When you first learn about Islam, it’s common to think of Taoism, with its attention on conformity to going with the flow or to the governing principle of the universe. For Muslims, however, this is personalized (though some of the more philosophical might view this as largely rhetorical or symbolic) for the universe is governed by a personal god, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and of Ishmael, the progenitor of the Arabs; the God of Jesus but also of Muhammad. Islam means submission to this God, who has mercifully made himself known in a series of revelations ending in those given to Muhammad, which finished the preceding ones and corrected the accumulated human corruptions. Everything, animate or inanimate, which conform to the divinely-ordained pattern for them, may be said to be Muslim, one who submits. Unfortunately, as Nietzsche observed, Man is the sick animal, the one who strays from his own core and is in need of direction “in the straight path” provided by “God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.” (Qur’an 1:1-7)

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You Have Only Just Begun… from lesson 20. No truer words; no matter when and where one is in a project, as the old saying goes this is the first day of the rest of your life, This day a new chapter in the project has just begun. Except that with Chaplaincy it is not just your life but others as well and “us” chaplain’s, ministers, pastors, reverends and evangelists have volunteered for this responsibility and duty. In my opinion this course was full of simple practical information. Did it take?

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We have a lot of haphazard ministry being done in our churches around the world. Good people, who love the Lord, aren’t thinking through what God has called them to do. Ministry is too important to be done haphazardly. We can’t just say, “I’ll give it my best shot!” We need to think through what the ministries in our church are all about. Our ministries must be good stewards of all they’ve been given. For that to happen, we’ve got to plan ministry strategically.

Read more on Ministry Leaders Should Answer These 7 Questions…

Marketing is a very interesting and rewarding field that has allowed me to travel, work with other creative people you often see on TV and in movies, and never really feel like I’ve been working, because basically what I do is play with words and ideas. And yes, even after all these years in the business, I’m still active and making a good living at it. It’s a skill that improves with time.

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When discussing with Buddha about why he showed hesitation in allowing women into the sangha, Ananda asked, “Do you feel women are inherently less capable of becoming enlightened?”

Buddha responded no. “Women have equal potential as men to reach enlightenment”

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Throughout Buddhist history, womens’ role has been anything but fair.  The only way to avoid finding misogyny throughout Buddhism is to select your readings with care.  What remains is that Buddhism, in any society, has done nothing to upgrade the status of women, although convents have often been a safe haven.

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In an introduction to Islam, it’s easy to think of Taoism, with its attention on conforming to going with the flow or to the governing principle of the universe. For Muslims, however, this is personalized (though some of the more philosophical might view this as largely rhetorical or symbolic) for the universe is governed by a personal god, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and of Ishmael, the progenitor of the Arabs; the God of Jesus but also of Muhammad. Islam means submission to this God, who has mercifully made himself known in a series of revelations culminating in those given to Muhammad, which completed the preceding ones and fixed the accumulated human corruptions. All things, animate or inanimate, which conform to the divinely-ordained pattern for them, may be said to be Muslim, one who submits. Unfortunately, as Nietzsche observed, Man is the sick animal, the one who strays from his own core and is in need of direction “in the straight path” provided by “God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.” (Qur’an 1:1-7)

Read more on The Meaning of Islam…

I am not a shaman. I can never really be a shaman. In my opinion, there are two approaches to shamanism. One is to study and appreciate the history, development, and philosophy of the phenomenon called Shamanism. The other is to emulate what shamans do in order to approximate shamanism. The first of these approaches is rather easy – one puts one’s mind to it, one does the research, and finally one obtains the knowledge and/or understanding. The latter of the two is much more difficult: how does one emulate a way of life that is so deeply entwined within a particular culture? By way of analogy, does a person become a Native American by emulating one? I do not think so.

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Stress is difficult to avoid in the workplace these days. Thankfully, there are natural stress relief methods that you can use in and out of the office to help work and life flow more smoothly. The following article tells you more. Enjoy.

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Marketing is a very interesting and rewarding field that has allowed me to travel, work with other creative people you often see on TV and in movies, and never really feel like I’ve been working, because basically what I do is play with words and ideas. And yes, even after all these years in the business, I’m still active and making a good living at it. It’s a skill that improves with time.

Read more on Marketing Spirituality 101…