 |
Vince
facilitated
discussions
about
the
self-inventories
that
each
of
us
filled
out
with
questions
such
as
what
made
us
happy
and
unhappy,
and
what
we
would
like
to
see
in
an
ideal
world.
The
consensus
was
that
each
of
us
would
like
a
peaceful
world,
but
we
had
different
ideas
of
the
values
that
needed
to
be
stressed
to
get
and
keep an
ideal
environment.
We
also
discussed
our
role
models,
which
happened
to
include
many
authors,
and
why
we
selected
them. |
|
Connie
spoke
about
Shamanism
and
her
work
with
Red
Crow,
her
spiritual
counselor
and
teacher. |
|
Norm
gave
out rubber
bracelets
that
said
"A
complaint
free
world,"
encouraging
us
to try
living
for
21
days
without
complaining,
because
complaints
are
from
hurts
inside
of
ourselves.
This
is
inspired
by
the
seminar
of
Gary
Zukav
that
he
attended
which
highlighted
the
work
of
a
local
Unity
Church
which
has
made
world-wide
news
with
its
campaign
to
freely
distribute
millions
of
complaint-free
bracelets.
(I
can't
remember
the
name
of
the
local
Unity
minister
who
initiated
this
program.) |
| We
explored
the
"Joy
of
Sects"
web
site
(www.joyofsects.com)
and
engaged
in
a
discussion
of
cosmogony
and
teleology
as
well
as
the
existence
of
god
in
general.
We
also
took
note
of
Roy
Blunt's
support
for
nuclear
war
advocate,
the
televangelist
John
Hagee.
Lastly,
we
discussed
the
Al
Sharpton
vs.
Christopher
Hitchens
debate
which
touched
upon
all
of
the
above. |
| We
briefly
discussed
NATO
expansion
and
the
treaty
implications
of
conflict
in
either
Estonia
or
Ukraine.
PowerPoint
maps
of
the
region
and
concerned
nations
were
used
to
guide
the
discussion. |
Iraq
War
Terms:
Asymmetric
Warfare
and
Bellum
omnium
contra
omnes
Cultural
Terms
of
the
Month:
Endogamy
and
Exogamy
Image
of
the
Month:
The
hand
with
a
wheel
on
the
palm
symbolizes
the
Jain
Vow
of
Ahimsa,
meaning
non-violence.
The
word
in
the
middle
is
"ahimsa."
The
wheel
represents
the
dharmacakra,
to
halt
the
cycle
of
reincarnation
through
relentless
pursuit
of
truth.
(Source:
Wikipedia
article
on
Jainism)
[NOTE:
The
Four
Pillars
of
the
Universal
Light
are
Truth,
Love,
Balance
and
Oneness.]
____________________________
A
previous
meeting
of
The
Milum
Philosophers™
was
Saturday,
April
14,
2007,
at
the
headquarters
of
the
Universal
Light
Institute.
In
light
of
the
recent
Don
Imus
controversy,
we
continued
our
colloquium
series
with
a discussion
regarding
free
speech
parameters.
Making
use
of
the
ULI
video
projection
system,
the
following
were
used
to
guide
our
discussion:
____________________________
A
previous
meeting
of
The
Milum
Philosophers™
was
Saturday,
March
17,
2007,
at
the
headquarters
of
the
Universal
Light
Institute.
Rusty
Norris
continued
our
colloquium
series
with
a
PowerPoint
presentation
on
Blackwater
USA
—
a
contractor
to
whom
much
of
the
defense
work
of
the
United
States
is
outsourced.
Following
Rusty's
presentation,
the
group
watched
the
film,
Bob
Roberts.
A
fictional
account
grounded
in
the
Israel-Iran-Contra
scandal,
the
narrative
of
Bob
Roberts
has
echoes
in
today's
military-industrial
entanglements.
____________________________
A
previous
meeting
of
The
Milum
Philosophers™
was
Saturday,
February
17,
2007,
at
the
headquarters
of
the
Universal
Light
Institute.
Lynn
Norris
led
the
group
in
a
spirit
circle
wherein
private
prayers
were
written
and
sealed.
Pat
Steece
collected
the
sealed
prayers
for
rendering
to
the
fires
of
aspiration.
Connie
Curts
initiated
our
colloquium
series
by
giving
a
formal
review
of
Jimmy
Carter's
book,
Palestine:
Peace
Not
Apartheid.
Connie's
presentation
included
time-progressed
maps
of
Palestine.
Programmed
reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_conscience
Excerpt
1:
"Freedom
of
thought...
is
the
matrix,
the
indispensable
condition,
of
nearly
every
other
form
of
freedom.
With
rare
aberrations
a
pervasive
recognition
of
this
truth
can
be
traced
in
our
history,
political
and
legal."
—
US
Supreme
Court
Justice
Benjamin
Cardozo
in
Palko
v.
Connecticut
(1937)
Excerpt
2:
"Everyone
has
the
right
to
freedom
of
thought,
conscience
and
religion;
this
right
includes
freedom
to
change
his
religion
or
belief,
and
freedom,
either
alone
or
in
community
with
others
and
in
public
or
private,
to
manifest
his
religion
or
belief
in
teaching,
practice,
worship
and
observance."
—
Universal
Declaration
of
Human
Rights
Article
18
Excerpt
3:
"The
Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis,
which
states
that
thought
is
inherently
embedded
in
language,
would
support
the
claim
that
an
effort
to
limit
the
use
of
words
of
language
is
actually
a
form
of
restricting
freedom
of
thought."
____________________________
A
previous
meeting
of
The
Milum
Philosophers™
was
Saturday,
January,
20,
2007,
at
the
headquarters
of
the
Universal
Light
Institute.
Part
of
the
evening
was
dedicated
to
a
focused
discussion
about
the
escalation
of
the
Iraq
War
(i.e.,
to
include
military
operations
against
Iran
and
Syria).
Included
in
the
program
were
numerous
PowerPoint,
Macromedia
Flash
and
YouTube
Video
presentations.
Current
Archive
2006
