By Lloyd Glauberman, Ph.D.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lloyd-glauberman-phd/an-upside-down-look-at-heaven\
-and-near-death-experience_b_2289298.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

We've all read about near-death experience (NDE),
the traumatically induced sensory phenomenon that
many believe represents the gateway to heaven. The
imagery (white light, tunnel, dead relatives, etc.),
coupled with the intense feelings of bliss and oneness,
typically make the most ardent nonbelievers reevaluate
their beliefs after the experience. It is powerful
stuff and, arguably, the most interesting of all mystical
experiences.

With the publication of the book "Proof of Heaven" by
Dr. Eben Alexander, the issue of whether NDEs represent
evidence for the existence of heaven is, once again, part
of the cultural conversation. So let's join the discussion.

Because of his credibility as a neurosurgeon, Dr. Alexander's
NDE generated a great deal of attention. His case is
unusually strong, not simply because of his scientific
credentials, but because of what apparently happened to
his brain. Due to bacterial meningitis his entire neocortex,
the part of the brain that makes us human, presumably
became disabled. Without the neocortex functional, a
scientific explanation for his NDE becomes impossible.

Most of his colleagues could not offer explanations for
what he saw. A few, however, refute his claims, including
Dr. Martin Samuels, who said, "there is no way of knowing,
in fact, that his neocortex was shut down. It sounds
scientific, but it is an interpretation after the fact."
And therein lies the rub.

The operative word in near-death experience is "near."
Nobody actually dies and talks to us from heaven. Those
ho experience NDEs end up back here talking to Oprah. And
they all say very similar things.

NDEs tend to have certain universal characteristics,
according to Dr. Gregory Shushan, a religion scholar
with anthropological training and author of Conceptions
of the Afterlife in Early Civilizations: Universalism,
Constructivism and Near-Death Experience. In other words,
regardless of culture or time, the NDE themes consistently
appeared in the ancient civilizations that he researched.

Furthermore, Dr. Shushan noticed that the various
cultural beliefs about heaven are quite similar to
the core characteristics of NDEs. What's interesting
is that this cross-cultural thematic consistency about
heaven does not hold true for creation myths. In other
words, every culture has a different narrative describing
how things began, but the same narrative about how things end.

Ironically, this leads to the possibility that NDEs, as
opposed to providing evidence for the existence of heaven,
might very well be responsible for creating our belief in it.

It's not difficult to imagine how this paradoxical understanding
of the relationship between NDE and heaven could have evolved.
The NDEs that occurred during ancient history -- especially
if it involved a respected elder or priest -- would have been
so instantaneously transformative, so powerfully seductive,
that it would have been impossible for a culture not to
incorporate the experience into a model of heaven. Then, over
the centuries, all subsequent NDEs would serve to reinforce
the belief.

It doesn't get more upside-down than this.

Assuming for the moment that this explanation of how heaven came
into being is accurate, one question remains: does it matter?

On a very practical level, changing people's religious beliefs
is virtually impossible. Faced with incontrovertible scientific evidence about
evolution, some folks still cling to the belief
that the earth is 6,000 years old because the Bible says so.
Not all people of faith take every aspect of the Scriptures
literally but, in general, religious beliefs become hardwired
into the brain. With the exception of those who experience
NDEs, rarely are people changing their mind.

If the NDE is a transitional experience to make death easier
and not the gateway to heaven, do nonbelievers have to discard
the concept of heaven altogether? Or, can we turn everything upside-down again
and simply label our experience of self --
our tiny speck of consciousness -- heaven? In other words,
maybe heaven is ephemeral not eternal. And at the end, our
energy goes back into the energy pool.

At some point in time each of us will know the truth. However,
if you don't believe in heaven and you're right, you'll never
know it. If you're wrong, people will be waiting at the other
end of the tunnel saying, "We told you so."
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Physicists propose experiment to test hypothesis that
reality is just a computer simulation.
Originally published:
Dec 14 2012 - 5:00pm
By:
Joel N. Shurkin, ISNS Contributor
http://www.insidescience.org/content/what-if-reality-was-really-just-sim-univers\
e/871

(ISNS) -- What if everything -- all of us, the world,
the universe -- was not real? What if everything we are,
know and do was really just someone's computer simulation?

