore past experiences do contribute to shaping our beliefs, and reaction to external stressors. To overcome it, we have to be aware of the neurochemistry flowing through us. It has to be recognized, evaluated, and diffused, in order to help us get more clarity. We can find ways to adjust our responses, after we adjust our beliefs to a more confident and stable position.
Some people prefer to skim the surface, while others are inclined to plumb the depths of our existence. A large percentage of people believe what they are “expected” to believe. They may be hemmed in, and trapped without even realizing it.
Typically we think of cults, or at least I thought of cults as being religious in origin. We can read about the belief systems of hundreds of different cults. They often have different origins, and some uniquely different practices, but some of the things I have noticed about cults, is that they all have an origin based on the specific writings or interpretations of the Bible by a powerful and egotistical leader.
In many cases the powerful leader is charismatic, and can write and speak about their interpretations of the Bible very fluently and convincingly. An extremist cult that rises out of these religious systems, has more focus on the leader than they do on God or the Bible. The followers are told what to believe, based on what the leader believes. Once the leader has established himself as the voice of God, the sky is the limit. At least it is for awhile.
As time goes on, and people buy into the deception, the belief systems become increasingly delusional, and often very controlling and abusive. One of the key methods of evaluation regarding a church, a leader, or teacher of pseudo-Christian doctrines, is to look at the founder. Is he making other claims based on brazen lies? What kind of character does the person have in other areas of his/her life? Are they projecting themselves as being the voice of some kind of divine deity? Is the person a false teacher, and false authority?
By doing some research into the background of these leaders, you can find out the errors and origins of all of the known cults. You can read about John Darby altering the Bible, to create a completely different gospel, and denial of the original covenant theology. The changes Darby made to the Bible, are vast in their scope and meaning, and represent a significant deviation from the truth.
C.I. Scofield picked up on the Darby Bible, and created multiple versions, all with odd footnotes to push his skewed interpretations and beliefs. Scofield is another one, who had a very bad reputation and character.
In fact, you can learn a great deal about the development and rise of cults, based on the background of a specific leader or writer. Ellen White wrote thousands of pages of religious fantasies, and was also known to plagiarize a significant amount of what she presented. She is still revered by the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
What I have noticed, is that if you are open-minded and want to know the truth, you will see the deceptions, contradictions, and sometimes outright madness of the leader, as in the cases of Jim Jones, and David Koresh. But in many cases, people don’t see it until they are out of the cult, get some distance, and have had time to reflect on what led them to the beliefs.
You will also notice that many cults started out with a more dominant religion, and then branched into more selective extremism. David Koresh and the Branch Davidians started out as a sect or branch of the Seventh Day Adventist church. A similar thing has happened within the Baptist churches, Mennonites, Catholics, Anglicans, and Pentecostal churches to name a few. Jim Jones originally started a Pentecostal church, and then became increasingly extremist and insane.
Even if religious beliefs follow a different Bible, or the interpretations of a certain leader, it does not mean they are a destructive cult. A high percentage of people who attend churches of various denominations are sincere in their beliefs, and do not harm others as a result of their beliefs.
The elements of a destructive cult revolve around one or more of the following: financial exploitation, lies, slander, false accusations, sexual molestation of children, attacking the mind, will, and emotions of a person, targeting certain individuals, infiltrating families, and then ripping those families apart.
They will stalk their victim, and attack physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. All of the victim’s relationships are targeted as well, and adversely affected by the cult. Their aim is to isolate, and turn the victim into a complete outcast, if they dare to defy or defect. They often try to break the spirit of their victim, and drive them to addiction or suicide.
They will use threats, violence, coercion, force, manipulations, slander, mobbing, and profound shaming. They will make false claims to have family relationships with their victims, thus restricting, oppressing, and entrapping them in a falsehood, and cognitive dissonance they cannot escape. They will exhibit an adamant refusal to let a person end the relationship with the cult.
They stubbornly persist in maintaining the control tactics over their victims. They continue the pursuit, in spite of attempts to reason with them, and regardless of the many protests and pleas of the victim. They are very thick skinned, in that they will persist in forcing an unwanted relationship, even after you go to the authorities. They do not expect to get arrested, and unfortunately they seldom do get arrested. This is one of the reasons they are so damaging, as the victim seldom gets justice, or even validation, in spite of the massive amount of harm that has been done to their lives.
Those are the issues and identifiers to help define destructive cults, regardless of the umbrella they are operating under.
We seem to be in a phase of history where not only do we need to filter all the deceptions in religion, but also in politics, medicine, and education. We are presented with a wide range of propaganda, untruths, and half truths in all areas of our existence. The wolves might be wearing sheep’s clothing – but they could be dressed up as just about anything.
The other day I actually wondered if CBC is becoming a cult. They openly admit to abandoning journalistic objectivity. They often have a very specific agenda and bias on what they report, and how they report it. They will not permit open and respectful discourse on the topics they write about. They moderate all dissenting opinions out of the equation. They will not tell the other side of the story, only the one that fits their agenda. I don’t think anyone would call it news. So what is it?
We have entered the era of truth versus deception, erosion of values, limitations on common sense, and divisive accusations – for going against the flow. Even just for questioning it. Oh no, you can’t be doing that!
We can only be responsible for our own beliefs. If others have different beliefs, but are not acting in a way that infringes on the rights of others, then so be it. Or so we used to think. Because rights themselves have become a central battlefield, all over the world.
Our minds are the minefield. Therefore our beliefs are very important. I believe we should stand firm, tread softly, and live by faith.
Ultimately, what we believe is our destiny. Deception is our enemy. Discernment is a gift. We either embrace truth, or we become hardened by deception, and strong delusion.
We all make mistakes, and struggle sometimes like we have a crocodile clamped onto our leg in deep water. But even the desire to be truthful, and to find truth, in order to help with decision making – will help prevent that croc from dragging us into the depths.
Knowledge is power. There is no barrier to knowledge for those who seek truth with a sincere heart. Truth does not trick, trap, lie, bully, or harm us in the long run. We might be persecuted, but it will not last forever. Knowledge is continually growing, and we can grow with it, especially if we can differentiate truth from deception.
It is like it goes right back to the Garden of Eden, and the tree of the forbidden fruit, where Adam and Eve condemned all of us, by eating from the tree of knowledge from good and evil. Prior to that, they were not exposed to evil. But after they ate the fruit, all humans had to learn to navigate life with a knowledge of both good and evil. The clincher is to be able to distinguish one from the other.
In my opinion, this fallen element of human nature, means all humankind must find a way to differentiate the intense complexities, and battles between good and evil. At the heart of it, just as the Adam and Eve story tells us, is how the serpent beguiled Eve, and how Eve then convinced Adam to eat the fruit.
After that, typical of human nature, each one blamed the other. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent.
But it was all about deception to begin with. And deception is something we end with – before there can be a new beginning. We are at the peak period of deception.
The question is – do we slide into the abyss on a rock face of sheer ice, before we reach the summit? Or do we embrace the fact we must seek the knowledge, and truth of what is good? As opposed to following what is based on deception, and results in evil? In our mind, we can gaze at that tree in the Garden of Eden for a very long time, wondering how it contained the knowledge of both good and evil.
This is also the conundrum, the cross, and the crux – where we finally meet up with our free will, and our destiny. Truth is the path to redemption. The truth does set us free. Thank God!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Sanity is not really well defined, and probably should be defined more by a person’s functionality and purpose, as opposed to whether or not they have had to overcome depression, addiction, trauma, rejection, slander, fear and anxiety.
Some of the most insane people are in positions of leadership, yet because they function at a certain executive level, they can still manage to have power over people. It is temporary though, because power in itself is temporary. Governments change, fascist leaders eventually fail or die, and public sentiment adjusts when people have had enough.
We live in a rather fluid world, where even the most controlling and manipulative authoritarian cannot predict the outcomes. We just have to remember that control is all about predicting outcomes. Since they cannot anticipate all the results, they also cannot manage total control of the population.
We have to maintain self-control first and foremost. We can still voice an opinion. We are still in control of our own thoughts, and the reaction we have to external factors. We can make assessments, and adapt to those external factors without going insane. Our worldview may differ from others, and may not go with the flow – but we all know these can be good traits, not necessarily bad or insane traits.
The automatic reaction to fear, is higher levels of anxiety and escapism. Fear turned inward is likely to result in depression and anxiety, and when externalized, it is likely to cause anger. We are innately driven and protected due to surges of adrenalin. It gives us the fight or flight instinct to get us out of harms way.
However, constant high levels of adrenalin, leads to chronic health conditions. Surges of adrenalin are meant to be a temporary, not a chronic solution, or source of energy. Some people actually draw a large percentage of their energy from adrenalin. It leads to a roller coaster of up and downs, followed by burn-out.
For those who are inspired by surges in adrenalin, whether it is bungee jumping, race car driving, or gravitating to high adrenalin occupations, there still needs to be a method of bringing the adrenalin under control. Short bursts of adrenalin are less damaging than the chronic adrenalin infusion that comes through stress and worry.
What happens if fear is chronic and pervasive? It raises adrenalin and cortisol levels as we hover in a state of anxiety or anger. We also carry the family of origin trauma, rejection, addiction, deception, poverty, family breakdown – or whatever things contribute to the cycle of fear.
If we continue in a state of chronic fear and stress, we probably will get sick. This manifests not only in mental health issues, but also cardiac, blood pressure, autoimmune disorders and cancer, to name a few.
I think the greatest tangible fears for most of us revolve around personal safety, health, and financial security. When faced with uncertainty, humility, failures, fears, and our own shortcomings – the natural inclination is some kind of escapism.
Escapism comes in many shapes and forms. The most common one is drug and alcohol addiction. There is much stigmatization that stems from addiction, mostly because we only see the deeper downside of addiction. Homelessness, huge slums, property crime, violence, overdoses, and death are the outcomes of severe addiction.
Yet how many people are truly drug free? We have no idea. There is a huge difference between those who drink a glass of wine daily, or use a small amount of low dose cannabis, in comparison to pathological drinking, and unbridled drug use.
On one side of the coin, drug and alcohol use will not likely lead to intoxication, or the inability to function, in otherwise stable individuals. The other side is blotto – or a desire to blot out our own existence, thinking it is a temporary state, but for so many, the blotto state leads to a loss of life.
Alcohol is more dangerous than cannabis, in that it can be highly addictive, and significantly impairs judgment. For some people, the impairment of judgement happens rapidly, depending on the predisposition of the person. In other cases, the addiction to alcohol is more insidious. Although some of us are more predisposed to addiction, no one is immune, regardless of intelligence or socioeconomic status.
The most dangerous prescription medications can also be subtle at first, and can cause severe CNS symptoms and dependency over time. Benzodiazepines, SSRI’s, sleeping pills, psychotropic medications, and even statins can have a severe impact on our psyche, mental health and memory.
Other maladaptive forms of escapism include severe depression, mania and psychosis. Does this happen due to chemical imbalances in the brain? In some ways – maybe so. Drugs and alcohol do affect the neurochemistry of the brain. So does food, food additives, chronic stress, sugar and sleep.
Just as few adults manage to be totally free of drugs and alcohol, we are also not free of food additives and sugar, so we have to pay attention to these things to help us stay “with it” so to speak.
We might notice the dramatic increase of street people, many who are severely addicted to the point they cannot function or take care of themselves. But there is a plethora of other people who are not on the street, who cope by self-medicating.
First or all, conflict or a breakdown in relationships does not mean a person is mentally ill. In fact, as we go through life, a certain amount of conflict is unavoidable. All we can do, is make the grievance known, explain why it is a problem, or a lie or whatever, and find ways to protect ourselves.
The best way to protect ourselves, is to find ways to be well-balanced, at peace, and maintain a sound mind. We can do this by avoiding chemicals in our diet and the barrage of pharmaceuticals that are advertised daily through the various media outlets.
It is crucial to make critical thinking and intuition a vital part of both our external and internal assessments based on the information, or physical signals we are receiving. By doing so, we are not permitting our minds, or central nervous systems to be impacted in unknown ways by chemicals, or the fear that is introduced into our daily living.
In my opinion, we have to treat ourselves in an holistic manner with diet, exercise and relaxation techniques that work for us. A diet rich in plants, whole foods, and micronutrients takes longer to prepare, but it is well worth it as this is what contributes to gut health. The secondary components of a healthy gut extends to all organs of the body, especially the brain. This is how serotonin, melatonin, and dopamine is increased and regulated naturally within our systems.
The other helpful tip is to filter all things we read or watch in the news, and discard the sensationalism. We do live in perilous times. It is not a matter of sticking our heads in the sand. But at the same time we must realize the media is trying to shape our beliefs, so our reactions can be anticipated, and thus controlled.
The other factor to consider is how much competition is out there when it comes to social media influencers, political influencers, talking points, and the macabre interest we tend to have when it comes to violent crime. We can learn from it, and decide how we want to process it. We might get a can of bear spray in case someone breaks into our home to attack us. Or we might see the violent crime as distant from our own lives, and not something likely to impact us. Either way, it is a good idea to do what we can, and leave the rest to fate.
Remember the competition is fierce for our attention. It is human nature to be attracted to sensationalism, therefore those who are publishing, learn very quickly to add hyperbole to every publication. They add the drama, without even witnessing what they claim is happening. It is tough to see street level changes, and dangers, if you live in an ivory tower, and are insulated from reality.
We see a massive amount of sensationalism and fear mongering in mainstream media, but it is also just as ubiquitous in alternative media. Take Jordan Peterson as an example. Some of his talks are meaningful, or fairly truthful, yet most are full of sensationalism, hyperbole, and dire warnings of what is to come. How does he know the future? If he is a psychologist, it means he might know more about the state of a diseased mind. But how does he know everything about everything, from the law of attraction, to climate change and politics, and even the Bible?
Clearly he does not know everything. Oftentimes, I have viewed his wide variety of public lecture topics, and youtube titles, as being overly dramatic methods of getting attention. It certainly has gained him recognition, fame and money, so if that’s the main objective, he is a success. But is the information valid? Look at his history, and decide for yourself.
If we maintain self control, eat a healthy balanced diet, get exercise, take care of our sleep, reduce and manage chemicals introduced into our bodies, and find ways to relax and let go of fear – we can overcome tumultuous times. We already know that Jordan Peterson has not managed all of these things with aplomb and finesse. So once again, we are wise to use a filter on all things we ingest, to include the advice from experts.
No one has a perfect life free of anxiety. We spend more time worrying about the “what ifs” than anything else. Yes we could get attacked, get into an accident, have a stroke, face breakdown in relationships, and many other calamities. But when faced with the fear, ask yourself how valid it is. The other question is what can we do about it? Since we cannot control what other people think and do, we cannot base our mental health on the actions of other people.
If someone else is delusional or lying, it is their problem, not ours. We can only deal with our own mental health, not theirs (unfortunately). Lies do become entrenched over time, and tend to cause more damage as time goes by. But we cannot stop other people from lying, so we are best not to let it affect us, or at least minimize it.
Because of all the deception, we live in an era of mistrust and divisiveness. It is not abnormal to mistrust those who are being deceptive. But it is abnormal to mistrust everyone from the postal worker to the clerk at the dollar store. We have to develop a healthy method of assessment and discernment.
For instance, not that long ago, as I was walking down the street, I turned a corner and saw a man with a large knife who was carving or stripping the bark off a large tree branch to make a club. I literally had to walk right past him. But I could see that he was focused on what he was doing, and did not seem to be paying much attention to me. So I took a deep breath, and walked right by him, within a few feet of the obvious danger.
One thing I have noticed as an urban walker, is that many more people out there are carrying weapons. It is now a fact of life. It has only been in the past year or so that the bark stripped clubs are being carried openly. I have also witnessed near misses in knife attacks on the street.
Not long ago, a person was out walking down the street wearing a full length black wool coat in 32 degree afternoon heat, with a large hood up, dark glasses, and a large black mask. He was also carrying a double pronged pick-axe, and looked like a dead ringer for the grim reaper movie character. Why on earth a person would walk around like that is beyond comprehension. No wonder the police are so busy.
I could go on and on about all the things I have witnessed, just in the past three years. How do we know if it is safe to walk past someone who is screaming and cursing at the sky, or dressed like the grim reaper? Who is the rage and threat being directed at? It is truly becoming a jungle out there.
There are times to turn around, change your route, and/or immediately cross the street. Even so – we have to live our lives without being overcome by fear, and without letting the crazy behaviours take over normal life. The streets should not be given over to insanity, no more than we should allow our own minds to succumb to insanity. Courage is not easy to come by. I am a coward by nature, so courage and faith, is something I really have to work on.
We have to develop an intuitive sense of danger, without becoming totally paranoid. I believe that the more normal people who are out there, doing routine daily activities and errands, and the more urban walkers who venture out for exercise, the more likely we are to maintain a semblance of normalcy, in spite of the increased drug use and crime. Teenagers are still walking to school. Young moms are still out on the street pushing baby strollers. People still walk their dogs, and seniors still go out to buy groceries. These things are all a comfort to see, because they help maintain our perspective of stability and normalcy.
In all things, we need to be watchful, vigilant, and trust our intuitions. The same thing goes for our health. If we are not using any strong drugs to mask the symptoms, we will notice if we are getting sick. Whether it is inflammation, a sore throat, or a stress induced fear reaction, we need techniques to alleviate, rather than exacerbate those early symptoms.
Ah ha! It all boils down to a cup of chamomile tea! If only we could solve the problem with one thing, but we can’t. We have to incorporate peace of mind, and a method of returning to the peace of mind as quickly as possible once it is disrupted. We have to separate the wheat from the chaff, as well as discern whether or not the disruption poses a real existential threat.
The other thing to add to the lucidity curve is ongoing learning. If we keep learning, we are creating our own avenues for edification and clarity, by keeping an active mind. If we read lots, master difficult tasks, memorize passwords and login information, filter media information, research various subjects, and study history – we can continue to expand our horizons, even if we are limited in where we can go physically.
We each have our own individual life to lead, following a lineage, historical pathway, and destiny. It is all based on our seed, and whether it falls on good soil or rocky soil. It depends on nutrients and cultivation. Our destiny is tied to how much we can grow and flourish in a variety of conditions.
In my opinion, we should never give up and throw in the towel, regardless of how humble, fearful, or vulnerable we feel at times. Other human beings do not control our destiny, which is a good thing. Only our faith and beliefs control our ultimate destiny.
We can fall down in a multitude of ways throughout our lives, and still manage to get up and keep going. This is what makes people tough, as opposed to those who carry weapons and make threats. Meekness is far better to resort to than aggression. It lets us pass by, without attracting so much negative attention.
I suppose, there is a time to avoid conflict, and a time when we must face it square on. It’s good to know the difference, and how we might handle it in advance, so we are prepared. Sometimes we have to stand firm. Our very lives might depend on it.
We need a type of conflict checklist, so we can deal with it more effectively, and move on. It is also a way to help establish boundaries, and define what decisions are ours to make. It separates the things we are in control of from those things we have no control over. Once established, we are in a better position to stand firm. There comes a point where we do have to stand up for ourselves.
A certain level of servitude, especially when combined with oppression, will turn us into a doormat. So it must be true that respect is earned. Yet if we abhor dominance, ruthlessness, violence, and expensive legal conflicts – what does it leave us with?
Words. Just words, and thankfully words do have meaning. We have to stand up for the truth, especially concerning who we are, and where we came from. Our ancestry is tied to our future, not only for us, but for our children and future generations. We cannot accept or live a lie about the family we were born into. No one should be forced to deny their own family of origin. It is a deplorable conflict that no person should ever have to endure.
Chronic conflict creates chronic stress, which we do not need. If it is chronic, even our enemies don’t need more of it. If the person(s) pushing and manipulating the conflict have more power, and will not give it up – what can be done? Lies cannot prevail. They get many warnings, so patience is the only option. The escape from conflict means to seek peace, which is a relief.
Life is short, and living a good life is even shorter, because it takes us a long time to figure things out. Perhaps the greatest adumbration, is in living our entire lives in fear of dying. For what else do we fear most? Torture? Loss of function so we end up like vegetables, wearing diapers – with burnt out, miserable caregivers working on autopilot. Are we doomed to being drugged and warehoused in a facility somewhere? Financial failure and abject poverty drives some people to despair. Truthfully, our health is most important of all, to include our mental health.
Yes it is true. Some things are worse than death. Anyway, overcoming death is not our call. We have to live life, so death loses its power over us. Only then do we ask ourselves – why have so much fear of dying?
We must keep in mind that even the rich and the elite fear death. They too, can end up with a loss of physical or cognitive function. They may not face poverty in material things, but they might face a poverty of the soul. They also might have billions of dollars, yet still not feel secure or safe – or even happy.
Perhaps that is the greatest illusion of all. Humility does not abide in arrogance. But all arrogance will eventually face humility.
Therefore, in spite of the apparent anticlimax, humility of heart – can become a fearless friend.
We are best to change the notion of getting by on a lick and a promise ~ to having faith in a prayer and a promise. We don’t have to lick, we can kick the bad behind (us)!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Social media has a range of personalities and topics, and of course people can present themselves as they wish, or as they are – so to speak. But if a person is representing an entire profession, he/she should know that if they come across in an unprofessional or tacky manner, they are not doing themselves, or their profession any favours. Body language speaks volumes, sometimes more than what is actually said.
I have a background working as an RN, and thankfully, am out of the profession, and no longer maintain a membership, or an active license. Whew! Therefore I make these observations from a dispassionate distance. It is nothing personal.
Social media is online publishing, just as layout and design is publishing on a website, or in a magazine. Most of us are amateurs, but we can follow some basic guidelines, to help with appearances, and improve our credibility.
First of all, any nurse who is honest, and wants to sincerely speak out as a patient or nurse advocate, will be censored. If they are not being censored, you pretty much know they are parroting the government narrative, even though they might pretend to be onside with the nurses.
Even so, nurses are understandably looking for advice and support during troubling times. So what things (in my opinion) make a nurse appear unprofessional on social media?
Body language and appearance. Most image experts will tell professionals to dress appropriately, professionally, and consistently. A person who is self publishing wearing a sports bra one day, a T-shirt the next day, and business attire the following day – does not give a consistent or professional first impression.
Even if she is off duty and filming herself from home – if she is representing the profession, it is tacky to be wearing nothing but a sports bra to give an online presentation for all the world to see.
As far as dress code is concerned, if there is one thing I believe should be banned for all those giving direct care is gel nails, long nails, and nail polish. Gel nails cultivate bacteria in ways ordinary nails do not. They were traced back and identified as the cause of an infectious outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit that led to thirty-six baby deaths.
Gel nails, chipped nail polish, and very long nails, cannot be properly cleaned between patients, and are likely to pierce through the end of latex gloves. Plus when you see a person with perfect long gel nails, you really wonder how they can care for patients without worrying about damaging their perfect nails.
The same thing applies to people giving cooking demonstrations. When you see the long nails with stars and little rhinestones on them, mixing up a recipe of raw hamburger with their hands, it is cringe-worthy from a health perspective.
If the camera is too close to the person’s face, so there is no white space, or background showing at all, it gives an “in your face” impression. Close-ups can also make a person look harsh and overbearing. Also, a person should be checking whatever is in the background, because people will notice the background too.
If the topics are not researched and presented well – it shows. A person who is talking about defending the entire profession of nursing is probably biting off more than she can chew.
If she gives a full episode on how she likes to wear her hair at work, it is seriously dumbing down the profession. Does she really believe anyone cares about her long hair, and how she manages her work day hair do? Nurses with long hair, pin it up. Nothing has changed in that regard in a hundred years.
If a person is not really a nurse, and yet uses the title on social media to pose as a nurse, it quickly becomes obvious that she has no clue about the profession. She could be subjecting herself to legal challenges from the College of Nurses in whatever jurisdiction she lives in. Most Colleges have a statute that restricts people from using the title nurse without proper qualifications.
Witch hunts and gossip about other nurses on a public forum, comes across as unprofessional. If a nurse is acting in the role of a whistleblower, she must only speak about things she has been a direct witness to – not gossip and heresy. She should be willing to give her full testimony in court, or in front of the College, if her concerns or observations are legitimate.
A nurse who gives opinions on health care topics published in the media, especially in cases where nurses are charged with crimes, she is simply giving an opinion. It has no more merit than any other personal opinion. No one has the right right to exacerbate the circumstances a nurse might find herself in, or circumvent due process.
If the nurse is asking for money to further a cause, delve into what she is offering in return. You might be wasting your money.
Beware of what we used to call “graditis”. It is a term nurses use to basically roll their eyes at those who are self-righteous, and full of pride over their own nurse status and accomplishments. They are often nowhere near as experienced and brilliant as they seem to think they are.
Foul language. Again, people can use whatever language they choose, but should be aware that if they are representing a profession, foul language reflects not only on them, but also on the profession as a whole.
It is one thing to stop and chat with a co-worker and swear about some frustrating situation. But if you are publishing something online, swearing and using foul language, is something you will “wear’ forever. Just like the sports bra and sexy nurse image, is something that won’t go away once it is published and shared a few thousand times.
Dumbing down. All of the above, have a tendency to dumb down a profession that is not full of dumb nurses, but has its fair share. Like all professions, nursing has a wide range of personality types and levels of intellect, honesty, and competency.
Not all nurses are sweet and caring. Some are mean-spirited and narcissistic. Some are very intelligent, and others are barely capable of tying their shoes. Some are lazy, and will put more effort into avoiding work than actually doing it.
There is no one size fits all in the profession. Since caregiving is becoming an increasingly valuable commodity, I think it is quite possible unions will become a thing of the past, and nurses will negotiate their own contracts based on their credentials, intelligence, and track record.
Hopefully that might help to separate the wheat from the chaff. But the way things are going – who knows? In the meantime, use good discernment, and judgement on social media.
Health care seems to have turned into a real jungle. Social media is not much better. You never know what might come back to bite you in the butt. Remember the old adage – CYA.
I do realize my website could use improvements too. No doubt many would call it old-fashioned. But at least a picture of a hat, is not going to kill anyone. C’est la vie!
opyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
This appears to be an emerging trend in health care. Recent cases involving serious medication errors, led to charges of homicide. This is definitely a deterrent as far as attracting people to an already over-burdened health care system.
This post describes some general thoughts based on what I have read about these cases, and is just opinion, not related to anything other than my own experiences and observations over the years.
Most experienced nurses know that anyone can make a mistake. There are many contributing factors to the medical errors made in hospitals and various facilities. A huge part of it is trying to keep up with an unreasonable work load. This causes people to take multiple short cuts, including not taking the time to double check or look something up.
There are understandable mistakes, and there are mistakes that leave you wondering how on earth something like that could happen. For example, in an emergency situation, a person might answer an emergency call bell, and start an IV, using a bag of IV fluid that is hanging on an IV pole beside the patient.
The nurse may have been called to help in a dire emergency, and started the IV without realizing an anesthetic drug had been added to the bag. The bag may have been set up by an anesthetist, in anticipation of needing to intubate. Then he/she gets distracted, and leaves the IV pole and bag hanging beside the patient. This means it is a compounded error, not simply the fault of the nurse. We already know who is most likely to get the brunt of the blame though.
In such a case, the nurse who ran into the room and started the IV, may not have seen or read the label. Or the label may be scrawled, and she assumed it was something else. It is very common to add the drug Syntocinon to a bag of IV fluid for obstetrical emergencies, specifically postpartum bleeds. In fact, it would be an assumption since it is the most commonly used drug post delivery.
The nurse’s error would be to have assumed what was in the bag, without double checking. It is because it is what you would expect to be in the bag in that situation. She may have been called into similar situations in the past, and started the IV, when the drug she expected to be in the bag, was in the bag, and all was well. If it was not clearly labelled, and just had a big S and a scrawl using a black felt pen, the nurse could inadvertently give a bolus of an anesthetic drug to a maternity patient who is not only bleeding profusely, but is also not intubated. Once the drug is given, the patient is fully aware, but cannot breathe.
Another potential for errors, is in doing IV drug calculations. Although nurses do not have to do as many drug calculations as we did in the past, drug calculations are rife with errors. Some people cannot do simple math. It was not uncommon for certain nurses to miss a zero, and end up giving ten times the dose. In other cases, when you heard about or evaluated some of the errors made, you could not even figure out how they made such a colossal error in calculation. This is especially dangerous with neonates and infants.
I also think it is too much to expect a staff nurse to teach, mentor, or orient students, unless she is a qualified instructor, who is given the time it takes to watch over, and explain things to the newcomers. Mistakes are often made because the nurse is struggling to keep up with her own tasks, and may find a student, or the expectation to do staff orientations, to be an added stress and distraction.
Some nurses thrive on teaching, and others do not. Some are very organized and efficient. Others are disorganized and chaotic. There is a wide range of personality types. There is also an old school element that crops up, and is seen as archaic.
The bulk of errors involve oral medications, and often don’t do much harm. Now that the pharmaceutical companies calculate dosages, and set up the med carts so they are accessed by the primary care nurse, and individual medications are set up to be dispensed at the specified times – why would there still be oral medication errors? I seriously wonder if all the new and improved controls have actually improved things.
In fact, the errors seem to be worse and more catastrophic than ever. Is it because the new system of dispensing is faulty? Is it because there are so many glitches, they need an over ride just to give someone a Tylenol? We used to stand and pour the medications, taking each bottle of stock pills off a shelf, and adding it to the little cup of pills with just a med card in a slot with the patient’s name and room number. It was old fashioned, but it seemed to work.
After that method went out of style, they invented blister packs. In this case, the pills were on large cards, on big flip racks, arranged by patient name, and bed numbers. The nurse would punch out the pills for each person into a little cup, hand them out, observe the patient taking the pills, and then carry on to the next patient. What could be simpler?
It’s not so much the blister packs, or the medication dispensing carts, with a code to punch in the nurse’s ID when removing medications that leads to errors. The problem seems to be the glitches in the system, and the nurse’s inclination to over ride the system when she is in a rush.
There are mistakes that make you wonder how on earth it could happen. But to be charged with homicide, is enough to put the fear of God into a person. Lives can be destroyed in a matter of seconds.
To evaluate the recent cases that happened in the US, while trying to be open minded about the basic practices leading up to the errors: In the RaDonda Vaught case, she chose to over ride the medication dispensary checks and balances, likely because she was in a rush. Or it may have been a common practice in the facility, due to the hassle of accessing prn medications. It is not uncommon to have trouble finding what you are looking for, especially for new or causal staff. PRN means to give a drug when necessary, usually for pain or agitation.
When a patient is admitted, they get their medications set up by pharmacy. But in the case of one time doses, or prn medications for an outpatient or ER patient, the medication is typically taken from ward stock. In this fatal case, she took out the wrong medication called Vecuronium, which is an anesthetic paralytic drug, instead of the drug she was supposed to give called Versed, which is a benzodiazepine or tranquilizer, commonly used to relax and sedate a person.
The drug was also labeled in red to indicate it was a paralytic, but she must not have noticed the warning on the label. Or if she had minimal experience with the drugs, she might have thought Versed was an anesthetic drug, and perhaps correlated it as being a generic name. Sometimes Versed is used in conscious sedations, so she may have been inexperienced in her knowledge of the drugs, and assumed that Versed might be labelled as such. Versed can slow the respirations, but it certainly does not paralyze the muscles of the diaphragm. So she did miss some key warning signs.
Part of the problem in nursing education, is the number of names a drug can be known as. The nurse might be confused by the wide range of names used for the same drug. She might make fatal assumptions. Although it is difficult for most of us to put ourselves in her shoes, we can see how a fast-paced, highly complex system can go awry.
The nurse in question gave a patient who was anxious about going through a CT scan, a potent anesthetic drug, as opposed to a minor tranquilizer. After giving the paralytic drug, she did not go back and check on her patient. It would have probably been too late, even if she did check her within fifteen minutes, because Vecuronium paralyses the muscles of the diaphragm so the patient cannot breathe. She would have needed to be intubated immediately. She could have been saved if someone had the presence of mind to manage her airway with a bag and mask, until they were able to get her intubated.
The explanation of medical errors being like the lining up of the holes in Swiss cheese, with numerous factors or mistakes, one after another, that led to a tragic outcome for the patient, seems to apply to these cases. The nurse did admit her mistakes, and has shown remorse. Clearly it was not an intentional error. As a consequence, she was sentenced to three years probation, and cannot work as a nurse again.
In another recent case in the US, a nurse was charged with homicide for giving an agitated patient a drug (again it was Versed aka Midazolam) to sedate the patient. This is a different situation. In this case, she was assigned to help with or take care of a 97 year old patient who was difficult to manage, confused and distressed.
The nurse called the GP for an order to sedate the patient, and the GP refused to give an order. She then asked a nurse practitioner for the order, and was refused again. Some of the nurse comments made on FB attributed the refusal to give an order, is because often the elderly do not tolerate benzodiazepine drugs well, and/or the possibility that the patient was being monitored for a head injury due to a previous fall.
However, the use of benzodiazepines in LTC is very high regardless. In fact, the growth in the use of benzos in LTC has grown exponentially since covid started, and they were overused prior to covid. So in this case, it is rather difficult to understand why the GP or NP did not assess the patient, and give appropriate orders.
This one seems to be a case of medical ethics, and power struggles. The nurse, being unable to get the order to settle the patient, took matters into her own hands, quite literally. In order to get access to the medication without an order, she went and took it out of the med cart under a different patient name. She somewhat surreptitiously drew up 2 mg. of Versed and went and gave it to the agitated patient.
She drew attention to the fact she was giving him a drug by claiming to be flushing his IV, yet it was noted she was using a different size syringe than one normally uses to flush IVs. When questioned about it, she replied that she gave him “something special”. In addition, the patient calmed down considerably after she gave the two mg. of Versed.
After that, she went and asked another nurse to watch her waste the Versed that she claimed to draw up for the previous patient. She told her colleague the patient had requested it, and then refused it. She did this as a cover to explain why the other patient did not receive the drug, even though it had been dispensed. She must have had the witness watch her discard normal saline, or possibly the unused portion of what was dispensed. It was all rather cagey by the sounds of things. It is hard to understand why she took such a chance, and placed both the patient and herself at risk. Not to excuse what she did, but she must have been fed up with trying to manage him.
One of the supposed safeguards and standard medication rules in nursing, is that certain drugs, namely narcotics, must be witnessed and co-signed, if they are wasted. So once again, we can see where this nurse did a series of things to get her self into hot water. But was it homicide?
As it turned out, the patient was fed sometime after the drug was administered, then aspirated food, and unfortunately died five days later. After he was sedated, he should have been put to bed and turned on his side, never mind feeding him. But hindsight has little benefit, especially when what he did receive was not charted, because there was no order to give it legitimately. So anyone called in to evaluate his change of condition, would not have had a clue what caused him to aspirate. When the chart was checked, there would not have been any indication that the medication had been given to him.
The biggest question that came to mind for me, is “what if she did get the order as requested”? It would be a non event. After all, it is not uncommon for 97 year old patients to die. He may have aspirated and died anyway. He may have had a brain bleed. Who knows?
The real issue is why there was such a disconnect between the nurse’s judgement, her actions, and the outcome? If she really was trying to kill him, she could have used any number of other drugs like insulin or a cardiac drug. It sounds like she had justified in her own mind that he needed this medication, and did not accept her role as being the one to administer, not order the medication. She was dishonest, but yet somewhat brazen as well.
To give an alternative view on this incident, although it is certainly not something to condone, we still have to look at the Swiss cheese type shortfalls. Personally, when someone was extremely distressed and out of control, I would hound the GP to come and assess the patient, and give some orders to alleviate the distress. Sometimes to get an order, a nurse has to go through a few hoops, and be persistent.
Many times, there is a power struggle between doctors and nurses. Certain doctors over medicate, and certain others will not give an order to sedate a patient, even if they are palliative and in a lot of pain. One thing for certain, is that many health care professionals do not realize when a patient transitions from being a LTC or acute care patient, to becoming palliative. There tends to be more mercy, and comfort measures for palliative patients.
By all means, it is awful to sedate the elderly just to keep them from making demands. In addition, there is a long list of medications that should not be used for chronic conditions in the older population. The use of antipsychotics for instance, is a nasty trend. Personally I believe the poly pharmaceuticals in LTC does far more harm than good.
But – when a person transitions to palliative, and/or is showing signs of severe distress and agitation – shouldn’t they be given something to alleviate their distress? She had no right to take matters into her own hands, but it does sound like the GP and nurse practitioner who withheld the orders, may not have done a proper assessment.
There is a gap in recognizing what is manageable and what is unmanageable. The nurse, being the one who has to do the direct patient care, seeks solutions or cuts corners. Right or wrong, that is what happens.
In fact it seems like the more controls they have put into the medication administration systems, the worse it becomes. Nurses quickly learn to over ride the system. Making a habit of doing so – is bound to lead to tragic outcomes.
One of the obvious problems is the workload. It is beyond the criteria contained within the standards of practice. Therefore you have the standards, and various policies versus reality.
A blanket defence to cover all nursing errors, is not feasible or desirable, because some of them are pretty outrageous. Most nurses do not make intentional mistakes, or over ride several checks and balances to get something done. So the mistakes or bad judgement of a few, should not taint the rest.
Another recent case reported in the news, involved a rookie nurse crushing up oral medications and putting them into the IV. It’s hard to even imagine how she managed to do that. Apparently she did not make it to first base in her critical thinking skills. Such mistakes, hopefully – are few and far between.
The number of mistakes made, including the even greater number of unreported mistakes, does warrant an overhaul. First of all, there are way too many names for one drug. They vary from generic names, to the trade names, and often have overlapping similarities to the names of other classes of drugs.
To give an example, a couple of OTC meds people might be familiar with; Gravol has the generic name dimenhydrinate, and Benadryl has the generic name diphenhydramine. You can see how a person might become confused, if she is looking at different drugs with very similar names, and often a multitude of different brand names. That is one of the problems contributing to medication errors.
Another contributing factor is the need to over ride, or the practice of doing so to save time. This is a responsibility of the facility if it is common practice.
Another key contributor to making errors is the attitude or expectation that nurses and doctors should be equipped and knowledgeable in all circumstances. It is difficult to admit to not knowing what you are doing. The old adage “fake it til you make it” is a part of the system, like it or not.
Back in the sixties and early seventies, nurses did about one third of their education in clinical practice at the bedsides. It got to the point where student nurses where being exploited as cheap labour. This was seen as undermining the profession, and not the best use of the educational dollars. Nursing education became increasingly theoretical and academic, with less and less time spent doing direct patient care.
The problem is, direct patient care involves all kinds of intricate procedures, not just a knowledge of medication, but things that you need to know. It might be sterile technique in accessing central lines, or something as small as which way to turn a three way stopcock. There are many things a nurse must do that can be lethal if she does not know what she is doing.
From a nurse’s perspective, always err on the side of caution. The time it takes to double check something is of far less consequence than getting charged with murder. Always get an order. It is not uncommon for nurses in remote and rural areas, to give a drug to a patient in the middle of the night, so they don’t have to wake the doctor on call.
Then typically the nurse would get a “cover order” in the morning, and if all was well, the doctor would give the order, and graciously thank her for not calling him. This may not be a common practice in the US, but it certainly has been a common practice in Canada.
My view on it was to always get the order, never mind taking such chances. For what? So you don’t wake the doctor up, because he might be snarky and miserable? Too bad. He/she is on call for a reason, and you would be dumb to assume they would give you a cover order if things went sideways.
From a patient’s perspective, know what you are being given. Ideally all patients should have an advocate, or family member at their bedside to help oversee their care, and to question anything that seems off. No one should administer a drug without telling the patient what it is for. If the patient is concerned, withhold it, double check, explain it, and call the doctor if it is not clear. It is also important to let the patient know they have a right to refuse it. If you act in their best interests and pay attention to their concerns, you are far less likely to make a mistake. In fact, if you take heed to even the slightest discrepancy, it may protect both patient and nurse from making a fatal error.
Overall, if an organization has multiple medication errors, they need to seriously evaluate the system. Yes professionals do need to take a certain amount of personal responsibility, especially if they veer off acceptable standards. But it is a systemic problem, if there is not sufficient time or resources to cover for inexperience, and making exceptions to the rule.
The bravado, and the expectation to be cool as a cucumber under duress, as a demonstration of competency, is not a good thing to cultivate. The systems are overloading health care workers. It has been going on for years.
Without a doubt, the addition of all the covid protocols, PPE, and added stressors, have precariously overloaded an already broken system. Most nurses are appalled at the thought of making a serious error. They live in fear of getting thrown into a situation they do not know how to handle, and therefore are vulnerable to making an error.
Perhaps the biggest contributing factors when it comes to medication errors, is fatigue, stress, and burn-out. A person can easily be legally impaired due to lack of sleep, constantly changing shifts – often being awake for twenty four hours at a time. This is far more common than people realize. If a nurse does two twelve-hour day shifts, followed by two twelve-hour night shifts, it means when switching from days to nights, she is working a night shift with just a nap. Keep in mind that many nurses also have small children to care for during those switchover days.
How many people could function with full cognitive faculties and alertness for a twelve hour night shift without sleep? Yet that is the norm and expectation in nursing. You do the two day shifts, and then try to get a nap in on the day you switch to nights. Unless a nurse takes sleeping pills, it is unlikely she can sleep for eight hours during the day, when for the previous days, she was awake and working during the day.
On a practical level, all medication carts and med rooms should have mounted magnifiers, and light loupes, to be able to clearly see the labels, warnings, and print on a medication vial. One of the things I distinctly remember as a young nurse, was being asked by older nurses, to check what the fine print said on the medication vials.
The importance of accurate charting cannot be stressed enough. The chart is the legal document, and is what is used if there is a court case, or investigation. If a nurse forgets to chart something she did, she cannot verify whether she did it or not. Charting is often neglected because patient care is a priority, but nurses should stand firm, and get their charting done, even if it involves overtime pay.
But the idea of being charged with homicide for mistakes, or criminalized for unfavourable patient outcomes, brings things to a whole new level of stress in the profession. I think this type of trend will increase the mass exodus from the profession, and also increase the trepidation in entering the profession.
For those of us who have worked in the role of an RN, and know how crazy busy it can be, we are just thankful not to have to endure the covid trials. I like many others, am so glad to be out of the profession. What a fiasco. They have my sympathy, and let’s hope the homicide charges are few and far between.
As far as mistakes go, in all honesty, every retired nurse, and all experienced nurses – have witnessed some humdingers!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
This is another hotly debated and controversial topic in Christian theology. It has also been the focus of many cults, as well as various religious and Christian interpretations of the Bible.
It is very common for people to interpret the Bible based on what they want it to say. In addition, the language translations vary, and quite often the punctuation, or lack of it – makes all the difference in the world. Also, the portion of the sentence with emphasis, can alter the meaning. Even minor alterations to the Bible can lead people down a rabbit hole, instead of the truth.
There are mysteries contained within the Bible that will be revealed in due time, so we have to be patient. Regarding the question of whether or not the soul stays alive when the body dies, we are given many verses that do refer to the souls being asleep.
Many preachers will vehemently deny this regardless of the verses that describe the period of time between death and Christ’s return.
On one extreme, there are those who believe that dead souls roam the earth, and can be contacted by psychics, or other mediums. Some believe the soul stays with the bones and/or can haunt their oppressors. Others believe the soul dies completely when the person dies.
The way I interpret it, is that there is no further contact with earth or the people of the earth once a person dies. I don’t believe they can communicate with people at all. Several verses reinforce the fact they are not doing much but waiting and resting. And they do sleep, because there are many such references. There are also verses to indicate they can be roused.
The only times the souls are roused is based on God, not some other entity. Those who try to conjure up communication with the dead, are dealing with spirits instead. And since they are not of God, they can be very deceptive, and are not to be meddled with.
The only times the dead are roused, is based on various miracles of God, and what is happening in heaven. People on earth have no power over the dead, in any way. Of course we can embrace the personality, the memories, and the love for those who die, and all the good they brought to us. But we have no control over where they are, or where they went. We know we will be reunited some day, but that’s all.
The basic description is that the wicked dead go to one location, and the righteous dead go to another location. The notion of the soul leaving the body is not new. Almost all people who describe near death experiences, describe their soul leaving, hovering, and then going somewhere.
But sticking to what the Bible has to say, it does describe a great chasm or distance between the two groups of people. It does not say people automatically go to heaven or the torment of hell. it just describes Hades, or Sheol or Hell to be a holding place of some sort.
Obviously it is not a holding place for dead bodies, because our bodies do return to the dust, or to ash. Over the years, working as an RN I saw enough people die to know beyond a doubt that their soul and spirit leave the body.
The way I envision it – based on the various Bible verses and observations, is that our souls do leave our bodies and go somewhere to a resting place of some sort. God is in charge of where we go. There is no immortality concept that makes us immortal outside of God’s decisions. Those who believe it is blasphemy to believe the soul does not die with the body, are not giving us credit for the fact we fully acknowledge who is in charge of our souls. We can trust Him too.
If the soul dies when the body dies, why would there be a need to have Hades or Sheol? Why all the descriptions about the soul going there, if the soul is dead? If that were the case, wouldn’t all people just stay dead in their graves, until Christ’s return? What is Hades for then? Who resides there? Think of the people who died 5000 years ago. That’s a long wait!
In my own estimation, based on the text I have read thus far, the soul does leave the body. But it is only to be taken to the assigned resting place, and does not hover long near the earth. Nor is it intended for people to try to stay in touch with the dead. Most of the time, the dead know nothing. There are some verses that show they can be stirred up, and made aware of something, but they are not working, planning, or doing much of anything but waiting.
The answer in my opinion to this age old question, is both yes and no. Yes the soul is immortal for those who believe in God, accept Christ, repent, and then keep His commandments. And for those who do not, their souls are immortal until the final judgement day. No one but God has the power to destroy the soul.
At some point in the future, the whole world will be full of the knowledge of God. The time is near. Again, this is for the believer in a young earth. Part of the problem with interpreting the meaning of certain things in the Bible, is the overly literalistic view, or the other extreme – a loose metaphorical, supernatural angle, applied to everything. It is neither, and it is both.
The Bible has both literal meaning, and enhancing poetic frameworks. We simply do not have the scope of human history, or the knowledge of the fullness of God’s plan to fully understand it. It is the reason faith is so important in this journey we have all embarked upon.
According to the young earth theory, which does not have much acceptance in a secular world, but regardless, if time is traced back, and anchored to certain historical events, the earth is around six thousand years old. Many also believe that in a parallel concept to the world being made in six days and on the seventh day, God rested, that after the six thousand year time frame, the era of the millennial reign is soon to be ushered in.
We are in perilous times, but also very interesting, and exciting times. The topic of death has never before been so front and centre, as it has been this past couple of years.
To help alleviate anxiety on the topic, it is a good idea to study the Bible, or delve into whatever belief system you hold on the topic. It is something many people ignore, yet is is the most important aspect of the human condition and existence. The entire Gospel is about the ultimate victory over death. It casts out fear.
To help prove the existence of Hades or Sheol, and where some people go when they die, here is a verse from the KJV Bible to ponder. To me, it is another verse to confirm the dead can be awakened from time to time. But they don’t control it, God does. Below the verse I copied a portion of the context ascribed to this text. In this case, it is very descriptive regarding the destiny for wicked leaders.
“Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” Isaiah 14:9
“All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? 11Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. 12How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The scope of micronutrients in food and herbs is vast. The polar opposite is just as expansive. When you take a tour around a large supermarket, it demonstrates the range of what people eat. The supermarkets have a wide selection of packaged food. Not all of it is unhealthy, but a good percentage of it is not exactly nutrient dense.
To embark on a whole food diet, it simply means to eat fresh produce, lean meats and fish. But convenience over rides the cooking from scratch habits. It takes longer to chop vegetables than it does to order a pizza. Since our world has slowed down, and people are confined to home more, it is a good time to nurture ourselves with healthier foods and food habits.
I have often grown two or three herbs, but never placed a major focus on using them every day, in multiple different ways. Nor did I do a great deal of research on the individual herbs from a health perspective. I used ginger and turmeric, oregano, rosemary, basil and garlic mainly.
This year I grew numerous herbs, and have made a point of using them every day. The list includes mint, rosemary, tarragon, oregano, thyme, sage, chives, chamomile, dill, basil, parsley and cilantro. By growing the fresh herbs and using them often, it is quite economical. Later in the fall, they can be cut down and dried for tea.
For example, if you buy fresh dill at the grocery store, it is around $2.50 a bunch. The herbs are packaged in a plastic container, and may not be very fresh. They certainly won’t be as fresh as the ones you snip straight from the plants. Plus when you buy it packaged, you may not use it all, and a portion of it ends up getting thrown out. When you grow it, you only take what you need for the recipe. They can be grown in any sunny location, including in containers on balconies and decks.
