Kindness is the characteristic that led God to provide salvation for us.

"But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" Titus 3:4-5

In His kindness, God gives us green pastures, quiet waters, and the restoration of our souls when we're weary.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake." Psalm 23:2-3

When we exhibit the kindness of God, we are tender, benevolent, and useful to others. Every action, every word will have the flavor of grace in it as we reflect our Lord Jesus Christ. To maintain this attitude toward those we love is hard enough. To express kindness toward those who are against us requires the work of God.

"12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you." Colossians 3:12-13

That is why kindness is a fruit of the Spirit.

Goodness is virtue and holiness in action. As a fruit, that is, a beneficial result, of the Spirit of God indwelling the saved person, their life is characterized by deeds motivated by righteousness and a desire to be a blessing. It's a moral characteristic of a Spirit-filled person.

As others see our good works, they will praise our Father in heaven!

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

This Thanksgiving we can thank God for His gifts of kindness and goodness to us through Christ Jesus!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

__________________________

A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.

Driving Pretty and the Inevitable

Sunday...what a day. Where to start?

Have you ever woken up, tired, in a hotel room with a couple of hours until checkout and you have to get your makeup on and get your day going, only to find maybe a small item did not make its way into your bag or maybe the 8 hours of sleep seemed to have been 6 hours less than needed? Oh and possibly the worst lighting in a hotel room ever. Well that was how my Sunday kicked off.

I travelled to Edmonton which is 6 hours from where I live to do some shopping and just to get out of my city and go for a drive. I did what I thought was a good job packing my things, I mean I was only going for one day but it was most interesting to see how forgetting my eyeliner seemed to have set me off in a slight mood. The makeup job with the terrible lighting coupled with no eye liner just had me "off" basically all day long.

But, too late now...off I go.

I had a fantastic brunch. I was so hungry and I did not have Noras' diet self control, I had he most wonderful chicken and french toast. Then it was onto the main purpose of the trip, returning an item that I had ordered, twice, online only to have it be the wrong size both times. Once that was corrected I headed off to shop.

Parking took some time but I eventually found a spot and stated to walk to where the shops were. A couple of hours in and out of the stores. Several dresses were tried on and a couple of purchases were made and three new cds so everything was covered.

Time to head home. I basically knew where I was going to leave the city. I needed gas at some point and I needed some food. Well, I kinda went 0for3 and ended up not where I wanted to be but at least I found a place for food and knew where I needed to go on the freeway to head for home.

And here comes the Inevitable.

I stopped carrying a guy emergency bag years ago when I go out. It just seemed not needed anymore. Plus what is the worst that could happen? Today the fear that some have, the fear that keeps you at home and not exploring the world....RADAR. I didn't see it coming. I was concentrating so much on finding the correct exit ramp that I missed the speed limit change and I rolled through apparently well over the limit. Now in my defence, I was trying to find where to go and I was just staying up with the two cars in front of me. Funny that they rolled through the radar trap and it was me, at the back that was pulled over.

Well, as soon as I was waved over, I just said to myself "it was going to happen eventually" and so I rolled down the window and smiled. I was told how fast I was going, asked for my license and registration. As I handed him the license I politely asked for future reference where the speed changed and I was told. I mentioned that I was concentrating on finding the exit home and just didn't see it. Then the comedy of me digging out my registration began, I guess my glove compartment was full of "stuff".

So off he goes to write me up. When he returns he had given me a break and did not cite me for the full amount over the speed limit. I said thank you and headed off.

Moral of the story...go out, enjoy yourself, head up, eyes forward, smile and KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING :)

I survived! No tears, no freak out, no meltdown. Yes I drove a bit slower on the way home.

It was a long day but I had a great great time. It shall happen again. Well not the ticket, the going out...well there might be a ticket...

Un'altra cosa che ho perso -

Un bel brano degli articolo 31

Sei un'altra cosa che ho perso, che mi è scivolata, che mi è caduta io c'ho provato ma non ti ho tenuta, vabbè pazienza credimi posso farne senza sei già un ricordo in dissolvenza e non fai differenza con tutto quello che ho perso senza rendermene conto come ogni volta che perdo un tramonto il giorno dopo affronto lo stesso, magari piove come adesso e ho perso l'ombrello ed il cappello ma il bello è quello, è il duello che ogni minuto ho fatto con la vita e quando la sorte mi si è accanita contro e pronto dovevo trovare veloce una via d'uscita procurandomi qualche ferite che non si chiude e ancora brucia, ma fa niente è solo un'altra cosa persa o qualche volta un'altra cosa data e dopo tolta all'improvviso, senza preavviso, che rende inferno ciò che era paradiso.

RIT.

Ore passate a misurare dolore, dolore di testa, dolore di occhi, dolore di cuore dolore d'anima, di sangue, di ossa ma ciò non vuol dire che non possa darmi una scossa in fondo è solo una scommessa che ho perduto una promessa a cui ho creduto e che non hai mantenuto già, basta non perdere la

dignità almeno curandola un po' con un bicchiere pieno come le tue frasi, adesso tutte perse come un mazzo di chiavi tu che cercavi, parole per farmi capire che eri pulita ma per finire poi sei riuscita, a perderle come 100 Lire e adesso credimi non ne voglio più sentire voglio guarire, guardando l'altra faccia di te che ho scoperto pensandoti solo come a una cosa che ho perso.

RIT.

Ho perso treni e aerei più d'una volta il portafoglio ho perso indirizzi, soldi ma mai l'orgoglio il che è una sbaglio se mi fa perdere l'autocontrollo però non mollo c'ho fatto il callo e resta in ballo è un'altra cosa uscita dalla mia vita che presto o tardi verrà sostituita, in un futuro dove tu sarai passato remoto cancellato, dimenticato, sarai una foto buttata sul fondo di un cassetto chiuso coperta da qualche maglia che non uso e disilluso, ci proverò ad odiare se non ci riuscirò a mio malgrado dovrò amare, ma mai come cura per un vuoto da colmare e non mi scrivere non mi chiamare, non mi pensare perché da oggi un'altra cosa cerco e sono certo sarà diverso, da quella cosa che ho perso. RIT.

Another thing I lost -

A beautiful song of the band Articolo31

Do something else that I missed, I slipped, I fell I tried but I've got I kept, oh well I can believe it without patience you are already a fading memory, and you do not discriminate with everything I lost without realizing how every time I lose a sunset on the day after I face the same, maybe it's raining now and I'm like an umbrella and hat, but the good thing is that, it's the duel that every minute I have done with their lives and when the fate I was furious and ready against I had to find a faster way of sorting out some wounds that will not close and still burning, but does nothing is just another thing lost or sometimes something else and then removed to date 'Suddenly, without warning, makes hell what it was paradise.

RIT.

