Speaking The Truth

Hi. And good, whatever it might be, wherever you are. Welcome to Practicing Truth.

Today's Topic: Speaking The Truth

But first, let me credit today's featured music: I Won’t Back Down by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you take what I say as food for thought.

Have a fabulous day!

According to the Gun Violence Archive, 11,523 people have died from gun violence in the U.S. as of April 10, 2023. 398 of them were teens, and 71 were children. An average of roughly 115 deaths each day.

Although death by suicide made up about 57% of gun violence deaths, there were also 378 police-officer-involved shootings, 409 "unintentional" shootings, and 146 mass shootings where an assailant shot or killed four or more victims. 

This week we can add 4 killed and 32 injured at a "Sweet Sixteen" party in Alabama. A sixteen-year-old boy shot in Kansas after going to the wrong address. And a twenty-year-old woman shot dead in New York after a friend mistakenly pulled into the wrong driveway.

These numbers are outrageous! So, why aren't we outraged?

People are being killed everywhere. In their homes, at the mall, in grocery stores. No place is safe from someone angry because of some slight, a cause they want to publicize, or suffering from a mental breakdown or illness, shooting it up and killing people. But then, no place has ever been safe from that.

However, before 2008 we didn't suffer this level of killing because buying a gun was much more difficult. But that was before the Supreme Court made end runs around the constitutional amendment process with their rulings in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago cases.

Since these rulings, gun violence in America increased by 17% between 2009 and 2016. As of 2022, The United States has the highest level of gun violence among developed nations, with a gun homicide rate 26 times greater than its peer nations. It’s obvious, the connection between gun violence and easier access to guns is a problem. A serious problem!  But did the Supreme Court's rulings in the Heller and McDonald cases enable this bloodshed?

Yes!

Are there those who are willing to deny it?

Absolutely!

In his 1895 book The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, Gustave Le Bon made the following observation:

"The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim!

I speak the truth here, of seeking and accepting the truth. And applying it to your life. And though what I say here falls, mainly, on ears, inclined to reject the truth. Ears that are attuned to deception. And minds that are open to illusion.

You can rest assured; I will not stop!

Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

Letting Go

Hi. And good, whatever it might be, wherever you are. Welcome to Practicing Truth.

Today's Topic: Letting Go

But first, let me credit today's featured music: Better In Time by Leona Lewis.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you take what I say as food for thought.

Have a fabulous day!

Regardless of our race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or socioeconomic background, we all seek the acceptance of others. For the work we do, the goals we accomplish, the help we give, and simply for being who we are.

We are social beings. And have a need to belong. Sometimes to our detriment. One of the most demanding challenges for us is leaving a long-term relationship. Even those that are highly toxic. And not only personal relationships. But other types as well. Unequal social involvements, strained family relations, and poor job conditions. Among many others.

Social acceptance comforts us. And gives our lives meaning. So, to sustain it, we sometimes allow it to control us. To mire us in situations we really don't want to be a part of. To keep us in bondage… without chains!

Social interaction with other people is a basic need. But not at all costs!

As adults, we control our social situation. What we do and who we do it with are choices we make. No matter how much we love someone. No matter our financial needs. If the person we love harms us and our workplace is hostile, we do not have to remain in that situation. We can let it go! Move on. And create a better circumstance.

Easier said than done, Adam. I can't help how I feel about someone. And jobs don't grow on trees!

Difficult? Yes!

However, you are in control of how you feel about someone. You can walk away from a harmful situation the moment it becomes dangerous. But many choose to remain until the relationship becomes untenable. If you can decide to leave after being battered and bruised, you could have decided to move on long before that happened. And though jobs don't grow on trees, there are many available. With the proper skill set, another situation you control, you can find a job that pays a living wage!

Let go of that which is harming you! Whatever it is. Family, friends, employers, abusive lovers… take control of your life!

You only get one.

Live it as positively and as responsibly as you possibly can!

Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

Pretense

Hi. And good, whatever it might be, wherever you are. Welcome to Practicing Truth.

Today's Topic: Pretense

But first, let me credit today's featured music: Complicated by Avril Lavigne.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you take what I say as food for thought.

Have a fabulous day!

So many, nowadays, pretend to be something they are not. Successful!

Some pretend to be entrepreneurs. And claim to earn hundreds of thousands annually as consultants, life coaches, spiritual guides, or that they are the CEO of some business in which they have no proven expertise. Some run scams. Of all kinds. Trying to steal money from those who are gullible enough to fall for their schemes. While others fake it until they make it. Using the money they earn from their current job to dress the part of the job to which they aspire. Most… don't make it! But even so, until the bitter end, they keep pretending they did.

So, why all the subterfuge? The pretense? Why pretend when there is a clear path to what we aspire to? Social and economic disadvantages? Maybe. But how does that explain why many who started financially disadvantaged became successful businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and CEOs? Of reputable companies. If they did it, why couldn't those who pretend to hold those positions do it?

Why didn't those who pretend to hold those positions… do it?

It's one of those things that makes you go, hmm.

I'm sure that among them, the reasons are myriad! However, I submit they didn't become what they are pretending to be because they did not do the work required to achieve it. It's a fundamental requirement of the reality we share. Someone's labor, our own or someone else's, must pay for what we gain!

Some spend most of their lives avoiding that fact. Only to spend their senior years on a small fixed income living in government-subsidized housing.

Now, I'm not trying to embarrass anyone. Nor am I looking down on people with small incomes living in subsidized housing. Government or otherwise. What I am saying is that to build quality lives or to improve our lives, we must do the work required of us. If we don't, we will not have the things we want. It's pretty simple.

Life, in some ways, is like a poker game. After all the bluffing, after all the… trash-talking. When called, you must show your hand! And therein lies the truth!

Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

At What Cost Our Apathy?

Hi. And good, whatever it might be, wherever you are. Welcome to Practicing Truth.

Today's Topic: At What Cost Our Apathy?

But first, let me credit today's featured music: Everybody Wants to Rule The World by Tears For Fears.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you take what I say as food for thought.

