What does this image say to you?
A picture is worth a thousand words ... I'm convinced this image would illicit much more than 1,000 words ... much more than 1,000 times 1,000 different words. The image itself is known ... yet very likely poorly understood ... by more than a billion people. The words embedded in the image are recognized by the entire English speaking world ... and a large percentage of those people in the world who speak English as a second language. What would all these people say?
Let me start by citing the origins of the image ... or at least a very old reference to the image ... circa 500 BC ... by an ancient Chinese sage known as Lao Zi.
"The Dao De Jing of Lao Zi" ... Chapter 42
"The Dao produces the One.
The One turns into the Two
The Two gives rise to the Three.
The Three brings forth the myriad of things.
The myriad things contain Yin and Yang as vital forces,
Which achieve harmony through their interactions."
The above quote from Lao Zi is open to a myriad of interpretations. In fact, it may not be a proper rendering of the original Chinese characters ... and even if it is ... the Chinese mind that expressed his thoughts with the above words does not think in the same way as a Western mind attempting to understand what this particular Chinese mind was trying to say.
In the end ... it doesn't matter. If the words speak you ... good. If the words don't speak to you ... that's OK too.
When I first read them ... I heard the Biblical "Garden of Eden" story. God made Adam ... the one ... from Adam's rib God made Eve ... the two. The "three" are 1) God (Dao) 2) Adam and 3) Eve.
The Chinese have long considered 'Yang' to be the male force and 'Yin' to be the female force. I find it intriguing that the word "Yin" occupies the first position in the expression Yin Yang. The expression evolved as Yin Yang not the other way around ... suggesting "Yin" to be the more important force.
For a long time after I became aware of the Chinese philosophy of Yin Yang I considered the image above to be an artistic rendering of the philosophy itself ... i.e. some ancient graphic designer created the image.
Nope!
In 2012 I learned that the "graphic designer" of the Yin Yang image was the Universe itself ... a disturbing yet very exciting bit of learning. For details click here.
Let me share how the expression "Yin Yang" evolved in my own consciousness ... the story may illustrate how our consciousness expands. I have no idea where or how I first learned the expression 'Yin Yang" ... whether I saw it in print ... heard it in conversation ... heard it some group session and so on.
Reviewing my notes I found two written references from 2005 ... a few months before my first visit to China. Maybe I came to China to better understand their philosophy of Yin Yang. Today, I believe the Catholic Faith and Yin Yang are not only compatible ... I believe they will converge at some point. More on this theory later.
Here are the two instances of Yin Yang in my notes:
1) “Let me share some more speculation ... if the story of Jesus is true ... and indeed He was crucified on a Friday ... and if the story of the 'enemy' is equally true ... would it not be a good strategy for the 'king of deception' to turn something good into something 'dark'. It all makes sense for me ... of course I try very hard to accept the 2 basic assumptions that hold it all together ... the story of Jesus is true ... and the story of the 'enemy' is true ... ying and yang ... or whatever the proper words are.”
2) December 8th has always been a special day for me as well. I particularly remember December 8, 2003 ... the year I went to Mount Carmel Israel on Decmber 8th because I believed the Virgin Mary wanted me to go ... and this is the same trip that I almost got arrested. Always Yin and Yang eh!
The first reference to Yin Yang in my notes was written in Pond Inlet ... my last Canadian residence before moving to China ... kinda supports my theory that the Virgin Mary sent me to China to learn about Yin Yang. What evidence is there to support my theory?
On my first visit to Beijing China September 23, 2005 ... to meet Huang Hui (Lilly) whom I had had an email friendship with for about a year. The trip was intended as a vacation ... I had a good job in Pond Inlet at the time. Lilly and I got married 17 days after we met in Beijing ... the marriage was totally unexpected by both of us ... it just happened. I had been single for 10 years and I'm almost certain if I had returned to Canada without being married I would never have gone back to China ... for one reason it was just too expensive ... and Lilly could not come to Canada because of Canadian VISA restrictions on Chinese people wanting to visit Canada. Let me share a few extraordinary coincidences:
1) Getting a VISA to visit China ... in Pond Inlet ... should be impossible. First, I had no photo for the VISA ... photo requirements are quite rigid. I mailed my passport to some unknown agent in Vancouver ... they emailed me asking for the photo ... I told them the best I could do was send them a photo taken by the camera on my computer. They agreed to submit the request with this photo. I received my passport back from Vancouver with the VISA on September 8th ... the day we celebrate the Virgin Mary's birthday.
