W.W.I.D. --- What Would I Do?

I never want a new book....I need a new book (well, to be accurate I enjoy a used vs. new copy...because it feels more earth friendly.....reusing a book or recycling it or whatever). Today I needed to get a translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Of course, that leads to the need to purchase The Gnostic Bible. Maybe sooner, maybe later.

One thing I'm grateful for is sites like The Gnostic Society's Library. While perusing the site, I even came across a religious group who were unfamiliar to me until today (I read an article submitted to a Yahoogroup). These people practice a very ancient religion. They are not Christian, Muslim, Jewish or Zoroastrian. There are many Mandraeans in southern Iraq or Iran.

Isn't the internet awesome in the way it educates while you sit like a computer-chair potato reading ancient texts of various religions online? I can study online versions of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi. There is such a huge amount of reading available in the Gnostic Society's library and the internet once again turns into "a virtual public library". I love when that happens!

The artPad is where I just created a painting that resembled a macro of a Jackson Pollock (in other words, a wonderful piece of scribbling). My art may not ever make it onto the walls of a famous art museum, but artPad has it's own walls. Just click on Hang In the Gallery and voila! Instantly, my masterpiece is up there next to the great artists. It's the next best thing to being there!

I read a lot about baking soda and vinegar being good safe alternatives to other cleansers. It never really occurred to me to ask what makes them work so well. The Five Basics for Nontoxic Cleaning expands on the list of products rather than just listing which ones are the best to use. As an example, vinegar is acidic. It helps neutralize alkaline and is a good choice for things like scale from hard water.

It never occurred to me that one alternative might be better than another depending on what needs cleaning. I just used what worked most easily for the job. Annie Berthold-Bond is one of my favorite teachers on the topic of living a life free of chemicals and other negative ingredients. Whether she discusses alternative cleaners or how feng shui can improve our lives, I always learn something.

An online friend shared her favorite movies via this cool tool. I have spent the past half hour adding movies there. It's like eating potato chips...you just can't stop! All you do is enter your favorite movies into the search then click on the movie you want to add to your list. Here's my current list (nowhere near finished, of course).

Create your own Movie List @ HotFreeLayouts!

What is the lesson to be learned here....

Biolyse Pharma Corp can use the needles from discarded Christmas trees to manufacture Tamiflu. Pine needles contain shikimik acid which is the main ingredient in medicine for Bird Flu. I don't want to pull a Pat Robertson and say Christmas trees curing Bird Flu is a sign.

What I do want is less sensational coverage of the inevitable pandemic of Bird Flu. The media sees this illness as a tool and scare tactic to grab the audience's attention and boost ratings It surprised me a little that the article I link to in this post is dated December 23. In just about every news show we are updated on the current status of Bird Flu. Yet they fail to mention discarding our trees from the holidays can save lives.

I thought maybe I just had too much time on my hands, but Oprah wanted to know, too! Have you ever wondered how a telephone works? What has to happen for a voice to travel instantaneously from one phone to another? Do you find it mind boggling trying to figure out how Oprah goes from her Harpo studio onto your tv screen?

Oprah's show today answered these questions and more. She had Marshall Brain on as a guest. He is the author of How Stuff Works. Email going from "here to there in a matter of seconds" gets me wondering. I often think about how inventors like Alexander Graham Bell managed to figure it all out.

Mr. Brain's (yes, that's his real name) explanations just made it all the more awesome. Science is often thought of as a path away from the divine, but I think it's the exact opposite. Did you know that phone conversations and radio shows are always going through our bodies? Even when you know how, it's still an amazing world.

Oprah also had Maria Bartiromo explain other mysteries. Did you ever wonder what NASDAQ stands for? Or what stocks are? I had an a-ha moment or two when she defined stocks in less than fifteen seconds and...it all made sense!!!

Just stopped over to visit Paperfrog and discovered two things to share. If you look at my right sidebar, I have added my blogroll. Currently, there are two blogs listed. If there is a blog that I put up on a pedestal, its the one Christopher Baskind keeps. His writing is thoughtful and full of lessons. Yet Paperfrog is the perfect blend of serious and fun.

Reading his latest post about the return of another blogger to the internet, he told his readers about One Robe, One Bowl. Its maintained by a person beginning monastery life. I am looking forward to reading more of it.

Another discovery made while visiting Paperfrog was 43 Things. It's a fun website and makes great "blogwear" (once again, see my right sidebar). Thanks to 43 Things, we can share our interests with each other.

In my walk-and-chew-gum way of juggling websites, I did some bloghopping in one window and used another for a search on the meaning of the name, Aslan (the lion in The Chronicles of Narnia). Although I didn't find that information, I landed on this gem..... a site dedicated to him.

This year I have a calendar called Wheel of the Year. With my interest in world religion and various issues, it's a great introduction to many deities, religions and holidays I am unfamiliar with.

Mid-January includes mention of the Yoruba culture and deities they refer to as Orisha. With over 400 deities, I could probably spend years learning about their religion. No doubt, even my brief look at the Orisha in the next day or two will provide me with a little more food for my soul.

My interest in world religions has led me to Unitarian Universalism. UUs are about as liberal a faith as is probably possible. I enjoy the freedom to nurture and nourish my faith by exploring many various paths to the worship of the Divine. Spiritual journeys come in all shapes and sizes and Unitarian Universalism celebrates that.

(P.S. - I also The picture for January on this year's calendar is an image of the Arabic Goddess called Allat. Where most of us are familiar with Muslims calling on Allah, their God, I doubt too many know of the pre-Islamic aspect of the feminine Divine. This is something else I am looking forward to exploring.)

I was hoping I could successfully google Felicity Huffman's acceptance speech after receiving her award for Transamerica at the Golden Globes last night. She said some very compassionate things about people who live as who they truly are. It feels good to listen to one of the Desperate Housewives stars speaking with such courage herself to promote acceptance of the trans community. Thank you, Ms. Huffman. Thank you for acknowledging transsexuals as brave people and giving them the respect our society so often deprives them of.

How many Americans are willing to defend the rights of those in the glbt community? When will homophobia become history? Despite an epidemic of homophobia, I feel hopeful. If an extremely talented actress with superstar status takes on the role Huffman did, there is hope. In the end, freedom will end discrimination and allow glbt Americans to live as who they are.

I've been thinking a lot about homelessness this week, worrying because we had temperatures at night near 0 degrees in this area. After reading a list of most dangerous cities for the homeless, I realized the homeless have to survive a lot more than the weather. As an example, we have seen horrific footage of people beating up a homeless man this past week. They are suspected of doing this to several homeless people and I believe one victim was killed. Thank Goddess it got national coverage, but will it get people talking? More importantly, will it motivate people in making the necessary changes to help the homeless live safely and with a roof over their heads?

I have no control over other people, only myself. I want to know what I can do what I can to help. A website by Rabbi Charles A. Kroloff's on 54 Ways to Help the Homeless is a great place to start. I hope I will start focusing in 2006 on contributing what I am able to. Rather than point fingers at other people who "should" be helping, I'll raise my hand and offer to do what I can. Instead of my typical all-talk-and-no-action approach to issues, I realize I can roll up my sleeves and get to work on making the world a better place.

What Would Jesus Do? That expression often helps me find answers, but ultimately Jesus needs me to pitch in. If I want to contribute to the solution, then I have to ask: What Would I Do?