Have a fabulous day!

I wonder if it has occurred to Donald Trump's supporters that if the former president cared about the principles, values, and ideals emphasized in America's founding documents, he would not have lied about the election results and, instead, ensured a peaceful transfer of power. And if he cared about uniting the country, and its laws, he would not be calling for protests to prevent his arrest; he would fight the Manhattan district attorney's charges in court.

However, based on Trump's actions, one can reasonably conclude that what Donald Trump cares about is Donald Trump. And that he is more than willing to prod the more gullible of his supporters to violence to protect him rather than the country they claim to love.

So, what is the attraction? Why are so many willing to protect and defend a proven liar instead of America's best interest? More importantly, why are so many apathetic about it?

Well… as absurd as it may seem to many, some believe that a secret society called the New World Order controls the world. That.no matter what we do, vote, not vote, write or call our representatives, take part in protests, nothing will change. That the people who run the world will get their way no matter what. So, why bother?

Like, the adage about paranoia, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there's not someone out to get you," has truth. Likewise, the belief that high-ranking people, in and out of government, are trying to control our lives also holds truth. In America, some have organized groups that lobby their representatives to get more than their share. Force their religious or secular beliefs on the rest of us. And limit the rights of others while enhancing their own.

So, yes, it's true! People are trying to control our lives. And some have become very effective at pressuring politicians to enact laws, based on their beliefs, that affect us all. Like, less gun control and more restrictions on abortion. But are they part of a New World Order plotting a totalitarian world government? Most likely not! They're your neighbors, friends, and coworkers. Religious leaders, political representatives, and random people you encounter every day. They are some of you who are listening right now.

The people who support Donald Trump are not just stereotypical uninformed white racists. They are a portrait of the American people.

And it is the same for those who don't support Donald Trump. They, too, are a portrait of America. They are the people who say America belongs to all its citizens. Who assert they're willing to share it. And claim to want justice and equality for all. Unfortunately, however, most take no action toward that end. And instead, sit idle as a vociferous and politically active minority attacks their constitutional rights.

How much more right-wing ideological destruction are we willing to endure before we demand that our representatives act on our behalf and enact responsible gun control legislation? When will we address and fix the weaknesses in our illusionary system of checks and balances? Weaknesses, by the way, that Donald Trump's presidency exposed. Such as, what is the role of the U.S. Attorney General? Is it to act as the president's attorney? Can presidents pardon themselves? Should there be a term limit for Supreme Court Justices? And many others. These are serious issues. We have serious social issues. But we continue to allow ourselves to be distracted by lifestyle issues. What sexual preference a person might have? Those type things.

Although we have yet to do so, if we ever will, we cannot continue as we have and expect that our republic will ever realize the principles, values, and ideals it aspires to in its founding documents.

So, I ask. At what cost our apathy?

Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved. 

Reality (The way I understand it)

Good Morning. And good, whatever it might be, wherever you are. Welcome to Practicing Truth. Today's topic: Reality The way I understand it.

But first, let me credit today's featured music. This Is Me by The Greatest Showman Cast.

Thanks for stopping by.

I hope you take what I say as food for thought. Have a Fabulous day!

There is only God.

I am to love God with all my heart, with all my mind, and with all my being. However, before I can do so, I must first love myself, the humanness of other people, and the Inherent Divinity within all God has created in the same manner.                                                     

God is innate to creation. An integral aspect of creation's composition. Inherent, through Divine Essence, within all God has caused to exist. Thereby, God and God's creation are never separate. Therefore, I can communicate with God without an intermediary.

Now, that God exists, and created all that we know and do not know, are beliefs. I can't show evidence of them. Nor can I prove God is inherent within all God has caused to exist. However, though I cannot prove God's existence to anyone else, I know God exists through the experience of receiving the inherent guidance of God's Divine Essence within.

I hear God's Divine Essence daily. Guiding me toward the most favorable outcome for myself, other people, and my current environment.

But, you know, it's not for me to prove God is inherent within you. I cannot. I can only acknowledge and accept God's inherent presence within me.

It is this reality in which God has created me that I'm to focus my concern. And my responsibility is to live the life God has given me in accordance with the Divine Law, and the laws that govern the society in which I live. I am to respect and treat others as I would myself. And live my life as positively and as responsibly as I possibly can.

Death is the end of life in this reality. What happens after death is unknown and unknowable. And therefore, not my concern.

The Philosophy of the Divine law is not about what happens after death. Instead, it is an action philosophy about life and how to live it productively.

It does not seek believers. But doers!

The philosophy teaches that everything we will ever need to build quality and successful lives is already available to us in this reality. And though I cannot prove it, I believe God provided it. However, regardless of how it got here, it's here. And available to us all.

And though we should always be thankful for what God has provided, we do not have to fall on our knees, prostrate ourselves like beggars, to ask God for anything. If we lack, it is because, through action or inaction, we have created our lack. And we can see that. Just, just look around.

Seeking and accepting the truth of our shared reality directly relates to whether we will succeed or fail to build a quality life. Along with recognizing that every desire we have. And every goal. Requires effort and labor, whether ours or someone else's. God gives us nothing. But has provided us with everything! Our task is to meet its requirements.

There is a clear path to everything we desire and to all our goals. Right here in this reality. The cosmos or a deity has nothing to do with what we achieve. We do! Within the details of anything you gain or call a blessing, you will find the absence of cosmic intervention or a deity and the presence of your or someone else's labor. Facts!

Believe as you will. Do as you will. The choices you make are yours to make. However, never forget that your choices determine the quality of your life!

Want to know more? Check us out at beyondtherituals.com.

Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

The War On Being Woke

Good Morning. And good, whatever it might be, wherever you are. Welcome to Practicing Truth.

Today’s subject: The war on being woke.

But first, let me credit the music: Wake Up Everybody by Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you take what I say as food for thought.

Have a fabulous day!

