MRLPJ

  Ps 70:1… O God [ Elohiym : The Master of Forces ], come to my assistance [ natsal : to snatch away, at all, defend, deliver self, escape, without fail, part, pluck ]; O LORD [ YHVH : The Name of Existence ], make haste [ chuwsh : to hasten, make haste; figuratively, to be eager with excitement or enjoyment ] to help [ ezrah : help, assist; “The Helper” ] me. -- The Ps 70:1 Prayer [ an expanded rendering (and prayer) based in Ps 70:1 ]… Holy and Happy Father—My Papa… As I pray, come to my assistance; as I pray, make haste to help me. In all my prayers, O God, I want to pray in and with You—and the whole of The Trinity [ The Triune God of the Holy Bible (that is, to God The Father [Papa], God The Son [The Lord Jesus Christ], and God The Holy Spirit [The Mysterious Breath and Presence of I AM]) ]—and NOT JUST toward You. I want to pray as the new creation I am in Jesus and NOT out of the echoes and residuals of my crucified (and, thus, annihilated) fallen nature or out of ...

Culture (from Webster's ): An integrated pattern of living; the characteristic features of everyday existence; a set of conventions associated with living one's life. While most everyone knows physical exercise (and just moving a lot) is important, few of us exercise, move well, or move enough on a consistent basis. The verbalized reasons for this are varied, but I think they can all be paired down to just one: At the point of choice, those who don't exercise chose something else. If this is you, be kind to yourself, and take responsibility for the choices you've made. It's not that you don't have the time, space, money, or energy to exercise. These are all smoke-screen lies we tell ourselves and other people to keep us from taking responsibility for how we look and feel. As difficult as this might be to swallow, the body you have at 50 is 99.999999% your fault. What I mean is this: How you look, feel, and move is directly the result of the millions of day-to-da...

When under attack, assume your assailant means either to end your life (and the lives of those around you) or to cause you (and those around you) great harm. Assume he's heavily armed with multiple weapons (knives, a gun, fists, feet, knees, etc.); and assume, too, he intends to use them all if necessary. When engaging with such a one (if you can't run away), don't go for his weapons. Go instead for his mind by attacking ruthlessly a vulnerable target (or multiple vulnerable targets) in his anatomy. This will disrupt his "diseased" plans and short-circuit his cognitive abilities to regroup and improvise. This is all about being present, paying attention to what's happening in the moment, and not fixating on any one thing (like, say, his left-handed grab to the collar of your jacket while he, unbeknownst to you, thrusts a knife into your side). Again… assume your assailant means to cause you great bodily harm; and assume, too, (1) He’s w...

Work here in the west is, typically, so different from what I’ve witnessed (and experienced directly) in other cultures. It was through my exposure to some of those cultures, as well as those many times when I went up north to live with the monks, that I discovered how much I wanted to simplify my life, take my time at things, and work (for money) a lot less. I still work on a lot of things, but most of them are personal projects, and I take precious time with them. I’ve discovered that the less I own, the less I’m owned by things. Even the things I do “own,” I treat more like books I’ve borrowed from the library: They’re not mine, and they have a fast-approaching expiration (or due) date. The fast-approaching expiration date doesn’t mean I need to try to cram in as much enjoyment of them as I can. To me, it means “They’re not mine, and it’s my responsibility to return them to Their Owner in pristine shape soon.” Presently, I devote most of my time to enjoying the moment; being ...