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I think religion can life saving. The problem is when it is organised. The Bible is a good study on human nature and motivation.

Because he shows up in the chart as a maverick and intense thinker that is unswayed by public opinion. He can be a bit forceful but he is not a chauvinistic. Feels he is in a class a by himself. Which is partially true since he thinks for himself and doesn't follow the crowd. It's a different type of movement. It's more dynamic and immediate. Which is appealing.

@Mel Hopkins @Troy @Del The ideas you expressed in your posts on this thread were so stimulating and enlightening and profound that i express my gratitude to you all for doing my thinking for me. Obviously i agree with what you say. (i think there a correlation between my being able to acknowledge this and the fact that Pioneer has not injected his comments) You have all on occasion, indicated that my perspective on a subject has grounded you. But this time you deserve the kudos for creating a seat for me in the outside of the box arena. My final thought on the subject is that religion is a force that captivates and robs you of your freedom to develop your own divinity. The only ones empowered by it are the leaders who preach it. Truth is an orphan that everyone wants to adopt. i just finished doing my income tax. Because my pensions are not taxed enough, i usually end up owing money. i could remedy this by requesting that the IRS take more money out, but i've just opted to make up the diference when i file. I do my taxes on-line for free courtesy of the Federal Government, my former employer, and it's a fairly simple process, especially since i don't itemize and i have complete health insurance coverage that i can afford. I'd have to lie to get money back and I don't want to rock the boat. Typically I pay back about $1,250.00. This year, thanks to Trump's tax break, i owed $935.00. Big deal. But i'm not complaining, For some reason, this doesn't affect my bottom line in any way. I say this to say that i am somehow nestled in a niche that keeps me under the radar. Nothing that goes on in this world, so far, has an impact on my life. On all levels of my existence, i do as i please and manage to escape major repercussions or consequences. All of my complaints result from my dismay over what other people are doing to other people in the realm of politics. All around me the world is in disarray and America in unrest. But i am just a spectator. From time to time i shift into a dimension where i am taunted by mischievous forces, but as much as this can vex me i find it to be a intriguing phenomenon that introduces me to a invisible world full of wonderment and untapped power. Life, if nothing else, is a fascinating challenge.

@Del No, he's not involved in education but there is some truth in the other observations you volunteered. Our encounter was a classic example of serendipity. I don't think either of us realized who the other was until after locking eyes and barely nodding, we melted into the crowd suddenly realizing who the other was, - as an after thought. This was at an old timer's banquet sponsored by our home town a month ago. I was distracted by reuniting with so many of my old friends and neighbors that it wasn't until a couple of days later when i mentally re-visited this episode that all of these memories of our long ago relationship came flooding back; little things; like how he was the first guy to have ever sent me flowers, how we had argued about the pronunciation of the name of a popular modern jazz artist of that day, how in a test of wills, he had apologetically accepted that "no" meant "no". Under circumstances i can't clearly recall, he had also dropped off a gift before my wedding reception, - a decorative cigarette lighter which sat on my cocktail table for years, back in the day when everybody smoked. I have bumped into him a couple of other times during our middle age decades, occasions where, in the company of others, my casual attempts at making small talk seemed to leave him tongue-tied. I know that he did marry and did do quite well for himself after relocating in the next town over from me where i believe he still resides. So we were in close proximity all these years, but never ran in the same circles. Why, seeing him again after all this time is now stuck in my head, is something i can't explain... What really impressed me was what i noticed when he strode past me at the banquet, - how well he had aged, and how fit and able he appeared for a man who is a couple of years older than me! i keep thinking that he is like someone who stepped out from an interval in my past when i was a single young woman in my 20s exploring the dating scene, playing the mating game. Now, as a wistful old broad caught up in reminiscence, i am wondering what life would've been like had i gone in another direction. It's like i feel a need to dispel my malaise by abandoning who i now am, in favor of who i once was, - a carefree girl caught up in the excitement of pursuing what life had to offer! i am sharing this stream of consciousness drivel more for my benefit than yours, because i feel a need to let it all hang out

Thanks @Mel Hopkins.

You begin by using your imagination! Also, your brain has a delete button. But anyway, next don’t reinforce the “junk” messages. Remember the saying “let it go in one ear and out the other” It works. We seem to retain what we respond/react to. So whether you say “I hate this” or “I love that” you’re still giving it space. So be neutral and let it pass. Don’t build on it. Then just like a laxative, fill your mind with something foreign. Imagine things that send you on a scavenger hunt for more things you’ve never heard of. Today, I was writing a post for The Thriving Writer and I decided I needed 1 word to describe a concept... So I “bing-ed” it and found there is such a thing as a Enigmatologist. There’s only 1 who actually has a degree in puzzle creation and he created his own degree that was conferred upon him in 1974 from the University of Indiana. From my one small quest - I learned that It’s possible to create your own undergraduate degree in something like puzzlemaking AND allegedly be the only one in the world -to use it. He currently works at the New York Times as a crossword puzzle editor. That’s just a few examples - but thank you! You’ve given me a topic for next week’s blog post. Also refrain from “commentary”...instead take a concept in a whole new direction. For example; “The Bible is scientifically Accurate” Instead of commenting on the topic directly in an attempt to refute or cosign the claims - we expand the topic. For example we return to @Chevdove post where we began to speculate about quantum mechanics - time travel and the possiblity of passing through walls. This is how you perform a brain cleanse...😊