The wealth of a nation does not sit in bank vaults, printed in denominations of one, five, ten, twenty, fifty, and one hundred. Or reflected by the numbers that swiftly scroll across video displays announcing the value of its stocks and bonds. Nor is it held in the safes, deeds of property, and futures investments of its wealthiest citizens. Instead, the wealth of a nation is its children. Which, when properly nurtured, will yield a more lucrative return than all other investments combined.

A nation’s children build on its past and lay the foundation for its future. Theirs are the voices that will outline and debate its future policies, the hands that will sign them into law, and the faces its citizens will praise or blame when those policies succeed or fail. A nation that does not sufficiently attend to the health, welfare, and needs of its children, or does not protect them from harm, is a nation whose future existence is in jeopardy!

Banning books, which has become all the rage, altering and repressing history, and sheltering our children in religious schools, do not protect them from the reality in which we live. The racism, bigotry, and injustice many people experience in their lives daily. It only keeps them ignorant of it. Unaware of the challenges we, as a nation, should be positively addressing and attempting to overcome.

What we do not teach our children when they are young, about our history, dooms them to repeat the mistakes our republic has made in the past. The near genocide of America’s indigenous people. And the destruction of their way of life. Slavery. And the denial of human rights to its Black citizens after slavery. As well as the suppression of equal rights to its female citizens.

What they don’t know harms them and hurts us all. Children are resilient. And as uncomfortable as the truth might make them, lies and withholding the truth cripple them and stifle their ability to think critically.

Knowledge is the enemy of ignorance. It allows us to recognize when someone is lying. It encourages us to question our teachers, politicians, and religious leaders. Even our most sacred texts.

The war, Evangelical Christian churches, white nationalists, and other right-wing organizations lobby their Republican representatives to wage against teaching political and social awareness in our schools; what they call “Wokeness” is not to protect our children, but to keep them ignorant and unaware.

But why? What is the profit in our children being unaware? The payoff in keeping our children in darkness? Why do it?

Well… because for Evangelicals and other groups, sharing America equally with all its citizens means losing control of what they believe to be their country. And allowing their children to learn the unadulterated truth about their country might encourage them to want to change it. To share it. With all its citizens!

And… they can’t have that. Right?

Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

In Silent Disregard

Good morning. And good, whatever it might be, wherever you are. Welcome to Practicing Truth. Today's topic: Silent Disregard. But what is silent disregard? And is it a good thing or a bad thing? The Philosophy of the Divine Law defines silent disregard as knowing but denying the truth and willfully accepting lies or unproven beliefs to get what one wants or to further an agenda.

But first, let me credit the music. The Look of Slim by Monk Higgins. 

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you take what I say as food for thought. Have a fabulous day!

When we want what we want, most of us will go to great lengths to get it. Some will do almost anything. Lie, cheat, steal. But ironically, sometimes, when we get what we want, it's not worth all the effort we spend to get it. In fact, sometimes, getting what we want does us more harm than good.

Like buying a car when your credit is bad. Sure, you can find a dealership that will sell you a car. Even one that will come close to the monthly payment you want. But the interest rate. Oh, my! It's going to be high. But still, some would call it a "blessing" that they could buy a car, regardless of the interest rate. And don't bother. You won't convince them otherwise.

When it comes to the truth of a matter, especially when fact contradicts what some want to believe, some treat the truth with silent disregard. They know what the truth is. But simply ignore it.

That the universe and all it comprises somehow came into being is a fact. We're here. We're a part of it. It's the truth of the reality in which we live. However, that a being created the universe, and all it contains, is a belief. And nothing more than pure speculation. Totally unprovable. But many hold that premise. And most hold it in higher regard than the former.

The Philosophy of the Divine Law holds that God created all we know and all we do not know. However, it also clarifies that it cannot support that belief. That no one knows how or what created the universe.

It's in silent disregard for the truth that we hold all our beliefs!

In most cases, the truth is readily available to us. So all that's left is for us to accept it. However, tradition, indoctrination, fear of being ostracized, and myriad other reasons, prevent us from openly doing so.

Some stand silent. Even when being open and vocal might lead to a positive outcome in a crucial situation. Why? What is it they want to protect? Lies?

So, why is this important? Why am I talking about this?

Well, because times have changed.

Over millennia, in our effort to control each other, we have created thousands of religions. Fought countless wars. Committed unknown numbers of genocide and other atrocities. The history of humankind's inhumanity to humankind is a blood-soaked tome of unimaginable cruelty.

But until this here and this now, humankind's growth and development in thinking and technology did not allow us the ability to totally eradicate ourselves. To, in our recklessness, destroy all human life. Or create an ecological environment in which we cannot survive.

We can do that now. The people we put in power. Those we give permission to decide for us. Domestically and internationally. Have it in their authority to involve us in anything they want. By voting for them, we told them they could. So, why don't we choose them more carefully? Why don't we choose from among us the best people for the job? Regardless of race, gender, religious affiliation, and sexual preference?

That Joe Biden stole the last presidential election is a lie!

Created by a sore loser, whose vanity and bruised ego are more important to him than the American Republic's principles, values, and stability.

During his deposition in the 1.6 billion dollar lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch, when asked about whether he knew that some of the network's commentators — Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro, and Sean Hannity — endorsed the false election claims, Murdoch replied, "Yes. They endorsed."

Yet, in silent disregard, many of Donald Trump's supporters have ignored Murdoch's admission, the January 6 Commission findings, and all other facts regarding Donald Trump's behavior in office. And would, presumably, return him to the presidency!

So, I'm talking about this because it is important to recognize that thinking and behavior of this type represent our current reality. And that it is also essential that we understand that if we continue this type of thinking, we're going to destroy ourselves. No one is coming to save us!

Salvation is not favor given by a merciful god. It is the ability provided within the Divine Law's tenets: loving each other, respecting each other, seeking the truth, and living positive and responsible lives, that enables us to overcome the constant threat that lives in the shadows of human behavior. Our recklessness! 

Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

The Scope of Our Responsibility

Stop restricting yourself. Live naturally. As positively, loving, and beautifully as you can. When we force ourselves to live unnaturally, we waste our lives combating our natural inclinations. Then, having convinced ourselves that what is natural to us is sinful, we undeservedly punish ourselves.

