Pi Day

Pi Day

Pi Picture croppedSeth Godin brought Pi Day to my inbox this morning. He alerted me to the fact that pi’s opening digits, 3.1415, match up with the calendar today. Take a moment to read his excellent brief statement about it, so I don’t have to repeat what he said, but rather can add my own take on Pi to the equation. Carpe Diem style.

As the Founder of Something Or Other Publishing (SOOP) I immediately emailed SOOP’s Authors encouraging them to Carpe their own Diem – to do the imaginable, one day at a time, vs. listening to the critics in our head that tell us something isn’t possible. Then it struck me. Pi Day isn’t a day that comes once a year.  It’s a day that only comes once every hundred years.

At least by the roman calendar, and by the month/day/year convention. (If we use the day/month/year convention there’s no Pi Day at all). Here’s a definition of Pi. “A name given to the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter. That means, for any circle, you can divide the circumference (the distance around the circle) by the diameter and always get exactly the same number.” For me it always brings to mind David Bowie’s epic early song, the Width of a Circle from “The Man who Sold the World”

Aztec Calendar MayanThe calendar is a big deal to me. I’m a believer in Revelation. On the site devoted to my book, The People of the Sign, I used the calendar date of 9/11 to write about the Divine Calendar – the one mentioned in the book of Genesis, which claims that God established time, and that He did so by organizing the sun, moon, earth and even the stars in such a way as to create a gigantic universal clock. A clock so powerful it could not only predict the future, but be used as a lens to make sense of today, in that light.

Einstein God's ThoughtsPi Day highlights a very important element in my personal search. Many who accept Revelation reject Science. This is a huge mistake. Einstein is arguably the worlds most famous scientist, and he famously stated “I want to know God’s thoughts – the rest are details”.  In my view, his contribution to understanding Time was one of his greatest. He also wrote “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”

My blog today is to appeal to my Scientific minded friends to reflect on the unquantifiable mystery of a simple circle, and the mix of knowledge and imagination needed to create great things. And while my Religious minded friends understand that God created man to know Him and to worship Him, they may not have understood that Science is simply one way in which many seek to do exactly that. Whether they recognize it or not at this point.

In time they will.

Davinci's ManIn the meantime, what is the width of your Circle? I like to use the Virtues to measure mine. That’s why I conclude each of my blogs with one.

For those who want to know the Science behind my use of Virtues Cards in blogging, I always pull the card after completing the blog, using the Virtue to reflect upon what I wrote. I love the serendipity of seeing what emerges. Today I was very pleased that it was Devotion.

“Devotion is commitment to something we care about deeply. It is a passionate focus on our life’s purpose… What is my ‘yes’? What calls me so strongly that I cannot resist, knowing that it is truly mine to do?” The card features the quote “Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground”.

Devotion

 

Sweden Recognizes a Palestinian State

Sweden Recognizes a Palestinian State

Sweden recognizes Palestinian StateFransson is a Swedish name and I’m proud of my Swedish Heritage.   I lived and went to school in Sweden as a child, and for years carried a Swedish Passport.  My love for the country and its people is great.  I’ve argued for decades about the superiority of Sweden’s “Middle Way”, in which they found fertile soil in the middle ground between polarized opposites.  Perhaps they are searching for their own true North, in announcing their recognition of a “Palestinian State”.  This time they’re leading in the wrong direction.

I am an ardent advocate for peace, but peace cannot come through double standards and false equivalencies.  I cannot imagine a clearer example of the dangerously confused double standard being applied in this case than Prime Minister Stefan Löfven’s statement about the decision: “The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution, negotiated in accordance with international law. A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful co-existence. Sweden will therefore recognize the state of Palestine.”

If peace depends on mutual recognition and a will to peaceful co-existence, Sweden must first demand this from any Palestinian entity prior to recognizing them.  How could Löfven possibly miss the the tragically ironic error in his own pronouncement?  Wrong Way on PalestineSee my recent blog about handling the truth for a perspective on how we blind ourselves to the obvious.  Perhaps the source of Löfven’s “Truth Handling” is confidence in Sweden’s 20th century role as alluded to in my opening paragraph – Sweden’s history of leading by living the role of pragmatic intermediary.