2) Lilly and I got married in Hohhot China on October 10, 2005. A few months later I learned that this date in the Chinese calendar is September 8th ... again the day we celebrate the Virgin Mary's birthday.
3) Both Lilly's parents ... both her mom and her dad were born on September 8th ... again the day we celebrate the Virgin Mary's birthday.
The picture below was taken for our marriage license ... required by Chinese law. This picture was taken at a small photo shop in the community Lilly's sister lived in at the time ... Nanning Guanxi. I'm wearing bermuda shorts in this picture. Our courtship and marriage was totally unconventional. I sat on a sofa in the office while Lilly completed the paperwork to legalize our marriage ... never understood a word that was spoken or written. I was asked to sign the paper ... and I did. ha ha
A picture is worth a thousand words ... I'm convinced this image would illicit much more than 1,000 words ... much more than 1,000 times 1,000 different words. The image itself is known ... yet very likely poorly understood ... by more than a billion people. The words embedded in the image are recognized by the entire English speaking world ... and a large percentage of those people in the world who speak English as a second language. What would all these people say?
Let me start by citing the origins of the image ... or at least a very old reference to the image ... circa 500 BC ... by an ancient Chinese sage known as Lao Zi.
"The Dao De Jing of Lao Zi" ... Chapter 42
"The Dao produces the One.
The One turns into the Two
The Two gives rise to the Three.
The Three brings forth the myriad of things.
The myriad things contain Yin and Yang as vital forces,
Which achieve harmony through their interactions."
The above quote from Lao Zi is open to a myriad of interpretations. In fact, it may not be a proper rendering of the original Chinese characters ... and even if it is ... the Chinese mind that expressed his thoughts with the above words does not think in the same way as a Western mind attempting to understand what this particular Chinese mind was trying to say.
In the end ... it doesn't matter. If the words speak you ... good. If the words don't speak to you ... that's OK too.
When I first read them ... I heard the Biblical "Garden of Eden" story. God made Adam ... the one ... from Adam's rib God made Eve ... the two. The "three" are 1) God (Dao) 2) Adam and 3) Eve.
The Chinese have long considered 'Yang' to be the male force and 'Yin' to be the female force. I find it intriguing that the word "Yin" occupies the first position in the expression Yin Yang. The expression evolved as Yin Yang not the other way around ... suggesting "Yin" to be the more important force.
For a long time after I became aware of the Chinese philosophy of Yin Yang I considered the image above to be an artistic rendering of the philosophy itself ... i.e. some ancient graphic designer created the image.
Nope!
In 2012 I learned that the "graphic designer" of the Yin Yang image was the Universe itself ... a disturbing yet very exciting bit of learning. For details click here.
Let me share how the expression "Yin Yang" evolved in my own consciousness ... the story may illustrate how our consciousness expands. I have no idea where or how I first learned the expression 'Yin Yang" ... whether I saw it in print ... heard it in conversation ... heard it some group session and so on.
Reviewing my notes I found two written references from 2005 ... a few months before my first visit to China. Maybe I came to China to better understand their philosophy of Yin Yang. Today, I believe the Catholic Faith and Yin Yang are not only compatible ... I believe they will converge at some point. More on this theory later.
Here are the two instances of Yin Yang in my notes:
1) “Let me share some more speculation ... if the story of Jesus is true ... and indeed He was crucified on a Friday ... and if the story of the 'enemy' is equally true ... would it not be a good strategy for the 'king of deception' to turn something good into something 'dark'. It all makes sense for me ... of course I try very hard to accept the 2 basic assumptions that hold it all together ... the story of Jesus is true ... and the story of the 'enemy' is true ... ying and yang ... or whatever the proper words are.”