~The Philosophy of the Divine Law 

Good morning. And good, whatever it might be, wherever you are. Welcome to Practicing Truth.

But first, let me credit the music: Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology) by Marvin Gaye

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you take what I say as food for thought.

Have a fabulous day! 

There is so much we can know and learn when we step outside our beliefs and think beyond them. We find a new world. Fresh and challenging. Another insight. We more readily engage with others who do not believe as we do, without criticism or judgment, but with thoughtful contemplation. Exposing ourselves to a more accurate, diverse, and proven understanding of our shared reality.

Cloistered, within our beliefs, we restrict ourselves. Stifle thoughts contrary to what our belief system has taught us. Embrace only that which supports the narrative of our limited understanding. And ostracize those who do not believe as we do. Further reducing our knowledge, experience, and understanding of the reality in which we live.

Why do we hold on to beliefs that limit us? That encourages us to believe that our beliefs are not just the right way, but the only way? When we can clearly see there are myriad other ways? How many people do we reject, never bothering to listen or even trying to understand their point of view because they do not believe as we do?

How often have we asked, what does what is happening in, fill in the blank, have to do with me? Why should I be concerned? Why should our country get involved? We’ve got our own problems.

But, living in this reality is not only about us and what we think or believe; it’s about all of us. Isn’t it?

Our obligations are not only to ourselves, our families, and our belief system. Outside of those, we are also obligated to the rest of the world. Our responsibility is to prevent humankind’s social destruction and the ecological devastation of our planet. We ignore that responsibility at our peril. And yet, we do.

Adam. Seriously? Do you expect me to concern myself with the world’s problems? I’m busy! Every day, I have to navigate my own issues. Job problems, family problems, relationship problems, and on and on and on ad infinitum. Who’s got time for the rest of the world?

Mass shootings, police misconduct, ineffective government, and rising rent. In our country. And on top of all that, I still have bills to pay!

I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but… dude!

I hear you. And what you’re saying is valid. But it doesn’t change our obligation to the world’s situation. So, you’d better hear me, as well. And instead of limiting the scope of your point of view, expand it to encompass all your obligations!

Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

A Change In Consciousness

Good morning. And good, whatever it might be, wherever you are.

Welcome to Practicing Truth. But first, let me credit the music. Man in the Mirror, by Michael Jackson. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you take what I say as food for thought. Have a Fabulous day!

What we believe is volumes more than what we know. And though unprovable, in order of importance, held in higher esteem. Whether secular or religious, our beliefs control what we think. How we act toward each other. Who we follow and who we reject. Our beliefs both unite and separate us. Strengthen and weaken us. Lead us to seek peace and compel us to go to war. We are bound by them, regardless of their relationship to reality.

How many families have let differences in their religious beliefs divide them? Estranging parents from their children? Turning siblings against each other? How many have died, both fighters and the innocent, in wars to promote one religion over another? All without proof of what they claim.

That which divides us cannot strengthen us. And cannot be of a god who loves us, no matter the god in which one believes.

We have but to look around us to see what the division inherent in our beliefs has wrought. Social division, political corruption, violence, and injustice. We should be long past times when rival tribes fought wars to determine whose god or gods were more powerful. And we certainly should have long since understood that the stories in some religious texts, where gods vociferously demand annihilating one group of people to give their land to another, are but anecdotal tales.

Yet, while we continue to hold on to these beliefs and, generation after generation, pass them on to our children, Somehow, we still wonder why things are as they are.

So, what can we do?

Unsurprisingly, effecting a solution is easier said than done. And most will say there is no solution or it cannot be done. However, whatever we might accomplish, we must recognize that knowledge and truth are much more powerful than belief. And that the truth is not a claim. It is a fact relative to the reality we share. And available to us all.

Although all have a right to what they believe, whether secular or religious, we must stop giving groups with unsubstantiated claims credence and special privileges. The rights of a nation’s people should be equal for all. But, as I stated earlier, it is easier said than done.

For humanity to contemplate what I propose, which are only initial actions, monolithically, humankind would have to attain a level of consciousness we have yet to achieve. Not that we cannot reach that type of consciousness, but that the millennia we have spent fearing the gods we worship stifle our thinking and keep our minds in bondage. Therefore, our first actions must be to overcome our fears, step outside our beliefs, and embrace the truth we know.

Yes, let’s start there!

Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

Empowerment and Control

Welcome to Practicing Truth. Unfortunately, you're going to have to deal with my voice; I'm still a bit under the weather.

But first, let me credit the music. Control by Zoe Wees. Thank you for stopping by. I hope you take what I say as food for thought. Have a fabulous day!

You are in control of the decisions you make at every moment in time. Deciding what will and will not happen and who will and will not be in your life. No matter the relationship, the situation, or the amount of someone else's influence, yours is the final word.

Now, don't mishear me. I'm not saying that you control everything that happens in your life. You don't. But you are in control of the decisions you make. And it's the decisions you make that determine the quality of your life.

So, why doesn't it seem that way? Why does it seem that you mainly cater to someone else's needs and desires? That you tend to someone else's life more than you tend to your own? Think about their needs before your own?

Well, let's examine that. But first, I want to clarify that I'm not talking about a parent's responsibility for their child. I'm talking about the responsibilities we take on when we enter relationships. And I also want you to understand that I'm speaking from a Western societal perspective. Where the rights of men and women are, at least in theory, equal. Along with the opportunity to create the life one desires.

So, why doesn't it seem that we control our lives? That the needs of others seem to burden us more than our own?

Primarily, and many of you might disagree, it is because our parents, primary caregivers, social systems, and religious institutions have taught most of us we must cede control of our lives to that other than ourselves. To the needs of our society. The deity we believe in. The religion that worships that deity, and many others.

So, first, our parents or primary caregivers teach us what their parents or primary caregivers taught them. What they believe. Then they take us to the places that inculcated their beliefs and allow them to indoctrinate us with what will become ours.

