Inglourious Basterds creates distasteful resonance.

Finally watched ‘Inglourious Basterds’ on DVD, last night. I found myself liking the movie much more than I thought I would. As few movies do, I found it had the effect of making me trawl back over the movie to find the thing that appealed to me. The opening ‘Chapter’ creates a terrible foreboding that ends with a truly horrible scene but is capped by an momentary exhibition of psychotic insanity. And, gradually, looking at the patterns of characterisation, I came to realise that it is in the dissonance of the characters and within the play of scenes, that I had found the appeal. The combination of ‘mumma-boy’ soldiers and psychotic killers is everywhere in the movie. The comic rendition of the Nazi Hierachy seemed initially a trivialisation but juxtaposed against scenes of ‘normal’ people, made for a disturbing atmosphere. This morning I came to the conclusion that the movie is a caricature of a lot of humanity. This is a movie about every conflict we humans have on small and large scales. Quentin Tarantino, in ‘Inglourious Basterds’ has become a master satirical cartoonist.

SMOORING

While recording a set of old folk songs, from LP, that I found at my aged Aunt’s house, I came across a song called, “Peat Smooring Prayer”.

Well, peat I knew, and prayer I knew, but smooring – nada. It made me wonder what this smooring was, that had to do with peat and required prayer. My search on the interent showed me quite a lot of other interest in ‘smooring’, most centred Alexander Carmichael’s collection of folk poetry from the Western Isles of Scotland.
You can find Carmichael’s two volumes of “Carmina Gadelica” here.

But, in answer to my question, below is an excerpt from Carmichael’s works followed by two prayers. They are different to the folk song I have, which is a prayer for protection of the children. The album says it is also called the ‘Island Mother’s Night Croon”, but I got nix on this from an internet search.

I also found a lovely piece about smooring, as a contemporary spiritual rite in daily life, which I have reproduced below, so read past the prayers.

“PEAT is the fuel of the Highlands and Islands. Where wood is not obtainable the fire is kept in during the night. The process by which this is accomplished is called in Gaelic smaladh; in Scottish, smooring; and in English, smothering, or more correctly, subduing. The ceremony of smooring the fire is artistic and symbolic, and is performed with loving care. The embers are evenly spread on the hearth–which is generally in the middle of the floor–and formed into a circle. This circle is then divided into three equal sections, a small boss being left in the middle. A peat is laid between each section, each peat touching the boss, which forms a common centre. The first peat is laid down in name of the God of Life, the second in name of the God of Peace, the third in name of the God of Grace. The circle is then covered over with ashes sufficient to subdue but not to extinguish the fire, in name of the Three of Light. The heap slightly raised in the centre is called ‘Tula nan Tri,’ the Hearth of the Three. When the smooring operation is complete the woman closes her eyes, stretches her hand, and softly intones one of the many formulae current for these occasions.

Another way of keeping embers for morning use is to place them in a pit at night. The pit consists of a hole in the clay floor, generally under the dresser. The pit may be from half a foot to a foot in depth and diameter, with a flag fixed in the floor over the top. In the centre of this flag there is a hole by which the embers are put in and taken out. Another flag covers the hole to extinguish the fire at night, and to guard against accidents during the day. This extinguishing fire-pit is called ‘slochd guail,’ coke or coal-pit. This coke or charcoal is serviceable in kindling the fire.”