Regardless of intent, I believe the acceptance of, and open practice of double standards and false equivalencies on the International stage is destined to make matters worse, leading to more, not less, war and bloodshed.  Swedes don’t like to think of themselves this way, but sometimes the truth hurts.

What do you think?

If you would like to share your thoughts and join in friendly open dialogue with people who may or may not believe as you do, but who are open to exploring topics of political importance, such as the issue of Israel and Palestine, please accept my invitation to join The People of the Sign on facebook.  The discussion might challenge your current perspectives, which is something I hope you look forward to.

You Can’t Handle the Truth!

You Can’t Handle the Truth!

This statement immediately brings Jack Nicholson to mind, delivering that iconic line to Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men“.  It’s one of those grand-slam Hollywood moments that audiences sink their heart into, identifying with one side of a highly emotionalized issue.  I lived in Europe when this came out, at the time the Soviet Union was collapsing.  I had spent considerable time behind the Iron Curtain, and saw things against the stark “black and white” “us vs. them”  backdrop of the era.

Not only that, at the time I was a full-time Minister with The Worldwide Church of God, founded by Herbert W. Armstrong to preach the True Gospel of the Kingdom of God for the first time in 1900 years.  We had The Truth, and we were serving up truth – hot off the press – as a warning to a world that couldn’t handle it.

As you might imagine, I had a strong affinity to the emotive power of Jack’s statement.  As I watch it now, more than 20 years later, the segment seems hollow, artificial, contrived, and dated.  Is this due to time moving on, or is it because I’ve so completely changed my perspectivesYou can't handle the truth! on reality?  Probably a bit of both.  And while the Trilogy I’m in the process of completing, which started with The People of the Sign, covers my metamorphosis in detail, let me share the soundbite here.

The biggest problem with how I used to think was this idea that anyone could “have the truth”.  You can’t have, own, possess, the truth.  The truth is “out there”.  You can only seek to discover bits of it – to find those parts of it which resonate with you.

Sadly, things which are not true also often resonate with people.

Discerning the difference is key.  And I’ve come to see that focusing on the purity of our own heart is the only way to ensure we resonate with the truth, vs. the lie.  This is why the second volume in the trilogy is called The Hardness of the Heart.

Thinking we can “have the truth” leads to us doing what Nicholson did in the movie, the thing he claimed others couldn’t do.  He believed in his own ability to “handle the truth”.  We should not be so arrogant as to believe we can “handle the truth”.

Pinocchio

The word handle has a number of definitions all of which have to do with manipulating, controlling, managing, and even trading or conducting commerce.  In other words, if you think you can “handle the truth” you are most likely spending much of your time spinning it to assert your interpretation on the universe, rather than letting the universe inform you.  And to profit in some way from your efforts.  And you are likely deceiving yourself in the process.

As I finalize the draft of The Rod of Iron the third and final volume in my trilogy – scheduled for release this Spring, I’m focused on peer review, on listening to my editor, and on remembering the lessons imparted to me during my time in India, struggling with what I call my decade in a dead end, during which the universe began in earnest to prove to me that I was wrong.  That I didn’t “have the truth” and that while I believed myself capable of “handling it” the truth was that letting go of my preconceived ideas was the path towards the light.

My readers understand that this doesn’t mean throwing out babies with bathwater.  It entails carefully and prayerfully examining any and all evidence, and being open to what the data is revealing.  My understanding that God reveals Himself through both His Word and His Creation was a critical component in my decision to stop “handling the truth”.  Once I stopped spinning it, the true orientation of particles, molecules, celestial bodies and stars, Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise and HWA included, became more apparent.  Along with it, my own spin was able to be brought into better alignment with the truth.

If you’re ready to stop trying to handle the truth, and would like to join in open dialogue with people who may or may not believe as you do, but who are open to exploring Revelation together, whether it be the Word of God, or the kind the Universe provides, on a wide variety of topics, please accept my invitation to join The People of the Sign on facebook.

The discussions might make your head spin.  Which is something I hope you look forward to.What is your personal Spin?