Energy, Karma, God, the universe, 42, everything

I am sitting in Denver airport. I have been traveling for about 24 hours now, trying to get to my love. I have been posting about it on Facebook and asked for people to send positive energy my way. People worry too much about terms. I don't think Jesus did. If he did the term leper, prostitute and outlaw would have probably bothered him more. I follow most of the things that Jesus taught but i do not consider myself a Christian. I really feel like that term has way too much baggage attached to it nowadays and i do not think that Jesus would have called himself a Christian either. Most of the people who are Christians seem a lot like the Pharisees to me and we know what Christ thought about that bunch. In temperament and philosophy i am much more Jeet Kune Do than i am a Christian as conceived by most of the Christians i know. It concerns me when people let things like "positive energy" bother them and feel that it is against their religion. Does God not have energy? Or is positive the word that is problematic?

Jeet Kune Do was Bruce Lee's philosophy of the martial art but works really well for life as well. Study your experience, analyze it, take what works, discard what doesn't and then add what is essentially your own. I can already hear the arguments, "But TJ, you can not just pick and choose what you think is right." Absolutely. Examining your experience for a warrior, which is what i think Jesus was, is no easy task. Evaluation must be honest. For example, from my experience the idea of shoving your beliefs down people's throat not only is slightly offensive and far from humility, it does not work. Look, if you honestly believe that you have the hotline to God's desk and that if people do not believe like you do that they will burn in eternal hellfire, then i understand why you want to help people to that knowledge. But here is a news flash: trying to force that on people does not work. It makes people uncomfortable and much more likely to disregard what you have to say. If you want to have people listen you have to be a little more patient and you also have to listen to what they have to say. If your religion or philosophy is indeed the one and only truth, then it is on pretty firm footing right? I have found people are far more apt to listen to me and maybe even be moved by what i have to say if i live my life as an example, not as a chance to get into a huff whenever someone says a word that i don't like or has a belief system that may seem hokey to me.

It reminds me a little bit of the people who talk about the ticking time bomb theory of torture. In the case where a terrorist knows about an imminent threat it is OK to torture them goes the argument. The problem with the argument is that torture is actually less effective as far as getting good Intel. Sorry, what you are probably looking for is revenge. Revenge is not about truth.

When i hear people get upset because you are a Buddhist or have a spiritual concept that they do no like or something, what i really hear is a lot of insecurity. It seems to me that there is a lack of faith in your own belief system. I am secure in what i believe, actually in the ideas that i have and if you present me with a valid discussion and good ideas i will listen and incorporate them. This does not mean an argument from the holy book that you espouse. I am all about these holy books, but Bible verses are not a good way to sway someone that does not believe in the Bible just as the Torah, Koran or the Upanishads are not going to change the mind of a Christian.

I have learned a lot from Jesus, also from the Buddha, Bruce Lee, Lao Tzu, HD Thoreau, my parents, my martial arts teachers, Calvin Martin, Bruce Wilshire, etc. and i have found that behind what seems to be contradictions there is a common thread of Truth. Jesus said, "verily i say unto you, you shall not resist evil." Did not make a lot of sense to me until i saw a hexagram in the I-ching that is the image of Heaven above the mountains. The mountains rise up as high as they can to the heavens and then goad the heavens down to their level. The mountains in this analogy were the wicked of the earth, the heavens the righteous person. If the righteous person goes down to do battle, that person has gone down to the dens of the wicked.

Jesus also said when asked what one has to do responded, "Love your God above all else and love your brother as your self." Did not mention saying his name. Just saying. He also said, and i love this one, "Verily i say unto you, unless you convert and become like a little child, you shall by no means enter the kingdom of Heaven." Again no mention of saying his name.

Anyway, this was a fun rant. Please do not take offense anyone and i do welcome conversation about all of this. I truly, truly love philosophical debate. Hope everyone is well, i love you all as my self because you are my self. We are all part of the same thing and we shape our realities with what we bring to the table.