Hours spent measuring pain, headache, eye pain, heart pain, pain of soul, blood, bones, but that does not mean that it can not give me a shock it is only a bet that I lost a promise to I believe and you have not already retained, you just do not lose

tending at least a little dignity 'with a full glass as your sentences, now all lost like a bunch of keys you were looking for words to make me understand that you were perfect but you managed to end up, how to lose 100 Pounds and do not believe me now I want to hear I want to heal, watching the other side of you that I discovered just thinking of you as a thing that I missed.

RIT.

I missed trains and planes more than once I lost my wallet addresses, money but never the pride which is a mistake if it makes me lose self-control, however, did not let go I've got used to it and remains in a dance ' else out of my life that sooner or later will be replaced in a future where you will be remote past erased, forgotten, a photo will be thrown on the bottom of a locked drawer covered by some mesh that does not use and disillusioned, I'll try to hate if we do not succeed in spite of myself I will love, but never as a cure for a void to be filled and I do not write do not call me, I think, because now I try something else and I am sure it will be different from the one thing that I lost. RIT.

And now for something completely different…

So, it feels like ages since I did a selfie. I think that is because the last one was in Florida, and even though parts of that feel like yesterday, parts of it feel like a really long time ago. Possibly too, because the weather here is so cold now, looking at myself in vest tops and cotton skirts seems crazy :).

So, this image came about for a number of reasons. I tidied my room :) Yes, I know that seems a little understated, but believe me it is a task- when I plan to make a start I find a million and one things to do and both dogs either take up residence *in* the room, or sit at the door moaning.

One of the things I found when I tidied up, were 2 net curtains still in their packaging from Ikea and for ages I could not think why I got them. I remembered later, they were about £5 and I had an idea to make a petticoat with the net.

At the time though, when I was still in confusement (it is a word) I planned to use it this weekend in a selfie.

I have always been a Night Owl. That is why Thorin calls me Owl. I like the stillness of the night, though I also know the isolation of the night. Every now and again I go through bouts of what I call ‘Sporadic Insomina’. Its never the classic ‘lying in bed wide awake staring at the ceiling’, possibly because in a lot of cases, people with insomnia have a partner to consider. For me, it’s about just not going to bed. Leaving it so late to think about going to bed, that by the time I get there its REALLY late. What I find these days, is this behaviour can’t work like this for much longer. I have too many other responsibilities now to live like this and I need to change the game plan. Self-control, self-discipline and sensibility HAVE to kick in now. An audit on the accountability of my time is long overdue...

On another note, I have been chatting with a Lovely recently. He is also a photographer, and in a lot of ways I know he helped inspire me to come up with this image. What a huge compliment that he has invested time enough to advise me I feel. But I like it, works both ways I think- inspiration for me at least is never a one way track, however you inspire another, they also give right back...breaks you out of your patterns and opens up possibility. I think I can feel another collaboration coming on ;)

SOOC- I made the schoolgirl error (probably of not shooting enough and being out of the habit) of not switching back to RAW from Jpgeg fine. Luckily for me, I was happy with the image enough to upload as is.

Throughout this project, I have been conscious that I haven't yet done a black and white selfie, (we will see when that happens). Not only did I make the RAW error, I also left my camera profile into a 'Standard' setting, it meant the colours are totally muted (for my usual tastes). I think it totally fits the image/concept though.

Gluttony (Latin, gula)

Derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow, gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. In the Christian religions, it is considered a sin because of the excessive desire for food, or its withholding from the needy.

Depending on the culture, it can be seen as either a vice or a sign of status. Where food is relatively scarce, being able to eat well might be something to take pride in (although this can also result in a moral backlash when confronted with the reality of those less fortunate). Where food is routinely plentiful, it may be considered a sign of self control to resist the temptation to over-indulge.

Medieval church leaders (e.g., Thomas Aquinas) took a more expansive view of gluttony, arguing that it could also include an obsessive anticipation of meals, and the constant eating of delicacies and excessively costly foods.[4] He went so far as to prepare a list of six ways to commit gluttony, including

* Praepropere, eating too soon;

* Laute (washedly), eating finely;

* Nimis, eating too much;

* Ardenter, eating burningly;

* Studiose (keenly), eating daintily;

* Forente (boringly), eating wildly.

in Wikipedia

Hey sweeties!!

After several days eating only Pizza and Pasta, I'm now on fruit and vegetables regime... (Boy.. how can Italians be so damn elegant?)

Sooo.... to run away from temptations.. I decided to make a Fruit and Veggie Gluttony shot. :D

Sadly you can't see this colourful table, but i'm sticking to the plan of the same post processing and you will not see the incredible RED from the Watermelon , nor vibrant oranges, or grape's purple... the green on the broccoli is amazing!!!!

Oh well.. pity pity.... :)

Beijinhooos*****

Week 27 (More than halfway there!!)

Inspired by Kalie Garrett's wonderful photo.

Please press L and view large! :)

Concert - Self Control Project

youtu.be/MdZtIvLkfJI

Best on Black www.fluidr.com/photos/barrentrees

Ah I am so delighted summer is almost here! Things are slowing down for me a bit before I start traveling again. As always I have missed you all when I can't find my way to Flickr, but so glad to be here today! These captures were taken in Cabo San Lucas in January. If you happen to recognize this gal, yes, long shot I know, but please let me know, because I have at least 25 shots that I would love to give her. I was just behind the scenes while her photographer was clicking away. I was so delighted to happen upon this fun moment! Hope you enjoy :)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

“So it's not gonna be easy.It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you.I want all of you, forever, everyday.You and me everyday.” Sparks

"Marriage" by Chuck Swindoll...."It's rough. It's tough. It's work. Anybody who says it isn't. Has never been married. Marriage has far bigger problems Than toothpaste squeezed From the middle of the tube.Marriage means Grappling, aching, struggling It means putting up With personality weaknesses Accepting criticism And giving each other freedom to fail It means sharing deep feelings About fear and rejection It means turning self-pity into laughter And taking a walk to gain self-control. Marriage means Gentleness and joy Toughness and fortitude Fairness and forgiveness And a great amount of sacrifice Marriage means Learning when to say nothing When to keep talking When to push a little When to back off It means acknowledging I can't be God to you I need Him, too.Marriage means...You are the other part of me I am the other part of you We'll work through With never a thought of walking out Marriage means Two imperfect mates Giving totally In partnership with a perfect God Marriage, my love, means us.