2) December 8th has always been a special day for me as well. I particularly remember December 8, 2003 ... the year I went to Mount Carmel Israel on Decmber 8th because I believed the Virgin Mary wanted me to go ... and this is the same trip that I almost got arrested. Always Yin and Yang eh!
The first reference to Yin Yang in my notes was written in Pond Inlet ... my last Canadian residence before moving to China ... kinda supports my theory that the Virgin Mary sent me to China to learn about Yin Yang. What evidence is there to support my theory?
On my first visit to Beijing China September 23, 2005 ... to meet Huang Hui (Lilly) whom I had had an email friendship with for about a year. The trip was intended as a vacation ... I had a good job in Pond Inlet at the time. Lilly and I got married 17 days after we met in Beijing ... the marriage was totally unexpected by both of us ... it just happened. I had been single for 10 years and I'm almost certain if I had returned to Canada without being married I would never have gone back to China ... for one reason it was just too expensive ... and Lilly could not come to Canada because of Canadian VISA restrictions on Chinese people wanting to visit Canada. Let me share a few extraordinary coincidences:
1) Getting a VISA to visit China ... in Pond Inlet ... should be impossible. First, I had no photo for the VISA ... photo requirements are quite rigid. I mailed my passport to some unknown agent in Vancouver ... they emailed me asking for the photo ... I told them the best I could do was send them a photo taken by the camera on my computer. They agreed to submit the request with this photo. I received my passport back from Vancouver with the VISA on September 8th ... the day we celebrate the Virgin Mary's birthday.
2) Lilly and I got married in Hohhot China on October 10, 2005. A few months later I learned that this date in the Chinese calendar is September 8th ... again the day we celebrate the Virgin Mary's birthday.
3) Both Lilly's parents ... both her mom and her dad were born on September 8th ... again the day we celebrate the Virgin Mary's birthday.
The picture below was taken for our marriage license ... required by Chinese law. This picture was taken at a small photo shop in the community Lilly's sister lived in at the time ... Nanning Guanxi. I'm wearing bermuda shorts in this picture. Our courtship and marriage was totally unconventional. I sat on a sofa in the office while Lilly completed the paperwork to legalize our marriage ... never understood a word that was spoken or written. I was asked to sign the paper ... and I did. ha ha
Back to my Pond Inlet experience. In late June 2005 I went to the floe edge with a couple of acquaintances from Pond Inlet. The floe edge is where the water from the North Atlantic meets the arctic ice ... apparently a dangerous place to camp ... the risk of a chunk of ice breaking off and floating away ... with the campers stranded on this chunk of ice. One of our guides stayed awake all night ... apparently listening for the noise of cracking ice and watching for the approach of a hungry polar bear. I was completely oblivious to these dangers at the time.
It was the near the end of June but there was probably still 3 feet or so of ice under our tents. I remember wanting to walk on the ice bare feet ... what a strange thing to want to do eh! ... maybe I am really one or two short of a dozen upstairs. :-) I wanted my skin to touch the ice ... to make a direct connection between me and the ice. This particular ice formed part of the ocean ... not only the arctic ocean ... the arctic ocean is connected to all the world's oceans ... my feet were connected with all the world's oceans ... not a big deal eh!
I also decided to lay down on the ice for a rest. When one of our guides saw me lying down he became alarmed and screamed at me motioning me to stand up ... I was about 50 yards from our camp at the time. Apparently in my dark snow suit I looked like a seal basking in the sun ... a favorite target for hungry polar bears.
You can see from my notes that at this time I didn't know much about the notion of Yin Yang ... didn't even know how to spell it ... and I wrote ... "or whatever the proper words are".
Today, reflecting on my notes from 2005 I see a connection to my theory that Yin Yang and the Catholic Faith will converge some day ... the story of Jesus is included in the immediate context.
In the second mention of Yin Yang at least I get the spelling right. I refer to an experience in 2003 but the notes weren't written until 2005. My 2003 experience was one of the scariest experiences of my life ... I have lived a rather sheltered life with respect to guns and violence. During this particular experience I was standing alone on a back street in Bethlehem ... surrounded by six Israeli soldiers with their rifles pointed at me. The Israeli soldiers suspected me of being associated with the Hamas terrorists. At that moment I was in big big trouble. How did I get there? ... and how did I survive to talk about it?