The notion that our reality was some kid on a couch in the
far future playing with a computer game like a gigantic Sim
City, or Civilization, and we are his characters, isn't new.
But a group of physicists now thinks they know of a way to
test the concept. Three of them propose to test reality by
simulating the simulators.

Martin Savage, professor of physics at the University of
Washington, Zohreh Davoudi, one of his graduate students,
and Silas Beane of the University of New Hampshire, would
like to see whether they can find traces of simulation in
cosmic rays. The work was uploaded in arXiv, an online
archive for drafts of academic research papers.

The notion that reality is something other than we think it
is goes far back in philosophy, including Plato and his
Parable of the Cave, which claimed reality was merely shadows
of real objects on a cave wall. Sixteenth-century philosopher-mathematician René
Descartes thought he proved reality with
his famous "I think, therefore, I am," which proposed that
he was real and his thoughts had a reality.

Then, in 2003, a British philosopher, Nick Bostrom of the
University of Oxford, published a paper that had the philosophy
and computer science departments buzzing.

Bostrom suggested three possibilities: "The chances that a
species at our current level of development can avoid going
extinct before becoming technologically mature is negligibly
small," "almost no technologically mature civilizations are interested in
running computer simulations of minds like ours,"
or we are "almost certainly" a simulation.

All three could be equally possible, he wrote, but if the
first two are false, the third must be true. "There will
be an astronomically huge number of simulated minds like ours," Bostrom wrote.

His suggestion was that our descendants, far in the future,
would have the computer capacity to run simulations that
complex, and that there might be millions of simulations,
and millions of virtual universes with billions of simulated
brains in them.

Bostrom's paper came out four years after the popular film,
"The Matrix," in which humans discover they were simulations
run by malevolent machines. The popularity of the film possibly contributed to
the attention to Bostrom's paper received at
the time, but nothing came of it.

"He put it together in clear terms and came out with probabilities
of what is likely and what is not," Savage said. "He crystallized
it, at least in my mind."

In the movie and in Savage's proposal, the discovery that
reality was virtual came when unexpected errors showed up
in life, demonstrating imperfections in the simulation.

Savage and his colleagues assume that any future simulators
would use some of the same techniques current scientists use
to run simulations, with the same constraints. The future
simulators, Savage indicated, would map their universe on a mathematical lattice
or grid, consisting of points and lines.
This would not be an everyday grid but a "hypercube" consisting
of four dimensions, three for space, and one to represent points
in time.

A present-day example is lattice quantum chromodynamics,
which explores the effects of the strong nuclear force, one
of the four fundamental forces in the universe, on tiny
elementary particles such as quarks and gluons. In this approach,
the particles jump from point to point on a grid, without
passing through the space between them. The simulations cause
time to pass in a similar way, like the frames of film passing through a movie
camera, so that the time that passed between
frames is not part of the simulation. This style of simulation requires less
computer power than treating space and time as a continuum.

Because Savage and his colleague assume that future simulators
will use a similar approach, he suggests looking at the behavior
of very high-energy cosmic ray particles to see whether there
is a grid in the energy as a start.

"You look at the very highest energy cosmic rays and look for distributions that
have symmetry problems, which are not
isotropic," or the same in every direction, he said.

"Everything looks like it is on a continuum," Savage said.
"There is no evidence to show that is not the case at the moment."

"We are looking for something to indicate you don't have a
space-time continuum."

That disturbance in the force might be a hint that something in reality is
amiss. If the cosmic ray energy levels travel along
the grid, like following streets in Manhattan or Salt Lake City,
it probably is unlikely to be a simulation; if they unexpectedly travel
diagonally, reality may be a computer program.

Jim Kakalios, a physics professor at the University of Minnesota
who was not involved in the paper, said a test such as the one
Savage suggests may not prove anything. If they don't find the signatures, it
doesn't mean we are not a simulation; our
descendants could have used a different grid. If they do
find something it also could mean "that's the way space-time
is and we never noticed before," he said.

Two other questions arise. One is whether it is conceivable
that computers powerful enough to simulate our hugely complex universe ever will
exist. If so, it likely will be very far in
the future.