"Love—the Greatest of All"

I may be able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if I do not have love, it will sound like noisy brass. 2 If I have the gift of speaking God’s Word and if I understand all secrets, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I know all things and if I have the gift of faith so I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give everything I have to feed poor people and if I give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it will not help me. 4 Love does not give up. Love is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not put itself up as being important. Love has no pride. 5 Love does not do the wrong thing. Love never thinks of itself. Love does not get angry. Love does not remember the suffering that comes from being hurt by someone. 6 Love is not happy with sin. Love is happy with the truth. 7 Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things.8 Love never comes to an end. The gift of speaking God’s Word will come to an end. The gift of speaking in special sounds will be stopped. The gift of understanding will come to an end. 9 For we only know a part now, and we speak only a part. 10 When everything is perfect, then we will not need these gifts that are not perfect.11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child. I thought like a child. I understood like a child. Now I am a man. I do not act like a child anymore. 12 Now that which we see is as if we were looking in a broken mirror. But then we will see everything. Now I know only a part. But then I will know everything in a perfect way. That is how God knows me right now. 13 And now we have these three: faith and hope and love, but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13

May God's extravagant love touch your life today! Blessings, to you all! :)

(Explore photos taken with the Coolpix 7900)

The Fulani (Peul, Pehul) are traditionally a nomadic, pastoralist, trading people, herding cattle, goats and sheep across the vast dry hinterlands of their domain, keeping somewhat separate from the local agricultural populations. Fulani are all over West-Africa and other parts of Africa.

Central to their life is their code of behavior called Pulaaku, which enables them to maintain their identity across boundaries and changes of life style. Pulaaku has been described as 'Fulaniness' , decorum, good manners, and pastoral chivalry. Pulaaku involves important virtues such as, munyal, which is patience, self control, mental discipline, prudence; semteende which is modesty and respect for others, even for enemies, and also hakkille, wisdom, forethought, prudence in managing his personal affairs and giving hospitality.

The Pullo, as the Fulani call themselves, is trained to be stoic, never to show his feelings. He is disciplined, thoughtful and proud but respectful. He also tends tohave a deep emotional attachment to cattle. It means that one is a better person if one is self-sufficient and relies on few personal possessions and comforts.

To all hindhu religion i would like to wish Vinayagar Charthuthi

Vinayagar

Vinayaga Chathurthi

Hinduism is not merely a way of life. It is also a science of life. Its concepts are scientific and based on truths discovered by the Rishis and Jnanis. People are confused by the "many gods" of Hinduism. According to Hinduism, God or Paramporul or Sivam or Brahmam or the Supreme is Absolute. He is Infinite. However, He can and does appear and respond in a form. The different deities of Hinduism are different facets of God. They show His functions, powers or aspects. The forms of the Hindu deities are highly symbolic and they contain many meanings and messages.

Vinayagar

The first prayer of a Hindu is always to Vinayagar. Vinayagar is invoked at the beginning of all ritualistic worship. He is invoked before a family moves into a house. Recitation of holy songs begin with the recitation of a Vinayagar mantra or song.

Vinayagar has a place in the Buddhist temple and among the Jains. The Chinese too worship Vinayagar but with a different name. Vinayagar or Vinayagar-like deities are found in Indonesia, Japan, Afghanistan, Mexico, Brazil, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Tibet, Mongolia and Polynesia, among other places.

Vinayagar or Ganesha or Ganapati is otherwise called as Vigneshwara or Vighnaharta, the Lord of and destroyer of obstacles. When we do evil things or when the time is not right, He places obstacles in our path. When we take the correct path, He removes the root of our troubles.

Vinayagar is also one of the five Gods the worship of whom was popularized by Adi Shankaracharya; the other four being Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and Surya. The worship of these five deities is called the panchaayatana puja. In some cases, Skanda is also worshipped.

It is said that Ganesha was born when the eternal couple contemplated on AUM. If you view Lord Ganesha sideways, then you will see the symbol AUM in sanskrit. That's why Ganesha is called AUMkara and worshipped first. AUM is praNava. What is meant by praNava. pra is short for prakriti and navam means excellent boat. That is, AUM is the way to cross the ocean of worldly existence.

Chathurthi Festival

Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Ganesha (Vinayaka), the God of Wisdom and Prosperity. God Vinayaka is the Son of God Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. The principal annual festival of 'Vinayaka' or 'Ganesha' falls on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of 'Bhadrapada' (August-September). Constellation with the appearance of the elephant head is brightly visible on this very night. In Tamil Nadu, 'Vinayaka Chaturthi' (as it is known) is very widely celebrated with special rituals in people's homes, as well as at Vinayaka's temples and shrines.

Birth of Vinayaga

According to a legend, Goddess Parvati created an image of a boy made of clay and gave him life. She made him guard the door when she was taking a bath. The boy was guarding the door without letting anyone inside. When God Siva, Parvati's husband came home, the boy didn't allow him inside, which enraged God Siva who cut off the boy's head. The boy fell dead on the ground. God Siva went inside and Goddess Parvati was terrified by this news. On Goddess Parvati's request, God Siva went looking for a replacement head, when the first living thing he came across was an elephant. He cut off the elephant's head, affixed it to the torso of the boy and gave him new life.

Lord Vinayaka has got an elephant face and human body. He is worshipped by many names like Vinayaka, Ganesha, Pillayar, Vigneshwara, Gajanana, Ganapathy, Mooshika Vahanaa, Modhaga priya etc. He rides on an animal called mooshika (a large kind of rat).

Celebration

In our houses we celebrate this pooja in a grand manner. We decorate the floor with kolams using rice flour. On that day we buy a new Vinayaka idol (made of clay). We also buy a decorated umbrella to place behind the idol. On a wooden plank, plantain leaf is placed and raw rice is spread over it. We place the idol on this and decorate with flowers and perform pooja.

Vinayaka likes a dish called mothagam (kozhukkattai). So different varieties of kozhukkattai are prepared and offered to the lord on this day. It is the special item on this day.

On the next day, punar pooja is done. This is the pooja, which acts as an ending to the festival. After this we remove the idol from its place. On the next day after punar pooja, we immerse the idol in water in the sea, well or pond.

For this pooja, different flowers are used. Erukkampoo (calotropis), thumbaipoo (white small flowers and arugampul (a type of grass) is very special for the lord. Different varieties of fruits are also offered.

Vinayaga - Master of Knowledge

Vinayaka is one who drives away all sorrows, difficulties and miseries. He is the enemy of all obstacles. He will not allow any obstacle to come in the way. He is the destroyer of obstacles. He confers happiness and peace (on his devotees). He is the master of all those powers (Buddhi and Siddhi). What is this Siddhi? When there is purity of mind, you achieve peace (which is Siddhi). Vinayaka is thus the Lord of Buddhi and Siddhi (the Intellect and Self-Realisation). Hence, every human being should acquire control over the mind.

Ganesha is the embodiment of intelligence (Buddhi) and achievement (Siddhi). He was approached by sage Vyasa with a prayer to write down the Mahabharatha even as he composed the hundreds of thousands of its verses! Ganesha agreed immediately, He brooked no delay, even to secure a writing too, he broke his pointed tusk and was ready to start.