SMALADH AN TEINE	SMOORING THE FIRE
AN Tri numh A chumhnadh, A chomhnadh, A chomraig An tula, An taighe, An teaghlaich, An oidhche, An nochd, O! an oidhche, An nochd, Agus gach oidhche, Gach aon oidhche. Amen.	THE sacred Three To save, To shield, To surround The hearth, The house, The household, This eve, This night, Oh! this eve, This night, And every night, Each single night. Amen.
SMALADH AN TEINE	SMOORING THE FIRE
CAIRIDH mi an tula, Mar a chaireadh Muire, Claim Bhride ’s Mhuire, Car an tula ’s car an lair, ’S car an ardraich uile. Co iad air lian a muigh? Micheal grian-gheal mo luin. Co iad air meadhon lair? Eoin, Peadail, agus Pail. Co iad ri bial mo stoc? Moire ghrian-gheal ’s a Mac. Bial Dia dh’ orduich, Aingheal Dia bhoinich, Aingheal geal an car an tealla, Gon tig la geal gu beola. Aingheal geal an car an tealla, Gon tig la geal gu beola.	I WILL build the hearth, As Mary would build it. The encompassment of Bride and of Mary, Guarding the hearth, guarding the floor, Guarding the household all. Who are they on the lawn without? Michael the sun-radiant of my trust. Who are they on the middle of the floor? John and Peter and Paul. Who are they by the front of my bed? Sun-bright Mary and her Son. The mouth of God ordained, The angel of God proclaimed, An angel white in charge of the hearth Till white day shall come to the embers. An angel white in charge of the hearth Till white day shall come to the embers.
BEANNACHD SMALAIDH	BLESSING OF THE SMOORING
THA mi smaladh an teine, Mar a smaladh Mac Moire; Gu mu slan dh’ an taigh ’s dh’ an teine, Gu mu slan dh’ an chuideachd uile. Co siud shios air an lar? Eoin agus Peadail agus Pal. Co air am bheil an fhaire nochd? Air Moire mhin-gheal ’s air a Mac. Beul De a thubhradh, Aingheal De a labhradh, Aingheal an dorus an taighe, D’ar comhnadh ’s d’ar gleidheadh Gu ’n tig la geal am maireach. O! ainghlean Aon Naomha Dhe Da mo chaimhleachadh fein a nochd, O! ainghlean Aon Unga Dhe, Da mo chaim bho bheud ’s bho lochd, Da mo chaim bho bheud a nochd.	I AM smooring the fire As the Son of Mary would smoor; Blest be the house, blest be the fire, Blest be the people all. Who are those down on the floor? John and Peter and Paul. On whom is the vigil to-night? On the fair gentle Mary and on her Son. The mouth of God said, The angel of God spake, An angel in the door of the house, To guard and to keep us all Till comes daylight to-morrow. Oh! may the angels of the Holy One of God Environ me all this night, Oh! may the angels of the Anointed One of God Encompass me from harm and from evil, Oh! encompass me from harm this night.
BEANNACHADH SMALAIDH	SMOORING BLESSING
SMALAIDH mis an tula Mar a smaladh Muire; Comraig Bhride ’s Mhuire, Air an tula ’s air an lar, ’S air an fhardaich uile. Co siud air liana mach? Muire ghrian-gheal ’s a Mac, Bial Dia dh’ iarradh, aingheal Dia labhradh; Ainghle geallaidh faire an teallaidh, Gu’n tig latha geal gu beallaidh.	I WILL smoor the hearth As Mary would smoor; The encompassment of Bride and of Mary, On the fire and on the floor, And on the household all. Who is on the lawn without? Fairest Mary and her Son, The mouth of God ordained, the angel of God spoke; Angels of promise watching the hearth, Till white day comes to the fire.

Smooring the Fire

Scripture: I came to set fire to the earth, and I wish it were already on fire! Luke 12:49

Imagine you are in the 1600’s in old Ireland. A Celtic Christian woman tends the fire before she goes to bed. She is responsible to keep the fires burning. In a damp climate tending the fire is a constant chore. She gathers up the embers of the fire and divides the embers into three separate piles- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. She makes sure the fire is secure for tomorrow is a very special day.

As she rises the next morning, she uses a little dry peat to get the fire going and adds more fuel to meet the needs of the family. This day is special because her daughter is getting married and the best gift that she can give her is being prepared right now. She takes the glowing embers and puts them into a metal container and through the fog of the damp landscape she smoors the fire of her ancestral fire. Like generations before her this mother smoors the fire to her daughter, these precious heirlooms are the best gift she could give.

The Christian faith is always in need of Smooring. The fire needs to be kindled and rekindled if it is to be there for the next generation. An annual revival is an attempt to fan the flames of our Christian heritage. Music can also be a tool that is used to stir the embers in our lives.

In Ohio I had some limbs that need disposal and so I built a small fire in the backyard and fed the limbs with the help of my children. Neighbors started coming out of their houses to see what was happening and they gathered around the sweet fire. Can you smell the smoke from a campfire, grandmother’s old stove, a Boy Scout campout, etc?

Jesus came to be a holy flamethrower. He attempted to create a spiritual fire in his disciples that would be the burning, exciting, dynamic presence of God in people.