A photo of the miracle baby born December 2, 2003. For a better understanding of how precarious my situation was read the CNN article about the miracle baby here.
The 'seed' for my experience with the miracle baby in Bethlehem was planted before I left the house in Guelph. How so?
I lived ... room and board ... with Tom and Lynda Frangos in Guelph for about 5 years. During this time I traveled overseas often and I always took the Red Car Service to the airport. For some strange reason ... still a mystery today ... for this particular trip I decided to walk out the front door and find my way to the airport ... follow the wind ... follow the Holy Spirit. I walked to the Guelph bus depot and learned there was a bus to Brampton where I could catch a Go Train to the airport ... and off I went. In Brampton, while waiting for the Go Train to the airport I went for a walk. A stranger pulled up along beside me and started making small talk. He asked me where I was going ... my large back pack and my walking stick probably gave me away. I told him I was going to Israel and he immediately replied ... Oh! ... you're going to see the miracle baby! I had no idea what he was talking about but the'seed' ... the miracle baby would come back into my mind in Israel and I decided why not go visit the baby ... I had no idea this miracle baby was associated with Hamas terrorists when I made this decision. I'm a bit adventurous but not stupid enough to court danger.
Here are the notes I wrote about this trip.
The 'seed' for my experience with the miracle baby in Bethlehem was planted before I left the house in Guelph. How so?
I lived ... room and board ... with Tom and Lynda Frangos in Guelph for about 5 years. During this time I traveled overseas often and I always took the Red Car Service to the airport. For some strange reason ... still a mystery today ... for this particular trip I decided to walk out the front door and find my way to the airport ... follow the wind ... follow the Holy Spirit. I walked to the Guelph bus depot and learned there was a bus to Brampton where I could catch a Go Train to the airport ... and off I went. In Brampton, while waiting for the Go Train to the airport I went for a walk. A stranger pulled up along beside me and started making small talk. He asked me where I was going ... my large back pack and my walking stick probably gave me away. I told him I was going to Israel and he immediately replied ... Oh! ... you're going to see the miracle baby! I had no idea what he was talking about but the'seed' ... the miracle baby would come back into my mind in Israel and I decided why not go visit the baby ... I had no idea this miracle baby was associated with Hamas terrorists when I made this decision. I'm a bit adventurous but not stupid enough to court danger.
Here are the notes I wrote about this trip.
On December 7, 2003 I found myself sitting in this same chapel on top of Mount Carmel Israel. A couple of months earlier my inner voice told me to be in Mount Carmel on December 8th ... the feast day of the Immaculate Conception. Who asked me? ... Don't know ... it was one of those interior 'locutions'. Later that day I learned that the actual site of the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal was about 25 kilometers away.
The next morning (December 8th) I decided to go to this Al Muhakra ... the site of Elijah's showdown. I arrived about 4:00PM ... the place was deserted and it was almost closing time ... a short yet pleasant visit ... nothing special. On my way out of the place I realized it was almost 4:30 and I hadn't been to mass yet ... I had a 5-6 kilometer walk back to the village and I was told finding a bus back to Haifa after dark(5:30PM) would be difficult. Seemed getting to the church on time for mass would now be impossible ... oh well! ... I didn't feel particularly disturbed.
Walking along the road I said to Mary ... "I am on my way down the mountain and if You want me to attend mass You will have to get me back to Haifa before 6:00 PM" … the time for the last mass.
A 100 meters or so down the road there was a small white car parked on the opposite side of the road. As I was walking alongside the car, on the opposite side of the road, the driver and I exchanged glances. He asked me if I wanted a ride into town ... hmmm! On the way into town he explained how and where I might find a ride into Haifa ... a 'sherut' ... a communal taxi of sorts. I found the 'sherut' and I was sitting in a pew in the church at ten minutes before six ... hmmm! Unbelievable!! Seems Mary did want me to attend mass that day.