In doing even a cursory bit of research, I learned each one of them is loaded with a wide variety of nutrients and antimicrobials. They also flower, and are quite aromatic to work around. They add a wonderful array of flavours, and scents to whatever you add them to. Many go great with boiled eggs. You can add them to salads, soups and sauces, and even make medicinal and healing products, foot soaks etc.
With all the news about health, and fear over maintaining health – combined with the increasing food costs, it is wise to learn more about nutrition, and put more time into food preparation. From husking and freezing fresh corn, to baking our own bread, this aspect of change can be a positive one.
The best we can do is to reduce waste, grow what we can, and use as many unpackaged whole foods as possible. All things need washing, preparation and chopping. The good thing about it, is that it is enjoyable to handle fresh produce. It’s especially awesome if it is local produce, brought in by the truckload, and there it is, BC produce, in a big pile right from the field, at the local grocery store. Corn and apples are the most common and abundant in this area. The kale is plentiful this year, but for some reason the fresh garden peas have been absent from the shelves.
In my opinion, concentrated supplements in pill form, can be quite dangerous. Fresh herbs used in cooking, delivers a more balanced range of micro nutrients, as opposed to trying to boost specific vitamins, like the recent vitamin D trend. I think it is better to get sunlight, and eat foods with vitamin D.
Our bodies are complex, and every enzyme and nanoparticle is dependent on the absorption of another. There is an intricate balance to be maintained. When we digest real food, our body has the innate ability to extract the nutrients, and direct them to where they are needed. If we add a certain enzyme or vitamin in large amounts, it may upset the balance, get excreted, or possibly even become toxic for the liver or kidneys.
The nutrients and anti microbial benefits of micro greens, opens up a whole new world in food preparation. In my opinion, the use of fresh herbs not only helps build and restore the immune system, but also helps prevent or heal infections, increase metabolic energy levels, and enhances the gut health and mood.
Closely related to the use of fresh culinary herbs, essential oils, derived from plants and trees, are also very positive additions to daily routines. Recently I read that rosemary oil is being used to enhance memory. I love the smell of rosemary, marjoram and many others. But I don’t like the smell of Neem and tea tree oil, both of which are good disinfectants. Neem can be added to a bit of coconut oil and used as mosquito repellant. I have also read Neem is good for many skin conditions.
For those of us who want to stay away from pharmaceuticals, including OTC medications, this herbal health concept is not new. However, now is a good time to take a renewed interest, in how to make food full of good benefits for people of all ages. It gives us some avenues to help maintain our autonomy over our health, and keep ourselves healthy in a holistic way.
In my experience so far, the addition of the herbs, and the range of essential oils, has reduced the iritis flare ups, and improved my vision. If the benefits in relation to a chronic condition are noticed within a few months, it convinces me that adding these extra plant derivatives – is probably helping in other ways too.
It just goes to show you – the little things in life can make a big difference!
First I will state that I did work as an RN in western Canada, mostly BC, but have not been working in the system since around 2009. But as far as some of the things reported in the news this past couple of years, all I can say, is that in many ways, I could see it coming. And I am very glad to be out of such a dysfunctional system.
The profession of nursing was so steeped in my conscience, because I was forced into nursing by a high school teacher before I turned seventeen. Therefore my own perspective and observations are probably not average, but on the cynical side.
At the time, I had plans of going into English literature, liberal arts, and anything language oriented. I had graduated early, and was academically inclined, but unfortunately, was without parental protection. So I was overtaken by the teacher’s plot for my life, which included him making very strange, false claims of adopting me. I was not up for adoption, and was just months away from graduating, therefore it was an impressionable time of my life.
The teacher colluded with my older brother, and together they created a very difficult situation for me, and a long term stratagem as well. But anyway, it is what it is, and that’s how I ended up becoming a nurse. I did fix a chicken’s leg with a Popsicle stick once, so maybe I did have an aptitude for it.
In reality, I really wanted to get a post-secondary education, so I went along with it, thinking I would be able to switch to something else soon after. Once I graduated, and was out in the work force, I got married, had kids, and had to work. So that’s what I did. But I always really wanted to get out of nursing, pretty much from the beginning. The teacher plot hung over me like a bad smell.
There were many things about the profession that I did like. I met some great people, and learned a fair bit over the years. It was rewarding to be there for people during a time of crisis.
One thing for certain, is that it has always been busy in hospitals, especially in the more densely populated areas. The short staffing in nursing has been a serious problem for at least thirty years. There were 12 hour shifts where you could barely get a bathroom break, let alone eat. Many nurses would duck into the utility room and drink ginger ale. I always kept a pack of peppermint life savers in my pocket, and often that was lunch and dinner combined. Talk about unhealthy, but the pace was incredible at times. We would make sure the nurses who were pregnant, breast feeding, or diabetic would get their breaks. It was the best we could do as far as priorities went
During those years, I worked with several young nurses, and most of us were very fit. We ran, cycled, swam, walked, rowed – whatever. Almost all of us were very active overall, so the system definitely got their work mule mileage out of us.
The older nurses were no slouches either. They were efficient, and did more paperwork than marathons. The paperwork was the most important part of the job, but when you are in the thick of things, it is not always easy to get it documented right away. If something ended up in court, especially in labour and delivery, as a nurse, you could get scapegoated and raked over the coals, if you did something and forgot to chart it.
Or if you noticed something, charted it, but failed to notify the doctor, you would not stand a chance under cross examination. Some nurses got dragged into stressful court cases, where they deliberated for hours over what the clock on the wall said, versus some other watch or clock they may have used to document the timelines of what happened.
At times, nurses who simply walked by or answered a call bell, got pulled into an emergency situation that ended up in court. They might have been a float, doing a fifteen minute break relief. They soon found out, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They would have barely known what was going on, or what led up to the situation, yet they had to sit through hours of getting grilled over the nitty-gritty nuances, and all the details of what exactly happened when the shit hit the fan. It went on for hours on end, and they were treated like they were dumb and incompetent. But truthfully, under some of those circumstances, they were just confused and transient witnesses. Yet they got treated with dripping sarcasm for the slightest discrepancy in their charting or testimony.
Luckily I only had to go to court once, over an MVA in a northern community ER shortly after I graduated. I was so nervous, but the nervousness quickly wore off and turned to mind numbing boredom. I had to sit through multiple other court cases for two full days, as it was a small northern community, and that’s how they did things.
The case I was supposed to testify about, was the last to be heard. It was the most serious case of all of them by far. One of the cases I listened to was about open liquor in a car. Another was an assault in a bar. Another was some scuffle with the cops over liquor, that made absolutely no sense. Another was over a bag of marijuana, which was years before it was legalized. The guy tried to argue that the cop did not know what it was. He claimed it could have been anything. It could have been hay or alfalfa from feeding animals. It was kind of comical.
But the one that got me, was the testimony of an off duty conservation officer who watched a guy try to catch a fish with his hands. He hid in the bushes and watched him for several hours. When the poor man finally caught the fish, which I thought was almost a miracle – the officer sprung out of the bush and arrested him. To top it off, he was off duty. I was flabbergasted by his obsession over something so trivial in the middle of nowhere, when he was not even working.
Apparently it is, or was illegal to catch a fish with your bare hands. I was thinking, what? I mean, I could see it if he used a net when you were only supposed to use a hook, or something like that. But nope. The way this overzealous fish cop interpreted it, and quoted the law with much assuredness, was that the man was fishing with an illegal apparatus. Sheesh after all that…I think he deserved the fish!
Finally after all those petty cases, it was my turn. I walked timidly up to the judge, and he told me the case was postponed, and being sent to another higher court, or something along those lines. He then dismissed me, with a wave of his hand, and off I went. A bit stunned, after all the weirdness of it all, I could hardly believe it. And luckily, I never heard another word about it.
The gist of it was that two men picked up a hitchhiker and then ploughed into the back of a slow moving vehicle. The hitchhiker was killed, but neither of the men remembered which one of them was driving, and nor did they recall picking up a hitchhiker. I think it took months to identify who he was.
In later years I did get called in to give testimony in court cases that were pending, like in a hearing. In those instances I was fortunate enough to have had good recall and charting, so I never had to deal with getting grilled without being able to explain exactly what happened.
In another very bizarre situation, a man died in the hospital, and for some reason the doctor was afraid he would be blamed for the death. So he called in the ambulance. He told the ambulance drivers, who were not trained paramedics, but simply local farmers who volunteered to drive the ambulance to transfer him to a hospital in the city. They did what they were told and off they went.
But when they got there with an obviously dead patient, they got turned away. They were told to take him to a morgue at another location. They found a place that would take him and left him there. But apparently the next day, when the hospital administration found an unexplained dead person in the morgue, they called someone and sent him to another location.
Meanwhile, the family members came to visit, and could not find him in the original hospital. They were told he had been transferred. But where was he sent? And why had they not been notified? As it turned out, his body was lost for several days, and the family was fuming. Who could blame them?
The health care system is an old fashioned hierarchy. The doctors, like any profession, have a range of different personality types among them. Some of them were very egotistical. Others were quite pleasant. If they were insecure, they got mad if you were two steps ahead of them. That was the most difficult part. I could not figure out how some of them got through medical school. I am sure they felt the same about some of the nurses.
The specialists were by far superior when it came to intelligent discourse. If you demonstrated that you were on the ball, they treated you with a lot more respect than most GP’s did. Overall, I much preferred to work with specialists.
The thing about health care, is that things get thrown at people who are supposed to know what to do, yet the health care professional may never have seen it before. So there is a level of anxiety for all those who work in a fast paced environment. You are afraid of making a mistake with deadly consequences. There can be a lot of fear and anxiety if you are a key player, yet are in an emergency situation you have never seen or dealt with before.
The doctors always made much more money than nurses, no matter what the levels of experience were. In particular, they got paid huge sums for being on call, often without getting called in during the night. A nurse who was on call got around $3.00/hr., while a GP on call in a rural location got over $100.00/hr., plus several other perks. So the discrepancy has always been considerable. This was almost twenty years ago, so I am sure it is much higher for doctors now. Of course it depends on where they work.
When the system has to resort to using agency nurses, it adds a huge expense to the health care system. They pay a higher rate of pay, and the agency takes several dollars an hour for every hour, every single nurse working for them makes. Plus they are all short term placements, so travel, accommodation, insurance, and orientation all must be paid for. It is more than double the cost of a union nurse.
What is very odd to me, is the fact that eight doctors have recently died in Canada, with very little follow up on this very odd occurrence among the profession. They were all working, career oriented, motivated, and several were very fit. I think it sent a shock wave, a wave that should have gained more momentum, investigation and answers for a stunned public. Busy, and sometimes overwhelming workloads in health care is nothing new. But people did not drop dead in the past like is happening now.
In fact, until now I cannot even recall cases of young doctors dropping dead. The odd time there would be an accident or heart attack. I remember years ago, a 39 year old nurse finished a 12 hour shift in maternity, and by morning reported that she felt unwell. She was not sure if she would be able to come in for the next night shift, and died within hours after going off shift. We were told she had an atypical viral pneumonia.
Therefore, I can only imagine the dismay and fear that must have taken root in the various workplaces following these deaths. We kind of always thought the doctors were the untouchables, and would not be blind sided by something that came from within the system. It seems very odd.
Now just a few months later, another Canadian doctor is charged with murdering four patients. It is another thing that shocks and floors the average person, especially those who work in the health care system. This too – is unheard of until now. His defence is that all the patients had covid. Wow.
In 1980-81 at the Toronto Sick Children’s Hospital, a nurse, Susan Nelles, was charged with killing babies, after it was discovered there was a 625% increase in deaths over this time frame. The Grange enquiry became one of the biggest murder investigations in Canadian history. Apparently they deduced that the babies had been given lethal doses of digoxin, a cardiac drug. Nelles was on shift for 24/45 deaths, so they placed her under intense scrutiny and investigation. Another nurse was implicated and tainted for life by this investigation as well.
It turned out the cause of death was later revealed to be from the introduction, and use of rubber stoppers in the IV lines. Unknown to the facility at the time, the rubber stoppers accumulated toxins. In many cases, the infants were very tiny and fragile. Therefore a bolus of these toxins when the IV line was flushed or speeded up, could have easily caused their death.
There was no solid evidence to indicate the babies had been intentionally poisoned. What an absolutely horrible thing to have to go through. It caused the accused nurses entire families an incredibly stressful burden that dragged on and on, for what seemed like ages. Thankfully, in the end, it was not as sinister as they made it out to be.
In Winnipeg’s largest hospital, in 1994, there was a five year long investigation following a surge of baby deaths. In each case, they went for cardiac surgery, and twelve of them died unexpectedly. Some nurses stuck their necks out and sounded the alarm bell. They were mostly concerned about the cardiac surgeon, and it took a great deal of risk and persistence before they were finally heard.
The outcome however, was not a murder charge. They found two key contributing factors. One was a problem with the system, and the other attributed it to the inexperience or lack of competency on the part of the surgeon. The nurses were right in that case.
One would think that like the other high profile mysterious deaths in our Canadian health care history, the deaths of eight doctors, albeit for seemingly random reasons – would be sufficient to generate a nation-wide investigation and enquiry. If they did such huge enquiries over the baby deaths, shouldn’t the system care about doctors too? These are unusual, suspicious sounding deaths, and may have been caused by the very system they work for. I know life is not fair – but good grief.
Another thing this country has never seen before, is the number of doctors who have been discredited, and penalized over their views on covid, or the vaccines. It does not matter how much education they have, how much evidence they present, how much experience they have, how sincere and dedicated they are – if they go against the flow, they are slandered beyond repair. This too – is absolutely unprecedented among doctors in Canada. Normally they stood up for each other, and would not do any back stabbing, no matter what. They valued their careers and reputations, and did not mess with anyone else’s career. The Colleges in the different provinces were always reluctant to investigate any concerns about doctors. Now all of a sudden, they are doing what appears to be witch hunts, over what is supposed to be evidence based medicine.
In the past couple of years, we have seen things develop within the health care system that have never occurred before. I can only imagine how much turmoil they must be facing, along with the increasing number of ethical dilemmas they are dealing with now. It must be absolutely gruelling, when combined with a heavy workload, and so many sick patients.
In a sense, no one has their back now. They lost something, and they must have a massive churning of cognitive dissonance, as they navigate these latest developments. They have to deal with extensive political interference in direct patient care. What a nightmare. To top it off, it all goes straight to the media, so they can put their twist on it, before there is a proper investigation. This too is unprecedented. Normally, the media exposure in health care was avoided like the plague. Now it IS the plague.
I think the crux of it, is the political interference in direct patient care. After all, they are the doctors, and that’s what they went to school for. The politicians are purely political, and that’s what they campaign for. To bring this element of trespass, or encroachment into a delivery of care that was once considered sacrosanct and private, with trust being central to the doctor patient relationship – was unheard of until now.
Yes the politics within the health care system have always been a pain. But the conflicts involved staffing levels, pay structures, building deficits, unions, etc. As long as a doctor was functional, no one questioned or showed disrespect for their decisions. Even if a doctor did some really dumb stuff, they never got called on it. They maybe got shamed by the specialist who had to bail them out of whatever debacle they created, but that was about it.
Luckily, on a personal level, I have been able to stay away from doctors most of my adult life. I hope it stays that way, because now is not a good time to get sucked into the system for any reason. I realize many people want and need a doctor, so I hope I can be one less person to make demands on them, and the wildly faltering system.
Otherwise, I don’t know what to think. I feel very sorry for doctors who have been vilified for speaking out about their observations. They would only do so for reasons of patient advocacy. There is clearly nothing to gain. They are doing it for ethical reasons, and in my opinion, should be applauded not punished.
Other than the political interference in direct patient care, I think the fact there is no open investigation over deaths within the system – is a big cause for concern. After the initial shock wave over the doctor deaths, before there could be any coroner’s report, or autopsy reports – there was immediate denial in the media, claiming the deaths were not related to adverse vaccine reactions. How can they rule it out before doing an autopsy, and finding out the actual cause of these deaths? It is unheard of, and people within the system know it is highly unusual.
In the days following the death announcements, MSM reported that one had cancer, another was also “very sick for years” etc. They literally glossed it over.
For any doctor who is close to retirement, or those who have invested enough to get out of the system, or the country – one can see why.
Medicine is both a science and an art. There are brilliant doctors, and there are duds. But they do deserve respect for the amount of education, and gruelling regime of on call protocols, etc. They were placed on a high pedestal of trust, and enjoyed a certain amount of autonomy in their practices. Now, the entire realm of medical ethics is muddied and unstable.
In my opinion, hard work is not that stressful. What is by far the most stressful, is the ethical dilemmas, and divisive polarization within the system. It adds stress galore, and for some, there is no escaping it.
Our minds seek answers. We try to make sense of things. Doctors are used to certain accepted patterns of conduct, which remained consistent in the old fashioned hierarchy for many years. They gave the orders. Some of them talked nicely. Others barked. But they had a position of authority, and were allowed to figure things out for themselves, unless they chose to call in a consult, or the patient asked them to.
They must be spinning. For those early in their careers, they must be wondering what is next. There is no cushy future as they might have anticipated at one time. Meanwhile, it’s not business as usual. It is something else entirely. The oddities are increasing.
They are facing not only things they have never seen before in their practices, but also things they have never seen before in politics. I hope most of them survive this uphill battle. They too are only human, and whatever happens to them affects everyone. Treat them with respect, even if they have differing views.
An open enquiry to find the truth of those deaths, as well as to stop the vilification of those who do enquire about untimely or unexpected deaths, is in order.
The baby deaths in our health care history were investigated. Because they were delved into, they came up with reasonable and plausible explanations for those deaths.
Surely, we haven’t lost our way so much in this country, that we would close the door on open enquiries about suspicious deaths in health care. Let’s hope not. Open enquiry is a good thing – even if we don’t like the answers. Denial is not an option.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
One of the biggest problems in society today is addiction. When we think of addiction, we are likely to look at homeless camps, and see the losses they have faced as outcomes of the bad choices they made. But the homeless camps are an end result, not the beginning. We might also ask ourselves, where does it begin?
The most simplistic break down of addiction is based on the reward centres in the brain. Like mice in a lab, we are quickly conditioned to seek reward instead of punishment. So once the substance or behaviour is rewarded, our brain quickly recognizes this and creates a pattern of reward seeking.
In many cases, or perhaps even most cases, addiction is a form of escapism, even if it is only temporary. But what many people do not realize, or refuse to acknowledge, is the number of different addictive substances or patterns we can be afflicted with.
The list of addictive attractions is a long one. It includes food, especially sugar, gambling, money, power and wealth. Yes collecting things is also an addiction. People are addicted to a myriad of substances and behaviours. It is the reason so many people will think they have found a solution, only to become addicted to another substance.
Opiate addiction is just one facet of drug addiction. Many people will have great disdain for a heroin addict, without realizing they are addicted too. If we lead outwardly normal lives, have a job and work hard, we are distanced from our addictive natures. If we have multiple resources, support systems, money and respect, we can easily deny addiction.
If we are truthful, we will acknowledge the addiction in our own lives and nature. Television, Internet, exercise, money, fame, prescription drugs, OTC drugs, alcohol, shopping, you name it. In fact, those who are not addicted to something, are probably the minority.
In my opinion, addiction and an addictive personality require insight followed by management and change. Some addictions are not as harmful as others. Some people can manage an addiction for years without falling into a death trap. Others go downhill very quickly.
One of the key awareness raising objectives is to assess whether or not the addiction is killing you or potentially someone else. Therefore addiction that causes overdoses, brain injury, other physical injury, violence, crime, or severe intoxication – is clearly the most dangerous trap to fall into. It quickly becomes a cycle of despair, and the person loses the ability to self regulate. The substance becomes more important than life itself.
It does surprise me that prescription drugs are seldom reported in the news as an addiction issue, yet there are many powerfully addictive prescription drugs. We still live in a society that will condemn marijuana and list it as addictive, without creating a proper scale of addictive substances, with this one being near the bottom. Why is it less of a problem than what they claim? It does not cause severe withdrawal, and does not cause increasing levels of intoxication. It also does not require increasing amounts to get the same results, and does not cause movement disorders like so many other drugs do. There is no way it can be classified as a narcotic, because it does not have the properties of a narcotic. If a person overdosed on marijuana, would Narcan reverse it? The answer is no.
But, like everything else, marijuana can be a problem. The 1970’s low to medium potency flower is probably not addictive by itself, or the least addictive of all, as long as it is not used in conjunction with anything else. But the very high potency strains, and things like shatter, where potent levels of THC are extracted using a blow torch – then yes it definitely can be unsafe. In my opinion the edibles, candies, and high potency extractions, have the potential to make it dangerous. In addition, if it is combined with other drugs, such alcohol, or prescription drugs, it is probably a bad idea, and most certainly will contribute to putting it in the addictive class.
Therefore, if we were to create an honest scale of the hazards caused by addictive substances, certainly fentanyl, heroin, meth, cocaine, alcohol, and tobacco might top the list. Truthfully though, many prescription drugs are lethal, and contribute to mortality far more than we will ever know, because the media does not report this cause of death accurately. How many secretive addictions are there in the form of prescription drugs, and hidden obsessive behaviours? Far more than we realize, because we look at what is at the bottom of the barrel, not the top of it.
Drugs like Valium and a litany of other benzodiazepines, which are classified as minor tranquilizers have been know to cause severe addictions, with years of tapering just to get off them. The SSRI’s were seen as a method to change chemical imbalances in the brain. Yet there never has been any type of scientific method to measure chemical imbalances in the brain, so how can they make the claim? The SSRI’s like all other psychoactive medications, lead to an increased need for the drug to get the same effect. After awhile many people report feeling like a zombie with no emotional range at all.
Obesity is another killer, yet do we have someone standing guard at the supermarket when we buy our food? How depressing is it to struggle with food addiction? It can be a constant obsession, as well as a very outward and visible cause for shaming.
Shame – ah yes that could be the crux of it all. If we do not have a serious enough addiction to be living on the street, we must be okay. Or so we tell ourselves. We all want to believe we are better than someone else. We are more intelligent, harder working, better educated. But if we could see how impoverished the soul of the person is, they may fare no better than the person on the street.
Many famous people who are often seen as the epitome of success, talent, and accomplishment – will not find happiness as a result of their success. Often they are in despair too.
Addiction is an effort to cope with or escape pain. Whether it is physical or emotional pain, is irrelevant. We have to admit our own fallibilities first and foremost. We tend to judge others, yet we don’t do an honest appraisal of what we need to change in our own life.
Addiction recovery is a long road. For some of us, there may be substitute addictions in the process, and no way of shaking off the addictive personality type, or the early childhood trauma that contributes to it.
Addiction creates an energy of its own. It is an attempt to fill a void with a substance or a solution that cannot fill the void, but rather carves a deeper hole. Before long, you have to climb out of that hole, before you can deal with the demons that put you there in the first place.
Some people can manage their addictions, however it is a significant risk if the addictive substance is also physiologically addictive. It takes many months or years to improve the gut bacteria, and regulate the dopamine levels in the brain. In addition, the emotional, psychological and spiritual factors also have to be faced, dealt with and forgiven.
There is a strong genetic link, and an even stronger trauma link, causing this catastrophic loss of human potential. The intergenerational cycles cannot be overlooked, if we ever hope to find a cure.
Our judgement leads to shame. The more shame is increased, the greater the loss of human dignity. But at the same time, as adults, we do have to look after ourselves and our surroundings. If there is a loss of motivation, the energy within the person loses all interest in maintaining their health and surroundings. It is not really laziness because even a causal observer can see the life on the streets is a hard one.
Shame increases the psychological distance between people. Just as the rich create a distance of obvious superiority and rule over the poor, shame increases distancing as well. Therefore, the rich are less likely to admit to having addictions, yet they may be key contributors to the overall cause. They might be addicted to power, yet are shaming the person who is addicted to opiates. At the end of the day, addiction humbles us. The arrogant will be humbled some day. Perhaps their arrogance is one of the greatest barriers of all. The more power and influence a person has, the more responsibility. Those who abuse power, are the most culpable, even though they live lavish lifestyles. They won’t take the money with them when they go. But they will take the legacy they leave, and it will not be hidden forever.
Even a life of crime to feed the addiction, requires a great deal of energy. If only the energy could be converted or directed toward productivity instead, there would not be so much chaos and mess associated with addiction. Addiction to intoxicating drugs, including alcohol, causes people to do what they normally would not do. There is an underlying desperation as well. They are driven to get the drug, in a way that robs better judgement. Loss of judgement, and disinhibition leads to all kinds of outlandish and irresponsible behaviour.
Possession of drugs of any kind, for personal use, including hard drugs with high toxicity, are now legalized. We might not agree with it, but it is reality. There comes a point where addicted people can no longer take care of themselves, because of the effects of the drugs on the brain and central nervous system.
Each person has to come to terms with their own addiction, in order to overcome it. Otherwise, it is a constant treadmill. We can create order in our lives. We can create structure, cleanliness, organization, divergent hobbies, a proper diet, and let those activities of daily living overtake the negatives. Even something as mundane as creating a daily to do list, can increase dopamine levels and motivation.
We overcome by doing. We have to do things each day to increase orderliness, which in turn gives our soul some stability and security. Many of us cannot survive an addiction to opiates, alcohol, or psychoactive prescription drugs, without abstinence. Some people can achieve stability while still using the addictive substance. Others cannot. It probably goes back to how extensive the genetic, familial patterns, and trauma are ingrained in the person’s neurochemistry and psyche.
One thing does stand out though. Judge not – lest ye be judged. I have read through many of the comments following the death of actress Ann Heche. It does appear she had addiction issues, because she spoke about them openly. But more importantly, she had deep spiritual issues as well. She had what most would describe as psychosis at a fairly early age.
Ann Heche herself described an alter ego or inner personality she called Celestia where she thought she was the half sister of Jesus, and the reincarnation of God. This is probably where the deepest turbulence and disturbance originated. The news claimed she had cocaine in her system, so she may have had a psychotic break while she was driving, thinking she was being chased by demons or aliens.
No one knows what another person is going through. Ann Heche could have committed suicide. She might have been unable to face the prospect of growing old and losing her looks, glamour and fame. Whatever the cause, it was fatal, and tragic, because she was a talented actress with a troubled spirit and soul. Addiction is no respecter of persons. We do not know her background, because even though she claimed her father raped her, it does not appear he was ever charged. If a child was raped at an early age, one would think it would be reported to the authorities. Molestation might not be as obvious, but the rape of a child does show provable signs of trauma, and is seldom overlooked.
Our grandfather was a pedophile, and raised his own family on a hog farm in the middle of nowhere, during the depression era. Yet in spite of the isolation, his crimes against his own children did get reported, and he was charged and sent to jail. He was released after a five year sentence, let out, and reoffended. So he was sent back to jail. This type of history does corroborate familial abuse beyond a shadow of a doubt, because it is based on established evidence.
I can relate to having a traumatic background as a child. By itself that was more than enough to try and cope with. But the worst of it was being dominated and brainwashed by a cultish high school teacher, who made the absurd and false claim to be adopting me, when I was never up for adoption, and was just months away from graduating. The teacher colluded with my older brother, and so the trauma, abuse, secrecy, and oppressive cover over the truth of our childhood, has never been resolved or reconciled. I was scapegoated. The religious aspect of the teacher abuse at the age I was, and under the circumstances, followed and plagued my life beyond description.
Whatever the truth of Ann Heche’s background might be, it was definitely a troubled one. Her brother died by crashing his car into a tree, and a sister died of cancer. The family was deeply religious, yet whatever doctrine they followed, did not lead to forgiveness or healing. One thing I did learn from becoming a target of religious abuse, is that it lasts much longer than every other kind of abuse. It is very difficult to sort out, and even more difficult to comprehend the family betrayal it is conjoined with.
We walk a fine line, and for those of us who do manage to overcome very traumatic early lives, all we can ever say is “by the grace of God go I”. There is no other explanation. Therefore, to me it is clear that only God can heal us. Only in hindsight, once free of the shame, fear, cloud of deception, and spiritual wounds, could I see how damaging the teacher relationship was. We need Jesus, not a domineering teacher daddy-god, and cult to mess up our minds.
I was lucky I did not develop a serious mental illness, psychosis or suicide, trying to cope with the teacher lies. He was denying and shaming who I was, and where I came from, using physical, psychological, and spiritual dominance to force a fake and long lasting relationship. I kept telling him to leave me alone. I did not even like the guy. It was something he contrived, defined and laid out in his repetitious lies, which he conveyed as gospel truth. He would not take no for an answer. In fact, he was the last thing I needed on the heels of a traumatic childhood. It took a very long time before I saw him as the opportunistic predator I now view him to be. I was shamed out of my own cognition. I do find it much easier to forgive family members, as opposed to an opportunistic predator in a public school.
The best I can do when it comes to forgiving the teacher, is to not wish him harm. As far as forgiving him deep down, and sincerely, I hope God forgives me for not fully forgiving the guy. When we are told to pray for those who persecute us, I would sometimes pray “bless him with a slap upside the head, and help him to see the error of his ways”. Bring some wrath upon him, so he might repent and admit wrongdoing. If not, guess where the teacher is headed? I have to say, I honestly don’t care if he goes to hell. One day his bubble will burst. But I do care for my family members, and pray they will not follow in his footsteps.
In the process of healing our past, our spirit and soul, we have to be very careful to discern the religious evil in this world. When we are young, we are naive. All through my life, I struggled against it, without realizing what it was. For the longest time, I thought I was trapped due to the family of origin trauma, and the tragic deaths of close family members. With healing, those deaths are not viewed as so tragic, because they brought good to my world, and I know I will see them again. So when I started to get free of the compounded grief, I finally saw the origin, or the wolf that was eating my soul. Of all the trauma in my life, the religious faux-Christian teacher topped them all.
I do hope Ann Heche cried out to God, and was saved in her final hours of life. We don’t know what she went through, and can only hope her suffering was short lived.
Perhaps the greatest poignancy of sadness surrounding the family, is that her mother has outlived her husband, and four of her five children. I can honestly say, I would not want to be in her shoes. To have two children die by suicide, or as a result of loss of value for their own lives – does not seem like she fostered a stable home life, let alone a Christian one.
If there is a core or crux of the cause, in my own estimation, I would conclude addiction stems from early childhood trauma and familial abuse, especially rejection and betrayal. It is not just coming from the knock ’em down hillbillies drunk on moonshine, that creates trauma for children. It might also be the overly strict perfectionist with a perfect outward life, but lacking in empathy or the expression of love. It could be a workaholic father whose career supersedes all else. One child might be able to manage it, but another with a different disposition, might not be able to.
When we are betrayed or rejected by a family member, what they are basically saying is that their life matters, and ours does not. We are sacrificed, in order to create an advantage for them. This goes against natural affection, which is difficult to reconcile. It is also one of the key components of relationship break down as described in end times prophesies.
“In the last days . . . men shall be . . . without natural affection” (2 Timothy 3:1-3). There are the only two occurrences of this word in the New Testament. The word stergeo (“natural affection”) is one of four Greek words for love. It refers to the natural love that members of the same family have for each other.”
Too often, these familial deficits carry over into the next generation, to create a rippling effect that causes the strife associated with addiction to fester endlessly. In some cases it morphs into problems too deep to contemplate. We need some distance from it. We definitely need boundaries. But we don’t need, or want the “us against them” polarizations, or the scapegoating, or the gulf that separates us from each other if the boundaries turn into steel walls.
No matter who we are, if we are not sorry – we probably should be.
Only God knows our hearts. We cannot know what is in the heart, or future of another human being. When it comes to addiction, as it is with all things in life, we have to examine our own hearts and lifestyles. Although this advice may take a long time to sink in, we are to be sober and watchful. There is so much going on, we are like prey for the wolves if we don’t pay attention.
We are best to repent, forgive, and trust God. There really is no other way out of the mess.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
When you consider the fact euthanasia was not legalized in Canada until 2016, this is quite an achievement, if you want to call it that.
To help put things in perspective, worldwide there are just eight countries with legislation to permit medically assisted death. This short list includes Belgium, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Spain, Colombia, the Netherlands, and Canada. It appears Germany was added to this list in 2014.
Just to give some idea on the direction this ole world is going, let’s check a brief history on this rapidly rising cause of death. Belgium legalized it in 2002 for adults only. In 2014, they lifted the age restriction to include children. In Belgium there was a court case when a 38 year old was euthanized over what the family described as a “failed relationship” not an incurable illness. The courts acquitted the doctors involved in the medically assisted suicide.
Luxembourg passed euthanasia legislation in 2008. It appears the percentage of medically assisted deaths in this country are around .2% of all recorded deaths. In the Netherlands, it was legalized in 2002, and is significantly higher at 2-3% The Netherlands was the first country in Europe to pass this legislation. Yet the growth of such deaths in the Netherlands does not have anywhere near the trajectory we have seen in Canada. Is that really because we are so “nice” in Canada?
In Spain, it was recently legalized in 2021. In Colombia the legislation was passed in 1997, which probably makes it the first in the world to do so.
New Zealand just passed legislation in 2021. Apparently two thirds of New Zealanders voted in favour of the End Of Life Act.
When you consider there are 195 countries in the world, euthanasia might be quickly normalized once the legislation is passed, but keep in mind it still only represents a small fraction of a global ideology. Once legislated, it can quickly become a trend if checks and balances are not strictly adhered to.
Canada demonstrates the most alarming trend of all, and even though the legislation was only passed recently, we now have the highest rates of medically assisted death in the world. British Columbia is already at 4.8% of all cause mortality, and no doubt this percentile is climbing as Canada increases the laxity of these laws, to include young people, and those with mental health issues.
For those who have worked in hospitals, we know people who are in palliative care get as much morphine as they need or want. Even if the person can no longer speak, any sign of discomfort, even a grimace, warrants increased doses of analgesic. In all honesty, in many such deaths, we know or suspected it was the morphine, not the disease that ultimately stopped the respirations. Those deaths are not classified as euthanasia though.
Although I have no judgment toward those who make such choices, and in many cases can understand why they might opt out of a terminally painful ending. What I do find alarming is the rapid rate of acceptance of what was considered murder not that many years ago.
It seems once such legislation is passed, the guidelines become less strict very quickly, and the numbers go up dramatically. We went from suicide prevention, to suicide assistance. From considering self harm to be a mental illness, to viewing it as being heroic self sacrifice under compassionate laws.
We cannot accept this form of death as a runaway train, or we risk repeating what was done in Germany during the Nazi era. Before long, the state is deciding who is too sick or too pathetic to live.
Long before euthanasia is a requirement or a “viable” choice, we should be far more accepting of natural death. Our health care system fights natural death, and expects ninety year olds to be admitted to ICU. We still have families who are horrified if their elderly parent has dementia with multiple falls and injuries, yet is not admitted to acute care, and given a full work up. They demand X-rays, blood work, CT scans, consultation with specialists, and medication. Maybe the family member should take some responsibility, arrange for mobility aids, spend more time with their elderly parent, and help draft up a plan to decrease the risk of falls. Or they could get them reassessed in order to arrange for an increased level of care.
We would be wise to use common sense in our caring, and stop putting the elderly through a battery of tests, surgeries, chemo, etc. I think at a certain point, it is pointless.
In my opinion, before we allow the system to start killing us off, we should stop the pretence of preventing all deaths. If an 89 year old dies, it is not a preventable tragedy. We have our priorities completely skewed.
How many times does an ambulance get called for someone in assisted living or LTC who has had a fall? The family expects the person to be seen promptly in ER, and admitted for observation. Does the family ever consider that the elderly person’s trauma is increased by medical intervention? Wouldn’t it be better in some cases to put the person back in their own bed, wash them up, and make them comfortable?
Many will argue that reducing ER and acute care admissions for LTC patients is an implication that places their lives as being less important than the lives of younger people. The way I see it is – the lives of all people are equally valuable. However, the physical body does eventually wear out, and all people die. Over time, various organs and bodily systems begin to fail us, often through the process of aging and chronic disease.
As time goes on, our needs change, and I think chronic care should be managed with different therapeutics, many of which involve comfort measures, more than medical intervention. More people need to be able to recognize when a person is becoming palliative, so they can support them, instead of being in denial over the gradual demise.
On one hand we have medically assisted deaths, and on the other hand, we don’t want to allow people to die a natural death. This is perhaps the greatest conundrum of universal health care. Those who think they and their loved ones are important, can demand care beyond what is reasonable. Yet it is the lesser human beings who are more likely to be euthanized. In my opinion, it is the reason this legislation creates a very slippery slope.
If a person decides to end their life, even without euthanasia laws, they do have the choice. Because who can know what goes on in another person’s mind? Why does the state have to interfere? Many will say that a person who is in a handicapped, is physically unable to end their own life. But if they are in pain, and on opiate pain medication, they will eventually succumb to the opiates without much pain.
We are indeed living in perilous times. Our lives hang in the balance between life and death. The rapid rise of deaths due to euthanasia in Canada is cause for alarm. We are now a world leader in this cause of death, and look how quickly it has developed. If it has risen to 4.8% of all deaths in just over five years, what will it be in another ten years?
We literally have to guard and learn to cherish our lives. We cannot speak for other individuals, or try to deter their choices, especially if they are made legal. But we can choose life for ourselves, and we can choose to create a care plan that does not involve a full range of medical interventions.
As we age, we can opt for an advanced care plan that limits what medical interventions can be done to us. How many 80 year olds are saved by CPR? The first option is to write up DNR orders. There are many other limits a person can place on medical intervention, without giving permission to be euthanized. This can include transfer to acute care, limits on drugs that can be used, and even limits on forcing food or IV fluids.
It looks like there are eight countries in the world with broadly accepted euthanasia laws. Out of 195 countries it represents just 4.1% That means 96% of the countries in the world still have reservations about passing such laws.
But alas, Canada is now a world leader in this minority. And the province I have lived in for most of my life, is now the global leader of state sanctioned deaths. Does anyone wonder why this is the case? People cannot find a doctor to fix a broken bone, but they can get a prompt response, and have a doctor do a house visit if they decide to end their life? Does that tell us what the priorities in health care have become?
Euthanasia is supposed to be a personal choice. Let’s hope they keep it that way. Personally, given the direction things are going, I would never even consider euthanasia for myself. I would far rather trust God, as opposed to trusting the state, or even myself for making such a judgement. How many times does a person come close to death and survive? Those who do survive against all odds, are meant to be here, for reasons we don’t understand.
When people die tragic deaths, we mourn the loss deeply. We don’t really know why nature takes some of us out of this world sooner than others. We cannot control, and nor should we try to control what we do not understand.
The point is, we should seize life, not death. We all have an appointment with death. But unlike the appointment with the hairdresser, we have no idea when our appointment with death is. Personally I don’t want to make an appointment with some offshoot of the infamous Dr. Kevorkian.
A snippet of Kevorkian’s legacy from wikipedia, shows how far we have digressed from calling something murder, to claiming it is a wonderfully compassionate act of humane mercy. To some of us, it might represent a rise in fascism. These two concepts, like many other contentious ideologies, are as polarized as can be.
“In 1997, Kevorkian was arrested and tried for his direct role in a case of voluntary euthanasia on a man named Thomas Youk who had Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS. He was convicted of second-degree murder and served 8 years of a 10-to-25-year prison sentence. He was released on parole on June 1, 2007, on condition he would not offer advice about, participate in, or be present at the act of any type of euthanasia to any other person, as well as neither promote nor talk about the procedure of assisted suicide.[4]”
If the state contributes to the removal of the value of human life, or removes the barriers to prevent one person from taking the life of another person – what is the justification? Who really knows? It opens a Pandora’s box with a galaxy of crossed motives.
For instance – death does in fact reduce or eliminate the carbon footprint for the person who dies. When we die, we go back to the dust and no longer consume anything.
However, the rich do not have to decrease their carbon footprint, even though it may be a thousand times greater than the rest of us. So in this somewhat macabre parallel of our existence – does our death increase, or guarantee their enjoyment of the available resources? Do they ever get themselves euthanized? Why not just get all people to cut down on their carbon footprint dramatically? Including them. Why would we want to keep promoting the “us against them” mentality to such a degree?
From a Christian perspective, remember it is God who gives us the breath of life. He breathed life into Adam when he created man. When we die, our breath goes back to God. To my way of thinking, if you intentionally take away another person’s life, it will not go unnoticed in the spiritual realm. When God takes the breath, or the spirit of the person who died, back to himself – he will put a mark on the person(s) who ended their life. This is what was done to Cain when he murdered his brother Abel. God allowed Cain to live and carry on, but the consequences were huge, are ongoing, and still have not faced final judgement. Therefore, one of the Ten Commandments is Thou shalt not kill.
When you consider – not only does the state want us to reduce our carbon footprint to nothing, and eat bugs. And that some families would off their granny just for money – it should give us pause. We might be considered to be nice on the surface, but when it comes to human nature, killing people is nothing new.
Killing with kindness? Is there truly such a concept? You mean the sweet, sugar-coated, warm and fuzzy – kind of kindness? With euphemisms galore. No thanks. I think I’ll wait, and keep my date with fate.
Think of it this way. If you go hiking in a strikingly beautiful, but unknown wilderness, you do not know what you will see when you round each bend. It could be another breathtaking scene, or it could be a grizzly bear or mountain lion. Does that mean you run over to the nearest cliff, and jump off?
Life is a God-given journey. One of the biggest challenges in navigating our life, in spite of our many foolish choices – is to make sure we don’t give up too soon. The other challenge is to know when our time has come, and accept it. Perhaps those two concepts represent the greatest polarities of our existence. Do or die? Dare we say “I do!”
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
I have come to the conclusion that respecting and protecting our own genealogy, is of utmost importance. Some families do so by creating a legacy of second and third generation farmers, business owners, academics, fishermen, etc. They become known for what they do for a living, and what they own as a result of what they do.
Some might coast on the coattails of what they inherited from their parents and grandparents. Some people work hard for what they acquire. Others work hard, and don’t become rich at all. The offspring of the rich, might not have to work much. But they may have other burdens to bear.
In many cases, the family history is carried through story telling, learning the language of our forefathers, and passing on traditional holiday, and food preparation traditions to future generations. We also learn a great deal by acknowledging the hardships and sacrifices made by our ancestors. Each country and culture passes their heritage on, from one generation to another. These are the things we cherish about a positive family history. Whether rich or poor, we all carry some of our family traditions. They tend to bring us comfort and security, even if we only got snippets of our past in a fractured family.
On a deeper level, each family has to recognize and build on their strengths, and find ways to overcome their weaknesses. We carry a great deal of history in our genes. Whether we view it as being genetic, nature versus nurture, or spiritual – it is pretty much a given.
A high percentage of the pain we are seeing in this world, is due to family of origin neglect and trauma. Bible believers know we can be afflicted with the sins of our fathers for many generations. It is evident in the number of people who are adopted at birth, yet they often still carry many of the traits, including behavioural traits of the biological parents.
There is probably no greater example in history than in the story of Moses. He was found in the river by Pharaoh’s daughter after his mother placed him in a basket, concealed by the grasses, in order to save him from being killed by the Egyptians. Even though he was actually adopted as a young child, and raised in a wealthy Egyptian court – he ended up denying and rejecting his adoptive mother.
His true lineage was in his blood, and in the established records of his birth parents and family history. He went back to his own people, or lineage – in order to free them from slavery, and the harsh conditions they were trapped in. He had an in-depth compassion, as opposed to an arrogance over his own people. Even though he was raised in a rich environment, and could have lorded it over his people, or simply lounged in the comforts surrounding him – he obeyed God, and honoured his family of origin.
The only way a family can overcome the negatives of the past, is to acknowledge, apologize, and forgive the past. It is crucial to then abandon the demons of the past, and stop repeating the same mistakes. If there is an honest attempt to do good, and abandon evil, we can overcome just about anything.
It seems it is within the family unit, where both the harm, and the healing begins. Perhaps the conflicts, differences, jealousies, and sins of our fathers, are the biggest challenges we face in life. If there was a lack of boundaries, or fairness, or if there was hard core abuse – it has to be dealt with. Eventually. Denial can only postpone things for so long. We do not have to live with festering wounds, if we stop rubbing salt in those wounds, and start the process of healing.
What is the overwhelming pain and trauma that drives so many people to severe addiction? In addition to sexual abuse as a child – neglect, abandonment and rejection are key contributors. Even for children born into affluent homes, if their emotions are not validated, and there are “elephants in the room” that cannot be talked about, it will damage them. If the child is not accepted for who they are – it will cause a great deal of emotional distress.
An oppressive environment is difficult to endure. There is shame associated with just existing, let alone falling into addiction, and becoming a “loser”. You are always shamed, blamed, and scapegoated, often for things you have no control over. Yes we all make choices in life. But sometimes those choices are based on trickery and traps. We do have to forgive ourselves too. For what is addiction – but a trap?
If we deny our history, we are basically throwing the baby out with the bath water. The water is indeed muddied. But just as Cain could not hide what he did when he killed his brother in a jealous rage, nor can we hide what we do to family members. God is well aware of these things.
The most important reason we must protect our genealogy, both good and bad – is because of who we are in the record of the Bible. Incredibly, God has kept a very detailed record of every single one of us. We belong to various different tribes in the historical lineage that spans thousands of years.
People are so enthralled with, and in fear of the mark of the beast, without even acknowledging that believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit long before there is even a mention of the mark of the beast. People accept one or the other. Even though there is much speculation about how the mark of the beast will be placed onto people, no one seems to discuss the seal of the Holy Spirit. Why would one be an implanted chip, or some kind of tattoo, and the other is what? How often have we heard theories about the seal of the Holy Spirit?
I think in all likelihood these marks are spiritual, and not physical. We are foolish to place more fear and emphasis on the mark of the beast, while ignoring the protection offered for those who believe in Christ.
On a spiritual level, all of history goes backward and forward. There is a telescoping of sorts. Therefore we need to know what lane we are in, and stay in our lane. Just as there is speculation about the mark of the beast, many want to know who exactly are the 144,000 as described in the Book of Revelation.
In my own interpretation, what the 144,000 illustrates, is that people from every era, and from every tribe and nation are chosen to represent their lineage. There are twelve tribes, and in my opinion, everyone who believes in Christ will belong to one of those tribes, depending on who begat who, in the recorded lineage and genealogy of humankind.
I know some religions believe the 144,000 represents an elite few, but if you read Revelation, you learn this is about all of humankind, from the beginning of time. No one will be discriminated against, because all of the tribes will have people who are chosen by God, and their offspring will not be forgotten.
The interpretation of the Book of Revelation is fascinating, perplexing, and full of mystery. I wondered about the four beasts around the throne of heaven. They are full of eyes, and see what was, what is, and what is to come.
Therefore, what was, what is, and what is to come – is about our ultimate destiny. We would be fools to ignore the fact that God sees what was, what is – and what is to come.
In summary, I believe all people need to come to terms with their own history, and where they are in the tree of life. If not, we risk being pulled out by the roots, and left to rot, or be used as kindling in the lake of fire.
Any attempt to rob us of who we are, is an attempt to destroy the soul. It is an attempt to pluck us out of our place in history, and remove us from our familial lineage, and God’s plan for our life. Few things are more evil in God’s eyes, than trying to steal the life and soul of any human being, let alone a child.
Anyone who attempts to tear us out by our roots, is making an evil effort to destroy our soul. Beware of the wolves in sheep’s clothing. Protect your ancestry so you can protect your offspring. Whether it is physical, cultural, emotional, or psychological, believe and seek the truth. We all have skeletons in our closets. But if we don’t overcome those demons from the past, they will most likely stay with us, and get worse by the day.
In my own life, a high school teacher, who was a member of a hyper-dispensational religious sect, began to obsess over me, and make claims he was adopting me. I was sixteen, and just months away from graduating from a small town school in Alberta. I did not have any protection from the guy. He colluded with my older brother, who was not able to handle a shred of sibling rivalry.
As a result, I spent years under the guise of the teacher’s adoption lies, and could not get rid of him, or the lies. They repeated the lies so often, the attachment became obligatory and entrenched, even though I had repeatedly said no. Leave me alone. They would not listen to me. They ganged up on me.
The consequences for “my choice” in finally closing/slamming the door on that teacher adoption con, brought about a litany of punishment and backlash. I had tried many times to tell him nicely to get lost. But over a period of many years, he was one stubborn blockhead.
It has been a very long and drawn out ordeal with the teacher, and I still cannot fathom why I have had to endure it, or fight so hard and long to get free of it. My brother exalted the teacher, and invited him to every single family function. He attached himself to me. Beware of push-in predators. They put the onus on you to “be nice”.
They disregard all cues that normal people would clue into. If they can get a foot in the door, they will push the door open and enter. Once they get in – eventually they will take over your house. I do not understand it, and probably never will.
Some people will push boundaries, and will keep pushing, as much as they can get away with. Once you have had to deal with such people, you don’t want to open your door, or your life to anyone. Such experiences change us to the core. I went from being an outgoing, talkative extrovert, to a recluse.