When your heart is on fire for someone; that means you are passionate about that person. Jesus came to give us that kind of burning, passionate, love relationship with the God of the Universe. If God is like fire, there are several things He wants to do in your life that can be compared to fire. Jesus is wanting us to see the supernatural, burning, exciting presence of God. John the Baptist said in Luke 3:16
“I am just baptizing with water. But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

This Holy Spirit living in you is like the fire of God that generates the power you need to live the Christian life. Without this power how would you face the challenges of life? We need that Spirit to share our faith in God. We need that Spirit to forgive those who hurt us. We need that Spirit to have wisdom to make wise decisions. We need that Spirit to love the unlovely.

Unlike the ancient Celts, we are often soul-negligent, asking for mercy without taking the time to tender the spark of our soul that yearns for the fire of God. We may get so caught up in church matters that we neglect the care of our own hearts. The fire of the well-tended Christian soul may waver in times of trial but is smoored by God so it cannot be extinguished.

The history of Christianity can, of course, be traced through a series of times when the fire of Christianity has been rekindled from smoored coals. Tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost rekindled the hearts and minds of Christ’s apostles and disciples. That rekindled fire blazed across the Roman Empire. Celtic Christianity rekindled light in Europe at the end of the Dark Ages. Luther’s Reformation set all of Europe on fire with holy, renewed faith. Wesley preached to forgotten miners outdoors and revival broke out. Has the fire gone out in your heart?

God’s fire is a purifying, cleansing flame. Sometimes the fire of God comes into our lives and removes those impurities we don’t even know are there. If you’ve ever “been through the fire” you know it is not a pleasant experience. It could be that you are going through a refining experience right now. It’s hot and uncomfortable. It’s scary and you wonder if the fire will ever finish. God is like a refiner’s fire–but remember He loves you and He knows just how much you need to cleanse you of your impurities.

Prayer: Lord, may we let the fire of your Spirit burn up all the impurities in our lives. Help us to accept the smooring fire of the Holy Spirit who will help us with our personal challenges. Help us to be obedient, faithful adopted children in your kingdom. Amen

The shaking hand

of the frightened Iranian leadership, finally, after nearly two years of incarceration, signs off on a date for the trial of seven Iranian leaders of the Baha’i Faith who were arrested for assisting the Baha’i community to continue their committment to the service of humanity and, specifically, to Iran. The current authorities of Iran are determined to cut off their nose to spite their face by incarcerating true servants; expelling students who have been raised to learn, to serve; defiling graves of people who have already put in a lifetime of service to the country. Is this the society that any religious person would want to impose on another? Is this a society that anyone would want to live in? Do the perpetrators of such injustice really believe God will usher them into heaven on the basis of their injustice? I suspect that, such is the darkness of the hearts of the perpetrators of this and other injustices in Iran, that they do not believe in God at all, but are wolves in lambs clothing, with only one purpose in life, to dominate others, and to enrich themselves with the hard work of others. Theirs is a purpose that belongs to the world. The main chagrin of these authorities with Baha’is: that Baha’is live for a purpose that belongs in all the worlds of God, and that is something the pettiness of the power-hungry and greedy can never obtain. And so that leadership will continue to be frightened, confounded, confused. They might boisterously rant, as if their noise will chase away the voice of God, but they are known for what they are. They turn their back on God, and they are left to themselve, left alone. And this is their punishment for now and eternity, that they shall be alone. God willing they shall be allowed to atone for their crimes against humanity, while they still move upon this Earth.

Be a man of action

Abdu'l-Baha during travel to UK 1912

The twentieth century defined the man of action based on mythological images derived from the Great wars and the Cold war. However we know that there is a lot of fear behind that magical thinking of superheroes and spies (mostly men) who can overcome any obstacle through sheer grunt (and being on the right side).

Before and during WWI, the leader of the Baha’i Faith in Akka (now northern Israel), while under constant threat of execution by the Ottoman authorities, spoke softly and assuredly on the mode of a man of action.

“Not everything that a man knows can be disclosed, nor everything that he discloses be timely, nor every timely utterance suited to the capacity of the hearer. Such is the consummate wisdom to be observed in your pursuits, if you wish to be a man of action under all conditions.” Abdu’l-Baha

The challenges before the planet show that it is beyond late for more true men and women of action to come to the fore.

Sacred themes in conversation: a flowing river or a dam?