Arukkampul Priyan (Fresh Green Grass)

There is a mythological story which reveals how the practice of offering Arukkampul (fresh green grass) to Ganapathi during the Vinayaka Chathurthi festival originated.

Once, the story goes, Parvathi and Parameswara were playing a game of dice with Nandiswara (Parameswara's vehicle, the bully as the umpire). Although Iswara lost the game, Nandi declared Him as the winner. Enraged at this unfair decision Parvathi cursed Nandi that he would be afflicted with an incurable disease. Nandi, seeking Parvathi's forgiveness, explained that he gave the verdict in Parameswara's favour because the latter was his master and his duty as a servant was to serve him. Parvathi relented and said that Nandi would be freed from the curse if he offered to her son Ganapathi what was most relished by Nandi. Nandi pondered for a moment and declared that what he loved most as a bull was fresh green grass. He would offer that to Ganapathi. That was how the practice of including fresh green grass among the offerings made to Ganapathi during festival occasions came into vogue.

Elephant Faced Mushika Vahanan

The esoteric significance of the Elephant headed Ganesha image is: Ganapati has been given the head of an elephant because He is known for His extraordinary intelligence. The elephant is symbolic of extreme intelligence. Vinayaka is the embodiment of intelligence. He is described as Buddhi Vinayak and Siddhi Vinayaka (Vinayaka - the Wise and Vinayaka - the Accomplished)."

The rat runs hither and tether, Man's mind too, ruled by impulses, runs hither and thither. However, he is also capable of being wise, hardworking and strong like the elephant. Man's goal then is to remove his mouse qualities and enter the elephant stage. The huge elephant sitting on a tiny mouse also indicates the truth that the Atman is the same in all, irrespective of size or birth or race.

Another meaning is also given to the mouse. It moves everywhere unnoticed and steals or destroys food. Like the mouse, egoism too exists unnoticed in our minds and silently wrecks havoc in our lives. When controlled by divine wisdom, however, the ego can aid progress.

The Trunk

The elephant trunk is very significant. The trunk is also its nose. The elephant nose is its greatest weapon and tool. Similarly, Vinayagar having the elephant form shows that man's nose is his greatest weapon and tool. How? Breath-control. Through breath control man can attain powers. It can help him expand his consciousness and move towards Sivagati.

Large Ears

Vinayagar has large ears. Why? It is to teach us to talk less and listen more. Many of our problems with people arise because we listen little but talk a lot. Before someone can finish saying what he wants to say, we interrupt. This truth can be verified at home and at meetings. Ears are used to gain knowledge. The large ears indicate that when God is known, all knowledge is known.

The Pot-Belly

Vinayagar has a huge pot-belly. Why? Vinayagar's pot-belly suggests that it can contain anything and everything. His belly is considered to be the womb of the world. We notice that His belly is something like that of a pregnant woman who holds life in her. The difference is that while the pregnant woman supports one life or perhaps two or three, Vinayagar supports and sustains all life. He is the creative energy that brings forth life. Vinayagar's protruding belly and stories about His voracious appetite show that He can digest anything. This indicates that a man of perfection, the highly evolved man, can digest anything whether it is pain or pleasure, good or bad, honor or dishonor. He has attained equilibrium.

The Hand

The right hand of the deities in almost all representations is held in the Abaya posture with palm facing us. It indicates that he who surrenders unto Him need not fear anything. Vinayagar assures us that we should be brave as He is with the good and noble.

The Foot

One foot of Ganesa touches the ground while the other is folded and rests on the other thigh. Why? This suggests that while we live in this world, we must tread the middle path and not go to extremes. Moderation should be our guide.

The Modakam

In representations of Vinayagar, He is depicted as holding the modakam, a sweet cake, in one hand. There are usually modakam placed in a tray in front of him or held by His trunk. This is to show that the spiritually wise man always finds the world and life sweet as it enables him to be of service to his fellow beings of God. It also affords him an opportunity to improve himself and progress towards Sivagati. The modakam consists of the outer flour portion and the inner sweet portion. The inner sweet portion represents the Supreme. The message is that man must dive within himself, transcend the outer, in order to find the inner treasure.

The Pasam

Vinayagar, just like most other deities, is always shown holding a Pasa or rein/noose in one hand. The pasa has been given several interpretations. The pasa represents desires and feelings that bind. Uncontrolled desires are the seeds of bondage. Like the noose they strangle us.

The pasa shows that attachment is the cause of birth. It also shows the creative aspect of divinity. It is said that with the pasa (reins), Vinayagar guides us on the right path. With the pasa too He maintains obstacles in our path when we take a wrong turning or when the time is not right for us to do something. The pasa tells us we must bind ourselves to God for material and spiritual progress. For unfoldment we must bind ourselves through love, thavam and service to God. It suggests too that we should use our discrimination to control our desires as this conserves energy and helps us move upward. The pasa shows He binds us with His love and will guide us.

Ankusa

The ankusa is a hook-like instrument. This too has various related interpretations. The ankusa symbolizes discrimination, which can pierce through delusions. It is said that Vinayagar removes obstacles and troubles in our path using the ankusa. He helps us be rid of delusions. The ankusa indicates that we must check our emotions and passions through strict self-control and thavam. Like a hook pulling at our flesh, self-control and thavam will cause pain but it must be done. We must use our discrimination to control our lower nature. The ankusa reminds us to break away from the grip of material entanglements. The ankusa is also said to stand for anger, which hurts us. The pasa (attachment) and ankusa (anger) will not help in spirituality. So we have to get rid of anger and attachment by surrendering to Vinayagar. As the ankusa is used for destruction, it is also said that it shows the destructive or dissolving power of God.

The Snake

Vinayagar is the presiding deity of the Mooladhara Chakra which is the foundation of the evolutionary, creative or primeval energy called the Kundalini Sakti. It is coiled up like a snake when dormant. When activated, this energy is said to result in an expansion of consciousness and the unfoldment of man into Godman. This results in various siddhis (powers) and therefore we have Siddhi Vinayagar. Raising this energy to the Sahasrara will bring enlightenment. A snake normally coils around Vinayagar's belly. This represents the Kundalini sakti. It reminds us that we have to awaken this energy to reach the state of expanded consciousness. The snake around the belly also shows that everything in nature (the pot-belly) is supported by energy.

The Broken Tusk

Vinayagar's right tusk is broken. There are a few interpretations of this. Some suggest that it means we should not be trapped between the pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain but that we should with conscious effort break its grip on us. Vinayagar uses the broken tusk as a writing instrument. This shows that a man who transcends the pair of opposities becomes creative. Our right side represents Siva (spiritual) and the left is Sakti (material). The broken right tusk indicates that one must break-off the ego for spiritual fulfillment. In worldly life however, we need the ego as otherwise we cannot live. But the ego is worldly life must be controlled by divine wisdom. The story runs that Vinayagar and Vyasa participated in a challenge whereby Vyasa would recite the Mahabharatam without a pause and Vinayagar would write it down without stopping. In those days they wrote on palm leaves with a thick stylus. However, halfway, Vinayagar's stylus broke but he quickly broke off His tusk to continue, writing without stopping. This story indicates that we should be willing to make sacrifices for any noble cause.