Thankfully I have adapted, and stay busy. I enjoy solitude, because it means no one is attacking me, scheming to set me up, or trying to take over and control my life. This way, no one can make constant demands. It is a relief to finally get free of it all. The teacher and his cult clan – can pound sand.
I now stand firm. There is no backing down. God gave me the resolve, and the words to explain it all. He sealed it on my forehead too. I will not bow down to a lying cult teacher. I am not under the rod of the schoolmaster.
I know where I came from, who my siblings and parents are and were, and where I grew up. I was raised by my parents on a farm with my siblings. I am and was, and will always be, the spitting image of our mother, not the predatory teacher. Our mother’s name was Joy. Our Swedish grandmother nicknamed me Little Joy, when I was a very small child. Why? Because I looked like our mother, and had many of the same traits. I am not ashamed of it either.
I will give my testimony about the past, and my parents, along with the proof I was never adopted. I was never up for adoption. What older brother thinks he can get away with giving his little sister up for adoption? This was orchestrated when I was on the verge of adulthood. The infatuated teacher was in his late twenties at the time. In hindsight, the whole thing is thoroughly disgusting.
I will not be ganged up on anymore, and dragged out of my own family history and genealogy. Forget it. Their plot has been foiled.
Truth is the best defence. Nothing will overcome the truth. The truth of who we are, was established in our genetic lineage, long before we were born. In fact, the Bible says we were planned for, chosen, and known to God, before he even created the earth.
If we do manage to overcome the demons from the past – we can face the future with much more confidence. We must hold fast to our genes and bloodlines. I have learned the hard way. You cannot live a life of lies about who you are.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Here we are – just as was prophesied long ago, at the end of this age, we are in perilous times. This is not a seven year tribulation based on dispensational theology. It is the real deal with an end in sight. We just don’t know when it will end. When it does reach the conclusion, there will be a very sudden and dramatic shift in the governance of this world.
We shrink back and shake our heads over all the mass shootings in the US, and yet we are experiencing gun violence in multiple communities throughout BC. This phenomena is not just in the areas of high crime and poverty, but can erupt anywhere. It’s not just the night time brawls, drunken rages, and senseless acts of violence after the bars close. We now face the prospect of shootings in broad daylight – in malls, parking lots, schools, banks, and other public places.
I was trying to imagine what must be going through the mind of a shooter, but it is almost impossible to fathom what brings a person to such a state. If it is a gang rival, it is part of the turf, and the people involved know they could be targeted.
If it is a simmering revenge killing, it removes us from the line of fire, if we have nothing to do with the plot or the problem. But even so – we are caught in the crossfire of fear in our minds.
One of the recent shootings targeted two women, the mother of the shooter’s child, and an ex girlfriend. Apparently there was an upcoming court date set for an assault alleging an attempted strangulation. Just taking the general information from what is reported in the news, in my opinion, the guy should have been in custody for such a serious assault. If he had been in custody until after the court date, the tragedy might have been averted.
From the perspective of female victims, it might have been safer for them to seek shelter away from each other in a secure building, as opposed to staying together in a house. It’s hard to believe that a man with such a violent record was roaming the streets, driving a vehicle, and carrying weapons. His final act of desperation was to take his own life, which may bring some relief, but it does not lessen the grief for those affected by such horrific homicidal rage.
Few things cause more danger to the public, than a person who has lost value for his or her own life. Some will internalize their depression and anger. Others will externalize it with violence, rage and blame – for they cannot see themselves inwardly. Therefore, the fire burning in them is one that is all consuming. It will spread its flames, and destroy whoever comes into their path.
The recent shootings in Langley, with a different motive to target the homeless, leaves us stunned at the senseless attacks upon vulnerable people.
We as a society are burdened with a judgemental attitude toward the poor and addicted. Yet if we are honest, we will admit, we stand on the precipice of the unforeseen, with the potential for catastrophic failure and loss as well.
If we set aside our vanity, and acknowledge the fragility of our existence, we will soon realize that we too, can be pounded into the dust of the earth, and cast out as dirt in the street.
None of us know when the ultimate calamity will strike. If there is a massive earthquake, we will all be destitute in a pile of rubble, wandering the streets in shock and dismay. Therefore we should never judge the poor, or those who are broken. We are only a hair’s breadth, or a heartbeat away from our own fate.
One of the central problems, is in the propensity for humans to seek superiority over others. If we have more wealth, more beauty, greater intellect, good jobs, stature, and financial backing – then surely we will be safe, or so we think.
Peril wears many disguises, and we fear violence, especially random acts of violence. We fear what we have no control over, and day by day, we realize how little control we do have.
The antidote to fear and anxiety is faith. We have come to a point where we have to live by faith, not blind faith, but faith in the gospel of Christ and what it teaches us. In the last days perilous times shall come. We can look up those verses and see exactly how it is described.
Deception is our greatest enemy. We cannot live by faith if we do not know or discern the truth. The media is rife with deception, and getting worse by the day. Many of the churches are steeped in false doctrine. If you listen to sermons on youtube, you will find nine out of ten are preaching false doctrine.
We are witnessing an unprecedented homeless crisis, but it is far greater than being without shelter. It is an exhibit of impoverished souls slipping in and out of existence, seeking escape where there is no hope. It is a roller coaster cycle for survival, with no rhyme or reason, where the only appointment is with death.
In a previous generation, people came to Canada and homesteaded the land. The conditions were rough, often with large families living in a one room cabin, or even a chicken coop. The difference is that people would still go out and chop wood, feed the chickens, milk the cows, or whatever needed to be done to stay warm and put food on the table.
Now, we have people in large numbers who cannot even work. They are ravaged by the damages done to their brains and central nervous systems by drugs. We see young people on the streets who show as much damage to the brain as stroke victims in long term care. Yet because they cannot care for themselves, and have no one to care for them, there is a loss of dignity. For those who have serious addictions – they need care. But how can faltering systems take care of so many people?
Violent people require intervention and monitoring. The majority of the addicted and mentally ill are not violent. No one is more vulnerable than those who are on the streets, because there are violent people among them. The meek have no protection against unbridled aggression.
The most obvious sign of a truly deranged and mentally ill person – is constant violent, and out of control rage. As a pattern of behaviour, they invent and fuel their own rage, and then look for someone to blame it on.
Anyone who is in a constant or frequent state of rage, especially when combined with violent outbursts, as in a loss of self-control, both physically and verbally – is a dangerous person. If they are disinhibited by drugs or alcohol, the situation is even more volatile.
It is one thing to be angry, and often anger is justified. But violence, or unlawful revenge is never justified. The purpose of anger is to make a grievance known through proper channels of communication. Anyone who threatens violence, or acts out, or screams and curses out of control, needs urgent treatment. More so, the community around them needs to be protected.
Mental illness education often revolves around depression and anxiety, but there should be a more efficient way of triaging the mentally ill, so those who are full of rage are prioritized for immediate intervention. It seems so many of those who commit such terrible crimes, show signs of impending and rampant violence well before the finale. Yet no one does a damn thing about it, until they go on a violent murderous rampage. There needs to be more focus on prevention in all aspects of health care, but none so important as with the mentally ill who are rumbling with rage, like a volcano ready to erupt.
It is interesting to note, the field of psychiatry was not defined as such until 1808, with the earliest practices beginning around 1850. Prior to that, those who treated the mentally ill, were called alienists, which is actually kind of comical. It does not mean they treated aliens, but rather refers to mental alienation.
Psychiatry itself has a rather sordid history. From its over zealous accusations as a psychological political weapon, to assaults on sane people during the fascist eras of Mussolini and Hitler, to the abuse and experimentation on all kinds of unsuspecting patients – it has no rival.
People have been subjected to aberrant torture, to include lobotomies, electric shock therapies, insulin shock, sleep deprivation, large doses of LSD, drug induced severe and intractable movement disorders, and many other debilitating atrocities, all under the guise of psychiatry.
In addition to the nefarious history behind the profession, the now infamous Arthur Sackler, a psychiatrist, created aggressive and deceptive marketing strategies for the pharmaceutical industry.
Prior to the upsurge of psychiatric diagnostics in the 1800’s, they just locked people into asylums, and went so far as to chain people to trees.
Later on they developed a propensity for straight jackets, which were used until the mid-seventies (1970’s). Even now, sometimes people have to be into a four point restraint. They use leather straps that are fastened to a stretcher.
Meanwhile more and more chemical restraints have been developed, and are now used to subdue violent and out of control people. Sometimes, the person is so out of control, they have to be intubated, and put into a drug induced coma for behaviour control. It is therefore very important for people to control their own behaviour, so someone does not have to do it for them.
Even in my own life, in seeking peace, and freedom from fear of violence, I did not find it through any counsellors or self-help books. The remedy for me was found in the Bible. Not only are we assured of God’s care, and adherence to truth. We are also assured there will be justice, especially for the poor and downtrodden. We are protected, our souls are upheld, and our fear is diminished.
We are entering a time where we must acknowledge God. We cannot live in pride and deception forever. We cannot face the future without anxiety and fear, if we do not trust God, for there is no other path to redemption.
The more polarized we become, the greater the us against them mentality becomes. The elite seem to think they deserve their wealth. They expect they will always be protected behind stone walls of conceit, high gates, and high tech security systems. Yet it can all be gone in an instant.
We tend to think in terms of our physical safety. Meanwhile we allow our souls to be ravaged and given over to the deceptive evils of this world. We tremble in fear at the thought of being cornered in an alleyway, or stairwell by some raging lunatic. Yet the daily anxiety and stress of it all, might eat away at us, until we are sick and hopeless, just worrying about what might happen.
We naturally want to protect ourselves and our loved ones against physical assault, especially getting shot, because it tends to be lethal. But we don’t always give the same level of protection and concern when it comes to safeguarding our soul – yet it is the most important aspect of our existence.
Our soul is our mind, will and emotions. Who should dominate over us? Who has the right to dominate the mind, will and emotions of another human being? No one does. It does not stop them from trying though – therefore we have to “be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” in order to recognize the more dangerous and destructive plots against our soul.
Be wary of the fact that violence can be translated into psychological, emotional and spiritual abuse, with a soul-destroying vengeance. The more clever these methods, the more they get away with, since they leave no physical marks. But according to the Bible, such assaults are far more deadly, and of much greater consequence for the perpetrators, than those who commit acts of physical violence.
Just think – if those who are prone to violence, and those who succumb to addiction, could have found a way to protect and nourish their souls, would we be in this predicament?
God gave us free will. He also gives us many chances to repent, to change our ways, to be humbled, and to seek a relationship with Him. He does not use force, coercion, deception, or control.
Some people question why God would allow so much evil to exist in this world. It is because we have free will, and people will lean to their own inclinations, and be easily deceived if they choose to ignore God.
The advice is to turn away from evil, vanity, deception and violence – and do good. We are not meant to quit and give up, but to keep working toward good. We are often warned not to be idle. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, it was from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Even though there is a great deal of evil, the good still exists.
Therefore, our mission in this life is to figure out what is good. We are to purge deception, and oppression. We are to cultivate and show kindness, mercy and compassion, especially for the poor.
There are few gifts greater than peace of mind. God assures us he has blessed us with a sound mind, so we have strength and confidence in that regard. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness and self-control. As we delve into the teaching in the Bible, and navigate the perils of the end times – we can do good and find peace.
God hears our prayers, and values our lives. If we trust in Him, we are adopted into the family of God, and no one can pluck us out of His hand. For this we can have much gratitude, because there is no possible way we can save ourselves.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Disclaimer: This article is a personal opinion. In no way do I condone any sort of vandalism, violence, or unlawful destruction of property regardless of what they stand for. I remember reading about the existence of the Georgia Guidestone “henge” years ago, and found it chilling. But I never delved into it until now, to see what it actually might have meant.
Since the erection of those gargantuan slabs of granite, with their list of ten commandments far removed from any Biblical source, they have drawn a dark curiosity, a degree of confusion, a wonderment at the sheer size, and an in-depth satanic query.
It’s not as if this concept of an American stonehenge has prehistoric or ancient origins. It was erected in 1980 in the middle of nowhere, by unknown people with messages written by unknown authors.
What is known according to the tvtraveler.com website: “In 1979, a man using the pseudonym of “Mr. Christian” hired Elberton Granite Finishing Company to build the monument. It was commissioned on behalf of a “small group of loyal Americans” who wanted to remain anonymous. The stone workers, bankers and other vendors were sworn to secrecy.”
In addition to the messages inscribed into the slabs, this structure was built with openings at the top designed to act as a calendar and sun dial.
Furthermore, they apparently buried a time capsule somewhere west of the monument, which has a ground marker of some sort. Who knows what that’s about? Perhaps now would be a good time for someone to check it out. Dig deeper…
The messages or commandments were written in eight different languages, English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian.
Going more into the language vortex surrounding this, and perhaps more meaningful overall – they also inscribed Babylonian cuneiform, Classical Greek, Sanskrit, and Egyptian hieroglyphics on the upper parts of these rocks. Wow – this ideology does in fact point back to Biblical times and the tower of Babel.
The definition of Babylonian cuneiform: “is Cradled by the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in what is today Iraq, the Sumerians of Mesopotamia established the earliest known society in which people could read and write. The script the Sumerians invented and handed down to the Semitic peoples who conquered Mesopotamia in later centuries is called cuneiform.Apr 13, 2022″
The tower of Babel goes back to Genesis 11: 1-9. During that time, the earth had one language. The people who had settled in Shinar, which is the southern region of Mesopotamia, decided to build a stone temple to reach to the heavens, and give it a name so they could worship it.
Therefore in unravelling some of the mystery around this, it does point back to the beginning of mankind, as well as to the beginning of language itself. In addition, it seems to be this man made rock formation was built in the linguistic shadow of the tower of Babel.
The goals or ten commandments listed on the slabs are as follows:
“1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
2. Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.
3. Unite humanity with a living new language.
4. Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason.
5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
8. Balance personal rights with social duties.
9. Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.
10. Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.”
Now doesn’t that all sound so nervy nirvana? Let’s dissect the beast. Since God represents good, and Satan represents evil – let’s look at the essential meaning of these words.
The first rule is the most shocking as it is directed at a massive population reduction. In 1980 the world population was around 4.5 billion. Today it is 7.75 billion. This plot was obviously not put into motion between 1980 and now. However, considering the amount of upheaval and death in the world, and catastrophic change, in just this past few years – maybe the plot is now in motion. The marauders and murderers behind such a scheme have an awful lot of work to do.
Does climate change align with the balance of nature? In some people’s minds, I am sure it does. However, the word perpetual means never ending or unchanging. Therefore a perpetual balance with nature seems like an oxymoron, because nature has always been know for its upheavals and change. The perpetual balance with nature is an arrogant affront to both nature and God – as well as the nature of God. As if these arrogant men believe they can tame and balance what God cannot. Are they ever in for a surprise.
The second rule to “guide reproduction, improving fitness and diversity wisely” immediately implies that individuals lose control over how, when and if they reproduce. Improving fitness and diversity seems to be a euphemism for eugenics, or perhaps trans humanism.
The third goal “to unite humanity with a living new language” seems very far-fetched. It is a sign of rebellion against God, going back to the tower of Babel. In my interpretation, this is in defiance of the fact God confounded the language and scattered them for building the tower of Babel. This is a reinvention of the same rebellious attitude. Using the term living as a description of the language, is a covert mockery and usurping of God’s word.
The fourth goal on the list to “rule passion, faith, and tradition with tempered reason” is a bit of a head scratcher. The use of the term “tempered reason” is quite scary. In other words, they plan to rule religion and faith with force. As we progress through the meanings of these ungodly rules, the overarching message is one of tyranny and use of force, even though it is all shrouded in euphemistic outlines.
The fifth “protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts”. Again the question is who rules, and who decides how to protect people with fair laws? Clearly this is a contradiction to rule number one. They must be inferring a post population reduction type of rule over the 500 million people still alive after they execute the devious scheme. Do they really believe they could kill off over 90% of the population, and then suddenly turn into fair and just rulers of a utopian world? Anyone who conjures up something like this, is not going to change its stripes, except on the surface to deceive people.
The sixth “let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.” Once again, it is all about a ruling elite making the decisions for the rest of the world.
The seventh “avoid petty laws and useless officials” just shows their arrogance. Who decides what is petty and useless?
The eighth “balance personal rights with social duties”. Once again, this must be a rule for the remaining population after they do the reduction. It sort of sounds like slavery.
The ninth “prize truth, beauty, love – seeking harmony with the infinite”. Again, it is a covert denial of the existence of God, attributing what is good to the “infinite” instead of to the creator and one true God.
The tenth wraps it up with “be not a cancer on the earth, leave room for nature, leave room for nature.” This final assault on the sanctity of human life calls most of us a cancer on the earth. Why would people not be considered to be part of nature? In God’s eyes, not only are we a part of nature, He told us we are to have dominion over the earth. Not to defile or pollute it, but to sow and reap, to work the land, to go forth and multiply.
Somehow these guys got it backwards in comparison to what God teaches. But what is really interesting, is how much those towers of destruction point back to Genesis, the tower of Babel, the great flood, and the beginning of languages.
From a conceptual framework spanning the history of mankind, there is a monumental significance.
Ultimately it represents a span of God’s timelines, perhaps showing how He will destroy this modern day takeover of the earth, and teach those who set up such atrocities a very important lesson. The words on those slabs over ride God’s word in every way. But they will not get away with any of it.
In reality, the dark side of humanity is in full force. However, the elitist and arrogant rulers are hanging on by a thread. It is like they are suspended over the abyss by their puppet master, with nothing but a slippery layer of soil to hold them up. When they fall, it will happen suddenly – and their outlook will change dramatically.
As it is with all of us, their fate too, could literally be minutes, hours or weeks away. Many are circling the drain into the abyss, without realizing when the game is over, they are done. Not just dead and gone done, but they actually do get to go to hell and back.
We are all appointed to die once, and then comes judgment. If people are afraid of dying a natural death, they are missing the point. The second death at the time of judgement is going to be the real downer – and a heated one at that. So they might as well enjoy their caviar and fine wines now, because they won’t get room service where they are headed.
There is no justification for any kind of sneaky acts of destruction from man. It’s too bad the granite towers didn’t fall in an earthquake, or other natural disaster. But nevertheless, the modern day tower of Babel is now a pile of rubble. Is that a bit of foreshadowing for the rich rulers of the world?
I think the most succinct response or summary of the ten commandments carved into those granite towers can be reduced to a half a dozen words. God is infinite – Satan is not.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
It’s an old adage, and perhaps one of the most sensible ones of all time. It applies to injury and fall prevention, as well as illnesses.
A few years ago, before covid came along, I was prone to allergies and colds. It was becoming pervasive and chronic. I did a fairly lengthy fast, which really helped the chronic allergies and colds.
After that, I gradually added foods to a regular diet that would help curb allergies as well as prevent colds. I had been using oil of oregano as a holistic type antibiotic, and then gradually learned more about essential oils, and increased the use of them to include aromatherapy, as hand sanitizers, and in oil pulling for the health of the mouth.
This spring I planted numerous culinary herbs, to include dill, basil, tarragon, mint, oregano, thyme, sage, chamomile, chives, and rosemary. I started using all of them on a daily basis in food preparation.
In addition to using whole foods, with as much locally grown produce as possible, and then adding the herbs to salads, eggs, soups, rice dishes, etc. it provides excellent robust flavours. Most of all, the herbs contribute nutritional benefits far beyond what most people realize.
Almost all herbs have a wide range of antimicrobial properties, to include protection against harmful bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Essential oils are distilled from plants and herbs and pack a powerful range of health benefits. The use of essential oils goes back to Biblical times.
For the longest time, conventional medicine did not give much credence to the use of essential oils and herbal nutrients, as having antimicrobial properties. But now with increasing amounts of research being done, we know that by adding these to our diets, we get nutritional benefits combined with preventative health benefits.
I know many health conscious people swear by supplements, in particular adding vitamin D supplements to the daily routine. I am fair skinned, and try to get outside on a regular basis, so I don’t add any supplements anymore. The main reason I do not add vitamin D is because it is a fat soluble vitamin, and is present in many foods. We only need small amounts, and too much can wreak havoc in our systems.
Foods high in vitamin D – mushrooms, fish, pork, eggs, yogurt, milk, and many others.
The drawback for some people when it comes to using an abundance of fresh herbs, is that they take time to grow (watering and a sunny location). But more so, they add time to food preparation. It is a small price to pay for the benefits they bring.
In addition to the fresh green herbs, garlic and fresh ginger root will also add health benefits and flavours to foods, smoothies, and home made dishes. I saw on a gardening show how to plant ginger root, and get an abundance of fresh ginger. I have not tried growing ginger yet, since you can buy a large piece of ginger root that lasts two or three weeks.
Although my own experimentation is anecdotal, I can honestly say I have not had so much as a hint of a cold in the past two and a half years. Not to say I have perfect health, but it is enough to encourage and promote it as a prophylactic or preventative contribution to self care.
Although I have been reading about the waves, surges, ICU admissions, deaths, and covid precipice we are supposedly on – I must be one lucky person. Kind of like a four leaf clover in the field of non existent covid free data.
I am so relieved, because the last thing I would want to do, is place additional stress on an over-burdened health care system.
My heart goes out to all the working nurses. It is a difficult job at the best of times. This past couple of years has taken away the best of times. If it continues, it makes the difficult jobs – next to impossible. I would rather stay home and eat leaves (and clover)!
For anyone embarking on an E-Commerce store, shipping is one of the biggest challenges. Each country potentially has covid delays, and/or limits to what you can send to certain locations.
For example India restricts jewelery and textiles. I sent a pair of Chanel sunglasses to India via Canada Post without a problem. However, when I looked up what is restricted, I noticed they have more limitations on what you can send there, compared to Europe or Australia.
In other cases, with Canada Post shipments to Australia, Tasmania, and France, the order did get to the customer eventually, but in a couple of cases, it took a very long time, like two months or more.
Recently I sent a brooch to Hong Kong. Three months later, without any prior notification of a problem with the delivery, I got a parcel pick up notice from Canada Post in the mail. I was perplexed, because I had not ordered anything.
On the same day, I got a message from the customer saying she was still waiting, and the tracking number indicated it was still in Canada. So I knew what the parcel was. It actually did go to Hong Kong, and then was returned with a tick box “insufficient address”.
Canada Post did not offer a refund on the shipping, which was around $50.00. I contacted the customer to clarify the address. It was correct. So I contacted some other shippers.
There is a significant cost difference between UPS and Canada Post. For the most part I have used Canada Post without a problem. I have learned, they are most reliable when sending within North America.
In the case of sending the pin to Hong Kong, using the same address, it cost over $100.00 to send it UPS. But they managed to get it there in just a few days, which was a huge relief. What I don’t understand is why it got there okay using the same address as when I sent it via Canada Post.
Thankfully the customer was patient, and she let me know this morning, it finally arrived in good condition.
The lesson learned is for International orders, UPS is more expensive, but much quicker and far more reliable. In addition, if the item is flagged for some reason regarding customs, or the address is questionable, UPS will notify you before it even gets out of the country. They will also give a refund, minus a handling charge, if they cannot deliver it.
In another case, a customer returned a dress from the US that did not fit her. When I went to pick it up, Canada Post charged over $50.00 in customs fees. I told them its origin was Canada, and it was a returned item. But it made no difference.
When I picked up the brooch from Canada Post after its long journey to Hong Kong and back, thankfully they did not charge me an additional $50.00 customs fee, on top of the non-refundable shipping charge.
UPS uses their own planes, and a single tracking number – therefore the shipment is more streamlined, less likely to get lost, etc. They also communicate the status of the order quite often, which can be shared with the customer.
In summary, I will still use Canada Post for North American orders. But for International orders, I will take the items to UPS for delivery. Eight or nine weeks is far too long for the customer to wait for something they have already bought and paid for.
In the case of the Hong Kong order, Canada Post might have been cheaper, but they did not get it there, and they gave no refund. If you send them a support ticket, you “might” hear back two or three weeks later.
It took three months to send it to Hong Kong and back. During that entire time frame, I did not hear a word from Canada Post, and assumed the order got there okay. After retrieving it and walking over to UPS, to my surprise, it got there within a matter of days. It is a huge difference when it comes to efficiency, reliability, confirmation, and peace of mind.
The item was sent UPS on Friday June 24th, with an expected delivery date June 27th. I was skeptical, after the three month ordeal with Canada Post.
But sure enough – they delivered it just as they said they would. What a relief. It was a lovely Schreiner sunflower brooch that finally reached its destination!
We seem to be going through a time of great controversy over what is reported in the news, versus what is actually going on. Can we trust the news? In Canada, it is pretty much state owned, so we also have to ask if we trust the government.
Governments are made up of large numbers of people, and like all professions, there is a mix of good and bad among them. But, like big corporations, the leaders of those organizations create the agendas, set the policies, create the rules, develop the culture, share their values, or lack of values, and are driven by a galaxy of crossed motives. Some of it we see, but most of it we can only surmise. Although most are driven by profit, total power and control is the real goal. Greed is a type of addiction, like trying to fill the void of a bottomless pit.
Power and control on the other hand, involves stealth, planning, double-crossing, abusing power to gain an advantage, collusion with like minded people, conglomerates, king pins, fast talkers, and street smart wolves. Are they at peace though?
You see – money by itself is never enough. When couples go through acrimonious divorces centred on money, what is really at the core of the conflicts? Power.
Power is more seductive than money, because power is what drives the ego of greed and idolatry. Power shows you have wealth, influence, high intellect, clout, or whatever you want to call it. It is the protection and projection of pride and ego. The quest for ultimate power burns up a great deal of energy. It is a waste of energy, because true leadership comes from harmony and cooperation, not sheer force of one will against another.
So we could safely say we are facing a crisis in leadership. If the laws, ethics and mainstream journalism are bent on manipulating public perception based on deception and ulterior motives, it shows. They cannot hide it because the systems are too complex to be laden with falsehoods without collapsing.
Our foundation has to be based on truth, or it crumbles. The systems cannot function if they do not follow orderly principles, including ethics. Truth stays constant, but lies need more and more layers to keep the lies afloat. The increasing levels of complexity are meant to befuddle and distract us. But since things are interconnected, the lies or lawlessness has to transfer from one system to another seamlessly in order to be believed. They don’t, therefore more and more people see through the deception.
To be fair, the rich should not face broad generalizations about their characters, just as poor people should not be judged, or called losers. Not every wealthy person is a scoundrel. But if wealth is acquired through deception and exploitation, it creates one crisis after another, along with a great deal of conflict.
It used to be the news, and the government had some degree of ethics and credibility. They cared about public perception enough to present themselves as honest and ethical, with a few exceptions that the public could tolerate. But now, they have so much power and control, they don’t seem to care what the public thinks. In fact they simply want to punish people for thinking “wrong” about what they are trying to pass off as news.
There is an angle for managing public perception through the use of polls. But polls are easily biased, ask questions to get a specific response, and will provide rewards to get a desired response. So are they the least bit accurate when it comes to widespread public opinion?
News has always been based on sensationalism, but the health care and health scare tactics are now taken to the extreme. If we are covid deniers – it is like denying some kind of deity. Personally, after reading volumes of news on the subject, I hardly believe any of it.
At first I did believe there might be a nasty strain of flu or respiratory virus. I worked in health care, and knew there were cycles, and every few years a particular virulent strain would emerge. I was well aware that many of the elderly would die if they caught a nasty virus. I also knew throughout the time I worked as an RN, that it was very difficult, if not impossible to isolate or treat a specific virus. Therefore treatment was usually based on symptoms.
As I have followed the news, I am still not convinced there is an accurate diagnostic test for covid, and seriously wonder if it ever has been officially isolated and identified. Since covid seems to have every symptom in the book now, much of it comes across as hyperbole and bias. A respiratory infection caused by a virus in the same family of viruses as the common cold, somehow morphed into a pervasive disease. Like the virus that ate the world. It just doesn’t seem the least bit logical from a medical perspective. Nor does it seem truthful based on observing the world around us.
Now every sniffle, and even asymptomatic people who are perfectly healthy, are diagnosed with covid. Meanwhile, people are dying while waiting for emergency services, or any kind of health care service. Covid matters, but nothing else does. Hmmm. But why?
How many people ever recall a pandemic going on for more than four or five months? We don’t have to be epidemiologists, virologists or experts to doubt the logistics of what they are telling us. They shame us for not believing it, yet we would be fools not to question it by now.
I don’t recall a time when there was so much censorship, and refusal to have open debates about our views. Instead alternative views are called unacceptable, or misinformation, or against community guidelines. The other day I posted a comment on FB about the travel restrictions and mandates in Canada that read: But how can we trust the government when they change the rules every second day? FaceBook banned the comment, and sent me a warning that they would remove my account. Not that I really care. But still. Was it an outrageous comment given the circumstances?
People have on average sixty to eighty thousand thoughts per day. We cannot be thought reformed, even if we do comply with orders. If they make no sense, people are going to think about it, and then talk about it.
Naively, I used to think the moderators on various publishing platforms were sincere about screening out hateful language, name calling stereotyping to the point of bigotry, and of course any threats made. However, they too are showing extreme political bias.
There are so many things that do not make sense out of the entire covid narrative – yet we are continually steered to believe all of it. If we don’t believe it we are labelled as anti-vaxxers, anti science, anti-government, far right extremists, etc.
Oddly enough, I don’t consider myself to be extreme right or extreme left. I think the least corrupt government is the best option, since we need a balance of capitalism and socialism to meet societal needs. I consider myself to be centrist.
I do not understand why all opposition is called far right extremism. Don’t they know when there is a mentality of “us against them” or extreme polarization – there has to be two poles? Therefore they too are extremist in their views. Much more so than those they are accusing of being extremists.
Just based on observation, the extreme left seems to exhibit more violent crime, and unlawful extremism during protests. By extremism, I mean criminal conduct such as vandalism, church burnings, and wild stunts to protest climate change, logging, pipelines, etc.
Although violence is not limited to a left or right political viewpoint, there seems to be escalating levels of anger in general. In my opinion, anger is generally based on fear and betrayal. The feeling or emotion of anger may be justified, but violence is never justified. So how are people supposed to make a grievance known? Words. Debates. Logic. Established laws. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding do not come from corrupt leaders – yet we desperately need help and hope, if not for ourselves, for our children and grandchildren’s sake.
In my opinion it is very important to maintain control over what goes into our bodies, especially when it comes to an injectable medicine. Informed consent must be clung to with a fervour, not a fever. Clearly we each have unique genetics, and immune responses, based on a myriad of factors. Again, there should not be stereotypical generalizations when it comes to personal medical choices.
So how do people deal with the anger and polarizations we are faced with today? Is it possible to just go along with it all, without developing an opinion? How can we not formulate an opinion based on what we have seen unfolding during the past two or three years?
The corruption is so extensive, the people in power no longer care about exposure. They know that if it goes against the narrative, it won’t get far. They know there is no justice for those who are poor, weak, or even average.
One of the saddest things to hear over this past weekend, is news of a three hour wait for those who call an ambulance. Day by day, we are witnessing a collapse of the systems. Three hours is a long time to do CPR. It means if a person is bleeding, they will bleed out before they get help.
It’s quite traumatic to watch people die, especially if you feel helpless, or do not know what to do. Every minute waiting and hoping for help to arrive, seems like an eternity. It looks like it is time to promote first aid courses in every community.
The world has tipped over. The systems no longer serve the public. We are being hammered on a daily basis about health, vaccines, failing health, covid, variants, monkeypox – and yet the system can no longer handle the basics.
All we can hope for is that our loved ones do not get injured. Be careful! And for ourselves, self care, and hope that by the grace of God, we don’t fall into the jaws of a chaotic and broken system.
More pharmaceuticals are most certainly not the solution. I think it is best to take the news with a grain of salt, and realize most of it is now integrated with a massive pharmaceutical marketing campaign.
We should not be ashamed of using our minds, or voicing an opinion on behalf of public interests. However, the fact it gives us trepidation, is another sad reality and symptom of the times. It’s like we have been immersed in a B grade science fiction plot – and are not allowed to critique it.
In response to an article in the National Post about systemic racism, I wrote the following response, and it was rejected too. Here it is:
“Never mind the exclusive focus on race and gender. Target the bullies, the abusers, the lawless exploitations, especially of minors. Go after the criminals. Stop the corruption, scheming, and dominance over others based on power, control and raw greed. Make rich people accountable when they harm others. Make the big corporations, especially BigPharma move to arm’s length with the governments. Treat all people with dignity. Skin colour has nothing to do with our moral compass. Stop the stereotyping, so you can open your eyes to what is actually out there causing societal harm.”
If it was a movie plot, instead of reality – what genre is it in? Who are the heroes, and who are the villains? What is the theme, and all the motifs surrounding the plot? What are the sub-plots? Who are the leaders on the polarized spectrums? What is their true agenda? And most of all – how does it end?
Tall tales have short legs, and cannot run very fast. In the end – truth will beat the bad guys!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
From Dante’s Inferno, to the notion of having relatives pay and pray your way out of Purgatory in the Catholic tradition, we all develop images of what hell might be like. We have a macabre curiosity, but we certainly don’t want to go there for real.
Even among Christians, hell carries many different belief systems. The fire and brimstone preachers use thundering descriptions of eternal torment, claiming non believers will suffer in the flames of their iniquity for all eternity, with no relief in sight. This instills fear, which is not the message of the true gospel.
Others believe all people will be saved, or that there will be chances for repentance and redemption after death. Some believe in an immortal soul for all people, regardless of what their beliefs are. Some people believe Christians will be raptured before the going gets tough. There are those who believe you cannot lose your salvation, while others preach it is critical to guard it like a treasure that can be snatched away at any moment. In fact, there are so many belief systems among Christians – the world barely knows what Christianity means anymore.
Honestly, unless you read and interpret the Bible for yourself, you will not learn or discern the truth based on what man says about it. There are so many off-base interpretations, and so many false teachings, it’s enough to make your head spin.
Some of the signs of false teachers, or at least things that should trigger a warning flag for us: the profit motive. Beware of those who are pitching fifty books, and travel the world with an entourage spending millions, and requesting donations to support their lavish lifestyles.
Beware of those who use fear to control. Question all things. Look it up. For example the word “rapture” is something many Christians believe in, yet it does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Why would any Christian believe something that is not even in the Bible? The Bible tells us the dead will rise first when Christ returns, followed by those who are still alive.
The rapture theory is based on the false teaching of dispensationalism. Hollywood movies, novels, and countless churches support this fanciful doctrine. If the term rapture refers to an early rescue of Christians so they do not have to face the dreaded seven year tribulation, then why would the Bible tell us the dead in Christ rise first?
The dead do not need to be rescued. They are already dead. To me, this is making it very clear. We can look forward to Christ’s return at the end of the age, on the last day, with earth shattering certainty. It is not going to be a secret by any stretch of the imagination.
There is no secret rapture of the church, other than in the secret chambers of the John Darby and C.I. Scofield cult doctrines. In fact, the entire belief system of dispensationalism is based on false doctrine, and is designed to destroy our faith, not bolster it.
When I was indoctrinated with dispensationalism, not realizing it was false, I felt nothing but dread. Only after reading the Book of Revelation myself, did I realize how false and destructive dispensationalism is. It is most certainly not the only falsehood in the Darby version of the Bible. But it is the thing most sensationalized. The idea was presented to Darby after a young girl claimed to have levitated during a seance. So, should we even be using the term at all?
The most difficult to discern, is when there is a mixture of truth and falsehood, as tends to happen with cults. Be wary of those who lie, or try to force you to believe something. If they lie about one thing, they will lie about anything. If they try to force you into ANY relationship, they are coercive liars with an agenda.
God has gifted us with a sound mind. We ought to use it. He assures us of the right to free will, and freedom of choice. God does not force us into a relationship with Him, or into any belief system. He guides us and warns us – but people can choose to accept or reject God. If people can choose to accept or reject a relationship with God, then surely no man should be able to force us into a relationship against our will. Why would any person even think they can over rule our God-given rights?
Seriously, especially question any person who uses an altered version of the Bible. Anyone who claims some guru is correct for changing, adding to, or taking away, even one word of the Bible – is an arrogant deceiver. If anyone is going to suffer eternal torment, it is the false teachers and false prophets. They will be judged more harshly, because they deceive and lead many astray.
There are different terms for hell used throughout the Bible. In the apocalypse of the four horsemen, Hades follows on the back of the pale horse, behind the rider. The pale horse represents death, with Hades being quick to follow death. Hades is synonymous with Sheol, or the resting place of departed souls. It is described as being in a location underneath the earth.
Hades has a definition in relation to the gods of the Greek underworld, as well as a Biblical based definition translated from the word Sheol. From the Encyclopedia it is defined as such:
“Hades, in the Greek Old Testament, translation of the HebrewSheol, the dwelling place of the dead. ”
Therefore, we can interpret the meaning of Hades on the back of the pale horse. It indicates where people go after death. It also tells us that two of the words commonly used in describing hell – are synonyms, and do not describe a fiery place of eternal torment. Hades and hell are quite different in definition and meaning.
Years ago, I recall reading a description of Hades as being like a darkened root cellar. That was an eye-opener sort of thing to read, opposite of the typical vision of hell. But it might be more accurate than we tend to think. Imagine getting sentenced to a thousand years in prison. It is a long time to await a death sentence.
In the end, there is a fiery lake of hell, or second death, according to my own interpretation of the Bible. In my opinion, Hades and Sheol are the holding place for those awaiting judgement. It is a type of root cellar for the souls of the dead.
Personally, I don’t believe people get tortured for all eternity in a lake of fire. Considering all the warnings about the second death, I don’t know why it would be called a second death, if it was eternal torment. It is a complete contradiction.
Whether or not people can be saved after death, when the judgment day arrives, is not clear to me. Some adamantly say no way, but the Bible does say the books will be opened, and anyone who is not written in the Lamb’s book of life will be thrown in the fire. It does not say whether or not all of those who were in Hades for a thousand years, will be thrown into the lake of fire. In fact there are verses that support the concept of salvation for souls in Hades. Maybe a thousand years will change some minds, and give people another chance. The Bible does say we are appointed to die, and then comes judgment. But the full outcome of the judgement is not clear, because each will be judged according to their deeds.
Some people believe that those who accept Christ, will go straight to heaven when they die. Others believe we go to a place of rest that is more comfortable than the Sheol beneath the earth. Some believe the spirit and soul are separate, and others believe they are joined. Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions. The spirit of life comes from God, and the Holy Spirit is within us, to help us, and to comfort us in times of trouble.
I believe our spirit and soul remain joined together when we die, and leaves our physical body to go to a destination somewhere in the cosmos. I don’t believe Christians go to a place beneath the earth. Some Christians say there is not enough space in Abraham’s bosom. But I think the description of Abraham’s bosom is metaphorical, and means a place of comfort.
Therefore, if we know Christ, we will be taken to a temporary place of rest. Some people believe the soul sleeps, while others call soul sleep false doctrine. Some say Hades is where all dead people resided until the New Testament time. I do believe many were led out of Hades by Christ himself, and after his death, Christians no longer go to Hades.
It is an intriguing subject for sure. We live by faith, so we cannot give any proof, other than what is in the Bible. It seems to me, there is a waiting place for both believers and unbelievers, but they are in different locations. Although it is a place of rest, there are many indicators that people can and do wake up. Other verses say there will be little knowledge of the amount of time that has passed.
There is a time of waiting for the return of Christ after we die, at which time there is a resurrection of believers. It says the dead in Christ rise first, followed by the believers who are still alive when Christ returns. The Bible says the rest of the dead do not live again for a thousand years.
After a thousand years comes Judgement day, and those in Hades or Sheol are brought to life again to face judgment.
The second death is after the final judgement, when the condemned are thrown into the lake of fire to perish. I know there are verses about eternal torment, and an unquenchable fire. However, I do not believe those descriptions are referring to the fate of people.
Regardless, the punishment for the unrepentant is monumental. If we are honest with ourselves about how much we have done wrong in our lives, how foolish we have been – it is truly humbling. I count myself as one of the worst, in many ways.
We can only keep seeking the truth, knowing we have often been deceived throughout our lives. Truth is very important. If we do not seek truth with all sincerity, our hearts will be hardened. We cannot know truth, nor can we have the knowledge of God, if we do not seek truth with all our mind and heart.
If we are honest, we know we are here by the grace of God. We live by faith. Love cannot exist without truth. Yet we are steeped in deception, to the boggling of our minds. We most certainly cannot figure it all out on our own. We need God more than ever before, and we can only hope and pray the false teaching, and all worldly deception – will become as chaff in the wind.
Lies are very destructive. They are clearly among the things God hates the most, and they tend to get worse as time goes on. A lie repeated over and over again, will likely grow, and damage far more people than it did to begin with.
Lies about other people, also tops the list of things God hates the most. So many pious Christians believe in eternal hellfire for a host of other sins, without realizing that pride and lying top the list of the damned.
A refusal to let go of lies is downright dangerous. We may get punished for telling the truth while here on earth, by those who do not want their misdeeds exposed, but it is nothing compared to what will happen if we embrace lies instead of the truth when Judgement day arrives. It means we must apply ourselves fully to the sanctity of truth before we die.
Meanwhile if we can reject lies, we can also hope to have God’s love written on the tablets of our hearts, sealed in our mind, and governing our actions from here on in. We are supposed to repent, to love one another, and do good.
Therefore the good will never be stamped out completely. And as promised, death and Hades shall be overcome at last – when Christ returns. Then all the chaos and deception will be removed, and things will be restored to order. Best of all – there will be no more lies or violence on this earth.
If you look up the treatment options for autoimmune disorders, most involve medication. The top search result gave the following list of current treatments:
“anti-inflammatory drugs – to reduce inflammation and pain
corticosteroids – to reduce inflammation. They are sometimes used to treat an acute flare of symptoms
pain-killing medication – such as paracetamol and codeine
immunosuppressant drugs – to inhibit the activity of the immune system
physical therapy – to encourage mobility
treatment for the deficiency – for example, insulin injections in the case of diabetes
surgery – for example, to treat bowel blockage in the case of Crohn’s disease
high dose immunosuppression – the use of immune system suppressing drugs (in the doses needed to treat cancer or to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs) have been tried recently, with promising results. Particularly when intervention is early, the chance of a cure with some of these conditions seems possible.”
When you consider autoimmune disorders are chronic – how can people be expected to take steroids and opiates for years? Those drugs are meant for short term pain, and the artificial reduction of inflammation. It is not wise to take them for prolonged periods.
It seems odd that a list of treatments would not include more about managing diet, stress, and identifying aggravating factors. The problem with the list of drugs offered, is in the long term, they do far more harm to the system than good.
Rather than compounding and exacerbating the chronic health problems with long term steroids, opiates, and immunosuppressant drugs, why not search for the cause? There is no single cause, therefore it makes things more complicated. It’s not like breaking a bone. In that case, you know how and why it happened. But with autoimmune disorders, the cause is shrouded in mystery.
Three quarters of the people who develop autoimmune disorders are women. Therefore the root cause might be partially hormonal. It could also be related to the roles of women, and the suppression of stress, or oppression in general.
If our body begins to attack itself, what might it be telling us? Cognitive dissonance, deceptions, discord, stress, contradictions, self-sacrifice, betrayals, conflicts, hypocrisy, spiritual beliefs, and past trauma – all might contribute to the reasons our body will start to attack itself.
Our soul resides within us, and consists of our mind, will and emotions. If we have a huge struggle exercising our will, we will eventually get sick. Why? Because there is a constant inner conflict. There is a suppression of truth. We might want to face reality, but when we do, we are struck down and stifled. Our will does not coincide with the outside forces.
We were given a sound mind to help us discern truth. Our emotions signal distress, anger, peace and joy. If we are getting constant distress signals, we have no choice but to internalize them.
It is possible women are more prone to autoimmune disease, because women are more likely to internalize anger, as opposed to externalizing it. We are conditioned to be nice. It’s not feminine to fight.
It’s a bit of a conundrum. No one wants to be a raging hag, full of anger and complaints. Yet, if we stifle anger for twenty or thirty years, are we better off?
In the process of changing our ways, we need to learn how to manage anger, and how to effectively assert ourselves. When up against brute force, it takes a great deal of courage. For those of us who have had to deal with coercive control and deception about our own lives, it is a snare designed to keep us trapped. There is no easy way out.
There is a place within us for healing, and forgiveness. As we find ways to navigate relationships and the stressors of life, we can begin to sync up the internal with the external elements of our lives.
There is no quick fix for autoimmune disorders. I remember when I was told by an eye specialist to put prednisone drops in my eye every thirty minutes round the clock. It was not very helpful, and came with a host of serious side effects. So I opted out of the steroid route long ago. The same thing with opiates. If you take them, it is a slippery slope, as most of us know.
Every autoimmune disease has some of its roots in stress, and dissonance within. Therefore, all therapies should have some direction with regards to stress management, meditation, and healing therapies.
It helps to look toward non-medicinal healing such as aromatherapy, hydrotherapy, meditation, walking, saunas, swimming, music and dietary factors. We need to find ways to rest our soul, in order to find inner peace.
The biggest contributors to autoimmune disorders in my opinion: Stress, lack of sleep, chronic anxiety and cognitive dissonance, alcohol, inflammatory diet, and fear. Of course the contributing factors vary widely from person to person, and likely involve a myriad of genetic and hormonal factors as well.
I do believe conventional medicine is a bust when it comes to their list of treatments. Short term relief with medication might reduce the acuity, but it will not cure or even minimize the problem.
As time goes on, I am less and less impressed with pharmaceuticals. They are promoted and advertised as the be all, and end all for every disease, but they are little more than a band-aid solution, and often cause more harm than good.
One thing I know for sure – is that I would never get hired to be a drug rep! To those who swear by certain medications, by all means, take them if you get relief, or believe it is the best approach. When it comes to autoimmune disease, I am only speaking from my own experiences.
Even for those who do take a list of medications – the mind, will and emotions are still very important to our overall well-being.
Stress management, and adopting a model of inner truth that can be externalized without punishment or conflict – might help more than you ever thought it could. We have to navigate our lives based on a complex array of stimuli, both external and internal. Finding out how to integrate the two is the tricky part.
When it comes to cancer, I know it might be a controversial opinion – but I seriously believe it belongs in the camp of autoimmune disorders as well. When you think about it, the body is betraying and attacking itself for unknown reasons. It has many similarities.
Perhaps the most important thing to hope for – is inner peace for all. It settles us down in more ways than one.
Fashion is a wonderful way to look at history. It embodies the mindset and artistic expressions of the various different eras. It occurs to me as I learn more, that the 20th century represents a span of artists and designers that may never be replicated.
In the early 1900’s women transitioned away from wearing the hooped caged underskirts, which made the skirt of their dress so wide, they could hardly sit on a chair. They abandoned the restrictive clothing, and opted for the flamboyant flapper era, within a span of a few years.
In today’s world you don’t often see people wearing corsets, unless it is in a burlesque or bondage show. But prior to the flapper era, the idea was to make a very exaggerated hour glass figure, with a tiny waist, often tightened to as small as twenty-two inches.
It was not uncommon for women to faint, therefore they carried smelling salts to revive themselves. What we will do for fashion. We probably all have recollections of wearing high heels to the point of agony.
So in the early 1900’s, not only did women have to wear wide hooped skirts, but corsets as well. When you compare it to today’s Lululemon attire, it is quite the distance we have travelled. Keep in mind, the women of the early 20th century, often had ten or twelve children, and few modern appliances.
The first world war contributed to dramatic changes in fashion. Women had to stay home and look after the farms, businesses, and homes. There was a bolstering of confidence. The suffrage movements were well known and widespread. The twenties styles were creative, bold and rebellious. They veered away from the hourglass look and wore straight dresses without any emphasis on the bust, waist or hips.
There was a brief period of time in the twenties when hobble skirts were the rage. They were long pencil skirts, almost ankle length, and very narrow at the bottom, with no back slit. It meant you had to walk like your ankles were tied together, taking very tiny steps. Some designs are just plain dumb.
From the 1930’s – 1950’s there was a certain daytime practicality. But even so, women wore gloves, hats, and developed a keen eye for matching what they wore. It was a time of Hollywood glamour, and war time escapism. The fifties brought about a revival of the hourglass figure and pin-up girls. They called it the “New Look” but it was really just a shorter revamped version of the turn of the century fashions.
Similar to the 1920’s, the sixties rumbled with unrest and civil disobedience. This also brought about a fashion revolution. The hourglass went out, the hemlines went up, and free love was ushered in. High class came in the form of beehive hair dos, white lipstick, black kohl eyeliner, and dresses so short you could not shrug your shoulders. We went from wearing silk stockings with a line up the back that you had to get straight on your legs before leaving the house, to the allure of fish net stockings.