The second question is linked: Will it ever be possible to
simulate human consciousness? After all, we run around thinking
and feeling.

"Ultimately, the paper glides over the most interesting point:
assume we have infinite computing power and we can create this hypercube,"
Kakalios said. "They assume [the simulators] would
know how to simulate human consciousness."

We are aware of ourselves, he said, aware of our bodies, aware
of what is outside of our bodies, he said. Human consciousness
is almost indescribably complex.

For generations, science fiction books -- and some science books -- have
hypothesized inserting our consciousness into computers so
that we essentially live forever. In Caprica, a prequel to the television
program Battlestar Galactica, a girl's consciousness
is preserved in a computer and it becomes the basis for the evil cyborgs.

"We don't understand consciousness," Kakalios said. "Neuroscience
is where physics was before quantum mechanics."

"It's a more interesting problem than whether you can simulate protons and
quarks."

Either way, however, Kakalios said the experiments on cosmic rays
are the kind scientists should be doing regardless of the
simulation issue.

________________________________________
Joel Shurkin is a freelance writer based in Baltimore.
He is the author of nine books on science and the history
of science, and has taught science journalism at Stanford
University, UC Santa Cruz and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material
(as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law).
If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes
of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.

On New Year's Eve, we got Chinese take-out, and I opened my fortune cookie with
some trepidation.  When I read the message it seemed wonderfully important (not
the lucky numbers).

It said, "Everything must have a beginning."

That a crucial thought for me this year because my oldest child is applying for
college and will soon be leaving home...and I've been having a lot of trouble
dealing with that.

So my resolution for 2013 is to meditate on that fortune.



Oh--also to stop eating Jordan almonds.  Terrible for the teeth.

Happy New Year everyone.

W

A young and rather boastful champion challenged
a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as
an archer. The young man demonstrated remarkable
technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull's
eye on his first try, and then split that arrow with
his second shot. "There," he said to the old man,
"see if you can match that!" Undisturbed, the master
did not draw his bow, but rather motioned for the
young archer to follow him up the mountain.

Curious about the old fellow's intentions, the champion
followed him high into the mountain until they
reached a deep chasm spanned by a rather flimsy and
shaky log. Calmly stepping out onto the middle of
the unsteady and certainly perilous bridge, the old
master picked a far away tree as a target, drew his
bow, and fired a clean, direct hit. "Now it is your turn,"
he said as he gracefully stepped back onto the safe
ground. Staring with terror into the seemingly bottomless
and beckoning abyss, the young man could not force
himself to step out onto the log, no less shoot at
a target. "You have much skill with your bow," the
master said, sensing his challenger's predicament,
"but you have little skill with the mind that lets
loose the shot."

As has been shared before, it's traditional to "get"
teaching stories on 7 different levels. Here's a hint
about this one.......,
The tree that the Zen master hit is the mind! Meditating
on that perhaps will give you some steadiness in all and
every situation.
Peace and blessings,
Bob

medit8ionsociety  wrote:
>
> A young and rather boastful champion challenged
> a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as
> an archer. The young man demonstrated remarkable
> technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull's
> eye on his first try, and then split that arrow with
> his second shot. "There," he said to the old man,
> "see if you can match that!" Undisturbed, the master
> did not draw his bow, but rather motioned for the
> young archer to follow him up the mountain.
>
> Curious about the old fellow's intentions, the champion
> followed him high into the mountain until they
> reached a deep chasm spanned by a rather flimsy and
> shaky log. Calmly stepping out onto the middle of
> the unsteady and certainly perilous bridge, the old
> master picked a far away tree as a target, drew his
> bow, and fired a clean, direct hit. "Now it is your turn,"
> he said as he gracefully stepped back onto the safe
> ground. Staring with terror into the seemingly bottomless
> and beckoning abyss, the young man could not force
> himself to step out onto the log, no less shoot at
> a target. "You have much skill with your bow," the
> master said, sensing his challenger's predicament,
> "but you have little skill with the mind that lets
> loose the shot."
>

Spiritual Experience

"What is spiritual experience? I can try to describe it,
but it's something to be experienced. Imagine if I told you:
`Go to such and such shop, give so much money, ask for this
particular fruit. The shape will be like this, it will smell
something like this, remove the skin, remove the seed,
in between you have the fleshy part. Put it in the mouth,
then you will know how tasty it is.' That is all I can say.
If you tell me, `Oh, I can't just believe you unless you show
me how the taste is. I can't take the trouble of going to the
shop and buying it and cutting and everything. Unless you show
me the taste, I won't try that.' But, unless you try the fruit,
you won't understand the taste.

