One of the most challenging aspects to life is finding a way to reconcile the opposing desires of the physical and the spiritual. To me, that seems to be the primary trial that has played out for thousands of years and most of it has been brutal and violent. We seem to want to focus on the physical attributes of our vessels mainly because we can see them with our own two eyes. But what if we worked to look past the vessel and pear into the spirit of those whom we interact with and even look within our selves?
Are we more concerned with 'having' than 'being'? Is our own greed and consumerism blinding us from seeing past the physical to love and cherish the spirit? Nowhere on this planet is that more evident than the violence I witness around the LGBTQIA community.
There are people out there that condemn violently anybody that has a different viewpoint. My indigenous brothers and sisters suggest that people who are gay are 'Two Spirited'. What an intriguing idea. It got me thinking ...
I think we can all agree that our physical vessel has two genders, male or female. However, due to genetic issues some vessels have been found to have both and some even have neither. But for the most part there are two. However, we are not just physical beings! We are also spiritual beings and what if Spirit has strong tendencies as well that don't match up with the biology of the vessel? Is this enough to engage in violence to condemn these people? Should we even be judging and condemning people? What if spirit chose the vessel on purpose to learn specific lessons?
Those who quote scripture and judge these people can be very violent, even resort to hanging and killing. What part of 'love thy neighbour as thy self', are we not comprehending? Perhaps people don't love themselves and that then justifies their violence against those who view their relationships differently than most.
I will keep quoting this from Bishop John Shelby Spong when he stated in his book "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism":
The Word of God in Scripture confronts me with the revelation that all human beings are created in God’s image and reflect God’s holiness. All human beings means all human beings … all human beings. Men and women, homosexual persons and heterosexual persons, all races, nationalities, and persons of any ethnic background, all communists and capitalists, rich and poor, old and young, religious and nonreligious, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus, atheists and agnostics – all persons reflect the holiness of God, for all are made in God’s image. How can I enslave, segregate, denigrate, oppress, violate, or victimize one who bears the image of the Holy One? How can one worship the source of being, the great “I AM”, except by having the courage to be the self God created each of us to be? The Christian is the one called so deeply into life, into love, and into being that he or she can say with a Christlike integrity, I AM!
Make no mistake, the LGBTQIA community engages in violence of their own. There is a war going on and this too must stop. The state has the claim that they are the only ones that can resort to violence and coercion, so everyone is fighting for their right to participate, gain recognition and receive benefits and privileges from that system. People seem to have no issues with engaging in force and violence, especially with the state to back them up. This makes the war very public and brutal!
But what is this issue really about? This is about a conflict between the physical vessel and the spirit! I've met some beautiful spiritual beings who have not only accepted their vessel, they embrace it and govern themselves beautify. They love themselves and they love others. They see the spirit of others and the gender of the vessel makes no difference to them. They found ways to love them self, their body and others, unconditionally.
They don't engage in violence and their spirit shines like a beacon to others. They fully embody the concept of love thy neighbour as thyself because they found a way to love them self. They reconciled the conflict within, between the vessel and their spirit. They found a way to honour their vessel as a temple for their spirit and they love themselves!
When we find that inner peace, nothing else really matters. Is that not what we are all after? There is no greater peace in the world and in my view, this is the holy grail of life on this planet. When the physical and spiritual collide, it could be a train wreck or it can be the most beautiful musical symphony in the universe. To do the work to love thyself, we find that all the conflicts about terminology, sexual preferences, etc all become irrelevant. What is most relevant is that we find a way to have the physical and spiritual work together in harmony.
Nobody ... NOBODY deserves to be attacked or violated. There is no justification for any such abusive, violent behaviour It does not matter what their sexual preferences are, spiritual beliefs, political beliefs, etc. If other people's struggles or life style triggers you, then look in the mirror as the problem is there.
Dr. James Makokis and I - 2017 Men's Conference, Frog Lake
Dr. Makokis exemplifies the unconditional love that I speak about. I am so impressed with the way he lives his life, the love that he has for all beings and for dedicating his life to help heal people. He is a shining beacon and I love this spiritual being.
I love my friends, unconditionally. It does not matter if they are gay or straight, black, red or white, rich or poor, Christian, Muslim or Jew, tall or short. These attributes are irrelevant. What is most relevant is whether they love themselves and can express that love outwards in peace, respect, honour and dignity. If they can empathize with compassion and maintain healthy boundaries, then that is what matters most! If not, then I will do what I can to help them heal so that they can!
ALL of us have struggles and challenges. Nobody is immune. So perhaps we should work on our self first before we start judging others on their own struggles. Perhaps showing support and encouragement may actually bring peace to this earth. Huh. Imagine ...
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I absolutely LOVE that picture. I can't help but smile! Great article. Duality. Have you ever looked into your own eyes, in a mirror and said " I love you" to yourself three times? Brings tears. Your physical meeting your Spiritual with love. Some can't even do it. Imagine if we could look at each other and say it!!! Very interesting article, and as always very timely. Grateful for your heartfelt words.
Amen!
These are the true teachings of God and Bishop just explained them in a very beautiful way, loved every single word of this writing ..
If we spread the feelings of love with homo sexuality does not mean we lesbians or gays rather we are promoting the message of the Lord. Yes, homosexuality is there but as you mentioned it has nothing to do with the functionality of the society, if they are violent. This thing matters for sure.
Thanks Rob aka @wwf for the wonderful piece of writing and advises <3
I'm sorry since when and where are lgbtq+ folks violent ? And in those cases, is it aggravated? What are the details?