The seventies carried the sixties cast offs to represent the cool, the hippie, and the bohemian. Women wore bell bottoms so long, and wide – that the bottoms frayed into a denim fringe. You could do a face plant, tripping over your jeans, just trying to cross the street.
It was still a time of fashion extremes, with maxi coats worn over mini skirts. But the beehive hair gave way to long, straight hair, parted in the middle. It was an au natural time, where the make up got toned down, and we grew bean sprouts under the sink.
The eighties emerged with even more extremes. Shoulder pads rivalled those worn by the Dallas Cowboys. Once again, the hair got big. Only instead of piled up beehives, it was backcombed and teased into tresses that no other decade would even attempt to pull off.
Materialism leads us to a place of easy boredom. Throw out the old, and bring in the new, is thought to be a progressive way of thinking. But is it? Maybe it was at one time – but cannot be sustained. Or maybe we should never have been so frivolous in the first place.
Now we face restrictions in supply chains, higher labour costs, fewer resources, mass production with poor quality control, and diminishing food security. People have more concerns than trying to be fashionable. The heyday could very well be behind us, until the time of the next millennium.
The earth has come to a point where the mass production is hitting the wall. In fact it has ebbed and flowed so much over the years, we are like chickens watching a game of ping pong.
Capturing and examining some of the 20th century designs, gives us a broader scope of culture and knowledge. There is so much to be learned from the designs of the past. Everything from textiles, to sewing techniques – to the identification of coloured gemstones, hallmarks, etc. Each has a story to tell.
The move into the 21st century brought increasing concerns about climate change, fossil fuels, natural disasters, pestilence and disease. The 20th century began January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000. It really does represent a time span of prosperity and change.
From the perspective of change, regarding the roles of women – we are still hooped, and hobbled in some ways.
But instead of wearing the hoops, we have learned to jump through them – high heels and all!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
For many years I embraced this concept, and was part of the pedometer sales pitch when the whole thing started. I was doing wellness promotion and teaching, so it all seemed like a good idea.
For many people, it is a realistic goal, because 10,000 steps is about five miles. On average, people take 15-20 minutes to walk a mile. Of course younger people who do not have any hip, knee or weight problems will walk the 15 minute mile, and the older we get the slower we get. But fitness varies widely among all age groups, so these observations are generalizations.
If we average 20 minutes a mile, it means walking 100 minutes per day, or an hour and forty minutes. At 15 minutes per mile, you would be walking 75 minutes a day, or an hour and fifteen minutes.
It helps to walk as much as possible to run errands, so you get some purposeful walking time. I think 10,000 steps a day might be reasonable for some people, but I don’t think it is easy or necessary to try and fit it into every day of the week.
One thing to keep in mind about driving to the location you prefer to walk, means you will be adding the driving and parking time to the daily routine. When I was living on Haida Gwaii, I walked the loop around Spirit Lake Trail in Skidegate at least five times a week. Those are probably some of the walks I cherish most. But the drive too and from the trail took an extra twenty to thirty minutes a day.
Crescent Beach, White Rock Beach, Kits Beach, Jericho Beach, Vedder River and Rotary Trails – Oh yes, those are great walking locations too. When you find the off-beaten paths around and through community gardens, marinas, the piers, rivers, beaches, and laneways, you almost feel like you belong there. So far, I would rate my favourite walks as Spirit Lake Trail and Kits Beach.
As far as distance, It might work better to aim for the five miles four times a week, and then whatever you fit in on the other days is a bonus. It might lower your daily average, but also gives you a break.
If you walk five miles a day seven days a week, it adds up to 35 miles a week, which is 150 miles a month, and over 1800 miles a year.
I counted the steps from my fit-bit watch from June 1-10, and walked around 60,000 steps, averaging 6000 steps a day. I only wear the watch when I go out to walk, so I had to estimate the remaining steps each day. I have already recorded the average baseline amount that I walk around indoors.
Although the days of wearing a pedometer on the belt are long gone, I sometimes wonder about the accuracy of the fit-bit watches. One day, mine said I had climbed fourteen flights of stairs, when at the most I walked up one or two flights. It said my heart rate was 39, when it was more like 65. So, technology is not a hundred per cent ground truth-ed, so to speak. But it is probably more accurate than a pedometer.
Walking is one of the greatest lifelong exercises. I think pedestrian friendly, and car free cities is a great idea. It would be good to have safe places for pedestrians to walk, and lanes for cyclists, and probably electric scooters and E-bikes as well. The inner city transportation may change in the coming years, to accommodate small electric vehicles.
Walking leaves the smallest carbon footprint, and only takes the energy powered by our own legs and feet. Not only that, but the more you walk, the more energy you get. It is probably the only form of energy expenditure that does not require any manufacturing, does not have to be parked, does not need gas or a battery, and can be done on a variety of terrains. Nothing beats it.
It would be nice to see fewer cyclists on the sidewalks, especially those who ride fast with no regard for the pedestrians, other than to makes us get out of the way.
Every step we take – is a step in the right direction when it comes to staying active, and getting fresh air. This June is much cooler than last June. It’s a blessing for the walkers!
The Christian church is steeped in debates and controversy about millennial beliefs. Some claim the entire Bible should be taken literally. Others are equally adamant about it being completely metaphorical and symbolic.
We have to keep in mind that the Bible consists of sixty-six books, written by an estimated forty different authors, spanned over a period of fifteen hundred years.
Clearly – some of it is to be taken literally, and some of it is to be taken figuratively. There is no point in arguing about the wide range of literary genres in the Bible. It is poetic above all else. That tells me there is intrinsic truth, descriptive use of language, and metaphor contained within the verses.
If we can admit the range of literary genres in the Bible, we are wiser than if we try to plug metaphorical verses into concrete literalism, or vice versa. How can anyone literally believe that a creature can look like a horse, have the face of a human, the hair of a woman, the teeth of a lion, and gold crowns on its head, with the tail of a scorpion?
What makes the Bible so controversial – is because of the way it is interpreted. Some of the interpretations lead to false teaching. Much of the false teaching is based on taking a single verse or two out of context. In fact, people can use many verses to scare, control, or deceive people. It is always best to go to the source, and read it for yourself. It is far less scary than one might think. In fact, it is enlightening and full of promise.
A significant amount of controversy stems from the false teaching on dispensationalism contained within an altered version of the Bible, written by John Darby in the 1800’s. Over time, this false doctrine gave rise to many Hollywood movies and books about the rapture, the left behind series etc.
The seven year tribulation period is a Darby invention, yet many Christians adhere to the storyline regardless. Once the rapture theology was spread throughout mainstream churches, it was much easier to sell people on a pre-tribulation rapture. When the coming tribulation is thought to be the worst the world has ever known, what molly-coddled modern day Christian would not opt for that belief system? The trouble is – it is simply not true.
There is no mention in the Bible about a specific seven year tribulation period, or a secret rapture of the church before the return of Christ. Therefore all the pre-trib, post-trib and mid-trip rapture theories are baseless. In fact the terminology surrounding these myths is quite confusing. We know it is not God who is the author of confusion.
Once we filter out all the rapture theology, we can more easily examine what pre-millennialism and post-millennialism actually means. Although the pre-millennial belief got tied to Darby’s dispensations, it was a foundational belief held by the early church, but in a much different way.
The dominant Christian interpretation of Revelation, since the early church, believed the millennial reign of Christ would be set up after his return. A percentage of Christians continue to believe this, based on their own interpretation of Revelation. There is no specific mention of the rapture of the church in the Bible. However, the Bible does say that the dead will rise first, and those who are remaining, and still alive – will be caught up in the air to meet Christ when he returns. But it is not called or referred to as a rapture.
A secret Darby style rapture also has the problem of explaining what happens to the group when Christ returns? Many of those who adhere to this belief think they will be returning with Christ to rule the world. Somehow I just don’t see that as being the least bit Biblical.
Of course people can believe what they want to believe. We would be wise though, to seek the truth. There are many warnings about being deceived. It is important to clear out the cobwebs of interconnected falsehoods. Most of us have absorbed a lot of fiction over the years. Sorting it out, is a part of due diligence.
The rapture belief invented by Darby, came from the descriptions of a fifteen year old Scottish girl who claimed she levitated during a seance. The origin of the rapture concept should have all Christians delving into the history, and motives of John Darby. In my opinion – Darby was downright evil. The changes he made to the original Bible are astronomical, and one day – he will be held accountable for deceiving so many people.
The difference between the early church beliefs about pre-millennialism, and the Darby version – is that the early church did not believe in a seven year tribulation, or a secret rapture. They believed that when Christ returns, he will set up a thousand year millennial reign on earth. This belief is based on covenant theology, and God’s promises – and has nothing to do with Darby’s myths that were invented less than two hundred years ago.
The post-millennial eschatology is also a fairly new interpretive system. This point of view claims that the tribulation as described in Revelation has already happened. They somehow believe the millennium reign of Christ happens before he returns, and many believe we are already in the millennial reign. The ideas surrounding this belief system describes a golden period of progress that goes on for a very long time. They do not want to adhere to the concept of a literal thousand year time frame on this.
Post-millennialism was especially popular prior to the first and second world wars. But after the second world war, many Christians could no longer support this concept.
There is a third position called A-millennialism, which means no millennium. They do not refute the chapters in Revelation that speak about a millennial reign when Christ returns. They simply claim it is purely symbolic.
After sorting out the Darby falsehoods, and going back to the beliefs established with the early churches, I think the only conclusion we can make, points back to the early church beliefs, which is referred to as classic pre-millennialism.
Spat out what the Darby/Scofield bibles say about it, and go back to the roots and message of the true church.
As far as post-millennialism is concerned, ask yourself these questions – Is the world really getting better and better? Are we heading into a period of peace and prosperity? Would you go out in the jungle and pet a lion, based on a description of the millennial period as described in Revelation? Would you let your child play with a cobra? How can the millennial utopia be interpreted to be in process right now? How can there be peace and safety for all people, if Satan is still loose in the world? For these reasons – this concept makes no sense to me.
The other thing to notice about these two very different belief systems among Christians when it comes to Darby based pre-millennialism, or the opposite extreme of post-millennialism nirvana – is that they are polarized in their extremes.
The Darby side is full of fear-mongering gloom and doom, where all one can do is hope for the secret rapture, because the world will be so horrible, so full of evil that escape is the only hope. The post-millennial belief in stark contrast – is full of peace, prosperity, and beauty that gets better and better by the day. Why so polarized when the body of Christ is supposed to be unified?
Even though I have listened to, and read countless interpretations, often by Biblical scholars who are pitching their thirtieth book on the subject, much of it is questionable. No wonder it is controversial. They talk a good game, but much of it is implausible.
In my opinion, all this talk and controversy about the millennial positions are pointless. There is no way we can have long-term peace on earth, until Christ returns and Satan is bound. The sequence of events is spelled out for us.
The Bible is full of mystery and metaphor. Do not be fooled by interpretations that are not part of the original Bible. We cannot possibly know the full scope of God’s plan for the earth until Christ returns.
I believe the greatest risk is falling into deception and false teaching. There are over a hundred versions of the Bible in the English language alone. Many of those translations leave out key words, or they change key words. Those strategic changes, can alter the entire meaning of the scriptures.
We are steeped in a labyrinth of Biblical misinterpretations. It is very important to embrace the truth – in our lives, in our families, in politics, and in the interpretation of prophecy.
Not only is the Bible a combination of literal and figurative language, it is also both physical and spiritual. The end times do bring increasing levels of tribulation. There is a grand scale spiritual warfare at the centre of the conflict.
There is an attack on the minds, souls, and hearts of people. There is a great deal of deception to filter, in order to discern the truth. Knowledge is greatly increased, and when combined with deception, it can be catastrophic.
However, we are told to be of good cheer, to not be filled with fear, and most of all – to work and do good. Don’t be idle. No one knows when Christ will return. There is no way of counting days, or months or years to arrive at a date. We are not meant to know.
We can’t know it all, or even a portion of it right now, which is why we have faith. Some day, the world will be full of the knowledge of God.
Right now – not so much! But we do have hope, because we believe.
The description of the millennium is that of world peace, love, freedom, gardening, music, singing, joy, serving, worshipping, absence of fear, no sickness, no conflict. People will have all they need, and each will dwell safely under his own vine. The animals will be friendly. The blind will see, the mute will shout, and the lame will leap like a deer!
Eventually, all conditions of the garden of eden will be restored to the earth.
There is little doubt that stalking is a crime that affects men as well as women. However, the majority of cases involve men stalking women. The ratio is about 80/20 according to randomized studies.
No one really knows the true scope of criminal harassment, since most often the stalker and his victim are known to each other. The highest percentage of cases relate to ex-partners, sometimes with a dating relationship as little as two weeks.
A significant other number of women are stalked due to incidental exposure to an obsessive and unhinged type personality. It can be a co-worker, a teacher, a coach, a neighbour, or a casual friend that becomes your worst nightmare.
There is also a victim profile that comes into play, yet is poorly understood. Part of the problem is the whole “pursue and conquer” mentality in male/female and dating relationships. The woman is supposed to be submissive, and play hard to get, and the man is expected to be dedicated, in his hot pursuit of the grand prize.
Certain books citing rules of dating, place an emphasis on cultivating the archaic “pursue and conquer” mentality. Some of the people who are stalked by an ex, in hindsight might realize that the person was way too aggressive, and fast-moving from the beginning. They were flattered initially, and then became overwhelmed with so much attention.
Without a doubt, a high percentage of stalking cases go unreported, mostly because the stalker and victim are known to each other. The victim does not want to cause trouble, or harm a reputation. Or the victim fears she will enrage him even more if she reports him. Often he faces no consequences, while her risk goes up exponentially.
The entire psychological strategy on the part of the stalker – is to dominate, cause fear, and get attention. In my opinion, the source of their vile rage is because you reject them, avoid them, and don’t want to have anything to do with them…I believe that is the crux of it.
One early warning sign in my own experience, is when a person makes constant efforts to encounter you. For instance, if you live in condo and are running into the same person every time you come and go, check the mail, take the garbage out etc. – yet you don’t run into anyone else on such a regular basis, you have to wonder why this guy is trolling the building.
There are red flags surrounding inappropriate and invasive behaviours and attitudes. Pay heed to those red flags very early, and adjust your routines.
It becomes a power struggle with the victim trying to avoid the stalker, and the stalker getting increasingly determined to make sure she cannot avoid him. He is also reinforced by any reaction he does get, especially fear, anxiety, stress or anger. He then has an emotional connection, and knows he is getting through to you.
Stalkers are supremely self-centred and aggressive. They quickly become pathologically obsessive and determined to win. They will not take no for an answer. They want to intimidate you, because that puts them in a more powerful position.
From the annoying and persistent suitor, to the dangerous lunatics who stalk and kill their victims – there is a source of the problem that both men and women need to examine.
Single women living alone do not have a male protector. For some, it elicits a predatory attraction. Our society is still very focused on the safety and security of marriage, which is a good thing. But we should be equally focused on making sure single people can live life without being stalked or harassed.
Stalking is to be differentiated from writing letters, emails, or contacting an authority, or leaders of an organization, in order to resolve a problem, give warnings about a serious situation, or seek justice. In these situations, there is communication aimed at bringing attention to, and resolving serious and damaging issues.
Stalking on the other hand, is very personal, and is a type of psychological warfare. It is a method of constantly seeking contact with someone who is trying to avoid you. It is alarming after awhile. It is threatening and pervasive.
Stalking has a warped love-hate polarization, with more hate than anything. It is repeated unwanted communication, and the attempts to force an unwanted relationship. It is the persistent refusal to take no for an answer.
Stalking is the ultimate cat and mouse game. It is an abuse of power over the psyche, safety, and emotions of another human being. It shadows your life, and they know it. Even if you think they are gone, as long as they are alive – you know they have a persistent and stubborn determination to force themselves on you.
The psychology of stalking is complex. I do believe all people should respect the rights of others. Stalking is an overt, and covert way of showing a complete disregard for the rights of the victim. Stalkers see themselves as superior, and the victim as an object for their wrath, to be punished, exploited, possessed, and toyed with. They want to find a way to be in charge of the victim’s life.
I think it is best not to respond to such a person in any way, other than to document and report the incidents. The stalker is seeking a relationship, and if it is a relationship of conflict – in his mind, it is still a relationship. So disengage completely. It often involves changing routines, routes, patterns, and predictable behaviours – while simultaneously observing patterns in his behaviours.
Once you determine some of his patterns, you can develop better strategies to avoid him.
Stalking is a bigger problem than what is reported. You don’t have to be a celebrity to be stalked. It can happen to anyone, in any age group. It is a form of bullying. Who usually becomes the target of the bully?
I vividly recall the high school teacher who followed me around long before there were any stalking laws. One night he chased me through the bush, and when I tripped and fell, he grabbed me by the arm and half growled, half panted: “Don’t you EVER run again. You will NEVER get away, ’cause I will HUNT you down.” I think this guy might get into the Guinness Book of Records for the length and scope of his hunt.
I believe the crux of the problem is fundamentally about rejection. For some people, rejection causes rage. The reprobates who have been rejected a great deal in their lives, can develop a rage toward any form of rejection. Such a person is transferring an intrinsic rage relating to their own inability to relate normally to people. They project blame onto their victim based on their own insecurities and fear of rejection. They are also often steeped in fantasy, attributing or orchestrating a false attachment to the victim. They want to be in control, yet they are the most likely to lose control.
When thinking of what kind of people become the victims of bullying, he/she is often the smaller, weaker, unprotected, inferior, poor, objectified, and downtrodden pitiable sod, who is easy to mock. If it is easy to mock and degrade a person, it is easy to smack them around too.
Or paradoxically, the stalking victim is the celebrity. Or the smart, accomplished, confident, and outgoing person who lights up a room.
If you happen to be a bit of both, it might be like a bull’s eye on your forehead for the primitives!
All I can say, is that I cannot wait until it is judgment day for the stalkers!
Like most people, I have purely anecdotal observations about medications and the effects they have. I just noticed a news article claiming new research shows that taking pain medication for inflammation and acute pain, will lead to chronic pain. In hindsight, I think it’s true. It also often leads to addiction, but even the non-addictive NSAID’s cause pain to become chronic.
The same seems to hold true for antihistamines. If you take them habitually, you end up with a far worse histamine problem. For those who take SSRI’s or serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, they too report a deepening depression or flatness to their lives, to the point of feeling like a zombie.
For those who take steroids, there is definitely a rebound effect physically and in the brain. Even using steroids for iritis, an autoimmune disorder of the eye – leads to white cataracts and a worse loss of vision. From all the research I have done on iritis, the cure can be worse than the disease. Since it is a very painful condition, because of the increased intra-ocular pressure and inflammation in the anterior chamber of the eye, some people have opted to have their eyes removed after they have already lost their vision.
There are cases where an attempt is made to put a stent in the eye, in order to drain some of the excess fluid, but the condition fluctuates so much, the eye would collapse inward when the intra-ocular pressure receded on its own. This meant the person was required to wear a protective cap over his or her eye.
In my opinion – sometimes it is better to look for natural ways to try to alleviate or manage symptoms, as opposed to invasive procedures, and a range of medications. Our bodies have natural healing capabilities. We just have to find the best way to allow for intrinsic healing. That’s the tricky part.
It’s not that all medication is bad – nor is it all good. Some medication is essential, and very helpful. There are cases where people cannot get the symptoms resolved without medication.
The key is to try and navigate all the information, the side effects, the potency, and most of all – how long you have to take it. It is probably helpful to read both the scientific literature, as well as anecdotal forums, where people discuss the management of chronic disease through diet and alternative therapies.
The value of anti-inflammatory foods cannot be underestimated. Supplements might be the choice for many health conscious people, but nothing beats the medicinal ingredients in a whole food diet with fresh herbs, fresh fruits and fresh vegetables.
A wide range of super foods like garlic, ginger, fresh herbs, olives, pineapples, capers, sea weed, nuts, etc. – will have an effect on everything from the gut biome, to the immune system.
One of the biggest advantages of not taking any medication is that it enables you to feel, notice, and monitor what is going on with your body, and the things that might affect you physically. It is much easier to remedy something if you detect it early. You notice your back hurts, and remember moving a big plant the day before, so you know that you strained some muscles. You have indigestion, and run through your mind what you ate, or what stress might have triggered it.
Another advantage in avoiding pharmaceuticals, is that it is much easier on your liver and kidneys, since all medication has to be filtered and detoxified as it is metabolized. For those who take multiple medications, there is the additional complexity of drug and food interactions with certain medications.
Even something as common as Tylenol, can have catastrophic effects on the liver when taken with alcohol.
Gradually, I finally weaned myself off all OTC medications about seven or eight years ago. I have never been one to go to doctors, so I don’t take prescription medications. But I did take Ibuprofen, Gravol, Benadryl, and other antihistamines over the years, which I now regret. If I had life to do over again, I would avoid OTC meds too.
In fact, when dealing with allergies I do believe Benadryl made it worse over time. Again, it seems like many drugs cause the symptoms to get better initially, and then as you become more and more dependant on the drug, it is less effective. Unfortunately this often leads to taking more medication, or switching to stronger medication.
Recognizing this paradoxical rebound effect secondary to the long term or chronic use of many drugs, helps us to get off them. When the drugs are discontinued, it is good to know the rebound effect is only temporary. Then you can develop the knowledge and strategies that help treat the problem without taking medications, or at least reducing them.
There is a great deal of information to sift through in the quest for wellness. I guess the key takeaway – is that no one knows your body better than you do. That includes past experiences, and intuition with regards to treatment options, drugs, and alternative therapies.
No matter how much government interference there is with our health in the coming years, they will never know what goes on inside our bodies and minds on an individual level.
I hope we can forget about government mandates. We should be able to relax as we go about our lives, and decide what to eat. Good food is far better than medicine!
In Christian eschatology the notion of a seven year tribulation period has become a standard belief system. Notably the concept revolves around “the rapture of the church”. People further divide the belief into pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation and post-tribulation rapture beliefs.
First of all, a secret rapture of the church is not Biblical. This false doctrine comes from a rewritten version of the Bible by John Darby around 1830. The idea was packaged and promoted by the scoundrel Scofield, who created long lists of footnotes in the Bible, and added to the false teachings.
The word rapture is not in the Bible at all. It was invented and added to the Bible by John Darby based on the experiences of a fifteen year old girl levitating during a seance. Since nothing is to be added to the Bible, or taken away – surely this is one of the biggest lies ever invented.
In my opinion, the rapture is a mockery of the resurrection. For those who believe in the idea of being whisked away to some unknown destination in order to escape tribulation, they are placing their beliefs in falsehood, and in the crooked doctrine of dispensationalism.
Dispensationalism has crept into multiple mainstream churches. In many cases, Christians do not even know they are being taught from a corrupted source. Those who do adhere to dispensationalism to the point of extremism, are the worst of the worst. They demonstrate the cultish and bizarre aspects of this false teaching, by the way they treat people. They believe deception and lawlessness is justified “if it suits God’s purpose”. What they really mean, is anything goes, as long as it suits their own purpose. They have aligned themselves with “the father of lies”.
The fictional versions of the rapture theory came out in many popular books and movies. In 1941 there was a movie titled “The Rapture”. In 1972 it was “A Thief In The Night”. In 1977 “A Distant Thunder”. In 1980 “Image Of The Beast” and in 1981 “Years Of The Beast”. In 1983 “The Prodigal Planet”. In 1998 “The End Of The Harvest” and another called “The Apocalypse: Caught In The Eye Of The Storm”. In 1999 it was “The Revelation” and “The Moment After”.
But probably the most infamous of the creepy movie genre, was in 2000 “Left Behind”. This became somewhat of a series with Left Behind 11 Tribulation Force” in 2002. Then there was one simply called “Gone” in 2002. In 2009 they upped the ante and made a movie called “Knowing” and another one called “Countdown: Jerusalem” and “In The Blink Of An Eye”. In 2112 there was “Mark” and in 2013 “Mark 2: Redemption”.
In 2013 things became even more sinister with “New World Order: The End Has Come”and then with another called “This Is The End”. After that there were fifteen more movies on the rapture and the apocalypse.
The first question we should ask ourselves is – How did Hollywood end up shaping our beliefs about the Bible? And why would they promote the rapture theory with such determination and fanfare? In fact, there is no Biblical basis for it at all. Each person has to sort that out for themselves because the rapture theory, for many is entrenched.
If the secret rapture theory is debunked, then how do they divide the belief systems into pre-trib, mid-trib or post-trib? The concept is so well known, it is shortened to abbreviations with the assumption all Christians would choose one of the options.
The pre-trib fantasy is quite attractive since it means that as soon as the going gets tough, there will be a magical secret rescue. Since the tribulation timeline, which is tied to dispensational theology, spans a seven year period, the mid-trib belief takes people out of the world half way through, at the three and a half year point on the dotted line. The post-trib rapture is an exit into the clouds after, or at the end of the seven year tribulation.
The next question we should ask ourselves is – What about the tribulation people faced prior to all these movies and rapture theology? After all, the Darby Bible was not written until the mid 1800’s. Prior to that, there was no such concept. The early church suffered horrific persecution, yet they had no escape clause. In fact, the Bible tells us that all Christians will face persecution in one way or another. In addition, all people will face a certain amount of tribulation in life – whether they are Christian or not.
Tribulation comes in many shapes, forms, sizes, and disguises. Sometimes we bring it on ourselves. Other times, it just happens. There is tribulation in addiction, in grief, in failure, in betrayal, in violence, in deception, in sickness, in isolation, in rejection, in mental illness, in divorce, in family breakdown, in conflict, in accidents, in poverty, in mistakes, and in injuries. In addition, those who are afflicted and in pain – will have an impact on the people around them. Tribulation has a rippling effect.
We tend to think of tribulation in catastrophic terms, but the weight of oppression can be just as deadly. We are in a spiritual battle more than anything, and the Bible tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood.
What is the point of, or meaning of faith for the person who believes Christians are guaranteed an exit from this world before they face tribulation? Tribulation is what tests and increases our faith. We are supposed to have sufficient courage to face tribulation, and trust God no matter what happens. Otherwise our faith is weak.
If we do not become familiar with what it actually says in the Bible, the indoctrination of false beliefs and misinterpretations can be quite confusing. But when you try to figure out how they come to these conclusions, it leaves you scratching your head, because you cannot find what they are teaching in the Bible.
Finally more and more Christian teachers and pastors are recognizing the implications of this false teaching. It is sometimes referred to as “the doctrine of devils” because the entire Darby Bible is corrupted in more ways than one. It is corrupted from start to finish, and this is just one area of complete falsehood. They should be called Darbyites, so people know they are being taught from a different version of the Bible.
I was indoctrinated and brainwashed with these false Darby beliefs by an aggressive religious zealot high school teacher. I know many people will not let go of the idea of the raptured church, and see it as a matter of their own faith. I can give personal testimony to the kind of off-base cult that gives rise to this type of hearsay.
Many people take comfort and encouragement in such teachings, because they have put their hope in escapism. But we have been warned and advised to seek the truth. Do not be deceived. We have been steeped in dread over the “coming tribulation” instead of retaining the hope and knowledge of the reality of our situation. There is only one second coming. Any other teaching is leading people astray while simultaneously weakening or destroying their faith.
Regardless of what we believe, we are approaching end times. Each day is one day closer to the end of this age. One way or another, each day brings us one day closer to the realization we will die. When that happens, we are at the end of our own age. Whether it is from chronic disease, an infection, cancer, old age, an accident, brain bleed, or whatever – we will face death on a personal level unless Christ returns before we die.
What the Bible does say is that when Christ returns, the dead in Christ will rise first, then those who are still alive will be lifted up to meet him in the air as well. How can there be an escape or rescue for the dead? They are no longer facing tribulation or persecution. Therefore the resurrection of the saints is not tied to a post tribulation rapture either.
Obviously the second coming, or return of Christ – is not tied to a prior removal of the believers, or there would be no one left alive on the earth to be caught up to meet Christ when he returns. It will definitely be a joyful occasion, but it is not an escape because we all come back to earth after this happens. Everything will be changed though, from our bodies, to how we live our lives.
For those who choose to believe lies, the Bible tells us God sends strong delusion and gives them over to a reprobate mind. The truth might be a rocky road, where we encounter the equivalent of highwaymen with pistols. But I would rather dodge bullets than be given over to a reprobate mind. For some of us, cognitive dissonance gives us more of a headache than you can shake a stick at.
Truth is as important as love is. Without it, there is no love. It is as important as life itself. We cannot find our way unless we embrace the truth. We are part of the seed of our heritage. Our place within the lineage and offspring, cannot be taken away from us with lies. No one can “lie away” or take away who we are in the great sea of humanity.
My maternal heritage comes from northern Sweden. As with all nations, the history of Sweden has its own unique culture. Throughout the centuries that have passed, each offspring is part of the kings and kingdoms of their own lineage. Even during our upbringing in small town Alberta, there were also many descendants from Germany, the Ukraine and Poland. People referred to the “old country” when talking about where they came from.
From a familial hereditary perspective, I got the interest in textiles and design from my mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Our great grandmother was a professional seamstress in Sweden. All of them worked with textiles, from carding and spinning wool, to knitting, quilt making and sewing. I loved the quilts our grandmother made. They had velvet flowers and satin stems. She made very beautifully designed themed quilts in bright colours with gorgeous fabrics. I remember examining them, petal by petal, the leaves, and tracing each shimmering stem, marvelling at all the fancy needlework she did just to create a border to frame the scene.
In a similar sense, over the years I have met fishermen and sailors whose calling was to be on the water just as their father and grandfather had been. Some things are in our blood, and just keep on with the tradition or the gift.
In many cases, the farm families who had immigrated from Europe, spoke their original languages at home. It was not uncommon for children to start school without knowing English. Our grandmother was in Canada thirty years, and still refused to speak English, although I knew she understood it quite well. When we went to visit them, she cooked Swedish food, which is quite different from the traditional foods from the Ukraine or Poland.
We have long established bloodlines that are carried from one generation to another. The Bible is full of descriptions about who begat who. Is some deluded teacher going to change all that within my own family history? What were his motives? I was not up for adoption, and there was no adoption. Who would even consider such a plot? He has infiltrated and ripped the family apart in the process.
Some of us are from the seed of Christ, therefore the lineage, the offspring, and the descendants were established a long time ago. We cannot be plugged into another ancestry, and I thank God for that. Anyone who thinks they can steal a person, take over their life, and make parental claims – is absolutely nuts. Anyone who supports such a scheme is also crazy.
In my own case, a hyper dispensational high school teacher made bizarre and false claims that he was adopting me. He repeated these lies so often, people began to believe them. In reality, he was obsessed with a teenage girl, and used religion as a cloak to cover his lies. He held to the image of superiority that a “wonderful Christian” like him, would never lie. Yet his lies and corruption led to a lifetime of persecution over my own life.
I can give my own personal testimony on this. To be naive, is to allow a compulsive liar to destroy your life, and your faith for all eternity. Someone should have told him – You cannot take a person out of their own family tree. What kind of gall does it take to even attempt it? I know what family I came from, and I know what family I belong to.
Why I ever had to put up with that bullying abuse is beyond me. People can believe whatever they want, but they have no right to stalk, exploit, and claim ownership of other people through deception and lies. If not for the strange teacher in a small town school, I would never have known the Exclusive Brethren even existed, yet I got stuck in the mire of a warped obsession, twisted religion, and a colossal abuse of power.
Although we can easily be wrong interpreting the Bible, the biggest mistake we can make is to follow Hollywood movies, Hollywood type televangelists, or false teachers. There are many false teachers that seem to be increasing by the day. We have to seek the truth directly from the Bible for ourselves. No one else can do it for us.
All I can say is that for each of these strange and false beliefs, they did not sound right to begin with. The creepy movie series, and the false rapture teaching – has created more fear-mongering and mysticism than anything else.
People are looking for an easy escape while at the same time looking toward the future with absolute dread. Again, this is the opposite of what the Bible teaches.
We will face tribulation, and many of us have faced a lifetime of tribulation already. It is not sprung upon us in the final seven years of our lives, or in the final seven years of the world. It is a consistent and unavoidable theme throughout the entire Bible and history of the human race.
We can also be sure we will face persecution, possibly with increasing levels of bullying and harassment as time goes on. It is difficult to understand why someone targets us for what seems like no reason at all. They see something within us that they want to destroy.
The only thing Christians will not face, is the wrath of God. We have much to be thankful for in that regard, because we deserve to be punished for all our transgressions too.
The deception, the intensity, and the overall spiritual battle does increase toward the end of the age. We can already see it happening. We know that lawlessness will increase, and that many other things will happen as the events unfold.
However the outstanding message of the Gospel is one of love, endurance, patience, mercy, faith, and hope. Surely it is much wiser to get the truth out of the authentic and original Bible, instead of the crooked path of Darby’s dispensationalism and Hollywood movies.
The Bible does teach that apostasy will be rampant at the end of the age. Dispensationalism is probably in the top five of the greatest deceptions of all time. It is provably a cult, and represents a massive falling away from the original covenant teachings in the Bible.
This is a term we hear often, and more so this past couple of years. I remember as a child when our aunt had a nervous breakdown. It was all shrouded in secrecy. She was admitted to the hospital, and I recall her being very sad and overwhelmed by circumstances. She was a very pretty lady. I was always impressed with her cool sunglasses, and fashionable appearance. I think it was the first time I realized that good looks do not always translate into happiness.
The term “nervous breakdown” is still cloaked in mystery. It is not really a medical diagnosis because our nerves do not break down. If they did, we would be in serious trouble such as when people get ALS, MS, and various other neurodegenerative disorders.
The term refers to situations where an individual is so overwhelmed by the stress of their circumstances to the extent they cannot function. They cannot work or carry out routine activities of daily living.
What happens to people if they have a nervous breakdown? Most will see a doctor and get referred to a psychiatrist or psychologist. A psychologist will delve into the cause. A psychiatrist will prescribe medications. In some cases, the person will be hospitalized and may even get electric shock treatments (yes they still do those). In fact ECT is commonly used to treat depression in seniors.
How do people prevent the so-called nervous breakdown? Although some people are more resilient than others – we can only take so much. Many people escape the emotional distress by using drugs or alcohol, which often exacerbates the mood swings.
Taking responsibility for our health, includes taking responsibility for our mental health as well. Even though we experience extreme emotional distress, it does not mean we have to cave in to it. The important thing is to try and stop any external assaults on our mind and emotions. Emotional distress is often a signal that something needs to change.
A very straight forward way to prevent a nervous breakdown, is to keep functioning even if you don’t feel like it. As long as you can get up in the morning and put one foot in front of the other, you can walk it through, and think it through.
The central elements in maintaining stable mental health are diet, exercise, and avoiding toxic people and toxic drugs.
There are all kinds of therapeutic measures to help our mental health. Hydrotherapy, aromatherapy, prayer and meditation, gardening, listening to birdsong, music, hobbies, and learning. Gratitude, adequate sleep, and concentrating on what dietary improvements can be made to increase serotonin and dopamine levels will do wonders to prevent a complete failure to cope.
I know many people are dependent on prescription drugs. The drugs can have a profound effect on the brain, and many psychotropic medications cause movement disorders. Each individual has to do their own research and monitor how they feel.
The only external evaluations of a person’s mental health are based on behaviours and thought processes as expressed in conversation (or writing). If the thought processes are extremely disorganized, or expressing inclinations to self-harm or violence – then intervention is required. If a person is behaving in such a way as to be disturbing the peace, the people around them need to be protected.
So regardless of what we experience, we can take measures to stop the external stressors. We can learn to evaluate what things cause us stress, and what things help us feel better. We can be assured that maintaining self-control will help keep us sane. If we have overwhelming issues, we need to create a plan of action, and go about things in a lawful, calm, coherent manner.
Most of all, we need to have confidence in our own ability to maintain a sound mind and use good judgement. When I look at some of the homeless camps, it is heartbreaking to see people who are unable to take care of themselves or their surroundings. What is the solution?
When I worked as an RN I noticed that many people who ended up in locked psychogeriatric units, had many prior episodes of nervous breakdowns requiring admission to the hospital. They also had a history of long term use of psychotropic medications.
We ought to be aware that there are people who will attack our minds, and try to destroy our mental health. This is often a sideline for those who are inclined to use control tactics and violence, such as in domestic or familial violence. They attack the mind and emotions because it is not a physical assault, and therefore they can get away with it.
Even though we are most inclined to fear for our physical safety, we also have to diligently guard our minds and our hearts. The most difficult battles we face in our lives – are spiritual, not physical.
I think the biggest fallacy to overcome, is that we lose the ability to cope. Coping requires that we keep going, set tangible goals, and have confidence in our mental health.
An often overlooked reality of our journey through life, is to acknowledge that we are also spiritual beings. One way or another, our minds, our will, our emotions, and our beliefs will eventually dominate our destiny. If we have faith in God, we know he will help us get past the struggles we face.
Every time I feel emotionally devastated, I remind myself that God has blessed believers with a sound mind. Therefore, thank God for a sound mind, and every time you fall or fail – just hope you can get back up and keep going.
We were never promised a life without struggles. But we have been shown the spiritual answer to enable us to overcome whatever happens to us.
Interestingly, many years later during a nostalgic discussion with our aunt – she smiled warmly and said, “All I can say is – by the grace of God go I”. My sister and I stole sidelong glances, and both of us agreed. I remember thinking – I’ll second that motion!
We have to endure so much strife, so much deception, and so much segregation over this topic. Who owns the world? We tend to think the richest, the political leaders, and those highfalutin exalted experts – are the ones who have the biggest piece of the pie. But do they?
The general idea is that a group of rich people are meeting each year, and planning to take charge completely, as in totalitarian rule. There is little doubt they are planning and scheming as usual. Many of their plans will seem to come to fruition. But it will not last, and likely will not turn out as expected. They are given a fair bit of time to come to their senses, only because God is patient.
The idea that we will own nothing and be happy, means the rich plan to get richer, as they gear up to take over all the assets. Who is they? Is it the WEF? Is it the list of billionaires, politicians, pharmaceutical executives, climate change gurus? Does anyone really believe they will not try to deceive each other? Therefore, they have no way of knowing what the outcomes will be. Who is going to be the king of that castle?
As they are gearing up for a great reset, they seem to know how to dismantle things – but do they know how to rebuild them? How does anyone rebuild what took hundreds, and sometimes thousands of years to build and become established? It is destructive, not constructive. The world has fewer resources than ever, so why tear down established systems? Energy comes in many different forms, and it takes energy to rebuild things, and lots of it. Energy is what changes entropy.
Entropy happens when there is a loss of energy to get work done. There is a lack of order and predictability as things gradually become disordered, and then chaotic. We are meant to keep things in order, or they will soon cease to function.
An example of entropy is evident in many (but not all) homeless camps. If there is a loss of energy that is normally directed toward self care, work, and the care of one’s surroundings – it leads to disorder. All organizations require energy to put things in order, and manage the upkeep.
At a time when we most need to direct energy toward maintaining and streamlining the order of our world, we have leaders who are creating disorder. The ultimate form of disorder is when people start rioting in the streets. The energy becomes volatile and destructive.
God consistently tells us to do good. In fact it is what we are supposed to do in order to overcome evil. We are best to put our energies into doing something constructive, and keep things in order.
This not only applies to infrastructure, but it applies to the longstanding laws, and values that have governed us since time began. In fact, our Constitution is based on a covenant agreement with God. Does anyone tamper with God’s covenant and get away with it? Personally, I don’t think so. One of the aspects of the great apostasy we are in right now – came from the shift in Christian beliefs from covenant theology to dispensational beliefs.
Dispensationalism is provably false doctrine. It came from a rewritten version of the Bible by John Darby in the 1800’s. All churchgoing people should dig a little deeper into the doctrine being taught at their place of worship. There are many warnings in the Bible (the authentic one) about following false doctrine and teachers. We should heed those warnings, and give due diligence to the truth, especially when it comes to those who change, add to, or take away from the Bible.
Whether we are rich or poor, if we have the love of God, we are assured of His care and guidance over our lives. Few things can beat peace of mind. For those who are into scheming up deceptions that bring harm to others – they really have little to look forward to, and much to fear.
For those who reject God, or get deceived by counterfeit motives, or the love of money – it’s a futile race. More money does translate into more power and influence. But does it bring peace of mind? How many places can one person live in? How large must it be? How many cars can one person drive? How many top grade steaks can one person eat? How many strawberries? How much fine wine can one person drink? Isn’t that what gluttony and debauchery is? Yet this type of attitude fills them with pride. Shouldn’t they at least ask themselves – is that wise?
What I find most astounding is that some of these ultra-rich men are getting old, and instead of getting wisdom, they just become more entrenched in their hubris. Someone should remind them – they are not taking any of it with them when they leave this world.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the rich-poor polarity, is how much wealth reinforces a sense of superiority. To an extent, people who work hard do deserve to own nice homes and have comfortable lifestyles.
But elitism to the detriment of others, is a different ball game. There is a disregard for the working class, yet it is very important for people to work, and provide for themselves and their families. These are among the most longstanding values of all. Work ethic applies to minimum wage workers and single mothers too. Anything that takes away a person’s livelihood without due process, is evil in my opinion. Stalin starved more people than he had executed.
Even if Christ does not return in our own lifetime, each day is one day closer to our own death and judgement day. In fact, when the sun comes up each day, only God knows what will happen on that particular day. This is on a global scale, as well as for individuals. If you are at or past the average age of death, which is around 80 years, each day is a gift, and could easily be the last day of your life.
Think of the surprise and shock we feel when someone we have known for a long time suddenly dies? In many cases, they did not know they were going to have a massive heart attack, stroke, or accident. It just happens. We don’t know the number of our days.
We seem to have an ever-increasing battle looming. On one side, is the battle for freedom. On the other side, is the battle for total control. If that’s not polarization, I don’t know what is.
Who is in control? Men who are rich and deceiving the public, each other, and the nations? They are deceiving themselves the most.
God abhors pride, lies, and greed. As much as anyone on earth takes over God’s domain, and does things that go against the Universal laws established by God when he created the Universe, it is only temporary.
No matter how much people rail against God, or deny the existence of God – one day, we will all know the truth. We cannot love God, if we refuse to seek and embrace the truth. It is a stressful time for people in leadership roles. There is controversy over everything, and over nothing at all. Divisive strategies keep us occupied, and do wonders when it comes to blame shifting and re-victimizing the marginalized.
Truth and freedom go hand in hand. Truth, love, wisdom, and freedom will eventually be restored to this earth, as God has promised. Christ was sent as a Saviour. He is risen, and will return. For those who have been mistreated by all the deception and scheming, justice will eventually prevail on this earth. In fact, justice is predetermined, and is already in motion. There are people on this earth who will serve God, and they will help facilitate justice.
What does the future hold for this earth in God’s plan? The sword will be turned into ploughshares, therefore we will be planting, and harvesting. All people will be taken care of. There will be no more sickness, violence, or death. We will have new bodies, and plenty of energy. We will live under Christ’s rule, and be humble. There will be plenty of music, gardening, cooking, learning, praising, serving one another with love, joyful socialization, truth, freedom to travel, and equality of intrinsic values among all people. Complete freedom will eventually come to this earth.
We are participants in the sea of humanity. It is kindness and mercy that gives us our humanity. Benevolence, altruism, and goodwill will carry us to the promised land.
We could wait another thousand years, or it could change in an instant “in the twinkling of an eye”. The Bible states the intensity of the battle will increase as it does like the contractions do when a woman is in labour.
Are we seeing the intensity increase? That’s a sign. Can we prove anything? No we cannot, or it would be pointless to have faith. Faith is not pointless – it is surety of belief and trusting in God.
There is not one person, or group of people on this earth who can change God’s plan over his own creation. Really – it is the best news mankind will ever know. Wait and see! Happy Easter.
It appears the rise in technology and artificial intelligence has cultivated a far-fetched notion that through tracking and data mining, they can know us better than we know ourself. Does that seem plausible? The precursor to those statements outlines how to predict human behaviour. In order to control human behaviour, you have to be able to predict it.
Some people do have predictable patterns, and most of us have predictable routines. Do we all search the same topics on the Internet? Do we all use Alexa, Siri, FB, and Twitter? I doubt it. But there are certain predictable things we can observe about our surroundings.
We know that Friday afternoons before a long weekend tend to be busy. If you live on an island, you know when the ferry comes in. When you take public transit, you expect them to show up.
If our medical information gets hacked, we know that whatever is in those files, lab results, ER visits, prescription medications, and other sensitive information is compromised and exposed to God knows who? It makes me have much gratitude for managing to stay away from doctors.
But even if sensitive information is compromised – can they know a person better than they know themselves? In my opinion, they cannot – for many reasons. The main reason is the complexity of the brain, and the efficiency of storing memories and information in the brain. This information gives us cues to adapt our behaviours based on memory.
No one can call up the 80,000 thoughts flitting through the hallways of our brain each day, every day of the year – for a lifetime. Only the individual can be triggered by a smell, a memory, or a song stored in their own brain. No one else can predict that. Even the person for whom the memory was triggered is often surprised at how it surfaced. So how can AI know the nuances or intricacies of what is stored in a person’s memory?
No one can know the depth of another person’s soul. If they think they can predict people based on their Internet searches, medical information, and by monitoring Smart phones – it might turn out to be quite futile. One of the main reasons coding, Internet research, web development, gaming, block chain etc. is growing so fast, is because of open source opportunities. That gives things a scope and a creative realm that cannot be predicted.
The Internet and artificial intelligence contains a percentage of positive and edifying material. Just as it can be used for bad or nefarious reasons, it can be used for whatever reasons. We use it for work, for communicating, doing research, creating content, artistic endeavours, shopping, banking, calculating, navigating, and for all kinds of other things. It is so much easier than going to the library and taking out a bunch of books, then paying the library fines. Same thing as when we used to have to rent movies at the video store.
We can take the good, and find ways to protect ourselves. As far as the medical information is concerned, it is really too bad that privacy and confidentiality is no longer an assurance. I suppose with better encryption and database management, it might improve. But regardless, we should be cautious, and aware of the information that is put on our medical charts. Any information that is false or misleading should be clarified and remedied. This includes misdiagnosis, questionable lab results, or heresy history that might be given by someone with a motive to slander.
As far as predicting human behaviour, or AI knowing us better than we know ourselves – there is no way of doing so because people change. Often people have a change of heart before they have a change of mind. There is a contemplative phase when a person decides to make changes in their life. No one can know what the human mind is contemplating. We only know others based on what they communicate, and how they behave.
This is just my own experiment, so take it with a grain of salt. In this case, you add a few things other than salt.
Of all the attempts to reduce inflammation and autoimmune reactions, this cooking paste is loaded with immune boosting properties. When the immune system is hyperactive as it is with autoimmune disorders, it means it is out of balance for some unknown reasons.
Up until now, I have never used turmeric much in cooking. I am more familiar with ginger and know it also has many similar benefits as turmeric does. A few months ago I tried taking a teaspoon of grated ginger daily as an anti-inflammatory, but it caused a drop in blood pressure, so I abandoned taking fresh ginger without mixing it with something.
I would not claim to be anti-supplement or anti-traditional medicine. However, in hindsight I wish I had not taken supplements or OTC medications over the years, without giving it a second thought. We should give it more than a second thought. Anything taken habitually can throw our systems off balance. In many cases, medications will cause a rebound effect after a period of time, and do the opposite of what they are intended for.
In addition, many medications require multiple adjustments to the dosage, and can be very difficult to discontinue. There are countless unknown drug interactions, and drugs that interact with certain foods. I will readily admit – I am not onside with Big Pharma pushing more and more drugs on otherwise healthy people. Most of those drugs do not address the underlying cause. They mask the symptoms, which is the last thing we need when our bodies are trying to tell us something is wrong.
Each one of us has a unique reaction to various different medications and supplements. It depends on things like overall nutrition, organ function, weight, gut health, systemic circulation, chronic inflammation, neurochemistry, genetic markers, and so on. Therefore, we should pay careful attention to how our own bodies respond to what we put in it. That way we can remedy what is aggravating existing conditions.
When I look back at people I have known and worked with over the years, we all had some kind of physical weakness. For some it was a predisposition to chronic bladder infections, respiratory infections, or an acidic stomach. For others it was chronic back, hip or knee pain. Different people react to stress in a unique way. The stress of life and all it entails, causes weaknesses within our systems that we have to learn to manage or remedy somehow. If not, they will likely get worse as time goes by.
I think it is best to get nutrients out of a whole food, mostly plant based diet. Just as in learning about the benefits of essential oils, there is also much to be learned when it comes to nutrient dense foods, and various medicinal teas, herbs, and spices.
Since turmeric is so bright and stain inducing, I wear gloves and prepare a small batch to cook with at a time. The paste includes equal amounts of fresh grated ginger and turmeric. Pepper has to be added to increase the bioavailability of the turmeric. The mix also includes crushed garlic, fresh snipped herbs, and a small amount of olive oil and lemon juice.