I was recently in a group conversation in which some emotionally sensitive issues were being raised. At a couple of moments during the conversation, a speaker made a polite comment citing or paraphrasing sacred writings without reference to the issue under discussion. The outcome was that the conversation stalled, then moved slowly to another place without resolution. I realized this left me with significant unease. What was being said here? Did the speaker have a particular understanding of the cited material that they expected everyone else would have? Did it mean support or criticism of what had been said by others? In any case, it had the effect of closing down further exploration of the topic, as listeners could only nod in acquiescence, perhaps disinclined to challenge the speakers meaning. Afterall, might not a challenge imply a challenge to the validity of the sacred words. In any case, a challenge might draw the conversation further from its purpose.

Indeed, it may be the purpose of a speaker, on feeling uncomfortable with the subject matter, to raise the Word of God as a shield, stalling the advance of a potentially conflictional exploration. The danger is that the shield doesn’t eliminate the subject. Although halted, the shield becomes a dam, behind which the topic’s waters accumulate, building pressure and creating distracting discomfort among the conversationalists.

Yet, surely the Word of God, the sacred scriptures, are invaluable in serious discussion of any kind. In fact, Baha’u'llah recommends, for utterance to be highly effective, it must be endowed with penetrating power and moderation. Interestingly, Baha’u’llah goes on to describe ‘penetrating power’, not as something particularly charismatic, but related to a pure spirit and a stainless heart. Yet His definition of moderation goes to the heart of this theme, as “blending utterance with tokens of divine wisdom (from) sacred Books and tablets”. This idea of blending would mean that the speaker, perhaps, introduces their contribution to the conversation by a composition that fundamentally asks the participants to look at one or more of the concepts under discussion, then suggesting a way of looking at that issue derived from Baha’u’llah’s teachings and including some relevant ‘tokens’ of His advice.

In this way, the application of citation from Baha’u’llah becomes part of the specific conversation. By considered construction of the utterance, one can avoid telling another they are wrong. Such construction becomes more natural if we enter any conversation with an attitude of wanting to build a relationship with the others and learn from them. Abdu’l-Baha’s advice is to, “look upon others with respect … speak as investigating the truth, saying, “Here these things are before us. Let us investigate to determine where and in what form the truth can be found… speak with th eutmost kindliness, lowliness and humility for such speech exerteth influence and educateth the souls.”

It seems that Baha’u'llah is also advising to learn how to do this in a way to enhance the interest and engagement of the hearer. The hearer could be anyone, seeker or lifelong believer. The method we are trying to learn, then, applies in all our interactions.

There are a few criteria we could evaluate our conversations against:

1. Did the participants engage comfortably in the conversation?;
2. Did the conversation attempt to work through barriers or conflictual elements?;
3. Did the conversational path resolve, divert, or cease?;
4. Did it allow pickup at a later date?

Of course sometimes it is not our participation but the utterance of another that become a conversation stopper. And it is certainly better that the conversation stops, than it should enter a disputation. Or, as Baha’u’llah advises, “If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost kindliness and goodwill. If it be accepted, if it fulfill its purpose, your object is attained. If anyone should refuse it, leave him unto himself, and beseech God to guide him. Beware lest ye deal unkindly with him. A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding.

Africans walk out on their children again.

Having become a fan of Dambisa Moyo’s work, I am viewing the walk out of African nations from Copenhagen as the petulance of spoilt children rather than a serious reflection on the dialogue that representative are there for. Rather than developed countries ‘aiding’ African nations to build green economies, African nations should only be provided support to the extent that they are able to develop accountable governance.  As Moyo asserts, the reason why a country like Australia has better services than a country in Africa, is less about the inherent resources in those nations and more about the failure of a government to be mandated by its citizens on the basis of a set of policies. In democracy, the better the democracy, the more likely a government will fall when they fail to solve the problems of the people of the day.  In an externally supported totalitarian or even quasi-democratic society,  the people have no power because their leaders are not accountable at all. Leaders get wealthy off foreign aid, and if the services aren’t provided, it is the fault of foreigners. African leaders are rorting their countries and ours. I suspect some foreign powers are quite happy to keep African nations poor and weak and dying by feeding their leaders aid, making them policy dullards and tyrannical against the citizens they should be leading to a more progressive state.  So if developed countries start talking about paying Africa to green up, we can believe that Africans will be far worse off in twenty years, and further in debt to the developed countries than if they decided to take over self management today. It is time to stop feeling sorry for Africa and start jeering their pretense to nationhood. And continue jeering until the people get feedup with their systems of non-governance and start demanding proper leaders among them, take the reins.