Stotras And Mantras

It is said that by reciting Vinayaga Stotras, mantras and Thevaram songs we create energy which activates divine faculties in our consciousness. This helps remove obstacles that hamper our material and spiritual progress. What is required is patience and perseverance. We must apply the Pasa and Ankusa. Also, when we concentrate on Vinayagar and sing His praises, we awaken the divine potential in us. Reciting the following mantra is said to bring auspiciousness:

Aum Sri Ganesaya Namah

Aum Sri Ganesaya Namah

Aum Sri Maha Ganapathiyae Namah

Aum Sri Gam Ganapathiyae Namah.

Vinayagar Forms

Vinayagar is usually said to have 32 different forms. Among the important forms are: Bala Ganapati, Taruna Ganapati, Bhakti Ganapati, Vigheswara, Veera Ganapati, Sakti Ganapati, Dvaja Ganapati, Siddhi Vinayagar, Uchista Ganapati, Ekatanta Ganapati, Shristi Vinayagar, Thundi Vinayagar, Yoga Vinayagar, Vighnaraja, Kshipra Ganapati, Heramba Ganapathi.

Vinayagar Worship

Vinayagar worship is very simple. It is the most informal too. If we do not have a statue or picture of Him, no problem. We can make a conical shape out of clay, earth, wet turmeric powder or santhanam (sandalwood) paste and it becomes Vinayagar automatically. Even a rock or a tree with some bearing to his shape can be worshipped.

Original source can be found here

Música: Self Control

FIRST PHOTO CHALLENGE

Ahrm'Mor the name alone strikes fear into the hearts of mortals and immortal alike. The One who Wields True Death, was not always feared, there was a time where she was a force for good, she was known as Vehtë'koire, the Stirring of life. She spent much of her life fighting her kin, and the evil nature of her blood. It was a fight that took all of her will power, and she successfully fought it off. Until another Red came sniffing for a mate. The affair was quick and short lived, producing a clutch. For the first time, she felt the pull of her blood. The need to find a cave high in the mountains. One day a sinking feeling, and an anger began to boil within her. When she reached her cave she saw all of her eggs were destroyed, it was at that moment her self control snapped. Vehtë'koire, was no more Ahrm'Mor had been reborn and the flames of anger, hatred and of pure unadulterated evil had been awakened. The Carnage that followed was legend among even the Reds....

Hair- Exile: Gina - Natural Fusion Pack

Wings: {egosumaii}- +Bento Devil Wings Set +

Eyes: ~*By Snow*~ - Necropsy Eyes (Infect)

Scales: :[Even~Tide]: Dragon Scales - Red

Chain Mail - !Devious Minds - Valkyrie Black

Shoulders - =Zenith= Beserker Shoulders Black

Gloves - =Zenith= Berserker Gloves - Black

Tail - [Jorr] Scaled Dragon tail for Dvalinn Deer

Skin - Dulce Secrets - Arhm'Mor Fyre (custom skin)

Poses - Posesion Tauro 8 & Zen 4

God has designed each of to desire three things: love, peace and joy. He has engineered us to desire those things so that we would seek Him, as He is the source.

The frustration of a soul is seen when we try to find these things in the world.

"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:15-17

It is impossible to find lasting joy, peace and love in things that are passing away. And so most go through life quite frustrated.

Everything of this life in which you try to place your hope of lasting joy either breaks, or wears out, or becomes obsolete, or leaves you, or betrays you, or dies. Everything.

And then there is God.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8

To find Christ Jesus is to find the source of joy that never fades or flickers. Perfect. Unwavering.

"and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:8-9

It is a "joy inexpressible". We do not have the language in mortal tongues to adequately explain it. It must simply be experienced.

We can thank God this Thanksgiving for that amazing joy!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

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www.carnivalofthemaniac.com

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(best large)

"Orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow." --Kandinsky

a few things i think of when i think of orange:

sugarly orange slice candy,

construction construction construction

the home depot

bricks, the tigers, tigers, pumkins

glue bottle tops, flames

cones cheetos doritoes

push ups, tigerlilies, 1000 island dressing

my furniture, the decorations in my house,

fall leaves, lady bugs (the ones we have here are orange lately), monarch butterflies.

jelly beans, recycling bins, crossing guard belts, hunting gear.

oranges (duh!), orange juice (duh duh!), carrots.

terra cotta pots, bricks, clay

other orange tid bits:

Fun and flamboyant orange radiates warmth and energy. Interestingly, some of the tones of orange such as terra cotta, peach or rust have very broad appeal.

Effects of the Color Orange

How the color orange effects us mentally and physically

Stimulates activity

Stimulates appetite

Encourages socialization

Native American Indians associated the color orange with kinship

Orange is the national colour of The Netherlands, because its royal family owns the principality of Orange.

In Ireland the use of orange dates from the reign of William of Orange, the Protestant English king and a Dutch stadholder.

The nickname of the Dutch national soccer (football) team is Oranje, the Dutch word for orange.

In the United States Army, orange is the colour of the United States Army Signal Corps.

Safety orange is a color used to set things apart from their surroundings. Safety orange is the color usually used in the United States for traffic cones, stanchions, barrels, and other construction zone marking devices. OSHA requires that certain construction equipment must be painted safety orange.

Orange Stones: Carnelian, Orange Calcite, Orange Jade. Orange Rhodochrosite, Fire Agate, Orange Garnet, Orange Quartz, Orange Amber

Orange is the Color of the Hara Chakra

Located at the genitals, this chakra monitors sexuality and reproduction. Sacral hara chakra is associated with reproductive organs, stomach and colon.

The color associated with the sacral hara chakra is Orange. Orange symbolizes energy. It is a combination of red (for personality) and yellow (for wisdom). Orange integrates these to help us overcome anger and develop self control.

All the orange stones - carnelian, orange jasper, fire opal - are used with the sacral hara chakra.

...and there might be a test at the end of the week/rainbow, so you better be paying attention!! :)

'If you easily get angry, you will be hardly happy.' - His Holiness Younus AlGohar

Olympus XA2 + Fujichrome Velvia 50 (Expired April 2004)

Style, manners and (good) taste never go out of fashion. However, there are no gentlemen like before. ..

“Being male is a matter of birth. Being a man is a matter of age. But being a gentleman is a matter of choice.” – Vin Diesel.

“The true gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others, rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe.” – John Walter Wayland.