This paste can be spread over chicken, added to rice dishes, soups and whatever else you decide to try it on. That way the nutrients are cooked with the food, and we get the trace elements and micro nutrients without damaging the balance in our systems, or adding supplements that the kidneys and liver must detoxify.
Of the myriad of remedies I have tried thus far, the best results have come from drinking lemon water each day, and from adding large doses of herbs and spices in food preparation. I noticed a reduction in the inflammation in my eye within a couple of days of using fresh turmeric.
I guess the goal in this crazy corrupt world – is to try our level best to stay healthy and happy. It’s a counter measure. What can possibly be wrong with that?
As far as making a point about how individual taste is part of the nutritional journey, there are many examples. One of the more prevalent bits of health advice recommends taking an ounce of apple cider vinegar mixed with water each day. I tried it but could not stomach it, or stand the smell of it. I also don’t like the concept of drinking vinegar. So my gut instinct told me to avoid drinking vinegar. Yet many people swear by it. Is it any wonder we have to do our own research combined with a little of our own trial and error?
Human beings have much in common, and yet we have many differences in the minute details and functionality in everyday life. Now more than ever, we have to sort through the bombardment of advertising geared to make us reach for those quick fixes and cures.
Our health is not meant to be governed by someone else’s profit motive. But if we do not take charge of our own health, we can fall for just about anything in this day and age of targeted propaganda and advertising.
Gradually I have learned more about the amazing properties contained in pure essential oils. In fact, it is a fascinating topic overall. For years I shirked the idea of aromatherapy because I associated the various aromas with an attempt to cover up what is in the air. My glib notion was to think – Hey, open the window, I prefer fresh air – not air laden with “artificial” cover ups.
Little did I realize there is a huge difference between those free breeze type air fresheners, or worse yet, those small green trees that used to dangle from the rear view mirrors in the cars of smokers. Apparently those little green trees were loaded with toxins. The same can be said for many different types of bug sprays and bug repellants.
The world of true essential oils is one to be appreciated in a way that is the polar opposite of those little green toxic dangling trees. They are invigorating, therapeutic and quite exotic. In fact some of them cost a small fortune. True rose, jasmine, and sandalwood are among the pricier essential oils. They can cost hundreds of dollars for a small 10 ml. bottle.
However, the jasmine and rose can be purchased diluted in oil for much less, so you can still enjoy the beautiful aromas.
As a matter of personal preference, I don’t tend to diffuse the aromas into the air. I use them in the bath, for foot rubs, neck rubs, and on my hands. Throughout the day, I will frequently shake a few drops on my hands and then inhale the essential oil full strength by cupping my hands close to my face. This gives a strong and direct aroma of whatever essential oil you choose. It also means you are populating the nasopharyngeal passages with the antimicrobial properties contained within the essential oils. It serves to sanitize the hands without damaging or drying the epidermis or outer layer of the skin.
The problem with most commercial hand sanitizers is that they contain alcohol. Some of them also contained toxic ingredients that were later recalled. Since our skin is an organ, and first line of defence against certain pathogens, it is important to keep our skin intact. If our hands become chapped and cracked, we are more vulnerable to infection.
Although I have used a small amount of hand sanitizer during the covid era as required upon entry to many places of business, I still carry some essential oil. I prefer to carry a small 10 ml. bottle of an essential oil with strong antimicrobial properties in my pocket when I go out. In fact I would use it after using hand sanitizer, because in my opinion, the tops or pumps on those hand sanitizer bottles must be contaminated a thousand times over.
The best essential pocket oils include oregano, marjoram, rosemary, cypress, juniper, tea tree oil, and many others. If you take it out before entering a place of business or transit, and put a few drops in your hands, then cup it and inhale it, you have added a layer of protection, or at the very least, a slight change to the immediate environment, which may help to deter pathogens.
Recently I learned cedarwood essential oil is a natural sedative. Both cedarwood and lavender aid in calming and relaxation. These too, are key contributors to stress relief and sleep, and thus will help the immune system do its job. Now I keep a small bottle of cedarwood essential oil on the nightstand for when I wake up in the middle of the night.
The polarized opposite example of this whole smelling concept, would be the old-fashioned smelling salts. Only those were used to revive a person, not put them to sleep! The smelling salts contained ammonia or some other acrid smell that would actually wake a person up. This does confirm in a rudimentary way, that the sense of smell can have a rapid communication with the conscious part of the brain.
It was something known and understood as far back as the Roman Empire with a resurgence in the Victorian era, probably because it was common for women to faint due to the use of tight corsets and constrictive clothing. A word of warning – do not confuse any kind of smelling salts with the use of essential oils.
Essential oils can be added to coconut oil to do oil pulling, which is a method of cleaning toxins from the mouth and teeth by swishing oil in your mouth for fifteen or twenty minutes a day. It also helps prevent or reduce the build up of plaque on the teeth. Peppermint, clove and cinnamon essential oils are good ones to add for oil pulling.
Various essential oils can be added to coconut oil to make a hand cream. The ones with strong anti fungal properties can be used for foot soaks and foot creams, and for those who tend to get athlete’s foot. Most of them can also be rubbed directly onto your feet full strength after foot soaks. Peppermint and eucalyptus oil are refreshing as a liniment or balm for sore feet or joints.
Essential oils are made from plants, and have very concentrated aromas. The juniper, cedar and cypress oils trigger memories of being in the forest on a fresh spring morning after a light rain. It is similar with the roses, transporting you to the fullness of the blooms in the middle of a garden. The echos and recollections embodied in fragrance, is another incredible and holistic factor, especially in how they relate to stored memories and associations in the brain. To this day, I still associate the smell of chamomile with pulling the wild plants out of the grass as a child. I would sit on the ground, examine the yellow centres, and inhale the aromatic smell of chamomile.
The olfactory nerve is the shortest of the cranial nerves, and is part of the peripheral nervous system. It makes me wonder if the consistent use of a variety of essential oils, by inhaling them directly into the nasal passages, can change neurochemistry.
Once the aroma is processed through the nasal passages, it is forwarded to the frontal lobe of the brain first. The amygdala of the brain, which is the fear/reaction section of the brain is more mid-brain. Clearly, what we smell and breathe in, is processed in the brain.
The Internet has many reputable sites with in-depth information about essential oils. Some claims have been definitively proven, and some things are anecdotal. One thing for certain, is they are helpful in many ways, from a preventative perspective.
The cautions relating to the everyday use of essential oils, revolve around doing your own careful research. Many of them cannot be ingested at all. None of them are safe to get in, or too close to your eyes. Some can cause allergies or skin reactions for certain people. They should be kept away from small children.
However, the benefits of these intriguing gifts of nature, bring us an endless array of possibilities and enjoyment. In my opinion, they are a lifestyle enhancer with many therapeutic advantages.
Misinformation is nothing new. What is new – is the attempt to tackle it, like it is a nimble and determined running back clinging to the ball, come hell or high water.
Misinformations lingers in the murky waters along with outright lies, profit motive, and many misunderstandings. How can anyone tell us what to believe? There is no such thing as believer clones. We can’t all hold acceptable views on everything from garlic to the efficacy of wind turbines.
Certain information can be defined as true or false. But there is a slew of misinformation floating in the health care slough. For almost any topic, you can find experts who will tell you the opposite of what you might tend to believe. Experts might tell us beans and tomatoes are pure poison. Seriously? A cardiologist, or celebrity who tells people at least half of all healthy foods are poison to our systems, and will put holes in our gut, should be viewed with skepticism. Does it matter what title this person has, or what the celebrity status is? Isn’t it natural to reject what does not makes sense or ring true to us?
Other health gurus will tell people to eat six eggs a day, or ten bananas, or ingest massive amounts of green smoothies – but does that mean we should listen to them?
Then we have the supplement gurus who are breaking the body down into chemical nanoparticles and telling people to take massive doses of trace minerals. Or they will announce the benefits of high concentrations of protein, or condensed greens in amounts way beyond what could be consumed in a normal diet.
Rule of thumb – don’t ingest anything that you would not eat in your diet. For instance if you buy fresh squeezed orange juice that took a dozen oranges to make, don’t ignore the fact that oranges were meant to be eaten with the fibre. Normally you would not eat ten of them, so the moral of the story is to drink minimal amounts of juice.
The same thing can be applied to green smoothies. In my opinion, it is better to eat salads because chewing is a big part of the digestive process. Also many people do not realize that anything in excess can cause liver, kidney, or gut health problems. For people who have their jaws wired shut, then a diet of smoothies does make sense. Otherwise it is better to eat the fibre, chew the food, and eat a variety of healthy foods.
The fact is, misinformation and outright lies about certain health care products, medications, foods, reverse aging, muscle building, can lead to gut retching wretches. Misinformation has proliferated like rabbits since the Internet was invented. Until now, no one really cared or even tried to stop it all.
You can find experts on the Internet who will tell you to drink a cupful of oil followed by a half a cup of vinegar, and various other concoctions. Some people get desperate to solve health issues, but seriously, people should be very wary of anything you would not get out of a healthy diet.
Without a doubt, food is our best medicine. But that does not mean we avoid half the healthy foods available to us. We do not have to demonize gluten or any other healthy food. We should listen to our own bodies and avoid what bothers us, not what some expert tells us to do.
If misinformation on the Internet is to be tackled as the new buzz is telling us it should be, then there is a massive amount of information to be censored.
The only thing we can do is to develop our own intuition and sensibilities giving us direction with regards to what to accept, and what to reject. We are bombarded with information, therefore we need a massive filtering system.
Recently on one of the food show clips, a woman showed how to stop mold and bacteria from growing in fresh berries. The trick is to wash the berries in a solution of vinegar and water. She shows how to rinse, pat dry and store them. So far, so good. At the end of her berry blurb, she said they were good for two weeks in the fridge.
I only just learned about the vinegar trick, and normally wash berries in mild detergent and water. Before trying it, I would question whether or not the vinegar destroys any nutrients in the berries. The thing that raised a red flag for me, is that most perishable fresh produce does not have a two week shelf life. No way. Fresh berries, and other types of delicate produce should be eaten optimally within three days. Even if the vinegar does work to eradicate mold, it would be prudent to use the berries within seven days at the most. All of this pondering of course, is just my own opinion on something I recently viewed. It is an example of how we might interpret something we happen to see on the Internet.
To further enhance the berry discussion, we might consider if the vinegar would affect the flavour. Also of significance is where the berries came from and how fresh they are to begin with. It is much different if they came from your own garden, as opposed to another continent. Certain things are already several days old before you bring them home from the store. So potentially allowing a window of three weeks for berries is probably not wise.
I think we can take the good, and leave the parts we don’t want to digest. I most certainly want to avoid mold, so I am glad to have come across the tip.
The perishables with a long shelf life are things like carrots, turnips, beets, and other root vegetables. Some tomatoes will last more than a week if they are not ripe to begin with. Avocados I have learned, are best when allowed to ripen, and then put in the fridge when they are ripe, if you are not ready to use them. They do not ripen properly in the fridge.
We can simply ignore what does not apply to us. Or can we? How can we ignore any of it, if it is being forced upon us on a daily basis? Would we be inclined to believe a scientist, or a politician, or an expert with a specific agenda? Why should we have to believe those people?
Why should a mechanic have to be a microbiologist? Why should healthy people be sucked into the sickness industry, when the system is too sick to look after those who are really sick? Why should the general public be responsible for the allocation of health care funds, specifically ICU beds and delayed surgeries? The average person does not even know how the system works.
Since the onset of covid, all the chemicals and scientific mumbo-jumbo are suddenly sacrosanct. I would specifically like to know more about the lipid nanoparticles, and how they might glom together and wreak havoc in certain vital organs. I would like to have a better understanding of spike proteins, antigens, antibodies, and viral variant diagnostic tests.
But what is the point of following any science, if half the information is censored or withheld? Doesn’t that make following the science somewhat futile?
What about the new and modern day linguistic gymnastics? Oh right, that’s not science…A hoop is a hoop. Jumping through them leads to more head patting hoopla.
Sheesh…If we spent our days following science, how would we get anything else done? Go ask our infamous PM. Surely he must be following his own advice.
PS There is a riddled enigma in this article, and it is up to you to figure it out!
If there ever was a time to repent – surely it is now. We are at a loss to understand what is going on in this world. It is a reminder for all of us, to be humbled and repent. Pray for peace, as we have empathy toward those who are facing so much uncertainty and conflict.
What causes people to believe lies, become deluded and develop hardened hearts? I think the answer is that we first must seek, and love the truth. If we are following “to thine own self be true” axiom, we must acknowledge our many faults, misdeeds, foolishness, selfishness, arrogance, harm done toward others, all based on our own myopic views. If we seek discernment, then first we must discern our own shortcomings and repent.
I look back and shudder at some of the things I have said and done over the years. Hindsight lets us see ourselves as others might have. It shows us how we transferred angst and blame onto others unjustly. I know in my own life, there are many, many people I would like to say I am sorry to. When we begin to look at ourselves with truth, we know we need forgiveness and redemption.
Truth teaches us, and in turn, will light our path. More importantly, in truth, we become attached to the foundational cornerstone in Christ, as opposed to the confusing and churning dissonance associated with layer upon layer of lies and falsehood.
We will be protected from developing hardened hearts, if we examine our own hearts and repent with sincerity. We know the fruits of the spirit, and we know peace, love and forgiveness are central to the Gospel of Christ.
We are actually witnessing so much conflict in this world, many wonder if things are rapidly becoming apocalyptic.
The forces in the world right now seem to be surreal or supernatural. Huge protests have arisen in almost every country like a movement of the spirit.
In the midst of massive global civil unrest over covid mandates, Putin decides to invade the Ukraine. Now the focus has suddenly shifted. We have witnessed the dramatic shift, but we do not really understand the dark forces at play. In fact, we are seeing a mixture of truth combined with a mix of fear-mongering sensationalism. Some of the imagery broadcasted on the Ukraine Russian conflict was apparently from 2015. Once again, we cannot rely on MSM to report the truth.
If indeed we are wading into apocalyptic times, the most important and relevant command in the book of Revelation is to repent.
It is not in the nature of psychopaths, or anyone with an over inflated ego, or supreme sense of superiority and invincibility, and persistent arrogance- to repent. They are not accustomed to admitting wrongdoing, since it is an attitude that has served them well thus far. They don’t really get it, because deception has hardened their hearts.
The book of Revelation describes all the methods God uses to try and get even the most evil people to repent. Although the book of Revelation is filled with beasts and visions, it is also repeatedly telling all of mankind to repent.
The end times bring about a persecution and wrath upon Christians by wicked men and Satanic forces. Immoral people eventually face the ultimate wrath of God’s punishment. So it looks like all of us will be on the receiving end of some sort of punishment.
One of the central truths in the book of Revelation is that the wrath of God is upon all who refuse to repent. We have to keep in mind who is in control of the bigger picture.
We pray for peace. Peace of mind, peace in our hearts, and peace that passes all understanding. If we are wise, we will choose to escape a wrath that is beyond understanding, and seek forgiveness and protection instead.
The overall message in the book of Revelation is often obscured through the apocalyptic fear mongering. There is a mixture of all the world’s tribulation spanned out, along with the antichrist, mark of the beast, etc.
But what about the verses that tell us the end of the age will be as in the days of Noah? People were eating, drinking, and celebrating weddings when the flood came.
We tend to think God abhors anger, especially sustained anger, which is true. But he also abhors fear. We are probably warned the most often, to avoid fear and deception – to include deceiving ourselves.
Some of the description of God’s wrath upon those who arrogantly and stubbornly refuse to repent, is truly horrific. I hope I never have to face giant locusts with long hair, human faces, and lion’s teeth! Even if they are symbolic of some other force, the description and destruction is formidable.
The book of Revelation is mostly about revealing Christ. It is meant to show how the greatest battle of all the ages will come to fruition. The ultimate victory is pre-destined. The book of Revelation is a blessing, not a curse.
What started out as a positive and anticipatory movement that seemed to have widespread support from Canadians coast to coast, is now a condemned and criminal operation. Is there anyone who can explain to us how it happened to turn criminal? When did it happen? What did they do that was illegal and criminal?
As a person with no experience in attending or organizing protests, it is next to impossible to understand what the laws are surrounding the protest. Why did they get so much condemnation and punishment? Other protests have been much more violent, where people clearly defied trespassing and Criminal Code laws, yet many of those political activists did not get punished much at all.
Each day raises more and more questions. If people suddenly had bank accounts frozen for sending money to the organization, it means that not only are the protesters targeted, but also those who saw it as a worthy cause and donated money. How could anyone know they were donating to something illegal?
As far as border blockades, no doubt laws do apply, and get enforced. But the protest in Ottawa did not have much clarity with regards to what was legal and what was not legal. The horn honking became an issue, and a ten day injunction was ordered. When it came to the judges orders, apparently she did not find any other charges to enforce, other than a reprieve from the horn honking. So what happened?
After the injunction was issued, for the most part, they did stop honking. The leaders told them to stop honking. They were not counselling people to commit mischief, if honking is considered to be mischief.
I do not understand it. At some point it became illegal. Yet there was no definition other than mischief, which in spite of sounding like a minor charge, can be a very serious charge. Then there is counselling to commit mischief, which is highly subjective. What does it actually mean? I heard people singing Oh Canada a lot while watching live feeds of the protest each day.
There was some rebellion expressed by the protesters, like when hundreds of jerry cans were purchased after police started seizing fuel. Some of the protesters did a jerry can march, but really it was just minor theatre. The fuel was needed to keep the trucks warm, so people wanted to make sure they would not freeze. Was that mischief?
Another term frequently used by the truckers was to “hold the line”. Would a slogan be considered to be counselling to commit mischief? I suppose as time went on, the fact they planned to stay for the long haul was causing important people to become aggravated. The intent was articulated. They were staying until they were acknowledged and heard. It became an annoyance to the PM, the Mayor of Ottawa, and many others.
It seems the sequence of events sums up like this: The protesters were denied a voice, and were vilified at the onset. They dug in, and became annoying. The annoyance was translated into mischief. The mischief became criminal. Key organizers were arrested without bail. It’s almost like something you might read about in history books.
Now Canadians are under the War Measures Act, and once again, we don’t fully understand what that means. We have been getting all the mandates dictated to us through the media. Every day there are more covid updates telling us what we can and cannot do. Otherwise how would we know?
But one of the raw realities this entire scenario has brought home to us, is the unreliability of MSM to present unbiased news. There is a fundamental mistrust of the media, as well as the police. It appears the division between government authority, and the common person has become increasingly divisive.
Canadians are known for being peaceful and law-abiding. But how can we be law-abiding if the laws are changing constantly, and we do not know what they are from one week to the next? What are the laws under the War Measures Act? What does it mean to the average citizen?
Can people donate to charities? What if those charities do not support mandates or QR codes? Could the charitable donations be seized, and bank accounts of all those who make donations frozen? Theoretically this could apply to all churches, and any charity considered to express right wing views. Even though some people do not fully understand political terminology, they could inadvertently support something they thought was legal, yet it could be deemed illegal a week later.
We already know doctors and health care providers cannot speak out against the mandates. We know we must follow a one-sided science that is not open to being questioned or challenged. As the mistrust for the health care system increases, the mistrust for the police has increased since the crackdown in Ottawa.
During the whole ordeal, where so many people were traumatized by the police actions, we watched many eloquent speeches in the House of Commons. But what did we learn? We learned how broken and divided the political spectrum has become. We learned how insignificant we are as Canadian people. We have lost our political innocence.
At the end of the long and tiring ordeal, where many of the systemic fissures and cracks were exposed – we still don’t know what the laws are. How are people supposed to stay out of trouble if they do not know what the laws are?
The original and foundational laws are gone. We now have covid mandates based on covid science, and covid politics. But still – we do not know what the laws are, so please fill us in.
Have we entered the time where certain thoughts and beliefs are not acceptable? Tell us what they are, and what the punishment is for having them. Consider that eight billion people have around 80,000 thoughts per day each – that is an infinite number of thoughts to track. Most people have a hard enough time keeping track of their own thoughts.
We cannot possibly understand what drives other people’s belief systems. We seem to be entering an era of delusion and fantasy, versus truth and reality.
We do have many differences, but it does seem that the innate sense of autonomy and free will is an inherent belief among people in all countries of the world.
People are monitored by Internet usage, social media, QR codes, and cell phone tracking. But even so, how boring.
Maybe I am missing something, but from what I have seen, there is a genuine and heartfelt appeal behind all of this freedom movement. There is a desire to return to the stable foundational laws that we are familiar with. There is an appeal to the government to follow the Constitutional laws and Charter of Rights.
“Cornerstones of democracy include freedom of assembly, association and speech, inclusiveness and equality, citizenship, consent of the governed, voting rights, freedom from unwarranted governmental deprivation of the right to life and liberty, and minority rights.”
Politically I consider myself to be centrist with strong advocacy for human rights and individual autonomy. In fact, I believe the least corrupt government is the best option. The most important thing is to support stable, lawful governance that serves the best interest of its constituents. Then we can live our lives, and reach our potential – without being oppressed, monitored, or micro-managed.
The woke government tends to support the 1% fringe groups, because on the upper end, when it comes to corporate billionaires, it is perceived as the hand that feeds them. On the other hand, they completely miss the boat when it comes to the fact it is the middle class tax base that feeds them the most consistently. However, they cater to the 1% in all of its extremes, whether it is the billionaires, or the various other fringe, and often bizarre special interest groups. They support such groups because they represent no threat to the government power structure.
However, a larger, grassroots movement with exponential growth among all sectors of the population, does represent a threat to the government leadership. It has created an especially stark realization with regards to the trouble we are in as a democracy. We have just witnessed a government that refuses to negotiate, and resorts to violence toward its own citizens instead. The War Measures Act was ordered, and then put into place without parliamentary debate, and without the support of most of the Provinces.
How can a government control a nationwide movement? It caught on like a prairie grass fire on a hot, windy August day. It literally swept across the country, not only in the convoy of trucks, but in an awakening of shared values. It opened the floodgates of a psychological break out.
As Canadians, we have followed those routes, back to our roots. As a child, I clearly recall standing up and saying the Lord’s Prayer in school every morning. I remember the flag above the speaker on the wall, as we held one hand to our foreheads, and in unison recited, “I salute the flag. The emblem of my country – To thee I pledge my love and loyalty.” It was during these recitals, where I remember feeling a belonging to something much larger than myself.
We sang the National Anthem. We know what it is to be Canadian. Many of us have ploughed the furrows of the fields, into deep set weather-worn brows. We recall being half frozen for months on end, and how we burst out with excitement at the first sign of spring thaw. We have watched the weather with angst, and worked sixteen hours a day during seeding or harvest time.
Some grew up in cities and rode their bicycles to every park and beach. Deep down, we all know what it means to be Canadian. We do have a reputation for being nice, and are generally tolerant and peaceful. We should be proud of that, and continue in the same vein.
Some ideologies lean more toward socialism, and some more toward capitalism. In reality, we need a healthy balance of both. Therefore we should take the good from each one, and reject the abuse of power and corruption that is prone to raise its ugly head, regardless of the political stripes.
I believe when things veer off too far to the left, or too far to the right – things become us againstthem polarized. When the polarities start to drive on the shoulders, and eventually hit the ditch, they actually blend together in the muddied waters below, losing all respect for boundaries. They create underground tributaries, instead of transparent policies.
I strongly believe the ideologies should pull away from the extremes, and find more centrist oriented stability, unity, and representation. Otherwise there is sure to be an erosion or destruction of the middle class. We are framed in by extremism. The middle class is the landscape or Canadian picture. So why should we trash the picture and keep the frame?
The extreme left is constantly accusing the extreme right of being violent and dangerous. Yet they are the ones who are armed, and out in droves beating on unarmed peaceful protesters.
Now it seems that protests are illegal, no matter what people do. This protest has taught or shown us many things. On the side of the freedom convoy, there has been some misinformation and sensationalism. In addition there was a certain amount of taunting and aggravation directed at the police. But all of those people were quickly overpowered when armed forces moved in on them.
Personally, I do not get involved in protests because I don’t like crowds. But I do believe in the right to peaceful protest. I think all people involved should know the boundaries and parameters of the laws, so they don’t expose themselves to risk, or getting in scuffles with police.
I do not believe people should flood emergency lines, or do anything that could impede critical infrastructures. Nor should any property be destroyed or vandalized.
It helps when people are incentivized to examine and commit to their own principles, beliefs and values. It seems really odd, to see a left wing minority government in Canada accuse people of being dangerous and violent, while simultaneously overpowering peaceful protesters with police, snipers, and various other weapons of war. The citizens were not armed. They were assaulted.
I hope and pray Canada is able to change course. We are in an emergency because of the dramatic and unstable leadership. We need the Constitution and Charter of Rights to be reinstated in all ways. We need to find ways to make the leadership follow the laws and democratic principles. The wheels of justice might grind slowly, and they might have chains for the slippery slopes. When those chains are cast off, we will see change.
Meanwhile the old adage stands true – There is pain in change. Let us pray it is for gain, and not for loss. Clearly, this is no longer about a pandemic.
I do appreciate the speeches given by Brian Peckford, as an original contributor to the drafting of the Canadian Charter of Rights.
I also support the proper medical support, follow up and research, when it comes to vaccine injuries. It is very important considering these drugs have not been widely used on the general population until recently. There is very little known about long term outcomes, or the mechanism of injury for those who do suffer adverse reactions. In the case of the elderly or those with chronic disease, it is even more difficult to determine if the adverse health event was related to the vaccines.
The medical professionals need to research, document, and understand why some people are vulnerable to adverse reactions and not others. In some cases, the injections target certain organs, and various bodily systems in catastrophic ways. We need to be sure the adverse reactions are properly recorded, with appropriate follow up and compensation.
This seems like a no-brainer, yet the health care system seems to be ill-equipped to diagnose or deal with the injuries. The skepticism among many has increased because the health care system and media are reluctant to report or track the adverse reactions.
My own background in health care has made me very wary of the pharmaceutical industry. I realize many doctors and nurses do not share my own beliefs in this regard. Yet I also know full well that many do. Once again, the objective middle of the road point of view, with a healthy dose of skepticism seems prudent to me.
Every major health care decision a person makes can be fraught with anxiety and fear. I strongly believe it is important for people to have trust in the ethics of health care providers. More so, every individual has to trust their own intuition, in whatever interventions, procedures or medications they choose to use. This applies equally to what they choose to refuse.
Informed consent is one of the most vital polices to retain in the health care field. We can only hope health care professionals will adhere the principle of First Do No Harm.
The medical field is not only mandated first do no harm physically – but in fact, that same ethical parameter applies as an admonition to avoid doing political harm as well.
We need to learn more, not only about drug reactions, but also about drug interactions. People over the age of sixty are often on multiple classes of prescription drugs. As more are added to the system, surely it must be important to track and learn about drug interactions.
How do we balance the interests of health and holistic values – with those of sophisticated and aggressive pharmaceutical marketing campaigns?
There are many issues to put forth for debate and policy making. Hopefully this latest and largest protest of all, will shine a light on the things that need to be addressed.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The recent protests and developments in Canada, and around the world, keeps us on the edge of our seats, glued to the drama as it is unfolding before our eyes.
In a sense it has opened a Pandora’s box, with all kinds of unspeakable realizations spilling out, more by the day. We thought we were living in a democratic country. Now we are jolted into a reality that tells us the opposite. We are heading in a direction we did not intend to go. We have no brakes, and no turnaround at the end of this plot.
As the tensions mount, it is spine chilling to know the government of Canada is prepared to attack unarmed citizens. The police are not supposed to be directed by the government, yet here we are. It is an untenable situation for all people involved in this, including the police.
On one hand, it seems there could be another big party in Ottawa this weekend, since there is talk of bands and various activities being planned. But in stark contrast, there is a heavy, armed police presence and some dirty tricks being employed.
In addition, the parliament was closed today due to reported winter weather conditions. They were supposed to be continuing the very intense debate surrounding the use of the War Measures Act. So who knows if all the required procedures and votes are going according to plan? There appears to be no rhyme or reason, when it comes to shutting down parliament or debates.
We are witnessing some deep fissures in our governance, especially when it comes to a minority government having the power to invoke such catastrophic measures over a peaceful protest in Ottawa.
The various inconveniences have been voiced. The fact there are big rigs parked, and large gatherings, noise, speeches, bands, and food being served could be an inconvenience, especially when there was a lot of honking. But does it warrant such drama and risk?
I just keep getting a clip of a movie reel snippet, where Trudeau stands up and slowly says, “We want to keep you safe”. It is a ball and heel grinding type statement now, and it makes one wonder if he means the opposite of every statement he makes. How could any leader order violent assaults, and armed attacks on innocent people?
In all likelihood, anytime there is a need for crowd control, or the potential for an act of violence like driving a truck into a crowd, or provocateurs stirring up violence, snipers are probably the norm. We are blindly unaware of many police and political operations. We assume that whatever measures are used, are actually in the public’s best interests. But now, the trust is damaged. The loss of trust will have a proportionate correlation to the amount of damage done.
What happens next? Party weekend or a weekend of attack and chaos? Or will everyone simply leave, and develop other strategies?
The undermining of trust in government and banking institutions in Canada is going to be far reaching, and could have unintended consequences. How can anyone donate to a cause even if it is a registered charity or a church, because you may have your bank account frozen if it is learned that the organization is against mandates, or QR codes? We don’t know if something is lawful one day, and then considered illegal the next day.
We think it is okay, and perhaps even a duty to participate in peaceful protests. Yet we no longer know if they will be deemed illegal. What is legal and what is not legal? Will unacceptable views be illegal in the near future, if not already?
Can views upholding fundamental freedoms and Canada’s Constitution really be seen as unacceptable by the PM of Canada? Is he saying that adhering to the Constitution and Charter Rights are unacceptable views? It sure sounds that way.
It is one thing to make generalized false accusations. People can see through that fairly quickly. But if there is an accusation of having unacceptable views, then we should be informed exactly what those unacceptable views are. Shouldn’t we? How can we avoid being faced with random and unexpected punishments for our views?
If someone waved a certain kind of inappropriate flag or symbol – then it is the individual doing it who is responsible for the expression of an inappropriate view. It does not reflect on the Canadian flag, or on anyone else in proximity to the wayward flag or sign. Pointing out a handful of incidents of inappropriate behaviours among a large group of people, does not justify making false accusations toward the entire group. If that were the case, a drive by shooting, or any crime in a community, would taint the entire community as being violent thugs, when they had absolutely nothing to do with the crime.
For example, if a person does not believe in clear-cut logging, or in pipeline expansion – is that an unacceptable view? Does it mean “those people” are responsible for acts of violence or illegal blockades they had nothing to do with? How do we protect innocent causes from being radicalized? How do we prevent them from being polarized? I certainly do not believe any cause should condone violence of any kind.
We are no longer naive as to the governmental power over us. If anything, this dramatic unfolding of events has shown us – is that we are not acceptable as human beings, or as Canadian citizens, if we do not go along with the government directives and mandates.
It is not illegal to refuse a vaccine, yet there are severe consequences if you do not get vaccinated. Informed consent is the law, so it is difficult to understand why adults are punished for refusing what they have a right to refuse.
Above all, this confrontation brings some very serious issues to the forefront. Those issues are being hotly debated in the House of Commons. There are lawyers, scientists, doctors, politicians, and lay people who are questioning the narrative, and rejecting the measures.
Today is Friday, and let us all hope and pray it is a safe Friday. Let’s hope there is nothing more than harmless parties, and dancing this weekend in Ottawa. De-escalation as opposed to escalation is the wisest approach. For those who cannot manage the stress, get some rest, take time away, and above all maintain peace and stability. Just pray they do not let anything spiral out of control.
The power of prayer, is always something we know we can count on, no matter how helpless we are feeling as we watch these events unfold.
The most difficult thing to process, is that now we know – Trudeau is not willing to act on behalf of Canadians. In fact, he is willing to set armed snipers pointing at protesters right in front of the Parliament buildings.
With the snow and weather conditions, combined with the heavy police presence, snipers and other weapons directed at people, what are we witnessing?
It is the surrealistic, phantasmagorical, outlandish outcome of a delusional leader drunk on power. Let us hope and pray the police do not use excessive force this weekend.
The debate in the House of Commons on this entire fiasco will continue until they put it to a vote. All we can hope for now – is that no one gets injured.
There is hope in freedom – and freedom in hope. The biggest challenge is to remain optimistic. The best we can do, is be of good cheer – have faith, encouragement, truth, love, charity, peace and self control. Peace, prayers and good will – even toward those we sharply disagree with.
What separation will there ultimately be? The wheat from the chaff. The bone from the marrow. The wheat from the tares.
Few things require more true grit than standing up for an oath, for a nation, for a neighbour, or for a child. It is a challenge to adhere to the principles of justice, fairness, and freedoms – when authoritarian forces are working against you.
So many people have put their livelihoods and reputations on the line, to do what they believe is right. Why? Because they have integrity and courage. We all have the capacity to rise to principle.
As soon as we stand up to the abuse of power, things get critical. By that I mean, there is a critical, accusatory, unfounded attack on whoever is threatening the power structure. They go into a verbal attack mode. They discredit and try to intimidate in every way possible. It is the psychological equivalent of slapping you down.
The government tolerates and even supports many fringe protests. They condone protests that do have violence, and all kinds of disrespectful damages to statues, monuments, public property, and local businesses. They support the smaller extremist fringe groups, because it is all theatre for them. They are supporting the concept of a particular cause, first and foremost. It is almost always something that is no threat to the political establishment.
Riots and church burnings, are a flash in the pan, from the government’s perspective. They actually seem to promote that sort of thing, because anarchy and chaos means we need more policing.
On the other hand, a huge freedom movement is a major threat to them, so it is pretty obvious why they would support one and not the other. The bigger, and the better organized the grassroots movement, the more of a nightmare it is for the oligarchs. Chaos gives governments more reason for cracking down, but peaceful protest does not. This is the most critical factor from a bigger picture perspective.
Our foundational laws were established to protect the fundamental freedoms of people living in a democratic society. The police swear an oath to uphold the Charter of Rights. They know the laws.
However, as with all professions and people in general, covid and mandates cause division, contradictions and conflicts. The police are given orders from their superiors, that may not correlate with what they know about the laws. In a sense they are being put in an unfair position, and many are walking on eggshells. Thankfully the crowd and the police have been keeping their cool for the most part.
Integrity is standing up for what you know is right, even if it means you ruffle someone’s feathers or get punished for it.
When Adam and Eve were told not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – they did it anyway. Why? Because they had free will, even though God was near by, and was sure to find out. It was a decision that set the stage for the consequences of our our fallen nature. It also clearly established the doctrine of free will.
More than anything it meant that people, all of us, from the beginning of humankind, must discern the difference between what is right and wrong. We must figure out and differentiate between what is good, and what is evil.
If we are honest with ourselves, we know when we do what is wrong, and feel remorse over it. It teaches us to apologize sincerely, and to stop doing it. It’s not that we do what is right all the time, because we don’t. But we know the difference. We also know our fundamental rights and freedoms, and when they are being trampled on. If God does not take away our freedoms, how can man take them away? I really don’t think God will allow it.
One of the key differences between good and evil, is that those who aim to do good have the ability to admit mistakes or wrongdoing. Integrity therefore, is also about admitting wrongdoing, and changing what you have been doing. It means we all have the ability to discern, based on our own judgement, stemming from what happened in the Garden of Eden. God was angry and gave consequences, but he never did say that the good was taken away. It was a turning point relating to the knowledge of good and evil.
We have the ability to differentiate if we choose to. To me this really illustrates how God created us, clearly with free will. We do have guidelines in the Bible, in the laws, in the various declarations and agreements, and most of all – our intuition, our mind, our sensibilities, and our conscience.
Science is wonderful. So is art. Both are really quite subjective, and in some ways one reflects the other. We do not worship science. We are free to believe what we want to believe. Science is not sacrosanct. It carries a vast range of topics, so to make such a generalization is ludicrous. Some people are interested in sharks or marine biology. Others might be growing hybrid roses. To accuse people of not following the science, is almost laughable.
Guess what? We don’t have to follow the science. If I don’t want to put baking soda in the cake, so what? The cake might not turn out, and I’ll change my mind for next time. If you decide to use nail polish remover to take a stain out of a silk chiffon scarf, it might ruin it, and you won’t do it again.
Don’t we learn how to stay alive by following some science, some common sense, some advice, some experimentation – and most of all, by the grace of God?
Do we wake up every morning and think, “today I am going to be really good, and am going to promise to follow science”! I don’t know about anyone else, but I can honestly say that I have never once thought about following science. Even in science class!
I just put some fresh squeezed lemon juice in a cup of tea. Oh no! Maybe I am following science without even realizing it. Does lip gloss count as science? How about if it is Burt’s Bees?
Could you denounce people as being anti-art if you don’t like their taste in art? Could you accuse someone of being anti-music, if you don’t like their selection of music? If I write a book, do I have unacceptable views, if someone else does not like it?
Science may have tried and true principles, but there are many mysteries, and as many differences of opinions. Every person has the right to explore, and test whenever it is feasible – the various tangibilities, and intangibilities we come across in life.
Do we accept ideas – or reject them? Do we take this path down into the valley? Or do we head up over the mountain? It is not up to anyone else, any expert, any king, or any political leader – to tell us how to live our lives, and what, or who we choose to follow. It is untenable on all levels.
We don’t have to follow a virus. Nor do we have to be ruled by one. We are being ordered around by oligarchs speaking as though the virus is leading us with a viral leash. They are using it as an excuse to encroach upon democracy. They are cowards in every sense of the word because they will not admit what is driving them. They are claiming science is sacred, and we must not only believe what they say without questioning it, but follow it too.
If I could get a message to Trudeau, I would ask him quite frankly, “Who in their right mind sets out every single day to follow science”? Scientists set out to learn about their field of study. They apply certain standards and principles while doing their research. But I am quite certain that even scientists don’t wake up thinking about following science, or they might end up following themselves around in a circle.
Trudeau can go ahead and call me anti-science for my beliefs. I really don’t care. He might was well call me anti-buffalo because I would not let him herd me off a cliff either.
If we get to return the insults – he is unethical and anti Canadian. I hope he has the capacity to admit wrongdoing and drop the mandates. Who would have ever believed it would become such an astronomical battle?
Go back to the story of Adam and Eve and ask yourself – who has been beguiled by the serpent? And who is trying to do good, and restore the real law and order?
The number one principle in human ethics is to avoid the abuse of power. There is an old adage “You abuse it – you lose it.”
Let’s hope these axioms are strong like axles. Cause we are at a turning point!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
As we fight for our freedoms, we listen to a litany of words being bandied about. Words that are banished. Words that dive deep into the gutter, and words that rise high above it all. Words that are delivered with powerful rhetoric and passion. If there are two sides of the freedom coin, one is living life to the fullest, and the other is constantly circling the drain. One side carries potential, and the other side is oppressed and exploited.
We are going to have to rely on words, and especially on the clarity of definitions, now more than ever before. Words can be twisted into a pretzel, or turn into a boomerang. They can be scripted and meaningless, with a repetitious robotic monotony. They can inspire or incite, create calm, or cause calamity.
Years ago as a young woman, I joined the White Rock Writer’s club. Almost everyone there was much older than I was, and almost all of them were writing about the war.
They told their stories about fleeing to Canada as war brides, and for the men, how they left families behind, in some cases young brides, and when reunited, often hardly recognized each other.
One woman was originally from Norway, and had been living and working as a journalist in London during the war. She had met and married a man she barely knew, which seemed to be quite common at the time. She was from a wealthy family, and ended up living in a wilderness cabin in central BC. When her husband finally returned from the war, they were complete strangers to each other. Both of them had changed. I don’t think the marriage lasted.
In looking back, the instant marriages happened for several reasons. People were seeking some kind of connection to their home, and someone to write letters to while they were away. They needed some hope to hold onto, so they could return to a normal life.
Women wanted to find some security for their futures during these very unstable times. In this case, the woman from Norway, met the soldier at a dance. A week later she was in her rooming house in the bath tub, and he slipped a note under the door asking her to marry him. She agreed. A week later he was sent to Italy to fight in the war. The honeymoon was over.
After multiple bombings and raids in London, she finally had a terrible experience when a plate glass window flew through the air following an explosion, and killed a horse just a few feet away from her. She was knocked over, and covered in the horse’s blood. She thought she was injured and bleeding as well. She laid in the alley up against a brick building, staring at the dead horse.
It took several minutes for her to get to her feet. She was shaking and traumatized, but was okay. Up until that point she had a sense of invincibility associated with youth and an adventurous spirit. She thought she could remain in London if she kept her wits about her. But the very next day, she got on the Canadian Red Cross boat, and headed for Canada.
In some cases people expressed how they were in complete shock to learn about atrocities being committed just an hours drive away. Another elderly woman explained that the men wanted to go to war because they were so desperate to get work during the depression era. Another woman whose family was from Austria, recounted a late night knock on their door. Two military policemen demanded to speak to her husband. They forced him down the stairs and outside. She watched through the window, as they took her husband away in the middle of the night in a black car. She never saw him again. She had two young boys, and struggled to raise them by herself after their father disappeared.
By listening to and reading some of their stories, the one thing that stuck in my mind was how much they stressed the importance of free speech. They said it was the last thing that was taken away from them. Once it was no longer safe to speak out, in hindsight – it was the final nail in the coffin of freedom.
They described the “us against them” mentality. They spoke of the fear and uncertainty. I remember one woman worked in a bullet making factory. Others worked on assembly lines sewing tarps and other military gear.
On the topic of free speech, we know it is a protected right under the Canadian Charter of Rights as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We also know the entire concept of free speech is under siege.
Certainly we can understand and agree that free speech has limits. Those limits specifically revolve around violence, making threats, inciting violence, and derogatory or aggressive language toward others. However in recent years, free speech has become like tossing hot potatoes in the air. Some of those words are like they are on fire.
We have issues with pronouns, with multiple genders, different races, levels of intelligence, polarizations, us against them mentality, and a range of adjectives surrounding our views, which lead to the choices we make.
Free speech is an expression of thoughts and free will. Free speech is not fear based. It is about ingesting language, to chew it, and to spit some of it back out, if need be. Free speech carries a tone. It carries the truth. It reflects upon our existence and purpose.
We choose who we serve, and in doing so, are able to share ideas, arguments, or persuasion toward common values. We are by nature, inclined toward language and words. Babies formulate words and ideas long before they can talk.
To be wise, now is the time to unravel the words, and develop a good filtering system. It helps to know our own values, and reasons for writing, speaking, and sharing our ideas and stories. It is really quite fascinating.
Lately we have been inundated with covid buzz words, like misinformation, conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxer, racism, covid denier, climate change denier, and so on. These are all frequently used terms to oppress freedom of speech. We are ridiculed if we do not go along with the narrative. If we continue to resist, we are accused of spreading dangerous misinformation.
In my opinion, it is best to know ourselves, our beliefs, and where we are coming from – first and foremost. We have to know who we are serving. Perfect love casts out all fear. I keep reminding myself of the fruits of the spirit. We are promised there is no law against the fruits of the spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control.
I think if we know in our heart of hearts – what we choose to believe, and want to express, to give insight, love, and hope for the next generation, we cannot go wrong.
When we realize we have to be bold and courageous, and become champions for a worthwhile cause – we are serving God. We know he will defend us, which is a huge relief.
It is almost like we went from the Dark Winter to the Winter of Light in just a two week period. Oh – if only we knew what has really been going on behind the scenes. Some day we will know. Without a doubt, the truth is really going to surprise a lot of people!
Freedom requires faith. And faith brings truth, which endures and overcomes all things.
Brainwashing, thought reform, cult indoctrination, mass psychosis, propaganda, fear mongering, and robotic repetition- are active attempts to mess with our minds.
I see so many similarities in the covid narrative, as I experienced in the brainwashing that was inflicted on me in a small town Alberta public school. It was orchestrated by an authoritative brute, disguised as an Alberta high school teacher. There was a great deal of shaming, sleep deprivation, fear mongering, repetition of lies, staring, and gaslighting involved.
I could not leave the sordid teacher tale behind for the longest time. It took until I escaped the clutches of the teacher to be able to understand it better. It went on for years and years. The guy latched onto me when I was in high school, and I could not get rid of him, or the nasty lying schemes he cooked up with members of my own family.
The techniques of thought reform revolve around constant monitoring, stalking outside of school, fear, humiliation, disapproval, lies, condemnation, the loss of freedom to be a member of my own family and the loss of freedom of association as an adult. Much of what the teacher drilled into me revolved around claims that our mother was wicked and non-redeemable. He translated that into what a pitiable shameful creature I was without him. He would not let up with the lies, no matter what I did or said. My life was his obsession.
I was not permitted to be who I am, or to be a member of my own family, choose my own career, have a political opinion, or basically step out of line. It was out of the question. It was like my life had to be sacrificed over what someone else wanted. I was an object to be sold or traded, as some kind of mascot, or investment deal – a deal that had been cooked up, and then sealed for all time behind my back.
I can attest to the fact that you cannot get a clear perspective until you get out of the trap. Since they will not let you out of the trap, and all the wraparound lies – you have to fight hard to get free of it. Meanwhile, as your trust in those around you completely crumbles, you have to figure out what happened to your life. That too – takes time.
In my experience, there could be no healing or recovery until I got free of it all. Following that, there was an in-depth contemplative phase. There was so much shame and condemnation inflicted on me over the decision to get the teacher out of my life, that it was difficult to rise above it all and be objective. I was ganged up on and dominated all over again, thanks to the deal my older brother made with the cult teacher – combined with his power and influence in the family.
Brainwashing is a psychological assault, insult and trap, no different than if you are trapped in a cage. One of the predominant techniques involved is to shame, blame and scapegoat you for your insubordination. They not only want to monitor and control your every move, my older brother actually told me he was going to put me on a behaviour contract when I was in my fifties (for what I was thinking). I asked him, “Like what kind of contract? So you know when I do my dishes, or what?” He said, “No, it is what is in your head that is the problem”. Oh my. That’s a tough one isn’t it?
Since my older brother is now one of the 1% elite, and is very rich and powerful – I think his influence is part of what is happening politically today. He has the totalitarian tyrant mentality to the core. He will dominate everything and everyone in sight. He has always been that way. He is the boss man, and he rules. He has not changed since we were kids back on the farm.
The entire trucker convoy has opened a new perspective for me on the issue of toxic male dominance, versus a strong and protective type of masculinity. To me, it has shown the benevolent side, versus the corrupt side of masculinity. I see Big Brother and the scheming conspiratorial dominance using brute force and mind manipulation, as being on one spectrum of the man-dates, hidden from view, yet having tremendous influence on politics.
My conclusion was that we are stuck with the old boy’s club scheming behind closed doors. They have all the money, all the power, and all the political clout. They reduce us peons – to nothingness, wishing pesky little people did not even exist. It is a ruthless and punitive attitude to have toward other people. Loyalties exist only for those willing to be sycophants and minions.
In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would see a type of masculine force rise up that defends the rights of innocent people, instead of taking them away. The paradigm we have grown accustomed to – is that rich powerful men pull the strings, and there is no counterweight. It seemed to me, there was no resistance strong enough to oppose them. We all know Trudeau is speaking through a megaphone spewing the views of the elite, backed by his posse of wealthy corporate handlers and influencers.
Yet here we are. We finally have a group of no guff type truckers and farmers who are standing up to an unfair dominance over our lives. They have brought, through freedom and free will, the choice of the people to the forefront.
This is a display of power and unity that actually defends ordinary people. It is a strength defending the rights of babes in arms, to the isolated grandmothers, to those forced to die alone, to the working class people who put food on our tables. And everyone in between. It is such a refreshing turn of the tables. We have been forced into a mandate trap with no way out, and yet to our surprise – the trucker’s convoy came to the rescue, like right out of a Hollywood movie script.
I know the PM and the media have doubled down, just as my own family doubled down on me when I finally resisted the tyranny and lies. But once you are out of the trap psychologically, there is no going back.
Brainwashing is insidious and damaging. There are certain techniques used, which makes me believe it is an intentional act of harm. When there is deep rooted spiritual indoctrination, combined with an assault on the identity, it takes years to unravel the harm. It is a form of molestation.
From what I have witnessed in the covid progression of lies and propaganda, I saw that people bought into it, just trying to be nice. I know the drill. You comply because you feel awkward, and want to help make things normal. There is a willingness to concede, even though there is a great deal of cognitive dissonance, because they have broken down your free will and spirit. It does not take long until we become accustomed to oppression, and resign ourselves to it.