Places that caution us to not be selfish and to first consider the needs of others. Rarely explaining that to be selfish is not wrong, but to be concerned with one's self-interest. That it's the conceited love of self that we must avoid.

Places that teach us to fall to our knees when we need help. That we are not in control. Their god is! We're just along for the ride. And over time, we accept what they're saying; and, later, teach it to our children as well.

But we don't have to ask God for anything! God has already provided everything we will ever need, including the ability to control ourselves!

Empowerment and control of your life begin with recognizing that no matter the stimuli, the final decision to do or not do is yours. And that regardless of the consequences, you never relinquish the power to say yes or no.

However, to become empowered, you must first know who you are. What you stand for. And to know that, you must establish principles. Solid principles that you live by. No matter what.

Empowerment is knowing the truth. Therefore, you must seek and accept the truth no matter where you find it. No matter its bearer. No matter its bearer's agenda. The truth is the truth, regardless of who says it. Consequently, then, when the truth is contrary to what others have taught you, the truth must win!

When you know who you are and have established the principles you live by, you can more easily determine the type of people you want to allow to share your life. People who complement and positively add to your life. People who hold many of the same values. Who act in your best interest and help strengthen you. This is empowerment. This is within your control. They are based on the decisions you make. And you are always in control of those.

Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

Relationships, Why Won’t The Stars Align?

Good morning. And good, whatever it might be, wherever you are. Welcome to Practicing Truth.

Before I get started, let me credit the music. Someone Like You, by Danielle Ponder. Thank you for stopping by.

I hope you take what I say as food for thought. Have a fabulous day!

Some dream of that special someone and wait much of their lives for them to come along and sweep them off their feet. Someone to love, trust, and share with. Someone who will love them in the way they want to be loved. But then, after they've found that person, they soon find themselves unsatisfied. Everything not what they wanted or thought it was going to be. So the relationship slowly unravels, and no matter the compromise on both sides, the result and the dream pale in comparison.

So, what happened? Why didn't things work out? In fact, why do things always seem to not work out?

You ask, is it me? Are my expectations too high? Unrealistic? Possibly. But most conclude that it was the other person. They misrepresented themselves. Lied. And over time, some become cynical. There's no one for me. No one I can trust. No one to love me like I want to be loved. All, and fill in the blank here, are the same!

But they're not. Some are bad, some are good, some are indifferent, and some are better suited than others. However, none are perfect! And neither are we.

Angels don't custom-make relationships in heaven. Specially designing one person to complement another. We build relationships. Here, on Earth. And though many think relationships begin with attraction and love, they actually start, with personal growth and development. Maturity. Understanding one's self. And recognizing one's own needs in the needs of another.

They continue with vetting, patience, not ignoring warning signs, and paying attention to detail. Attraction and love are but aspects of the foundation of a relationship. To be built upon. Neither together nor alone can either sustain the long-term challenges a relationship might encounter.

To survive, relationships require more than attraction. More than love. They require trust, devotion, teamwork, and a willingness to allow compromises wherein each maintains their dignity. They require the removal of pedestals and a concerted effort to achieve equality, regardless of income or position.

Long-term relationships are like a block of clay. Unformed. And then, over time, with a positive vision and concerted effort transformed into the reality we dreamed it would be.

Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

Be The Baker!

Welcome to Practicing Truth!

Newsflash! If you’re not taking your life seriously, more than likely, neither is anyone else. That’s not to say there aren’t those who want to control your life. There are. Therefore, you must protect it. The Game of Life is a board game. Your life, however, is not a game. It’s serious business. You only get one. So be careful what you do with it.

No matter the trauma you’ve endured, if you’re still here, you’ve survived it. However, don’t misunderstand. I’m not telling you to get over it. I’m saying you’ve come through it. Address it. Get counseling or whatever you need to learn to cope with its aftermath. But don’t continue to re-live it!

Live responsibly. Know what you want. Set definite goals and do what they require of you to achieve them. Address your weaknesses. Don’t procrastinate!

The decisions you make determine the quality of your life. Quality decisions, quality life. Poor decisions… well, you get the picture. When it comes down to it, our lives are what they are because of the choices we’ve made. It’s not so much that we made bad choices but that we could have made better choices!

Therefore, weigh each decision carefully. Do any research required. Then, once you’re well-informed, take action!

I want to say, “You’ve got this!” But I don’t run a sugar-coating factory. So, if you haven’t done what’s required, you don’t! And until you do what is required, you won’t!

The Philosophy of the Divine Law holds that God has already provided everything we will ever need to build a positive and prosperous life. Regardless of our character, religion, philosophy, or beliefs. And asserts that what God has provided is available to us all. The pious, the atheist, and the indifferent. There are no “Chosen People.” No one singled out for an extra helping of God’s favor. If we lack, it is because, through action or inaction, we’ve created our lack.

Everything within the abundance God has provided has requirements we must satisfy before attaining them. Some require individual effort; others do not. While it takes personal effort to learn a skill or earn a degree, someone else might pay our bills, provide us with shelter, or in other ways, subsidize our lives. But one of the primary principles of this reality is that someone’s labor has to pay for the bread we receive. Even if it’s the baker!

So, to ensure you get what you want in life, do that which is required. My advice? Be the baker!

Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

Who’s Going To Save Me?

(Music Credit: You’ll Alway Be My Baby by Mariah Carey)

You’re wounded, but you linger on

Everyone you know says you’ve got this.

 But you’ve got to be strong. You go along just to get along,

but you’re thinking, they all must be crazy!

How the hell am I gonna be strong?

Spending the rest of my life alone?

But you smile, and they move on… 

And you wonder who’s, who’s gonna save me?

Life’s a bitch, with your strong face on

No one’s the wiser that you cry all night long

They shower you with hugs and praises, but

You’re thinking, they all must be crazy!

I’m just shuffling along.

Why the hell do they think I’m strong?

But you smile, and they move on… 

And you wonder, who’s going to save me?

Then one day, the light comes on

And you realize you really are strong

You’re thanking those who helped you

with the words, they’ve been saying all along

and they’re thinking, you must be crazy!