"God bless you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

  Inspiration Line

Hear an inspiration message from Sri Swami Satchidananda
by calling 434-WOW-GURU. New and improved software brings
an even better sound quality and more reliable system.
New message the first of each month. Call and be inspired
any time and from anywhere you are.

Breathing always takes place in the exact and only moment that
Reality is present. When your mind is focusing on a past event,
or thinking about something that might happen in the future,
or just chattering about "whatever", the cliche "get real!" is
applicable and appropriate. Many traditions suggest that as
witnessing your breath is a reboot into experiencing your life
as it actually takes place, it is one of the most effective
meditation techniques you can easily, effectively and beneficially
do. There isn't even any $3000 charge to pay like there is when
some organizations charge you for a Mantra, and yet there will
never be a time when you are alive when the sound breathing makes
isn't right there in the moment for you to merge with.

It has been said that Enlightenment/God will come in a flash and
one should be empty, ready and open to fill with the divine gift
that eternally, infinitely and blissfully is our sorrow ending birthright. You
have to be present to receive this present, and
your breath can be the key that opens your door to let the holy
energy in. But this, and you, can only "Be" if you actually use
your breath to keep the door open.

Peace and blessing,
Bob

Heaven and hell

by Paulo Coelho on February 11, 2008


A violent samurai warrior with a reputation for p
rovoking fights for no reason arrived at the gates
of a Zen monastery and asked to speak to the master.

Without hesitating, Ryokan went to meet him.

`They say that intelligence is more powerful than brute force,'
said the samurai. `Can you explain to me what heaven and hell are?'

Ryokan said nothing.

`You see?' bellowed the samurai. `I could explain quite easily:
to show someone what hell is, you just have to punch them.
To show them what heaven is, you just have threaten them with terrible violence
and then let them go.'

`I don't talk to stupid people like you,' said the Zen master.

The blood rushed to the samurai's head. His brain became thick
with hatred.

`That is hell,' said Ryokan, smiling. `Allowing yourself to be
upset by silly remarks.'

Taken aback by the monk's courage, the samurai warrior softened.

`And that is heaven,' said Ryokan, inviting him in. `Not reacting
to foolish provocations.'

Dear Friends,

I hope you are all doing well. I wanted to inform you that I just
published a new article, Meditation for Beginners, which some of you may
find helpful. It may be of particular interest to those who are just
starting their practice, or who may still be unclear about how to
meditate.

This article discusses some of the basic techniques of mindfulness
meditation, so beginners can get off to a good start, and begin making
immediate progress. You can read the full article it at:
http://wp.me/p22v0Y-vN

I hope it helps you on your spiritual journey.

Warm regards,
Charles A. Francis
http://www.MindfulnessMeditationInstitute.org/

P.S. Please remember to share it with others. Thanks!

"To know what you are you must first investigate
and know what you are not. And to know what you
are not, you must watch yourself carefully, rejecting
all that does not necessarily go with basic fact
`I am'. The ideas: I am born at a given place, at a
given time, from my parents and now I am so-and-so,
living at, married to, father of, employed by, and
so on, are not inherent in the sense `I am'. Our usual
attitude is `I am this' or `that'. Separate consistently
and perseveringly the `I am' from `this' or `that' and
try to feel what it means to be, just to `be', without
being `this' or `that'. All our habits go against it
and the task of fighting them is long and hard sometimes,
but clear understanding helps a lot. The clearer you
understand that on the level of the mind you can be
described in negative terms only the quicker you will
come to the end of your search and realize your limitless being."

