Stephen Embleton

The Power of prayer Prayer can mean different things to different people. Let’s break it down to its basic principles. If you are praying then you are usually asking for assistance (help me) or guidance (show me) with something. This is when you feel that you either don’t have the means or capability to help yourself or see the forest for the trees. This also means that you are asking someone outside of yourself, whether it is God or angels or ancestors. Prayer doesn’t normally mean that you’re talking to a close friend (or parent) in another part of the world. That’s what phones are for. Begging and pleading to a parent isn’t considered prayer anyway. But if we’ve eliminated God or any higher power in this section of our story, we have to then assume that you’re not praying to anyone. Nevertheless, pray we do. If you don’t then what do you do when you’re hanging from a cliff by the last thread on your rope, watching it steadily fray?  And as covered earlier, our main instinct i...

The natural world is filled with thousands and thousands of species of animals and creatures that do not care about what their purpose on our planet is. The simplest and most basic concept that every life-form IS concerned with is…   1. SURVIVAL That is all that any living being, sentient or stupid, is driven by. Life as we know it – animal or human – revolves around that simple Neanderthal principle. Add any meaning to that existence and you’re thinking like a human. If you are a living organism then your natural instinct, rational mind, or reflexes tell you to eat, breathe, defend, eat, breathe, defend. This is why suicide is so foreign to animals, but to us as human beings who get to think about it and justify it, it is an option. If we have been given life, it is our universal right and obligation to protect that like a well-guarded treasure.   2. PROCREATE Pro – in latin means ‘for’ or ‘in agreement with’. Being someone/something who is for creation. After we’ve (the an...

Now that we have proven that we are real, physical, and in a physical environment, let’s look at what is not physical. No, not what isn’t real. The Facts – Non-physical: You make something “good/bad” by giving your opinion about it. Yes, you really are thinking that this is crap. I think, therefore I am. We would like to think that that phrase in some weird way sums it up. OK. How about … what you think, is real to you. But, what others think, is merely opinion. Therefore it is assumed, and not fact. I had a dream that I was flying. Prove that I didn’t have that dream. Emotions are real. Tell a child that their hamster died.   And as I pointed out earlier, we are only interested in what we can reference as fact. What we think and feel can not be entered as something that is real. But on the other hand, what we express and how we express it is real. Therefore, emotions (although felt mentally) are expressed physically. Emotions are things that make people act or react in their own u...

“ Beliefs ” definition (Oxford): 1. the feeling that something is real and true, trust, confidence. 2. something accepted as true, what one believes. 3. religion, something taught as part of this, Christian beliefs. Now look at definition 1. I want a big red marker underlining and circling and starring the word “feeling”. Adding to the world’s conflicts: If we could ask you to think of a religious (not spiritual) belief that has not caused conflict at some stage in history…insert blank here. A true spiritual belief doesn’t feel the need to justify or get angry, doesn’t get your back up when argued against, and respects other’s individual beliefs. Now read definition 1 again. Isn’t that how it feels (or should feel) if you trust your beliefs? The definition doesn’t say something that you fight for. It doesn’t say something you judge others by. Religious dogma hinders spiritual progress. You cannot penetrate through the dogma or imposed belief systems to get to Spirit. Process: Let us st...

The Facts – Physical: Your body is real and what you experience is real. Yes, you really are reading these words on the screen. Remember, assume nothing. You can feel the chair under you, you can see the screen with your eyes, and I’m sure it’s got an ozone kind of smell to it. You can go as far as tasting it to prove the next sense that you have. You can even hear the words spoken as you carry on with the physical experience. Other people are real and what they experience is real. Find someone close by (sitting next to you; in the other room; stick your head out the window to find a passer by. Now smack them on the shoulder, or if they are far away, tell them that they ride elephants on Sundays. Other people can affect you or not. Their reaction should be pretty real enough. Maybe so real that it affects your personal Reality. Nature is real and all that is in it is real.  Pick up an axe. Yes a real axe. Stand at the base of a huge Redwood. Now for some environmentalists, that is ...

PART 1: INTRODUCTION For the purpose of this exercise, let’s, by some stretch of the imagination, take it that this is reality. Let’s forget about what everyone thinks and assumes. In fact, let’s assume nothing. Let’s not assume that there is an alternate reality. Let’s deal with what is. Let’s not assume that the dream world is reality. Let’s just dream our dreams. Let’s not assume that there are other dimensions beyond our imagination. Hell, let’s not use our imagination. Let’s not assume anything about what happens after death. Because that assumes that when I die I get another chance or I get punished/rewarded for my life. That’s opinion. Let’s not assume that your body is not real. Give yourself more credit than that. I mean you being a pain in the ass is pretty real. Let’s not assume that this is not reality. And for this notion to be completely contained, let’s not assume that God exists. Now, this doesn’t mean that we are taking an atheist stance, it just means that we are bein...

29 March 2009, my political cartoon portraying the hypocrisy of the ANC government's stance on Tibet and the Dalai Lama – pressured by the Chinese government – was published in the Sunday Tribune. "No Freedom Fighters Allowed" Artwork March 2009