And now you’re moving on

Comfortable facing life alone      

Thinking no matter what or who in life shakes me

I’m the one who’s going to save me!

Thanks, for listening.

© 2023 Beyond the Rituals

The State of the Dream

One of the social rules most parents teach their children early in life is to share. Share your toys, share your snacks, share the crayons, and the swing at the playground. At a very young age, most children learn that sharing is how people show they care about each other.

But then, as we age into our teen years and adulthood, something changes. We stop sharing with others as much as we did before. Instead, sharing becomes something we mostly do with the people we know and love. Friends, coworkers, family.

We become more tribal, and some endeavor to deny the rights, they enjoy, to others. Whether based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and any other labels they don’t like.

You don’t have to dig deep into the laws of most countries to find legislation that either favors one group over another or attempts to rectify past wrongs the group in power has done to a minority. In America, civil rights legislation is a glaring example of people’s unwillingness to share.

Today, many celebrate the birth of a man who spent the latter part of his life fighting for equal rights for all. The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. Whose “I Have a Dream” speech still reverberates in the hearts and minds of those who yearn to live free of legal discrimination. Not only in America, but around the world.

I ask you. Almost sixty years later, what is the state of Martin Luther King Jr’s dream in America today? The day we celebrate his birthday. Is it a reality, or is it still a dream?

We have integrated schools. Integrated lunch counters. But are we an integrated people sharing equally in America’s rights and freedoms?

Whether you agreed with his politics or his methods, have we achieved the core message he outlined at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on that fateful August day in 1963? Which was, if our republic is to survive, we must share it. And ensure freedom, equality, and justice for all.

Just something to reflect on. Thanks for listening.

© 2023 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

The Do-Over

When did the truth lose its stature in American society?

Unfortunately, I can't seem to put my finger on exactly when. All I can say is it's been a while.

Committed a crime? Accuse the police, FBI, or whichever agency conducted the search of your property of planting evidence.

Lost your bid for election or reelection? Simple, accuse anyone involved in running the election of rigging it.

No worries, your support base will back your accusations with all the fervor they can muster. No matter how outlandish your claims are.

Why? Because in America, the truth no longer matters. Power does.

Remaining in power, holding on to power, or being near power is all that matters.

Fairness? Equal justice under the law? Ideals of a bygone era.

Accommodating lies? All the rage!

Power corrupts. Even the Christian church has stumbled. Trading their morals and ethics for an extra helping of unneeded rights and a Supreme Court majority of conservative justices.

And like hamsters on wheels, running hard and long to nowhere, most Americans, distracted by clicking "Like" on endless cat videos and TikTok shorts, plod aimlessly along in the mire created by the media's never-ending cash cows of reality shows and faux journalism masquerading as news. Oblivious to the many dangers threatening the republic.

Lost in the din and confusion of disinformation, misinformation, and conspiracy theories, are the voices of reason, honor, integrity, and truth!

It would do us well to remember the admonitions of the robot in the sixties series "Lost In Space." Warning. Warning. Danger, America, danger!

That so many of its citizens would destroy America out of misguided fidelity to a philanderer, adulterer, and proven habitual liar is a phenomenon that will forever fuel scholarly debate. That the truth, no matter how plentiful, could not sway them is a mystery that will generate psychological studies for generations.

What's ironic is they are the people who adopted the slogan "Make America Great Again." Yet, they are trying to dismantle America's system of government and its long-held, if not always followed, mores and ideals. Hoping to replace them with laws and policies based on archaic religious principles that will give them an unfair advantage and keep them in power.

Because many have lost trust in the "American way." Disappointed by politicians who favor their party over the country; Supreme Court rulings that have upended the idea and stability of settled law; and the inability of the federal government to prosecute high-level officials who have broken the law. Most think there's nothing they can do to stop them.

Most Americans don't realize that what is happening is not new. Instead, it is the culmination of the do-over some in America have wanted since Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. Given a voice by the president they overwhelmingly helped to elect in 2016, they would rather destroy America than share it with others.

We'd like to know your thoughts on the matter. Take a moment. Let us know what you think in the comments section.

© 2022 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

The Truth Is Not Enough

When I was a child, I loved Greek Mythology. The stories about the gods, goddesses, titans, and heroes fueled my imagination and entertained me for hours. I can’t remember how or where I got it, but when I was around nine or ten, I had a book about the Greek hero Theseus I took everywhere. It was my prized possession!

But, unfortunately, I left it on my school’s playground after playing with some of my friends, and by the time I remembered it and went back to get it, someone had taken it. I never saw it again. I was sad about it, and for a long time, even longed for it. It was like losing a very close friend.

However, although I thoroughly enjoyed every story. And had often imagined that I was Theseus; I never believed the stories were real. That they had actually happened. They were always stories. This is the reason I don’t understand why people think religious mythology happened. That two people populated the world, that a serpent and an ass talked, and a man lost his strength because someone cut his hair, among many other myths. I find it difficult to believe people who claim to believe these things don’t know better.

So, what’s going on? Why do people accept mythology, superstition, and mysticism instead of seeking and accepting the truth? What is it about religious beliefs that people are afraid to challenge them? Even when facts have proven them wrong.

Some would find it offensive if I told them I don’t thank God for waking me up every morning. Because the truth is, God doesn’t. My brain’s reticular activating system does.

And if I explained that even for a god, waking eight billion people at all times of the day and waking all the animals, birds, spiders, reptiles, and other creatures that sleep, day in and day out, would be highly inefficient; many would bend themselves into pretzels trying to explain why, for their god, it wouldn’t be. They would fall on their swords to defend their beliefs. No matter how absurd.

Religious indoctrination has affected some to where the truth is not enough. In their minds, there has to be something more. Even when there isn’t. And sometimes, in searching for the more they need, people become susceptible to lies, misinformation, conspiracy theories, and pseudo-religious mumbo jumbo.

Alienating themselves from family and friends, they meet others with like minds and join groups with beliefs ranging from the plausible to the bizarre. And some, infused with nationalist-styled patriotism and convinced that their group is all that stands between losing America and saving it, vote and give financial support to politicians and political parties that influence the passage of legislation that furthers their agendas. Legislation that affects us all.