Once the bond of fear and dominance is broken, there is a surge of freedom and optimism at first. In my case, there was also a sense of absolute revulsion toward the teacher for what he did to my life. Even though I know I must forgive him, it is almost impossible. I can forgive my own family members, but I have trouble forgiving the guy who literally tortured me into subservience with a pack of lies.
As far as the covid restrictions are concerned, it has gone on for two years, with no end in sight. Every time a few restrictions are lifted, they double down again. This is a cult practice. They keep you off-balance. They throw out a few rewards, and then move forward again, pushing an ever increasing number of boundaries past your better judgement.
They are push in predators, using push polls, leading questions, and biased responses. Once they have a foot in the door, they want you to be nice, while they move in on you completely. They operate on the premise – if you give an inch, they can take a mile.
If I was a psychologist telling the government what to expect, I would say the penny has dropped for most people, which means there is no turning back. When people have come to the point of resistance – it means our minds are made up. There will be no more falling for media lies and propaganda. They might as well give it up. Covid is like their pet puffer fish. It just keeps puffing up with more poison. Once you see it, you avoid it.
I believe brainwashing or thought reform is not sustainable, because it erodes and destroys the soul of its victims. Escaping the trap becomes the only way to survive. We cannot re-reconcile what we reject at the core of our being. In fact – the resolve to resist just gets stronger. You can feel the quest for freedom inside, like it swells up from the spirit within us.
We are inclined to go back to our roots, and figure it out from there. One thing about control, is that the control freaks have to be able to predict a response. They use fear, mandates, shaming, scapegoating, ganging up on, etc. in order to get the predictable response. Blind obedience is what they want.
Now the powers behind the scenes are in a position where they cannot predict or control the response. Control freaks are actually much more inclined to lose control, than those of us who just want our own freedom, never mind controlling the masses. In my opinion it is the control freaks who are the dangerous ones. Why? Because they are coming from a place of insecurity – instead of love. It may seem like an oxymoron, but arrogance is a symptom of insecurity.
When control freaks do not get their own way – they get mad. They get revenge. But they will not do it openly. They hate to see people escape from the trap they have sprung. But if everyone escapes all at once – what are they going to do?
The trucks runneth over – The footprint of tyranny.
The truckers create a blockade – yet at the same time, they are opening the floodgates, to set the people free. It is a story of Biblical proportions. Just wait and see!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
We have been exposed to another infamous, and somewhat staggering speech from our PM in Canada. It is already spinning and grinding the wheels in our heads – churning up yet another flurry of indignation.
In response to the trucker’s freedom convoy, we have been told that some people have unacceptable views. He claimed this convoy of truckers is nothing. That’s right, nothing but an angry fringe mob representing a very small minority. Seriously?
Our PM also shows great disdain for anger, unless of course it is his own anger, then it’s okay. Otherwise, no unacceptable views. There can be no anger over his views either. It is very odd coming from a man who has a history of supporting all kinds of minority fringe groups.
In fact, he implies – if we don’t smarten up, we will somehow be punished for our unacceptable viewpoints too. Create a crisis, cause a reaction – punish the reaction. Quite the cycle of abuse. How can he be surprised that people would finally say enough? From his perspective, when is it enough? Taking it to the wall – or to the wild side? Why would any leader stoke division, and uproar to the point of mass protest?
When the ball is in his court, he grabs it and takes it home with him. It is HIS ball, so the game is over, if he is not guaranteed to win. To some, power is like child’s play. Petulant and pure as the driven snow – like last weeks blizzard. Anyone not on board with that, can stay out in the cold and starve. Fair play is another unacceptable view. He gets paid. He gets food. He travels freely. So what is everyone else so worried about?
But sadly for him, after the vision clears – the narrative is crumbling like a stack of cards. There is no controlling the domino effect, when legalism and petty rules no longer make any sense. Laws that provide stability and protect inalienable rights, are a reflection of societal values. Laws and rules that make no sense, will be rejected by those same range of societal values. There are Universal laws that some politicians tend to forget about in the never ending quest for absolute power.
The central message coming from the trucker’s convoy, could be called a view. The convoy carries a message of Freedom. How can any PM or democratic leader claim in front of the nation – that freedom is an unacceptable view? Where is the list of unacceptable views? We should all know what they are. Shouldn’t we?
The minute freedom is mentioned – the polarized opposite spins it into anarchy. But that is absurd, because what a freedom rally is trying to do – is prevent anarchy.
The cause of anarchy is a descent into chaos based on a refusal to follow the laws. Dismantling Constitutional laws, and other laws surrounding informed consent, laws protecting inalienable human rights, economic rights, rights to freely assemble, and privacy laws in health care – these are the laws that prevent us from falling into chaos and anarchy. Yet these are the very foundational laws that have been eroded and dismantled over covid. Laws that have been holding us together for hundreds of years got tossed in just a two year period, without any proper judicial processes.
Once again, the wording and the polarities are spinning this to pretend that all the faux covid laws are actually the laws. One of the main reasons there is so much controversy and passionate responses to these mandates, is because Canadians generally know what the laws are, and for the most part have always been tolerant and law abiding.
Unacceptable views do exist. They are outlined in the Criminal Code of Canada. The list includes everything from property crime, to violent assaults, kidnapping, child pornography, theft, inciting violence, fraud, and so on.
Foundational laws must be maintained, or we lose our democracy. In my opinion, Canadian citizens are saying “I want the foundational laws that are meant to govern our land and protect our inalienable rights back”. Taking those foundational laws away, is taking away the rule of law. The more legalistic and controlling things become with rules that are not in sync with the supreme laws of the land – is a dichotomy that even a five year old cannot process.
Being forced to internalize so many contradictions does have an impact on mental health. Some people become depressed. Other people become angry. A good leader would probe for underlying concerns. But instead – people are told these are unacceptable views and that it is not okay to be angry. The expression of anger as in a peaceful protest has a purpose. The purpose is to make a grievance known. Anger is the emotion and catalyst that leads to constructive change, if it is managed properly.
Mental illness or unacceptable views must have accompanying symptoms or laws attached to them. People struggle with mental health on a regular basis. They are not sick just because they struggle. They are sick if they cannot cope, or if they act out in a way that threatens harm. The key is to maintain self control regardless of how you feel.
The idea of stomping out all opposing views, with a singular focus on getting 100% of the population vaccinated is an extremist viewpoint. It is as extreme as it gets.
Not only do all people have to get vaccinated, but if they do not, they are severely restricted and shamed. They cannot work. They cannot get EI even though all employees pay into it. Many are saying they should be denied health care, even though they pay taxes like anyone else. It has been taken to the extreme in name calling and denouncing the unvaccinated as “not being Canadian citizens”. These are the views of extremism in my opinion.
The other glaring viewpoint or polarity right now is between – follow the science or follow the truckers. Pick one.
People pick what they can trust, what they need, what they believe in. Thought reform is a fear based attempt to oppress and subvert popular dissent. Guess what – it does not work. It does not jive with foundational laws based on one of the oldest Constitutional monarchies in the world.
The Canadian Constitution has language to protect inalienable rights in the event a government loses sight of its role. This is the language of the law. Those are the views Canadians are standing up for.
To have a PM stand up at a time of leadership crisis and basically denounce the Canadian Constitution as being an unacceptable view – is almost inconceivable. Yet – he came out with that speech. Did he think it through? Where does it lead? At least the truckers knew where they were headed. I really wonder what Trudeau is trying to do. If what he says is intended to clarify anything – all it has done is muddy the waters and make his views look downright scary.
For the first time in our lives, some of us are pondering this question. The only way we can evaluate how it happens, is to look to the past, to look at the present, and to read Bible prophecy. For the secular world, the Bible prophecy is irrelevant, so the secular world will look more at things like computer modelling, and climate change – in order to make predictions.
I was reading about the collapse of civilization during the Bronze Age, and then soon realized the scope of these lost civilizations throughout history. Common themes are that there was a period of settlement, cities built, prosperity, combined with engineering and technical advancements leading to sophisticated infrastructures.
Then something happened to cause these civilizations to collapse. Most modern day interpretations claim the causes to be drought, climate change (yes even in the sixth century), famine, overcrowding, loss of income or livelihood, and pestilence and disease.
But in reality, the collapse of these early civilizations, is shrouded in mystery. After the Bronze Age collapse, there was a loss of written record, during and especially following the collapse – so much of the cause is based on theory and conjecture. No doubt wars and conflict contributed significantly to the fall of civilizations.
We can be sure that the loss of economic survival and food security would have been central to the collapse of a civilization. The descriptions revolve around chaos, and generalized societal breakdown.
According to one book writer who focused on the collapse during the Bronze Age, the least likely to survive such a collapse were the ruling elite. There seems to be a pattern when you look at the historical fragments that come out of the catastrophic changes that befell people throughout history. We see a progression of events or circumstances, that reach a tipping point, and then all hell breaks loose.
Whether it was the revolt of the pheasants, or the chaotic collapse of infrastructure, drought, famine, or war – the landscape was changed forever – first by the settlements, and then by their disappearances.
Whether you read about the history of collapse during the Bronze Age, the Mayans, the Vikings, and various other civilizations that first thrived, then died – they are still mysteries. I think the Bronze Age is the longest and most interesting situation, since it spanned such a large area for a long period of time.
In some of the descriptions of lost civilizations, the cause was evident. One location had what was described as thousands of arrows, like leaves littering the landscape. They were found along with the bones of people who remained where they had fallen when they were shot by the arrows. But there was no way of knowing why this happened, or who did it to them. In some cases the civilizations were abandoned, like people were forced to leave very suddenly even though they had lived in luxury and abundance for a period of time.
In another description, there was evidence of a catastrophic fire. Sometimes the archeologists can find evidence of famine and drought. But for the most part, each historian will admit, every downfall remains cloaked in mystery.
Throughout history, people usually had the option to flee a war torn country, or migrate to more fertile lands. But now, people do not have those options. We are in a global free fall.
In my opinion, the key difference we are seeing today, is that we are facing issues on a global scale with increasing conflicts, combined with chaos and instability of infrastructures. These infrastructures contribute to food security and economic survival. We cannot survive if we cannot feed ourselves.
I don’t know how anyone, including the ruling elite, can create a great reset for the entire world. It means they are collapsing all systems without a plan for rebuilding. You cannot rebuild what took five hundred or a thousand years to build – by intentionally collapsing that system. Do they honestly believe they can collapse foundational principles and reboot all systems within a couple of years?
Build back better? That’s delusional and demented in my opinion. That’s why laws have addendums. Instead of scrapping long established laws, we see addendums getting passed, for very good reasons. The destruction of the rule of law, especially the supreme laws of the land, like the Constitution – is one way to contribute to the collapse of democracy. From there, it is a slippery slope into rule by dictatorships. Totalitarianism is simply not sustainable. The virus is the megaphone – so we do not clearly see where the voice of all this deception and tyranny is coming from.
If we see the collapse of the rule of law, of food security, of basic human rights, of economic security, and of infrastructure – we can at least consider the fact we may be nearing the end of the age. Never before in history have we seen so many of the contributors to collapse coalesce on a global scale.
Other than the flood during Noah’s day – the world has never known a complete collapse of civilization. Historically, the collapses were in certain locations, spanning specific time frames. The other notable thing about them, is that much of the documentation as to what was going on at the time, was lost in the aftermath. There was an absence of the written word. Only the monuments, artifacts, and certain structures remained, to help piece together what happened.
We do live, or think we live in more civilized and sophisticated times, with all of our newfound technology and knowledge. But it is truly incredible what human beings are capable of doing to each other if the circumstances become desperate.
For those of us who do believe in God, it is a huge relief during these stressful and chaotic times. The ruling class may have enjoyed many years of decadence and power, but history tells us that can change very rapidly. They make plans, but there is no guarantee those plans will work out as they hope. Even if most of the conspiracy theories are true – the outcomes are not set in stone. Some may think those planned outcomes are set in stone – but surprises might be in store for all of us, including them.
Every day brings new developments, and truthfully we are supposed to have mercy and love towards all people. The final chapter is about a call to repentance for all people, including the churches. Repentance brings redemption for the believers. Those who refuse to repent, are sent strong delusion and develop hardened hearts. Their pride lets them feel superior and their money provides the prestige, the comforts, and all the delicacies this wonderful earth has to offer.
Wealth and prosperity carries no inherent evil, unless it is acquired through deception and abuse of power. Joy, love, peace, and health are highly valued – yet they have no monetary equivalents.
For the secular world and the atheists, or worse yet, the apostasy of the churches – they take what they can get out of this life on earth. They plan for earthly gain, not heavenly gain. So it is understandable why there is competition for gain.
We listen to the experts all day long – yet we know nothing from listening to them. In fact, we are exposed to massive contradictions in a single paragraph. We cannot really test the truth of the numbers we see on a computer screen or in a newspaper. All we can do, is look at the world around us and observe what is happening.
Stability is one of the most central principles in maintaining societal order. Yet the entire world is being forced into instability and chaos. Who can comprehend this?
No one can. But we can keep one central theme in mind. They cannot collapse free will. We carry our individuality, and free will with us into the next age. So we can keep our chin up – regardless of what happens!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Almost every memorable writer throughout history faced controversy. Several of them were punished and sent to labour camps or prison. Stalin murdered many of the intellectuals and writers who were thought to promote western influences.
No matter what the scale, or the level of fame – writers have to lay bare their inmost thoughts, or raw ideas, along with emotionally charged passions, channeled into the arrangements of words. Just words. Thoughts get strung together like a picture on a big old-fashioned loom. Writing shows what is looming ahead, by what is seen in the patterns, before the full image emerges.
For all those who are not writers, many think as though they are. They see the characters, the nuances, the crossed motives, the contradictions, the changing stories, and the sixty four thousand shades of grey too – just as many writers do.
When a reader connects with a writer, they either accept or reject the ideas presented. We are constantly filtering, and must filter more and more information all the time, as competing sources vie for our attention. We each have to find our own way to separate the wheat from the chaff.
If you pick almost any topic, you can find polarized points of view. We usually don’t hinge our values on one article, or a single experience. We decide our beliefs based on a cumulative amount of information that is sifted by our brains. We have memories and experiences to help us compare and validate the things we read. If the weather forecast was completely off-base and not truthful, after awhile, we would stop paying attention to it and find other ways to check it.
We develop values based on foundational beliefs, and personal convictions. Even siblings born into the same family, often have completely different values. This is based on personality, and the different ways each one interprets and manages his or her surroundings. Siblings have plenty of conflict. What happens if one is censored, and the other dominates? It leads to a very dysfunctional family.
In sibling relationships, where there is dominance and bullying, it is usually the stronger, older child who rules the roost. This is for no other reason than birth order and physical size. You would think we would grow out of such things when we enter adulthood, or preferably much earlier. But many don’t grow out of the need for power and dominance, and carry these traits into adulthood.
Authoritative and controlling attitudes are ingrained early in life for some people. Authority is meant to be accountable and transparent, with checks and balances. Those in authority over us are expected to follow the laws, as well as the Constitution and democratic principles.
If they don’t, they deserve to be challenged. Anyone who is in a professional role, has an obligation to intellectually challenge brute force dominance that erodes democracy, free will, freedom of speech, and fair play.
We know there will never be real equality, and if we examine the concept, how would we even define it? Would we be equal if we were all exactly the same? Imagine a world where no one musician was better than another? No one was better looking or smarter. No one with more money or property. Is it even feasible in the fantasy world of the newfound meta verse, let alone the real world?
What fun would it be? No one wins. All have the same strategy, and no one can tell who is who. The duplicate button got batch processed into clones. Busy clones, and many angry clones – with no competition among them. Pointless and angry sounds like chaos to me.
Controversy as a writer, is about delving into some of the intellectual challenges involved in a given topic. It stirs up the indignities, the injustices, and the neurochemistry associated with the flight or fight response. It is the attempt to reach out and share ideas or possibilities that may not have been considered yet. Or it confirms and validates what the reader also believes. It is an attempt to cut to the chase, instead of chasing your tale, until someone cuts it off.
Can conflict be censored? Especially if the conflict was created and crammed down our throats, and more commonly up the nostrils – with a swab? What does the test tell us? Oh but is it accurate? Dare we ask that question? Does it matter? Of course it does.
I read in Global News today what I considered to be a very dumb and hackneyed article. The entire article tried to refute every bit of controversy surrounding covid, repeating all the talking points over and over. Okay, we get it. These are full page ads for the pharmaceutical companies. It is not news. They are telling us what to think, what to believe, what to do, and what values to have. What does that have to do with news?
Global News went on to blame, name, and shame various non-compliant companies. They also gloat over any untimely death or illness of any person who has voiced anti-covid sentiments, labelling them as anti-vaxxers.
Some people would rather die than be called an anti-vaxxer. How ludicrous. We keep hearing; “this is the way out of the pandemic” yet we are in a deeper rabbit hole than when it all began.
People made comments when interviewed by Global News, but they were asking not to be named, because they were affiliated with such radical organizations as “Jabless Jobs”. Once again – can’t we at least say, “this is mind-bending ludicrous”? Imagine people having the nerve to find ways to work for a living, in order to feed their families?
To all writers, and readers – we are at a critical crossroad of cowardice or courage. It looks like we are at that fork in the road. Perhaps it is more like a pitchfork. Words can be powerful. The media is using words to make false accusations. They are calling peaceful people radical, extremist, and fanatical. What are they? Mad?
Let us be perfectly clear – the decisions some people have made to wait and see, the desire to work for a living, the normal inclination to socialize, the desire to see loved ones, to want to go to school and get an education, to want to buy a home or start a business and keep it going, to want to go to fitness facilities to stay in shape, to want to go to church if so inclined. These are not the values, desires, or patterns of radicalized extremists!
Fear is the biggest de-motivator when it comes to human behaviours. We are better equipped to deal with sudden, short lived fear – than to live with the chronic stress and anxiety of sustained fear. Uncertainty and instability is also a stressor that can become chronic and adversely affect overall health.
How can any of the antagonistic journalistic nit-wits claim that good is bad, and bad is good? We are not all loon-balls – if we make an informed decision to avoid certain medical procedures. So drop it already, and prepare for some honest political discourse and opposing viewpoints. Debates are not won by shutting the opponents out in the cold, and dead bolting the door. Open it up, or lose ALL credibility.
We live in a rapidly eroding democratic country. In BC, there is no active political opposition to challenge what is going on. Fortunately, there is one political person in a senior’s advocacy role, who is pleading for more humane treatment for long term care residents. Those poor people are worse off than ever before. They are being neglected, deprived of social contact, isolated, imprisoned, and cared for by people who don’t even want to touch them. Many of them have no idea why this is happening to them. They die alone, carrying this great travesty of human suffering to a whole new level.
Now this global agenda has the gall to shift the burden of illness onto children. They do not in any way deserve to carry such a burden – especially when they have no capacity for informed consent. How does a five year old understand what is going on if we can’t? I am sure most of them would adamantly say NO WAY if they knew the risks.
If we don’t have the courage to speak out now – we are cowards. Now is the time to re-evaluate and reconfirm our values, hold them tight, respect our minds, guard our hearts, and stand up for the things we believe in.
Some examples of the most controversial writers throughout history: Nicolaus Copernicus, Friedrich Nietzsche, Galileo, Karl Marx, John Milton, Oscar Wilde, Charles Darwin, Voltaire, Truman Capote, Aldous Huxley, and Ayn Rand – just to name a small handful of them.
Whether these controversial writers were right or wrong, good or bad – where would the world be now, if we never allowed any controversy, or refused to let any philosophical potential be developed? Who can destroy food for thought? Who gets to decide what can and cannot be read or discussed? Where does it end – if we allow it to begin?
Where would we be – if we did not read and interpret the Bible?
We, as human beings have to read, learn and think. Why? Because we don’t like the polarized alternative. We cannot conform to a society that is not open to discourse, tolerant of different points of view, and capable of managing open debates on topics that affect us directly. How can we be? Some things are simply not sustainable.
Broken systems that took hundreds of years to build, cannot be destroyed and built back better in a matter of months. It is sheer lunacy. We need to ask the powers that be, to stop hacking at the foundation of our existence. They do not even know how to rebuild it. It’s like giving a six year old a radio to take apart, and expect that he can put it all back together so it works. Not likely.
Power has the capacity to run amok, without an adequate amount of rational thought. Power corrupts. We have checks and balances in place, to keep power from becoming absolutely corrupt – for very good reasons. Power is like an addiction. Perhaps it is time for an intervention.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
This is probably the most central topic for all of us right now. We are being told not to follow social media, with dire warnings about all the conspiracy theories. Oh no – what will happen to us if we read and indulge in different material?
Will we morph into the dreaded conspiracy theorists? We will definitely be on the other side of the “us against them” battleground of the constant conflicted information. We become the pip-squeaks in the war of words. Our thoughts are vilified, and our actions are considered reprehensible, even if we sit back and do nothing at all. We are not impulsive. Just the opposite in fact.
How dare we challenge the mainstream journalists? They seem to be either young and naive, crafting the narrative for their own careers, and the greater corporate good. Or they are the old dogs, long in the tooth, and drumming propaganda into us like they have a hammer and a template for doing so, nailing it down with efficiency and aplomb. They do have a template. History knows they do – because they have done it before.
But why are so many conspiracies surfacing in the first place? The mainstream media is claiming these conspiracy theories are “far right extremist” groups. But right off the bat, the labeling causes people to mistrust the hyperbolic labelling. Furthermore, if there is a polarity of views, and one side is far right extremist – then the other side must be far left extremist.
You cannot be polarized if there is only one pole. Unless you are a stripper doing acrobatics on centre stage of course. Then you just have to bare it all, but they don’t do that either do they?
Though we are seeing plenty of sleaze, we have to ask – who is working the poles, and where are their clothes? The emperor has no clothes in this narrative. It is the only possible way they could have only one pole! So let them evaluate the real reasons for the upsurge in conspiracy theories. They own the pole. They own the narrative, and therefore, they own the fact that it has spun out of control. They are the spinners. We are the weavers.
Admittedly some conspiracy theories are far-fetched. But what about groups of doctors and scientists who dispute the mainstream news media? Surely they would not risk their livelihoods and careers to chase unfounded nonsense. In fact, when conscientious people have ethical dilemmas, they have a duty and an obligation on behalf of the public to bring their concerns forward. Stifling those concerns is like throwing kerosene on the flames of mistrust.
In my opinion, conspiracy theories are on the rise because there is a loss of trust in both the governments, and the main stream media. So people naturally will look elsewhere for information. The facts are changing daily. If you quote last weeks facts that were presented in the media, you could be labelled an anti-vaxxer or far right extremist. Those so called facts are changing faster than you can spin a prize wheel at a local carnival.
Therefore it must be the instability of facts, and a constant stream of changing and new information that causes the public to distrust the mainstream narrative. We are not accustomed to seeing scientific facts change every time we get up to face another day.
If we open our cupboard in the morning, and coffee is no longer coffee, but we get powdered compost instead, we would no longer trust the labels on coffee. Or we would investigate that particular brand, and find out what happened to it.
Aside from the many conspiracy theories that have popped up in the past two years, how can we rely on scientific fact if it is not the least bit stable? You might argue that a volcano or fault line is scientific, yet unstable. You might say that science is always evolving. You also might parrot the narrative, and say that we are learning as we go, therefore all of this is to be expected. Why? When in all of history have we expected science to change every second day?
We have basic expectations. We expect to see the whole, not just the parts they want us to see. But wait! The peons cannot possibly understand the whole story anyway. it must be presented to us by cherry picked scientific experts. After that, it must be pruned, ruminated and regurgitated by what passes as well-crafted journalism telling us what to believe. We are no longer reading the news. We are being educated into group-think by the media.
Aside from the political and media strategies designed to stifle dissent, does anyone really understand the immune system? I don’t think so. The reason I don’t think the immune system is well understood, is because we all have different immune systems. If this were not the case – there would be no autoimmune diseases. There would not be any cancers or other types of autoimmune induced illnesses. There would not be any adverse reactions to immune altering drugs. And when adverse reactions appear, they would know the cause and mechanism of injury – but clearly they do not know. So I think it is safe to say, the immune system is very complex, and is not fully understood by anyone.
Why do some people get adverse reactions to certain drugs, and others do not? Why do some people catch eight colds a year, and others catch one or two? Is every cold a covid cold? How could any science possibly figure that out? If the data are not properly collected, broken down into age groups and gender, and then scientifically analyzed – how can anyone know the results? If you don’t know the results collected from data analysis, how can you announce safety results or efficacy?
The mistrust and conspiracy theories are caused by the very people who denounce them. When people no longer trust governments and mainstream media, they will search for other information. In some cases, the other information is very well researched and comes across as quite factual. In other cases, the alternative news can be far-fetched. But the fact it is surfacing as rapidly as it is, tells us the entire narrative is falling apart.
Mainstream media can no longer hold it together with all the daily death counts, cases, and fear mongering. If the facts that people are spoon fed, do not align with observations or basic scientific principles, people won’t trust those facts, and will look elsewhere to find truth.
As the saga continues to unfold, I think most of us have far more questions than answers, in spite of all the long-winded news articles. Why is the world so focused on covid to the exclusion of many other more pressing public health issues? Why all the talk about field hospitals, yet the one in Vancouver never had a single patient?
Why are the adverse reactions not being reported? Why is there no compensation for injury? Why is there a need for passports and mandates if the transmission has not changed, and there is no efficacy toward the new variants?
And from the political perspective of collectivism, the orders are that we must do our civic duty, and take the risk of invasive medical procedures without sufficient data to prove either efficacy or safety.
If I am forced to do something they claim is for the collective good, that means the collective society should take care of me if I suffer an adverse outcome. Shouldn’t it?
But what exactly is the collective good? Does it mean no one will ever catch a cold or flu again? Does it mean it is my fault if they do? How does that ring true to anyone?
Personally, as an individual – if I have a serious adverse drug reaction and go blind, who is going to look after me? If the government or the collective society cannot look after an individual that is injured by what they are trying to force on us – it means the individual must take more and more responsibility for personal health and safety, not less.
If a person looks at the available information and is not satisfied, then they should be able to refuse it or refute it, because the available data does not meet the threshold of informed consent. No one should have to go to a doctor to get an exemption for something they do not want. If a doctor tells me I must take chemo for a tumour that showed up on a mammogram – do I have to take his advice? Maybe it was a false positive. Even if it wasn’t a false positive, I still don’t have to get chemo if I don’t want it. Is all that going to evolve and change too – so people cannot refuse any medication or treatment? It’s a slippery slope and a scary thought.
If you do not want a medical procedure, you do not have to explain it to anyone, unless you are admitted to an ER department or psych ward without the ability to speak coherently or make decisions for yourself.
The test of sanity is based on behaviours, not political beliefs or alternative viewpoints. Refusing a medical treatment is not a behaviour. It is a choice. In fact, lining up for test kits and booster shots represents a behaviour, and some might call it maladaptive or mass psychosis. But doing nothing, is not really a behaviour, is it?
For example, I chose not to use steroids for an autoimmune eye disorder that I have had for many years now. The reason I chose not to use steroid eye drops to reduce inflammation, is because the steroids have worse long term implications than doing nothing. The steroids cause white cataracts, which eventually requires surgery. Plus the long term use of steroids for a chronic condition leads to a host of other systemic, and often life threatening problems, especially of you ever need emergency surgery.
For the eye condition, doing nothing in relation to the medication is simply a choice, and a choice that I am glad I made a long time ago. Does it mean I have a conspiracy theory toward the treatment of autoimmune eye disorders? No, I don’t. In fact, the research I have done indicates that reduction of stress, diet and rest – are the key things one can do, to reduce the severity and frequency of the flare ups.
How did I come to the conclusion? I had an intuitive sense that using steroids for a chronic condition was barely a band-aid for a bigger problem. Then I read forums, and followed multiple people online who had to deal with the same disorder, to see what they did and how they fared. Many said that diet and stress management was crucial. Some followed the medical treatment plans to the letter, with steroids and opiates. By comparing the testimonials with what I experienced myself, I concluded that diet, avoiding alcohol, and stress management, would be the best approach to keeping it under control.
If a person gets cancer and decides not to get chemo – does that make them a conspiracy theorist? How is it that the refusal of one certain treatment can make you all bad, when people refuse medications and treatments all the time, just based on their knowledge of their own bodies, and on doing their own research?
Are we going to be accused of thought crimes for doing our own research? Do we have to justify or find exemptions in the medical field, just to make a decision to avoid or refuse certain treatments?
What if the pharmaceutical profit motive is geared toward making merchandise of all of us? Are we merchandise? And more importantly – are we their merchandise to be used, poked, prodded, and then cast aside? If we are their merchandise, what did they pay, or what did they do to procure us?
And finally, who owns our bodies? Who can say that we do not have natural immune systems, without denying the scientific evidence that proves we do?
Okay, let’s just say that we don’t have any natural immunity whatsoever – does that mean we do not have an immune system? What is the purpose of the immune system? If science promised us a bionic arm – would we cut off our functioning arm to get a new and improved one?
Human beings naturally try to make sense of the world around them. When the world no longer makes sense, we will find a way to remain stable, so we can hopefully live out our lives in peace. We are not an abstract blob of people, we are individuals. Abstract blobs don’t think, individuals do.
The mainstream media has lost its steam. In fact it is like an insipid, repetitious concoction of words all jumbled together to come up with the same crap. It is like the big bang theory of denials and dismissals.
Just think. We are in the midst of watching science evolve right before our eyes. Usually evolution takes more than a few days, but hey – we are already in a world of altered reality. So should we be shocked that somehow the evolution of science speeds up like a lightening bolt from the deep. But to be fair, this is more about the miraculous science of words, statistics, cherry piking, collectivism, social engineering, and creativity with numbers. It is out in the open, even if people are still in denial. It is more of a linguistic virus than anything.
Just put those drug advertisements in a shaker for awhile and presto – you have more science, in the form of covid hype and bias. It seemingly evolved like a monkey swinging in a tree. Do we all point and cry out – Hey – that used to be me!
Shake it up a few more times – I want to see what happens!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Nihilism brings to mind some of the revolutionary dark philosophers from the 1800’s like Nietzche. Dostoevsky also wrote about nihilism, but it seems he wrote about it more as a lament.
Nihilism like all isms carries a certain range of ideas embodied into a central theme. It is described as anarchy, a loss of values, chaotic, hopeless, and loss of all meaning.
Nihilism is also described as the rejection of all religious and moral principles. It is the extreme skepticism that believes nothing in the world has real existence. Does that bring us to question the motives of the new facebook meta verse even more?
Nihilism projects a complete loss of values, and loss of meaning for human existence. In fact it condemns our existence, therefore it justifies destructiveness and lawlessness. Nietzche predicted that nihilism would eventually destroy all moral and religious convictions, and bring about the greatest crisis in humanity.
Could we apply the rise in this nihilistic mentality to the overdose crisis we are witnessing on our streets today? Can we apply it to the public vilification of certain members of society by political leaders, who are the very people who should be preventing such persecution?
Can we apply it to the destabilizing loss of the Constitutional laws that have governed us since Britain became a monarchy, and Canada became a sovereign nation? And poof – just like that, life as we have always known it changed, without even passing these laws through proper legislative channels.
Nihilism has many synonyms in the power thesaurus. All of them are negative, cynical, godless, agnostic, disordered, chaotic, rebellious, lawless, full of turmoil, mistrust, anxiety, confusion, mayhem, mob rule, and revolution.
Though many discussions and truths are now censored in mainstream media and social media, the philosophical discourse surrounding the rapid and rabid rise of nihilism throughout the world, should give us all a wake up call. It is important now more than ever before, to shake the media induced beliefs out of our minds, and evaluate the importance of defining and holding onto our own foundational values and beliefs. The old adage or phrase attributed to Rene Descarte “I think therefore I am” should also tell us – Don’t give up thinking then! And don’t give your spirituality over to the dark forces either.
As politics and the rise of fascism in health care, makes us increasingly polarized and mistrustful, we are forced to examine our own thought processes. Once we do that, we can articulate them, and project them outward much better. We can create more inner stability and peace for ourselves if we hold firm to our integrity and values.
We should all ask ourselves – have we been swept along in a tidal wave of BS? Have we been conned into going into uncharted territory, when those who are leading us don’t even have a map or a moral compass?
For centuries we have held our freedoms, our families, our fitness, our food, our finances, and our faith as central and common values that govern our lives. Yes we do screw up, and we mess up often. But with our common values, we have avenues for justice, and restraints upon lawless activities.
Now, all of a sudden a person who chooses not to succumb to pressures coming from aggressive marketing tactics steeped in pharmaceutical profit motive, are labelled as obnoxious, antisocial, ignorant, misogynist, racist, selfish and so on. Those who want to avoid a descent into nihilism will recognize these tactics as bullying tactics, with no basis in truth, democratic principles, or laws.
We keep wondering what we can do, as we see all the devastation brought by these mandates and lockdowns. The vast majority of people have followed the government guidelines and mandates, in order to help get things back to normal. Did it work? No it did not.
Even the coveted mass pharmaceutical obedience, which has given them blockbuster profits, has clearly not worked, and people are fed up. They have a singular motive. It appears to be aimed at destruction, and dependancy on more drugs. Drugs do not sustain us. We need food, water and shelter more than we need drugs. We need to stabilize and re-establish trust in health care (a value) or it is going to cave in completely.
To help end this madness, we have to start by examining, and holding tight to our own foundational beliefs and values. We hold fast to values that are worthwhile and good. Values help guide us, get us working, improves loyalties, and strengthens families and communities.
If you look up the opposite of nihilism, it is existentialism from the secular perspective, and a belief in God from a faith perspective.
Existentialism opens up the discussion on the meaning of life, and the purpose of existence. Nihilism turfs what is good, and wallows in self pity and despair. Nihilism is the mental depiction of circling the drain. It is a very dark vortex, churning with confusion as it revolves in a constant state of darkness and despair. It almost seems to have a vacuum attached to it, that can suck you in with the rest of the debris, if you get too close to the swirl.
So what does that leave us with? It leaves us with hope. Because hope, love, and a belief in God – wipes out nihilism, without having to lose all stability, and all dignity through the destruction of what is good.
We overcome evil by holding fast to what is good. But first, make sure your beliefs are rooted in truth. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it meant that we would have to figure out the difference between the two, which is not easy to do. But it is more important now than ever before, to be able to separate the wind from the chaff.
Don’t swallow a camel and swat at a gnat!
Matthew 23:24 “Ye blind guides, which straine at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25 Woe vnto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; for yee make cleane the outside of the cup, and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excesse.”
The prepper trend is an interesting response to the many changes we are witnessing on a global scale. The fear mongering has caused a percentage of hard core survivalists to prepare for complete self-reliance. Some go to great expense and obsessively devote their lives to being ready for apocalyptic events.
Although the central theme is similar, the range of ideas around this concept varies widely. One couple’s main objective was to grow food, keep honey bees, and promote community engagement. Of all the preppers I have watched on youtube, they were the most rational and happy of the survivalists.
They set up a wholesome and functional hobby farm, combined with canning, pickling, dehydrating, and other methods of food storage. They extracted and stored honey, and made various types of wine, because they believed these could be used for barter if there is a complete economic collapse. As far as guns and protecting their food source, they chose not to bother. They claimed the community would band together to help each other, not attack each other.
But most of the other videos I have watched on the topic, seem to revolve around creating a stockpile of both food and weapons. Some of the attitudes are very hostile and war-like. They believe the protection of what is stockpiled is of utmost importance to their survival. So they focus on guns, ammunition, and creating a protective barrier around themselves.
In some cases, people are investing over a hundred thousand dollars in food. They give video lessons and instructions on how to prepare it, store it, how long it will last, and how to reconstitute it into recipes. Some of the survivalists concentrate on storing really good food, like meat, cheese, and various oils. One couple had an entire house and garage full of food. They ran out of space, and had to rent storage rooms. The woman was delving into and experimenting with gourmet recipes, using a variety of preserved foods.
Other preppers look for basics with a very long shelf life, regardless of nutritional value. They stockpile things like canned food from superstores, Kool-Aid, sugar and Tang. I don’t know if they still make Tang, but it was popular in the sixties. It was bright neon orange, and full of artificial flavours and colouring. You added water and turned it into juice. They have changed the name and re-branded it into other varieties of non-nutritional juice crystals.
Even among a small group or percentage of the population who choose to plan their futures by prepping – there are significant differences among them. Some are very militant. Others are like old hippies who want to remain passive, and live off the land.
Personally, I don’t think it is rational to stockpile a massive amount of food, or weapons. I have never been a fan of guns. However, it is interesting to know that Switzerland is a country with millions of guns, yet they have minimal gun violence. They were also one of the only countries that was not attacked by Hitler. So I can certainly understand both sides of the gun control arguments.
Plus anyone who lives in a remote wilderness area would have to have a gun for protection against aggressive bears, coyotes, cougars and other wildlife that might become a threat to them. If a person decides to live off the land, chances are they will hunt as well.
As far as prepping to accumulate and store massive amounts of food, I think it could be a futile waste of time and money. I also believe that counting on some food items to last thirty years or more, is quite a stretch (with the exception of honey and alcohol). The idea of being constantly paranoid in order to guard a food supply, is not the least bit appealing.
One contaminated food batch, and they could inadvertently poison themselves with botulism, salmonella, or E.Coli. In addition, a high percentage of gun violence or accidents that do occur, happen within the homes of the people who own them. So the militant prepper mentality could backfire in a multitude of different ways.
In my opinion, violence tends to beget violence. Paranoid people with guns, are actually more dangerous than those who carry a balanced and peaceful outlook. The old adage, “you are what you eat”, can also be transferred into “you are what you think”. Thoughts precede actions, and if people shut up their thoughts in a bottle, or a bunker – they might feed on themselves in a maggot-like fashion.
If you are going to be a prepper, I think planning for nutritional and sustainable food supplies should be the highest priority. If you decide to go back to the basics, as in a hundred years ago, forget the Tang and store bought goods. You have to garden, farm, fish and hunt.
The only rational part of being a prepper is to plant gardens, nurture them, and learn about growing food, as well as preserving it for reasonable lengths of time. The best approach, in my opinion, came from the couple who grew a prolific garden, and planned for community engagement and barter – not trying to fight their neighbours off.
In Canada we have enough space to grow more food. We can raise cattle, chickens, pigs, and other farm animals for meat. But most of Canada does not have a long growing season, so we depend on the warmer US climates for a high percentage of our fruits and vegetables in the winter months.
Food security is a huge issue for all of us. Historically, the world has experienced many famines. As we try to predict and plan for what the future may hold – it’s like we are being thrust backward and forward at the same time.
We are in the rapidly advancing high tech world of artificial intelligence and gene therapy – while simultaneously planning to go back to pioneer days, just to maintain food security. There does seem to be a major disconnect.
We can watch historical accounts of real life survival situations like the Donner Reed party, where a group of American pioneers set out on a wagon train from the midwest, to reach California. They got far more adventure than they ever could have anticipated. The first mistake they made, was in being deceived by a fast talking young lawyer who convinced them to take the uncharted route. He used rudimentary guesswork to draw an inaccurate map of the proposed route. The unsuspecting group set out on the perilous journey, believing it would be a short cut, when the lawyer himself had not even traversed the route.
The Donner-Reed party made the biggest mistake at the onset, by embarking on an uncharted route. They expected a certain outcome, but it did not pan out. They turned their fate over to a glib young entrepreneur who knew less than they did about the territory they had to cover.
As a result, they suffered many unanticipated mishaps, one after another. Some of the wagons were double deckers and so heavy, they were difficult to navigate the narrow and rocky, root covered trails, which slowed them down considerably.
Soon after what they thought was the worst part, they were suddenly faced with an expansive, desert-like salt mine to cross. The heaviest wagons got stuck in the deep crystals of pure salt early in the trip. As a result they lost many supplies and livestock, since they did not have enough water for such a treacherous part of the journey. Nor could they get the heavier wagons across the vast expanse, even if they could have dug them out. When we think about being parched, the idea of heat without shade in a desert is formidable. But can you imagine being stuck in a salt mine desert in the middle of nowhere?
In spite of their best efforts, they did not make it past the Sierra Nevada mountains before the snow fell, and were essentially trapped there to starve and die. Finally a handful of women, and one twelve year old boy, made a last ditch effort, and miraculously managed to cross the mountains.
Similar to other catastrophic events, the fatal Everest climbs, are almost always due to unanticipated weather and human error. People become disorientated with altitude sickness, and then make mistakes. Human ego vs nature, whether on the mountains or on the sea – cannot physically transcend what might befall them, just due to the random nature of circumstances. I think it is in our nature to believe we are invincible, especially when we are young and fit.
Although it might be boring compared to conquering mountain peaks, we can’t go wrong if we plan for healthier living. That means better nutrition, well-planned outdoor adventures, more gardening, more fresh air, more pollinators, more composting, and less waste. Make way for the wine and the bees. Put some soup in the freezer for a stormy, icy day – and hope for the best!
Be the salt of the earth – but steer clear of the salt mines!
The following YouTube link shows the most creative and resourceful prepper of all. He travels with sheep, who graze and provide him with warmth and milk, which he makes into butter. He gets half his calories from the sheep. They each have their own little carts to pull. The coolest thing he said is that he is a prepper, but does not want to be self-sufficient while others are suffering, so he takes a community integration approach. It is truly incredible to see what he has figured out to keep himself fed, clean, happy and functional.
As we wrestle with the bombardment of changing rules, and get plundered and plunged as it is swept along, it’s time to take stock. Drop the cults and keep the culture.
How to identify cult tactics so you don’t get suckered in? They divide and destroy as many close relationships as possible. It is well known that isolation is cruel and has ill effects on people’s well being. Some people can tolerate more isolation than others, but if combined with shame, rejection, and a lack of purpose – it is deadly.
Another key feature is deception. The lies are built from the ground up, yet they have no foundation. They do not stand up to the test of truth, yet they will brazenly hold onto to the lies. The cult has to deceive with success in order to maintain control. So there is constant repetition, and manipulation to keep the charade going.
Cults divide and cause a great deal of conflict among families. It stands to reason these same issues that polarize and divide families, will expand into communities, businesses and politics, if democracy and morality continues to fail us.
Cults will take away your right to live your own life, have free will, or get out of their trap – without facing extreme shunning and punishment. They will stare you in the eye, without blinking, and rob you of who you are.
Cults do not permit open dialogue. They will not be challenged without punishing and shunning their victims. They will not permit the truth to surface, using a plethora of different ploys to maintain the narrative. Those who go along with it are embraced, praised, and rewarded. But dare they step out of line. If a cult hates some of its members – they hate them all. Those they favour are wearing a thin disguise, and must tread softly to avoid being the next target.
Cults are designed to protect and exalt certain individuals or one person at the top of the hierarchy. They rely heavily on false authority, and totalitarian rule. They use fear to destabilize. All things, all thoughts, and all obedience must revolve around the leader. In the case of cult-like corporations, it is the men at the top, the old boy’s club – who expect reverence, loyalty and submission.
On the other hand, true Christianity is open to the scrutiny and questions that test truth, does not fear exposure, but welcomes it, and will not punish people for exercising free will. Cults close the door on all contrary dialogue, and censor or silence their opponents. One of the main reasons they silence and isolate opponents, is because they do not want us talking to other people. The practice of shunning is so that the deflector does not influence anyone else in the cult. It is also a well-known and very painful way to judge and punish people. In the Old Testament if a widow or marginalized person was shunned by a cultish family – it was considered to be a death sentence.
Cults are focused on money, power, and control. They use deception, coercion, and shaming as key tools. The ultimate form of idolatry is to make self into the monument. Too much entitlement causes not only idolatry, but demands that all the wealth, resources, entertainment, protection, elitism, etc. revolves around them. They expect obedience and reverence from lesser beings. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. I am not sure how they can possibly view themselves as being so wonderful. But, they do.
To make matters worse, authoritarian leaders will force their subordinates into tenuous situations, yet they take no responsibility for them when they falter or fail. Doesn’t it stand to reason that if someone decides to take over your life, they will also take responsibility if it does not turn out well? They force a learned helplessness and then kick the victims to the curb.
Who takes the brunt of personal or psychological injury that is inflicted upon us by powerful people? Doesn’t it also stand to reason that adults make their own decisions, since they must deal with the outcomes of the decisions they make? Who is going to look after all the mistakes the leaders make? You can rest assured they will not look after you. What good is it if you are blinded and in a wheelchair with a feeding tube, to have a failing health care system with nowhere to turn? If you are injured by the state, you will not be taken care of by the state. So how can they force us to to take the risk of being injured, maimed or killed?
The Bible has been altered, twisted, with things added to it, or taken away – or it has been misinterpreted to suit an agenda. This is done in order to give credibility to cults, so they can advance their agenda by adding deception to truth. Why would people think it would be any different when it comes to science? It is not rocket science to skew numbers. White collar crime has been doing it for years.
Culture on the other hand – connects us to our roots. It helps to showcase the labours and talents of people from all over the world. It helps us visually and artistically see and understand each other better. It educates us. It shows us how much common ground we have, yet shines a light on the different gifts, abilities, labours, and patterns that have emerged. It represents the emotional, aesthetic, and day to day aspects of our human heritage.
We grow to love culture and labours of love. Love does not grow out of cults or cultish conduct. Excessive control is a cult tactic. The battle ground therefore – is for free will. Thoughts, words, and wisdom triumphs over totalitarianism, every single time. It may not be civilization that collapses – but rather totalitarianism that is truly more fragile, because history demonstrates that it always collapses no matter where it springs up, or in what era.
Technology cannot usher in or maintain totalitarianism, even though it seems like it could. In my opinion the reason it cannot, is because it is a tool. Viewing it as anything else is foolish. Computers can do things the human mind cannot, as far as computational number crunching is concerned. But there are limits to what it can do, and those limits are structured by the programmers, not the machines.
Complex thought, translations, original work, creative work, intellectual property, innovation, and insight – comes from people, not computers. No matter how brilliant someone thinks they are, another person will come along that can do it better, hence the beauty of open-source. It helps to create a counter-balance when it comes to dominance and control in programming.
Humans were never intended to be subjected to psychological or physical computer programming. Nor were we intended to be the reverse objects of computer design.
We don’t expect the ox to drive the farmer, or the dogs in a dog sled team to be taken over by the alpha male dog, complete with a map and compass. We know the sewing machine does not design and make the dress. These actions are done by whoever is planning the project or the trip. Projects are not initiated or planned by the tools or machines you are using to achieve your goals.
Yes there are some very invasive tracking apps that offer constant surveillance. But we must ask ourselves how sustainable it is to track the activities of millions of people doing mundane everyday things? No matter how controlling you are, do you really care what kind of shoes a person wears, or where they get their morning coffee?
Just as we were born with robust immune systems, we were also born with brains. Computers did not create or give birth to human attributes.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
We really should just cut to the chase. All the talk about science and politics – yet the practices of deception, division, forced isolation, and brain washing or thought reform – comes from cults. The origin of it all is cleverly crafted – so to speak. Or dare I say what I think?
But I do get to express what I learned about indoctrination that stems from my own experiences. It is only fair – since we have to find a way to overcome it, don’t we?
Cults are as old as the hills. They are not agnostic or atheist. They are often made up of people who know the Bible, or some version of the Bible that has been altered. Falsehood almost always has grains of truth sprinkled throughout. When people see something they recognize or believe to be true in one area, they are more likely to believe all of it. Cults are made up of people who reinvent various cult practices that have been used since the beginning of time. They attach themselves to a belief system and can rationalize some very bizarre behaviours.
We have to look at words and actions, whether a person is a leader or a pauper. What are they saying? Is it true? What are they doing? Who is affected by their words and actions?What are the contradictions? What are the motives? What do they want? Why are they acting that way? Whether they allow people to ask these questions or not – it still does not stop the thought processes and beliefs. It does not stifle curiosity and skepticism. The more dissent is shut down, the more it grows. It’s like putting wood on a fire.
They know who they worship. They aim to divide the family first and foremost. They create confusion, yet they repeat the same lies so often, they are changed into fact, just through repetition.
Cults want to infiltrate not only your family, but your inner being. They use guilt, shame, scapegoating, and many other aggressive and coercive psychological tactics. They subordinate you to their superiority. They oppress you with their lies.
The doctrine of cults – you can pick any one of them, for they all serve the same master, is to use deception to cause chaos. They want to put their opponents in the most vulnerable position possible. They want to weaken us, disable us – destroy our health, finances and beliefs. They will find every way possible, to gang up on you just for trying to get free of them. The ultimate objective is to not only destroy your health, but your mind and soul for all eternity.
Already we can see how this battle is crossing into eternity, in order to face a judgement at a later date. Look at how many people have died without being able to say goodbye to a loved one? Look at how much harm has been done to people’s lives, businesses, and families. Look at the chaotic uprisings of protestors in every country in the world. Watch the instability churn into anger and revolt. Then despair. The increase in drug abuse to escape. The broad daylight violent crime. The intimidation, and bullying is rampant. All without proper justice. Who are the lawless ones? A person who doesn’t wear a mask?