Ahmad Jamal – Sophisticated gentleman ♫ youtu.be/Bp3TNqOP-Gw

Manhattan Transfer – Gentleman with a family ♫ youtu.be/EQv_qLdZ-8Q

Film: Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros

Developer: Rodinal 1.50

Things to revew on faith in God.

The Ten Commandments are:

Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21.

1. “I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have any gods before Me.”

2. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”

3. “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.”

4.“Honor thy father and mother.”

5. “Thou shalt not kill.”

6. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

7. “Thou shalt not steal.”

8 “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

9. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.”

10 “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.”

The Seven Capital Sins and their opposites of virtues:

1. Pride - Humility

2. Greed - Gerosity

3. Lust - Chastety

4. Anger - Meekness

5. Gluttony - Temperance

6. Envy - Brotherly Love

7. Sloth -Diligence

The 7 Sacraments:

What is a Sacrament? It is an outward, visible sign instituted by Jesus Christ that gives grace that it signifies.

1. The Sacrament of Baptism, (Matthew 28:19, Romans 6:3-11)

2. The Sacrament of Confirmation, (Luke 24:49, Acts 8:14-17, Acts 19:1-6, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11)

3. The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, (John 6); John 6:53-54, Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34,1 Corinthians 11:26-29)

4. The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), (John 20:22-23, Luke 15, John 20:21-23)

5. The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, (James 5:14-15, Mark 132-34, Mark 6:13, James 5:14-15)

6. The Sacrament of Marriage (Matrimony), (Matthew 19:4-6, John 2:1-12, Matt 19;4-6, Mark10:11-12, Ephesians 5:21-33)

7. The Sacrament of Holy Orders, (Matthew 10:1, John 20:22-23, 2 Tim 1:6, Titus 1:5-9)

The Three Eminent Good Works are:

Prayer; Fasting; Almsgiving

The seven corporal works of mercy are as follows:

Feed the hungry.

Give drink to the thirsty.

Clothe the naked.

Shelter the homeless.

Visit the sick.

Visit the imprisoned.

Bury the dead.

SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY:

Admonish sinners.

Instruct the ignorant.

Counsel the doubtful.

Comfort the sorrowful.

Be patient with those in error.

Forgive offenses.

Pray for the living and the dead.

The 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit:

“The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.

Fruits of the Holy Spirit:

Charity, Chastity, Faithfulness, Generosity, Gentleness, Goodness, Joy, Kindness, Modesty, Patience, Peace, Self Control

Out of myself, and out of my self control.

Cornwall, UK. Fall, 2015.

St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall is in many ways a UK counterpart to the (much) more famous Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, France.

Thanksgiving Rainy Sunday Lunchtime, Clearly My Dogs Get More Steak Meat Than I Do! - IMRAN™

I love eating but I don’t cook and have zero interest in cooking. Throwing a filet mignon or some burgers on the grill, or air frying a salmon filet, or throwing a large piece of meat with spices & veggies in a 24-hours slow cooker, or making southwestern chicken fiesta zesty scrambled eggs are about all that I can do.

Even one of these options I won’t do more than once in a month maybe. However, Thanksgiving weekend Sunday, with rain outside, seemed like a good day to dine in. I decided to have a steak meal with my awesome German Shepherd Dogs.

I love their self-control and discipline even when they know what’s on the kitchen counter. Good boys. Clearly they get much more steak meat than I do. 😃 Well-deserved, don’t you think?

© 2023 IMRAN™

#IMRAN #humor #food #eating #IMHO #dogs #GSD #steak #cooking #Florida #ApolloBeach #TampaBay #discipline #SelfControl

142. The one who is not able to live his life as a constant ascension, which attains its perfection in the period right before death, but from a certain age starts to descend, in reality abuses his life.

143. He who does not strive upwards, descends.

144. He who lets himself be taken by the current, is certain to follow the wrong path.

151. Most people are infantile until about the midpoint of their lives, that is until the age of thirty-six, and immediately after that from one day to another grow senile.

218. He who wants the Goal, should also want the means that lead to the Goal. For if he does not want the means leading to the Goal, he certainly does not want the Goal.

220. The more a creature is a creature, the frailer he is, the more he is subject to attacks, the more he is subject to circumstances, the more he lives in the realm of attractions and repulsions.

224. Man should not ensure reservations of darkness in his life.

162. In the final analysis, man is not subjected to external factors but to his inner psychological states.

163. That which manifests itself as democracy in the world, appears as automatism, whirling associations, distractions and lack of (self)control in consciousness.

164. Every individual-personal mania is a usurper, and every mania represents the terroristic feature of the usurped power.

165. The really negative thing in someone’s raving is not that he is raving, but that in fact it is not him who is raving but something/someone within him.

166. Not only he commits a crime who by losing his self-control commits something, but also he who following from his lack of self-control does nothing.

137. The case when someone ignores essentiality involves not only that the most important thing starts missing but that there can be found something else in its place.

138. Sticking to the only-human leads not to remaining in the human sphere but to becoming sub-human. For persisting in something is to loose it: to loose that which was intended to be retained.

140. If superhuman principles does not stand behind man’s intention of changing himself then he will not remain in the human state but descend to a subhuman condition.

105. The fundamental alienation, the fundamental decline is the personality itself: when I myself am alienated from myself.

250. There is hardly a better chance for man to exempt himself from the requirements of realisation than by setting himself such high norms which he surely cannot attain.

251. Making haste is from the the devil, as well as delaying.

303. Since the offensive form of antitraditionality appeared, the slightest compromise between traditionality and antitraditionality has been an enormous antitraditional triumph.

[An example: »Catholic-Marxist dialogues always implied the defensiveness of the Church and the success of Marxism - regardless of the fact that in the course of these dialogues it was invariably the Marxists whose performance was weaker than that of the Catholics. Since the very fact that in religious circles the question was not whether to send Marxists to the stake but to find the common ground among the opposing views, demonstrated the defensiveness of the Church. For Marxists it was not the outcome of the dialogues which was important but that the Church started to »court« them.« (András László)]

305. Antitraditionality is nothing other than the creating of confusion in the relationship between the existent world and the centre of the existent world so as to make it impossible to find the way back to the centre.

653. Emotion is feeling become sick.

[scil. feeling is originally not a displaced state, because man is not the object of feeling, like that of emotion, but he is its subject.]

654. Each emotional state is a kind of obsession.

696. When man turns more and more to the quantitative world rather than himself, then he practically turns to nothing. By losing spirit man kept his soul, which still had some spiritual properties. After this he kept only the body, which still has some pneumatic properties; and slowly he will come to the nothing, which will only have some somatic properties.

707. Death inevitably pertains to life as its complement. Man experiences death to the degree he indulges himself in life, because life contains death.