Overturning Roe vs. Wade; striking down a Maine law that blocked taxpayer dollars from funding religious school tuition, and their support of a former high school football coach who lost his job for praying at the 50-yard line after games, are but the tip, of the Supreme Court’s abandonment of the Establishment Clause, iceberg.

The obvious question, then, is now that the Supreme Court has unabashedly revealed itself to be pro-Christian, specifically, pro-white nationalist Christian, where does that leave the rest of America?

The short answer is, if the rest of America does not soon recognize that our system of “checks and balances” is an illusion. And take action before America First, Christian dominionists, and other white nationalist Christian groups can implement agendas that will forever change America’s balance of power; and, in effect, the rights and freedoms of every American citizen. We will lose our Republic.

And though many of you might think I’m an alarmist or hysterical, I am neither. What I am is blunt. What I am offering is the truth. However, I’ll leave it to you to decide whether the truth is enough.

We’d like to know your thoughts on the matter. Take a moment. And let us know what you think in the comments section.

© 2022 Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

Purposely Looking Away

Very few will admit that someone has been smart enough to fool them. That they had been gullible and believed what most would have recognized as a scam. Especially when they had gone all-in and bought the deluxe package. Better to live with the loss than with the shame and ridicule of others.

The dynamic changes, however, when the con is a cause and fools millions of others. Among like-minded believers swept up in patriotism and the belief that theirs is a righteous crusade sanctioned by God; feeding on the group's energy and every word of its leader, one doesn't feel gullible, but invincible. And to recognize and admit that one is the victim of a con, is almost impossible!

Such a person was Jason Van Tatenhove, a former spokesperson for the Oath Keepers. A group, he described in his testimony to the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, as a violent militia and a threat to democracy. Addressing the group's vision for America, Van Tatenhove said:

"I think we saw a glimpse of the vision of what the Oath Keepers is on January 6. It doesn't necessarily include the rule of law. It includes violence. It includes trying to get their way through lies, through deceit, through intimidation, and through the perpetration of violence."

Van Tatenhove added that groups like the Oath Keepers thrive on using lies, rhetoric, and propaganda to sway people. And those who may not know any better can get swept up in the moment. Admitting that at some point, the group had swept him up as well.

However, Van Tatenhove is a rarity. Offended by the Oath Keepers' denial of the Holocaust, he left the group in 2018. But for many in the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, and other radical right-wing groups, the long trudge into darkness, fueled by denial and deceit, continues.

With the seven public hearings it has aired, the House Committee has exposed the rally in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, for what it really was. An orchestrated, violent attack to mask an attempted coup to keep Donald Trump, the losing candidate, in office. But most of Trump's supporters haven't seen the January 6 hearings. Instead, they've either turned their televisions off, tuned into something they find entertaining, or are watching channels that continue to feed their beliefs.

Because to accept what the committee has proven, they would have to admit that people they genuinely trust lied to them. Their closest friends, their pastors, and political leaders. Even more troublesome, it would force them to acknowledge that Donald Trump is a liar. That he is not the patriot, he claims. And that, by supporting him, neither are they!

So, they're lost! Stuck in the mire or sinking in the quicksand of a swamp designed by Republicans in the House and Senate and conservative members of the Supreme court. Supported by White nationalists, right-wing conservative groups, and White Evangelical Christianity.

They are not watching because to feel better about themselves, they have no choice but to defend Donald Trump. Defending Donald Trump is defending themselves! To hide their guilt and shame, they are purposely looking away. The best interest of the country, be damned!

We’d like to know your thoughts on the matter. Take a moment. And let us know what you think in the comments section.

© Beyond The Rituals. All Rights Reserved.

The Big Lie

Former President Donald Trump's Attorney General, William P. Barr, told the committee investigating the January 6 attack that Trump became "delusional" and began pushing false claims of widespread election fraud that many, including Barr, told him were groundless.

In the recorded deposition, Mr. Barr stated that fraud claims against Dominion Voting Machines and other conspiracy theories the former president embraced were "complete nonsense" and "crazy stuff."

"He's become detached from reality if he believes this stuff," Barr said. Barr also stated that Mr. Trump never gave any "indication of interest in what the actual facts were."

Barr eventually resigned over what he said was Trump's "disservice" to the country. Pangs of conscience? Hmm… I wonder. And if so, why didn't Barr tell the public about what Trump was doing?

Before his resignation as U.S. Attorney General, Barr appeared to be one of the former president's most ardent supporters. And even after leaving office. During his book tour, Barr stated that if Trump was the Republican candidate, he would vote for him again. Which would probably not be the disposition of someone bothered by Trump's "disservice" to the country.

A person concerned about what's best for the country puts the country before their party. But, unfortunately, the GOP, White Nationalists, and eighty percent of voting-age White Evangelical Christians place their party's power designs over the country's best interests. Qualified, unqualified, liar, or thief. All that matters is someone's electability and potential to keep the Republicans in power.

That the Democratic Party stole the 2020 Presidential Election is a lie. A big lie! It's the type of lie that's plausible enough to allow its perpetrators' supporters to suspect it's a lie, but in good conscience, pretend it’s not!

Well, the pretense is over. The January 6 Panel has stripped away the big lie’s ridiculous disguise and exposed its blatant falsity to the harsh light of the truth!

Anyone who has watched these hearings and continues to support Donald Trump and his big lie is not a patriot. They’re either mentally incompetent, a fool, or both!

"The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things. Of shoes, ships, and sealing wax. Of Cabbages and Kings."

And in which prison will Donald Trump serve his time, and whether most parties celebrating his conviction will be serving ribs or wings?

We'd like to know your thoughts on the matter. Take a moment. And let us know what you think, in the comments section.

Georgia On My Mind

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, the political future of the United States might just lie in the hands of Georgia's voters. Whether our republic rises and someday fulfills the lofty ideals set by its founders to ensure equality and justice for all, or descends into the chaos of racial division, injustice, and partisan politics, may well depend on whether Georgia voters elect a qualified candidate, or vote along party lines and elect a glaringly unqualified contender, who lacks political experience.

