Is the essence of religion kindness, ethics, and awareness of spirit? Nov 26, 2008 4:59 am Mood: optimism, 1233 Views Do all religions in their purest forms teach loving kindness, fair responsible sincere ethics, and increasing awareness of spirit? Shall we look for common ground and work together toward a better world, while each of us retaining our own religion's unique beliefs and practices, as each of us interprets them individually? (Link to BegumMagnolia's group: Intuition ~ Our Inner Voice.) (Link to my group: Arts & Artists.) 4 Comments

Can we experience ourselves as spirits separate from our bodies and minds? Nov 24, 2008 6:18 am Mood: serene, 1265 Views Can we perceive others as spirits separate from their bodies and minds? Can we communicate with others as spirits without using our or their bodies or minds? Are there various techniques taught in various parts of the world for doing these things? Can we learn to be anywhere, or to perceive anything, or to move things, or to create things, as spirits without using our bodies or minds? (Link to BegumMagnolia's group: Intuition ~ Our Inner Voice.) (Link to my group: Arts & Artists.) 10 Comments

While working to reform and improve government services, can we citizens also help one another . . . Nov 14, 2008 1:07 pm Mood: responsible, 881 Views . . . by forming groups to establish alternative societal services of all kinds, for anyone who wants better service? Better schools, tutoring, and recreation programs? Better body-mind-spirit wellness clinics? Better security patrols, corruption prevention, building and grounds safety enforcement, etc.? Better arbitration courts? Better sanitation collection, street cleaning, park maintenance, etc.? Better maintenance of roads, bridges, tunnels, water and sewage systems, etc.? Better oversight of safety of foods and merchandise? Better assistance and protection for farmers, small business owners, and workers of all kinds? Better poverty relief and employment readiness programs? What other functions could citizen groups provide better than the government, while we are working to reform our governments? (Link to BegumMagnolia's group: Intuition ~ Our Inner Voice.) (Link to my group: Arts & Artists.) 0 Comments

Which Indian and world films do you admire and enjoy? Nov 12, 2008 6:47 am Mood: celebrant, 812 Views Which actors, playwrights, and filmmakers would you recommend for us? Which qualities do you prefer in actors? What techniques do you prefer that playwrights and filmmakers emphasize in their creations? What do you prefer that they avoid? How could they do better? What would you focus on as an actor, playwright, or filmmaker? Actors I admire and enjoy include Dilip Kumar, Nargis, Raj Kapoor, Joan Plowright, Emma Thompson, Gina McKee, Tara Fitzgerald, Jeanne Moreau, Catherine Deneuve, Ben Kingsley, and Rupert Graves, because they clearly express subtle intelligence, emotional integrity, and courageous caring. Which of these or others do you admire and enjoy? Why? Filmmakers I admire and enjoy include Satyajit Ray, Deepa Mehta, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Rituparno Ghosh, V. Shantaram, Mehboob Khan, Raj Kapoor, Govind Nihalani (his serious works), Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujiro Ozu, Akira Kurosawa, Jean Cocteau, Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Bresson, Jean Genet, Marcel Camus, Ingmar Bergman, Sergei Bondarchuk, Andrei Tarkovsky, David Lynch, Zbig Rybczynski (his later works), and Pedro Almodovar, because they invite us into genuine manifestations of their souls and the souls of their actors, cinematographers, music score composers, set designers, and lighting designers. Which of these or others do you admire and enjoy? Why? Playwrights I admire and enjoy include Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg, Anton Chekhov, Jean Cocteau, Jean Genet, and Tennessee Williams, because they evoke the inner truth of characters, and they captivate the audience with unobtrusive imaginative beauty and smoldering compassion. Which of these or others do you admire and enjoy? Why? What questions can you ask me to draw out my feelings and thoughts? What questions can I ask you to draws out your feelings and thoughts? What would you like to add? (This question topic was suggested by Ramadevi2.) (Link to BegumMagnolia's group: Intuition ~ Our Inner Voice.) (Link to my group: Arts & Artists.) 0 Comments