During this same trip to Israel I was almost arrested in Bethlehem ... I spontaneously decided to visit the home of suspected Palestinian terrorists in Bethlehem. In Canada, on my way to the Toronto airport, walking back to the bus station in Brampton, ... on this particular trip I took a rather circuitous route to the airport ... still don't know why, a stranger had told me about this 'miracle baby' born in ??? (He wasn't sure).
While in Jerusalem, I read an article about this 'miracle baby' and learned that the family lived in Bethlehem ... thought to myself ... why not go visit this child? As I write this ... it reminds me of the Three Wise men who went to visit the 'miracle child' born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.
I had no idea how dangerous such a visit could be ... a few minutes after leaving the house I was accosted by several Israeli soldiers ... I hadn't given any thought to the possibility that I could be considered a 'terrorist suspect' simply by visiting the home ... yikes!!
I was saved in Rachael's tomb ... a minute or two after reading the inscription on Rachael's tomb ... Joseph speaking to his mother ... something to the effect ... "mother ...come up out of your tomb and help me" ... Rachael's response was ... " go wherever God takes you and do not worry He will protect you"
Fortunately for me, one of the Israeli gentlemen visiting the tomb spoke a little English ... he heard the bus running, the bus that chauffeurs the Orthodox Jews to and from Rachael's tomb, which is in Palestine territory. The bus had just dropped off several men and was waiting just outside the door ... he suggested I hurry ... get on the bus and get a ride to the check point at the entrance to Bethlehem. I had been told by Israeli soldiers a few minutes earlier that I was not allowed to leave the tomb. I ran out and climbed on the bus ... whew!!
Also on this same visit to Israel, I would unexpectedly visit a place called Megiddo ... formerly known as Har Megiddo. Some say this is the place referred to as 'Armageddon' in the Book of Revelations.
I had lots to think about on my flight back to Canada ... why did I feel I had been asked to visit Mount Carmel on December 8th? ... A specific location on a specific date. Why did I take the circuitous route to the airport? Why did the stranger on the street in Brampton tell me about this 'miracle baby'? Why did I feel compelled to visit this 'miracle baby' in Bethlehem? Why did I visit Megiddo on the way home?? Only questions ... as always ... no answers!!
I had a similar experience of 'being asked' to do something in particular in June 2000. I was sitting in a chapel in Lisieux France, home of St Therese of the Child Jesus and I experienced another one of those 'interior locutions' ... asking me to walk from Lourdes France to Fatima Portugal via Santiago Compostella. I had left Canada planning to walk from Col Somport to Santiago Compostella. Within 2 weeks I was walking out of Lourdes ... direction Fatima.
I would learn after arriving in Fatima that the 'Third Secret' of Fatima was made public the same day I left Lourdes ... June 26, 2000 ... this 'Third Secret' had remained unpublished for more than 50 years.
Seems to me there are only 3 possibilities concerning the 'pledge of the remainder of my life' to the Blessed Virgin Mary in October of 1995:
1.The story of the Blessed Virgin Mary is only a 'myth' and I have used this 'myth' as a crutch to keep going after the trauma of my marital separation in July 1995.
2.The story of the Blessed Virgin Mary is true and She declined my offer in 1995 ... I am not worthy to be Her servant.
3.The story of the Blessed Virgin Mary is true and She accepted my offer in 1995 ... and She has been my guide, protector, comforter etc for the past fifteen years.
The 3rd possibility scares me the most. My often times unusual behavior of the past almost 15 years could perhaps be solved with the regular consumption of lots of alcohol and/or some good drugs. On the other hand, if the 3rd possibility is in fact true ... YIKES!!
The next morning (December 8th) I decided to go to this Al Muhakra ... the site of Elijah's showdown. I arrived about 4:00PM ... the place was deserted and it was almost closing time ... a short yet pleasant visit ... nothing special. On my way out of the place I realized it was almost 4:30 and I hadn't been to mass yet ... I had a 5-6 kilometer walk back to the village and I was told finding a bus back to Haifa after dark(5:30PM) would be difficult. Seemed getting to the church on time for mass would now be impossible ... oh well! ... I didn't feel particularly disturbed.
Walking along the road I said to Mary ... "I am on my way down the mountain and if You want me to attend mass You will have to get me back to Haifa before 6:00 PM" … the time for the last mass.