The African representatives who walked out of Copenhagen talks have walked out on their own children, and they seem to have a habit of doing this.

Barron River Green Corridor

Detention Ponds

I attended the completiong of stage one of the flood water detention project on Griffin road, Tolga, this morning. It was humbling to see the 6,000 trees planted by volunteers, around a well-researched pond system. Congratulations to the project management between BRICMA, TRC, and volunteer groups. The environmental scientist at the heart of the project gave a precise and clear explanation about the project.

The TRC mayor, Tom Gilmore and Senator Jan McLucas officially opened the project.

Keith Gould, Tom Gilmore, Project Manager, Senator Mclucas

The hundred or so people in attendance were very pleased with the project that models water and soil, and flora and fauna conservation at the interface of remnant forest, farming and urban landscapes. Hopefully it is just the beginning of not just conserving but improving this regional environment.

Mayor Tom Gilmore, Senator Jan McLucas

Owning a barking dog may make you a torturer

Dog(s) barking night and day at every person exercising in the street, every possum roaming through the night, every whispering noise from across the suburb, is likely to cause an unhealthy level of sleep deprivation and noise sensitization in one or more of the nearby residents. Sleep deprivation in particular will create anxiety attacks and dysfunctional thinking. Noise sensitization will similarly cause adrenaline responses in the hearer, comonly known as fight or flight mechanisms. These problems are caused by: the alarm bearing of the bark to the human ear; and the lack of control over the barking by the non-owner. They are exaggerated by the frequency but randomness of the alarm events which ‘preps’ the hearer.

Sleep deprivation, forcing adrenaline responses that can’t be acted upon, and removing control from a person are all tools of trade of torturers.

Dog owners sometimes defend themselves that dogs warn off burglar. In otherwords, to save a few chattles, they would rather torture their neighbour, stealing their health and life. This is immoral in the extreme, and there are alternative burglar deterents that don’t effect the neighbours regularly

Others defend themselves saying, ‘a pet is good for the owners health’. Well it may be. But if you are improving your health by robbing another of theirs, where is the justice in that? Surely, it be better that you sacrifice a few years to the greater good. You might find that improved relations with your neighbours acts equally as a health benefit, as a dog.

Dog owners often don’t know much about dogs. They are not dog-lovers. They are consumers of ‘lovely’ feelings that the pet induces. It is that emotional zing that dog owners so selfishly want. They neither train their animal, nor consider their animals real needs. They teach them to play and bark, and keep them mercilessly frustrated.

Add to this the regularity of dog bites and worse, and the reality that no-one in the suburbs needs a dog for anything that doesn’t have an alternative. A barking dog is a tool of torture. Are you a torturer? Perhaps it is time society just grew up, dismissed the idea of pets from our egotistical mindsets, and got rid of  dogs out of suburbs.

When a human is made

The Westchester Institute for Ethics & the Human Person, NY, USA, has produced a white paper in 2008 that makes the scientific case. “Advances in the study of human embryology have sharpened our focus to an increasingly narrow developmental time-frame immediately following the fusion of sperm and egg—and prior to the first cell division (an approximately 24 hour period also referred to as the first cell cycle). The point at which fertilization ends and embryonic development commences is commonly placed at “syngamy,” the time when the membranes surrounding the nuclei derived from the sperm and the egg break down in preparation for the first cell division.”
The NHMRC of Australia uses a biologically observable feature (first mitotic division) to anchor their definition for an embryo created for reproductive purposes, thereby clarifying what is and is not a human embryo in ways that can be verified, as opposed to using syngamy which is not as easily observable.
In othewords sygamy produces the full set of chromosomes required for a human being to develop. Prior to this it could be said that the conception is still separate parts of the female ova and male sperm and not a new human.
Most women would not know they are carrying a new human at that stage and it is thought many embryos do become unviable and miscarry very early in development, unknown to the mother.
However the issue of how we view the new life goes as much to how we view the act of sexual intercourse and the ‘other’. The spiritual journey is about increasing our bonds with life. This doen’t mean that physical life is absolutely important but that we strive to make the creation of life a sacred motion, while every dimnution of life is chosen through the most mindful process we can apply.
The horns of dilemma that we are trying to address relates more to the use and cloning of pre-mitotic fertilised cell which will ‘kill’ the cell, for the purposes of finding cures for born humans and yet to be conceived embryos that hold dysfunctional genetic processes. The advancement of humanity may, in part, be determined by how well we perch on these horns.