Is every person, animal, and plant a cell in the living body of planet Earth? Nov 10, 2008 4:16 am Mood: curious, 1140 Views Does the oxygen we breathe in become part of us? Does each of us take turns breathing in and out the same air? Is the shared air of Earth a living part of all of us? Is each of us people, animals, and plants one of the living cells of the living air, the living atmosphere of a living organism we call planet Earth? Does the water we drink become part of us? Does each of us take turns drinking and passing out the same water? Is the shared water of Earth a living part of all of us? Is each of us people, animals, and plants one of the living cells of the living water, the living rivers, lakes, oceans, fogs, and clouds, the living aquasphere of the living organism we call planet Earth? Do soil minerals become part of plants, and of the animals and we people who eat the plants, or who eat animals that have eaten the plants? Does each plant, each animal, and each of us people take turns absorbing (directly or through eating) the same minerals from the same soil, and then passing them back to the soil again when we defecate or die, to be recycled into new plants, some of which are eaten to become parts of new animals and people? Is the shared soil of Earth a living part of all of us? Is each of us people, animals, and plants one of the living cells of the living soil, the living mineralsphere of the living organism we call planet Earth? Are all the bodies of plants, animals, microscopic life forms, and we people collectively the biosphere? Is the biosphere the living flesh of the living planet Earth? Is the atmosphere, with its winds and storms, the living respiratory system of the living planet Earth? Is the aquasphere, with its currents, waves, tides, and floods, the living circulatory system of the living planet Earth? Is the mineralsphere, with its rocks, clays, and magmas, the living skeletal system of the living planet Earth? We people who have temporal minds and bodies, are we eternal spirits? Are we collectively, as eternal spirits, the living soul of the living planet Earth? Shall we call her Gaia? Is each living planet a living cell in the living organism of our living galaxy? Is each living galaxy a living cell in the living organism of our living cluster of galaxies? Is each living cluster of galaxies a living cell in the living organism of our living group of clusters? Is each living group of clusters of galaxies a living cell in the living organism or our living universe? Is each living universe a living cell in the living organism of our living cluster of universes? Is each living cluster of universes a living cell in . . . ? (Link to BegumMagnolia's group: Intuition ~ Our Inner Voice.) (Link to my group: Arts & Artists.) 11 Comments

Which books do you recommend? Nov 9, 2008 8:16 am Mood: fascinated, 786 Views Please choose any or all of these questions, or create your own to answer. What is the complete title of the book? What is the complete author's name? What is the subject matter of the book? How is the subject or action developed? Is it clear and interesting? Suspenseful? What is the style of the language used in the book? Is the language creative or beautiful? How would you describe the book in detail? What did you enjoy about the book? Why? How was the book useful to you? What did it help you with? If fiction, how well were the characters created? Did the characters change from their experiences? What about the book could have been better? Is there anything you’d like to say about the author or the time or place the book was written? Does the book have interesting illustrations or binding? Is there any edition number or other information we should know? What else would you like to say about the book? What other questions should we ask? (Idea for this question suggested by RedDanceTara.) (Link to BegumMagnolia's group: Intuition ~ Our Inner Voice.) (Link to my group: Arts & Artists.) 0 Comments

How can we increase our ability to help others and ourselves to play the games of life? Nov 4, 2008 3:24 am Mood: contemplative, 992 Views How can we be abler and freer to play the games of life, love, success, health, and happiness, and to help others do so? (Link to kait03's group: Over 50.) (Link to BegumMagnolia's group: Intuition ~ Our Inner Voice.) (Link to my group: Arts & Artists.) 10 Comments

Can we learn to get out of our bodies at will? Nov 1, 2008 7:03 am Mood: optimistic, 626 Views Can we learn to see, hear, smell, taste, feel, etc., as well or better without our bodies as with them? Can we learn to be anywhere, as spirits, without having to bring our bodies there? Can we learn to move things without the use of our bodies? Can we learn to cook food, build things, create things, just as our spirit selves, without the help of our bodies? Can we learn to cause all sorts of things to happen, as spirits, without the use of our bodies? (Link to kait03's group: Over 50.) (Link to BegumMagnolia's group: Intuition ~ Our Inner Voice.) (Link to my group: Arts & Artists.) 0 Comments

Are both religion and science usually used for good but sometimes not? Oct 23, 2008 3:17 am 696 Views Have both religion and science usually been used well in many ways for good to help people, but have both also sometimes been abused to fool and take advantage of people. Have mostly good but also some evil been done in the names of religion and science? There are joint cooperative interfaith activities to provide social services, to promote peace or societal or environmental betterment, or to encourage benevolence of various levels of government, conducted by mixed groups of Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, nonreligious people, et al., without trying to convert one another. Do you think this is a good idea? Do you believe in encouraging more of it? I do, but I’m open to hearing other opinions. Is most of today’s science objective, honest, and beneficial, but is some of today’s science stuck in habitual theories? Is most of today’s science straightforward and benevolent, but is some of it slanted for financial or political gain? What examples of all these things can you share with us? (Link to BegumMagnolia's group: Intuition ~ Our Inner Voice.) (Link to my group: Arts & Artists.) 4 Comments

gurgles of brook Oct 23, 2008 2:05 am 481 Views for gabriela mistral gurgles of brook deafen doe to rustles what thrill fear spikes the sipped waters (c) 08 poetdancer (Link to BegumMagnolia's group: Intuition ~ Our Inner Voice.) (Link to my group: Arts & Artists.) 0 Comments

 poetdancer

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