We are inately "the same" but we are culturally divided and aldo culturally connected. For instance i have grown apart from my extended family due to dissagreements about how to treat others. This is something i learned later after finally coming out as bisexual. I cant "heal" that without denying the ongoing struggles of my new family. Lgbtq+ people still struggle to come out fof fear of death and /or abandonment. Black people still get shot because many white people assume they are a criminal.
You can say "lets just forget about all this " but the fact is that people wont forget and the past trauma as well as the very real current threats are creating pain and barriers for marginalzed people to "heal".
When it comes to people all habe struggles, yes-- its true, however until very recently there was no one telling stories of black/gay/trans/nb struggle. Hell-- we are still waaaay behind the curve when it comes to women of any color. Most people dont even believe these struggles exist. They look at out mostly white male govt and say 🤷♀️ Be stronger.
How can you call it peace when you ask the oppressed to get over it and thr oppressors to not worry about recognizing people and their identities?
Hi limabeing!
I'm finding I agree with what you're saying, as to how things 'are' now, and have been, however when I read the article I felt that's exactly what wwf was addressing. Have you followed his work much? I've really been impressed by his classes, and writings on reconciling relationships, and I think that's where he's sharing his experience here from.
I read it as a call out of the narrow minded, probably priviledged, controlling forces to drop their judgments and violence against those who are different. Only then will they recognize their divinity regardless of the human body form, and each side be able to find peace.
He speaks often about the affects of violence, and the work needed to achieve peace. There are many many wounds in this world, and any person, or group who has been attacked & suppressed of course can act out in violence, sometimes they may have even had to in order for self defence. This is the cycle many are trapped in though, victims - abusers, pendulums and chaos reactions that create awareness thank goodness, but not healing for all. It's a tough cycle to break, but many of us have committed our lives to doing just that. A big job! Thanks for sharing & connecting.
"Make no mistake, the LGBTQIA community engages in violence of their own. There is a war going on and this too must stop. The state has the claim that they are the only ones that can resort to violence and coercion, so everyone is fighting for their right to participate, gain recognition and receive benefits and privileges from that system. People seem to have no issues with engaging in force and violence, especially with the state to back them up. This makes the war very public and brutal!"
Okay maybe I'm missreading? Pls explain.
He literally says
"It does not matter if they are gay or straight, black, red or white, rich or poor, Christian, Muslim or Jew, tall or short. These attributes are irrelevant. What is most relevant is whether they love themselves and can express that love outwards in peace, respect, honour and dignity. If they can empathize with compassion and maintain healthy boundaries, then that is what matters most! If not, then I will do what I can to help them heal so that they can!"
Its not his job to help anyone heal, infact true compassion be to let a person heal , if and when they can. But healing often doesnt happen when persons are trapped and oppressed.
Everyones identity is relevant!!! In order to truly see a person, respect and honor them-- you must respect and honor their identies and their struggles within society based on the current and past systems of oppression.
In fact i think anyone who puts peace before justice is probably very privileged.
Hell I'm privileged in many ways. And I habe had to fo a lot of work to u ravel that and become aware of my miseducation.
Usually when people ask me a question, they wait for the answer instead of answering for me. I don't know if you are new to my blog, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. The violence that I referred to is something that I confront everyone about, not just a single community. You can catch up on the scope of that statement by reading my post that I wrote 6 months ago, or you can read my book.
https://steemit.com/ungrip/@wwf/exploring-the-hidden-violence-behind-the-ballot-box
https://steemit.com/peace/@wwf/graduating-life-with-honours-conscious-self-governance-in-god-s-kingdom
As for your "lets just forget about all this", those are your words, not mine. At no time have I ever uttered those words or even suggested that either. I ask that you be mindful and honourable with your quotes. My post is about ending the violence so that people can heal. The healing process is extremely difficult to do when the violence is still taking place. I don't advocate that we 'forget' anything but rather consciously recognize our own violence and find peace. We all engage in violence in one form or another. By declaring peace, we can then start the healing. I've found in my own life that being peaceful and learning how to have healthy boundaries, the violence towards me decreased significantly.
I confront the oppressors and rebuke their violence. This post is in support of the marginalized by taking away the justification that the abusers use to engage in that level of violence. While I recognize that you are in pain yourself, I ask that you check yourself to ensure that you are not making assumptions which can be interpreted as being passive / aggressive behaviour.
The colonial system that supports, encourages and justifies the violence is what we need to walk away from. The levels of violence are deep and complex. I agree with you that we are innately the same and by honouring and respecting the differences we each have, we can engage in healthy relationships. By looking past the color of our skin, the languages we speak, belief systems, sexual orientation or any other characteristic, and instead peer into the spirit of the other, we will find we are all spiritual beings founded on love, compassion, empathy, peace and prosperity.
It is my intent to confront and rebuke those who engage in violence as the struggles are very real and I see & recognize them. I welcome you to go through my blog. You will find that I am an ally, not some blind oppressor trying to get people to ignore the shit that is going on.
Of course I was using a tool of rhetoric however I'd still love your explanation of how lgbt are violent
I'm sure your are trying very hard with that goal. It appears you miss the concept of equity. Yes, I'm new to your blog, in fact I've only read one post. However, I'm only discussing this post. Your links about voting dont answer my question or help me further sever the link between your statements about identities being irrelevant.
I too confront these systems but i dont call them colonial i call them patriarchal. I don't say that victims are violent, I say that anger is justified and privilege is both categorical and also weighted.
One can be an ally and also be using misleading and unfair rhetoric. I'm challenging your statements and looking for clarification but im still missing it?
I dont want people to look past my identities. I want them to be respected, understood, and fairly treated/judged. I dont want people to ignore that I'm bisexual or agnostic or the struggle ive gone through to claim these identities.
This is my hangup and thus why I am challenging you. Thanks for your response so far. Hope to head more.