A Stroke Of Insight into Nirvana

All I can say about this video is that it is amazing. I'm wishing that each of you gains as much from it as I did:
Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor Finds Nirvana

It's a talk she gave in Monterey in February of this year about her experience of having a stroke; an experience from which she receives what she calls a "tremendous gift". That gift is Nirvana. What's special in this talk is that she delivers it in such a perfect way that we truly get to grasp the insight she gained.

Save it for a time in which you can spare about 20 mins. of uninterrupted time. You'll really be happy that you did.

I think we all generally have at least a little bit of a grasp on what she speaks of but don't fully put it into action. Maybe it's time we do.

7 "social sins" posted about yesterday are not official church position

So my instinct WAS right in that there was no way that the Catholic Church was trying to add to the list of 7 mortal sins. But you really can't get more credible a source that The Associated Press. It turns out that they were fooled. Which actually points out just how credible (or not so credible) the mainstream media is these days.

The true situation is that an Archbishop from the Catholic Church was really making an appeal to churchgoers to increase their use of the sacrament of Confession.

Yes, it seemed far fetched, and it was.

Not that the new list doesn't carry weight however. It certainly is worthy of note.

The Catholic World News has the story.

Sick Cows Hit Food Supply

It's interesting to see the mainstream media covering a situation that points straight to one of the list of "social sins" allegedly newly added to the list of mortal sins I wrote about yesterday (which is not truly the case.) For it seems to be pure greed that is behind this company's actions.

It appears that they where well aware of the illegality of placing downed cows into the food supply. But the greed must have stepped in from the fact that they are able to purchase these cows for pennies on the dollar because of their sick state. And if they can turn that small investment around by having these sicks cows appear well enough to enter the chute and move on to slaughter, they've just made a large profit on that small investment. So they dragged them by chains, jabbed them with forklifts and shocked them with cattle prods, all in attempt to get them in the chute.

It took undercover video from the Humane Society to finally bring the situation the attention it deserved. This attention has, rightfully so, included an appearance in front of the House Energy and Commerce investigative subcommittee.

"The head of the Southern California slaughterhouse at the center of the largest beef recall in U.S. history acknowledged Wednesday that cattle were illegally slaughtered at his plant and that cows too sick to stand were forced into the food supply.

Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. President Steve Mendell made the admissions after a congressional panel forced him to watch undercover video of abuses of cattle at his plant. Mendell watched head-in-hand as cows were dragged by chains, jabbed by forklifts and shocked to get them into the box where they'd be slaughtered.

Afterward he briefly bowed his head, then backed away from claims he made in his written testimony that no ill cows from his plant entered the food supply."

The end result: 143 million pounds of beef were recalled, 50 million of which was headed for your children's school lunches. How does that make you feel?

(The above quote is from an AP article on the congressional hearing.)

Vatican adds 7 "social sins" to list of deadly sins

The Vatican has just added 7 "social sins" to the list of 7 deadly sins, doubling that list in one day.

The new seven "social sins" are:

1. “Bioethical” violations such as birth control
2. “Morally dubious” experiments such as stem cell research
3. Drug abuse
4. Polluting the environment
5. Contributing to the widening divide between rich and poor
6. Excessive wealth
7. Creating poverty

And, in case you are forgetting, the original 7 deadly sins are:

1. Pride
2. Envy
3. Gluttony
4. Lust
5. Anger
6. Greed
7. Sloth

If you'd like more information, read the full AP article, Vatican Lists New Sinful Behavior.