The Solar System Within

"We have a solar system within us. The body itself is
a solar system; we have the sun within us. The inner
sun is the sun of consciousness. With the inner consciousness,
which we call the Self, Atman or the Atmic Sun, we understand everything. And
just as the sun gives light and doesn't have
any partiality but gives equally to everybody, the inner spirit,
or Atman, just shines as pure consciousness itself. In the
world of ignorance, which is darkness, the mind, which is
our moon, receives the light of the consciousness (the Atma,
or the sun) and reflects it on the worldly ignorance, the
darkness. Once the real sunshine comes, the world will appear
to be different—you see the entire world in a different way.
That is the spiritual vision.

"God bless you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

  Join Satchidananda Ashram's Satsang every Saturday evening

and share the archive with friends.

  7:30pm Eastern, with Livestream

new.livestream.com/yogaville

I when some peoplengo on fast they avoid food and drink juices. I was just
wondering is that really consider fasting because your giving and sor feeding of
sugar if u get were I going with this and fastingnis supose to be a bout
clensing and breaking bodies will

I never had fasted and my question is ist still consider that u fasting when
your drinking juice. M.the impression that I getting that it isnt because your
body is trying to detox and instead its filling up on sugar. But idk what is
your opinion on this

P.s im considering on going on a fast

sir
     fasting means staying without solid food and with ordinary drinking water
(or) Bael (Aegle marmelos) also known as Bengal quince added water (or) Ocimum
tenuiflorum, also known as Holy Basil, tulsi water will be considered as fasting
in hindu religion. it may depend  some other thing in other religion.
But, it is not correct taking juice at the time of fasting.
Fasting is not a necessary thing to achieve spiritual capability.
if, advised by teacher then only one need to stay in fast.
But, as for my knowlege goes control over food item is needed in achieving
"spiritual attainment" stages.


--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "candace_day@..."  wrote:
>
> I when some peoplengo on fast they avoid food and drink juices. I was just
wondering is that really consider fasting because your giving and sor feeding of
sugar if u get were I going with this and fastingnis supose to be a bout
clensing and breaking bodies will
>

Avoid solid food, stick to liquids preferably no fruit juices even. Herbal water
is fine. There is not much fancy footwork in fasting.
There is no need for a guru to advise you on fasting. Fasting is pratised in
various religions, in groups or singly. They are even practised by people who
have rejected religion. It's good for the body and good for the spirit and you
can do it without a guru and save a few bucks in the process.





--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, "candace_day@..."  wrote:
>
> I when some peoplengo on fast they avoid food and drink juices. I was just
wondering is that really consider fasting because your giving and sor feeding of
sugar if u get were I going with this and fastingnis supose to be a bout
clensing and breaking bodies will
>

List of Obstacles

Of External Nature:
      Visible, terrestial life and planetary relationships.
      Invisible, or dimensions beyond our senses.

Of Internal Nature:
      The appetites:
           Sex
           Security
           Food
           Pleasures other than sex
           Curiosity

      The Fears:
           Fear of dying
           Fear of scorn or social harm
           Fear of mental or spiritual harm
      The Blocks:
           The seven deadly sins:
                Pride
                Covetousness
                Lust
                Hatred
                Anger
                Envy
                Sloth
           The six catches:
                The think-talk syndrome
                The starry-eyed syndrome
                The False-Messiah Syndrome
                The personal salvation syndrome
                The Sunday-go-to-meeting syndrome
                The hunt-the-guru syndrome

           Physical limitations
           Economic exigencies

Forms of Rationalization:
           That we will be able to do the thing better
           at a later date. Procrastination.
           That we will ride the tide of humanity into heaven.
           That social services or "good works" have spiritual gain.
           That the gods have ears. Salvation through prayers.
           That the gods have noses and eyes. Incense and displays.
           That positive thinking will make gods of us or lead us
           to liberation.
           That the guru will save us.
           That faith will save us.
           That spiritual paths may be evaluated by their popularity.
           That we can "feel" our way alone. Intuition alone.
           That we can do it with our omnipotent reason.
           That God, (or Mr. X) will take care of everything.
           This is a variation of the "Knight on the white horse"    
rationalization.
           That our present belief shall be our final evaluation      of Truth.
           That everything is hopeless or useless.

           Richard Rose (no biological relation to Bob Rose)
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If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes
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Island where all becomes clear.

Solid ground beneath your feet.