708. When life is lacking what is beyond life then death, the complement of life, overcomes life.

717. If my identification tends toward the engendered world, I will pass away with the engendered world.

739. An extraneous force dominates all that has a beginning.

740. The loss of beginning is the loss of dominion, the loss of dominion is the loss of the consciousness of beginning and that of origin, i.e. the loss of my ultimate reality as a consciousness.

www.tradicio.org/english/solumipsum.htm

Some people have no self-control.

Look who was waiting for us. Swans are very adorable creatures, however, with a certain lack of self control... The two people there were ignoring his aggressive affection

Candy: *shoulders slump* “Yeah. My mom’s acting up again. I’m sorry. Danny turned off my phone and took it for the day. Then, she started calling him, so he had to turn his off, too.”

Lukas: *walks over to stand behind Candy, wraps an arm around her, and hugs her* “Don’t apologize for her behavior. Not ever. It’s on her.”

Candy: *reaches up to squeeze his arm* “I know. Old habits die hard. Please don’t tell your mom or dad about it today. They’ll just worry. I’ll call them later tonight.”

Lukas: *presses a kiss to the top of her head* “Okay.” *releases her*

--Crash from the kitchen—

Yuri: *muffled* “DRAT!”

Lukas: *yells* “You okay in there, babe?”

Yuri: “Decidedly not! Lukas help! The bird has flown the coop! I repeat: the bird has flown the coop!”

Lukas: “Coming! *hurries towards the kitchen, calls over shoulder* We’ll be out in a few. Until then, don’t kill each other. Yuri really likes the rug in here, and I’ve heard bloodstains are a b!tch to get out.”

Simon: “Heard from whom?”

Lukas: “A source I used to research my last book, the one about the serial killer.” *exits*

Simon (musingly): “It suddenly strikes me that Luke knows a discomfiting amount about murder, and I should probably be nicer to him day-to-day.”

Candy: “Rest assured, if he ever does take a murder-y turn, you’d hardly be first on his kill list.”

Simon: “Yeah? Who do you reckon would be?”

Danny: “Me.”

Candy: *nods* “Him.”

Simon: “I suppose siblings do know what sore spots to poke to best enrage one another. Since I’ve only met my sister recently, we haven’t really reached that level in our familial relationship.”

Kumi (superiorly): “Yuri and I never want to kill each other.”

Danny: *snorts* “Sure you don’t.”

Kumi: “What’s that supposed to mean, peroxide brain?”

Danny: “Only that you both can be total pains in the ass in your own specific ways. So, there’s no way she hasn’t wanted to kill you at some point in the past. And vice versa. I don’t care if you’re twins and really close.”

Kumi: “How dare you presume to know more about my relationship with my sister than I do! Keep it up, and I’m going to kick your balls like a football player going for the extra point.”

Candy: “What about that time you borrowed Yuri’s brand-new white skirt and dribbled marinara all over it. I recall her exact words were, ‘Kumi Margaret Callaghan-West, I am going to slaughter you in a manner befitting Lady MacBeth!’”

Kumi: *rubs her chin* “Oh, yeah…forgot about that.”

Candy: “It happened last week.”

Kumi: “Clarification: I chose to forget about that.”

Danny: “On further thought, I bet Yuri’s wanted to kill you way more than you’ve wanted to kill her. I mean…you’re a piece o’ work, Red.”

Kumi (haughtily): “Takes one to know one, Billy Idol Lite.”

Danny: *grins, enjoying himself* “Now, now, don’t get all mad. I was just describing you, not insulting you. Though, I can see why they’re practically one in the same in your case.”

Kumi: *kicks him under the table*

Danny: “Ow! Quit it!”

Candy: *glances at Danny and Kumi, then to Simon* “I reckon this is good training for when we have kids.”

Simon: “Oh, I dunno. I hope our kids will have a bit more self-control and decorum than this lot. They’ll get half their genes from us after all, and we’re nice people.”

Candy (dryly): “Hope’s for chumps. Better start researching military schools now.”

Welcome to Qatar Flickrworld!

Regardless of our religion I would like to share the e-mail I have received today from a good friend showing her perspective in life as follows:

Choosing to Become Like Our God

by Ms. Irine Escobar

and I quote:

Hello Guys

Peace be with you all, in our Lords name.

Allow me to add some thoughts about our meditation today because it answers some questions we often ask ourselves but never get to find the right answer.

Someone asked: Why is it that our God allows evil to have a say in this world? Why is it that we often have people beside us or within our community or neighbor or officemate or just someone that tends to ruin our seemingly beautiful day??

ANSWER: GOD is building our character. As the meditation says: our God is more interested in who we are and who we’ll become. Is it a test? In a way, yes. A test for us to know how strong and capable we are. Remember that when you accepted God as your Savior, the His Spirit has dwelt in you. And because of this, the fruit of the Spirit will flow out of your character. Not in an instant, but gradually as you become closer to our Lord, we become more like Him.

In Galatians 5:22-23 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

This is the outcome of having the Holy Spirit within us. So, let us always be reminded that once we proclaimed our God as our Savior and Lord, we have the Spirit within us. This helps us develop our character according to what God wants us to be.

Don’t allow the enemy to win by succumbing to the temptation of getting back at him. That enemy is laughing his heart out if you do. Don’t allow the enemy to take away the joy you have in our Lord and our Saviour’s joy in you. Don’t allow the evil things of this world rob the joy that God have in us.

And if still you’re finding it hard to “control” yourself…then always meditate on:

Philippians 4:8 Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable (to that person)- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think of such things.

Just think about it. If you think positively it will also flow out of you positively. Think of the positive things that person has in his/her character and all the bad things about that person or situation will disappear, replaced by the love our God has for us. If our God can erase our sins and decided not to make records of it all, who are we then not to forgive? Who are we then to think ill of your brother/sister?

So be on guard of your reactions, feelings, etc. It may be hard, yes, that is why we must immerse ourselves daily, every minute of our lives, with the Word of God. For we can do all things through God who strengthens us.

Believe that He who is in you is greater than he who is in this world. Let us choose to become more like our Saviour.

Glory to God!!!

I am weak, i am sooo weak.

Damn you Wyrm! Damn you and your delicious burger pictures. Damn you from the very depths of my poor cholesterol clogged tubes!

I didn't mean to... I really didn't...

*sobs*

It's possible there won't be any eggs for next year...

...oh wait.. there probably will be, I think they made enough this year to last a few years yet...

Woot?

Anyway, I know you'd love to:

Follow me on Twitter

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Strobist:

Bowens Gemini Pro 500 with brilliantly big softbox above camera pointing down at 45 degrees, set on 3.0. Two other Bowens with disappointingly smaller softboxes camera left and right at 60 degrees pointing at bunny murderer, both set on 3.0. Triggered by PC cord cable.

willowzee.com/2012/12/07/stop-playing-with-my-delirium-co...