The qualified candidate, incumbent Raphael Warnock, elected in 2021, is Georgia's junior United States senator. The first Black Democrat elected to the Senate by a former state of the Confederacy, and the first to represent the State of Georgia. Warnock's reelection would help cement the Democrat's hold on the Senate. And with another state pickup, possibly release Joe Biden's agenda from the clutches of Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.

Conversely, the unqualified contender, former football star, business executive, and Trump ally, Herschel Walker, might help the Republicans regain the Senate. Where Walker, a political novice with no discernible policy positions, would be as malleable as clay in the hands of Mitch McConnell. Add Donald Trump's influence to the mix, and Voilà, the United States, would soon circle the proverbial drain. Hyperbole? Hardly.

Georgia. Oh, Georgia. Please come through. If peace, we will find, the road leads back to you!

Why we continually put our republic in the hands of those who are not concerned with its best interest will be the subject of greater minds than mine for decades to come. My focus, however, is the fact that we do and how it affects us.

Through carefully crafted media campaigns, the suggestion that we should vote for Washington outsiders, and non-politicians, has led us to elect many highly idealistic people with questionable, if not destructive, agendas. Think Tea Party, Marjory Taylor Greene, and Donald Trump, among others.

The resulting combination of political inexperience, limited knowledge of foreign policy, and kitchen table solutions to complex issues, has eroded the world's perception of the United States as a global leader.

Instead, our foreign and domestic policy primarily focuses on issues that placate the GOP base to keep Republicans in power. For example, restricting immigration, expelling the adult children of undocumented workers brought to the United States as minors, limiting the rights of the LGBTQ community, banning abortion, and endlessly creating and passing more laws extending religious freedom.

Voting against the best interests of us all, in the belief that favoritism and divisive policies will somehow return us to a time when life in America was better, is a fool's notion. And only serves those who use it to con people whose fear has made them unwilling to share this nation with its other citizens.

However, let me be clear. Although partisan politics, a focus on remaining in power, and the ideas and agendas of inexperienced politicians have divided us and might, inevitably, lead to our social destruction, it was how we voted or that we didn't vote that put them there!

Elections have consequences!

It might serve us well to remember that.

We'd like to know your thoughts on the matter. Take a moment. And let us know what you think, in the comments section.

Thoughts and Prayers…

After most, if not all, of the mass shootings and other acts of violence against America's citizens. Religious leaders, governors, members of Congress, and other state and federal representatives typically convey to the victims' families that they are in their "thoughts and prayers."

Although I understand the sentiment, thoughts, and prayers are not the answer. We are!

To change our situation, we can start by electing and supporting representatives who concern themselves not just with their party affiliation, but with what is in the best interest of all of America's citizens. Those astute enough to recognize that it is not more access to guns that is vital to a civilized society, but well-designed laws to ensure responsible gun ownership.

Night after night, Fox News talking heads spoon-feed their listeners (primarily white, male, Republican, Evangelical Christians) their dose of the party line: LGBTQ marginalization with an extra sprinkling of Transgender discrimination, Critical Race Theory hostility, anti-abortion rhetoric, stolen election lies, QAnon conspiracies, and the dose du jour, the "great replacement" conspiracy theory.

Add congressional representatives who introduce and pass legislation to promote those concepts and use Fox News to pat themselves on the back and pander to their base voters, Republican-controlled statehouses that pass laws to make gun ownership easier and abortion access more difficult. And a Supreme Court recently stacked to support it all. You'll end up with a divided country on the brink of disaster. Today, that's America!

Wonder why people are so angry? They are angry because it benefits the political war chests of power-seeking politicians, bolsters the celebrity status and pockets of social media influencers, and pours billions of advertising dollars into Fox and other right-wing news sites to keep them angry!

Many of the people who claim to be angry don't know why. Yet, would never accept that the media, radical religious leaders, and their political representatives have manipulated them to believe they are. As a result, most, when pressed, find it difficult to elaborate on the issues they claim they're angry about!

Instead, they simply regurgitate the party line, tell you how blind or stupid you are for not understanding, say they will pray for you, and continue to support policies that erode our rights and put our safety at risk.

On May 14, 2022, a white, 18-year-old gunman carried out a racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, killing ten people. Thoughts and prayers.

The next day, across the country, a Chinese immigrant killed one and wounded five at a Taiwanese church in Laguna Woods, California. Thoughts and prayers.

On May 24, 2022, ten days after the Buffalo shooting, another 18-year-old gunman shot his grandmother and killed nineteen children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Again. Thoughts and prayers!

Sandy Hook. Thoughts and prayers.

Parkland. Thoughts and prayers.

The list is so long that one wonders: Are our thoughts and prayers vaults filled beyond capacity? Have we become desensitized to the violence?

A positive first step in the right direction is House of Representatives 8. (HR 8). Current federal law does not require unlicensed gun sellers operating online, or at gun shows to conduct background checks before selling someone a firearm. HR 8 would close that loophole.

HR 8 establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties (i.e., unlicensed individuals). The bill passed in the House of Representatives when 8 Republicans joined 232 Democrats in voting for it in February 2019. However, it languished in the Senate.

 Specifically, the bill prohibits a firearm transfer between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check. However, the prohibition does not apply to certain firearm transfers, such as a gift between spouses in good faith.

HR8 also passed with bi-partisan support when the House reintroduced it in March 2021. But again, it has yet to find its way to a Senate vote.

Why? Because Senate Republicans are afraid of their base and want to hold on to power!

But is the right to own a firearm more important than our safety? Than our children's safety?

Now we have something to be angry about!

Angry enough to contact our representatives and demand they pass HR 8!

Angry enough to vote them out of office if they don't!

But are we? Are we angry enough?

Well, at least think about it!

And while you ponder, I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Be safe out there!

We'd like to know your thoughts on the matter. Take a moment. And let us know what you think, in the comments section.