A 100 meters or so down the road there was a small white car parked on the opposite side of the road. As I was walking alongside the car, on the opposite side of the road, the driver and I exchanged glances. He asked me if I wanted a ride into town ... hmmm! On the way into town he explained how and where I might find a ride into Haifa ... a 'sherut' ... a communal taxi of sorts. I found the 'sherut' and I was sitting in a pew in the church at ten minutes before six ... hmmm! Unbelievable!! Seems Mary did want me to attend mass that day.
During this same trip to Israel I was almost arrested in Bethlehem ... I spontaneously decided to visit the home of suspected Palestinian terrorists in Bethlehem. In Canada, on my way to the Toronto airport, walking back to the bus station in Brampton, ... on this particular trip I took a rather circuitous route to the airport ... still don't know why, a stranger had told me about this 'miracle baby' born in ??? (He wasn't sure).
While in Jerusalem, I read an article about this 'miracle baby' and learned that the family lived in Bethlehem ... thought to myself ... why not go visit this child? As I write this ... it reminds me of the Three Wise men who went to visit the 'miracle child' born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.
I had no idea how dangerous such a visit could be ... a few minutes after leaving the house I was accosted by several Israeli soldiers ... I hadn't given any thought to the possibility that I could be considered a 'terrorist suspect' simply by visiting the home ... yikes!!
I was saved in Rachael's tomb ... a minute or two after reading the inscription on Rachael's tomb ... Joseph speaking to his mother ... something to the effect ... "mother ...come up out of your tomb and help me" ... Rachael's response was ... " go wherever God takes you and do not worry He will protect you"
Fortunately for me, one of the Israeli gentlemen visiting the tomb spoke a little English ... he heard the bus running, the bus that chauffeurs the Orthodox Jews to and from Rachael's tomb, which is in Palestine territory. The bus had just dropped off several men and was waiting just outside the door ... he suggested I hurry ... get on the bus and get a ride to the check point at the entrance to Bethlehem. I had been told by Israeli soldiers a few minutes earlier that I was not allowed to leave the tomb. I ran out and climbed on the bus ... whew!!
Also on this same visit to Israel, I would unexpectedly visit a place called Megiddo ... formerly known as Har Megiddo. Some say this is the place referred to as 'Armageddon' in the Book of Revelations.
I had lots to think about on my flight back to Canada ... why did I feel I had been asked to visit Mount Carmel on December 8th? ... A specific location on a specific date. Why did I take the circuitous route to the airport? Why did the stranger on the street in Brampton tell me about this 'miracle baby'? Why did I feel compelled to visit this 'miracle baby' in Bethlehem? Why did I visit Megiddo on the way home?? Only questions ... as always ... no answers!!
I had a similar experience of 'being asked' to do something in particular in June 2000. I was sitting in a chapel in Lisieux France, home of St Therese of the Child Jesus and I experienced another one of those 'interior locutions' ... asking me to walk from Lourdes France to Fatima Portugal via Santiago Compostella. I had left Canada planning to walk from Col Somport to Santiago Compostella. Within 2 weeks I was walking out of Lourdes ... direction Fatima.
I would learn after arriving in Fatima that the 'Third Secret' of Fatima was made public the same day I left Lourdes ... June 26, 2000 ... this 'Third Secret' had remained unpublished for more than 50 years.
Seems to me there are only 3 possibilities concerning the 'pledge of the remainder of my life' to the Blessed Virgin Mary in October of 1995:
1.The story of the Blessed Virgin Mary is only a 'myth' and I have used this 'myth' as a crutch to keep going after the trauma of my marital separation in July 1995.
2.The story of the Blessed Virgin Mary is true and She declined my offer in 1995 ... I am not worthy to be Her servant.
3.The story of the Blessed Virgin Mary is true and She accepted my offer in 1995 ... and She has been my guide, protector, comforter etc for the past fifteen years.
The 3rd possibility scares me the most. My often times unusual behavior of the past almost 15 years could perhaps be solved with the regular consumption of lots of alcohol and/or some good drugs. On the other hand, if the 3rd possibility is in fact true ... YIKES!!