Doogan has been nursing an injury and has been limited to 10 minute walks, yesterday he was busting to run and it took lots of self control not to let him go free, he did get extra minutes walking though.

ADED 2010 61/365

Look who just arrived! I am so excited... I've loved her and her yummy stock forever, and am so happy to have her join the clan! Thank you for welcoming her with me!

Her packaging is so super cool - she's the only girl I've ever considered (for about a minute, lol!) keeping in her box! :D I don't have nearly the self control of some of you, though!

Today is the start of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan.

The main purpose is to rid man of bad habits which he had accumulated throughout the previous year. It is a month that prepares man for the remaining eleven months by teaching him discipline and self control.

Tengku Tengah Zaharah Mosque or commonly known as the Floating Mosque is situated in Kuala Ibai Lagoon near the estuary of Kuala Ibai River, 4 km from Kuala Terengganu Town. Construction began on 1993 and completed in 1995. The mosque was officially opened in July 1995 by Almarhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah, the late Sultan of Terengganu. The mosque combines modern and Moorish architecture; incorporating the use of marble, ceramics, mosaic works and bomanite paving. The white structure of the mosque covers an area of roughly 5 acres. It can accommodate up to 2000 attendees at a time.

f16, ISO-100, 10mm, Sigma DX 8-16 HSM

18. The less man has views and the more he has personal interests, the more he is inclined to regard his interests as views.

19. The »ideal« of dark tendencies is the person without world-views.

20. Man lives a lie because he cannot bear intellectually what he quite easily tolerates existentially: that he is so unworthy that he does not even have views. But the time is coming when he will be able to coexist even intellectually with his own unworthiness.

118. In the highest degree and as a first step man creates his incarnation; then - descending lower - he chooses it; descending even lower he freely accepts it; descending even lower than this he involuntarily takes notice of it: maybe he would like to but cannot avoid it; descending even lower than before he meets it; and finally he unconsciously falls into his incarnation - into that which originally was freely created by him.

119. Regarding especially its lowest degree - corresponding to the creatio factiva - and even its most external state, createdness means that I neither experience myself as the creator of myself nor as the creator of my own functions nor as the creator of my own world. Strictly speaking, creatureness means that my own being as creator becomes obscure.

121. The cherub who expelled man from Eden is the former rank of man, which keeps guard over the state of Eden of existence. And from this point of view man by man was expelled from Paradise, which essentially means that I myself expelled myself from myself.

122. Contemporary man - and the man of any age altogether - is nothing other than an identification.

142. The one who is not able to live his life as a constant ascension, which attains its perfection in the period right before death, but from a certain age starts to descend, in reality abuses his life.

143. He who does not strive upwards, descends.

144. He who lets himself be taken by the current, is certain to follow the wrong path.

151. Most people are infantile until about the midpoint of their lives, that is until the age of thirty-six, and immediately after that from one day to another grow senile.

218. He who wants the Goal, should also want the means that lead to the Goal. For if he does not want the means leading to the Goal, he certainly does not want the Goal.

220. The more a creature is a creature, the frailer he is, the more he is subject to attacks, the more he is subject to circumstances, the more he lives in the realm of attractions and repulsions.

224. Man should not ensure reservations of darkness in his life.

162. In the final analysis, man is not subjected to external factors but to his inner psychological states.

163. That which manifests itself as democracy in the world, appears as automatism, whirling associations, distractions and lack of (self)control in consciousness.

164. Every individual-personal mania is a usurper, and every mania represents the terroristic feature of the usurped power.

165. The really negative thing in someone’s raving is not that he is raving, but that in fact it is not him who is raving but something/someone within him.

166. Not only he commits a crime who by losing his self-control commits something, but also he who following from his lack of self-control does nothing.

137. The case when someone ignores essentiality involves not only that the most important thing starts missing but that there can be found something else in its place.

138. Sticking to the only-human leads not to remaining in the human sphere but to becoming sub-human. For persisting in something is to loose it: to loose that which was intended to be retained.

140. If superhuman principles does not stand behind man’s intention of changing himself then he will not remain in the human state but descend to a subhuman condition.

105. The fundamental alienation, the fundamental decline is the personality itself: when I myself am alienated from myself.

250. There is hardly a better chance for man to exempt himself from the requirements of realisation than by setting himself such high norms which he surely cannot attain.

251. Making haste is from the the devil, as well as delaying.

303. Since the offensive form of antitraditionality appeared, the slightest compromise between traditionality and antitraditionality has been an enormous antitraditional triumph.

[An example: »Catholic-Marxist dialogues always implied the defensiveness of the Church and the success of Marxism - regardless of the fact that in the course of these dialogues it was invariably the Marxists whose performance was weaker than that of the Catholics. Since the very fact that in religious circles the question was not whether to send Marxists to the stake but to find the common ground among the opposing views, demonstrated the defensiveness of the Church. For Marxists it was not the outcome of the dialogues which was important but that the Church started to »court« them.« (András László)]

305. Antitraditionality is nothing other than the creating of confusion in the relationship between the existent world and the centre of the existent world so as to make it impossible to find the way back to the centre.

653. Emotion is feeling become sick.

[scil. feeling is originally not a displaced state, because man is not the object of feeling, like that of emotion, but he is its subject.]

654. Each emotional state is a kind of obsession.

696. When man turns more and more to the quantitative world rather than himself, then he practically turns to nothing. By losing spirit man kept his soul, which still had some spiritual properties. After this he kept only the body, which still has some pneumatic properties; and slowly he will come to the nothing, which will only have some somatic properties.

707. Death inevitably pertains to life as its complement. Man experiences death to the degree he indulges himself in life, because life contains death.

708. When life is lacking what is beyond life then death, the complement of life, overcomes life.

717. If my identification tends toward the engendered world, I will pass away with the engendered world.

739. An extraneous force dominates all that has a beginning.

740. The loss of beginning is the loss of dominion, the loss of dominion is the loss of the consciousness of beginning and that of origin, i.e. the loss of my ultimate reality as a consciousness.

751. Originally, it was volition that is now instinct in man.

www.tradicio.org/english/solumipsum.htm

Abide With Me - Matt Redman

www.youtube.com/watch?v=476_PgSf2jQ

VERSE

I have a home

Eternal home

But for now I walk this broken world

You walked it first

You know our pain

But You show hope can rise again up from the grave

CHORUS

Abide with me

Abide with me

Don't let me fall

And don't let go

Walk with me

And never leave

Ever close God abide with me

VERSE

There in the night

Gethsemane

Before the cross

Before the nails

Overwhelmed

Alone You prayed

You met us in our suffering and bore our shame

BRIDGE

O love that will not ever let me go

Love that will not ever let me go

You never let me go

Love that will not ever let me go

VERSE

And up ahead

Eternity

We'll weep no more and sing for joy

Abide with me

We'll weep no more and sing for joy

Abide with me