The only roads are those that offer access.

Bushes bend beneath the weight of proofs.

The Tree of Valid Supposition grows here
with branches disentangled since time immemorial.

The Tree of Understanding, dazzlingly straight and simple,
sprouts by the spring called Now I Get It.

The thicker the woods, the vaster the vista:
the Valley of Obviously.

If any doubts arise, the wind dispels them instantly.

Echoes stir unsummoned
and eagerly explain all the secrets of the worlds.

On the right a cave where Meaning lies.

On the left the Lake of Deep Conviction.
Truth breaks from the bottom and bobs to the surface.

Unshakable Confidence towers over the valley.
Its peak offers an excellent view of the Essence of Things.

For all its charms, the island is uninhabited,
and the faint footprints scattered on its beaches
turn without exception to the sea.

As if all you can do here is leave
and plunge, never to return, into the depths.

Into unfathomable life.



By Wislawa Szymborska
From "A large number", 1976
Translated by S. Baranczak & C. Cavanagh

Thanks for pointing to this great poet.
I could never "get" poetry before, and now,
as this work of wisdom lead me to check out
more of her work, I'm enjoying poetry very
much. Maybe it's just that I've grown up,
or something like that, but I think her
clarity enabled me to see through the clouds
of non-understanding I had had. Her work is
a very nice "in the moment" experience!
Much appreciated!
Peace and blessings,
Bob

"walto"  wrote:
>
> Island where all becomes clear.
>
> Solid ground beneath your feet.
>
> The only roads are those that offer access.
>
> Bushes bend beneath the weight of proofs.
>
> The Tree of Valid Supposition grows here
> with branches disentangled since time immemorial.
>
> The Tree of Understanding, dazzlingly straight and simple,
> sprouts by the spring called Now I Get It.
>
> The thicker the woods, the vaster the vista:
> the Valley of Obviously.
>
> If any doubts arise, the wind dispels them instantly.
>
> Echoes stir unsummoned
> and eagerly explain all the secrets of the worlds.
>
> On the right a cave where Meaning lies.
>
> On the left the Lake of Deep Conviction.
> Truth breaks from the bottom and bobs to the surface.
>
> Unshakable Confidence towers over the valley.
> Its peak offers an excellent view of the Essence of Things.
>
> For all its charms, the island is uninhabited,
> and the faint footprints scattered on its beaches
> turn without exception to the sea.
>
> As if all you can do here is leave
> and plunge, never to return, into the depths.
>
> Into unfathomable life.
>
>
>
> By Wislawa Szymborska
> From "A large number", 1976
> Translated by S. Baranczak & C. Cavanagh
>

No - I don't respect your religious beliefs.

I respect your right to have them.
I respect your right to express them.

I respect you as long as you respect me.

I do not respect your "right" to tell me I'm an evil person.
I do not respect your "right" to tell me I'm going to hell.
I do not respect your "right" to impose your beliefs on me.

I do not respect ignorance.
I do not respect brainwashing.
I do not respect cults.
I do not respect hatred, bigotry, misogyny, sexism or tyranny.

I do not respect your religion. And I don't have to.

--------------------------------------------------------------

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copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically
authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that
this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web
constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material
(as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law).
If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes
of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.

Desire to Be Desire-less

"Someone once asked me: `Swamiji, isn't it a desire
to be desire-less?' It is, but what is your desire?
To become desire-less? If your desire is to become
desire-less, you need at least one desire! Because
only with a desire can we get rid of other desires.
But select one desire that will remove all other
desires and will go off by itself later on. If you
wash your clothes with soap, you're in essence applying
new-smelling dirt to remove the old, bad-smelling dirt.
Then, once you put the clothes in water and rinse them,
what happens? The old dirt goes and do you think the
new dirt remains? No. That also goes. So, we call to
one desire: `Come here, you seem to be a good desire.
Come and play with the rest of my desires, take them out
with you and you go too.' Then, you'll be desire-less.

"God bless you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."
---------------------------------------------------------

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I count him braver who conquers his desires than
him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory
is the victory over self.

Not victory over but integration within.

--
Douglas E. Darling
Warrenton, VA 20186
540.270.9239
douglasedarling@...

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