Even though there are one hundred and ninety-five countries in the world, and people have been thrust into mass hysteria – some of the public turns into brilliant sleuths. Many people maintain rational thought.
The like-minded – with sincere spirituality, and genuine humanity, holding to a moral compass, clinging to love and compassion, seeking the truth, with sound values, defending the frail and feeble, with a willingness to be a buckler or shield for the innocent – are also spread out among us – far and wide. We are never truly alone. So don’t worry.
No one can take away what is good in this world. God will not allow it. Plain and simple.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Denial is one of our most powerful and common defence mechanisms. If we really do not want to believe something awful is happening, we can allow it to go quite a distance, just based on denial. Something in our psyche blinds us to the truth.
But denial can only last so long. There is no peace in denial, therefore the defence mechanism is no substitute for truth. A person in denial has to constantly be defensive, while wrestling with the dichotomy or cognitive dissonance within.
All defence mechanisms serve a purpose, or people would not have developed them. The ones that top the list are denial, repression, projection, displacement, and rationalization.
So much of our denial is based on fear of mockery. People will paradoxically risk their lives just to avoid being mocked. No one wants to be associated with a group that is being vilified. In fact, it is human nature to gang up on them, and persecute them even more.
Why do people become so cruel? Pride and power. It can be reduced to two words. The inclination to see others as inferior is a powerful trait in human behaviour. We like to be seen as superior in some way, either financially, morally, physically, or intellectually. There is a pecking order in every group, organization and structure. Going along with the masses means you will not be singled out as one of the rejects.
Our identity is tied to the family we were born into, what career path we choose, and how successful or wealthy we become. It is attached to what we own, and what kind of outward appearance we can give to demonstrate our success.
All of that is fine in the sense that people who are motivated to work hard, stay organized, and take care of their families – is a good thing. But tying the entire economy to certain health choices, making it so people who do work, want to work, and are perfectly capable – cannot work. That makes absolutely no sense, and plunges working middle class people into economic despair.
If we are honest with ourselves, we know all of the psychological defence mechanisms quite well. Repression is a state of being subdued or restrained – in your thoughts and memories. It has a direct correlation to oppression, since the forces of oppression cause one to resort to repression. Once you allow truth to surface, and the reality of those oppressive forces – it brings clarity and a very strong resolve to resist those forces.
Projection is the convenient method of throwing your own faults into accusations against the opponent. The most selfish people will accuse others of being selfish for example. They think you are being selfish if you don’t succumb to their oppressive forces. They punish you for refusing to be exploited. When up against this kind of dominance – no one can dare force those who are more powerful, into the basics of justice and fairness. There is no such thing as equality, and there never has been.
Projection is also the projection of voice as in those who rage, scream and curse, in order to magnify themselves, and get their way. Often it is combined with constant attention seeking and narcissistic rage. They will project violent posturing, name-calling, vindictive retaliation, and other methods of intimidation. This is done in order to dominate, control, and take away the rights of other people.
It is especially damaging to those who are forced to be in proximity to such a person. Violent language is often a precursor to violent assaults, so it is not something to be ignored or condoned. In fact, you cannot ignore it since the aggressor is constantly screaming and cursing, banging, slamming and terrorizing. Then he simply lies and denies it, even though everyone around him has been subjected to, and has been ear witness to his constant outbursts. This allows the cycle to continue because people are sufficiently intimidated, and many will remain silent.
Displacement is when emotions, often aggression, is displaced onto a weaker target. If the angry person cannot address or face the real cause of his anger, because he is too much of a coward, he will transfer it to a weaker person, or sometimes an animal. In fact, bullies tend to look for weaker targets, just to have them on hand for when they are in a bad mood.
Rationalization is the attempt to use numbers, science, media, the various conversations, and information, and then adapt that or filter it to justify the acceptance of lies, hypocrisy, and state control.
Rationalization and denial probably top the list when it comes to accepting the marching orders of psychological warfare. Masses of people, through the cleverly crafted use of fear and propaganda in the media – have sugar coated their own armour with the psychological defence mechanisms of rationalization and denial.
All defence mechanisms offer a form of escapism. People escape into the meta verse, the television, gambling, exercising, shopping, drugs, alcohol, video games – and the list goes on. Escapism is the one defence mechanism that does not always require us to lie to ourselves. The key issue is what you choose to escape into, not the fact you seek diversion from negative thoughts or surroundings.
Just as we really need to buckle down and take care of our physical health now more than ever, we also need to take special care of our mental health. The emotions are triggered, and when sustained over long periods, it causes fatigue and illness.
The worst escape modes are drugs and alcohol. You fall prey to the system, as well as to a self destructive cycle that becomes central to your life. Plus many drugs, including alcohol – will cause a person to do things they would not do otherwise. There is a loss of cognition and alertness. A high percentage of assaults, accidents, and suicides happen while intoxicated. Addiction also robs the person of true confidence and self-esteem.
In spite of the galaxy of human frailties and crossed motives underlying all human behaviours, including thought, belief and opinion – we do have rights. It is an indisputable fact of life. We may not be treated as equals. But human beings do have fundamental rights, and can formulate their own opinions, based on personal observations, spiritual beliefs, and life’s experiences. Otherwise there can be no sustainable humanity, no justice, no choice, no dignity – and nothing that separates us from the beasts of the jungle.
We must remember that one of the key traits of psychopaths – is the callous disregard for the rights of others. We must not allow those prevalent psychopathic traits of dominance and deception – to become an ideological state of being. Things need to be brought back to stability, common sense and balance.
No one has a crystal ball in relation to what the future holds. Knowledge of what is to come is probably best contained within the pages of the Bible. But even so, we are confronted with falsehoods, and misinterpretations that are polarized. The truth contained in the Bible, has also been subject to all the defence mechanisms known to humans.
Even if there is a grand conspiracy to create a totalitarian world government – those who are orchestrating it, don’t really know how it will unfold either. Grand scale plans seldom turn out the way they were envisioned.
None of us are modern day prophets, and no soothsayer could ever have conceived of it all. Yet here we are. We all need to strip off our defence mechanisms, and take intrinsic personal and individual responsibility for what we believe. What is the reality that surrounds us?
The looming humanitarian crisis is coming at us like a steam train, yet all defence mechanisms have kicked in to deny it, and allow it to happen.
We can thank God we are spiritual beings. We can be thankful for having a sound mind during times of crisis. It is time to look deep into our own conscience, our own psyche, and pray with all our heart, mind and soul – to ask God to intervene.
A change of mind – can change the world.
As promised – the truth WILL set us free!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
As a Canadian and a collector, when I say “our cultural heritage” it means – the expression of art from a divergent range of people. In Canada this includes influences, artifacts, writings, and beautiful hand made works or designs that were brought here from other countries.
On an individual level, we are more likely to resonate with, and remember the culture of our ancestors. We also learn about and share different cultures among families, friends, neighbours, communities, and travel. We all know how much food and music influences culture in every country of the world. So we can begin to recognize the patterns contained within a wide variety of cultural influences and designs.
We all come from a unique perspective, beginning with the family we are born into. This expands into a curiosity and awareness of the things around us that intrigue us or influence our senses. How many of us recall playing with the hand-painted Russian wooden nesting dolls? There was one on the shelf in our Swedish grandparents house. As a small child, I knew it came from somewhere far away.
In my opinion, one of the benefits of culture to society is in what we can learn from thier labours. It lets us examine how they did things, what they wore, and what came out of the lifestyles of the past. The range of patterns and design is intriguing, inspirational, and thought provoking.
I have been trying to create a material landscape of the dispossessed – to show that throwaways, and things from the past, are often much better than what is new.
Through the long process of establishing an online store, especially doing all the product photography, I have learned to appreciate the designs of some of the most talented designers and jewelry makers of this century. Even though it is a fairly humble collection compared to museums and rich people, it still shows who we are and where we came from. This collection has roots.
The Quiet West collection was gathered from the west coast of Canada over four decades. Even so, the items in the store come from all over the world. It is especially thrilling for me, when I come across some of the famous Canadian designers from Montreal and Toronto.
I can clearly see that Montreal has gifted Canada with a reputation for excellence in fashion and the arts. Canada may not be seen as the epicentre of the Parisian French fashion flair. But we do have a significant and impressive mid-century contribution to the world of fashion from Eastern Canada.
As time goes by, the material remnants of the previous century begin to disappear. People tend to look at old photographs to see both style, and lifestyle.
Although I have a long way to go to become more consistent with the photos, I do believe an online collection of art and fashion from the past can contribute much toward education, design, pattern recognition, care and preservation, textiles, and appreciation of the arts. If each country had such a collection, it would be very interesting to peruse. Of course, so much of it depends on what the collector is looking for.
But most of all, it’s the nostalgia it creates that connects us to the past, and to each other in a positive way. Our world has changed quite dramatically this past couple of years.
We can look to the past without clinging to it. We can seek what is good, and get our heads out of the dark shadows when they pass overhead. We can turn our focus toward aesthetics, learning and labours of love.
Over the years, so many things get lost in time – through fires, floods, and the migration of people from one location to another.
Some of the past is worth hanging onto, and some of the past should be let go. But nevertheless – it is what we know. Tangible is touchable – and it keeps us in touch with the remnants and the roots of our past.
When looking at the lives of some of the famous thinkers, writers and philosophers throughout history, Blaise Pascal was clearly a brilliant man. He did not become self-obsessed and insane like Nietzsche did.
Pascal was a French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, inventor, and theologian. He was an early pioneer in game theory, probability, and existentialism.
Although Pascal faced the hardship of losing his mother at the tender age of three, it did not plunge him into a lifetime of abandonment issues. He did suffer chronic ill health, however his work was expansive and prolific regardless.
Pascal’s biography describes his character in the following way: “For Pascal himself – humble yet forceful; fanatical as well as skeptical; mild and empathetic, yet also capable of withering scorn – personified the very “chimera” he famously declared man to be.”
It is interesting to note the dual definitions of chimera. One definition comes from Greek mythology and describes a “fire breathing female monster with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and the tail of a serpent”. The other definition is ” a thing hoped and wished for, but is illusory and impossible to achieve”.
Since the modern day definition probably did not exist in the 1600’s, I am assuming the chimera he was describing was the former definition, and comes from a spiritual interpretation. It was not likely a description attributed to himself, but rather the general nature of man.
Although several biographies have been written about the life of Pascal, some of which have been hotly contested, including the one written by his own sister, there are certain indisputable facts about his life.
Pascal’s father was a tax lawyer, and the family was upper class or bourgeoisie, therefore Pascal received a very good education. But regardless of the class he was born into, his giftedness in mathematics and physics showed evidence of a keen mind. His intelligence and endless curiosity was considered exceptional in his childhood, and by the time he was thirteen years old he was recognized in the higher intellectual circles.
Personally I think any gifted person will demonstrate their giftedness in childhood. There have been many “brainy” charlatans, who claim to have IQ’s well beyond the norm, when they showed no evidence of it as a child.
At the age of sixteen, Pascal wrote an original essay called “Pascal’s Theorem” describing the special properties of hexagons inscribed within conic sections.
Conversely, Charles Darwin just wanted to run around in the bush, shoot birds and collect beetles. Even when he was on the Voyage of The Beagle, he had no concept of scientific principles. He would throw things (dead birds) in a bag and send them back to England. I know many people would disagree, but I have read his history, his family history, his autobiography, and many other books attributed to him. With each book, and background description, I drew my own conclusions.
Darwin’s father was a doctor, a freemason, and apparently a formidable figure who was very tall and weighed around four hundred pounds. Darwin was expected to go into medical school, but dropped out in the first year. The other occupation he would have been expected to go into was the clergy, which he could not manage either. His early school years did not show that he was a brilliant child. Quite the opposite in fact. In the early chapters of his autobiography, Darwin openly admitted to being prone to spreading falsehoods. In later life, he was very worried about his fate for doing so. He opined that he may be considered to be worse than a murderer.
Pascal’s father was a tax collector, therefore Pascal was well aware of the need for record keeping and calculations. In spite of the politics surrounding him at the time, to include a massive tax revolt, he managed to invent the world’s first calculator using a series of interconnected wheels. It was called “la machine arithmétique, later known as the Pascaline.”
One thing we can take note of throughout history, is that only those with rich, and noble backgrounds rose to fame. You seldom read about a famous person who was born into poverty – or was a serf, pheasant or slave. The law of probability tells us that some of the so-called lower class humans, are born with exceptional minds. But without the wealth or political influence, the lesser beings are lost in time.
The law of probability also tells us that a percentage of women must be born with intellectual giftedness or hereditary high IQ’s, but have very little representation when it comes to historical documentation or fame. It seems the brightest women fell into a forced mediocrity. The women who were exalted, like Florence Nightingale, were puppets taking their orders from powerful men within politically connected families. We can see the same patterns today.
Pascal was plagued by illness from the time he was a small child. Throughout his life, he began to reject the contemporary treatments of blood-letting, enemas and purging, and opted for bed rest and bouillon instead.
On November 23rd 1654, Pascal experienced what he described as “The Night of Fire”, a religious conversion that had such an impact on him, he described it on parchment paper and then had it sewn into his jacket.
“At the top of the sheet stands a cross followed by a few lines establishing the time and date, then the word FEU (fire) in all upper case and centered near the top of the page. Then:
Dieu d’Abraham, Dieu d’Isaac, Dieu de Jacob, non des philosophes et des savants.
Certitude. Certitude. Sentiment. Joie. Paix.
Dieu de Jésus-Christ.
Deum meum et Deum vestrum.
Ton Dieu sera mon Dieu.
(God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not of the philosophers and scholars. Certitude, certitude, feeling, joy, peace. God of Jesus Christ. My God and your God. Thy God will be my God.)”
The parchment copy ends with the solemn pledge: “Total submission to Jesus Christ and to my director. Eternally in joy for a day’s trial on earth. I shall not forget thy word.”
His life and many accomplishments are truly remarkable. We should be able to see his testimony, his sincerity, and his ultimate calling. He was so determined to save this triumphant testimony that he preserved it in more than one location, and carried it with him on his person.
Of the many quotes attributed to Blaise Pascal – what wisdom stands out that might apply to our lives today?
“In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t.”
“Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.”
“The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble.”
“Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.”
“People are generally better persuaded by the reasons which they have themselves discovered than by those which have come in to the mind of others.”
“Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth.”
“Between us and heaven or hell there is only life, which is the frailest thing in the world.”
“Evil is easy, and has infinite forms.”
“Reason commands us far more imperiously than a master; for in disobeying the one we are unfortunate, and in disobeying the other we are fools.”
” If man made himself the first object of study, he would see how incapable he is of going further. How can a part know the whole?”
“We run carelessly to the precipice, after we have put something before us to prevent us seeing it.”
The glimpses we have into the life and thoughts of Blaise Pascal contain wisdom for today as much as they did centuries ago, perhaps even more so – in light of what is happening today.
One of the historical enigmas for me, is that the life expectancy in the days of Noah went from eight hundred years, to what appears to be a life expectancy of about age forty-five during the twelfth to nineteenth centuries. That’s quite a phenomenal drop. I also wonder why the upper class wealthy people who would have had good nutrition, and cleaner more enriching areas to live and work, were so plagued by chronic ill health.
The concept and rise of physicians, or doctors – to care for the ill began during the latter part of the middle ages. Perhaps this became more of a problem, as opposed to an avenue for cure. Having the keys to the opium dens, was especially not directed toward optimal health, even for the bourgeoisie.
Pascal had a commitment first and foremost to God. From that he extrapolated the utmost importance of both truth and thought. He did not fall back on scientific principles or reason. He realized that God is central, salvation comes only through our belief in Christ – and love, including the love of the truth – is the only real hope for humankind.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Although we certainly can’t believe everything we read these days, my interest this morning was piqued by an article coming out of New Brunswick about a neurodegenerative disease that is affecting young people, and seems to be transmissible. The full article is in the Guardian (which could easily be more fear mongering and propaganda).
If you read the article, it makes it sound like dementia, hallucinations, weight loss, and severe cognitive decline can be spread from one individual to a care giver.
The thing that struck me is that in Moncton the clinic “The Special Neurodegenerative Disorder Clinic” is called “The Mind Clinic”. Really? How odd.
The brain is a holistic part of our physicality. Injury to the brain might damage thought processes, swallowing, cause certain behaviours, affect speech, movement, or coordination. The brain is dependent on oxygen, nutrients, other organs, neurochemistry, and is protected by the skull.
Conversely the mind is part of the person’s identity, individuality, personality, beliefs, will, and emotions. The soul consists of mind, will and emotion. The spirit, which is closely linked to the mind, comes from God. Therefore the mind, soul, and spirit are separate from the physical body, and have the capacity to leave the body when the person dies.
In the case of near death experiences, thousands of people have described leaving their bodies, and watching from above what is happening. One man described being in a boat that was capsized by a huge wave. He described struggling to the point where he gave up, surrendered, and accepted death. He said being tossed around in the ocean was intense and violent. He also recounted leaving his body, and watching the ocean and waves from above. He gave the description of what it was like going back into his body, being pushed up against something that forced water out of his lungs, and being pulled from the water. Apparently he was under water for about eighteen minutes.
Admittedly there are some near death experiences that seem to be sensationalized or fabricated. But a high percentage of them are quite consistent, so there must be something to it.
In previous articles I described my own similar experience with anaphylaxis. One of the most amazing aspects of my experience is the amount of knowledge that flooded into my mind. It was like ten textbooks of information all at once because I was praying, and asking God, “what is happening”? Our mother described the same thing when she had open heart surgery at the age of twenty-three. She could see all the drapes around her and watch what was going on. These types of experiences almost always take away the fear of death and change some aspects of the person’s beliefs about death.
My thoughts at the time of surrender. There is acceptance. Like it is as natural as an apple falling from a tree. And thoughts of loved ones, hoping they don’t grieve. Aside from that, there was a sense of what was happening in the spiritual realm. It was literally crackling with energy, and I was quite curious to see what was out there when I fall over dead.
For me, the real acuity of the whole experience lasted about ten or twelve minutes, and I was struggling to get each breath – so I did not really die or go anywhere. But I came to that point of exit. When my soul left my body briefly during the whole experience, I was looking down on myself with clarity, wondering if and how I was going to survive this. So I did not have the real version of a near death experience, or go towards a tunnel with a bright light. But it was close enough to make me realize beyond a shadow of a doubt – that our souls leave our body, and there is a very dynamic and active spiritual world around us.
Even though we should not fear death, I also believe we should value our lives, try to stay alive, and avoid doing things that might hasten our death. For this reason alone, we need to maintain as much control over our own bodies as possible – in all ways. When it comes to the diseases that take some control over our bodies – we still have our minds. If our minds go into cognitive decline, we still have our beliefs, our genetics, our history, and our identity.
How does the mind remain active when it leaves the physical body? How do our eyes see what is going on when looking down on our own bodies? Our eyes are also part of our physical bodies. So what is it that enables us to see or think at such a time?
I wonder what’s next with these so-called clinics? Can’t they differentiate between the physical brain and the mind or the soul? Obviously not. In my opinion a neurodegenerative disorder of the brain, is not a disorder of the mind. It is a physical disability, secondary to an injury to the brain or central nervous system. A quote from the article:
“The Special Neurodegenerative Disorder Clinic, also called the Mind Clinic, in the city of Moncton is the clearing house for cases referred from within the region as well as neighbouring provinces. Prospective cases have typically stumped doctors and resisted a battery of standardized neurological tests used to rule out certain conditions.
Using a case description guideline developed by a team of neurologists and epidemiologists, the clinic decides if the patients warrant further investigation or if they may have a known illness or disease. Determining who becomes part of the cluster is subjective, largely because the brain is notoriously difficult to study. Certainty is often only obtained after the patient dies and the cerebral tissue can be fully tested.”
There is supposed to be a Provincial report of the disorder coming out this month. They claim forty-eight people have been affected by this strange and debilitating set of symptoms.
But the good news is that the “Mind Clinic” might not manage to stay afloat themselves. They should leave their concept, rise above it, and see for themselves – that as a neurological clinic, they should stick with the physical. Taking it beyond that, is not the least bit fair to those they are treating or diagnosing.
The only part of the article that makes sense is that the Mind Clinic is struggling to survive. Oh my – take a deep breath before you go under!
“Amid mounting tension between specialists and the provincial government, a source familiar with the Mind Clinic say the postings for several jobs at the clinic – a social worker, an administrator and a neuropsychologist – were recently made temporary, the budget would no longer be recurrent and the clinic would be converted into a Alzheimer’s and geriatric clinic. Health minister Dorothy Shephard told reporters on 1 December that speculation the clinic would be shut down was untrue.”
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Friedrich Nietzche (1844-1900) was considered to be one of the most influential thinkers and philosophers of the time. In hindsight, when the whole world contemplates what laid the foundation for a plunge into darkness and madness – look deeper into the concepts introduced by a brilliant mad man.
Nietzche was a German philosopher, writer, and essayist. Prior to retiring into full time writing, he was a University professor in Switzerland.
Although his writings are circuitous, depressing, and convoluted – many have embraced his concepts. In fact, his writings may have been foundational for the rise of the Nazi movement. His central beliefs denied all forms of morality, and focused on the will to have power.
Although his writings are considered to be brilliant, the torment of his soul was evident in his life. One of the most famous statements attributed to him is “God is dead”.
“When Nietzsche famously declared that “God is dead,” he meant that science and reason had progressed to the point where we could no longer justify belief in God, and that meant that we could no longer justify the values rooted in that belief. So his point was that we had to reckon with a world in which there is no foundation for our highest values.”
Rather than go into the exhaustive interpretations of his writings, which include “Beyond Good & Evil” “Twilight Of The Idols” “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” it might be more worthwhile to simply give a snapshot on what is known about how he lived his life. None of his thesis proved anything, and it seems much of what he wrote is either poorly understood, or misinterpreted.
It is documented that he graduated from high school at age twenty. He was born in 1844 and entered the University of Bonn in 1864. His father, who died when he was a child, was a Lutheran minister, which gave his mother hope he would follow in his footsteps. But Nietzche chose to study and teach philology (the study of languages) instead. He became a professor of Greek language, and literature at the University of Basel in Switzerland at the age of twenty-four.
It appears he worked as a professor for less than ten years, and at the age of thirty-two quit to be a full time independent writer. He lived with his mother, and got his money from his pensions and various associates.
Although there is much speculation about his life, and whether his descent into madness was due to syphilis, isolation, strokes, dementia, or the excessive use of drugs – is not clear. He suffered early and significant cognitive decline for whatever reasons.
However, it is clear he traversed a very dark and convoluted road. Some of his followers deny that he went mad, and attributed his catatonic paralysis during the final eleven years of his life to a stroke. But even so – they cannot deny the string of mad letters he wrote, in many cases claiming himself to be god.
The contradiction and hypocrisy is pretty obvious – for a person who famously claimed “God is dead”. It sounds like this poor delusional man maybe thought his own soul was dead, and was so filled with pride, he mistook himself for being god.
He continued to write throughout his thirties and early forties, but by his early forties he was already writing the mad letters. He died at the age of fifty-five after spending eleven years totally paralyzed or catatonic.
Some of his fierce defenders remain adamant he was paralyzed due to a stroke. However, in my opinion, he did not seem to exhibit the global characteristics of brain damage associated with a stroke. In addition, it is not that common for a person to have a massive stroke or severe dementia while still in their forties. However drug and alcohol use, among other things, could contribute to an early stroke.
No matter how you choose to view his life, his writings, and the influence he laid for some very dark philosophical arguments and belief systems – there was no joy, no light, and no hope in his forsaken life.
It is really interesting to note when studying these historical famous figures, how many of them were sick for most of their adult lives. Florence Nightingale was also sick for many years, and spent those years writing esoteric nonsense. By the age of thirty-eight she was home bound and bedridden. All the nursing school exaltations and praise of Florence Nightingale’s wonderful contributions are nothing but fabricated propaganda. You can follow the path of the “iron maiden” and wonder why anyone thought she was kind, or that she even knew what she was doing. It was all political.
Charles Darwin was equally as sickly. He had maladies up the yin yang for most of his life. “After returning from the Beagle in 1836, Charles Darwin suffered for over 40 years from long bouts of vomiting, gut pain, headaches, severe tiredness, skin problems, and depression. Twenty doctors failed to treat him.” This is especially significant because he was very young when he went on the Voyage of the Beagle. He never experienced optimal health at any time in his life, in spite of constant doctor’s visits for various treatments and therapies. You have to wonder if Darwin really wrote the theory of evolution.
In fact, I know Charles Darwin did not come up with the original thoughts or writing on the theory of evolution. His grandfather Erasmus Darwin wrote thousands of pages on evolution, many steeped in or copied from ancient Sanskrit texts. So how did Charles Darwin develop the original thought train if his grandfather wrote about it before he was even born? His grandfather, father and ancestors were steeped in Rosicrucian belief systems. Darwin might have been tasked to translate the ancient texts to remove the spiritism and make it more scientific. The theory of evolution was written down in ancient texts as early as the tenth century.
Another reason I came to suspect Darwin did not write the evolutionary material, is because his autobiography has a very different writing style. So there you go – add that one to the 9,999 other conspiracy theories in this world. In the end, I wonder how many of those conspiracy theories will be true?
Besides that, how many people who are really sick can sit and write all day? I know I can’t write all day if I am sick. Maybe Florence Nightingale and Charles Darwin were hypochondriacs, or lazy, and simply wanted to get out of taking out the trash. Who knows for sure?
What do the known lives of some of these people tell us? To me, it demonstrates that a path of darkness, dark philosophy, and dark writings – does not bring much joy or inspiration for the soul. It is almost like they lived their famous and exalted lives as examples of the “destinies of the damned.”
On a broader scale, perhaps the bigger question is – why does the media, the universities, politicians, and the grant programs exalt so many crazy and deranged people?
How do we know Florence Nightingale was not the ethereal, benevolent lady with the lantern – floating down the hallways of hospitals during the Crimean war? Because iron maidens don’t float. Her career was short-lived and cruel. How do we know Nietszche may have been brilliant, but he lacked wisdom or true knowledge? Just look at where all his self-absorbed, twisted notions led him? The path we choose in life does take us somewhere, even if we don’t realize it at the time.
The eighteen hundreds had a plethora of dark philosophers that laid the foundation for much of the modern day apostasy. One person’s writings can influence a mushroom cloud of off-base and deceptive thought processes that infiltrate everything from politics to health care. Some of the historical thoughts and ideas that surfaced helped people break out of oppressive conditions. Other ideas led to catastrophe. We need to be able to discern the difference between good and evil in order to make our own choices.
The cult of personality and national socialism creates a harebrained mess of things. We can thank our lucky stars – there is a God. If all of history, politics, education and health is left up to man, just look back. Look at the present. Ask yourself if we are giving too much accolades to the actions of behind-the-scenes people who are so self-exalted they are in a descent into madness. Yet their thinking becomes foundational and can be plucked out the remnants of those Godless black holes.
Yes things have become increasingly polarized, the opposite of what Nietzche believed in and taught. He denied the existence of right and wrong, he denied the existence of truth, and he denied the existence of God.
No one is forced to believe in God. Perhaps it is better to write about a favourite famous writer like Blaise Pascal. I have been a fan of Blaise Pascal since I first started to read about him thirty years ago. He was truly and provably a brilliant man. He did not do circle talk spouting intellectual gibberish. He did not focus on himself, but rather practical things that could benefit knowledge, understanding and progressive mathematics. He wrote about and tested his beliefs.
My next blog post is going to describe a much more productive and psychologically stable historical figure – Blaise Pascal. Here is what he believed about God.
Another of his famous quotes, which I think should be a covid quote is. “Don’t try to add more years to your life. Better to add more life to your years”.
Everyone must be scratching their heads over the announcement to change Facebook into a global meta verse. Huh? What the heck is that? Do you take selfies, run them through a filter, make up an impressive handle or avatar, call yourself a god or a goddess, and play “meta verse” all day instead of living in the real world?
Where did Zuckerberg come up with this novel concept? That’s right, it does come from a novel. It comes from the 1990’s novel by Neal Stephenson called Snow Crash. I have not read the book, but looked up some reviews and the convoluted story line. The book is pure science fiction.
In the book there are many altered Biblical references to the tower of Babel and various gods. It speaks of how “in the beginning gibbersih was written into the bitmap causing the computer to crash”. Snow crash is a reference to the old fashioned TV screen when it went off air and left a snowy, static looking screen.
The book speaks about the Sumerian language used for programming the brainstem. The goddess Ashera is the personification of the linguistic virus. The god Enhi created a counter-attack causing all humans to speak different languages (idea comes from the Bible).
The plot opens in LA after a complete global economic collapse. LA is no longer part of the US since the world is run by sovereign enclaves each run by big business. The plot revolves around a character named Hiro who is a hacker and a pizza delivery driver for the Mafia. When viewed, the snow crash datafile caused a system wide crash and the viewer to get brain damage.
The book hints of strong narcotics as part of the computer file, and has multiple sub-plots. Quoted from wikipedia “The body that is infected by a virus does not become infected because it understands the virus any more than the body that does not become infected misunderstands the virus. So a world in which everything—from bitmaps to blood—can be understood as a “form of speech” is also a world in which nothing actually is understood, a world in which what a speech act does is disconnected from what it means.”
Now the question is, how does this science fiction odd ball novel manage to become the backdrop to set up a Facebook meta universe? Especially given the fact it was written thirty years ago?
The answer is it doesn’t and it can’t. It is not only a far-fetched marketing campaign, but it is dredged up from the dark side. It is given accolades for having all kinds of brilliant connections on everything from history to linguistics, to anthropology, religion and philosophy, but a quick overview, in my opinion – shows a focus on nothing much but a cult religion.
But regardless of what fantasies a person gravitates toward, how is this book going to be the conceptual construct for a meta verse, which no one fully understands?
First of all, computer programming does not take on a life of its own. There are brilliant programmers, but all it is – is a translation of thoughts into code. It does not invent itself.
The basic reason it cannot be what Zuckerberg claims it will be, is because in order to create a meta verse, first there must be a virtual reality. A virtual reality must be open source, and allow any other programmer to jump in, and possibly even take control. You can rest assured Zuckerberg – has not structured it this way. This is his own little play station version of his own aggrandized pseudo-reality.
Furthermore, the science fiction genre it stems from has a moral code, and this falls outside that moral compass. Why? It has undercurrents of a radicalized and racial purification structure for humanity.
“In contrast, it uniquely risks developing a racialized view of culture.[according to whom?][citation needed] Because, Walter Benn Michaels states, “in Snow Crash, the bodies of humans are affected by ‘information’ they can’t read… the virus, like the icepick [in American Psycho], gets the words inside you even if you haven’t read them”,[16]: 68 culture is not transmitted by beliefs and practices, but rather by physical characteristics, such as blood (or genetic codes).[according to whom?][citation needed]”
Facebook has morphed into a meta universe based on a science fiction novel from thirty years ago, when there is no virtual reality even today. Gamers put on goggles and headphones to enter. The rest of us put on a hat and gloves and go out for a walk in the snow like normal human beings in the real world.
When someone shares a picture of their dog on Facebook – don’t worry. It can’t bite or byte you!
What all this drivel fails to acknowledge – is that human beings produce both language and thoughts. Thoughts stem from our identity and beliefs. There are Universal laws surrounding the development of thoughts. All computer programming stems from human intelligence and thoughts, not the other way around.
Happy New Year! And let’s hope Zuckerberg only manages to crash his own system.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
This little bird visited today and stayed for a few photo-ops. Funnily enough, first he was fooled by some fake flowers in a basket. Then fooled again over a metal hummingbird on a trellis above the basket. He let me get quite close to him, but I was afraid he might fly into the living room if I opened the sliding door too wide, so this was the only angle I could get. I was taking product pictures when he stopped by, and happened to see him fly onto the balcony. I had a 50mm fixed lens on the camera. Too bad it wasn’t a macro lens. But with hummingbirds, you don’t usually have much time to change a lens.
He was just three feet away from where I was standing, and did not fly away when I quietly slid the door open. He kept looking up at the metal bird, and opening and closing his pointed little beak, like he was trying to talk to it. He might have been cold too, or maybe it is a mating thing, because he kept preening and puffing out his feathers as well. He stayed much longer than hummingbirds usually do. I wondered if he was hiding out to avoid being attacked by the crows. I don’t recall ever seeing hummingbirds in December on the west coast. Perhaps this little birdie came to give a wee parable or message for the New Year. There is potential within all of nature – to be deceived. The photo art is a pop art filter cropped from the original.
I just read that the only breed remaining here for the entire winter is called the Anna hummingbird. Apparently there are record numbers of them freezing and injured right now. No wonder this little one was hanging around longer, and maybe not thinking too clearly.
I also read about people warming feeders this time of year, and/or trying to find ways to keep them from freezing. In a previous post I explained why I do not believe in feeding any wildlife, including birds. If the Anna hummingbird routinely sticks around for the winter, they must have the capacity to survive, at least a percentage of them must. This bird did fly away without appearing to be injured. I hope he or she is doing okay.
History is valid because history tends to repeat itself. You would think we would learn from the past, but human nature, unfortunately – is what it is.
Mussolini started out as a revolutionary socialist. It is an ideology that stresses the need for widespread revolution in order to bring about social restructuring. It is about destabilization and division.
According to history.com Mussolini’s father was a blacksmith by trade, and an ardent socialist. His mother was described as being a devout Roman Catholic, although I am sure she was a whole lot more than that. I have never been quite sure what a devout Roman Catholic means. When I was younger I assumed it meant they followed all the traditions, midnight masses, and various forms of worship set out by the Catholic Church. But regardless of religious affiliation, people are responsible for what they do, and how they treat others. There can be no hiding behind a cloak of religion, or it means it is a false religion.
It is interesting to note that Mussolini was expelled from school at age ten for stabbing another student. He obviously had no remorse, because he stabbed another student when he was fourteen, and was suspended from school. He did not face serious consequences by the sounds of it. Nor did he have assessments or some kind of intervention and follow up. At least there is nothing to show he was remorseful, or even controllable.
His young adulthood was spent traveling around as a socialist agitator, with frequent altercations with police. After a brief stint as editor of a socialist newspaper in Austria, he was deported back to Italy in 1909.
By 1910 he was the editor of another socialist newspaper, and was arrested for inciting violence. He spent six months in jail. Apparently during his incarceration he began writing his autobiography while still in his twenties, citing his difficult school years and romantic prowess (multiple conquests). Wow. A violent, self-aggrandized, agitated lover boy. How ominous.
Mussolini fought in the First World War in 1915, and then returned to journalism. By 1919 he was organizing fascist groups to form the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento. He also began to stockpile weapons and explosives in his newspaper offices. This group insisted on the internment of any foreigners deemed to be enemies of the state. He was arrested again for collecting arms to overthrow the government, but was soon released.
By 1921 the Italian parliament was dissolved in the midst of violence and chaos. The reason given for the dissolution, was the reluctance to impose martial law. The subsequent election brought a win for the fascists. Mussolini won a seat, and from there he managed to rise to power.
By 1922 he declared himself the dictator of Italy. Following his declaration, two decades of oppression, and harsh regimes were inflicted upon the people. During the Second World War, he opportunistically aligned himself with Hitler and the Nazi movement.
Is it any wonder fashion took on the persona of the flapper and the fringe during that era? Flapping wildly in the wind and turbulence of the times. If you compare the “look” from the turn of the century, before the world wars, to the 1920’s-1940’s we see radical changes in some of the glamorous silhouettes that came out of those wars. War generates profits, especially for those at the top.
Mussolini’s first order of the day was to demand special “emergency powers” to set up the elections and punish any anti-fascist activists with prison, denying them a trial. By 1926 the fascists owned 66% of the newspapers. The “Order of Journalists” was created and membership was mandatory. Anyone who did not comply faced immediate arrest and imprisonment.
By 1943 the antics of Mussolini and his alliance with Hitler began to catch up with him. He was voted out of power by his own Grand Council. He was arrested and freed again, only to join the dark forces in the murderous rampage against the Italian Jewish people.
Finally, in June of 1945 the allied forces stormed into Italy. Apparently Mussolini tried to flee with his lover, but was discovered in a transport truck and arrested. Most of the information for this article was retrieved from the website history.com. However there is a glaring contradiction. In one paragraph it states he was arrested in June of 1945 trying to flee, and the next paragraph claims he was shot by firing squad in April of 1945.
Although there is much more to this snapshot of the rise and fall of a fascist dictator, one of the final macabre bits, is that he was hung upside down with one of his cohorts at the Piazzale Loreto in Milan, and displayed for crowds to express their rage and disgust. The public was free to kick and spat upon the upended corpses.
But the grisly bits of his life did not end in the town square. In 1966 his wife was given a piece of his brain in an envelope. The American diplomat who gave it to her said it was a gesture, or a piece of what creates a dictator. It does not make much sense to me, how a piece of someone’s brain in an envelope is going to prove much. You would think she would have been appalled, but instead she saved it. His wife decided to put the grey matter on his tomb, which receives over a 100,000 visitors a day. Nice tourist attraction eh? For flies maybe…
If anything, the dictator’s history of stabbing his classmates, and his many brushes with the law, should have prevented him from rising to power. But people get caught up in confusion, chaos and fear. Or worse yet – denial. Then it seems things just follow a certain path of destruction, with some sort of mysterious timing.
Mussolini’s life was one of violence and domination. Soon after his death, Hitler committed suicide.
Although they commit an untold legacy of harm, murder, and imprisonment – these men died miserable deaths. Are they gone for good? No. Those ideologies never got stamped out. They surface again. But what is their ultimate fate? Judgement day. They wait in the pit until they rise one more time – to face the final judgement they deserve.
For all those with fascist or extremist leanings – learn from the past, or your future will be locked in a pit somewhere with guys like Mussolini and Hitler. We all await the judgement day. Some of us hope for justice, while others quake in fear at the thought of consequences for their horrific actions toward other human beings.
Every impactful ideology, even if it is steeped in madness – leaves a remnant. We should study the scraps and leftovers from the past to see the origin and progression of extremes – leading to the cult of personality, self-exaltation, tyranny, arrogance, and cruelty. The remnant of social injustice is seen when societies become increasingly Godless.
In all ways, we can safely assert that creating confusion and chaos is not good. Pushing people to the point of rioting in the streets, is not good. Inciting violence? Not good.
We are meant to do good, with sincerity and honesty. We are meant to deal with others in good faith. No matter what happens, good overcomes evil. Love overcomes hate. Truth overcomes deception. Peace overcomes violence.
Christmas means a Saviour was born. Just as we celebrate his birth, we look forward to his return. Now, perhaps more than any other time in history, we have to navigate one of the most complex narratives of all time. We just have to do our best to do good, and promote peace.
May faith in Jesus bring peace of mind, with much reflection and hope for what is to come.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Like most intangible definitions in life, luxury is embodied in a lifestyle that some take for granted – yet others have never experienced. Or is there some kind of luxury for all people? Is love a luxury? If it is, then maybe some of the poor have experienced more of it than the most opulent people on earth. Of course that’s pure speculation on my part.
But really, what is luxury? Expensive clothes and art? In my opinion, it is about comfort and peace of mind. An aesthetic and pleasing ambiance is part of luxury. In every way, luxury is a perspective, not a brand.
If you are lost on a mountain for hours on end or overnight, and it starts to rain and blow sleet, you lack luxuries, no matter how wealthy you are. If unprepared for such an excursion, the wealthy might have fancier gear, but will still suffer the discomforts, the elements, and the fear of death.
From such a perspective, a hot bath and cup of tea are longed for, in your mind, and viewed as the epitome of luxury. If you are lost in a hot desert, the oasis represents a luxury powerful enough to cause you to hallucinate the sight of one.
I remember reading somewhere that those who spent extended times in the wilderness after surviving a plane crash, fared better if they imagined food in detail, as opposed to those who tried not to think about food at all.
In cases of hypothermia, it is common for people to undress before they die. If they do not take off all clothing, they often remove just their footwear. Search and rescue are stymied when they find a missing person’s hiking boots, with no evidence of animal predation, or obvious reason for taking them off.
Humans are paradoxical in so many ways. There is much speculation about the reasons for undressing in the final stages of hypothermia. It is probably something instinctual in relation to the skewed electrical signals in the body, and decreasing level of consciousness. Some say it is a survival mechanism to increase vasoconstriction, in order to preserve the core temperature. But that doesn’t really make sense to me, since the core needs warming, not more exposure. The skin is the bodies largest organ, so our basic instinct is to protect and cover our skin when it is cold.
Luxury seems to be more closely related to warmth, stability, and relaxation. It is something you can hold close, like a warm stone. It is natural to slip into, easy to hug close around you, but not too sloppy to answer the door. Luxury is merino wool and cashmere socks inside your favourite pair of old and worn leather boots. Luxury is making it another few miles when you are tired, without stumbling and doing a face plant. It is reaching a destination, the one you have in your mind long before you get there.
In the past couple of years, pomposity has gone by the wayside. Luxury has been humbled. Over indulgence is rapidly becoming a garish and wasteful form of luxury. Huge carbon footprints are no longer idolized.
But what about our obsession with textiles and fashion? Has society ever abandoned the concept of adding art to enhance comfort, colour and beauty? Style is part of self expression and personal identity. Everyone has a certain style, which seems to match their personality.
Luxury, in one form or another is for everyone. If we have gratitude, we know a hot bath is a luxury. I believe we are very fortunate to have so much luxury. I also believe it is far better to buy quality and keep it for a long time, as opposed to fast fashion. Fast fashion fills up the landfills with excessive waste. It also exacerbates the use of petrochemicals, since most cheap things are made of polyester. Some polyester is superior to other polyesters, but even so…
Luxury leans toward natural fibres, in my opinion. Natural fibres make so much more sense, both for comfort and for the environment. This includes the use of leathers that are byproducts of the food industry. Natural fibres last longer, protect us better, and are less harmful to the environment. Nothing beats merino wool in cold weather.
High fashion is somewhat like music, art and other memorabilia. Some things are worth keeping and preserving, since they will never be made again. Who makes hats with intricate rows of contrasting feathers in this day and age? If they do try to make something similar, it certainly does not look like a 1950’s Ellen Faith hat. Quality and fashionable items have lasting value, if they are taken care of. They are part of the arts and culture of every era, and every country in the world.
Luxury is thought of as being everything from fancy cars, and python bags, to jet-setting, and indulging in seven course meals. Yet, luxury can just as easily be donning a warm pair of slippers, and pouring a steaming dark roast coffee, to watch the sun rise over the mountains. It is even better if you can sit quietly and listen to the trill, the distinctive woo woo sounds of the Mourning doves.
Whatever your luxuries this holiday season – May you have the luxury of peace of mind. Also, the luxury of seeing loved ones without rigid controls, rejections, restrictions, or conflicts.
Freedom is a luxury now. I hope we can all be encouraged to know our minds are free. We can question things, disagree or agree. We can talk to each other, research, read, observe, and formulate our own opinions. Freedom to think, is the way it has always been.
In so many ways, the battle for ultimate freedom has already been won. We just have to be patient, and carry on like normal people. Who would have ever believed normal would become the new luxury?
I wish all people a normal Christmas, with all the comforts and luxury of love, warmth and acceptance.
We can “safely” acknowledge that no one can cast out, or separate us from the bonds of love that bind a family together, no matter how great the intrusion or abuse of power.
May the downcast be blessed. May the arrogant be brought to their senses, in the midst of abundance and luxuries. May all of our hearts hold love – in spite of it all.
This Christmas wish is for blessings to all polarized people. Unity would be a true luxury. It brings harmony. Harmony can do no harm.
What are ideas, but words given to thoughts and expressions? We are free to undress words before the final stages of system failure – ’cause they don’t freeze, yet they freeze in time. We can examine words for truth, and draw our own conclusions. We don’t have to bury them on the hillsides. We can embrace and share words, as one of the luxuries of living in a democratic country.
Our values are strong. We weather the storms. Love is a constant. Truth is important. And luxury? It is a changing look.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
This is an image of a 1930’s “Hudson’s Bay Soleil Elegante” seal skin hat, with fabric covered wooden beads attached to looped trim encircling the brim. The mums on my balcony are still in bloom, giving the weary blues Internet cafe a little bit of sunshine!
We are in the midst of apocalyptic theories about the end times, especially in relation to current events with floods, fires and plagues dominating the news every single day. The book of Revelation is one that incites fear – with images of tribulation, the mark of the beast, death, and graphic descriptions of the dreaded antichrist.
However, the final book and chapter of life on earth as we know it, is filled with hope, with mystery, imagery, metaphor, the spiritual realm, drama, and symbology. It is most prone to false teachings, or misinterpretations, which serve to enhance a fictional account of what it all means.
I will freely admit, there are many parts I don’t understand. But I can say what beliefs about end times that I cannot find in the book of Revelation. First and foremost, it is about the fullness of the revelation of Jesus Christ, not specifically about the revelation of a single anti-christ. It describes the ultimate battle between good and evil, to include punishing those who are against Christ, giving them plenty of warnings, and opportunity to repent.
There are many antichrists in this world, both in the unseen spiritual realm, and among people. The battle against evil encompasses all of the evil, to include the false prophet, lawlessness, and the devil himself. The revelation of Christ defines, and eventually demonstrates what is good in this world. The polarized opposite ceases to blend in, until the line of of demarcation, becomes an outright and inevitable challenge. Once you realize the basics, it is easier to understand how things might unfold.
There is no mention of a single antichrist, even though many extrapolate the description of this beast in Revelation as being one person. There is no mention of a pre-tribulation rapture, and prior to the John Darby alterations of the Bible in the mid-eighteen hundreds, there never was a belief in a rapture theory. Be very wary of anything added to, or taken away from the original version of the Bible.
There is nothing to describe a one world government, or one world order. In fact, The Bible specifically says that nation will rise against nation, and there will be war and rumours of war. People will deceive one another at all levels. Those who think they are the smartest and richest, will deceive those they think they can outsmart.
The thing about arrogance, is it creates an invincible perspective – viewing others as being beneath them, and deserving of their mistreatment. They will also strive to dominate and surpass anyone who seems to be above them. They are prone to scheming and creating conglomerates though. Joining forces with the right people increases their power, and is required, in order to achieve the goals they cannot possibly meet otherwise. But who is the top dog of such a system? We don’t have to take too many wild guesses.
If someone has accumulated billions of dollars, they already know wealth does not fill their void. So rather than abandon the concept of power and money based on deception and ruthlessness, they seek more power, dominance and control – like in a big game of Risk. They will continue deceiving and being deceived, unless they genuinely realize the error of their ways and repent.
How does the information found in end times eschatology translate into a one world order? The deception and conflict will increase, not coalesce into some kind of unified conspiracy theory. You don’t get unity out of divisiveness, greed and deception. You get confusion and a revolving door of changing “facts” ad infinitum. Lies change constantly, since they cannot be defended with reasoning or logic. In sharp contrast, truth is constant. There is no honour among thieves. There is no compassion either. Forget the concept of universal human rights. Prior to the end of this age, we get man and the devil’s version of ruling the earth, not God’s version.
During the years I went to church back in the eighties, I listened to many sermons giving dire warnings about the terrible tribulation Christians were about to face. In conjunction with the fear mongering, there would be the false hope of a rapture into the clouds when the going gets really tough. At the time, I thought it was what all Christians believed. After all, it was what I was indoctrinated with by a religious zealot (and very deceptive) teacher when I was in a kid in a small public school in central Alberta. Fundamentalist lies might have been foisted upon many people, but they are far from the truth.
Nothing is as it seems. There are many false teachers. All people should read the Bible for themselves. Do not listen to the many interpretations, including mine – at face value. When you read it for yourself, and then read it again, you will wonder how all the fables and myths arose out of what is meant to reassure us, not terrify us.
To give a summary of what it actually says: It starts out with a warning to the seven churches, in some cases explaining their shortfalls, and in other cases offering praise and encouragement – but in all cases, it is telling them to repent. The churches are the first ones to be told to repent. Following the reprimand to the churches, the punishment for those who do not repent begins.
The seven seals can only be opened by, and delivered to the world by Christ himself. After the churches are admonished, the non-believers and the wicked are told to repent, as the wrath of God begins to unfold. There will be persecution of Christians, as there has been throughout history, but the central message surrounds a series of punishments, in order to encourage all people to repent. Those who refuse to repent, get more severe punishment. If anyone should be terrified, it is the non-believers, especially those who lie with arrogance, and have little regard for the weak and the poor.
The focus on a single anti-christ, followed by a rapture into the clouds is false doctrine. One of the things we must do during these troubling times, is embrace and love the truth. We are specifically told to stop false dealings, and lying amongst ourselves. We are to discern and avoid false teachings, and be truthful in our communications. There is a much greater punishment awaiting those who intentionally deceive. Liars and lying top the list of the seven deadly sins, not the Catholic deadly sins, but the list as spelled out in Proverbs, describing the things God hates the most. In fact, the devil is known as, and described as being “the father of lies.” Arrogance or a “haughty look” is also in the top seven things God hates.
In my opinion, what is referred to as the antichrist in Revelation, is actually a system, not a single person. Some refer to this system as being the Catholic Church, or the USA, or the UN, or some other geographical location or organization. The beasts described in Revelation usually refer to a kingdom or a nation. I believe the verses about this creature, are referring to the hidden system of control and deception. It describes a kingdom of the anti-christ mentality, and organizational structure.
It is an organized and sophisticated system, but may not have a specific public name or known entity, since the nature of deception, is to hide under a cloak of darkness, while trying to appear to be a beacon of light. Most of the intent behind placating speeches, is the polarized opposite of what they are claiming. The cloak of darkness, lawlessness, apostasy, and secrecy – will eventually be revealed for what it is.
The book of Revelation is ultimately about repentance, redemption, and the return of Christ. It is encouraging believers to repent, to be patient, to be watchful – and most of all, to be comforted and reassured. As the time draws near, all people will face tribulation. None of us will escape it. We will be protected though, even through death. And just as there is a description of the mark of the beast, there is also a description of the mark and seal of the Holy Spirit as well. All people will end up with some kind of mark, likely a spiritual identifier, as opposed to an actual literal mark.
And finally, what happens when Christ returns or when we die? The atheist assumes life ends when the body dies. All religious beliefs have some kind of vision of an after life. I used to try to imagine living in heaven for all eternity. I would wonder what we would be doing, since eternity is a very long time. As a kid I wondered if we would be jumping from cloud to cloud, or have various groups or family units floating on their own cloud. Even so – how do we live on vapour?
How many funerals and church services have we listened to that describe a loved one being in heaven? But is it true? I don’t think so. It sounds like people go to a resting place until the return of Christ, which makes more sense. How can people automatically go to heaven prior to judgment day?
Heaven eventually gets brought to the earth. People do not go to heaven when they die, and nor do we go to heaven after Christ returns. Dead people sleep until the return of Christ. It is written – the dead in Christ rise first, then those who are alive are caught up to meet Christ in the air. This is a fulfillment of the Gospel promise of the resurrection of believers. But after all the joy and excitement, everyone settles back down to earth. The rest of the dead, as in the unbelievers, do not live again until after a thousand year reign on earth. The thousand year reign is under the rule of Christ, and all the believers throughout history will be on the earth.
This is consistent with the verses, and the images of swords being turned into ploughshares. The earth will have a focus on love for one another, agriculture, music, liberty, nourishment, truth, joy, praise, learning, exploring, gardening, and preparation for the great day of judgment. There will be no sickness and no fear.
There will be no more deception or violence. Of all the evil to be overcome in this world, the greatest gift of all, is knowing death will be overcome, once and for all. It is so much easier to imagine what we will be doing, when we realize we will not be floating on a cloud somewhere for all eternity.
If you don’t believe me, recite the Lord’s Prayer, because it tells us “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” For believers, the earth does not belong to anyone but God. We already know who is going to win the great and final battle.
Yes there are earthlings who believe they can get away with taking over and dominating the world, using deception, and abuse of power to make merchandise out of people. They actually believe money gives them a stake or a share in the all encompassing power of the global elite. The bigger question is, will they succeed?
Regardless of what you believe, even if you mock Christianity, and believe in the Big Bang theory. Imagine what it will be like for those who reject God until the bitter end? There will be a regrettable realization, knowing they squandered their own lives, in favour of deception and self exaltation. They are exchanging seventy or eighty years on a corrupt earth, for an eternity on a peaceful and joyful earth. Does it show us how justice might prevail? Belief is based on free will and faith. No one is forced to believe.
It is a sobering thought to acknowledge a hundred billion or more people have already died since the beginning of mankind. Where are all those people? What is their ultimate fate? Though we live and walk on this earth for now, clearly it is temporary. We cannot see eternity because our beliefs are based on faith, which is unseen.
We are warned many times throughout the Bible not to be deceived. Don’t assume all people who call themselves Christians are telling the truth. Look it up and read it for yourself. Some people will say money is the root of all evil, but what it really says is “the love of money is the root of all evil,” which makes more sense. Things are quite consistent in the Bible, making it a very stabilizing influence.
Of all things I don’t understand and would like to know, is why Eve was blamed for eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, when she was supposed to be submissive, and Adam was supposed to be the leader? Shouldn’t he have said “no way”? I suppose in many ways, it does demonstrate how people are inclined to be deceived, or talked into things against their better judgement. Once a deception is acted upon, it can change the course of many lives. The choice made by Adam and Eve, changed the course for all humankind.
If we sincerely seek the truth, we will eventually find the liberty we so desperately want. In my humble opinion – embracing truth, is the only way out of this mess.
On a more positive note, one of the most beautiful passages in the Bible describes the tree of life being here on earth once the kingdom of heaven is here. The tree of life has twelve fruits, with a different one ripening every month of the year. The leaves on the tree of life are for the healing of the nations.
The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” has always been pretty good advice. Prevention is all about staying healthy, in particular having a healthy diet, combined with fresh air and exercise. We all know the drill.
We all get sick from time to time regardless. As we age, the chronic diseases, cancers, heart disease, stroke, and accidents top the list for what could put us in the hospital (aside from covid, flus, and various other respiratory infections).
We simply do not have any guarantees in life. I might not be here tomorrow for all I know. I have managed to stay away from doctors and hospitals for the most part, with the exception of working in hospitals. As things unfold with covid, and health care becomes less reliable, I am more determined than ever to steer clear.
If I fail in my quest to stay alive and drop dead, there might be some finger pointing, and dire warnings “See I told you so”. Maybe I will plan to wear a pink sequinned mini skirt to my own funeral (very bad) so the tongue-wagging could have some bling in the orbits of the obits. What a place to end up when the party is over! Notice how older people take very few selfies? They add at least seven years to your life!
One of the things I cannot comprehend surrounding privacy and confidentiality in health care, is why they allow media into the ICU’s now, to take pictures of people who are critically ill, or on their death beds. Especially when you consider they will not even allow family to visit. Are all those cameras, tripods, and lenses sterile or even clean? Where else have they been?
I really do not think anyone should consent to that kind of macabre voyeurism. We are not getting out of this world alive, and we certainly don’t need to be used as covid mascots when we are at our most vulnerable. Those ICU pictures published in the newspapers, are intended to scare people into compliance, when no one knows the history or various other factors that put them in ICU.
People ended up on ventilators in ICU long before covid came along, yet we never allowed media into a hospital room. Now if you end up in ICU, it’s a reality TV show with a biased slant, at a time when you have no hope of defending yourself or your reputation. Vanity aside, privacy in health care is being eroded faster than an unstable embankment, without any roots to hold it in place.
I would far rather go out of this world dressed up, than tied and bound up in tubes on a ventilator, at the mercy of mobile hazmat suits, with people you could never recognize outside the place. So when people say, would you forgo medical care if you need the ICU? I always think – Sure I would. Faith and fate are part of life. Give it your best shot, and then fall out of the tree. Nature is what it is.
It has come to the point where it is simply safer to stay away from doctors and hospitals if at all possible. They are understaffed and overwhelmed as it is, and things appear to be getting worse. They don’t want us there.
The chances of medication errors, diagnostic errors, and a lack of advocacy – makes hospitals increasingly formidable. There are many good people who work in hospitals, but inadequate staffing levels can lead to inhumane treatment. Plus people are under a great deal of stress right now. Many people who work in hospitals have strong opinions about what is happening, yet they are not free to speak what they believe. The idea of facing the financial crisis that comes with loss of income, or worse yet the license to practice your profession, for people in mid career with families to support – is a huge stressor. The strong differences of opinion cause conflicts, mistrust, and instability in the workplace. I am so glad to be out of it.
Hospitals do have a fair bit of drama, and each experience is unique. For example, if a person is post op with a big abdominal surgery, has had the catheter removed, and cannot urinate – they will get a full bladder pressing on a fresh incision, and be in a great deal of pain. If they let the nurse know they are in extreme pain, and she does not palpate or notice the distended bladder, she might give sedation without alleviating the cause. She might not get back to the patient for another two or three hours. It is a very long time to be in that much pain, steadily increasing, as the IV is running, and the bladder becomes fuller.
The same thing can happen if there is internal bleeding, or a big clot pressing on the incision or other organs. The nurse may be inclined to give more sedation without recognizing the post op complication for several hours. Oftentimes it is a family member who acts as a patient advocate, and will seek help when they see something is not going well.
But if family is not allowed to visit, the person has no advocate. People can quickly become too weak to ring a call bell, especially if there is a post-op bleed. I truly wish there was a way to maintain a support person as a patient advocate, for every person who lands up in the hospital. From a staffing perspective, it is very helpful to have someone at the bedside who can give sips of water, adjust pillows, make sure the person is rousable, etc. Most nurses are not intentionally neglecting patients. It’s just too busy sometimes.
When a person lands up in ER, or is admitted to the ward, the treatment is in the luck of the draw. You might go in during a quiet period and get treated quite well. You might happen to get sick when a really good team of doctors and nurses are working. Or you may get a dud for a doctor, and nurses who are burnt out and beyond caring. The consistency of care is compromised by an overworked system.
Accidents and the resulting traumas, make up a percentage of tragic hospital admissions. In addition to car accidents, this includes falls within and around your own home. If you are over fifty and fracture your hip, the chances of dying within a year is very high. Falls can lead to brain injuries, and/or lifelong disabilities.
Therefore, assess and minimize your chances of getting injured before taking any risk. When indoors, use a stable two or three step ladder with an arched handle to get things out of upper cupboards. Never grab a bar stool or some other unstable piece of furniture to stand on, even for a minute. The same applies to all ladder use, inside or out. Always hold railings on stair cases. Use proper body alignment when lifting things.
For every project, create a safety filter, whether it is chopping vegetables, cutting frozen tuna, fixing things, using glues and chemicals, decorating, painting, gardening, lifting, and loading things. The notion of physical invincibility starts to wane at about age fifty five. If you add insult to injury, it hampers healing, and could lead to chronic pain, arthritis, and dependency on pain medications.
All injuries, like illnesses, need rest and healing therapies. Massage, water exercises, stretching, elevating, and application of warmth – will aid healing. Whether injured or ill, always keep your circulation flowing by moving around, changing position, deep breathing, rotating your ankles, tightening up your calf muscles, and stretching. Many people will develop pneumonia, just from not moving enough. Moving also helps keep the circulation flowing, which is especially important to prevent blood clots from developing in the lower legs.
We should not blame ourselves if we do get sick or injured. It’s bad enough to have to deal with a health crisis, without beating ourselves up even more. But even so, it is wise to do an objective evaluation of the cause, to help us recover, heal, steadily improve, and then make the necessary changes to boost our overall health.
To take responsibility for our own health, we have to gain some confidence and basic knowledge. One of the best ways to gain confidence is to overcome the fear of death. If we are living in fear, we are easy to manipulate and control. If we go for every pre-screening option available, we are bound to get diagnosed with something. Once that happens, it is much more difficult to back out of the treatment plan laid out for you. It is the same with prescription drugs. If you go to a doctor with any problem at all, you are likely to get a prescription of some sort.
I believe we all get inflammation, cancers, infections, and autoimmune diseases of varying degrees, sooner or later. Wellness is a lifelong journey, and many times, it is an uphill battle. A battle of self-discipline, will power, getting a proper balance in life, managing stress, getting enough sleep, solving problems, overcoming childhood trauma, addictions, and so on.
Years ago I was quite taken by a nutrition based self-help book about emotionally induced illnesses. The author claimed 80% of illnesses are emotional in origin. It seems excessive, but at the same time quite believable. During the years I worked as an RN, I could certainly see plenty of evidence to support those claims. Almost all frequent flyers presenting in ER departments are riddled with emotional pain, addiction, and an over arching physical complaint. Being referred to as a frequent flyer was a negative thing, with the undercurrent of what was then termed as “drug seeking behaviours”.
It is not simply a matter of thinking positive, although a decision to be happy, with an optimistic outlook, can help a great deal. You cannot stay positive if you have constant struggles, and never-ending problems to deal with though. So the key is to do what you can each day to solve the problems, in bite size pieces. Once you outline what you can do each day, then the problems can be broken down, without casting a complete shadow over all the positive things in life. If you have a hundred pounds to lose, you cannot lose it overnight anyway. It has to be a day by day, and step by step action plan.
In many cases we land up in a cycle of some sort. If it is negative and swings to the extremes, it means there are patterns to break and restructure. We have to ask ourselves what we might be doing to contribute to our own bad luck or instability.
Sometimes it is a matter of “to thine own self be true” but you end up getting punished for the decision. Other times, it is a pattern, a coping mechanism from another era. Sometimes it is interlocked with a co-dependant or destructive relationship. It is hard to be objective when you are in the thick of it. You have to get free first.
In a similar way, if you have a raging addiction, it will not be cured in a day. It takes abstinence, followed by a day to day plan with the objective to get feeling better. All addiction, depression, poor diets, chronic illness, etc. require a dedication to improve energy, stability and vitality. The dopamine levels, serotonin levels, gut biome, and methods of stress management must be sorted out. For some, healthy living has been fairly easy to make into a lifelong pattern. For countless others though, optimal wellness is burdened with, or snuffed out by emotional and psychological baggage.
Over the years, I will readily admit my own shortcomings in handling emotional stress in a healthy way. I allowed coping mechanisms from early childhood to rule. In hindsight, I wish I would have known then, what I know now. When things go wrong with our health, we feel awful. We don’t have the energy to get our work done. It is difficult to feel happy and optimistic while feeling physically ill. In a similar sense, it is difficult to feel physically well, if we are emotionally stressed, downtrodden, or over burdened, and without the resources to deal with things.
One of the core values I have developed, is to avoid most medications, non-herbal drugs, and alcohol. They might be needed for a brief period, but dependency on medications or chemical mood elevators, means masking symptoms, and creating a roller coaster of mood instability. Eventually the (self) medications do not work as well, or else they cause intolerable and cumulative side effects. Alcohol and many prescription medications are addictive, and can cause severe withdrawal when stopped suddenly. Benzodiazepines require a very careful tapering, which can take many months.
The main objective is to stay stable, regardless of what is going on around you. This means having surety in your decision making abilities, forgiving your own mistakes, and doing your best each day. Keep stable routines, stable diet, stable home life, and keep working out the priorities and details. If there are major changes, don’t add more, just deal with what is tangible. Any time something is threatening to spiral, pull it back to the baseline.
As far as physical health is concerned, the principles are similar. Pay attention. When there is a problem developing, evaluate it, research it, and trust your intuition. If you feel unwell, often rest is the antidote. Some people panic if they see a tablespoon of blood. Apply pressure. If you have an arterial bleed, or an injury that won’t stop bleeding, you do need medical attention. In such a case, there will be a significant amount of blood. Some things do require a 911 call, but often people tend to over react.
Many people get scared if they get short of breath, or if they get a positive mammogram result, or told they “might have this or that”. Ask yourself how you feel, what is different, when did it start, what might the cause be? No one knows your medical history better than you do. It helps to become dispassionate for periods of time, while we make an assessment, as it increases objectivity and rational thought.
From my own perspective and experience, diet, exercise and adequate sleep, make up the basics of maintaining health. If you feel ill, it means you need rest and some early therapies. Things that are therapeutic, and contribute to helping the body heal, are steeped in old fashioned remedies. Therapies are basically comfort measures with healing benefits.
Yes home made chicken soup and lots of clear fluids, in between resting, will help you get back on your feet in a few days if you catch a cold. It is worthwhile to study up on the use of essential oils. They have many well documented health benefits, and contribute to a sense of well-being. Most of them have antimicrobial and anti fungal properties as well. Aromatherapy is pleasant, and full of olfactory flavour. You do get your favourites among them. My favourites are rose, jasmine, cypress, thyme, marjoram, and juniper. Some people love the mints, and others prefer the citrus essential oils. Once you get into it, there is an awesome range to choose from, and become familiar with.
You have to research the usages, carrier oils, and dosages of essential oils carefully though, especially if you choose to use them medicinally. It is fine to use them in aromatherapy or the bath without concerns. But anything taken internally, or even put onto the skin, must be done with caution. Some of them cannot be taken internally at all. Others can be taken in very small amounts depending on the concentration.
It is wise to keep in mind, there are many healthy and natural remedies, including the overuse of some foods and spices that can be toxic. Some food examples with potential for toxicity are cinnamon, Brazil nuts, nutmeg, green potatoes, and large amounts of leafy greens.
Essential oils, nutraceuticals, and supplements must be evaluated and researched based on what ailment they are directed at, before using them medicinally. They need to be managed as carefully as any other kind of medication. You have to include them in a list of medications you are taking if you do end up in the hospital. Some of them can lead to bleeding disorders, or can react with other medications. Steroids and anticoagulants are especially high risk for serious drug interactions when taken in conjunction with certain herbs or supplements.
I was surprised to learn the upper limit on cinnamon is a teaspoon a day, and Brazil nuts, must be limited to less than five nuts a day. Normally a person could not consume too many leafy greens, since you would have to eat a very large volume for it to be toxic. But now with the popularity of smoothies, a person could get toxicity, if they consume too much spinach and kale, if they assume the more you consume, the better. Moderation is always the key.
I do see many health related YouTube videos telling people they need multiple supplements and trace minerals, often promoting very obscure supplements. Be very wary of adding large amounts of trace minerals, when we are only meant to have tiny amounts, not overkill. We get most of those beneficial trace minerals from a healthy diet. Even if you take supplements that the body can detoxify and excrete, this places an excessive burden on the liver and kidneys. If four or five Brazil nuts has too much selenium, what happens if selenium is packed into a supplement you do not even need?
Clearly, we need to keep our priorities straight. One of the things I noted when working for a few years in large long term care facilities, is that you would often see people who were cognitively intact, but immobile due to knee, back or hip injuries. Another group of them were on the dementia wards, and would have a disproportionate number of very active people. They could walk all day, yet could not remember their name.
One key question to ask ourselves is why we seek a diagnosis for every ailment? We want someone else to fix us. We want a label put onto our ails, so we can find a treatment? Or find a reason for feeling unwell. We have been indoctrinated into believing that we must get an early diagnosis or die. For those with anxiety or fear of getting cancer or diabetes, then by all means seek diagnosis and treatment. Many people credit an early diagnosis with survival. But I think we have become too dependent on quick fixes. If something took years to develop, there is probably not a quick fix.
When I did diabetic teaching for awhile, I had to follow a certain accepted protocol. This involved telling people to test their blood sugars four times a day, and use sugar substitutes like Splenda. The diabetic teaching office would receive boxes and boxes full of free Splenda to hand out, along with the free blood glucometers. One thing most diabetic teaching nurses will notice, is there is a strong correlation between diabetes and depression. I felt like telling them not to check their blood sugars so often.
Why? Because if you are not going to do anything different, why depress yourself over it? It’s like telling an alcoholic to measure their blood alcohol levels when they are drinking. Obviously they are going to be elevated. I think it is better advice to tell people to outline some changes, do them daily, and then check their blood sugars to see if the results are better. Maybe things have progressed since I did the diabetic teaching. I hope so, because there were so many facets of it that I found to be counter intuitive.
Perhaps it is better to make a game plan. What will I do if I get sick? Stay home of course, especially if it is a cold, flu, or communicable disease. Drink plenty of clear fluids, eat soup, and rest. Other self treatments at home can include fasting and hydrotherapy.
As we go forward in our technology based world, we are simultaneously going backward in health care. It makes me think we might return to the back-on-the-farm treatments with mustard plaster compresses, and thermofuge poultices. Human beings are amazingly resilient. There is no way of knowing why some are more resilient than others.
As far as making the grand exit in a pink miniskirt, there is really no chance of that anymore. If I had a choice in the exit costume, I would substitute the sequins for a calf length green silk tea dress with a full skirt. Then spin off into the sky, and blend in with the aurora borealis. But alas, little does it matter what we are wearing when we draw our last breath on this earth. When we leave our bodies, we not only leave our clothes behind like in the movies, but the body itself will be abandoned, clothes and all. At least that’s how I see it.
When people over a hundred years old are asked to share their secrets of longevity, the answers are widely varied. Some smoked and ate ice cream every day, while others ate spinach, and walked five miles a day. But the one common denominator, is most of them are quite cheerful and grateful. That’s probably the crux of it. So cheer up, and have some ice cream with that spinach!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Although the topic is vast and complex, millions of people are sick or afflicted due to autoimmune disorders. Physiologically the body mistakenly creates proteins that attack its own cells. This creates a whole list of disorders to include lupus, MS, psoriasis, arthritis, iritis, Type 1 diabetes, and many others.
There might be breakthrough technologies that help with autoimmune diseases, but I will just share my own experiences. In the early nineties I developed a severe case of iritis. It is an autoimmune disorder of the iris leading to inflammation in the anterior chamber of the eye, along with a significant rise in intraocular pressure.
To begin with I went to an eye specialist at the VGH eye care centre. The medical treatment is basically steroids, pain killers, and eye drops to dilate the pupil, to prevent scarring of the lens. During acute flare ups, I was told to put steroid eye drops in my eye every thirty minutes. My eye was so inflamed, the doctor asked if he could use the images for publication, and to teach medical students at UBC.
The steroids offered some relief, but in my opinion, not enough to warrant pouring such large amounts of steroids into my system. So I backed away from the conventional treatment, and started reading forums and testimonials from others who have it, and how they have managed it.
In hindsight, I am very glad I quit the opiates and steroids long ago, as the conventional medical treatment. People who use the steroid drops eventually develop white cataracts, and require surgery for that. Plus the steroids poured into the eye, do go systemic, and you get all the risks and side effects associated with steroids.
One of the most interesting cases I followed, was of an ophthalmologist in Europe who treated those with iritis, and had developed iritis himself. He created a blog and shared his journey for a hopeful cure. He had a great deal of confidence in his profession. He also knew the locations with the best known experts, eye surgeons, and most sophisticated equipment. The blog was filled with detailed diagrams, and was updated on a regular basis. It was very educational, as far as the anatomy and physiology of the eye is concerned. He showed how the inflammatory process develops, and creates a cloudy high pressure fluid in the anterior chamber of the eye.
In the doctor’s case, unfortunately it got to the point where the intraocular pressure could not be relieved or controlled. He went to a highly specialized clinic in Switzerland and had a tiny stent put into his eye. The idea was that the stent would serve to drain away some of the fluid build up, and reduce the pressure, which would also reduce the pain. Once again, he was filled with optimism and confidence in the treatment program. He published detailed drawings to show the placement of the stent, and explained how it would work.
The following blog posts after the procedure started to take on a more depressing, less optimistic tone. The fluid in his eye could not be regulated properly with a stent, and his eye collapsed inward. He had to wear a protective cap over his eye at all times. Even once the stent was removed, there was a myriad of problems. He soon stopped writing and sharing his misfortune.
There are cases where people have had their eyes removed. I can see why. An acute flare up feels like your eye is going to explode, while simultaneously it feels like there is a dagger right through the centre of your eye. I liken it to being stung in the eye by a scorpion.
On the other end of the healing spectrum, I read of cases where people shared holistic methods of dealing with it. Some people tailored their diets, stopped gluten, stopped sugar, stopped alcohol, and found those remedies helped reduce flare ups. In hindsight, I am glad I followed a more holistic route and for several years managed to keep the worst of the worst flare ups at bay. But recently had a bout with it that was one of the worst ever. Stress is the culprit, I am almost positive.
This latest severe flare up was one where I had no Pred-forte, or other steroids, or pain killers like I had used in the past. The pain was so severe, it was like breathing through labour pains. If I didn’t already know the only treatment was steroids and opiates, I might have been tempted to go to ER, or see a doctor. But, I lived through it and am slowly recovering.
During the acute phase, my eyes watered non-stop. I went through six boxes of kleenex in three days. My whole face was chapped. The previous really acute episodes were back in 2009, when the familial punishment over my rejection of the high school teacher really started to intensify. There is definitely a dichotomy that develops within, and in a way it is not surprising such an affliction is turned inward.
From my own perspective, the cessation of alcohol, food additives, and finding ways to reduce or manage stress are the key factors that have helped manage it. There is a systemic element because you can feel the drain, fatigue, allergy symptoms, and other generalized symptoms. It does seem to be tied to, or triggered by allergies of some sort. It may also be linked to past trauma, as many things are, one way or another.
Even though I have had some wicked flare ups, I have not lost my vision, and have not required surgery for white cataracts. It takes weeks to gradually regain the vision in the affected eye after a flare up. During the most recent flare up, I used small doses of ASA or NSAID (non steroid anti-inflammatory) and then added grated raw ginger, ginger tea, all whole foods, rest, and meditation. The ASA was used sparingly, two regular strength tabs at night and sometimes two during the day.
Looking back, the most comforting and therapeutic measures came from warm baths, warm compresses, and essential oils. The essential oils were inhaled, just by rubbing them on the palms and then cupping your hands together and inhaling, with care not to get it too close to the eyes. Marjoram, Thyme, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Oregano are some examples of essential oils with anti inflammatory properties. They can also be put into a small amount of carrier oil and massaged into the scalp, and areas where there are lymph nodes.
Lymph nodes are located throughout the body. Apparently we have five to six hundred of them to help our immune systems cope with contaminants and infections. The areas with the most lymph nodes are underarms, neck, chest, and abdomen. To place a few drops of essential oil in some virgin coconut oil, and then massage it into the skin near the lymph nodes, might be dismissed by some, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.
Of course if a person has an intolerance, or develops a rash due to any substance, they should not use it. Nor should anything be used excessively. One of the primary reasons I do not take any oral supplements, is because I believe a good diet gives us all the nutrients we need. If we add supplements, in particular things like fat soluble vitamins – it can create havoc within our systems.
Supplements have been known to cause everything from bleeding disorders, to kidney failure, to liver disease. Just because something is natural, does not mean it is perfectly safe, especially in large doses. Before anything is taken internally it is wise to research it carefully. I have not done much research on which essential oils can be taken internally, other than oregano oil. I know some of them are not to be ingested and can cause harm. It does stand to reason that anything you can use in food, should be able to ingest in small quantities. Essential oils are the concentrated derivatives of the plant.
Therefore cinnamon, cloves, oregano oil, marjoram, and thyme would seem to be the ones to consider, but only in small doses. Peppermint should be okay too. Again, to avoid any damage to mucous membranes, it is probably best to out them in a carrier oil. Over time, I plan to do more research on the various essential oils, because they do seem to have much to offer. I have not had any allergies to any of the essential oils. In fact, they seem to help allergies a fair bit.
Nothing is going to make us live forever, and nothing is going to stop the process of aging. It is understandable for people to seek methods they believe will alleviate their own conditions or symptoms. I don’t pass judgement on those who do use supplements. Nor do I discount the value of conventional medical treatments for some conditions. If they lead to healing, recovery, or feeling better, who can complain? It’s just a word of caution – and I am only giving some small anecdotal examples, so take all things with a grain of salt.
I do take oregano oil internally for allergies and infections, but try not to use it too often. I have not tried taking Thyme or Marjoram internally, but may try a drop or two, for inflammation, once I find some that is 100% pure without additives, dyes, perfumes etc. You cannot buy the cheap oils used in aromatherapy packages for use on the skin, and especially not to be taken internally. The pure forms have to be sought out through a reputable herbal dispensary. For the most part I order from Gaia Gardens on West Broadway in Vancouver.
In addition to leaning toward the essential oils as a therapeutic measure, I think we have overlooked the value of water for healing. Hydrotherapy is an another ancient practice that is readily available and non-toxic. When we are unwell, if we drink more water, it makes it easier for the immune system to do its job. Immersing ourselves in water is comforting, and therefore therapeutic. Almost all medical treatment is geared toward treating and minimizing symptoms. So give credit where credit is due, when it comes to essential oils and hydrotherapy for relieving symptoms and stressors on the body. I suppose that’s why people buy hot tubs and go to spas.
Is there a cure for autoimmune disorder? As far as I know, there is not. It is a chronic condition that has to be managed. I have managed it though many stressful periods during the past ten or twelve years. Unfortunately, we cannot always control external contributing factors. Perhaps one of the keys to understanding the curse of autoimmune disorders, is to find ways to protect ourselves from external attacks, lest they become internalized and give us a double whammy.
However, when you consider the myriad of other illnesses or hardships, such as cancer, stroke, ALS, MS, and so on, any condition that allows us to get back on our feet, and overcome it without severe disability, surgery, or being incapacitated for long periods – is not really something to complain about. Just being pain free and able to function is something to have gratitude for.
I am beginning to wonder if drugs are already the leading cause of death, to include alcohol and tobacco, along with all pharmaceutical and street drugs. The notion is not far-fetched when you consider this takes in all accidental overdoses, accidents related to impaired judgement, violence relating to drugs, hospital drug errors, adverse reactions, and drug incompatibilities when a person has a chemical soup of drugs within their system.
The only reason I have an understanding of addiction, is because of my own background and family history. I do understand what the cycle of addiction is, and how it can be shuffled onto a different circuit.
For some people, especially those from very stable backgrounds, addiction is difficult to understand. There does seem to be a genetic trend. Most of all, there is a trauma trend within the family of origin. Addiction is escapism. It is an attempt to elevate the mood, and block out pain.
When opiates were given out en masse, such as when Oxycontin was first introduced, and Tylenol #3’s were handed out like candy, it was known that opiates are addictive. Alcohol seems to be more insidious. But regardless, the cycle of addiction is one of shame and escapism.
If there is a strong sense of familial judgement and rejection, or a loss of sense of self, a person struggles to cope. The only way to cope in a world that you don’t seem to belong in, is to try and find ways to escape it. Of course, that’s not the logical and healthy way to deal with things, but you don’t realize it until you are in too deep.
Addiction is kind of like wading or swimming in crocodile infested waters. Some are oblivious to the danger that lurks below. Some can go swimming hundreds of times and never encounter a croc. Others get grabbed, rolled and spit back out. If they wade back in, what is going through their mind?
Addiction grabs certain people and drags them under in no time flat. For others, they might be able to manage their addiction for years, but if they are faced with trying circumstances, like family breakdown or an accident, they become vulnerable.
Addiction in my opinion, is driven by fear, trauma, escapism, and a cycle of shame. Even for those who are addicted to power and wealth – it is a quest to elevate oneself out of that cycle of shame.
Addiction, in all of its forms, does lead to illness and multiple co-morbidities. It robs quality of life. It destroys the family lives of millions of innocent children. It ostracizes and excludes, which increases the alienation and downward spiral.
Yet paradoxically, some of the most brilliant and creative minds were also the most addicted. Just look at all the great musicians who succumbed to addiction. Or probably one of the most incredible dichotomies is that of comedian and actor Robin Williams. His brilliance and wit was a polarized diversion, and self distraction from the pain within. He is probably the most profound example of the two faces in Greek theatre – one comic, the other tragic. He was honest about his alcohol addiction, and as a result, his humanity and compassion deepened.
Going through addiction is life altering. The addiction itself becomes the biggest threat to survival. Once addicted, it is not only the family of origin, rejection, grief, and inner demons that caused you to seek out the escape route in the first place. You keep all those things filed away, and find yourself in a bigger snare than ever. The substance, or whatever is feeding the addiction has to be stopped before the central cause can be addressed.
In many cases, addictions are simply substituted for something equally addictive or even worse. The alcoholic might get prescriptions for benzodiazepines. The opiate addict might get a prescription for methadone. The tobacco addict might start smoking the occasional cigar. We are all capable of creating a dizzying game of spin the bottle – to point us to another option, that leads to the same conclusion.
Although everyone has a different journey in life, and addiction is a soul journey more than anything, my opinion is just one of many. But, through it all – I believe the only viable option is to quit. Don’t necessarily quit cold turkey, since many drugs must be tapered to avoid severe and sometimes dangerous withdrawal symptoms.
But first and foremost, the addict has to contemplate, and then make a firm decision to quit. Then we must reconcile the fact it is not quitting alone that is going to save us. The solution is in quitting, and never starting again. I realize it goes against the grain of those who advocate for compassion and acceptance of failures and relapses. By all means, shake the failures off and carry on – but never lose sight of the fact that quitting is the only path to recovery, to feeling better, to getting over the past, and to overall healing.
From a neurochemistry perspective, addiction is tied to dopamine and adrenalin. If you take the adrenalin cycle involved in family trauma, is it any wonder people develop escapist methods of coping? Adrenalin is meant to prepare people for flight or fight. But if you are in a family dynamic, or a situation where you can do neither, the natural inclination will be to find other methods of escapism.
It also helps to explain why some people have to deal with a significant amount of suppressed anger, as part of the recovery process. If you have never been permitted to assert yourself, it is like braking out of chains at first. Geographical cures might work for awhile, especially if you have to physically distance from an abuser or an untenable situation. However, the monkey on your back might stick to you no matter what.
In a sense, we have to develop a lightening rod to ground ourselves during times of hurt feelings, and the whole flight or fight chaos within. The adrenalin component, once settled down to a more normal neurochemistry, will still be triggered. Peace of mind increases with faith. Faith is knowing that eventually there will be justice.
Every facet of health care has to deal with addiction. In maternity, you see addicted moms and babies going through withdrawal. In the emergency departments you see people who are referred to as frequent flyers, who are there to get drugs for chronic pain. In liver clinics, there is liver failure and hepatitis from drug or alcohol abuse. In surgical units you see people go into detox when they are admitted without staff knowing what they are addicted to. In geriatrics you see the falls, disorientation and cognitive decline related to alcohol, sleeping pills, and other prescription drugs.
In fact, addiction is so pervasive and so common, it is the proverbial elephant in the room. It is inappropriate to accuse someone of drug seeking. What about the person who has chronic pain or is still requesting opiates for surgery they had three months ago? Somewhere along the line, someone needs to warn them. Not with judgemental shaming, but with an open conversation about what to expect if the drug is continued. People need to learn about the physiological effects of addiction. They need to correlate it with gut health, liver health, brain health and evaluate how it is affecting them, before they get to the point they cannot even read.
The more unwilling we are to learn about addiction, the more denial there is surrounding it. There are so many tragic stories. The parents of young people who overdose often don’t realize the extent of the addiction until it is too late. We have to keep in mind that contrary to what many people believe, addiction is prevalent among high achievers.
What do we have to quit? We can’t quit food. We can’t quit making money. We can’t quit where we came from, our genetic markers, past trauma etc. But we can quit whatever has plunged us into a toxic cycle of self-destructive abuse. Some things are far more damaging and gripping than other things.
Any substance that causes withdrawal when you try to quit should be a big red flag. Harm reduction involves self care, in particular good nutrition and an alert mind. There are spiritual forces greater than we are – that can grab us, and drive us back into the abyss. We have to find ways to resist.
The relapse rate following rehab is over 90% What does that tell us? Quitting doesn’t last, so what is the point? Or does it tell us we are going about things the wrong way? I watched one program where a thirty something year old person was describing her addictions. She had been to rehab seventeen times, and did not think the programs were tailored to her specific needs and personality. Forget that. It is obviously not working anyway.
Instead, people need support during detox from a medical and physical perspective. After that, the process of rehab should not require long stints in a facility. If it does, the facility should be on a farm out in the boonies somewhere. Rehab involves a multi-layered approach, with family at the centre of the support system. If not family, a community network supporting job skills and talk therapy. There is no point in going through rehab only to return to the same environment you came out of. The paradigm has to shift. Most reasonably healthy people can go through detox to get past the acute phase, followed by a focused recovery plan and change in old habits.
Addiction is about worthlessness. Our society has taught us that we are worthwhile based on image, wealth, jobs, education, and what we own. If we have nothing, we are far closer to being worthless than if we have a nice house and fancy car. But what many learn, is that addiction can be hiding behind the closed mansion doors, just as easily as it can be on the streets.
If we try to elevate our worth by accumulating stuff, it makes for distraction, but it does not really work to elevate self worth. If we try to look good, we feel fake. If we try to do good, it seems futile. If we try to belong, we get rejected.
What does that leave us with? And who is driving our destiny? I have come to believe that addiction is a spiritual journey. The most valuable lesson on a personal level, is if you are vulnerable – don’t go near the croc infested waters. If you get grabbed and rolled, and make it out alive – thank God, and do not wade back in.
Every addict is an extension of their family. It is not a matter of seeking who to blame – but how to offer love, acceptance, and understanding for the original and authentic person. Rather than focus on the bad behaviour or shame associated with the addiction, people need positive affirmations. They need to know they are not ALL bad.
At the same time, we all need to take responsibility for our own lives, and possible contributions to either enabling, or to the shaming and rejection that exacerbates addiction and family breakdown. Adults with dominating traits need to listen to the other members of the family, and stop trying to control them. The intimidating sense of disapproval, combined with being crafted into someone else’s plot, is dehumanizing and oppressive. It is designed to push a person into escapism since reality takes away your freedoms.
Family breakdown is central to addiction, and is responsible for intergenerational patterns. The weak and vulnerable in such situations do not survive. Or sometimes it is the rebel who becomes the family outcast. There is a circuitry of love within a family, like an electric current. If there is a broken or outcast link or connection, it contributes to a broken family.
There will always be conflicts in life. But a stable family remains intact, and every individual is forced to examine themselves without revolving around a set power structure. Individuals need to be heard in order to be empowered. Some people actually are mentally ill. Some are character disordered, or addicted, or whatever. But if a family is tormented, there will be much more addiction, and intergenerational patterns of addiction.
It is important to find ways to resolve our differences without dehumanizing another member of the family, or trying to get rid of a family member. To do so breaks the family bonds. It shows a lack of responsibility and a lack of vision. The patterns have to be identified and broken – instead of repeating the patterns, and breaking the family.
Addiction robs people of who they are. We only see the scrappy tent and pile of garbage, without seeing the person inside. Every addict was once a child. Every child and every human being deserves love. Love is the rock to climb onto if you fall out of the boat in dangerous waters.
For those who love their own lives too much, they will lose it. For those who love others, we will gain the spiritual reckoning that saves us.
In my own experience, the answer to this question is an obvious no. As long as there are people who accumulate wealth, and use their wealth to influence more grandiosity and protection for themselves, there will be people at the other end of the spectrum, who do not fare well.
For the most part, whether it is gender, race, or religion that breeds superiority – it is fuelled by wealth as the common denominator. The wealthiest people, regardless of gender, race, religion, age, education, or location – are the people who make up the elite.
The elite are set apart, vastly superior, and have power over those who do not have money. In fact, they have the power to prevent their competition from getting a foot in the door. They have the power to destroy careers. They influence government, and give out contracts to the smaller companies. They are experienced and invincible.
Ruthless abuse of power constantly erodes democracy, fair play, and makes it so no one can challenge them or get past them. Corporate power takes over government. They set up a caste system with layers and levels of ranking, and then keep a close eye on those rising up in the ranks. They donate large sums of money to whatever suits their agenda. They have an aura of total confidence and authority.
People are impressed by those who have wealth. When you are among the wealthy, it is incredible how well you get treated by waitresses, stewardesses, and baggage handlers on a corporate jet, gardeners, horse trainers, pool cleaners, you name it. They think you are one of the elite just by association. Of course they don’t really know the situation, but the mere fact you are in a huge house, on a big property with fountains and walking trails, in an expensive car, or on a corporate jet, gives you a sense of how the wealthy are treated.
Many people believe the wealthy are like nobility. They deserve their wealth, and the poor deserve their lot in life. Some take it the extreme, and do not believe there should be any support systems for single mothers, widows, children in poverty, the disabled, the addicted, and so on. They see it as enabling and increasing the problem, when all those poor people need to do, is get a job. Some of the wealthier individuals believe they worked for what they have, why shouldn’t everyone? Do or die. Sink or swim. Work or starve.
But one of the key things to keep in mind is that not all wealthy people worked for their wealth. Some women get wealthy based on who they married, and never have a job in their lives. If they do, it is short lived and gives them something to talk about for the next thirty years.
Women who develop a solid career path, either become puppets for the old boys club, or they have to fight the stigmatization and glass ceiling every step of the way. The real gatekeepers are the powerful men, like my brother, who would not give a woman the time of the day, when it comes to real power. Some men inherited prestige, companies, real estate, and the wealth to go with it. They are often much more naive and gullible than the hard nosed, street smart, ladder climbers – from the old dog network.
Why do women succumb to this power? If you do the bidding of powerful men, you get rewarded. If not, you get punished. Therefore, women have very little influence when it comes to high ranking corporate board rooms and decision making. They respect bright and ambitious young men. Women – not so much. Women do domestic duties and look after children. They choose their token women very carefully.
The governments change, and the people in charge of the various facets of government change frequently. That means the corporate elite, with their ear to the ground, can find ways to manipulate and influence those people. After all, the corporate elite is the one entity that remains constant. They do not get exposed. They do not get voted out. Yet they are pulling strings non-stop. They can donate large sums of money to a favourite cause, and they expect favours in return.
We all know the drill and how the wheels are greased. Women who get into business need capital. Where do they get the money? They have to inherit it – or marry it, in most cases. There are very few women who make hundreds of millions of dollars on their own, unless they are famous movie stars or musicians. And even for them, they get tied to controls over their image, contracts, and marketing. They are still objectified by men.
The problem is that the greater the polarization between men and women, the greater the income gap, and power over women. This has a drastic effect on the potential of half the population. The greater the polarity between the rich and the poor, the more likely the poor will remain poor. The pursue, conquer, and dominate models of male superiority, create archetypes foreign to our more cooperative sensibilities. Therefore, we don’t know how to be cruel and ruthless, if it is not in our nature.
For those who are downtrodden, it is very difficult to even lift your head up and look around. You feel like you will get pounced on all over again. When you do try to climb out of the hole they forced you into, they are standing there with clubs, to prevent you from reaching higher ground. Submission is the order of not just the day – but an entire lifetime.
What makes another person so vastly superior? Education, family pedigree, knowledge, brilliance, leadership abilities? None of these. It is the accumulation of wealth at any cost, for the sake of power. It is based on the dominance instinct. Once there is a certain level of arrogance and dominance achieved, they have a network in place to protect them, and keep them there. No one can challenge them, or uproot them once they have reached the king of the castle pinnacle. The arrogance is what creates the elitism. The collusion holds them together.
Do I think my brother worked hard throughout his lifetime? Yes, in many ways he has worked hard. But how many people work hard, without ending up with hundreds of millions of dollars, and multiple huge homes? Most of us would be happy to have one nice home, and one good car. But the accumulation of wealth has to have some perks. It has to have the image to go with it all. For the elite, there is no filling the coffers, or the bank accounts with enough money. They always want more. It is the ultimate addiction, and more destructive than all the homeless people in the world.
None of us should look at a homeless camp, without also looking at the effects of extreme wealth, and why there is such a disparity in the first place. Polarizations need to have both poles. The more extremism we see, the more we know the power of the elite. In a sense, the elite are creating a mirror image of their own value system. They are seeing a reflection of the carnage of their own souls.
I really don’t care if people become wealthy, if it is legitimate, and does not harm or exploit anyone. If you build a better mouse trap, or figure out how to prevent wildfires – you deserve to be wealthy. The issue for me, is when wealth is achieved by creating a disadvantage for someone else.
I do not think a person’s worth or intrinsic value is measured by their wealth. In fact, the elite will find out how valuable their wealth is – when it comes time to leave this world. When they become sick and end up on their death bed, they may have their water delivered to them in a fancy cup, but they will not take any of their money, or image of wealth with them. In fact, they will not even be able to control what happens to their wealth once they leave this world. Unless a person is iconic like Elvis or Marilyn Monroe – we all get forgotten in no time at all.
Then we have the offspring of the elites. They end up with a great deal of money, without having worked for it. It creates individuals who are secure financially, but insecure on a personal level. The insecurity increases the need to act superior. Unlike those who had a hard scrabble beginning, and climbed their way to the top, the wealthy offspring get shuttled back and forth to private schools, and are put on a shining pedestal, without having to do anything. In many ways, becoming an elite – is just the luck of the draw.
Our society has created this dichotomy of wealth and elitism. Power comes with a hidden agenda, and those who have been corrupted by it, must stick with the agenda, in order to protect themselves. That is how corruption is cultivated and spreads. The top dogs set up the maze, and only they know how to get through it. They allow others to gain ground only if they are useful, and mostly if they have the talent, abilities, or contacts – to do their bidding.
Personally, I believe all people are equal. When we see a person who is down and out, we have no clue what they have been through in life, and what demons they are battling. We do not all have the same abilities or opportunities, but human dignity and an egalitarian outlook, is what keeps our humanity. The more judgemental, the more labelling, the more blame and punishment – the crueler and more selfish we become.
It is much easier to justify harming another person, if you think they are a subhuman. It is easier to take things away from someone if you think they do not even deserve to exist. When you bring it down to the polarized opposites on the spectrum of wealth and power, the person with hundreds of millions of dollars, can rob a person who has nothing. Without wealth, a person has their personhood, and that’s about it. When the extreme wealthy want to take away who you are, and your right to exist in this world, they have truly lost their way.
Some of us are not as motivated by money as others are. Those who are very strongly motivated will do just about anything to achieve wealth. This is why it is important to have business leaders who have some ethics. The lack of ethics robs fair play, prevents women from gaining ground in the corporate world, and maintains a divisive societal control and arrogance. The reward side is tempting – the punitive side is excruciating.
In my opinion, no one oversees the huge corporations. Everyone from the governments to the banks cater to them no matter what they do. In fact, the government in many ways are transient employees of the system. They get shuffled around, or they only have a number of years in power. The same thing with the banks. People who work for the banks are employees of the banks.
The owners of big corporations can, and do, use their wealth and constancy to influence both the government and the banks. The elitism they convey is impressive. They get to influence straight to the top.
If you happen to be born into the wealth, or marry into it, life takes a different course. If you happen to be a threat to a person in power, especially one of the corporate elites – look out. You are a target for life, and do not stand a chance.
When the big corporations get to the point where they have no oversight, no family values, no anti-bullying policies, no accountability – they have created the foundation for fascism. It is all about power, dominance and control. They know how to carry out the reward and punishment system, better than anyone. After all, the rewards they set up for themselves, is what makes them so elite and superior.
They create a self serving and self fulfilling prophecy for their own lives. But it is all to the detriment of a fair and equitable society – and worse yet, there is no end in sight.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Years ago I watched a poignant show about the story of one young man’s life. He and his younger sister were homeless and destitute during the depression era in some dust bowl, remote, flat and forsaken, North American prairie location. He was about seventeen and his younger sister was eleven.
They came upon a small country store owned and run by an elderly man. The young boy went into the store, looking around in awe at all the food on the shelves. He asked about the possibility of getting a job. His sister waited outside in the scrub brush about forty yards away.
The elderly shopkeeper was not kind to him at all. He harshly told him he was nothing but dirty trash. He ordered him out, and told him not to come around his store or property ever again. To place emphasis on the point he was making, he turned around to pick up his rifle.
When he turned his back to get the gun, he left the cash register open. The desperate young boy saw the cash in the open drawer. He impulsively grabbed a five dollar bill and ran, breathlessly and excitedly, telling his sister to run too.
The elderly man had zero compassion for the young boy and his sister. He called the authorities, and both the boy and his sister were promptly caught. The boy was given a harsh prison sentence. His sister was sent to some kind of religious orphanage. They were never allowed to contact each other.
During the next several years, one tortuous thing after another happened to him. He was disabled mentally and physically, due to the torture and beatings he endured in various facilities. They imprisoned him for years over the original theft. It was like he was a throwaway, without family or any resources – so he was stuck there. The more he got beat, the more disabled he became. He was labelled as a nutter, drooler, retard, crazy etc.
Finally, there was a lawyer who learned about his history. The little sister grew up, and started looking for her older brother, thinking he must be out of prison after all those years. She contacted a lawyer who was mortified over the story of his life, and his fate. She set out to make compassionate efforts to help him.
The battle for his release went on and on. It took about two years for the lawyer to even manage to improve his conditions in prison while they waited. He was picked on just for the fun of it.
Finally, there was a letter from the courts to pardon him for the original theft. He was overjoyed. It was the most incredible victory he had ever known.
Sadly, he never did make it out of prison. He was so physically weak, vulnerable, had a speech disorder from blunt force trauma to his head, and was targeted by the prison bully one last time. He had no way of defending himself against such attacks. The final attack occurred shortly before his release date.
He was found face down in the dirt outside in the prison yard. He was already dead when they rolled him over. But before he died, as he lay there bleeding, he scratched his final message in the dirt beneath him. It said “We Won”.
When people are downtrodden and marginalized to the point of no return – this is one of the most powerful messages I have ever heard. He was absolutely right – in more ways than one!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
